Here we go, once more unto the breach. I have a Discord should any be interested. It's a bit sad right now but, eh. discord. gg/9ah46GFzbn

Spenge: rip what?

NorthernLaw738: Yes, we will witness Stalingrad 2.0. Vale edition.

Guest1, osterreicher97: thank you

I don't own RWBY or Warhammer. They are owned by their respective owners. (Please no lawsuit and/or Cease and Desist orders)


Holdout

By the time the quartyard was secured, much of the city was in flames. To say nothing of the flying monstrosity above that seemed hell bent on killing them. It had been flying around while dropping black liquid that spawned more Grimm while attacking any mantas that tried to get reinforcements into the academy. As it was Andrei had only himself, about two hundred men of the 1212th Cold Bloods, some men from assorted regiments that had their squads wiped, and some students that hadn't been evaced. Out of his command squad, Johanna, and Jaeger were left. Emma was killed by a deathstalker that had ravaged their lines and Hans was sniped by an automated soldier while advancing with the flag. They did also have Winter and one other Ace Operative but they weren't really following his lead so he didn't count them as part of the defensive force. Luckily, or sadly, the vox channels had cleared up so orders could now be issued. One of the airships was down, and with it, the colonel in it.

The general was missing and last seen on the flying stadium that was slowly sinking. All this led to Andrei being in charge of the army in the area as the person of highest rank. Andrei wasn't even really sure what to do other than to hold strategic positions and maybe send out small squads to harass the enemy. The strategy would probably help them hold out, but it wouldn't end the battle. Especially at Beacon, where the White Fang soldiers seemed to be most concentrated.

The airship Valhalla was also stuck. It had been boarded by White Fang and aerial Grimm and was having issues in repelling them. The AA defenses on the ship stopped more from arriving, but with most of the ground forces off the ship, all that was left was the pilots, and a small group of ground forces and marines to repel a full force. The ship had requested assistance more than once, but it was impossible without getting ripped to pieces by White Fang AA and aerial Grimm.

All in all, it was not good. The defensive line would hold for probably another week with how they were doing but Andrei knew they would run out of ammo the next day if they did nothing. So they retreated out of the court yard and into the academy proper. From there, they raided all of the storage areas of weapons, ammo and food and then set up a defensive area in the cafeteria. The walk in freezers were useful for keeping the food edible and also protecting the wounded. Andrei now regretted not getting heavy weapons like cannons or machine guns. Sure, being standardized made it so it was easier to train the troops, but now? When he really needed a heavy bolter and some auto cannons to mulch the waves of troops that kept charging them? Now Andrei really regretted his past laziness.

"We'll hold here. Until either we are dead, or our enemy is."

Jaeger and Johanna came over, panting. "Sir, we have enough provisions and supplies to last us about six days of continuous fighting. More if they stagger their attacks. Our food should last us a month, but I doubt we'll last that long with our current forces."

"We also found two heavy weapons. One missile launcher and a cannon. Not a lot of ammunition for it."

Andrei hummed in thought. Those weapons would really help against hard targets, but only if they came in small numbers and one at a time. Some students had explosives, and others had automatic weapons, but not on the scale needed to hold off a full offensive like they were facing.

"Set them up at the windows, let's give our enemies a proper welcome."

"Yes sir!"

A howl shattered the silence of the night as the Grimm and White Fang rallied for another wave.


Hours had passed and the Grimm Dragon had fallen, turned to stone by a flash of silver. With the collapse of the Dragon, the bedraggled defenders of the academy were able to get a small amount of rest. At some point the White Fang had retreated, leaving just waves of Grimm. With the academy mostly secured. Andrei could now begin to send skirmishing squads to harass enemy convoys and supply lines while also having an area to easily defend.

One other piece of good news was that the Valhalla was no longer dealing with boarding teams and had cleared the sky around it, allowing reinforcements and bombardments to resume. Already, troops were landing on the Beacon pads. Most were infantry of the 1212th Cold Bloods, but some troops from other regiments were also present after being evacuated from the city. The General was still unreachable, and the other colonel was KIA, leaving Andrei in charge of the entirety of the Atlas forces in Vale. Getting a person of higher rank or orders from Atlas was impossible with the Beacon CCT damaged. Andrei couldn't even have his combat engineers repair the damage because they were focused on fortifications and housing for the troops.

"Jaeger, gather some of the troops, we need to send some into the city."

"Sir?"

"I'll explain once you have the troops here."

"Yes sir."

Andrei sighed and rubbed his eyes. He, like most of the troops, had been awake for far too long. The night had not been kind on them, many troops were either dead or wounded, and many more would be collapsing from exhaustion soon. Hopefully the engineers and whatever troops were fresh had set up the cots or people were going to start breaking into student dorms to sleep. Andrei would probably be joining them if he didn't have to organize the troops.

"Colonel Kuznetsov? Have you seen the General?"

Andrei turned to the voice and saw Winter. She looked bedraggled and tired, her uniform was stained and crumpled and she had massive bags under her eyes.

"Last I heard he was at the colosseum Operative Schnee. Colonel Degerchaff is confirmed KIA in his airship which crashed."

Winter sighed and hunched over, seeming to succumb to her exhaustion. "We lost too many good soldiers here."

"Far too many," Andrei agreed, looking to his left where a group of soldiers were lining up the dead. Soldiers, students and civilians alike. The White Fang would get no such honors. They were being stripped of weapons, ammunition, and dust and then being piled up in the quartyard to be burned. Already, two such piles were lit up, acrid black smoke ascending into the sky.

"I am going to rest. You should too, you look dead on your feet."

"I will as soon as I can, but there is still much work to do."

"Your only human Andrei, don't push yourself too hard. I will see you later."

"Goodbye Winter."

Winter turned and marched herself over towards the ballroom where the cots were being set up while Andrei looked out over the city. Smoke billowed out from several parts of the city. There was almost no life to be found within the city due to the Grimm and White Fang that occupied what was left of the ruins.

"Sir, we have the troops that are the most refreshed ready for your orders."

"Good, how many?"

"Only 47 sir."

"It'll do, let's get this over with."

Andrei let Johanna lead him over to where the troops were gathered and gestured to a crate that Andrei could stand on. Andrei stepped up onto it before addressing the troops.

"Alright, I know all of us hated being on the defensive, being charged by mad terrorists, while watching our brothers and sisters in arms die one by one. So today we are going to go on the offense. You forty seven will be split into 5 groups. Each of you will have a heavy explosive and a sniper. Your job will be to harass the enemy at any location, at any time, for any reason. Make them jump at the slightest sound. Have them unable to sleep for fear of you slaughtering them in their sleep. Give them hell."

The men gave a hearty cheer followed by them milling about as they organized into groups. The groups then got their armaments and prepared to rappel off the Beacon cliffs into the city.

Andrei then stumbled his way towards the ball room for a much needed rest. He tripped at least six times on his way and it took Johanna and another soldier supporting him to get him out of his armor and into a cot so he could sleep.

As his eyes grew heavy, he heard Johanna giggling. Confused, he turned towards her only to see Winter in the cot next to him. Too tired for shenanigans, Andrei simply laid on his back, ignored the world around him and fell into a deep and dreamless sleep.