---
title: March and Battle Timeline
description: Where an army is from order submission through arrival and battle aftermath.
---

March is a delayed strategic order. Selected heroes, battalions, gold, and food leave the origin immediately, but they do not enter the destination until later processing.

## The timeline

| When | State | What happens |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Player Commands, round N | March submitted | Forces and supplies leave the origin and form a moving army scheduled for round N+1. Each marching hero spends vigor. |
| Province Move Resolution, round N+1 | Arrival checked | An army already friendly to the destination enters it. A hostile arrival waits outside rather than entering. |
| After Player Commands, round N+1 | Hostile Army Setup | Hostile arrivals become attacking groups, one per faction, preserving their approach direction and carried supplies. |
| Uncontested Conquest | No tactical defense needed | An unruled destination can be claimed without Shardok. Competing groups are compared by size, power, and a deterministic tie-breaker. |
| Attack and Defense Decisions | A ruled province is contested | Attackers decide whether to press the attack or demand tribute; defenders answer tribute demands and may choose an army and fallback destination. Truces can turn armies back. |
| Battle Request and Resolution | Shardok battle | Eagle sends armies, map, limited battle food, and victory conditions to Shardok, then waits for a result. |
| Battle Aftermath | Consequences applied | Eagle resolves ownership, survivors, prisoners, supplies, devastation, prestige, and any allied-claimant decisions. |

## Friendly arrival

If your faction already rules the destination during Province Move Resolution, the army's heroes, battalions, and supplies enter the province. They are then present before later phases such as player commands and food consumption.

## Neutral or hostile arrival

A marching army does not occupy a neutral or enemy province during movement resolution. It remains a moving/hostile force until conquest or battle processing decides the outcome. This distinction matters for hero location, province leadership, and food.

An unruled province may be conquered without a tactical battle. A ruled and defended province can require attack and defense decisions followed by Shardok.

## Resolving a tribute demand

A tribute demand pauses that attacking faction during Defense Decision. The defender resolves each demand by either paying it in full or refusing it; there is no partial-payment or counteroffer option.

If the defender pays, the full requested gold and food are deducted from the province. The two factions enter a 12-month truce, and the demanding faction's hostile armies against any province ruled by the payer turn back. The returning armies arrive at their origin provinces in the next round.

If the defender refuses, no food or gold is transferred and the demanding army returns to **Attacking** status. The province remains in Defense Decision, so an eligible defender can then choose a defending army and fallback destination. Once the remaining attack and defense decisions are resolved, the ordinary battle-request rules apply: opposed armies proceed to battle, while an undefended attack may instead become an uncontested conquest.

Paying or refusing tribute has no direct prestige effect. If refusal leads to battle, the eventual battle result can change prestige normally.

## Food and gold

Carried supplies travel with the army. Moving armies consume their own food while incoming. If food is insufficient, their battalions can suffer starvation losses.

When a normal province battle is created, attackers bring at most one month of food consumption from their carried food. Defenders receive at most one month from province food, removed when the battle is created. Remaining attacking supplies are applied to the battle province during resolution; whoever ultimately controls the province may therefore inherit them.

## One attacker wins

One victorious attacking faction conquers the province. Its surviving, non-fled heroes and battalions become the new ruling force, support becomes 0, orders reset to Entrust, and eligible defenders can become prisoners.

## Allied attackers win together

Eagle cannot automatically choose which allied winner keeps the province. Claimants enter Battle Aftermath. One may keep it; the others withdraw to adjacent provinces with permitted shares of the supplies they brought. Those withdrawals become incoming armies for the next round.

## Before confirming March

- Confirm the destination and arrival delay.
- Leave enough heroes behind to retain the origin if necessary.
- Carry enough food for transit and the intended battle.
- Remember that the destination's ruler or diplomacy can change before arrival.
- Expect an additional attack, defense, or aftermath decision when the army arrives.

See [March](/commands/#march) for selection rules and [From Eagle to Shardok](/concepts/eagle-to-shardok/) for detailed battle consequences.
