Chapter 7: Game of Position
Hill 107 'Little Round Top'
Captain Decker, Commanding officer, Company A, 1st Battalion, 1st Brigade Combat Team 'Bastogne, listened carefully to the radio reports coming in from the scouting force that 1st Division had sent out. The natives were definitely on the move and making a straight line for 'Gibraltar'. That made the ground his men were standing on very important, being one of two main hills that flanked the enemy's axis of approach.
Estimates of the enemy force were somewhere around 130,000 men. This was roughly the size of the armies at the Battle of Philippi. Against this mass of men was a force one-tenth that size busily trying to sort itself out through the single worst logistical chokepoint in military history.
Decker's mind went back to his grandfather's stories of Chinese human wave attacks in Korea following the Yalu offensive. An enemy who was willing to throw away enough lives to get in close could do a lot of damage even though Decker could not believe their current enemy could possibly defeat them. Although it's possible those guys are thinking the same thing. He considered to himself. At any rate, the best way to keep the enemy at bay was to break up his formation at range with indirect fire from the batteries of 155 mm howitzers the Japanese had brought with them.
That called for forward spotting and people in the best position for that mission were his men on Little Round Top on the enemy's left flank and the Marines on Alamo East on the enemy right. While General Hazama and Colonels Lowe and Emerson had made it clear that they did not expect either force to ride it down in flames if the enemy attacked their positions in strength, the longer those spotters could direct the artillery fire, the more successful they would be in breaking up the enemy's attack. As he looked out on the huge force marching before him, he sorely wished he had at least some of the Brigade's 105s with him.
"So do you think they'll try taking this hill?" Lieutenant Carter, his executive officer asked.
"I would. Sergeant Graham!" He called to his runner. "Get all the platoon leaders up here on the double."
"Yes, sir."
In Column, Grand Imperial Army
Some Generals lead from the front. Godasen was not of this mold. Even facing a battle he expected to win handily, there were always some unfortunate souls who went on to Emory's embrace. Senator Godasen had no intention of being one of them. Instead, he and his staff rode with the 30th Legion, located immediately behind the lead ranks. This is not to say that the Senator lacked any appreciation for the military arts, merely that he had a fine appreciation for his own importance. But as his army marched toward Alnus, his eyes caught on the hills flanking his approach. He did not like the prospect of enemy scouts watching him. On the other hand, being in a better position to observe any possible movement by his enemy was perfect military sense. He turned to Crassus La Nias, commander of the 30th Legion and addressed this.
"I want two turmae each to secure each of those two flanking hills immediately."
"Yes, Sir."
Hill 107 'Little Round Top'
"Inbound!" Sergeant Wilkins announced as he looked through his field glasses. "Cavalry… Looks like sixty or so."
Decker frowned in thought. A few mortar rounds and the company's M240 machine guns should be plenty to handle this force The only question is whether the Imperials would take the hint and leave well enough alone once this first attack was repulsed. He very much doubted it.
"Set the mortars with High Explosive rounds and fuses on proximity setting. I'd rather finish these guys before they get a good look at our positions, just in case one of them does the smart thing and gets the hell outta Dodge once we open up on them." Captain Decker had dispersed his Javelin teams amongst his rifle platoons but kept the mortars near the top of the hill with his command unit.
"In the meantime, we had better let Gibraltar know our situation."
Alnus Hill
In his command vehicle, General Hazama listened to the latest reports coming from Little Round Top and Alamo East. Fortunately, it did not appear that these probing attacks would jeopardize the ability of the spotters on those hills to direct the fire of his artillery batteries. He considered reinforcing the outpost hills in case the enemy decided to throw more their way but the more units he sent racing all over the map, the more confused things would become. Confusion was an ally of the enemy, wasting precious time and energy. He did make a note to see what could be done to help Colonel Lowe expedite the deployment of his 105s onto the outpost hills.
Beyond that, there was precious little for the General to do for the moment but wait and stay out of his people's way...
In Column, Grand Imperial Army
It had taken less than an hour for Godasen to learn that both cavalry detachments had been all but wiped out. In that time, the leading ranks of his army had advanced four miles and now as his mind tried to understand the wizardry that had killed them, he was about to be introduced to destructive magic on a level so powerful it beggared his imagination as with a sudden scream through the air, the earth erupted in smoke and fire, tearing into the ranks of the 34th legion directly ahead, shattering men like the hammer of an angry god.
What manner of sorcery is this? Godasen wondered as more explosions erupted across the front three legions. He turned to Crassus.
"We've been lured into a trap! They must have powerful magic users on the hills flanking our approach!"
"What are your orders?" Crassus asked, a wave of panic starting to rise within him.
"As representative of the Imperial Senate, I am issuing an edict. Send messengers to all commanders that any failure to obey orders or any display of cowardice in the face of the enemy shall be immediately punishable by death!" He gestured to the hills "They attack as wolves against the bear. We must clear our flanks while we continue to press on Sacred Alnus!'
He quickly checked the standards behind him. "I want the 40th and 28th legions to take the hill to our right and the 56th and 32nd legions to take the hill on our left! I want prisoners if at all possible." Also, this will keep the enemy occupied as we close on Alnus.
"Yes, sir!" Crassus acknowledged.
In the meantime, some twelve miles away, Hazama's artillery batteries, sighted in by the spotters on hills 105 and 107, adjusted their aim and opened up another salvo which scattered broken men, both dead and living, as Imperial officers, themselves shocked and terrified, tried to get control of their troops. Godasen watched as the 39th legion practically fell apart.
"Order quick march!"
Crassus paled. "But sir! The men will be worn out by the time they reach Alnus!"
Godasen glowered. "They can be tired or they can be dead!"
"Yes, sir!" Crassus hurriedly replied lest his hesitation be mistaken for disobedience.
Godasen merely nodded. He needed this man. His relations with the army had often been difficult. Commanders like Germanicus and Titian dismissed him for being too much of a Politicker and a dilettante. But Crassus was different and he shared one particular trait with Godasen: Ambition.
Crassus longed for the power and prestige of political office. Godasen would sponsor his political prospects and Crassus backed his benefactor's standing with the army. Now they needed each other most of all.
Alamo East
Captain James Douglas, USMC, peered through his field glasses again. Yes, there were definitely two enemy formations breaking from the main body and heading in their direction. Captain Decker had reported the same over at Little Round Top. An estimated 11,000 men were heading for each of the two hills, guarded by little more than 200 men each. In the meantime, there were still 100,000 men heading for Gibraltar and the Gate. The artillery would take a heavy toll but unlike a video game, the ammunition expended did not just magically appear next to the guns. An average 155mm gun was expected to fire a conservative estimate of 200 rounds in a day. To supply that much ammunition to the eight batteries of heavy guns available to Task Force Janus meant the delivery of some 270 TONS of ammunition a day at the same time the Gate was feeding in construction equipment, food, fuel, helicopters, medical supplies. It was the Achilles heel of the Allied Forces.
Most of what ammunition there was would of necessity have to be directed on the main body threatening Gibraltar. Captains Douglas and Decker would be able to request some limited fire support but by and large, they would have to rely on their own abilities to endure the human tidal wave bearing down on them.
Little Round Top
"Alright. Lieutenant, how many M-MPIMS do we have?" Captain Decker asked his XO as they went over defensive plans. The M-MPIMS was a replacement for the old M-18 Claymore mines, being smaller and with a reduced rear clearance area and capable of being fitted with laser or camera control options.
"Sixty sir. We have them spread out to cover a 120-degree arc accommodating the most likely approaches, angled to conform to the slope of the hill."
"Good. I want 3rd platoon to leave one squad covering its sector and send a squad each to 1st and 2nd platoons." It was a risk in leaving a third of his perimeter so weak, but that arc was facing Gibraltar. Decker needed his men facing the enemy. "I want the Javelin teams I assigned 3rd platoon up here. Also, warn the men to fire short careful aimed bursts only. They run out of ammunition, we'll have to throw rocks at them."
"Yes, sir." The Lieutenant paused. "Captain? Do you think it will get that bad? I mean, won't our artillery break them up pretty good?"
"If men did the sensible thing, then the Charge of the Light Brigade would never have taken place. We can hope but we can't count on the enemy giving up. Lieutenant? Did you know that after Pickett's Charge, a lot of Confederate soldiers wanted Lee to give it another go?"
"No sir." The Lieutenant was surprised.
"We think we know how a rational mind will react. Well, every culture has a slightly different idea what 'rational' is. That's why we assume the worst case in our business. We can't afford to assume the other guy isn't trying to kill us. We plan accordingly."
"Yes, sir."
Hill 102: South of Alnus, 'Pork Chop Hill'
"Roger, Six. Standing by to execute 'Fast Shuffle'," Major Stoltz acknowledged his orders from Battalion. "Executing Special Delivery now!" At a nod, one Humvee raced off for Little Round Top.
56th Legion, 1 mile East of Little Round Top
Aemilianus was two things at this moment as he neared the hill: Terrified and Angry. The destruction of so many of his men was absolutely horrifying as he saw his legionaries shattered and maimed. That somehow this was the work, not of the gods, but of other men, men that fought not openly on the field of battle, but as cowards, killing from afar made him furious. Senator Godasen wanted prisoners. So be it. Aemilianus intended to spare two of the enemy on the hill before him. He fully intended that the rest would be beheaded and their cowardly souls could rot in Hardy's domain!
"As long as these cowards live! Let not one man among us turn from his duty! Conquer, or die!"
In Column, Grand Imperial Army
Godasen noted with relief as the ripple of explosions ceased to tear into his columns. His assessment had apparently been correct: Now directly confronted, the enemy mages were too busy trying to save their own skins to further disrupt his march on Alnus. He knew that the troops he had dispatched to take the two hills were taking dreadful losses but he still had no doubt that enough of his men would reach the tops and put cold steel to the enemy.
The first of these assumptions then evaporated as, without warning, the foul enemy magic once more tore into his forward Legions.
Any relief that the Legions attacking Little Round Top and Alamo East might have felt as the big guns of Task Force Janus turned their attention back to the main body of the Imperial Army vanished shortly thereafter as the first lines of Claymores detonated, spewing hundreds of metal balls each into the ranks of the 40th and 56th Legions.
Aemilianus swore as his mount reared, frightened by the explosions which had detonated behind him. He looked back to see his command dying. But their lives didn't matter anymore. Emory would be pleased with their sacrifice in battle. Aemilianus was only concerned that their killers go back to their thrice-damned mistress.
Behind them, The 32nd Legion bore witness as Aemilianus rallied his surviving troops in a headlong charge up the hill. He and his Cavalry racing far ahead of the foot and into a hail of fire from M4 Carbines. Aemilianus thus fell with no great declaration of defiance, no immortal words. Only a footnote in the day's bloody toll.
On the other flank, much the same fate saw the remains of the 40th Legion chopped down by the highly accurate fire from the new M27 Rifles the Marine Corps had issued many of the troops deploying to Janus.
Despite the carnage ahead of them, the 32nd and 28h Legions pressed onward.
Alnus Hill
General Hazama had been carefully listening to the reports from his subunit commanders. The outpost hills were still feeding good FO observation to his artillery and a sizeable chunk of the enemy had diverted to attack those positions. His men had been working unceasingly to unload ammunition stores and supplies and now he was almost ready.
"Standby to commence Operation Raiden."
To Be Continued...