James sat, his head and shoulders sticking out of the commander's hatch of a Gallop tank, watching as the army continued to move forward. "Keep going boys," he shouted. "Sweat now might well save blood later!"
At least, I hope it does, he thought to himself. Since the "Whirlwind Advance," as the papers called it, had begun, he'd tried to keep the army moving, in the hope of giving the enemy no time to really entrench and stop the offensive. He knew it would be taxing, but forcing the enemy to retreat rather than stop and make another costly stand would be worth the price. What was the use of rest if it meant more casualties? Better a soldier panting and exhausted than one six feet under. Or so he was telling himself.
Luckily, there had been little complaining. Perhaps ponies were better at running long distances without tiring than humans, but whatever the reason, most of the army was trotting along at a decent pace. Throughout the week the advance had kept going, and Grayfeather had been forced to pull back under constant pressure from the Equestrian tanks. Now that the army was out of the woods and in the plains, it could move, and boy, was it ever!
Pegasi were flying overhead, guns at the ready; others, currently out of sight, were watching the opposing army and keeping tabs on it. Hourly reports were coming in, and at last there was some measure of encouragement. Enemy soldiers were marching with their heads down and with a slackness that indicated hopelessness in the common trooper. A supply dump had been torched, and here and there farms were burned to the ground by the retreating forces to keep their provisions out of Equestrian hooves. Clearly, enemy morale was at an all time low.
We'll lick them, James thought, a tiny, almost unnoticeable smile forming on his face. Just a matter of "when." May God grant its soon. I know my soldiers are sick of the war, and I am too. Sick of having good people die on my watch, tired of being in this beautiful land just to destroy everything, he added, looking at his clenched fist. How long has it been? Almost a year now, it must be. And almost every day it feels like its more destruction, more people hurt, more people dead, because of two stupid, selfish rulers wanted so much to control the world that they tried to wipe a nation that had not offended them under their appendages.
He took a breath, letting it out of his nose. This is what you wanted, James, he told himself. You wanted control of an army, you wanted to be all loved and famous. How does it feel? How does it feel now?
...If only I could have come at a time of peace... but I must fight. And I'd fight again if I had to, because surrender is not my forte... But...
WHAM! James felt himself slam painfully into the back of the hatch as the vehicle was rattled by the impact of an incoming projectile. "Agh!"
"Are you hurt, sir?" came a voice from inside the tank.
"Not permanently," James answered. Yeah, that'll do. "Where did that shot come from?"
"I think it came from that hedgerow up ahead," the driver answered.
James stared ahead, toward the supposedly offending foliage. Doesn't look like there's anything- wait, is that a gun?
A black muzzle moved out from the bush, and fired. The shot slammed into the tank again, but the shield once more ate the force that otherwise might have ripped the armored vehicle and its occupants to pieces.
"Blow that gun off the face of the earth!" James shouted.
"Yes, sir!" the gunner shouted back. "Eat this, you birds!"
BOOM! The smaller, but still potent, gun of the Gallop fired. in the distance, there was a loud Clang!, and the gun jerked slightly.
James' eyebrows narrowed. There shouldn't be any substantial metal in that bush to hit other than the gun itself, and personal body armor wouldn't make that loud a sound. That can't be good... Hold on, is the entire bush moving!?
It was. Suddenly, a blast of smoke had arisen, not from the gun, but from behind the bush, and then the whole thing started to advance toward the Equestrians.
"Tank!" the gunner shouted. "That thing's a camouflaged tank!"
"I see it!" James yelled back. "Just shoot the sorry so and so!"
The Gallop's gun fired again. There was another Clang! and this time James could see the shot bounce off. It wasn't a total loss; some of the camouflage began to fall off, revealing the bush to be the mechanical monstrosity it was.
James' first impression of the enemy vehicle was to ask himself whether or not Leonardo Da Vinci had visited this world at one time. The beast before him, or what he could make out of it from the junk the enemy had used to conceal it, resembled the Italian genius' armored car too closely for him to believe, here and in the moment, that it was a coincidence.
The rest of the hedgerow began to shudder as well. It's an entire line of these monsters! James exclaimed in his mind as the enemy armor began moving toward the Equestrian forces.
More Equestrian tanks began to fire as they woke up to the sudden threat before them. Pegasi also fired, for all the good it did them; their bullets, and most of the tanks' ordinance, bounced off the wide, upside-down cone-shaped armor that covered most of the enemy vehicles' bodies. One of the enemy contraptions must have been struck under the armor, for it suddenly exploded, with the numerous cannons inside it flying off like rockets.
"Aim underneath the steel plate," James ordered. "Aim for the place the guns are sticking out of!"
"We might hit the guns rather than the tank, sir."
"Fire regardless. We can't let these things stop us, or even delay us."
"Yes, sir."
The enemy began firing in earnest as well. They were only firing a few guns at a time, but then, that was the trouble these behemoths suffered. And even if they had only three guns in one vehicle firing, and not all eight or nine or ten or however many they held, they were still firing more guns per machine than the Equestrians.
As the enemy continued their reckless charge, James began to suspect that they weren't going to try to stop. Yes... If they get in our midst, they'll be able to fire almost liberally in any direction, and hit our armor where its weakest; in the side and the rear. And if their plan is to get into our rear and wreak havoc, we'd have to stop and engage them anyway. whether or not they stop us or just delay us using such tactics, they'd have succeeded in crimping our advance. Well, that's not going to happen.
"Smash 'em!" he yelled.
The Equestrian forces were doing their best. The Barrels were having the better luck, given that they had bigger guns. Two more enemy machines out of the ten or so that had begun the ambush were dead, one from another explosion and the other blasted into motionless metal by explosive shells, with the crew struggling to get out. The remainder of the enemy machines kept coming, though; since both sides were moving, it was difficult to aim properly. Both sides had their share of misses.
And hits. A Gallop suddenly blew apart; the operators were immediately gone, scattered to the four winds, and the ruined husk, no more than a heap of useless metal, ran into a ditch and there stuck, flames spewing out its every orifice. James winced; the only good news was that the crew would have almost certainly have perished instantaneously, before the flaming inferno that had once been a tank had consumed them. Even with shields, the Equestrian armor couldn't hold out forever, nor did it. He could see other shields flickering or else going out; that Gallop wouldn't be the last Equestrian casualty.
A Barrel shuddered from a hit, but it kept going. It returned fire. The enemy tank that had hit it had the muzzle of one of its guns ripped off. Another enemy tank fired, blowing off one of the four big wheels on the Barrel, which stopped, leaning to its right. The crew began to evacuate, a smart decision, given that their vehicle was now a sitting duck. Moments later another shell finished off the Barrel, but the crew had managed to get to safety in a small depression in the ground.
Both sides were closing. A Barrel and an enemy tank that had been firing away at one another without result crashed in a head-on collision; the metal of both vehicles crumpled around the point of impact. The bigger tank's ammunition must have ignited in the collision, because the griffon tank exploded, taking the smaller machine with it. Both units began to burn, as the few survivors struggled to escape.
James' Gallop shot at one of the enemy machines from the side. James could see, even as the gunner aimed for another shot, as the cannon of the opposing machine aimed squarely at his own. Instinctively, he pulled out his pistol and emptied the chambers into the enemy machine. It did nothing useful physically, but it made him feel like he had some measure of a say in his own possible demise. Fortunately, the shield on the Gallop held the deadly projectile out. He could hear the enemy gunners curse fiercely, and professionally he could understand why; a good shot wasted because of an advantage they did not themselves share. Unprofessionally, he was just glad to be alive for the time being.
BAM! A shot from the Gallop finally managed to hit under the armor; he heard screaming coming from the other vehicle, which suddenly stopped moving. It was still firing away, but there was a violent burst of smoke coming out of the funnel to the rear that was one of the relatively few diversions from Da Vinci's design that he could make out. Clearly, their engines were knocked out. More shells came in, blasting the crippled machine; wheels, guns, and pieces of metal and wood flew from the impacts. The enemy crew began to evacuate; several were cut down by rifle and cannon fire, but some managed to get into cover.
That's five of them out vs. three of ours. The energy shields are making a difference. That, and the fact that we outnumber them.
Nor was the contest one merely of titans. A rather brazen pegasi flew in, clutching a cannon shell, and shoved it into the barrel of an enemy cannon. The griffon crew must not have noticed, because they attempted to fire regardless. The resulting explosion blew up not only that particular gun, but also the crews and pieces next to it. A unicorn used his magic to shove a wrench into the drive mechanisms; a wheel on the left side fell off, and the behemoth collapsed on it's side, it's belly - facing away from James - vulnerable to Equestrian fire. Moments later, a couple of dull thuds sounded, and a dense cloud of black smoke poured from the mortally wounded beast, its remaining crew choking as they tried to escape.
The griffons in the remaining vehicles - now down to four - quickly noticed the bothersome pegasi who had begun to swoop in, attempting more sabotage. Here and there, rifles were fired; two of the brave pegasi crashed to the ground, one crying out and the other ominously silent.
"There's more of those rag-wearing guys up ahead, sir," the gunner shouted over the noise."
"What?" James exclaimed, though he'd heard perfectly well. Sure enough, a platoon of penal soldiers was moving forward, armed with what appeared at first glance to be gigantic clubs.
"What do they think they're going to do, club us to death?" the driver asked contemptuously.
"I'm not so sure that's what they are..." James looked harder. It was difficult to tell what the objects the enemy were holding; the tank was moving and running over bumps in the ground. "I don't like it, whatever they're doing. They wouldn't just send these guys on a mission without some chance of hurting us, even if these are their poor relations, so to speak." He motioned to a band of pegasi currently flying over the battlefield. One nodded toward him, indicating that he was paying attention. James motioned with his hand toward the griffon platoon. The pegasus nodded, and began shouting to others of his kind to follow.
The four enemy tanks still in operation continued to advance; now that they were in the midst of the Equestian armor, they were blasting away with every gun available to them, smoke and fire starting to obscure the field. Another Equestrian tank, another Barrel, finally had its shields stripped away and took a hit to its side, which apparently didn't penetrate. Another shell followed close behind the first, which unfortunately succeeded where its predecessor had not. The Barrel blew sky high, its cannon flying forward and upwards, and metal went flying in all directions. A second Gallop was also knocked out, but unlike its comrade had taken the hit to its engine compartment, allowing the crew to evacuate.
James took the moment to reload his revolver. While the pegasi were sniping off the club-wielding platoon, they weren't managing to hit all of them, and two were getting close.
The Gallop's main gun fired; instead of a shell, this time it was firing canister. What happened to one of the enemy soldiers was not worth speaking of, considering what was left of him. However, the large "club" on the end of his stick violently exploded upon being hit.
"Those are bombs!" James took quick aim and fired at the second one, who was still coming. The first bullet missed. James cursed viciously in French, and fired again, this time actually striking the oncoming foe in the leg. The griffon tripped and fell, one claw clutching his leg, the other attempting to feebly poke the tank with his weapon.
James shot again. This time, the enemy simply stopped moving. He wiped the sweat off his brow; that had been too close for comfort. "Don't run over another of the bombs," he yelled to the driver. "Drive over one of them, and you'll blow us to the moon!"
"Got it, sir!"
By now, the engagement had caught the attention of a battery of field guns on the Equestrian side. Looking back, James could see four guns firing at one of the four enemy tanks still left. one shell missed, two bounced of the metal plating, but one got in under the shielding. There was an explosion, though the tank didn't quite blow apart.
Seven down... three to go.
The last three hostile vehicles were almost through the Equestrian armor by now. They began taking aim at the battery. A limber was hit; a sudden, thunderous roar announced the complete obliteration of the limber, along with three soldiers who had been too close to it.
James cursed again. Obviously, some of the Equestrian armor would have to go back and take on the enemy. Without a radio to coordinate the tanks, he had no real ability, other than waving his hands in the mere hope the drivers would understand, to convey the message.
Fortunately, he didn't have to. Several Gallops turned around and began firing at the rear of the enemy vehicles. A couple Barrels also turned, which was less satisfying, considering the relatively slow speed of those peculiar tanks, but there was little he could do about that. One of the three tanks was blasted repeatedly from the rear and expired, flame bursting from it as it began to burn.
The remaining two kept going, though, as if nothing had happened. They shelled the battery with ferocity, knocking three guns and their crews out of the fight. The last gun crew, however, managed to damage the axle of one of their attackers before being blasted into oblivion; that hostile was targeted by the tanks that had turned back, and abruptly ceased to be in a colossal explosion.
The final tank continued, moving toward a regiment that had come up to help and had not realized, up until now, what they were getting themselves into. Shells began falling in their ranks as the outgunned soldiers returned fire uselessly, their bullets mostly bouncing off or getting stuck where they could do no harm.
Their agony did not last long. Three Gallops closed in, firing for all they were worth. The final enemy tank had its wheels blown off and was subsequently blasted from three sides at once. It began to burn, but it's guns continued to fire, nicking one of its attackers. However, it could not prolong its demise, and finally died with a roar as the ammunition caught. Fire and smoke flew into the air as the battle finally came to an end.
James let out a sigh of relief. He hadn't expected to get into a major engagement; he'd wanted to ride in one of the Gallops in order to know what it felt like. Well, now he knew.
The surviving penal platoon members meekly threw up their claws when they saw that their last tank had exploded. They carefully set their weapons down, indicating that the bombs were sensitive, something he'd have to take into account later. The pegasi who had been flying overhead landed and started taking them prisoner.
"How did our reconnaissance fail to see this?" he asked himself, though he knew the answer already; the enemy had camouflaged their vehicles and had waited in ambush. As for the platoon, they'd probably had an even easier time of hiding than the tanks had; put a bush or pile grass or hay on top of themselves, and they'd have been fairly well hidden. He decided to have a talk with the pegasi scouts, but he wasn't all that keen on haranguing them for the battle. The enemy had some say of what happened in the war, after all.
Already, the various tanks that had turned back had turned once again and were advancing. however, they were well behind the rest of the group. It would take a while for the Barrel in particular to catch up. He sighed again, this time in mild frustration. The enemy hadn't stopped the advance, but had inflicted casualties and proven that they weren't going to skimp on their productivity either; that had been a lot of cannons placed in the enemy tanks; assuming eight guns each for the ten tanks, that was eighty cannons thrown away along with the vehicles.
I really hope they didn't have a follow-up plan, because this would be the time to hit us with an artillery barrage, while our tanks are spread out.
The advance continued. After an hour without any interesting activity, James concluded that the enemy hadn't intended to follow up on their tank attack.
What did they do it for, then? he thought about that, wincing slightly as the tank drove over a pothole. There wasn't a practical reason to throw those tanks down the drain. They had to know it would eventually fail.
The more he thought about it, the more he kept coming to the same, grim conclusion. They wanted to show us that they, too, have a tank program going on. They wanted to hurt our morale and raise their own. And they probably want to boast to their own people of their own tank attack, conveniently forgetting to add in the defeat, of course. And, naturally, they wanted to prove to us that they won't just throw in the towel. James nodded. That seemed to fit the facts.
"Five of our own tanks, plus a battery of guns wiped out," he said out loud. "We have to beat them before their factories really start working, we really do. Hopefully, this mess doesn't last much longer..."
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Grayfeather watched through a spyglass as the last of the griffon tanks blew up. He grunted; he wasn't pleased that the enemy hadn't been driven back, but he was satisfied that the enemy had had a difficult time with them.
His aide was less pleased. Slapping his knee in anger, he said, "That should have driven them back into the forests, curse them!"
"Hold your temper in check. We have more coming off the assembly lines, and how else would we know how to properly correct mistakes, other than testing our machines in battle? besides, now the enemy knows we have our own program designed to counter their own. Rest assured, with the Empire largely united, and with resources shared as they should be - For the Emperor's good - we'll soon out-produce them, and gain Equestrian soil again."
The aide didn't reply. Grayfeather watched quietly. They'd both taken shelter behind a large, wild bush that had grown in the grasslands. They'd both been shielded from the enemy patrols.
My army needs as much of a boost as it can, he thought as he prepared to bug out of the area. Morale is dying, and we need every soldier to be doing his best now more than ever. "We'll making stands every so often. If we can't stop them on the grasslands, though, I see little that will halt them short of Ragna Fortress, south of the Capital."
"In the mountains, sir?"
"Yes. In the Valley of Bones. If we need to. Considering that we have other machines on the way, and more griffons coming into the army, whether willingly or not, we should be able to stop them at some point before then."
Almost as if on cue, griffon anti-air cannons - copied from captured Equestrian designs - began firing at the pegasi who were over head. The two griffons took flight - making sure to stay low to the ground, of course - and began making their way northward, toward the griffon army that awaited further orders.
------------------------------------------------------
So the griffons are going down the German way.....damn. We need another war before the sexy Tiger comes out
6993949 Nah, give the Tiger to the Equestrians and give the T-34 to the Griffons since they like to send suicidal charges so much.
Gorgeous Tiger is Gorgeous
encrypted-tbn1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQ0v3S1TeC7nrSBpakHmY6-4luOZCVJQxOTeNMtd1kFrvcNUOrN
I have a feeling there's going to a "Battle of the Bulge" scenario here soon. The Griffons are going to throw everything they have at the Equestrians in hopes of breaking them only to be slowed down and their tanks run out of fuel. Either that or the Griffon rebels are going to start really hurting the Imperial forces something fierce, thus forcing them to fight a much bigger war on two fronts.
6994009 Tiger II is a lot better. James probably know about the whole slope armor thing....Tiger II for Heavy tank and replacement for Barrel and T-34-85 to replace Gallop.
German tank have great firepower and armor but not much in mobility when compare to the Russian tanks.
The griffon seem fond of many guns, heavy armor and charging recklessly....Weird hybrid of T-35, T-28, KV, T-34 with just a touch of Tiger.
6994158
tanks-encyclopedia.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/1354558857-kv-vi-rendu-wot2.jpg
encrypted-tbn2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQbIf7k8OH9zx5hXazs_qgNdudpF_PQkHfiGhdXrcIoMM5xQroo
orig06.deviantart.net/1188/f/2010/238/4/0/not_nuff_dakka_by_revampednight.jpg
6994180 bahahahahahahaha....
I like the look of KV-VI!
6994192 No comrade, the KV-2-2-2 is stronk. Built by the very hands of Stalin himself.
6994195
6994074 So do I...
I'm been having the same feeling something of that nature will happen, the Griffons will play their last card & James & his stallions (I could say "his men", but they are horses after all) will be surrounded. The Griffons will come up with their own version of tank to counter the Equestrian. Nice choice of tanks for the Griffons! A Leonardo Da Vinci style tank!
Well, the introduction to enemy tanks just made it harder for the Equestrians t beat. And I've got a feeling that this campaign is going to take a LOOOONG while. Usually war does.
6994195 Heh heh heh, yeah, would love to play. The upper two guns would probably miss everything, though (gun depression :/)
6994389 Thanks!
6994444 Yes, wars can and usually do take awhile. This one's lasted for some time already, so...
6994587 No no no comrade. Provided you've sacrificed enough political dissidents to the Gulag, the hand of the ghost of Stalin shall reach up from the depths of hell and guide the shots to the target.
6994158 Tiger II may be better, but Tiger I is sexier.
6994705 I think the curves of IS would look sexier...Those smooth curves and smooth surface...hmmmm...that big gun...
It's
The question I want answered is 'How they got a hold of da Vinci's tank plans?' While the tank would be the most dangerous to the Equestrians at this point, it does leave some worries. Looking forward to more.
Keep up the good work. Deus tecum.
6995610 Just wanted to put the design for the machine into a workable mainframe. It would have been interesting if someone had come up with an alternate history where Da Vinci's war machines actually got put to use. Think of what would have happened had blitzkrieg been invented in 1575...
6994705 Except for the "sex" part I agree completely. Tiger I looks better.
6996017 A lot of tanks stuck or overturned with Europe's uneven terrain. Those disks have no give what-so-ever. Anything more than a slight rise or bump would get it (like I said) either stuck or flipped over. On even terrain, or on city streets wide enough, it would be a beast, but without something like modern treads to 'give' over uneven terrain, yeah, no.
Sorry if this flies in face of your fic at this point, but tanks have always been a passion of mine, and while da Vinci's plans look awesome, they just wouldn't cut it well enough on a time specific battlefield to make a difference.
6994702 img.ifcdn.com/images/2469004d4e4b0d0eec2afbf664f00f365b35c08b3072501fa5184de8b602d8de_1.jpg
Jingles approves
img.ifcdn.com/images/ff26e18feaea6c7e170918570982e8020bd426c210da3911936c655d8b11b837_1.jpg
James should know the solution, this is an easy problem to fix. The enemy has big powerful tanks that they can only produce in limited numbers. They can't switch over to build a new model easily and they can't pull tanks off the line for refitting without leaving gaps.
Solution 1: Design an anti tank gun with an armour piercing shell. Shouldn't be too hard considering AT guns are much easier to mass produce than tanks. Range is your friend in armoured warfare, so a long barrelled AT gun would make a good addition.
Solution 2: Build a better tank. The A7V design is clunky and rubbish, however, it would only take a bit of tinkering to turn it into this: alternativefinland.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/skoda_t-25_medium_tank.jpg
Half the crew size, a third the actual size, a much more powerful gun, sloped armour, and more agile.
6997510 Me think this one would be easier to make...
static-ptl-eu.gcdn.co/dcont/tankopedia_images/vk3002db/vk3002db_image.png
VK30.02DB, inspired by Soviet T-34.
www-d0.fnal.gov/~turcot/Armour/pz4_files/vk3002db.jpg
Since it is a prototype kind of tank (It lost to Panther in taking the place on the production line). It can have an 8.8cm gun, a 7.6cm gun, a 7.5cm gun with 2 or 1 7.62mm medium machine gun.
6996454 Yeah, okay. As stated, I just wanted to put these designs out there, and the griffons have seen how their new machines work. In the future, they may decide to upgrade...
6997510 Not a bad idea. Too bad those tanks only saw service in the hands of the Nazi war machine, and not in the service of the Czechs who designed them...
6999340 Oho! It gets crazier and closer to early 20th centuries later down the line. That is all I'm going to say.
6999340 Thank you. As we see in the course of the show, they have 19-20 century tech, as well as the idea of tanks and bullets. Then we see the Royal Guard just armed with spears. That's somewhat of the technology bubble. I guess they're trying to keep the show somewhat in an understandable, noble script, but there is a conundrum when there are trains running through the country but the military only has weapons from a thousand or so years ago.
7000199 you could give the Equestrians the Panzer III Tank
7000023
Ok. I'm still 12 chapters behind, so I'll take your word for it.
7000199
Yes I was aware of that as well. And your welcome.
I guess the show wants to be in a sort of 'Timeless' frame or sense in comparison to ours.
Also, have you ever played 'Rise of Nations' before? In that game, players can sometimes advance certain technological/Age developments and even troops, while still behind in others.
7001753 Oh yes. I have it, and it's awesome. I like to play the Cold War scenario. And I completely understand; you can be in the Gunpowder Age, but, because your military wasn't upgraded, you still have (or can still have) Hoplites from the Ancient Age, instead of the Heavy Pikemen that are their equivalent for the age.
Another thing I've done is play a situation like Operation Barbarossa; four Germans and three Russians plus myself (also Russian) on two separate teams (with the nukes off, that ruins the fun :(), and basically have us set on a rush timer which bans us from attacking each other for a while (so that both sides have time to build up so that the situation that develops feels realistic, instead of). After that, the AI declares war on its own, and we have a war to the death against each other. No, this isn't an online game (all the other players are bots), but its still fun.
7045510 Thanks, my friend
7045631 A sort of post-Civil War rifle. Ponies have a type of four-shot magazine weapon, griffons have started making five shot weapons, though some of their guns have just been modified from their original version as opposed to being built from scratch.
Not like that hasn't happened before. The Japanese smiths, during the Meiji restoration, took out matchlocks that had been used in the days of the Sengoku Jidai and remade them into percussion cap rifles, and then re-remade them into bolt actions for the Russo-Japanese War. (Source; Giving up the gun, by an author whose name I've forgotten :/)
7045520
7002290
Anytime pal.
And that sounds cool btw.
Awww, I finally caught with everyone else already?
Oh well. Looking forward to the next chapter that comes out.
7045655
Hmmm, ok. I kinda figured out some of that, though I had always thought the Equestrians were using a 10 shot magazine rifle for some reason.
And what form of repeating action are they using? Bolt-action, Under-lever, Pump-action (never been used for military rifles, but could be more suited for ponies in my opinion), or maybe even Semi-Automatic?
And yeah, the converted matchlocks mostly made me think of the Snider-Enfield and Trapdoor Springfield rifles.
7045784 Well, sort of a bolt-action, but the bolt sticks out, so that the pony holding it can get a better hold on it. The guns aren't really on the level of Mauser 98s, but somewhere between the Civil War and the Spanish-American War in terms of technology. I know that's not particularly informative, and that's my fault (my minds on other stories right now), but I hope it helps.
7046121
Okay. So perhaps along the lines of the French Lebel Model 1886 or Mauser 1871/84, except with a detachable box magazine, rather than a tubular one. And same with the Griffons too? Or would their rifle bolt be more ergonomically suited for them, and/or better designed, based on the (later) Mausers or Lee-Enfields/Lee-Metfords?
Anyways, thanks, and good luck on your other stories.
7062790 Thanks, but I'm not that great.
7063742 have you thought of doing a mlp fic based on any of the total war series? like the empire darthmod total war game? also it seems you may have played simuar games
or have experince in war strategy .