Battle of Riverwood

The battle of Riverwood was fought in mid Hearthfire of 4E 201. Stormcloak rebels, retreating from Falkreath hold in the in the advance of the Imperial fifth legion took the village. General Kathalons forces were initially headed towards the Bloodlet throne, were forced to change direction when they heard of a large vampire force moving on the village. In addition, scouts noted tracks of a large force moving towards Riverwood.

The Imperials planned to destroy both the vampire force and Stormcloaks in the area in one battle. They were hoping they'd be able to garner the gratefulness of jarl Balgruuf, and gain his support. For the vampires, the battle was merely a distraction, to draw the Imperial forces away from the Bloodlet throne.

Prelude
General Altus Kathalon and the Imperial fifth legion were making good progress towards the Bloodlet throne fortress. Marcus Threnial, the coven spy posing as an Imperial scout in the generals army, reported this via messages to Vengar Vivarian.

Vengar, who'd recently taken Peak's Shade tower from a small garrison of Stormcloaks, received the message and became concerned, due to the lack of troops in the coven headquarters. He rushed to the main army, and Salthar Vivarian, just outside the capital of Falkreath hold.

He was in favour of bringing the entire army to stop the Imperial advance, though Salthar instead had Marcus report to general Kathalon that the vampire army was marching on Riverwood. The reason for this, was that jarl Siddgeir had agreed to surrender Falkreath hold to the Bloodlet Throne Coven, provided he remain in power.

The Imperials made haste to the village, intending to take the village, and gain the support of jarl Balgruuf of Whiterun.

The rebel Stormcloaks, having lost most of their numbers attempting to take a bridge leading deeper into Falkreath hold, were forced to retreat towards Riverwood, with the intent of making a stand. With the Stormcloak general, Alric Stromma, branded a traitor, leadership of the rebel forces fell to Thorryg Sun-killer, and Valdmir Iceclaw. They reached the village, and evacuated its inhabitants, They then constructed barricades, and destroyed the bridges leading into the village.

The battle
The battle commenced in the late afternoon, with the Imperials stationing archers and battlemages across the river. Their infantry marched along the road from Falkreath hold, intending to cross into the village across shallower areas in the river. Stormcloak troops engaged the Imperials on the Falkreath side of the river, while their archers in the village provided support. However, the Imperial archers and battle mages had waited for their opposite numbers to reveal themselves, before attacking. Many of the rebel ranged units were killed, tilting the battle in the Empires favour.

The Stormcloaks facing the Imperial infantry retreated across the river, where Valdmir Iceclaw and his men slowed the Imperial advance long enough for them to retreat further into the village. Meanwhile, Thorygg Sun-killer and his troops engaged the Imperials on the outskirts of the village, though the Empires troops, supported by arrows and magic soon took the bank. The rebels retreated to the village center to regroup, while the Imperials reformed their own troops and prepared to advance.

Unknown to both armies, the undead, lead by Salthar Vivarian, had cross the river further down, avoiding notice, and flanked the village. They began their advance from the direction of Whiterun, and emerged from near the mountains and foothills that lead to the rest of Whiterun hold. Stormcloak scouts spotted them, and warned Thorygg Sun-killer, who lead his surviving men to engage the Coven forces.

Meanwhile, rebel soldiers loyal to general Alric Stromma freed him. Stromma, with fresh troops on his side, ordered Valdmir and his surviving troops into a suicidal assault against the advancing Imperials. Left with little choice, Valdmir and his men complied, but were forced back by the heavy number of Imperial troops that were now across the river. Once again, they retreated to the village center, where they were confronted by a terrifed general Stromma and his followers. The general ordered a full retreat. Though Valdmir was initially reluctant, the appearance of a reanimated Thorygg Sun-killer, convinced him that the situation was hopeless. The surviving Stormcloaks retreated towards Whiterun, leaving Riverwood to be fought over by the Imperials and undead.

Aftermath
With the Stormcloak forces in Falkreath hold already whittled down by attacks from the Coven forces, and finally crushed at Riverwood, any thought of liberating Falkreath hold was abandoned. Rather than fight the full Imperial legion at Riverwood, Salthar had the slain Stormcloak troops reanimated, absorbing them into his army, before withdrawing from the village. Salthar considered Falkreath hold pacified, as Siddgeir had surrendered to him earlier the same day. Despite this, the town of Helgen, which had not yet received the news, continued to be under siege by a force of vampires.

General Kathalon decided the Stormcloak threat in the area had been ended, and proceeded to move his troops fully into Whiterun hold. Though the Imperials hadn't engaged the Coven, the Imperials decided to move on with the initial plan to reinforce general Tullius' legion. Though he wasn't ignoring the vampires, he believed there was no longer a need to storm the Bloodlet throne fortress, as the main Coven army was reported to be retreating towards the Reach.