The Red Spring

The Red Spring is the name given by the singers to the first phase of the Iron War, the largest conflict Westeros had seen since the War of the Five Kings.

Background
In 486 AC, King Arthur Lannister of the Rock had completed his campaign over the petty King of Harrenhal, Patrek Oswyle, and conquered the former crownlands, making the Rock one of the strongest kingdoms in Westeros. In the ruins of King's Landing, Arthur and the Lord Commander of the Lionsguard, the mute Ser Loren Crakehall, met in secret with Davos Baratheon, the last scion of the once great house and now leader of the Golden Company. Davos agreed to Arthur's bargain that Arthur would install Davos as leader of the Stormlands, in exchange for Davos swearing fealty. Davos agrees.

The Blackhaven Raid
Arthur concocted a plan to get the Stormlands to fight. Arthur was allied with the Kingdom of the Marches, ruled by the cruel torturer Lord Androw Ashford from Ashford, through a marriage between Androw and Arthur's sister Elinor. Arthur promised Androw territory in the Stormlands if he helped him win the war over Storm King Gerold Buckler. Androw agreed, though unbeknownst to Androw, Arthur planned to betray Androw as he did not want any potential territory lost. As part of the plan, Arthur handed over young Edric Dondarrion to Androw; Edric had been squiring to a Kingswood knight and was captured by Lannister scouts during their campaign.

To get the war started, Androw led a force of knights to Blackhaven in the Stormlands, where they demanded that Lord Harys Dondarrion hand over all his gold, his wives and daughters, and castle or else his young son would be killed. With no other choice, Harys surrerended the castle and was imprisoned. Androw then sent a raven to King Gerold, taunting him and asking him to try to get his lands back.'

The Storm King was not about to allow this to go unpunished. He called his bannermen and after mustering at the capital at Bronzegate, headed westward to retake Blackhaven.

The War Ignites
The Iron War is said to began as Lannister knights and infantry crossed the border into the Stormlands. With the Storm King in the marches, the way to Bronzegate was wide open. At the same time, Davos and the Golden Company arrived at Storm's End; courtesans still loyal to House Baratheon opened the gates for Davos, and the stag flew over Storm's End once again.

Gerold realized he had been tricked, and quickly returned north, leaving a battalion of men led by Ser Hugh Errol to hunt down the Ashford knights, who had immediately fled once the much larger Stormland host arrived at the castle. Androw took Lord Harys with him, and Hugh discovered the decapitated bodies of Harys's familes within the castle.

Capture and Battle of Bronzegate
Leaving behind a small force to hold Storm's End, Davos and the Golden Company linked up with the Lannister amy at Bronzegate. Not willing to wait for a lengthy siege, Arthur ordered the castle stormed. Though hundreds of men were killed, the gates were broken down and Bronzegate was sacked. From Bronzegate, Davos sent out letters to all the lords of the realm, announcing House Baratheon were once again rulers of the Stormlands.

The Storm King arrived at Bronzegate with his army. Arthur and Davos met him in battle outside the city walls, with another Lannister host arriving to secure victory. Though Arthur led from the rear, Davos was up close with his troops and slayed Gerold Buckler in battle. With their king dead, and most of his family in Arthur's hands, most of the Storm lords bent the knee. Those who refused retreated with armies to rejoin with Ser Hugh and Gerold's heir Ormund Buckler, just fourteen and a squire to Hugh.

The Battle of Stonehelm
Hugh momentarily stopped his chase of Androw in order to rest at Stonehelm. The remaining loyalist armies, led by Lord Robert Swann, arrived at Stonehelm, and the two forces regrouped. While there, they received a letter from King Reginald Hightower of the Hightower, offering to join their fight in order to avenge the murders of his daughters by Loren Lannister twenty years ago. The loyalists agree, and the Redwyne fleet shipped the knights to Stonehelm.

Androw, considering his mission completed, hanged Harys and returned to Storm's End for the wedding of Davos Baratheon to Arthur Lannister's daughter, Brella. The wedding was a tense affair, with few of the Storm lords liking their new liege. When a drunken Androw demanded of Arthur his territory, Arthur explains he had no idea of such an agreement. Kicked out of the wedding, Androw angrily took a walk around the castle, where he pushed off the cliffs to his death by Lord Commander Loren. His death was blamed on his drunken state.

With the wedding completed, the Lannister army heads south to deal with the remaining loyalists. The battle is fierce, and when it looks as though the Lannisters will win, the Hightower calvary emerges from the forests and ambushes the Lannister army, forcing them to retreat. The Iron War truly begins.