Gloeckner's Charge

Gloeckner's Charge was a settlement in the Western Plaguelands inhabited by Scarlet insurgents aligned with the Army of the Truthful. It was destroyed during a coalition siege during the Battle of Gloeckner's Charge.

The stronghold's name possibly holds relation to Onslaught Commander Franklin Gloeckner.

Location
Gloeckner's Charge was located in the western portion of the Western Plaguelands, north of the King's Road and east of the Bulwark, just south of Hearthglen. While situated in an otherwise heavily wooded forest, the area immediately around the keep and hamlets was largely open due to aggressive forestation both prior and during the outbreak of the Third War.

The keep, after which the settlement was named, was located strategically atop a large rock outcropping, which gave it a clear vantage over the surrounding land.

Early History
Gloeckner's Charge was settled during the time of the empire of Arathor, presumably a northern outpost of the burgeoning state. During the Kingdom of the Lordaeron, the hamlet was known as Whittam. Habitation was consistent until the outbreak of the Third War, and due to a myriad of factors, became largely abandoned as many settlements of the type and size were, becoming an outpost of the Scourge instead.

Scarlet Crusade
During the duration of the Third War and prior to the rise of the Argent Crusade, the settlement switched hands multiple times between Scourge forces and those of the rising Scarlet Crusade.

Due to its small size, the crusaders withdrew from the garrison on multiple occasions during amassed scourge advances, only to re-occupy it when the threat had passed.

A notable scarlet field commander is reported to have said that the settlement's defenders were doomed to death due to the inherently small size of the garrison as well as the surrounding geography, which would inevitably leave the defenders with nowhere to flee due to their backs being to the wall.

Argent Crusade
After the capture of Hearthglen, many of the smaller settlements in the surrounding lowlands of the Western Plaguelands were deserted by their garrisons as the waning Scarlet Crusade attempted to consolidate their power in their remaining stronghold of Tirisfal.

The town was inevitably occupied by the Argent Crusade, who repaired the hilltop stronghold, outfitted it with modern breech-loaded artillery, and resettled the surrounding hamlets. During this era, the hamlet's economy mainly relied on the herding of sheep, as the wind that descended from the mountains north and west of it prohibited growth of most crops.

Truthful Era
During the rise of the Truthful in the Western Plaguelands, the stronghold of Whittam proved to be a hard nut to crack for the forming Truthful forces. Multiple head-on assaults were attempted, only to be repelled at the cost of heavy casualties for the militant forces.

It is reported that Inquisitor Ithel the Shrewd, who was the leader of a local battalion of Truthful militia, devised the plan that would lead to the fall of the stronghold; after establishing a siege by capturing the less well-defended surrounding settlements, the inquisitor would lead a delegation to negotiate the surrender and supposed safe passage of the garrison, only to slaughter the Argents in cold blood.

Ithel was granted leadership of the settlement, where he was given the status of Marshal Governor under the charismatic Lazarus of Andorhal.