Chapter Fifty One
Trapped on the River Bank
ANNA
The early part of the day had been used to prepare for the next leg of the campaign, which would likely be the closing chapter if everything went according to the Confederation's plans. However, it was obvious that not everything would go ideally. People like Uxzas, Helmsley and Horatio weren't being realistic, simply blinded to the idea of defeating the Empire once and for all in decisive battle.
Nonetheless, preparations had been made, letters were written, orders relayed, and so on and so forth. There were a thousand different things that needed to be done to get an army moving, and she didn't find it glamorous at all. Marshal Frederick and his staff were buried deep in their work, while Kristoff was taking a much needed break from the action.
For the rest of the day, Anna and Melody had gone over to Frederick's command tent to see what else they could do to help, though there wasn't much. In a small way, Anna could understand how Melody felt, though nowhere near to her extent. Feeling like there was no real place for her to be of use and having nothing to do but wait was simply maddening.
The next morning when the Coalition rose at dawn to resume the campaign, Anna checked the sky and was relieved to see that the clouds gave no indication of rain or snow. Hopefully it would stay that way for the foreseeable future, for the Coalition was estimated to make contact with the Imperial Horde shortly. The plan was to intercept the Imperial Horde before they could have enough time to rally and be joined by a greater force supplied by Marshal Kane. At least, that was the plan.
This time, the Arendellians formed the vanguard of the column, and by the time they got to the outskirts of the city of Korynes, engineers from the Danish division had already finished construction of a new makeshift bridge. The old one had been demolished by the Exonians when they retreated across the river, as taught in all the tactics handbooks throughout military schools across the world.
The bridge could only hold a certain weight though, and thus the Coalition spent a good part of the day getting everything across the river. Marshal Frederick's general staff was busy straightening out confusions and snarls up and down the column as they crossed the bridge. Halfway across, the wheel of one of the supply wagons broke and the cartload of supplies had fallen into the river, dissolving beneath the surface.
Groans could be audibly heard from where Anna was observing things on the opposite river bank. She grimaced as she watched the wagon empty its contents into the water. There goes one day's supply for at least a division.
The problem with deciding to continue the march was that it gave the Coalition no time to build and gather supplies. If they had stayed, food and ammunition could have been sent from their home kingdoms to further fuel and support the war effort. However, the hot-headed Confederation members had insisted on pressing on without stopping, giving the combined army no time to reinforce its supply situation, which would sooner or later run dry.
Kristoff had managed to acquire the aid of the Korynes locals, buying food, drink and supplies in bulk for the army. But then again, there was only so much he could buy without draining the locals dry. It wouldn't be anywhere near enough to feed ten divisions and keep them going, not even with their current load of supplies which were quickly diminishing. They just had to hope that they could win the war as quickly and decisively as possible.
It was then, when the last of the Coalition had crossed the bridge, that the Imperial Horde attacked. This marked the first time since the beginning of the war that they had decisively chosen to attack the Coalition head on, and it looked to be of lethal effect.
The first boom from somewhere behind the hill thundered and echoed throughout the afternoon air. A single, solid shot flew through the sky, arcing over the hill and above the heads of the column, and landing in the river with a loud splash.
"They're ranging." Kristoff noted.
"Into formation, at the double." Frederick told his runners, who saluted and sped off to deliver the message to the various divisions' generals.
Anna swallowed. Frederick had of course anticipated this. In fact, anyone with half a brain and a loose grasp of military tactics would have anticipated this. A surprise attack from over the hills when the Coalition was crossing, smashing the bridge again to prevent them from escaping, and enveloping them on the river bank with nowhere to retreat.
Even a tactical novice like herself could understand that, but the other Confederation members were too blind. Either that or they really were hell bent on seeing that the Coalition and the Imperial Horde decimated each other. Whatever it was, Anna knew that it was going to be incredibly messy by the end of the day.
The column quickly dissolved into line formation, which made themselves a much more elusive target for the artillery to hit. At the very ends of the lines, the battalions were still formed in column, so as to protect their flanks from a sudden cavalry flanking manoeuvre. Coalition cavalry troops from the Molcorran, Danish and Arendellian divisions protected the flanks as well, providing a cavalry screen to repel any enemies that might try a double envelopment. Frederick had foreseen this and had briefed his generals the night before for an eventuality such as this one.
Normally, one would have dismissed the Field Marshal's plans as paranoid, but not in this instance. As everyone could see, the Imperial Horde was waging an all out battle on the Coalition.
The Exonian soldiers were coming over the hill, stopping on the downslope and redressing their lines, muskets firmly in hand with bayonets attached. Up on the hill, they had the superior position. The Exonians had obviously been lying in wait for them. Meanwhile, the artillery guns continued to roar and belch fire from somewhere behind the hill, launching great balls of metal into the sky.
Finally, someone on the other side got the trajectory right, and a ball smashed the makeshift bridge that the engineers had constructed the night before. That left absolutely no way of retreating, not that it was ever going to be an option anyway. The Exonians had the Coalition right where they wanted them on the river bank.
"Stay close." Kristoff gestured for Anna to come nearer to him.
It wasn't like he could really protect her if a flaming twelve pound ball flew from the sky and fell right on top of them, but she did so anyway.
Frederick was busy relaying more instructions to his aide de corps, and messages and orders were rippling down the chain of command with excellent efficiency. Northuldra and Danish skirmishers were already on their way to slow down the enemy infantry, buying the Coalition more time to get their own guns unlimbered and in place to return fire.
The heavy artillery pieces were positioned a good distance behind the formed ranks, stationed near the river bank. Small ramparts were made out of snow and dirt and packed behind the artillery, and their effect would soon be obvious. The first of the artillery guns - a massive twelve pounder - responded to the enemy with a bellow of steel. The big gun recoiled backwards after the shot, wheeling up the rampart, and then sinking back down the slope into position for the artillerists to load again. It was an exercise of repetition from then on.
As far as Anna could tell, the Coalition was ready, though no one knew for sure how many brigades or divisions General Hydrech had waiting on the other side of the hill.
Sadly, her question was still not answered by the time the sun was low in the sky and setting. One thing was clear though. Hydrech, influenced by his superior Marshal Kane, was making this a battle of attrition. He obviously had more than enough troops on the other side, just waiting to wear down the Coalition till they could bear no more losses.
Destruction had been extremely heavy on the Coalition's side. The Imperial Horde just kept coming, wave after wave, line after line, hoping to break the Coalition. However, under Frederick's command, they had managed to repel the Exonians time and time again, forcing them to break and retreat. And not ten minutes later, another wave would come over the hill to threaten them again.
Even with the vast amounts of ammunition the Coalition had, there was only so much they could retaliate with before their resources were drained dry. And it looked like that was what Hydrech was banking on. Battles of attrition were nasty affairs.
Anna glanced out over the formed ranks and over the hills. There was fighting again, between friendly and enemy skirmishers, with the next wave of line infantry coming over the hill, this time accompanied by light cavalry.
Somewhere amongst the fighting, Melody was still hanging on, fighting alongside her soldiers and the Northuldra. Somehow, the skirmishers were still in the fight after the long day, though at some point they had to cave. The only question is how long more.
Anna glanced over at Frederick. She was alarmed to find that he had a worried look on his face. That was a sight she didn't see often. Correction. That was something she'd never seen before. In the safety behind the lines, Anna walked over to Frederick, who was silently looking out at the battlefield that lay beyond.
"Are you alright?" She asked, putting a hand on his shoulder.
He nodded. "Yes, Your Majesty. But it's…not looking good."
"I know." Anna bit back a few harsh words directed at the Confederation. It was their fault really. If Uxzas and the others hadn't insisted on walking into Hydrech's trap, then they wouldn't be in this position now. If only they had decided to do the rational thing and quarter in Korynes over the winter…but no. Now they were in a horribly sticky situation which could see them all dead in the snow by day's end.
"I'll put it bluntly." Frederick said. "I don't know how much longer we can hold up. We might get through the night, but tomorrow morning, it'll be the same thing all over again. We've already sustained heavy losses, with at least one entire division's numbers gone."
She swallowed. That sounded bad. Worse than she had anticipated. "Is there anything else we can do?"
His normally blank expression was bleak. "I'm sorry."
"Damn." Anna said softly under her breath. Casting a gaze out at the battlefield, she silently offered up a prayer that something would change in their favour. Anything.
MELODY
"Hold the line!" Melody shouted, her voice hoarse and scraping her throat sorely after an entire day's duration of battle. This was probably the longest fight she'd ever been in so far, and the Coalition had been through quite a number by this point.
This time though, it really seemed bleak. Skirmishing, formed infantry advances, cavalry from both sides clashing, enemies being pushed back, only for another wave to attempt the same again. Hours after hours, wave after wave, and still they kept coming relentlessly.
Melody permitted herself a groan as she ducked beneath a big rock in the ground again, just as a lead ball whined overhead.
"Getting tired?" Oliver chortled tiredly by her side. "What I wouldn't give to have a good bottle right now."
"Get your head in the game." Melody chided half-heartedly. In truth, the only thing keeping her in the fight was the fact that she was the figurehead of the skirmishers. If she caved, everyone else in the skirmishing battalions would lose heart too. The weight of the world was on her shoulders again.
"You know, you'd think whoever's in charge over there would wise up after today." Oliver said as he loaded his long-range rifle. He had swapped his bow and arrows for a rifle this time, since the latter had been taken from the city of Korynes' stores and had far better range.
"Hydrech knows we'll break sooner or later. He wants to wear us down." Melody said tightly as musket balls pinged and zinged around her. Just saying it made the situation feel all the more dire.
"Hate to admit it, but it's working." Oliver peeked out from behind the rock, levelled his rifle and pulled the trigger, and then ducked down behind cover again in less than three seconds.
Sighing, Melody drew in another long breath, feeling the smoky, cold late afternoon air rake at her throat. She'd long since gotten used to the smell of musket smoke, though it hurt her voice considerably especially since she spent the day shouting. Once more she lifted her voice.
"One more, then push them back!" Melody shouted, nocking another arrow and firing it straight into the chest of a red-clad skirmisher. Internally, she wondered how many more times they could do it. She pushed the thought to the back of her head again. Just one more time.
The skirmishers throughout the battlefield let out one last erratic round of musketry, rattling out across the air and raising even more smoke which encompassed the late afternoon sky.
"Forward, charge!" She yelled at the top of her lungs, and her command was echoed up and down the long line by sergeants and lieutenants. The skirmishers who were hiding behind cover all emerged, charging over the field and chasing the enemy skirmishers up the rise of the hill.
Behind Melody and her battalions, a few brigades of formed infantry also began to move forward in support, cavalry cuirassiers forcing their mounts into a gallop up the hill and cutting down skirmishers with their sabres as they went. From the river bank behind the infantry came the reports of a full battery, discharging six round shots into the air, smashing against the crest of the hill and tearing through the retreating wave of formed Exonian infantry.
Again, like the countless instances before, the Exonians were forced to retreat again, and the brigades involved in the advance settled into their new defensive position on the river bank. Ultimately this is pointless, Melody lamented to herself. There's no way we can gain any more ground, and there's no way we can retreat. What is the point of all this, other than a few more hours of survival?
"What the hell are they waiting for?" Melody heard someone say as they trudged back towards the rest of the Coalition.
"Don't know." Another said. "You'd have thought they would've finished us off by now."
"Bloody savages. They're just toying with us." Someone else spat.
It was true. Melody couldn't for the life of her imagine another reason as to why General Hydrech hadn't employed a double envelopment manoeuvre against the Coalition yet.
With the Coalition pinned against the river bank, there was nothing stopping Hydrech from deploying two attacks from around the hill. With their superior numbers, the Imperial Horde would force the Coalition to turn their flanks to face the enemies coming from both sides, effectively dividing them. And then just one last wave from over the crest of the hill would cause the Coalition to crumble. What was Hydrech waiting for?
Then as if to answer her question, someone from far beyond on the left side of the line screamed, and Melody's blood turned cold.
"They're coming round the side!"
Sure enough, light cavalry formed in triangular wedges, followed by cavalry cuirassiers, were beginning to round the side of the hill. Big men with armoured breastplates and helmets, wielding carbines and lances and riding on big, sturdy horses was a sight to instil fear. And it was working, in spite of the fact that everyone had been anticipating this the entire day.
The same could be said for the right side. Enemy cavalry were coming from both sides, followed behind by columns of endless red, accompanied by mobile artillery units.
What Melody and everyone else had feared was coming to pass now. The sun was setting and light would soon be lost. Hydrech was not going to wait any longer. He was going to finish the battle here and now, decisively.
"Form square!" The screams rung out across the battlefield. "Form square, double time!"
"Move!"
"Form square now!"
"Where's my battalion?"
"Move or get trampled!"
Battalions scrambled to get from line into a semblance of square formations before the Exonian cavalry could hit them. It looked like it was going to end in a massacre. Melody felt her stomach lurch as she sprinted for cover, doing her best to avoid being trampled by the frantic infantry and skirmishers alike. Overhead, the cannons continued to roar from both sides, as if signalling the start of a bad omen, or in this case, the swift and decisive conclusion to a long drawn battle.
Melody found her memories flashing through her mind. Her adventures from her youth in the sea against her very first enemy, then through her missions with the Warriors, all the way up to the present moment. If this was to be the end, it would be a miserable and cruel one, an underwhelming period to a life of adrenaline. And then to her joy and relief, Melody saw a familiar and welcome flash of purple mist.
Author's Commentary:
This was a lot of fun to write. A full on battle on the river bank where the Coalition is outmanoeuvred. Napoleonic tactics are a key inspiration for these novels, and I never get tired of writing battles like this. There's just something about the atmosphere of war in the early 1800s that is so captivating.
