Grand Hamlet (WC1 Human)

Grand Hamlet is the second mission of the Human campaign in Warcraft: Orcs & Humans. In this mission, the human Regent defends the town of Grand Hamlet from an impending attack by the Orcs.

''The Orcs around Grand Hamlet are becoming increasingly brazen in their attacks, and our spies inform us that they are amassing a large army to march against the town. The King is sending you, along with a small detachment of troops, to rally the people and defend the town against all opposition.''

''A small village near the Borderlands is being attacked by an Orcish invasion force. You must take what few troops remain available to the King and defend the town for as long as possible. If the King can raise funds, reinforcements may be on the way...''

''King Llane has desperate need of your continued leadership in the battle against the Orc invasion of Azeroth. The coffers of the Kingdom are being bled dry by war, however, so your contribution is required to raise money for more armies. You will be able to augment your forces with brave, mounted knights and powerful conjurers that can summon creatures to fight for your cause. There are also great dangers that await you, as there are mines to be explored, monsters to be vanquished, and the evil forces of the Orc War Chief Blackhand to be conquered. The fate of Azeroth awaits!''

Information gathered from human spies revealed that large numbers of Orcs were closing in for an attack upon the unsuspecting village of Grand Hamlet. After having successfully established a farming community in the previous mission, King Llane assigns the Regent to the task of defending Grand Hamlet from the Orcs' invading forces.

The Regent dispatches several groups of footmen and archers out to meet up with the Orcish grunts and spearmen. Crossing the bridges of the nearby river to the west, the humans discovered more Orc patrols within the area, which they managed to defeat through isolated clashes and skirmishes. With the Orcish patrols defeated, the humans succeed in defending Grand Hamlet from the Orcs' raid.

In the Warcraft: Orcs & Humans game demo, the Orcs completely overrun the town of Grand Hamlet as the last human defenders fight to their deaths and the village is destroyed.

• Kingdom of Azeroth
• 1+ Peasants
• 2+ Footmen
• 1+ Archers

• Orcish Horde
• 7 Grunts
• 9 Spearmen

• In the game demo, the humans end up losing the battle, while in the retail game, they end up winning the battle. The game's demo states that King Llane will send reinforcements if possible, so it is possible that he managed to send reinforcements and that's why in the retail game the humans defend Grand Hamlet. Another possibility is that the game demo mission takes place after the retail game mission in order of chronology, and is the equivalent of the orcish mission to destroy Grand Hamlet, confirmed to have happened in later sources. It is also possible that it is a tongue-in-cheek reference to needing real players to buy the retail game so that the story can advance.
• In the game demo, the previous mission is Kyross.