[Bynming]

Hey guys, so I always preface my posts by saying English is my second language and tackling these books is no easy task for me and so I come here asking for help. Please forgive me if I misunderstood some stuff, it's really difficult

Anyway so one thing that stuck with me since reading DG is the battle that takes place in chapter 10. I've read the chapter a few times and I have a lot of trouble visualizing what happens here and I would appreciate an explanation, or even better a drawn map of the battle. I think that if someone explained it to me and then I re-read it, I might be better equipped to understand these things in the future.

Anyway, the battle I'm interested in is the one that happens shortly after Duiker reaches the "Chain of Dogs". This is my understanding of the battle, and please correct the inaccuracies in what I picked up. At that point, the retreating Malazan army is about to get caught crossing the river, and the Malazan sappers use some chariots to build a bridge, which is, unbeknownst to Duiker, rigged with explosives (they sink the chariots in the river and walk on top of them?). Then, the Malazans, gradually retreat on the bridge as they're fighting the "peasant vanguard" of Reloe's army, and manage to cross before blowing up the bridge, preventing Reloe's army from following. On the other side of the river, the Malaz army fights the Semk tribe, which was too weak to take on the entire Malaz army, and they get overwhelmed pretty quickly, notably because of the warlocks on the Empire's side.

Is that fairly accurate? Did I miss something? Is it completely wrong (it very well could be). I would really appreciate any insight about how it went down. Cheers.

[Andorion]

There is a map for this battle: http://imgur.com/a/rg1SA

As for the battle the crossing point was not a bridge, but a ford - a shallower part of the river that could be crossed on foot.

The engineers sent heavy stone over on the wagons - covered carts not chariots, and then used that stone to reinforce the ford. This made the crossing for the refugees and soldiers easier. They also filled the area with explosives. When the peasant army was crossing they blew up the ford. This destroyed the army in the water and turned the ford into a huge hole, making it deeper and thus making the river uncrossable

[Bynming]

Oh wow, thanks for the map and for the explanation, completely missed how they made the crossing possible. I appreciate

Cheers!

[Kanese S's]

Bynming, on 18 April 2016 - 12:07 AM, said:

Hey guys, so I always preface my posts by saying English is my second language and tackling these books is no easy task for me and so I come here asking for help. Please forgive me if I misunderstood some stuff, it's really difficult

Anyway so one thing that stuck with me since reading DG is the battle that takes place in chapter 10. I've read the chapter a few times and I have a lot of trouble visualizing what happens here and I would appreciate an explanation, or even better a drawn map of the battle. I think that if someone explained it to me and then I re-read it, I might be better equipped to understand these things in the future.

Anyway, the battle I'm interested in is the one that happens shortly after Duiker reaches the "Chain of Dogs". This is my understanding of the battle, and please correct the inaccuracies in what I picked up. At that point, the retreating Malazan army is about to get caught crossing the river, and the Malazan sappers use some chariots to build a bridge, which is, unbeknownst to Duiker, rigged with explosives (they sink the chariots in the river and walk on top of them?). Then, the Malazans, gradually retreat on the bridge as they're fighting the "peasant vanguard" of Reloe's army, and manage to cross before blowing up the bridge, preventing Reloe's army from following. On the other side of the river, the Malaz army fights the Semk tribe, which was too weak to take on the entire Malaz army, and they get overwhelmed pretty quickly, notably because of the warlocks on the Empire's side.

Is that fairly accurate? Did I miss something? Is it completely wrong (it very well could be). I would really appreciate any insight about how it went down. Cheers.

Firstly, I think part of your confusion is likely in translation. Namely, confusion between "chariots," and "wagons."

This is a chariot. It is a vehicle of war, for use in battle. Typically it consists of a platform, with two wheels.

This and this are wagons. The wagon is a general purpose cargo (freight) vehicle. Typically they have four wheels, and are generally shaped like a box (which may or may not be covered in some manner).

The malazans didn't sink the wagons, they used the wagons to transport lots of stone rubble to the river. They used the rubble to build the path across, making the ford (already a shallow part of the river) even shallower, and easier to cross. They hid explosives in the rubble path. Once across, they blew it up.

This post has been edited by Kanese S's: 20 April 2016 - 08:31 AM

[Bynming]

I used the word chariot thinking about wagons, but I was still confused about how they were used. Thank you for the clarification, though, always good to know these things. But yeah, the French word "chariot" or "charriot" translates to wagon in English.

[opiate taylor]

Bynming, on 20 April 2016 - 06:53 PM, said:

I used the word chariot thinking about wagons, but I was still confused about how they were used. Thank you for the clarification, though, always good to know these things. But yeah, the French word "chariot" or "charriot" translates to wagon in English.

You have understood so much more than I would have reading French.

[frozenfish]

So I am currently at the same point, on my first read of Deadhouse gates. Thank you for the map. I too got a little lost in all the pieces that were in motion. This series and this community continue to amaze me with its scope and information. I have to say I tend to need visual queues to know what is going on in fantasy/sci-fi. Once I have a basic framework I am better able to enjoy the story. This series is quickly becoming one of my all time favorites.

[Abyss]

frozenfish, on 24 January 2017 - 08:24 PM, said:

So I am currently at the same point, on my first read of Deadhouse gates. Thank you for the map. I too got a little lost in all the pieces that were in motion. This series and this community continue to amaze me with its scope and information. I have to say I tend to need visual queues to know what is going on in fantasy/sci-fi. Once I have a basic framework I am better able to enjoy the story. This series is quickly becoming one of my all time favorites.

You have so much awesome reading ahead of you.So SO SO MUCH.