Hey, everybody. Back with another chapter.

Let's get to it.


Chapter 36- Battle of Nevrast

(July 6, 2020)

The sun is slowly beginning to set over the fields of Nevrast. As the sun is setting, the landscape is painted in orange light.

At the pass bordering the Firth of Drengist, the 2nd Canadian Division is dug in deep across the entire pass, blocking any way through to Nevrast for the coming Orcs. The division's 30 tanks are sequestered safe in their dugouts, and the division's artillery is heavily camouflaged. Soldiers fill the trenches, fully stocked with supplies and ammunition, ready to unleash hell on the enemy.

The Canadians had come up with a pretty sound defense plan for defending the pass. The division had deployed all of its tanks right at the very front of its lines, with each tank already having an extra supply of ammunition sitting outside the tank, ready to be loaded into the tank when needed. The front line, which includes the tanks, has 6,000 of the division's 15,000 troops dug in well in the trenches. In an effort to help deter the enemy's advance if the front lines could not hold off, the front line troops have vast stores of oil and gasoline ready to spread out behind them. If they are called to retreat, they will coat the entire length of the pass in these liquids, then set them on fire once they're safely behind them, creating a wall of fire to slow the enemy down and allow them more time to prepare for the next attack.

The next defensive line is a mile behind the front line. Most of the artillery is stationed here, along with 7,000 of the division's troops dug into trenches. In the case that the forward lines are forced into retreat, they will join the second line.

The remaining troops, numbering 2,000, are dug in about a mile behind the second line, forming the last line of defense. The Canadians had considered stationing a nuclear warhead with the last line of defense, with the idea of having it detonated if the Orcs overran their line, hopefully stopping the Orcs from moving on to Nevrast, though at the cost of sacrificing whatever remained of the division. The general in command eventually shot the idea down.

Now, all the Canadian troops can do is wait for the enemy to arrive. Among them is Captain Oliver Bergeron. He's the commander of a company of infantry stationed in the first line of defense.

In his trench, Bergeron is looking around at some of the infantry troops around him. All of them are trying to look as calm as possible, but Bergeron can see the weight of the situation on them. Before the division had begun to deploy and prepare their defenses, the entire division had assembled as one, and had been addressed by their commander, Brigadier General Boivin, on the situation. Boivin had made it very clear how dangerous this situation is.

All of the troops of the division are under no illusions about what's at stake here. If the Orcs overrun their positions, they will make it into Nevrast. If they make it into Nevrast, they will overrun the entire region and destroy everything the Allies have built in the area, including all of their supply dumps and supply lines. If the Canadians lose this battle, the Allies lose the war, Morgoth takes all of Beleriand, and then comes through the portals to Earth.

The Canadians have to hold the line. General Boivin had made it clear that, although he hated saying it, the 2nd had no choice but to fight to the last man. This was their last stand.

The troops were under no illusions of just what was being asked of them. Although they were determined to fight, most felt certain they had been handed a death sentence. Even some of the senior commanders felt that although they would cause devastating casualties to the enemy, eventually they would run out of ammunition and what was left of the Orcs would overrun them.

As Captain Bergeron looks around at his men, alarms suddenly start to blare. The alarms are blaring at a very specific pattern, previously arranged to signal that the Orcs had been spotted and were minutes away from artillery range.

Bergeron and his men look up as they hear those alarms, then look around at each other. They know that they can't avoid it any longer. What will be the last battle for most of them is about to begin.

"I know all you are scared. But we can't do much at this point but fight. We have a duty to do. Not just to NATO, but also to our country. If Morgoth's forces get to Earth, Canada will suffer their wrath too. Remember your training. Think of home. Think of your families. And know that you are fighting not just for this world, but to protect their lives. We hold this position, and we do not move unless General Boivin orders us to, no matter the cost. We hold this ground, whatever it takes!"

Multiple soldiers around him stand up, and everyone arms their weapons. Bergeron nods, then says, "Alright. Man your posts. Let's give 'em hell."


(Southern Utah)

In the city of St. George in southern Utah, Lieutenant General John R Evans Jr is carefully monitoring a massive operation taking place in southern Utah right now.

Evans is one of the handful of generals who held a general rank before the war who had not deployed to Arda. Currently, he is responsible for overseeing Army operations in North America. For that reason, he had been assigned direct oversight over the operation that necessitated him coming to Utah.

After president Trump's orders had been sent out, the Army immediately began mobilizing forces to send to Arda to reinforce the forces already there and help the 2nd Canadian Division. The 10th Armored Division and 63rd Infantry Division, numbering 52,000 troops and and 400 tanks, had immediately mobilized from their bases and been sent to southern Utah for immediate deployment while the 45th, 71st, and 90th Infantry Divisions were prepared for deployment.

At the same time, after Trump had invoked Article 5, NATO had immediately begun mobilizing what forces it could. A large number of civilian airliners had been taken out of service so that they could be used to help transport these troops to Utah for deployment. Due to the strict time requirements, nothing but light infantry could be sent, and in some case, countries had sent troops from motorized or mechanised units without their heavy equipment.

With NATO's help, the Americans had managed to mobilize tens of thousands of more troops. The first to arrive were the 10,000 troops of the French Foreign Legion. The Greeks had managed to send about 6,000 men, drawn from the 8th Motorized Infantry Brigade and the 15th infantry Regiment. The Czechs had sent 1,000 of their elite troops, and the Hungarians, Italians, Romanians, and British had each sent at least 4,000 men each. In addition, as a show of good faith to the US in hopes of getting further in the US' good graces, the Ukrainians had dispatched 2,500 elite troops from the 10th Mountain Assault Brigade. In addition to these units, a full Greek infantry division and another Canadian division were being prepared for transfer to the United States for further deployment if they were needed.

However, the problem comes in the numbers. With 88,000 troops and 400 tanks being prepped for transport, and not all of the troops present at the deployment site yet, it's been a nightmare trying to coordinate all of this. General Evans is stressed to his trying to get all of these hastily assembled units ready to deploy through the portal and be ready to fight on the other side. All he's hoping for is that they will be ready when they get to the other side, and they can rescue the Canadians before the Orcs overrun them.


(Nevrast)

In the trenches, the Canadians are waiting anxiously. In his trench, Captain Bergeron is waiting anxiously, keeping watch with a set of binoculars. In the distance, he can see the Orcs marching towards their positions. The Orcs are within artillery range, but the Canadians are waiting patiently for the land mines they planted to start going off before they start firing.

Bergeron is watching anxiously. To him, it feels like the mines should've started going off already. Every second that passes without an explosion feels like an eternity.

Then, at last, an orc steps on a landmine, and an explosion instantly kills the Orc and wounds another. In seconds, more landmines begin to go off as more and more Orcs step on them. Soon, hundreds of explosions are taking place as more landmines go off.

In the lead Leopard 2 tank, the tank commander, a lieutenant colonel, sees the explosions, and he says, "Open fire!"

A second later, the Leopard's 120mm gun fires its first shell of the battle. The shell hits in the middle of a cluster of a dozen orcs, killing all of them. The rest of the tanks immediately open fire. Seconds later, the artillery well behind the lines begin firing. Most of their initial volleys are all chemical weapons shells.

Soon, dozens of artillery shells are hitting every second, exploding and sending shrapnel and fire out in all directions. The chemical shells release clouds of sarin and mustard gas. Hundreds of Orcs begin to choke on the gas, many quickly succumbing to the potent gas.

Across the lines, the tanks and artillery fire as fast as they can, pounding the Orcs as heavily as they can, unleashing every bit of their firepower. The Orcs in the front are in chaos as they try to come to recover from the shock of the artillery bombardment, but the army presses on.

The battle that will likely decide the fate of the Allies and Beleriand has begun.


And, I'll end the chapter there.

Next chapter will wrap up this battle, and after that we will get back to the wider war. Next chapter will be up soon. Until it is, please leave a review, and stay tuned!