Chapter Eleven

The Exonian Ambush

ANNA

Anna's heart sank to the soles of her feet. Even at this range, she could hear the Exonians' thunderous roar as they poured out of the forest in droves at a double pace, closing the distance between themselves and the Arendellians' and Danish's rear. The Arendellians and Danish had heard the commotion by now, and had turned to find that they were soon about to be sandwiched between two Exonian brigades.

However, that still wouldn't give them ample time to react, seeing as how they were in confusion and the Exonians would close the distance within minutes. If our soldiers aren't going to have enough time to turn and fight…Anna gritted her teeth. They're going to pin us down and it'll be a damn massacre.

"Listen up." Frederick had turned to two more of his runners. "You, ride down to the closest column and tell them to pass the message. Get the rear two battalions of each column to pivot and face the troops attacking from the rear. Deploy into line, and halt our advance. Make sure all the battalions stay close and compact. We can't risk dividing our forces into half and leaving ourselves more vulnerable. Get our own artillery guns to the front and eliminate the three Exonian cannons as quickly as possible."

"Yes Sir!" The runner saluted and sprinted for his horse.

"And you," Frederick turned to the other man. "Ride back to the Molcorran brigades. Find Marshal Cicero and tell him we need more reinforcements immediately. If this becomes a drawn out firefight, we won't last long being battered from both ends. Tell him we need at least two more infantry battalions, a cavalry squadron and a half battery of artillery."

"Yes Sir!" The runner turned tail, forgetting to salute, and dashed off in a hurry.

"Will we have enough time?" Anna asked tensely. She was watching as the rear battalions of each column were beginning to turn on their heels and deploy into line formation.

"I hope so." Frederick said, with only a hint of uncertainty in his features. "Cicero doesn't have a habit of doing things quickly. If we don't get those reinforcements, we might not hold out for long." He nodded at the Exonian troops marching from the forests, quickly closing the distance.

"Damn it." Anna glanced anxiously at the column again. The advance had halted abruptly, and even from where she was, she could tell that there was confusion and panic spreading among the men.

Somehow though, the men of the rear battalions had managed to deploy into line quickly enough, owing to the extensive drills conducted during the campaign. The front battalions weren't taking things very well though.

The Exonian artillery had continued to rain down solid shot aimed at the columns which had halted and made marvellous targets. Soldiers of both the Danish and the Arendellian brigades were cut away in swathes whenever an eight pound ball smashed into the columns. From where Anna was standing, she couldn't hear the screams, but her head supplied her with the visuals and sounds anyway.

"We don't have time to rely on Cicero." Frederick spoke up again, watching the Exonians inch closer by the second. "By the time the reinforcements get here, it might be too late. We have to do something now."

"But what?" Kristoff asked.

"Sir!" The runner who had gone to find Cicero leapt off his horse and almost broke his ankle in a nasty fall. He scrambled to his feet and hobbled over to the general. "I just got word from the Molcorrans! Marshal Cicero is dead, killed by a nine pounder! No one's in command of the Molcorran brigades, and there's chaos among the-"

Before the man could finish his report, Frederick whirled round to another runner. "Get down there and have the rear battalions send out a company of skirmishers or two to slow the forest troops down. Screen their advance and withdraw at eighty yards. That'll buy us a few minutes. The rest fix bayonets and hold fire till sixty five yards. Wheel around two of our own six pounders and get them transported to the rear. Load with double canister, and only open fire at thirty yards. Once the rear ranks get out two initial volleys and the two six pounders discharge three rounds, order the rear ranks to charge and break their attackers' formation."

The runner managed to offer up a hasty salute before he dashed off again.

Frederick turned to another runner sharply. "I want the rest of the battalions focused on the wall, and advancing with whatever we have left. Concentrate the fire of the rest of the artillery at the centre of the Exonian lines. Infantry are to advance but hold fire while the artillery does its shelling, and only open fire at eighty yards. Tell the cavalry officers that if the dragoons can break the Exonian lines and separate them, I want our cuirassiers to send the Exonians scattering before they can form square. Is that clear?"

"Yes Sir!" The runner saluted in a hurry and ran off in search of his own horse.

"Do you think it'll be enough?" Anna asked, glancing at the battlefield. "Without Cicero's reinforcements?"

"They're not coming." Kristoff said through gritted teeth. "Without Cicero, it's utter chaos at the front."

"Which is why we have to pray this works." Frederick watched as the Exonians from the rear continued their advance. "Hydrech won't be expecting us to break our men into two separate forces to deal with his brigades. If he's unable to react in time to our sudden change in tactics, we just might be able to turn the tables and break his lines and we have a chance of ending this swiftly."

Anna gulped. That was a big "if". Still, she didn't presume to know more about battles than Frederick did. He obviously had more experience than she did, and surprisingly the setback hadn't really fazed him. If it had, he didn't show it as usual.

The word went out to the rear ranks who had by now managed to more or less deploy with muskets at the ready, save for a few companies who were struggling to get into position. With the spyglass levelled to her eye, Anna could see the soldiers facing the forest unsheathe their bayonets and fix them to their muskets. A small detachment of skirmishers had also gone out to screen the Exonians' advance to slow them down and buy more time.

Two of the artillery guns bombarding the Exonians' had ceased fire and were now being hastily dragged towards the rear on the caissons by the artillerists. The remaining guns were being repositioned and trajectories were calculated quickly by the artillerists at the front. Even as all of this went on, the Exonians' three guns continued to slam out solid shot after solid shot at the Arendellians and Danish battalions. The sound was deafening and incessant, and Anna had a feeling it was going to get a whole lot noisier if they didn't end this quickly.

Towards the rear, the soldiers were still holding their fire even as the forest brigade closed to musket range at a hundred yards. The Exonians, having already deployed into line, opened fire on the Arendellians and Danish. Down the line, some soldiers in the front rank were hit by musket balls, and they spun away screaming. They were quickly hauled away and replaced by men from the second and third ranks, closing up as if nothing had happened.

The skirmishers were still doing their part, detached in loose order in pairs, emptying their ammunition into the front ranks of the Imperial Horde soldiers and slowing them down. Slowly though, the skirmishers were falling back inch by inch as the Exonians continued their advance, albeit at a slower pace.

Ninety yards. Anna fidgeted, shifting from foot to foot as she watched her soldiers hold fire steadily in the face of firing muskets. It had to take tremendous resolve and discipline not to fire back at their enemies even as the Exonians drew closer with every second. Just a while longer…

MELODY

As her voice at the back of her mind had warned her, it was a trap. Hydrech was trying to sandwich them between the city wall defenders and the forest troops. However, due to Frederick's quick thinking, they would now at least stand a chance against their enemies.

Melody glanced at the Exonians who were still marching towards them at double pace, and estimated the distance. Ninety yards. We have to let them get a little closer before we retreat.

"One more minute!" Melody shouted again at the top of her lungs, and her voice was echoed by lieutenants and sergeants along the loose line of skirmishers. She was out in front with the rest of the skirmishing company, of course.

The first man of every skirmishing pair discharged their musket balls into the forest troops, the report of their muskets crashing at erratic beats, though no less deafening than usual. Up and down the Exonian line, soldiers were cut down while the rest closed up the gaps and pushed forward, trampling on their unfortunate countrymen.

Melody herself fired two arrows into the advancing troops, and nocked another. She had brought along her trusty compound bow, which she had gotten used to over the course of the past few months. For now she had ditched the standard recurve bow or longbow for her current one, which had been given to her as a parting gift.

While the first man of the skirmishing pairs reloaded, the second man fired, and the process repeated itself endlessly. Soon, the field was becoming so embroiled in smoke that it was impossible to see more than ten or twenty yards away.

Holding her breath, Melody judged the distance. Probably eighty yards. She counted down the seconds. Four, three, two, one. "Fall back!" She yelled at the top of her lungs, and her command was echoed by the lieutenants and sergeants around her.

The skirmishers abandoned their post and scrambled back towards the relative safety of their own lines. Melody herself fired one last arrow into the smoke and spun on her heel, making a beeline straight for the ranks.

The soldiers of the rear lines half turned, giving the skirmishers just enough space to squeeze through. Although the lines were jam packed with pushing skirmishers, they just about made it through even though some were cut down by another volley of musketry from the forest troops.

Melody squeezed through the gaps and turned. The Exonians were emerging from the smoke and coming fast. Sixty five yards. It's time. She turned to General Ivon, who was watching her with attentive eyes, and nodded. He nodded back in acknowledgement.

"First rank level!" The commanders stationed up and down the line screamed. Hundreds of muskets swung up, butts of the weapons pressed against the soldiers' shoulders in unison. Barrels pointed forward, with gleaming bayonets like a solid wall of steel bristles.

"Fire!"

The crash of the first unified volley was absolutely deafening. Melody could feel her ears tingling from the sound of hundreds of muskets cracking at the same time. The results too, were horrifying.

At a range as close as sixty yards, the musket fire was devastatingly effective. Many men from the Exonian line tumbled and blood sprayed from where many balls hit their targets. However, they just kept coming, stepping over the wounded and dead as if they were nothing more than obstacles and rocks on the ground.

The sergeants in the Exonian lines screamed for them to close up and continue advancing. The enemy responded with a volley of musketry of their own.

The field was covered in white smoke from the muskets, and every time someone fired, Melody could see the pink-white flares stab out across the enemy line. She glanced back at the two artillery guns which had arrived at the rear to support them.

Ivon waved them into position, and the artillerists dragged the cannons forward on their caissons. The cannons, with barrels facing backwards, were wheeled around so that the barrels faced the Exonians. The men worked quickly to angle the barrels upwards, judging the trajectories as the enemies continued to approach relentlessly.

"First rank load, second rank level!"

As the first ranks of soldiers knelt to reload their muskets, the second rank of soldiers brought their weapons to bear, aiming through the smoke filled air. Melody waited. One more volley and it's time to bring in the six pounders.

"Fire!" The command reverberated through the air, followed closely behind by another ear-splitting volley of musketry from their own line. Through the thick smoke, Melody could only imagine that numerous Exonian soldiers were dropping like bits of dirt sprayed up by the musketry.

She turned to the artillerists, who signalled that they were ready as they prepped their two six pounders with double loaded canisters. General Ivon, standing not far behind them, looked to her. Melody glanced at the Exonians who were still coming on determinedly. Thirty yards.

"Do it!" She yelled.

General Ivon echoed her command, and a thunderous boom replied her. The two cannons went off at the same time, amplifying every timbre of bass filled sound the guns had to offer. Eardrums vibrating, Melody could feel her teeth rattle in her head as the after effects of the boom still made itself known.

The forest troops obviously took it a lot worse. Double shotted canister rained down on them, exploding and spraying hundreds of lead balls into the sea of humanity. The results were even worse than when the first two ranks had emptied their muskets into the line. At thirty yards, there was no escaping the effects of the shelling.

"Again!" Ivon shouted. "Don't give them time to recover! Double shotted, load!"

"Loaded!" The artillerists echoed.

"Fire!"

The next thump wasn't as bad as the first, but Melody could still feel it resound against her insides. Before the Exonians had time to recover, the second round of canister arced and crashed into the heart of their forces. Huge swathes of soldiers were cut from the forest troops, and there was blood and limbs everywhere. Melody tried not to linger her gaze on anything for too long.

"One last time!"

The third time was definitive enough to send the message that the forest troops' attack had failed. By this time, the detachment of Exonians looked nothing like it did when it had first emerged from the forest.

"Now!" Melody shouted to Ivon.

"Charge!" Ivon roared and lifted his sword, and his command was repeated and hollered like a battlecry. The soldiers in the ranks took it up, and sprinted with bayonets attached. At a range of roughly twenty five to thirty yards, there was obviously no time for the Exonians to recover from the bombardments.

Melody wasn't sure which it was. Whether the enemy commander had decided that there was no use in holding the line any longer and had given the order to fall back, or if the men simply ran out of pure survival instinct. Nonetheless, the forest troops broke and ran, but many of them were stabbed and cut down by the charging men. There was no way that the forest troops would be able to reform and mount a second attack, given the sorry state they were now left in.

It was safe to say that on this front at least, victory was theirs. The charging men whooped and cheered, but their commanders rallied them back quickly to march up and reinforce the main body of Arendellians and Danish battalions that were engaging the walls.

Melody heaved a sigh of relief as the soldiers hurriedly reformed into column to support their comrades. We did it. Now to fight at the wall.

ANNA

I don't believe it. Anna stood gaping at the battlefield. The statement was not made in horror, but in relief and catharsis. Somehow, the rear battalions had managed to fend off the forest troops which had attacked them all of a sudden.

If the future's history books would one day write about this war, then they would certainly talk about the Battle of Turnsheim. Of how this day was the one where the Arendellians and Danish brigades had overcome almost certain defeat and turned the tables on the Exonians.

The rear troops were safe, and were now marching at double pace in column to join up with the bulk of the two brigades battering the front. As Frederick had instructed, the majority of the troops were focused on the wall ahead of them.

The infantry were still advancing albeit slowly so as to give the rear battalions which had reformed time to regroup, closing the distance between themselves and the Exonians deployed along the length of the wall. The Exonians had by now seen that their forest brigade had failed to sandwich the Arendellians and Danish, and were beginning to show signs of wavering.

"It's working, isn't it?" Anna asked, her eyes still glued to the battlefield, not directing the question to anyone in particular.

"Looks that way." Kristoff answered. "We just have to deal with the Exonians at the wall now."

As the Arendellians and Danish battalions got nearer with their advance, they deployed from column into line even as the remaining artillery guns bombarded the Exonians at the wall. By now, the eight pounders belonging to the Danish artillery had gone into full swing. The booms came one after another incessantly, and the solid round shots soon found their targets in the Exonian lines. Then at eighty yards, the first volley from the front ranks stabbed out, cutting down Exonian soldiers here and there down the line.

The Exonians returned their fire, though at erratic intervals, their musketry's effect nowhere near as strong as the Arendellians' and the Danish's. Then at fifty yards, the dragoons and cavalry cuirassiers flanking the first two Arendellian battalions charged out, riding towards the wall.

The artillery guns gave one final round, all aimed at the centre of the Exonian lines. Eight pound balls flew through the air, and successfully smashed the centre of the Exonian lines at the same time. The Exonians were scattered in a frenzy, and they received yet another volley of musketry from the front ranks of the advancing battalions.

This was more than enough to send them all into a frenzy, though that gave them no time to retreat. Neither did it give them time to form square to repel the cavalry charge, although that didn't stop a few of the Exonian battalions from trying.

It was futile, despite their best efforts. The Arendellian dragoons and cavalry cuirassiers rode within range, firing their rifles at the enemies and swinging their sabres. Half formed squares were broken almost instantly, and the remaining Exonians who weren't cut down sprinted for the walls in hopes of escaping.

The Arendellian and Danish infantry that were still advancing steadily up till now suddenly gave up a terrifying roar, and sprinted at full speed for the wall. The cavalry cuirassiers pulled back while the infantry passed them by. The rear battalions had by now joined up with the main bulk of the advancing force, and they all reached the walls where the Exonians had abandoned their positions as well as their cannons.

Thankfully, the city walls were low, which gave the attackers the advantage. With bayonets attached, Arendellians and Danish men clambered over the walls, slashing at any Exonians who were too slow in getting over to safety. The Exonians had either died at the walls, or whatever that remained of them were now well into retreat. The left wall of the city was the first to fall, forcing the rest of the Exonians at the remaining two walls to begin fleeing before the Arendellians and Danish attacked their rear from within the city.

"We did it." Anna gasped. "Frederick…that was a stroke of genius."

"A wild gambit," he said mildly, not seeming in the least bit surprised, but just a little satisfied that his plan had paid off. "It could have gone horribly wrong."

"But it didn't." Kristoff clapped the older man on the shoulder genially.

"Frederick, we won." Anna lifted her voice in relief.

Frederick smiled. "Yes, we did."

Anna heaved a sigh and deflated considerably as she watched her soldiers stream over the walls and into the city, and her mind supplied the sounds of the cheers and whoops of the victorious men. Turnsheim is liberated. We won.

Author's Commentary:

After I finished writing the Battle of Arendelle at the conclusion of Book 3, I found myself wondering how the hell am I supposed to top that? I think I might have outdone myself on that one, so I decided to increase the scale of it all.

In this book we find not just the Arendellians against the Empire, but the entire Confederation's armies united against the Empire. The war and battles are on a scale that I've never ever attempted before, and it's frankly a very challenging thing to get right. There's a whole lot of planning the battles to make sure they're strategically sound and accurate to what 19th century tactics and weaponry are like.

And of course, this is just the beginning. We have a full scale war on our hands at the same time that Elsa and her allies are being hunted across the continent. This story is operating on a scale larger than anything I've written thus far, so stay excited for what comes next!