Ambush at Crossed Elms
emboscada de Olmos Cruzados
The ambush at Crossed Elms struck Ser Criston Cole's troops as they crossed the riverlands on their way to Blackwater Bay during the Dance of the Dragons.
Men disguised as corpses rose against the green column in the village that gives the event its name, and twelve soldiers fell before the trick was uncovered.
Chapter 1
The trap of the dead
130 ACBooks only
Ser Criston Cole was marching south with what remained of his army, hoping to join the Reach's forces before reaching Blackwater Bay. The riverlands he crossed had been burned by their own people, who chose to torch crops and villages rather than leave them to the Greens, and many soldiers deserted or switched sides along the way.
At the village of Crossed Elms, the column was struck by men who until that moment had passed for bodies lying on the ground. Twelve green soldiers died before the rest realized the slaughter came not from the dead, but from a well-laid trap.