Are there any examples of a volcanic eruption and lava flow influencing the course of a battle?

by BaronVonBomb
b1uepenguin

Sort of... in this case the volcanic eruption/blast and lava flow influenced the outcome of a war, more than a single battle.

During the course of Kamehameha's unification of the Hawaiian islands in the 1790s, he benefited a great deal from volcanic activities, which gave the impression to at least some, that he was well regarded by Pele- the deity or goddess of volcanos.

After the Battle of Koapapaʻa between Kamehameha and Keōua (ali'i of Ka'u), Keōua's army was forced to retreat after taking heavy losses. Their route away from the battlefield took them by Kīlauea, an active volcano. Normally this would not have been a terribly bad idea, the volcanos of Hawaii tend to leak lava more than erupt it, so there was not imminent danger in cutting through the island by way of Kīlauea. However; despite making offerings to Pele the volcano began erupting, Keōua split his forces in order to avoid Pele's wrath- he stayed behind to perform more rituals to help sooth her, but it was little use as great explosions wiped out several parties of warrior as they retreated, leaving behind only their footprints in the hot stone.

The volcanic explosion took place after the battle, not during, but still played an important role in reducing the amount of forces and opposition that could be rallied in Ka'u against Kamehameha and his unification of the Big Island of Hawaii and subsequent unification of the whole archipelago. Perhaps more important, the volcanic eruption occurring at just the right time to wipe out many of his enemies convinced people that Pele had sided with Kamehameha and given her favor to his endevour.

Keōua was left to retreat with what remained of his forces back to his lands in Ka'u. A year later, after the completion of Puʻukoholā Heiau (Temple of the Hill of the Whale- a Heiau is a large stone religious complex), Keōua was invited to make a peace treaty with Kamehameha. However, the whole thing was a ruse, and upon landing on shore Keōua was captured, shot, or speared- there are contradictory traditions- but no matter whether he died on the beach or later, he was sacrificed to sanctify the Heiau. It is possible that Keōua knew what was going to happen and that he mutilated his body before meeting with Kamehameha so that he would be an imperfect sacrifice; but no matter his intentions, Kamehameha's sacrifice was successful in that the sacrifice of Keōua ended effective resistance on the Big Island and set the stage for Kamehameha to bring all the other islands under his control through martial conquest and marriage alliances.

The battle and event is attested to through Hawaiian oral traditions, archeological investigations, and accounts written down by participants or people with direct knowledge of it some thirty years later. Some online sources that mention the battle and the unification of the islands:

Artrw

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