Pursuing the Blackrock Orcs
Soon after the First Regiment of the Stormwind Army returned to Stormwind City after their deployment to Duskwood in April of 620 K.C., the king ordered for it to reinforce Lakeshire against an imminent Blackrock Orcish attack.
As the soldiers marched upon Lakeshire, they found the Redridge Brigade frantically defending the town. Blackrock Orcs surged from the road that led to the Burning Steppes with catapults in tow. A fierce battle ensued, ending with the orcs retreating back to the Steppes.
After the battle, the soldiers of the first regiment and Redridge Brigade tended to the wounded and repaired the damage done to Lakeshire's structures late into the night.
Meeting with the Gnews
It was then that the regiment was first contacted by the gnomish battlefield reporters of the Gnightly Gnews at Gnine. Marshal Montclair famously told reporters;
"The first regiment is here, so the situation is well in hand."
The regiment would be subsequently respected and feared in the streets of Stormwind for their brutal efficiency at executing the king's will. The regiment and the Gnews maintained a close relationship that would charge the unit's publicity for nearly a year.
Prisoner Rescue[]
Several days after the successful defense of Lakeshire, Stormwind scouts reported that the Blackrock Orcs in Render's Valley maintained a prisoner camp that held the survivors of the siege of Stonewatch Keep.
In a daring move, Marshal Montclair led a charge deep into the territory held by the Blackrock Orcs with an elite task force, storming Render's Valley before the orcs could send for reinforcements from the Steppes.
The regiment ventured into the caves where the Blackrock Orcs were reported to keep their prisoners. There they found garish, unspeakable scenes. Worgs gnawed on the rotting corpses of Stormwind soldiers and villagers. Dried blood and bones littered the floor, soon recognized as having once belonged to human bodies.
Escorting Corporal John J. Keeshan
Cries of pain were heard from deeper in the caves as the regiment cleared its entrance. Rushing to find their source, the soldiers of the regiment found orcs executing their prisoners to spite their impending demise.
John J. Keeshan[]
The Blackrock Orcs had killed all but one of the prisoners before they themselves were put to the sword: John J. Keeshan, a Corporal of the 12th Sabre Regiment of the Redridge Brigade. Still in shock, Keeshan was unbound and escorted out of the caves by the soldiers of the first regiment.
Keeshan, a war hero of the orcish wars, was hailed at his return to Lakeshire. He would play a key role in dismantling the Blackrock Orcish threat in Redridge years later. The first regiment remained in Lakeshire for several weeks after his rescue, deterring the Blackrock Orcs from attacking and pushing their lines further and further north.
March on the Blackrocks[]
Infuriated with the damage done to Lakeshire and the surrounding lands, Lord Maxen Montclair led the regiment further north into the Burning Steppes to bring war to the Blackrock Clan. After fighting back several orcish scouts around Morgan's Vigil, the regiment set up camp in the ruins.
Lord Montclair led the regiment on a brutal campaign across the steppes, torching Blackrock settlements and killing scores of orcs from horseback. Sir Thadik Wallace, one of Maxen's remaining allies from the Orcish Wars, stepped down from his post - unable to commit to the savage conquest. The regiment pressed on and fought their way to the monument dedicated to Sir Anduin Lothar. With the orcish power base in the steppes obliterated, Maxen gave a fiery oration to his troops that inspired them to continue the fight for Stormwind.