By the following day, all preparations were completed. The Edelweiss had been refitted by both Isara and Rikku. They needed to attack the city by the crack of dawn to meet the 48 hours that Welkin assured. The only problem left was how to attack it. Both Welkin and Noctis knew that attacking it from the bridge would be suicidal.
"All right, let's hear this brilliant plan. And it's too late to back out, boss-man. You got that? So let's hear it!" Largo peeled his ear drums.
"We're going to strike the enemy encampment on the east bank."
"Whoa, hold it. You're askin' us to die for you?! One squad ain't breachin' that bridge head, buddy boy! That would be suicide!" Rosie heavily protested
"We're not taking on the bridgehead. We're taking on this. The river. Noctis and his boys will use a raft to get to the other side of the river before dawn and secure us a place to land on until the morning fog comes, then we use the fog as cover as we cross the river, then launch a surprise attack."
"Aww, c'mon! Is this just some game to you, boy-o? Swimmin' a couple of foot soldiers over there ain't gonna do much if we've got no tanks!"
"Don't worry, I've got that covered. Isara?"
"I've fitted the Edelweiss with water-resistant measures to allow for submersion. It will only hold for a few minutes, but it should be enough to cross."
"Hold on just a sec. Ships come through here! It's gotta be too deep for a tank.
"We're covered. Look, see that over there?" Welkin pointed.
"What's that, grass?"
"Mistlereed. A tall aquatic plant found in the estuaries of some rivers. I noticed them when I came down to observe the river. This stretch runs shallow. Shallow enough for a tank to drive across. Trust me on this."
Largo still wasn't confident about this plan, no matter how much Welkin tries. Just then, Ignis came along with Cloud.
"Noctis, we scavenged the gliders and we found a number of inflatable rafts that we can use to ferry us across the river through the night."
"Good job. Now, In addition to Welkin's strategy, I will take mine and Cloud's platoon. We'll ferry ourselves across the river about 2 hours before sunrise and soften up resistance by the eastern bank. We'll radio in once the bank is secured just 30 minutes before sunrise. In addition, Tidus and Squall's boys will be providing us with mortar support." Noctis then turned to Luna, "Luna, you're gonna have to stay back at this and operate the radio. We need someone to give the coordinates."
"Alright." She nodded, "Please return in one piece."
Noctis grinned, placing his hand over her head. "Don't you worry about me. I'll be fine." He assured, before snapping back to strategising, turning to Vincent.
"Vincent, I need a good set of eyes near that balcony over there. You're gonna have to stay back along with Yuffie. Make sure you snipe anyone trying to hamper the river crossings in the morning. Watch out for MG42 nests."
"No problem." He acknowledged.
"Mortars? Where'd we get mortars?" Alicia asked.
"Rikku had them taken with her. We have at least four available for use later."
"Nice one, Noctis. That should ease up our troubles." Welkin praised, seeing how he presence of a light support unit could help them across.
"So First, Major Caelum and his guys will take 2 platoons to put Imperial troops out of commission by the banks of the Eastern side before sunrise. Then they'll radio in for the Edelweiss will cross over and clear out any Imperial patrols and reinforcements on the shore. Then Lieutenant Gunther will send up a flare, signaling the rest of us to follow by boat. Lastly, Sergeant Fleuret will stand by with the mortar teams."
"Good. Prompto will be tasked with carrying the radio for the mortars. The transmission sign for the mortars will be Queen Six, Our callsign will be King Five, and Welkin will be Fox One. Remember the names once he reports in."
"Roger!" Everyone replied.
"Right. Now, let's get started. I'll see you on the other side later this morning. Noctis, be careful."
"You can count on me Welkin."
By the early hours, at exactly 4:00am, the sun was still not up. Noctis had one hour to soften the eastern banks of the river. On the other side; Welkin, Alicia, Rosie, Isara, Largo and the other squad members were watching. The mortar teams on the other hand stood by and watched.
Back on the eastern banks, Noctis' team made it with no one noticing that they had landed by the riverbank. Noctis took out his knife and placed the guard standing by the planks to sleep before dragging him into the water. Ignis, Cloud and the others got out of the boat and proceeded to take cover. To their left were two Imperials patrolling. The another guard was sleeping by the wall.
"Cloud, you and Cissnei go and silence that patrol. Gladio, you cover me while I try to go for that guard by the wall. Do it quietly."
Sneaking around the patrol, they were conversing about how they were going to win in the war as Cloud and Cissnei overhear. The two went as close as possible, drawing their knives and killing the two patrolmen. On the other hand, Noctis got off the planks and went inside the guard house. Noticing he was sleeping, he needed to give him an eternal sleep. When Noctis did, he sliced off the cables that lead to a control box for the alarm, sabotaging it.
Once their deed was done, Noctis rallied.
"Nice job. So far so good. All in less than 10 minutes, I might say." He said, looking at his watch. "Now we wait for the crack of dawn. Let's establish a perimeter and make sure the area is clear."
"Yes Sir." They all replied.
After much clearing up and demining the river bank, the two platoons across the river had successfully cleared a ground for Squad 7 to land their boots on. It was about 4:45am when Noctis had declared the area safe enough to land. Turning to Prompto, he finally gave the signal.
"Prompto, signal the others to cross. We attack as soon as they land."
"Roger!" He exclaimed.
Prompto took the handset from his radio which he carried from his back. He proceeded crank the lever to receive transmission from the other radio which was carried around by Isara.
"Fox One, this is King Five. Reporting in, over."
Rosie grabbed the handset and proceeded to answer the transmission.
"King Five, this is Fox One. Go ahead."
"The eastern banks of the river is secured. It's safe to move the men across now. Over"
"Understood. We're moving. Over."
"Roger. Out!"
With the confirmation that the eastern bank was secured, the men went to their boats while Welkin prepared to drive the tank to the river. Going in f
"Haha! It seems she's really gotten her fins right off the hook." Welkin exclaimed.
"We still have a long way to go, Welks."
"Gotcha."
A few minutes later, there were two Imperial guards that were patrolling by the road near the banks of the river. The two had not noticed the presence of Noctis' clandestine sabotaging of the three guards and of the alarm which could have alerted all of the Imperials awake out of their bed. On the road nearby, two Imperials stood guard.
"You hear something?" The first guard asked.
"Yeah, I do. What is it?"
"Beats me."
Suddenly, the water starts to ripple. The ducks that were floating around it before started to move and fly away. Out of the blue, the Edelweiss rises from the water. The two guards were shocked but were too late to run. They were ran over the the threads of the tank, killing them instantly.
"The Edelweiss swims just fine. Fall in, 7s!"
With that, Welkin took the flare gun from his pocket and fired it up the air, signalling the others on the other side to advance and get across the river by boat.
"Alright! That's the signal! Let's move!" Alicia ordered.
"Move! Move! Let's go. No time to waste!"
The squad immediately got onto the boats and started to row across the river. They had to move quick or else the guards would be alerted by their presence. When they got to the eastern banks of the river, they were relieved but tired from all the rowing. When everyone was present, they rallied near the Edelweiss.
"Fantastic job! Looks like the enemy is still unaware of our presence. This may be the chance for a surprise attack. We'll take them out with their trousers down." says Noctis.
"You're crazy. You know that, right?" Largo said, referencing Welkin.
"All right, that's everyone. Ready to move out, squad?" Welkin inquired.
"Incoming message from Squad 1 leader Faldio Landzaat on the west bank, sir. Enemy company in motion, presumed headed east across the bridge toward our position." Isara informed.
"A full company? That's bad news for us." Alicia voiced with a hint of worry.
"We'll have to move fast. We're taking that camp before the cavalry rolls in!"
Noctis took matters at this moment.
"Welkin, I propose we split into 2 assault platoons. We'll try and soften the area leading to the bridge as you get the Edelweiss and everyone else on the way. I'm sure the Jerries might have established a strong defence around the bridge and that control room. We have the support for the mortars from across the river. We'll arrange a barrage of mortars, which should cause enough confusion for us to move in. We'll move towards the road and catch those Jerries by surprise." Noctis strategized.
Knowing that this movement was sound, Welkin believed in his friend's strategy.
"Sound like a plan, Noctis." He then turned to his officers. "Alicia, you and Rosie's platoons will amalgamate and try to clear the rest of the way for us. We'll continue moving up you secure the area. Largo, you best get ready for armored encounter."
"Sure will, boss-man."
"Alright, Take down the bridgehead as quickly as possible! Squad 7, move out!"
With that, Noctis took his group into a small alley where it provided them excellent cover and a view of the small Imperial establishment by Randgriz Boulevard. As they took cover, awaiting for Noctis signal, they stood by, calmly waiting as they prepared to rush the control room. Their commander glanced at his watched and signal his blonde radioman to begin the shelling.
"King Five to Queen Six, do you read me?, over" He transmitted.
"Queen Six to King Five, send in coordinates, over." Luna voiced, signalling the mortars to get into positions.
"Open area near the bridge entrance, Requesting mortar support, over."
"Copy that, stand by for barrage."
Luna then turned to Tidus, who was holding a set of binoculars which gave him a view of the other side of the river.
"Cpt. Jecht, Open area by the bridge entrance. Prompto requests mortar barrage."
"Open area, bridge entrance. Charge five. Range 600." Tidus ordered.
"Round off!" Rikku bellowed.
The mortar teams soon started to shell the area leading to the bridge, causing confusion among the Imps. They scattered in an attempt to grab for cover while tank crews attempted to climb their tanks. As this took place, Noctis finally gave the signal.
"FORWARD BUCKS! FORWARD BUCKS!" Noctis bellowed.
The Paratroopers, along with the members of Squad 7 moved out of cover and began to storm the area. As this took place, Vincent and Yuffie took action and started to snipe enemy troops from across their position. The plan was working well in their favour. But soon, things weren't going well for the other Squad 7 members, who found themselves pinned down by sniper fire from a building.
"Crap!" Rosie bellowed.
"What's wrong?" Alicia asked.
"See that sniper on the second floor, he could gun down the squad quite easily from there."
"Good lord! That's gonna be a problem."
"We're gonna need help. I'm gonna run to Noctis and ask for help. I'll take Homer with me!"
"Alright. Be safe Rosie." Alicia then turned to her platoon. "Covering fire!"
Rosie and Homer immediately ran on the sidewalks in an attempt to reach Noctis. When they go to his position, they could see them being pinned down by an Imperial light tank. The tank caught the sight of the 2 Gallians running for cover. It fired but missed. The two immediately jumped into the small trench where Noctis was.
"Noctis, we need help! The entire platoon is pinned down by a sniper."
"I'll help you if you help me first. See that tank over there? We need to take it out for us to move closer to the area near the bridge. We ran out of PIAT shells so we'll have to use sticky bombs. I'll try to draw its fire. You throw the grenade bomb on that thing."
"Alright. I hope this works."
"It will. Trust me!"
Rosie nodded and prepared to sprint from her cover. Noctis timed his sprint and as soon as he stood up, the tank turned its attention to him, giving Rosie the opportunity to toss the Sticky bomb. As Rosie got close to the tank, she unpinned the grenade, removing its protective cover and revealing an adhesive that sticks to any surface and setting off the 8-second timer. The grenade landed on the tank's engine deck as Rosie sprinted back to cover. A few seconds later, the tank exploded as crew members climbed out of the burning metal coffin while on fire.
"Great show, Rosie! Give the coordinates to Prompto!"
Rosie smiled, nodding and then turned to Prompto, "Alright Blondie, the sniper is supposed to be on that building behind there. About 3 clicks from our position."
"Gotcha." Prompto immediately spoke through his radio. "Enemy sniper by the white building. Need mortar fire on that position, over."
"Roger that, over." Luna responded, then turning to the mortars. "Cpt. Jecht, Enemy sniper and barracks by the white building. Requesting mortar support."
"Left buildings, third from the left. Charge three. Range 550." Tidus directed.
"Round off!"
The shells left the mortar tubes and was soon firing around the white building where Rosie saw the sniper. It's occupants soon were running away as soon as the mortars rained down on them. The sniper was however not-so lucky. His window was pulverized by a mortar that left Rikku's mortar piece.
"Alright, it's clear!" Alicia bellowed.
"Let's get out of here."
They then linked up with Welkin and the rest of Squad 7, who were moving in on the enemy positions near the bridge. By now, Noctis' platoon has managed to gun down the Imperial troops as they neared the bridge. Unfortunately for them, Imperial reinforcements arrived, keeping them at bay.
"Damn! These bastards aren't going down without a fight. I'm out of grenades." Rosie exclaimed.
"Do we have any other choice? I still have one left here." Homer replied.
Attempting to free themselves from being a sitting duck, Noctis turned to Homer.
"Private, give me your grenade."
"Yes sir!"
Homer passed his grenade onto Noctis. With the grenade in hand, Noctis prepared to unpin it in order to take out the cluster of enemy reinforcements bogging them down.
"Rosie, cover me!" Noctis voiced, before going out of cover.
"Suppressing fire!"
Noctis then left his cover and dashed towards the enemy positions. The Imperials could not fire back at Noctis because his allies were covering him and that they were too suppressed to even fire a single shot. This gave Noctis the opportunity he needed. As he was nearing the enemy positions, he threw the grenade as far as he could and landing on the Imperial positions in front of him before hitting the ground. The explosion came off and clusters of Imperial troops were taken out.
'Wow. Prince Charming is unbelievable' Rosie thought, seeing at his courage to brave incoming bullets.
"Bucks and Squad 7, on me!" Noctis rallied. "We best head for the bridge!"
While Noctis was more successful in being able to take out the Imperials on his end, Welkin's detachment is met with stiff resistance. Imperial reinforcements were raining down on his force and that they couldn't move in. This drastically affected Welkin's time table into taking the bridge.
"Welkin! The Imperials are getting in reinforcements." Alicia voiced.
"Jeez. We're gonna have to keep fighting. We have to take that bridge as soon as possible or else we're doomed."
"Where is our mortar support?"
"Still firing."
Back in Tidus' mortar pits, the teams were firing non-stop. Shell after shell ejects out of the tubes until finally they ran out.
"Rounds complete!"
"Rounds complete!"
"Zell, Wakka, more ammo! Go go!" Rikku ordered.
Back in Welkin's sector, Squad 7 were just 300 metres away from the bridge, but reinforcements kept coming. That was until they noticed movement from their left. To their joy's delight, it was Noctis. His force managed to fend back off the enemy forces coming into the frontlines. He immediately ran towards the Edelweiss, heading for the rear and knocking on the rear emergency exit, prompting Welkin to open it.
"Sorry we're late. Did we miss the action?" Noctis asked.
"You're just in time. But we need to think of a way to make these Imperials retreat. We don't have much time. More reinforcements will be here soon."
To the right of the bridge entrance, Noctis noticed the bridge house that contained the drawbridge's control. Realizing that they had no time to lose, he took matters into his own hands.
"Welkin, order the Squad to lay down suppressing fire. If I can make it to that control room, I might just be able to operate that drawbridge and stop reinforcements from coming over. "
"Noctis, don't. There's too much enemy concentration in there."
"Believe me, Welkin. Now's not the time for hesitation. It's now or never."
With the threat of the enemy reinforcements growing ever stronger, Welkin couldn't object. He had to believe in him.
"Alright, just be back in one piece."
Noctis nodded and reloaded his Sten gun before he ran out into the open of raining bullets.
"Squad 7, covering fire!"
The paratroopers also noticed their commander dashing for the control room, prompting his second-in-command to fire at the enemy.
"Suppressing fire!" Prompto bellowed.
As soon as the two groups were giving him the support he needed, Noctis dashed towards the control room as he fired full-auto. By the sandbags, the Imperials were defending the area around the control room. They were protected by sandbags.
"To the left, someone's charging!"
Noctis immediately grabbed for cover as soon as the Imperials were trying to focus on him.
"Goddammit!"
He then took a grenade off his pouch and moved to unpin it before throwing it onto the Imperials by the sandbags. Once it exploded, he made a mad dash towards the control room and managing to get in before the Imperials could even attempt to gun him down. The rest of Squad 7 could not believe that Noctis' mad dash to the enemy lines would actually be the signal of the end of the Imperial threat.
"He's done it!" Ignis bellowed.
"I don't believe it... He actually made it!" Largo exclaimed. "Prince Charming is as mad as Boss-Man."
"Welks, Noctis' made it!" Isara exclaimed.
"Nice work! We've occupied the enemy encampment at the bridge's end!"
"Now all we gotta do is wait for him to open the bridge up."
Inside the control room, there was a large lever to the left by the windows. Judging by the controls, he figured out the main lever to operate the bridge's control to raise it. The lever was tilted to the left and by tilting it to the right, it meant that the drawbridge would raise up. Noctis switched the lever to the right.
"Shit! A whole regiment. We can't hold on against them." exclaimed Cloud.
"No. Hold on, look at the bridge. It's starting to move."Cissnei pointed.
"Hell yeah!" Homer exclaimed.
When the bridge was raised up, all hell broke loose for the Imperials coming across towards them. Infantry troops ended up drowning towards the cold water with their lungs drenched in salt water because their equipment was too heavy. Tanks fell towards the river and even crushing a few unlucky infantry men. Lorries fell into the same fate. About 2/3rds of the Imperial strength was crossing the bridge. Which meant that the two Allied groups could easily outgun them with the remaining strength they had. The Imperials had no other choice but to retreat.
When the smoke had cleared, the damage done to the Imperial regiment was seen on the river. There were many bodies on the water and some ended on the banks of the river. Lorries were seen flowing away with some having tumbled to the other side. Tanks were turned to their side. The damage had been done.
"Hell yeah!"
"Woohooo!"
"Alright!"
An exchange of hi-fives were soon seen among the two teams.
"Alright boys, let's get out of here and meet up with the Captain."
With that, The Paratroopers and Squad 7 left the bridge area and went into one of the buildings for a brief rest and recovery. The day belonged to them on that morning. Of the whole Squad 7, only Squall was wounded due to the shrapnel he had taken from a mortar round during the attack on the Western Bank of Vasel.
For the two squad leaders, it was obviously a huge relief.
TO BE CONTINUED