//------------------------------// // Chapter 24; Fortress assault // Story: The War of 1002 // by Fireheart 1945 //------------------------------// Snow covered the ground next morning. Although the sun shone brightly, the air was cold, so cold that it was difficult for a human face to bear it without access to a campfire. Soldiers shook snow off their weapons and belongings, complaining all the while about the weather and it's aftermath. James sat down, covered in blankets. The fire in the tent (enclosed in a stove cleverly made from tin cans), though small, kept him from freezing as he set his mind to the task ahead. One of the four enemy columns had been crushed. Now he had to deal with the others. It wouldn't be easy. The opposing forces had probably stopped, and scouts were confirming this theory via magically teleported messages. The weather was keeping the foe from advancing. Those same scouts, however, were reporting that the closest enemy force was building a fortified camp, probably hoping to spend the winter in comfort. It would be hard to quickly march there without being noticed... unless of course, a blizzard covered their tracks. And covered our approach. If we could come up onto that fort under snow fall, at night, we might capture them all without undue casualties. That would be assuming there was such a snow fall... he smacked himself in the head, recoiling from his own cold hand. Idiot. Pegasi can move the clouds and bring the weather we need. As he thought about, though, the harder it was to be convinced this was the proper course. Griffons could fly, and he had seen that they could rest on clouds as well as pegasi without falling through them; they might well have their own pickets in the air, ready to foil such a form of attack. Not to mention the extreme cold that would freeze the pegasi; even their fur and wings wouldn't protect them for long. Again, the benefits of success seemed to outweigh the risks. If this attack succeeded, the enemy would be weakened to the point of being on even terms with the Equestrian army, and another victory would bolster morale on the home front. And he didn't intend to stop fighting just because winter was here; he intended to keep fighting, raiding the foe, breaking their spirit, cutting off their lines of supply, and generally making them miserable. For a foe without morale was a foe who was beaten. Already, some of that was happening. The Unauthorized Regiment (though technically authorized now; the Princess had recognized it as legitimate), used to the local climate, was making bold forays, with reports of ski troopers hitting supply camps and taking caravans of weapons and food. More action, however, was required. And that action would begin by the storming of the fortified camp. He stood up; he had made the decision, and now history (and God, of course) would judge him. ------------------------------------------------------------------- Although his troops complained about it, he gave the orders for the march to take place. It was even harder than the previous march, as snow was everywhere and the random sheet of ice made ponies (and even their human commander) slip every now and again. Five days passed in misery; more and more snow fell, making a fast march impossible. He inevitably heard belly aching, some of it aimed at him; he tried to ignore it as much as he could. Finally, with exhaust and frustration building, they stopped, just a mile or so from the enemy camp. Clearly, they hadn't been noticed yet, as no counterattack had been mounted and conditions inside the camp hadn't changed. James managed to catch a few minutes rest, again covered in blankets; he was so often covered like this that he had heard some of the Equestrians call him "Fuzzball." Again, he ignored it. Night seemed to come slowly, as the sun stretched across the sky as if it too was affected by the cold. Pegasi gathered what clouds they could out of the Griffons' sight, storing them close to the ground; they complained of the terrible cold at the altitude necessary to retrieve them. It'll be worth it if we can take the fort. That was what he told himself whenever he had doubts, and he had them a lot. Before the second forced march and five day's misery, his troops had liked him; now they openly complained about his decisions. Yes, doubt was easy to acquire, hard to expel. This has to work, no matter what. -------------------------------------------------------------- As he watched the pegasi fly off to begin their work, the Colonel fixed his hat upon his head as tight as it would safely go. He turned to the ground force, which he was going to lead in person. "You all know the drill," he said quietly; the night air would likely carry his voice to the enemy if he spoke any louder. "Get your ladders up to the walls as silently and quickly as possible, and hope to God they don't see you. Once we take the walls, we should be able to force a surrender." He took a deep breath. "Begin the operation." His obedient soldiers either physically took up ladders of used magic to lift them. Their hooves had been shod in cloth to deaden the noise they would make. They moved forward, if not in total silence then in something reasonably close to it. James helped to lift one of the ladders, grunting a little at it's weight. The journey to the fort seemed to take forever, although, given the distance, it could not have been more than an hour or so. Snow began to fall, though at first not in the amount James had hoped it would. However, it picked up the longer it went on; soon it was difficult to see the group ahead of his own. By the time he and his force were little more than 500 meters (more or less; it was hard to tell in the blizzard, so he had to guess as best as he could based on reports from scouts coming from the front) from the fort, it was hard to see much of anything. "Come on, come on," he whispered impatiently, "almost there, damn it." He heard something clack against wood up ahead. He hoped it was a ladder going up. "Was ist los?" Damn it! That had certainly been an enemy soldier. "Come on, boys, before that sentry raises the alarm!" he said, much louder than he had been before. More satisfying clunks came from either side as more ladders came to the wall. "Der fiend!" James began to climb the ladder, aware that the sentry was going nuts. More German phrases and curses came from somewhere above him and to the left. There was a clash of metal, and then the sound of a blade htting flesh; a grunt came from a wounded soldier, from which side he knew not. The twang of a crossbow came to his ears, and then the delayed sound of a body hitting the ground on the other side of the wall. Finally! He pulled himself onto the wall and took a quick look around. A unicorn was lying lifeless on the wall, and a dead Griffon was on the ground below. More Equestrian soldiers threw themselves up the ladders, determined to end the fight quickly. He unshouldered his aquired matchlock and took aim at a kilted Griffon emerging from a tent, a sword in his claws. He pulled the trigger; the Griffon dropped his sword, looking utterly shocked as he fell. As James reloaded, he felt a sense of relief; the enemy had been taken completely by surprise, and were either running (or flying) around in confusion or were trying desperately and blindly to fight back. They were failing at the latter; many had no chance to take up arms before being forced to give up. Taking flight (literally) was also not much of an option; the pegasi, back from making the blizzard, were preventing any escape, and Equestrian soldiers were taking more and more positions on the wall, encircling the foe. Soon it would not be a choice of win or lose for the Griffons; it would be a matter of surrender or death. A Griffon in a red coat tried to rally the defenders, ignoring the fact that he and his forces were outmatched. Quarrels flew into the enemy from all sides, severely impacting the Griffons' ability to keep fighting. James took aim at the officer and fired, missing him entirely. The Griffon ignored the shot (or just didn't hear it in all the commotion) and waved his sword. His troops fired, and screams came from the Equestrian attackers. This failed to halt the momentum of the assault. Within minutes most of the resisters were dead or wounded, and the rest simply threw down their arms and quit. James leaned on a post nearby, sighing with relief. ------------------------------------------------------------ Interrogating the enemy didn't take long. It was clear they had had no idea that such a powerful attack had been upon them until it was far too late. They had seen the pegasi setting off, as it turned out, but they hadn't sent out more than a few pickets to interfere with them, which had been key to the success of the assault. Most of the garrison had been taken alive, with 1,756 prisoners being taken, including wounded. It was a decent bag, with Equestrian casualties being very low, with only a few dozen wounded and seven dead. The Griffons had been caught utterly by surprise. James was present at the interrogation of the enemy commander, who was very angry at the easy victory his opponents had enjoyed and who completely lost it when James thanked him for the fort. Not that that thanks wasn't sincere; he intended to make it into his base of operations for the winter campaign. The stocks of food and water at the fort were abundant, almost moreso than his own supplies, which allowed for better rations. He set himself up in one of the cabins; it made for more comfortable dwelling than a tent, especially in winter. A fireplace kept him warm as he set about planning further moves. Other cabins allowed his army, or some of it (the fort was designed to hold 2,000 people, not something a bit below 4,000) to house themselves well. He intended to expand the size of the base eventually. James was fiddling with the map again, when the door opened. He turned to see a familiar blue-gray pony step inside and quickly shut the door. "Mornin', Blue Fur." "Greetings, friend," came the reply. "It's colder than iced tea out there." "Good thing the fire is warm," the human said, gesturing to the fire. "Indeed." Blue Fur took off his glasses and blew on them for a few seconds before replacing them on his face. "The weather is not the reason I'm here, though." "I didn't think so. What's new?" "The inferior artillery we took from the Griffons. We don't need them, and all they do is take up space. In any event they would be difficult to use this season. I suggest taking them apart and using their wooden components to create skis for our troops." "Hmmm... Seems reasonable, but it won't create enough skis for everyone to use, I'm afraid." "I'm well aware of that; I AM an engineer, you know. However, I was not suggesting equipping everypony with skis, just a core of soldiers from around these parts." James thought about it. "Yeah, I guess we can do that. Just be aware that the majority of the army isn't from this region." "I'll bear it in mind. In any event, we should really expand this base; we have insufficient lodging for everypony." "I know, I know, but time and convienence. I can't do a dozen things at once. I'll have it done as early as possbile, but it's not going to be done overnight." "Just giving you a reminder, Colonel. And I have urgent business elsewhere, so if you'll excuse me..." "Oh, please, don't let me stop you." He waited until his friend had left before going back to the maps. it would be difficult to roll up the other two enemy units, but maybe he didn't have to; ski troops could pester the Griffons enough to keep them on their heels until winter passed. At least, that was his plan. The fort would be the base from where he would give commands. Small units would be sent on a guerrilla-style campaign, with orders to annoy and harrass the enemy at every turn and to avoid a major engagement. And skis would really help that plan. ----------------------------------------------------------------- Sorry if I haven't been updating that much, I'll try to post a bit more. Just be aware my school schedule might interfere with it. First German sentence; "What is going on/ what's happening?" Second German sentence; "The enemy!"