• Published 16th Sep 2012
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The War of 1002 - Fireheart 1945



A young man with a love of military history and MLP;FIM finds himself dragged into Equestria.

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Chapter 77; Siege of Gryphos

Allied artillery fired on the griffon defenders, who retaliated in kind with their own. Explosions sounded almost constantly as the siege entered it's third day; dust and mud flew through the air at each detonation. The two armies, in their respective trenches, watched one another... though not too closely, as snipers on both sides waited for anyone to show themselves for even a moment. It was death to venture outside a trench, even for a moment. Screams from the occasional casualties sounded across the battlefield.

Much closer than he had been before, James looked once more at the city that was the home of the enemy ruler... from a safe distance, watching from the thin space between a tree and a rock, binoculars on his face. The palace - minus the pieces blown off by the sniper cannons - was still very much in play, as servants and guards, well out of range of the rifles and conventional artillery, continued to go about their business, as did the average griffon subject in the street. The square in the middle of the city still seemed to be in play, as the citizens continued to walk through it. Few, however, were flying, probably out of fear of anti-air fire... as if the allies would deliberately target civilians. Or perhaps there was some decree that forbade flying for whatever reason.

The enemy had fortified the city well. Trenches stretched between the forts, as well as in front of them. Ditches had been dug, including really deep ones that prevented any successful mining. Artillery was positioned in areas where they could do the most damage - heavy artillery in the rear, medium-sized ones in a central position, and light artillery in the forward trenches, well protected by bunkers. Gatling guns were also located in smaller bunkers. All the bunkers could be protected from sniping by planks or sheets of iron that could be placed against the openings when they were not in use.

James lowered the binoculars. He knew the city would fall, but the cost of a frontal assault, even if successful would be ruinous. While a long siege would also be useful, the victory would come at the cost to the civilian population, and it would also chew up countless amounts of money and supplies... not the mention the lives of the soldiers involved, however lower that might be than a major assault might be.

"This is going to be a challenge," he thought out loud.

He took another look. The Allied army encircled the city, preventing it's reinforcement or resupply. Allied numbers grew daily due to more griffons recognizing the situation for what it was and joining the fight to be rid of the tyrannical ruler now claiming to be an emperor. Still, while the Allies outnumbered the enemy as a whole, if the enemy really concentrated their strength on one piece of the line, they might succeed in doing some measure of damage. For now, the enemy were encaged in their capital. That didn't mean they wouldn't try to break out. While waiting for the plan to take the city to develop, the Allies would have to be cautious.

James lowered the binoculars, ducked behind the rock, and began writing ,on a small piece of paper; Walls need to come down. Mortars brought up to shell trench lines. Scouting to be done at night. Logis-

There was a mix of a metallic crumpling noise mixed with shattered glass. The binoculars, struck by a bullet, broke apart.

He cursed quietly. Naturally, snipers would be looking out for any movement, and particularly anyone trying to watch their lines. If he hadn't pulled back behind the rock when he had...

No need to think about that. What matters now is getting out of this silly situation.

It was too difficult. Since he was on a rise of ground, all he had to do was pull back slowly, in a sort of backwards crawl. The enemy sniper must have seen parts of him, though, because a couple more shots came his way. Neither bit, for which he thanked God, but which added to the tension, and he was glad to be out of the enemy's line of sight.

Have to warn our scouts not to go up there anymore, he thought as he scrambled to his feet, now safely behind the rise. Assuming that sniper's not stupid, he'll tell someone about that spot. Pity. I liked that location.

An obvious solution would be for a unicorn to cast a shield spell. While that might work in theory, a big bubble of magical energy was sure to be a target for guns much larger than those common soldiers could hope to carry, and since the griffons had yet to invent a shield device of their own, that meant that Equestrian scouts would be the victims of enemy artillery if they attempted such a thing.

He made his way back to the allied headquarters, quietly going over what he'd seen as he entered his tent.

"I thought you'd be gone a lot longer," Luna said, seated at a table with Shining Armor and Graywing.

"I would have, if a sniper hadn't succeeded in shooting my binoculars."

"Ah, yes. This is unlike most battlefields that I've been on or participated in. This siege is to no one's advantage. We consume supplies, money, and worst of all, soak up casualties sitting here waiting for them to starve."

"While griffon people suffer an' die in the streets waitin' fer tha' outcome," Graywing mused grimly.

"And a major assault would be much more costly," Shining said. "That said, I don't think anyone in this tent believes that the current regime is going to give up; we'll have to go in and remove them."

"Our sniper cannons should be able to reduce the walls, given enough time," James reasoned. "Waiting for a while and then striking seems the best idea. In the meantime, we keep going with the regular stuff; raiding, sniping of our own, and artillery bombardments to weaken their defenses and boost our morale, as well as gaining intelligence and trying to find weak spots in their positions."

"I concur," Luna said, "though I'd add that we are missing an advantage; magic. My sister and I might be at risk on a modern battlefield, but we can still cast spells, and one that we're not doing is casting shield spells to protect our army from enemy attack."

"I've been thinking about it," Shining said. "Actually," he added, with a look at James, "we've been thinking about it, and how best to use it. Unfortunately, during the battle at Sugar Cane, enemy artillery was able to break through our shields after a few minutes of concentrated fire."

"But the enemy are encircled in the city," Luna replied. "Even if they break through some of the shields, they can't hope to break them all, as their ammunition for all weapons must be limited."

"Agreed," James said. "Shining didn't say we weren't going to use them; we'll just use them where and when it is convenient for us." James walked to the rather detailed map on the table. "I intend to use shields here, to protect an assault against the city."

Luna looked. "You don't appear to have many units in position for that assault, though. What use will that attack have unless it is... Oh, I see," she said, nodding. "Clever. And, elsewhere...?"

"Another assault from the west, with a final assault from the south."

"Do you think they'll fall prey to this plan?"

"I think it will at least get us inside the city," James replied. "Then it'll be a whole 'nother story. I know a bit about urban fighting. If it comes to that, we can use the streets both as cover and to advance on the palace, and I don't think they can cover every last entrance. Get into a building, outflank an enemy position, and crush them or force their surrender; use explosives to blow the enemy out of cover if they try to hold us up inside the buildings themselves. Rinse and repeat as necessary."

"Not a bad plan, but what about the population inside?"

James scratched the back of his head. "Well, you see, I'm hoping for a rapid breach and breakthrough once we hit their lines, one that will carry us to the palace and keep civilian casualties at a minimum, if not non-existent. I don't want it to come to a long, drawn out street fight. And, with any good fortune, the civilians will try to hide themselves in the safest locations, those being places like basements and cellars."

"And if the plan... doesn't lead to victory right away?"

"If it doesn't..." James scratched his head again. "We could always open our lines - in a sense - and let the noncombatant population leave. That would solve the immediate issue and allow us to fight the rest of the war, such as it will be, completely on our terms. I doubt we could try letting them out now; we know they have guards at the city gates to keep people from leaving - deserting, they'd call it. And even if they got past the guards, they'd have their army to deal with. I hate the current risks to the population as it is, but I think they've been virtually unavoidable, given the need to surround and cut off the enemy leaders from escaping, as well as the need to capture the city whose loss would be the death blow to whatever remains of their morale."

"It would. I suppose that's the best we can hope for in the present situation." Luna sighed before going on. "And the sniper cannons? I don't think they'd need long to reduce any one section of the walls."

"Key words being 'any one section,' Your Highness," Shining said. "We'll move them clockwise as they knock down the city walls; it'll keep them busy trying to find out where our attack will come from, and it will get rid of defenses that would impede us."

"Just remind the gunners to be careful with their fire," Luna advised. "I authorize your battle plan. Now, make it happen."

"We will," Shining replied.

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Large, heavy hooves pounding the ground as he walked, Shining Armor was carefully to stay beyond the range of enemy snipers as he approached the rearmost trenches. There were distant sounds, but for now, the artillery - and, for the most part, the rifles - of the two armies were silent.

One of the soldiers was trying to see over the trenches with a makeshift periscope. Me didn't notice Shining's approach until the latter was standing beside him. Only after he had backed his eyes off for a brief break did he realize he had company. "Oh, general!" he said, dropping to all fours and saluting.

"At ease. Mind if I borrow that?"

"Sure thing, sir!"

Shining took it with his magic and looked through it.

The view was hardly perfect; everything seemed distant, and whenever he moved, the periscope would too, forcing him to readjust it each time - it could take several seconds to get back to where he'd been before.

He thought about the events of the past year. His mind was particularly drawn to the siege of Trottingham and how things had gone then... what it had been like to struggle and live like a cockroach waiting for the shoe - or horseshoe - to drop.

And...

Cadence... I miss you.

"Brings up memories, don't it?"

"Oh, hey, James," Shining said, not bothering to turn around; he wasn't eager to try readjusting the periscope yet again.

"Mind if I borrow that once you're done?"

"Yep. Just give me a few minutes."

There wasn't much to view; mud and dirt mostly, and occasionally the business ends of guns sticking out of the trenches, too paltry a target for snipers to bother shooting at. Naturally, there was the city itself, but the enemy defenses would have to be mapped from above. He pitied the poor pegasi who were stuck with that job.

"Here," he said, giving it to James.

"Thanks." James frowned as he tried to look through the periscope. "Not made for my nose," he commented. "You guys have long faces."

"You have a flat one," Shining said, at the same time that the soldier nearby commented, "You need yours made longer."

James twitched at that last comment. Shining had little trouble guessing why, having known the human for much of the war. He hates the idea of being turned into another species, so of course it rubbed him the wrong way. James hadn't talked about it much, but when ponies had even joked to James about his turning into a pony, he'd gone rigid, and then made it clear he was adamant about remaining human. The lesson learned, nobody really talked about the subject anymore, but Shining knew that James feared such an outcome even so.

James tried for several minutes, then gave up. "Nothing much to see even when I can get this thing pointing where I want it to," he said, giving it to the soldier who'd made it. "Still, makes me think of the trenches of Trottingham. The enemy did try to run us out of there, didn't they?"

"I'd say they did," Shining replied. "Not without costing them an arm and a leg, though, I'll give you that. They shattered us at Fort Nightshade, and afterwards we had to break out."

"Which I'm glad to say we did successfully." James looked toward the enemy fortifications, even though all he could see was dirt and mud. "I don't think they can do that, not that their so-called emperor would let them try."

"Well, this city means everything to the griffons. If he ran out of here and just gave it to us, it would be almost the same as outright abdicating; he wouldn't have many supporters left."

"He doesn't have many even now, and a lot of those are doing it with a gun behind their heads. Of course, some people don't get the idea that we're after their king and not their independence; ironically, it's the patriots - the guys who really are fighting for home and country - we have to watch out for over the minions, the poor so and sos who have to unless they want a bullet through the head."

"It doesn't matter. We'll beat them. They could make it easier on themselves if they'd just quit-"

"Like we would, in their position?"

"It's a different story, or it feels like it, when the horseshoe is nailed to the other hoof."

"I can understand how it would feel that way." James let some air blow out of his mouth.

"Anyway, it would be easier if they'd just give up, but I acknowledge how unlikely that is. Therefore, we'll have to make them quit, by taking Gryphos and capturing the king."

"If only it were so easy," the soldier muttered, now fiddling with the periscope.

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James observed the city as the sniper cannons fired for the first time since taking out the enemy superweapons. The section of wall they hit shuddered under the blows; large pieces of brick flew out from the damaged area.

"Gonna take a while with just two of these," one of the gunners said as the guns recharged.

"I figured as much," James replied. "Though I thought these things would do more damage."

"Figure it's the walls," the same gunner answered. "The walls came later, and they spent centuries working on it. The palace was probably one of the first buildings they built in the city, when the need for defense may not have been as much of an issue, and maybe they never thought that anyone would be able to come so far anyway."

"They did think they could whip anyone before the war began," James mused. "I think events since then have overtaken them. Continue blasting away at the same place until the wall falls down. Then, when the walls that you can reach are destroyed, switch positions as planned and resume firing."

"We have our orders, General; rest assured, we'll follow them."

The cannons fired again, one after the other. The hole that had been made was made even bigger and deeper.

"That'll wake 'em up if they aren't already. Keep at it; try hitting it even lower if you can."

The gunners did so. After a few more shots, a big part of the section of wall they'd been shooting fell; a few defenders scattered to avoid injury.

James used a spyglass - as his binoculars had been destroyed - to get a good view of what the city looked like behind the walls.

Not much different than I expected. You could almost think you were living in Victorian London, or somewhere English or Western European in that time period. Reminds me of A Christmas Carol in a way.

It also reminded him of something else. "Don't shoot that bit of wall anymore; aim somewhere else. The last thing we need is to hit and wreck civilian homes. Even if there aren't an casualties, it might stiffen their resolve."

"Got it, boss," another gunner said.

Technically you should refer to me by rank, but I'll let that slide. Boss is kind of accurate, anyway.

On and on the sniper cannons fired, as did the regular artillery, which aimed for the enemy fortifications. The roar and the humming quickly game James a headache, and he sat down on a rock nearby, rubbing his head.

The city wouldn't fall just because they knocked the walls over, though that might - no, it would - affect their morale. It would make an assault easier. And the sniper cannons, though definitely useful, couldn't be everywhere at once.

I wonder how the common people are holding out in there, James thought. As well as what they think of their king's war now.

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Marina walked down the streets of Gryphos as cannon fire and exploding munitions sounded in the distance. A few griffons were flying, but most remained grounded, and for good reason.

"I'll give you three Imperials for a sack of flour," she told a vendor in the market.

"Hah! Three Imperials aren't enough for a sack of flour anymore, not with prices rising. Seven Imperials, no less!"

"What?! How dare you inflate the price so much!"

"Hey, if you want to complain, go and talk to the ponies... if the city guards don't arrest you for desertion first," the vendor said, twirling his moustache. "I'm just trying to stay afloat in these dark times. Either buy something or leave; someone will buy that flour if you don't, I promise you that."

"The only griffons who can pay that amount for items on a shopping list are the rich! I'm not buying from you if you're going to cheat me!"

"Very well. I hope your family is able to buy food... somewhere in this time of crisis. I'm not the only one who has had to... adjust the prices. I doubt you'll find any merchants who have not, in fact." the vender looked smug. "So you see, dearest, I'm not cheating anyone; I'm just going with the times."

"We'll see about that. Good bye." She turned away, determined to prove him wrong.

The upshot of it was, the vendor was right. Marina looked for two hours for a lower price to be had; there was an offer for six Imperials - formerly Royals - for a sack of flour, but it included a compulsory set of tablespoons and measuring cups... which cost an extra three. No, the merchants definitely weren't messing around.

Finally, she found one vendor who was willing to sell her a sack for five Imperials. "Sorry to hear you had trouble, lady," the merchant there said. "Since the ponies surrounded our holy city, food has grown scarcer, which has naturally inflated the price. This is about as low as you can get for flour, and I'm afraid that I won't be in business much longer."

"Why not?" she asked in honest puzzlement."

"Because I have lower prices than other vendors, I'll be out of stock faster, and without any more foodstuff coming in, I won't have anything left to sell, not unless I put up my furniture for sale... After that, I'll probably be drafted into the army." He looked bitter. "After they abducted my son, I've had no word from him at all. I hope he's not..."

"I'm sorry," Marina said, bowing her head for a moment. "But I really do need that flour, and if this is the lowest price I can get..."

"Of course." The older griffon reached under his stand and pulled out a sack of flour. "Here, and if you have anything else to ask for, you might as well do it now."

"A sack of grain would be nice."

"Heh. I've got one, but it's another five Imperials. Sorry, but I do need to have some money to stay in business... for however long that might be."

Marina hissed, but paid the price for both items. She put both of them in what a pony might have called saddlebags and walked away. Food was becoming harder to come by, not least because of the rising prices.

She sighed as she went. Her husband wasn't going to like hearing about the prices she'd had to pay, not that anyone would, come to that.

She passed a group of children playing in the streets. Well, "playing" might have been the wrong word to use; these chicks were not enjoying themselves, that much was obvious from the lack of joy on their faces. "Keeping busy" might have been more accurate. Ever since the palace had been struck by Equestrian weapons and the city cut off, the general mood was no longer joyful in any sense of the word.

She finally got to her house, which was located in the slums on the fringe of the city, near the walls - or rather, what had been the walls - and knocked.

Her husband came to the door. "Marina, that you?"

"Of course it is, you dummy. You going to open the door or what?"

Both of them chuckled, but it was a mirth badly tempered with impending doom. Marina entered the house and shut the door.

"How much did they cheat ya out of today?" Herbert asked.

"Ten Imperials, and that was the best deal I got."

"Oi! What are they thinking!?"

'They're thinking that they can make a profit while we starve." Marina touched a claw to her forehead. "Sooner or later the food will all run out, and how long will it take them to realize that you can't eat money?"

"It would probably take them awhile," Herbert said. "I don't know how long they'll wait before trying to take the city."

"They'll do it. They got invaded and now they're coming to make us, or our ruler, bow to them and remove him from power."

"The priests tell us they won't."

"The priests are... mistaken," Marina said carefully, in lieu of something more inflammatory. "And they're as susceptible to bribes - or threats - from the Ki - Emperor, as any griffon." She put the sacks she'd bought on the table. "How did accounting go today?"

"So far, so good. But... I doubt I'll be in that position much longer. I saw three officers - you know the kind I mean - walking - well strutting, really - around the bank today, and they gave me a good look over before moving on."

"That means trouble," Marina said, her voice calm even as her mind exploded in fear and outrage. "They'll drag you into the army and force you fight for their cause."

"That's pretty much what it comes down to," Herbert said, sounding upset. "And probably die for it."

Marina paused, thinking. "No, you won't. We've lived through this war until now, and I'll be... blasted if I see my husband get murdered for a cause that's deader than last week's chicken."

"If I try to hide, they won't dragoon me into the army - they'll kill me, and they won't think twice about offing you for helping me," Herbert protested. "Better I go and let you live. If push comes to shove, I'll just surrender to the ponies, they'll throw me in a camp for a few months, and then I come home."

"And if that doesn't happen? There are a lot of ways to die in war; I can see outside the walls, now, and I can hear the wails of wounded soldiers. No, I'd rather try hiding you somewhere and getting you back when the war end than risking your life on a battlefield where, odds are, you'd die before having the chance to desert or surrender."

"We have our future chicks to care for, you know," Herbert answered, pointing a claw to a nest in the middle of the house, where three large, white eggs rested.

That hurt. Marina had no doubt that the Empire would have no concern for her young if her plan failed. They would need someone to keep them warm until they hatched.

"They need a father as well as a mother," she said. "I can't raise them alone. If you die or get crippled in this stupid war, who's going to pay the bills and raise the money for food? I can't try raising them and work at the same time. Herb, please..."

Herbert thought about it... for several minutes. Silence reigned throughout the house, as though even the house was holding it's breath for the answer.

"Okay," Herbert conceded at last. "We'll go with your plan."

"Good," Marina replied, smiling slightly. "I hope you won't mind hiding every time someone comes to the house."

"I won't, but I don't know how we'll avoid me being fired, or being hunted."

"Let me deal with that problem," Marina said. "You just worry about helping us - all of us - live through this terrible war."

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The siege continued. Although the walls of their great city were being systematically destroyed, the enemy showed no outward signs of collapsing. In fact, from what could be deduced by those brave enough to survey the enemy lines, there seemed to be more of them than before.

"Are you certain of that?" James asked a thestral captain.

"Positive. Our nightly surveillance might not be easy, given their aggressive use of anti-air cannons, but I'm absolutely sure that they're bolstering their numbers."

"Have you noticed anything about the quality of those troops?" Shining asked.

"Now that you mention it, they didn't look eager, though we've seen that before. If I had to guess, they're taking every griffon out of as many jobs as they can. And..." Now that captain lowered his head and scratched his neck with a hoof.

"What?"

"We think they might be recruiting griffon females, given the bonnets we saw a couple wearing as they received instructions from an officer."

"That's a surprise," James said. "I guess, seeing as some mares are currently in the Equestrian army, it shouldn't be, but it is." What would you even call a griffon female anyway? A hen, or something? Or would they look upon that word the same way a human woman would the term cow?

While he was digesting these useless thoughts, Shining said, "As much as I don't like it, we'll have to engage them if they do throw them into battle against us."

"I figured as much, sir," the thestral said. "I will say this; they looked a little more spirited than some of the males."

James decided to reply, "Even so, we have the advantage, and these forced conscripts aren't going to stop us. At best for the enemy, they'll slow us down; at worst, male and female, they'll skedaddle when hit with a serious assault. It's not like they believe that they'll win, not now."

"Maybe not, but it's still an inconvenience for us; they'll have a few more bullets in the air."

"Not enough to save them, I know that. It probably means a few more people die that otherwise wouldn't, though," James said. "I don't think anything apart from an artillery shell could get through the emperor's head and tell him the war is essentially over. People are going to needlessly die because he won't give up."

"You expect him to do anything else?"

"No." James flung his hands up in momentary dismay. "This whole battle is pointless."

"You'd be quick to point it out as a glorious last stand if it were us in there," Shining said.

"Yeah, but Equestria was - is - defending it's homes and people. This king is fighting for his own power and pride. There's a difference between a good cause and a bad one. But enough about that, or I'll be rambling. Our job is ending this fight and this war, and doing it as cheaply in lives as we can."

James watched quietly as the sun began it's slow decline into the west. What would happen once the war was over? The trials of the leaders responsible, Chrysalis and Raniero, would definitely happen - to the exact end, or punishment, he was unsure of. How the countries would change was something he was uncertain of; military technology had made leaps, certainly, and wars fought here wouldn't be the same again. The civil changes that would occur were less predictable.

Well, that would be in the future. He had a battle to win.

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General Blackfeather watched from the wreckage of the topmost rooms of the palace and glared through his spyglass at the besiegers. The enemy forces had surrounded the city entirely, cutting off the Empire's capital from the rest of it and preventing supplies, food, weapons and ammunition from getting through. While no major assaults had struck the capital's defenses yet, it was only a matter of time. In the meanwhile, the enemy's new guns were destroying the historic walls, hundreds of years old, that had protected the city for ages, badly hurting the morale of the citizenry while clearing the way for the enemy assault when it came.

The citizenry... he sighed angrily. The population wasn't all too happy with the way the war was going... and there were all too many traitors to the Empire outside the city walls. Even though squads of conscription officials roamed the city, much of the male population had taken to trying to hide rather than risk being drafted. Some of them had been caught... and about one in ten of them were executed for attempting to avoid the draft while the rest were subject to poorly armed penal units lead by fanatics loyal to the Emperor, which would translate into those slackers dying in droves as punishment for their treason.

There was no way, however, to reverse the effects on morale. Even the best soldiers he commanded weren't fighting for victory - they were fighting to survive, their idealism from earlier in the war dying down to a grim fatalism, an attitude of, "Well, we're going to die anyway, so let's make the enemy pay for the win" rather than "We'll win or die trying".

Blackfeather hissed as he lowered the spyglass. The only solution he and the other generals could think of was to attack the enemy at one point on their line in an effort to punch through, and perhaps attempt to break the siege. The enemy were stretched out, to the result that the defending army could concentrate it's strength against any one part. A victory, however small, might also heal the morale of the troops. However, the enemy as a whole outnumbered the defending forces, and if they were to bring up reinforcements fast enough, they could make such an attack more costly than it was worth.

There was little else that could be done, though. And it was better than waiting to starve to death, if the enemy intended for such a thing to occur.

The orders regarding the assault were currently going out to units in the northeastern sector of the city - the location where the besiegers were believed to be at their weakest.

The enemy would be attacked along the old eastern road leading out of Gryphos. The instructions carried no plans for withdrawal - indeed, the emphasis would be put on success irrespective of cost. There was no margin for any outcome other than success.

No retreat, no excuses, no pity for the weak-hearted - those words were underlined in each copy of the orders.

Author's Note:

Sorry this took so long. I'm hoping the next chapters come sooner, even if they are shorter.

May God go with you all, and Happy New Years (and belated Merry Christmas)!

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