//------------------------------// // Chapter 1 // Story: The Great Equestrian War // by Thegrohingnation //------------------------------// Camelhoof Plains, May 5th, 10:35am Along the border of Deutschland and Saddle Arabia A company of Deutsche dragoons were patrolling along the Camelhoof plains. It is a barren place, always hot and very few trees. It should be a routine patrol for this company, however rumors spread from the small farming town of Drachenstadt that some shepherds saw a large Saddle Arabian force on the other side of the mountains along the border. There was around 100 in their company. Leading them was Cpt Bren Haas. As they reached the top of Little Rock Hill, Cpt Haas looked out over the Saddle Arabian side. He was shocked. Hundreds if not thousands of tents and soldiers. Some were guarding various areas of their camp. Others were idly talking to each other. Still others were unloading wagons of food and supplies, some were even unloading cannon rounds. They looked as if they are preparing invasion. "What the Hell?" the captain mumbles. His other officers share a glance of confusion before he hands them the binoculars. "Whole damn army down there. Looks like those rumors were true." "Hauptmann, " (Captain)One of the lower officers said." even if they attack right here right now; there's no way we would be able to hold them off till reinforcements arrive. Let alone stop them. They have at least two brigades down there." Cpt Haas thought for a minute before deciding "Alright, here's what we're going to do. Firstly, I need a runner." He states, as a runner rides up to him. he writes out a quick note before handing it to the runner." Take this letter to Col. Wolmans at Fort Little Rock. Tell him to send reinforcements to this location." The young runner salutes and heads off towards the fort." As for the rest of the men, we will pull back a little ways and dig in. We've got to hol-." He was cut off when a cannon was fired at them from the camp. The shell landed a few meters away knocking a few soldiers off their horses. "Shit! Fall back!" He ordered as the couple of soldiers pick themselves off the ground. Looking back down the hill, the dragoons were mortified to see the entire camp charging up the at them. Some of the men fired a couple of shots into the charging mass of ponies, before falling back out of the range of the cannons. Once the company was on their side of the hill, they all dismounted and prepared for battle. Armed with their revolver rifles, the dragoons took cover behind anything they could find. Some took cover behind tree stumps; others behind large rocks, some even just crouched in the tall grass. As they were just getting positioned, the first wave of Saddle Arabian infantry was cresting the top of the hill. "HERE THEY COME!" one of the men shouted. "Keep your heads down, lads!" With that, the dragoons open fired. The first volley struck the horde causing many to drop dead. This was repeated with the second and third volley of gunfire before the Saddle Arabians were ready to return fire. Cpt. Haas could only watch in horror as his men struggled to hide behind what little cover they had. The first volley of enemy fire had already killed twelve of his men and wounded another eight. He could only pray that reinforcements arrive soon. He's not sure how long him and his men will last, but he knows it won't be long. His men's attempt to stop the Saddle Arabians seems fruitless. Even though they've killed a couple hundred, his company is taking severe casualties. Cpt. Haas could order a retreat now and regroup with Col. Wolmans' Regiment. All he has to do is get him and his 32 surviving men to their horses. Peaking out from behind his log, he readied himself to run to his horse "Retreat!" He shouted, "Get to the fort!" As he gets up, a bullet strikes him in the shoulder, before another one hits him in his lower back. He drops to the ground onto his knees. The last thing he sees, is the remains of his men galloping off towards their fort; before falling to the ground where he breaths his last. The mass of Saddle Arabians swarmed the area, before advancing towards the fort. As the 22nd border regiment was preparing to reinforce Cpt. Haas ' dragoons, the remnants of his company arrived at the gate. In total, only 28 made it there. Upon being let in, the survivors immediately took positions along the walls. Second lieutenant Wicki was then approached by Col Wolmans. "Lieutenant, what is the meaning of this? Where is your commanding officer?" He questioned. "Dead sir." Wicki answered with a crisp salute. "We're all that's left. Colonel, we've got to get the men to fortify this place. The Saddle Arabians are coming, sir." "How many?" Col. Wolmans asked. "How many are coming, lieutenant?" "Two maybe three brigades, sir." "Damn. Inform the battery officers, tell them to ready the 4 inch mortars. We're going to need them." "Yes sir." Wicki runs off to find the battery commander, leaving Col. Wolmans to his thoughts. 'If this be my last battle, give me a clean death. A soldiers death." Upon finding the mortar batteries, Wicki is greeted by the short battery commander, Cpt. Adolph Fritz. He was already preparing the mortars for the coming battle with the rest of his men. His battery was a mixture of humans and ponies. Many artillery batteries enlist earth ponies for their strength. Being able to move cannons fast has it's advantages. Transferring the message to Cpt. Fritz, Wicki watched as the men and ponies got to work adjusting the cannons to face the south. He jumped a little when the cannons on the fortress walls began firing, meaning the Saddle Arabians were there. Both him and Cpt. Fritz looks up to see which wall had open fired. Upon seeing smoke from the south cannons, the western guns started firing. "They're trying to flank us!" Cpt. Fritz shouted, as Wicki ran to the walls where the rest of his men are. The remnants of the dragoons were held up on the southwest corner of the fort. "I want half of the mortars to focus their fire to the west and the other half to focus fire on the south! Explosive shells, 900 meters!" A minute later, the mortars opened fire. Wicki watched as the shells rained down on the Saddle Arabian lines. The explosions would throw ponies across the field they were marching across. Some of the shells were exploding above them, sending hot shrapnel crashing into their lines; dropping the soldiers by the dozen. Solid shells fired from the wall cannons also tore through the lines. about ten minutes later, one of the dragoons notices something in the distance and gets Wicki's attention. "Sir what's that?" He asks while pointing to the location. Pulling out a pair of binoculars, he focused in on where the soldier was pointing. What he saw, mortified him. Several 6 pound cannons were being positioned. One of them was pointed right at him and fires. "Oh Shit!" He yells. "Get Down!" He pulls the soldier to the ground, as the shell strikes the wall; sending bits of rock flying up at them. "That was close." The soldier says. Wicki breaths a sigh of relief as several mortar shells pass over the wall. The sounds of musket fire erupted around them. looking out over the wall, Wicki saw that the ponies were close, some were even returning fire. Bodies of ponies litter the field leading up to the walls. He watches as several of the infantrymen are struck by musket fire. A hook tied to a rope lands next to him, before it is pulled back and gets caught on the wall. "They're trying to scale the walls!" He shouted as several dragoons unsheathed their swords. A cannonball struck the ground next to Wicki sending rock fragments into his leg. He cried out in pain as he fell to the ground, clutching his leg. One of the men got to work patching up his leg while the others set up a defensive perimeter around the two. A hand emerges from outside the wall, followed by a head as the ponies begin scaling the walls. The dragoons take the first shots. One pony is stuck twice in the chest as he falls backwards off the wall. Another pony falling forward hang on the battlements. Several other ponies are hit once the step onto the floor. The ponies scale the battlements and return fire before charging with bayonet. The soldiers return with their swords. A fierce hand to hand battle commences on the corner as more and more ponies scale the wall. A group of regular infantry makes their way down the wall to reinforce the dragoons, when a cannonball tears through their group killing five of them instantly. The small group of infantry crashes into the ponies with their bayonets. The dragoons positioned Lt. Wicki against a couple of powder kegs. While they fight hand to hand, he's providing fire from his revolver. One pony charges him before getting shot in the gut, dropping him to his knees. Wicki fires again, striking the pony in the chest; killing him. The onslaught continues as more and more ponies scale the walls. A stray bullet strikes Lt. Wicki in the chest, mortally wounding him. The Saddle Arabian cannon crews shifted their fire from the walls to the gates. It only takes two blasts from the cannons, before the gate comes crashing down. The Saddle Arabians continue to rain fire upon the fortress. Col. Wolmans is positioned close to the mortar batteries. Upon seeing the front gate being blown in, several lower officers and mortar crew members position themselves to halt the pony advancement through the gate, with their revolvers and rifles. Gunfire erupts from the gate and the mortar position. Men and ponies drop dead from the exchange. "Fill those holes in the line!" The Colonel orders. "Hold them ba-ACh!" He's cut off as bullet hits him in the neck. He falls to the ground clutching his neck. A nearby sergeant notices him and rushes up to him. "Colonel! Colonel!" The Sergeant yells as he applies pressure to the wound in attempt to stop the bleeding, but to no avail. Slowly Col. Wolmans' breathing slows and eventually stops. He dies there in the arms of the young sergeant. The Saddle Arabians have taken most of the walls and began firing down upon the human infantry inside. The remnants of the infantry has fallen back towards the center of the fort. One of the officers grab the shoulder of the young sergeant and pull him along to the rally point. "Come on lad, we still need ya." He said. Only a few hundred had made it. They were together in a square formation where the first line was kneeling and the second was standing. " Here they come, Boys!" Someone shouts. The front side of the square fires while the two sides move to face the coming enemy. Once the two lines were in position, they also opened fire. Dozens of ponies fell to the ground having been shot. Their attempts to stop the Saddle Arabian force seemed fruitless. As more Soldiers fell, the slimmer their outcome looked. Eventually, with only 23 soldiers left, the Deutschland survivors surrendered to the Saddle Arabians. An urgent telegram arrives in the Berliner Schloss (Berlin Palace). Sprinting down the hall, the royal telegraph operator carries a message from the border. Reaching the Kaiser's office, he knocks before being let in. "Mein Kaiser. I have an urgent message." He hands the Kaiser the telegram. He does a quick read over. His hands start to shake. "When?" The Kaiser manages. "From when it was sent, I'd say it is still going on." "Then our worst fears have been realized." The Kaiser says softly. "It is time to prepare for the coming war."