Rabite
Veteran Member
Emperor of H
Hey, look over here.
Posts: 1,887
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Post by Rabite on Jun 3, 2016 1:40:24 GMT -6
The thundering roar of Granselian cannons was not the only thing that was hear echoing in the battlefield, it wasn't long before the enemies attempt to counter with their own heavy weapons. Granselian artillery might be well known for the specs of the weapons and those that mans it, but they're not invincible, and a counterattack from the enemies had sure delayed further attacks. The simple fortification that was set up before the battle was quickly demolished by the enemy's return fire, it was difficult to hit the guns themselves, but the explosion is enough to destroy things in the general area. The larger Urukuss is one thing, the Dosfrangos are placed closer to the front and more vulnerable to enemy fire, and James is not ready to lose any of his guns so early in their journey.
"Front row, hold. Move to the South West, the enemies won't be moving much if our plans with the Cavalry are successful, pull back and strain their bombardment capacity."
"1st, 2nd, 3rd Company! Move towards the South by 500 meters! West 800 meters!"
The Dosfrango was categorized as 'light' artillery, but they're still weapons weighing over 2000 pounds, so horses are of course called into action to help move these heavy weapons. It took some time before they could move according to order and arrive at their new location, and certainly means they would take sometime to get ready for another wave of barrage.
"Yumi, aim for the enemies that are trying to return fire, a bit more to the East. Don't forget our new positioning."
"Understood. 4th Company! Adjust your aim! Target, enemy artillery! Fire!"
The Urukuss however had no problem so far, being at a much safer distance. The heavier guns aim according to their new orders, and compares their own calculation with the data sent by the Kasorymor forces, so that they would be able to aim with more accuracy and to avoid hitting allies in the area. This also means the area of bombardment would be smaller than before, but are more focused to hitting those targets. Of course, with the Dosfrango guns not joining the fire, the total level of destruction would be lower than before but it is still enough to reap lives from the battlefield.
"At least our opponent knows that he's got to at least delay our bombardments so he could move against the other forces, it's not some random fool we're dealing with here."
"....If we exchange fire we'll surely be the victors in the end."
James pats her a few times on the shoulder, while keeping his eyes on the battlefield. Yumi was as strict as ever, but he didn't mind, she was just trying to do her job at the best that she could.
"I know we will, but these weapons cost money, and the lives of my soldiers are priceless. We're not alone in this battle, so there's no need to use tactics like that to exchange blood for blood. We just have to continue the shelling, and let our allies charge in while the enemies are shaken. Don't worry, we'll have plenty of opportunity to show our abilities."
"Yes my lord."
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[Granselian Forces] 50/50
10x Urukuss Field Artillery Gun (20) [4000 meters range] 30x Dosfrango Light Field Artillery Gun (30) [2500-2800 meters range]
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Post by Carlos on Jun 4, 2016 1:27:57 GMT -6
The advance of the Shock Troops is unflinching. However despite the quality of the steel armor and it's ungainly weight. The occasional shot would hit the weak points causing the soldier to often fall to his knees and lose all motion like a string-less puppets. Never the less the others continue their forward momentum. Until they reach the halfway mark. They begin throwing smoke grenades ahead, providing them with some cover as they draw closer to the enemy.
A few yards from reaching the enemy lines, they loose a volley of lethal grenades into the enemy's formation. Soon after the Youth Brigades break from behind their iron clad brethren to charge the enemy positions at speed. Doing so with the recklessness that only youth and indoctrination can bring. They had saved their musket shots for this moment, shooting anyone they couldn't reach in time, then engaging as best they can. Or dying.
The shock troops arrive shortly after into the mix. Menacing figures that they, the brutality of their club weapons do well to instill fear among the common rank and file.
And despite having been laying down consistent fire, the Blood Blades manage to clear the distance with surprising skill and speed. Either firing into the enemy lines or engaging in melee alongside the others.
Tres leads one such unit. Dispatching men with a pistol in one hand and a sword in the other.
10 x Youth Brigade (389 Troops) 20 x Shock Troops (463 Troops) 20 x Blood Blades (291 Troops)
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Post by Pitman on Jun 6, 2016 22:28:48 GMT -6
As the battle had begun, the incoming fire was intense but even they were covered they had not much choice. Jorge mentality cursed as the securitate forces didn't move against them. Now that the range of the weapons they used were so much superior then their own though the scouts were pinned they would be forced to move out. Jorge soon turned to Hertz who then nodded back they must move and couldn't stay here not with others counting on them. Blowing a trumpet the men knew the time was now as they would slowly begin their own advance forward well taking cover. When they could they would fire back as they moved forward. The incoming fire was deadly as one by one men began to fall or be hit by the machine gun fire or rifle fire. The Morale itself wasn't hold up too much as the enemy continued to pound them from a distance. The right and left flanks would determine this battle as they were the forces to allow their own forces to win. If they didn't then it would likely be the end of the resistance main body. All the while Jorge moved with his men and they would soon stop and met up with all the forward scout positions but didn't go any further up toward likely death.
Jorge looked down to one of the men and soon says, "You did a good job... the time is almost here just hold out a little more."
They continued to fire back but didn't move completely in range yet.
All the while Asher and his men rode into the forest finally but didn't move toward the incoming fire just yet. They instead began to take a look at the distance as Asher took out his Binoculars to see any openings left. Until the time was right Asher investigated from a long distance waiting for the time to strike.
Paemirian Resistance
Lead by Viscount Asher Rorke
35x Highland Calvary (525 Horsemen) (35 Points)
Lead by Viscount Jorge Wyvern and Captain Hertz
6x Paemir Battle Wagon (18 Points) -6x Highland Infantry (Support) (30 Men) (6 Points) 38x Highland Infantry (949 Men) (38 Points)
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Richter
Veteran Member
Posts: 1,870
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Post by Richter on Jun 6, 2016 23:25:36 GMT -6
Dated as they were, the two Wallace Guns that swiveled to fire on Cadan's troops were still very efficient at the task for which they were designed. Heavy firepower forced his people down into cover, and although they still advanced, they did so much more carefully. Like their own squad support weapons, those rivaling them were magazine fed - so every time one had to reload, the men they suppressed put on a burst of speed to eat up the land before they could resume laying down sheets of lead. The enemy were not sedentary while that happened, the mercenaries were moving in similarly sluggish posture, only they were falling back to more defensible terrain rather than pushing forward. Likely, they had already scouted it out ahead of time and planned this measured retreat. Cadan radioed into his kasors and ordered for them to move to the fronts and spearhead the assault on this position, knowing that they would get the job done. The elite soldiers reached back and grabbed the grenades sheathed on their left shoulders as they moved forward, gripping the long handle that Kasorymor stick grenades were known for. In a single fluid motion the bombs were yanked from their holsters, armed, and hurled end-over-end into the machine gun emplacements up ahead to their left and right. The other troops did similar, hurling bombs by hand or firing them from their tanbellan pistols into the ranks of troops armed with rifles. Acrid smoke rose into the air, both from specialized ordnance designed to cover their advance, and small fires from the actual explosives. The soldiers dove into a charge once the machine guns went silent; whether they were dead or taking cover did not matter. They had an opening and they planned to take it. "Charge!" Cadan bellowed over the radio, and his men did exactly that. They fired their rifles from the hip on approach, bayonets leveled and ready. Others slung the longarms over the shoulder and moved onto axe and pistol instead, the favored melee weapon of this clan's troops. Regardless of what they were using, they exchanged deadly close range fire into the ranks of the enemy skirmish line and then moved to engage in bloody melee with frantic war cries on their lips. A handful of runners from the southern flank moved to meet up with Jorge and inform him that Kasorymor's men have reached melee distance with the enemy picket and expect to break them soon and begin to wrap around that side of Hameldon's column. While there, they also provide a radio through which he can contact James/Cadan and ask for better artillery fire, reports, or other aid from these commanders. Cadan's Warband:10x Kasor Platoons (150 men 27x Gwithysi Platoons (540 men) 9x Trevluyow Platoons (270 men) ------------------------ Light infantry pressed hard on the Securitate's flanks from both sides. While these troops weren't green in melee, they weren't used to fighting foes with such ferocity, nor able to close in such number. After all, they weren't expecting to be acting as line infantry, and weren't deployed to do so all the same. The lines began to quake. Explosives from both sides silenced the machine guns that had been attempting to pin down the flankers, and losing them was a blow to both their morale and tactical advantage. Scything blades from both sides were pitted against each other and versus axes, with troops hacking into each other in the frenzy of battle. The Eastern soldiers were found to be wanting in armor compared to some of their foes, so they incurred quite a few loses. Or clubs in the case of the shock troopers, who were doing their job very well of punching deep into the enemy formation. They fought admirably, but it was becoming readily apparent that these men were going to lose to their counterparts, whom were both heavier in concentration and equipment, and further bolstered by forward momentum. Realizing this, Hameldon continued to move his skirmishers to reinforce the wavering strongpoint anchoring the edges of his line. At either side, these reinforcements formed flying wedges that moved to intercept and shatter the cohesion the troops of the Kasorymor and Curving Blade houses. They ran forward quickly, letting off a short volley of lead before moving into melee as well to try and unbalance and panic the foes. Even so, the enemy general realized it was a stalling effort and best, in which he attempted to tally up kills and delay the inevitable so that his main forces could move into position to face them down. This put Tres in quite the predicament. As a seasoned fighter he could tell that the enemy would break soon, but he'd have to do something about the flankers coming to do the same to them. Supposing he could a way to deal with that, they could probably succeed here and then regroup and drive into the Securitate's side and disrupt their line of battle. Question was if he could figure out a good reaction before they themselves got flanked and enveloped. Meanwhile James's gunfire proved to continue to be a godsend, possibly the only thing keeping Jorge's forces in battle. Shells raining down began to thin the enemy ranks in more force, and perhaps more importantly, encourage them to periodically take cover. The earthworks they had dug were protecting them similarly to the rebel Paemirian's own, mostly against near-hits and shrapnel. Dirt couldn't do much against those large caliber shells. In addition to just killing men, they blew up a few of those heavy weapons that were causing them problems. The larger ones continued to try to shell James, but their fire dimmed a little to not completely give away their positions - because they figured Gransela went mobile, so they wanted to catch his new angle of attack before going full out. they were also out of effective range now, though still within the theoretical max. Hameldon continued to pour fire into the Resistance with renewed vigor now that his own picket lines had pulled away, leaving them to fire freely at the men entrenched somewhere in the neighborhood of 150~ yards westward. Those machine guns and galloper cannons continued to harass Jorge mercilessly, and he would have to deal with those sooner rather than later. James would likely be a useful ally here if he could feed coordinates. Through his binoculars, the aforementioned noble could see some of the enemy's reserves moving towards edges of the battle, indicating that Cadan and Tres were living up to their part of the battle. Hameldon had a lot more, though, enough that if he sent them all he could probably crush these light forces easily. Asher was probably also in position right about now, it might be time for the main assault to pin them in place and smash them...but he'd have to be 100% certain before ordering it, there was no going back once that box was opened. If he waited too long, the traitor leader could break apart the 3 outflankers piecemeal. If he went too soon, he could throw them towards the front and break Jorge's army, and then all the light soldiers in the world would be useless. This was a delicate balancing act he had to play. As for Asher, he found that the general hadn't left his rear totally open. A loose picket of mercenaries were held up back there to keep an eye out. Beyond them lay the enemy's heavy cannons, and his reserves whom had their backs turned. To move now would risk him getting destroyed by all of those men, many of which he'd recognize as Securitate Elites. The Death Squads, whom had slaughtered many of his friends, family, and clansmen. Killing them would be an irreplaceable loss to the enemy faction, but they were extremely deadly. Sweeping aside the mercs would be easy with his horsemen, the bigger problem was what he'd do after that. Kill men, kill guns, or try to do both? Charge with blades or act as dragoons? Many choices laid open, and he would have to pick carefully. Either way he'd need some kind of distraction, or a very good plan. He, too, would see that the enemy's spare troops were in motion. Perhaps he'd get that break, soon. TL;DR: Cadan and Tres have almost broken the enemy troops to move around the flanks, so Hameldon is desperately sending in backup to stall while his reserves mobilize. Asher comes up behind the group. Hameldon continues to exchange shots with the resistance. Map of the flank battle: Here, with the blue arrow being Carlos, the dark red being the men they're shooting t and in melee with, and the light red being backup. Orange is the cannon they have waiting to attack you when you break their lines. As was mentioned last post, the third rank are perched atop a ridge. Map of main battle: Here. Securitate Punitive Expedition:30x Securitate Heavy Infantry Platoons (300 men) 97x Securitate Infantry Platoons (1940 men) 18x Paemir Horse Driven 37mm Howitzer Gun (19 guns) 50x Eastern Men-At-Arms Platoons (1500 men) 20x Border Reiver Troops (500 horsemen) 18x Mountain Guns (18 guns)
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Rabite
Veteran Member
Emperor of H
Hey, look over here.
Posts: 1,887
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Post by Rabite on Jun 7, 2016 1:16:40 GMT -6
"Looks like our friends have succeeded... somewhat. But at this rate it won't be of any use."
The return fire from the Securitate destroyed the rest of the fortifications, which was abandoned by the Granselians for a short time. It was actually a strange move for an artillery battalion to move away from their original fortification, considering that tends to be the best defense for the slow artillery guns. However James ordered it and it was done, allowing them to avoid the return fire, and forcing the enemies to take sometime to re-aim their guns. This not only waste the enemy's ammunition, but also delay further attacks on the artillery companies, and if the enemies decided to aim towards the ally infantries, would force them to think again when another wave of shells hit them right on.
However the Paemirian forces were less than satisfactory, even though they have completed the planned operations, they fail to carry out further effective offense. Perhaps they had the idea to rely on long range fire exchange to demolish the enemy ranks, however it seems unlikely that could be done. The enemies, if at less numbers, have their own cannons that could return fire, causing damage to the Granselian cannons. Their troops are well trained, and are fighting against the skilled Curving Blade and Kasorymor troops to some point, and certainly doing quite well against the Paemirian forces under their two young commanders. Being of equal level of army size, it certainly is a bad choice to exchange bodies for bodies when there's more enemies ahead to deal with, the best choice here is to push forward with their advantage of having the Securitate trapped in ally formations.
To do so they need to do two basic things, breakthrough the Securitate formation, and hold grounds to stop them from retaking their footings. Certainly not something that could be done just by staying at long range and being careful, and the Granselian cannons can only do so much in a short amount of time. The Kasorymor messenger arrived with Jorge just in time, so James could give a few words of advice to his allies.
"Lord Wyvern! It might be a tough decision for you, but we'll need you to do more than that. If you want to distract the enemies and help Viscount Rorke, then you'll have to charge in and bite at those enemies in front of you! Use your numbers and rush those traitors! If not then they would be able to divert troops to attack the Cavalry forces, making the original plan useless, and even endanger your friend. You two are young, so show me some of that Paemirian guts that you talked about from time to time!"
James yelled into the radio, although he doesn't say it, but it was fairly close to ordering Jorge to carry out a full on assault on the enemy lines. This will of course bring more casualties to the Jorge's main forces, but it is necessary for the other three to carry out a successful attack on the enemy ranks. Of course, he did not wanted him to just charge to his death, Granselian forces are ready to provided the well needed support for their allies.
"Yumi, have the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Company aim for this location near the rear of the enemy ranks to the front. We'll hit the enemy reserves in the area, and the small guns in the front. Have the 4th Company continue their attack on the larger artillery, delay them."
"My lord, would it not be better to aim for the fortifications to open up more fronts for ally forces?"
James simply shook his head, and without any further question the front-line commander begins to give out orders for the units to act accordingly. The reason why they did not do as Yumi suggested, is that it won't be much help. Even if the first line of defense is broken through, the Securitate forces can still pull in their reserves to fill in the gap. They did not suffered so much casualty that they're unable to replenish their losses yet, so targeting the front would not bring much results.
Instead, James decides to aim for the reserved forces, which are usually stationed behind the active forces, ready to step up to the front. Without clear intel, James is unsure where their exact location is, however it is still enough to cause some damage and disrupt their ability to step up quickly to help their allies. The goal is to delay their task of reinforcing the front, creating a vacuum in their formation that the enemy commander is forced to fill in before they could effectively continue their defense, and to force the enemies to move troops towards the front.
"Aim carefully and don't hit any of our allies! Shrapnel rounds! All cannons, fire!"
If they could successfully slow down the reinforcements, it should be enough for the other ally forces to defeat the enemies they are facing now, and attempt to take over the first line of defense. The disruption in formation would also make it easier to continue battle after the initial victories, and able to hold the newly taken grounds better. Lastly, the casualties that would likely to increase from the front-lines would force the enemy commander to send more troops in from the rear, thus reducing their ability to deal with Asher's Cavalry forces.
The Urukuss continues to fire at the enemy mountain guns, their job is to reduce the return fire that they could have caused to the firing Dosfrango guns. This time they change to Shrapnel rounds, which are not aiming to destroy the enemy guns but to kill the operators with shrapnel, so that it would either force them to take cover or to delay and weaken their return fire as much as possible. The same was done with the Dosfrango guns, firing a large number of shrapnel into the predicted area of enemy reserve forces, aiming to kill or disable the enemies in the area. The enemy 37mm guns are also in the general area, so their operators might also take some hits from the attacks and give ally forces a better time in their attacks.
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[Granselian Forces] 50/50
10x Urukuss Field Artillery Gun (20) [4000 meters range] 30x Dosfrango Light Field Artillery Gun (30) [2500-2800 meters range]
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Post by Carlos on Jun 7, 2016 20:22:41 GMT -6
It wasn't just Tres that realized what was happening. Dos, as overall commander of the Curving Blade forces, pulled his retinue of personal bodyguards from the rear and moved into position to fire upon the arriving enemy forces. Meanwhile Tres called out a word, a word in the language of the swamp tribes, a call to arms of sorts. Blood Blades around him instinctively rallied around him and pushed against the enemy flanking the formation. Firing from the hip, swinging their rifles like clubs, or flat out sword fighting. The latter of which they'd trained with since they were children. The weapon they used to kill their own kin to secure their place in the Blood Blades.
Meanwhile the Shock Troops were bludgeoning their way through the enemies, occasionally tossing a grenade in the face of stiff resistance. Though they were slowing in their advance, the weight of the armor taking it's toll on even these hardy men. The Youth Brigade was a mix of fighting in close and firing from cover.
10 x Youth Brigade (341 Troops) 20 x Shock Troops (443 Troops) 20 x Blood Blades (280 Troops)
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Post by Pitman on Jun 9, 2016 19:24:59 GMT -6
As the battle continued more men were falling slowly one by one, even as the flanks were being handled he wondered when the plan would come to fruition. Looking around he knew it was only a matter of time before they would break and General Hameldon knew this as well. So soon closed his eyes he soon heard a ringing from a distance which meant, ah the Granselian artillery would hit further back. Noding his men they soon picked them selves up and begin to move closer and closer toward the enemy though using cover to the best to their ability. Though they had weaker equipment all was not lost.
"Keep pushing forward men!! When we get to the fortifications go into melee!!", Jorge soon shouted, either it was a bold move or a stupid one.
They began to pick their pace as they use any form of cover to continue to press forward using the Granselian Artillery as a marker to press forward.
All the While the attack was occurring from the distance of where Asher and his men were now were fully in position. He looked at the various placements with his bunoculars and noted all positions.
"Those artillery is going to be quite trouble some... and it seems we got a lot of reserves to deal with.", Asher soon commented as he took out a piece of paper jotting down some notes for himself to go over with.
Once he did some formulate on it and soon nods to himself and turns to his second in command ordering, "With me!!"
Soon the calvary began to move within formation with Asher as they followed his movements as he lead from the front of his formation. Moving he waited and soon saw artillery began to pound the reserve area from a distance and saw his one chance he had. The time was now there was no going back.
"Sound the charge!!", Asher soon ordered as the banners waved around him which signal a charge.
Coming from upper part of the foprmation directly towards where the 50mm cannons they moved passing the woods and trees the calvary moved quickly first in a steady ride then into a full gallop onto the unsuspecting cannons. If they turned to their ride they would be shocked at the rumbling of over 500 horse men with their repeating carbines and the uniforms of the Paemirian Duchal Calvary. They would soon began moving in firing or stabbing anyone as they go they would soon turn a hard left towards the rear of their formation. Keeping their mobility going as they continued to strike as they rode. They didn't go any deeper on the sole fact the risk. Instead once they would pass the reserves and the rear of the army they then would make a hard right. It seemed they were going for another charge into soon.
Paemirian Resistance
Lead by Viscount Asher Rorke
35x Highland Calvary (525 Horsemen) (35 Points)
Lead by Viscount Jorge Wyvern and Captain Hertz
6x Paemir Battle Wagon (18 Points) -6x Highland Infantry (Support) (30 Men) (6 Points) 37x Highland Infantry (909 Men) (38 Points)
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Richter
Veteran Member
Posts: 1,870
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Post by Richter on Jun 9, 2016 20:58:12 GMT -6
Kasorymor was well positioned to deal with the flankers rolling in to try and divide his unit; thanks to his clan's lightweight machine guns. The men wielding the lead eaters turned and belted out 40 rounds a piece in long, roaring bursts that met the incoming reinforcements head on. As this broke their stride, Cadan rallied his reserve units to strike off at an angle and slam into the approaching wedge. They dove into melee with adrenaline-fueled frenzy, hacking and tearing into their foes with deadly blades and bayonets. Many fell on either side, though few were the foes whom could match a kasor in hand-to-hand combat. They neither lacked in skill, conviction, nor strength. Long as you could keep them in line. They sought to break through these forces and send them into complete rout, ideally to disorganize the men whom would be coming up from behind to help them out. Heavy shells zoomed over their heads to land somewhere in that direction, the leader of this group hoped it would further stall the aforementioned backup. Cadan's Warband:9x Kasor Platoons (135 men) 26x Gwithysi Platoons (520 men) 8x Trevluyow Platoons (240 men) ------------------------ The shock troopers wouldn't have to endure a protracted melee for much longer, even as it began to appear that they would be pulled down by bodies. Dos and Tres moved well to intercept the oncoming charge, and by doing so, they essentially gutted the hopes that this element of the force had to stay as a cohesive unit. They didn't break right away, the two sides still clashed, but the close range volley and the fact the Blades were counter attacking at the same time took a lot of the edge off of their offensive posture. Similar happened on the Kasorymor side of the battlefield. It felt like only minutes, but this terse melee went on for close to half an hour, with tactical level maneuvers being carried out at the squad level between each side. As the mercenaries lost more and more men, morale finally bottomed out. There was no horn and no steady retreat, just shouts of panic and the stomping of dozens of feet as soldiers turned and ran back to the safety of their rear echelons. Men pushed and shoved at each other, some tripping, others being forced aside by their peers. A brave few, or crazy perhaps, tried to stand and fight to the death - or perhaps they didn't know the comrades at their elbows had abandoned the fight? Either way, any resistance was cut down, captured, or otherwise summarily neutralized. James's artillery was aimed at the perfect sectors to blow up those guns waiting to kill the lighter forces in the event of victory, a happy coincidence. This left them a few options. Reform, chase down the fleeing troops, or perhaps something else. Cresting the ridges and hills those riflemen were hiding atop gave them a decent view of the enemy's lines. To the right and a little ways forward, Kasorymor's left, was the enemy front line. Their flanks now laid open, as they didn't realize they were exposed. Ahead of that they could see the enemy galloper guns moving in formation as they fired, though they would begin to peel back behind a second line of troops after a few more rounds of attacks. And past that, were the enemy's reserves. Some of them were heading their way, but the artillery barrage and panicked fleeing of their paid allies was stalling them. So, the two groups at the fringes had the benefit of initiative in how to proceed. "HOLD!" Hameldon shouted to his soldiers at the frontline, meanwhile. He had to strain his voice to the point of raggedness to be heard over the rain of shells. Even through the smoke and debris, and over the cacophony, he could see Jorge's forces charging, and hear the shouts honoring their noblility past and present. He urged his men to be steadfast a second time as the two lines drew closer and eventually clashed. Bullets flew with deadly accuracy at 30 yards, and from there, they hurled their grenades at short range to break up the incoming advance. But there were too many bodies coming in to stop them, it soon descended into bloody melee. A lot of these men were natives to the region, why they worked for the Securitate varied, but there was a lot of bad blood here. Brother facing brother, the worst kind of war. Clubs, bayonets, and semiautos on one side, revolvers, shovels, and knives on the other. The fighting was thick, fierce, and bloody. The resistance were forced to fight the Securitate over their barricades, and this combined with the shots taken into their formation on the approach, gave the defenders an edge...but with the flanks having fallen and Asher bringing up the rear, they would win the day. Provided Jorge could keep his men to hold the line and die for Paemir. James's guns caused havoc in the middle ranks, meanwhile. His plan was sound, as men moved forward to counter Cadan, Tres, and Jorge, they found themselves beset by artillery. They were forced to disperse and move slowly, which no doubt aided every side tremendously. Bodies began to rack up, and several more of their guns were knocked silent. However, every mountain gun in the traitor's army opened fire back at Gransela's guns now that they had been given enough time to gauge whereabouts he was firing from. They drilled him hard, throwing HE as fast as the crews could shove them down the barrel. When reports began to come in that their picket line had fallen, he suddenly became much more serious. He moved his reserves to form a 3-sided box around the center where he was commanding from, though they weren't able to take many good shots with the mercenaries fleeing through their lines and ruining their angles of fire. It wasn't good for morale, either. At this time Hameldon also began to see to the wounded, organizing some of those men left behind to begin grabbing the wounded and hauling them back to prepare to move them out of the way. The 37mm guns began to fall back as well at his orders to tighten up the line, they fired a few final times, but this broke their shelling for now and gave the rebels merciful relief. He couldn't be sure how far the enemy had penetrated yet, lacking radios themselves, so he had to play his game cautiously until he had more intelligence. But even so, he was not liking the way this was going, and prepared accordingly. Of the two aces he still held, the first that he still had his cavalry on the southern flank, which he ordered forward to try and check Kasorymor with the shrill brass cry of a cavalry horn. That ought to stop their two-flank march a little bit, at least. As for Jorge, he finally deployed his elites; sending them dead center into the fray with their advanced weaponry and iron-hard morale. The faces of their masks leered at the resistance, which might both cause fear and fury in their hearts. But one thing was for sure, the frontline just got a lot stiffer, and with so many allies in close proximity, Gransela's long range bombardment would have to be a lot more careful. Asher's arrival went similarly beyond his notice. The thunder of hooves caught attention from the sentries at the rear pretty fast, and the ones they didn't kill on the way in were hasty to try and take pot shots at them on the way past. But with their speed and the denseness of the cover, the riders weren't too bad off. In their charge, they managed to trample, shoot, or hack down the crews of four guns before peeling off to flee. By that point they had caught the eye of a few platoons of Securitate Infantry, who moved to follow them; shooting as they went. These attacks were sporadic at best, the people doing it were clearly taken by surprise and very unnerved at having a huge force come up from behind them. News of this hadn't reached the general yet, but no doubt it'd be a game changer when it did. TL;DR: Kasorymor and the Blades break the flank and can now move as they wish to capitalize on that. Hameldon mobilizes his reserves to reform his battle line and reinforce the front, to combat the inevitable outflanking and also to better resist Jorge's rush. Enemy cavalry move to engage Kasorymor. James faces heavy counterbattery fire. Asher's cavalry face sporadic return fire, and their existence is now known. Map: The red lines are the retreating skirmishers, everything else ought to be apparent. Securitate Punitive Expedition:28x Securitate Heavy Infantry Platoons (280 men) 85x Securitate Infantry Platoons (1700 men) 14x Paemir Horse Driven 37mm Howitzer Gun (14 guns) 35x Eastern Men-At-Arms Platoons (1050 men) (The majority are fleeing) 20x Border Reiver Troops (500 horsemen) 14x Mountain Guns (14 guns)
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Rabite
Veteran Member
Emperor of H
Hey, look over here.
Posts: 1,887
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Post by Rabite on Jun 9, 2016 22:55:26 GMT -6
Risking their positions with such a bold bombardment, the Granselian forces finally received some casualties, with the equivalent of three artillery squad members are either killed or had their cannons destroyed or disabled. However it was not something very serious, and it had only got them to fight with even greater determination to vaporize their enemies with their guns.
"My lord, the enemy return fire seems weaker than before."
"...Was it the Urukuss? Or was it... no matter, keep firing. The reports say that the enemies are advancing, but looks like they're in a hurry to relieve their front, they'll be heading right into our bombarding area. Coordinate the teams, have the Urukuss join in the bombardment to the front. Fire with everything you got to turn them into memorials of the past."
Yumi, noticed that there are a change in the level of firepower from the enemy counterattack. It wasn't a major difference, but for Granselians who used artillery fire as their main tools of war, that bit of change is enough to let them guess that there are a change in enemy numbers that was not according to their prediction. Either their own attacks got a lot more lucky, or it was the work of their allies. Now they have a choice, to keep firing to take down more of the enemy guns, or to support their allies to the front... James decided on the second after seeing that their enemies had pulled in their reserves.
The heavier Urukuss joins in with their lighter counterparts in their task to crack open the enemy ranks with artillery fire, continuing their attacks from earlier, which means the lighter Dosfrango guns that were already shooting did not have needs to readjust their aims and could fire faster. James had no idea at this range if the enemies are the regular bunch or something better, but their jobs did not change, they would just be lobbing shells after shells of shrapnel rounds towards these enemies.
James had also hoped that the new army joining into the front would be caught by the confusion of their allies, when you're mixed up into the ranks of others, you'll certainly not be able to function as well as if you were out there on your own. Of course this might not work as well as he expected, but it wasn't something he need to specifically do either, so if it happens then its good and doesn't matter if it doesn't.
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[Granselian Forces] 50/50
10x Urukuss Field Artillery Gun (20) [4000 meters range] 27x Dosfrango Light Field Artillery Gun (27) [2500-2800 meters range]
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Post by Carlos on Jun 10, 2016 18:40:15 GMT -6
In the face of a disorganized retreat, the Youth Brigades were breaking from cover and giving chase. However Tres gave absolute orders that any pursuit be carried out in conjunction with the Blood Blades. It gave the enemy some time to get some distance. But the pursuing mix of Blood Blades and Youth Brigades allowed those in the rear to be taken quite totally. However they did not pursue far, not knowing the condition of the rest of the enemy's forces. Instead taking up cover and forming a defensive line until they could scout or receive word from the other forces in the field.
To that end Dos sent runners to contact the other forces in the field. Requesting information on enemy disposition and further orders.
A fabulous lack of field medics became apparent. Though many of the Blood Blades at the very least could stitch and patch flesh wounds. Managing to prevent several from bleeding out on the field. However one shock trooper, the biggest man in his squad. Had taken off his chest plate and helm. Charged an enemy squad and bludgeoned them all to death. The Blood Blades were not able to save his life in the face of five gunshot wounds. At least one of which struck an artery.
10 x Youth Brigade (319 Troops) 20 x Shock Troops (437 Troops) 20 x Blood Blades (276 Troops)
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Rabite
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Emperor of H
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Post by Rabite on Jun 12, 2016 0:35:18 GMT -6
(Posting for Pitman)
Taking on the enemy main forces directly was definitely a challenge for the poorly equipped resistance forces and their young commander, under the request of the Marquess of Gransela, the main forces crashes into the enemies in a bloody frontal assault. Men fell one after another, but many more quickly take up their places, fueled by the nationalism for the Paemir region. Even some of the better defended battle wagons took some hits, with one of them even silenced after several grenades hits it dead on.
The scene might be overwhelming to the young commander, either make him think twice about his plans, or perhaps pushes him to keep going. But James' plan seems to have succeeded, forcing the enemies to keep their attention on the assaulting forces. This may have a heavy price to pay, but it helps the other fronts in dealing with their enemies.
To the East, Asher would have to make an important decision. He can either face the coming enemies with his forces, which is the more preferred action considering his wishes to wipe out these traitors, or to choose another target and avoid the enemy forces. They were able to head South for the charge in an attempt to take out the other artillery forces, but from a spark of genius, their commander decided to abandon the idea. Instead they quickly turn and charge North, just in time to avoid being drawn into close range combat with the forces sent to intercept them. They charge right through the picket of reserves in the way, and right towards the rear of the enemies' 37mm guns.
It was the safest, perhaps most efficient way of using their forces, to avoid the strong and hit the weak. It was not something that Paemirians are used to do either, but rather tactic used by the former Granselian army when Cavalry was the major focus, or the infamous royal guard captain who learned it from Granselians and deployed it to destroy much of Paemir. Perhaps reading history and learning about the past had given the young commander the idea to use that type of tactic, but whatever the reason is, it'll now be used on the unexpected enemies before them.
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Paemirian Resistance
Lead by Viscount Asher Rorke
33x Highland Calvary (494 Horsemen) (35 Points)
Lead by Viscount Jorge Wyvern and Captain Hertz
5x Paemir Battle Wagon (15 Points) -5x Highland Infantry (Support) (25 Men) (5 Points) 32x Highland Infantry (812 Men) (32 Points)
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Richter
Veteran Member
Posts: 1,870
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Post by Richter on Jun 12, 2016 1:34:45 GMT -6
The enemy broke after a short, but bloody, melee. Cadan followed them for a scant time to bring down as many of the runners as they could with the opportunity given, but called his force back to order with a horn about 20 yards from the base of the hill. The skirmishers broke around it like water, flowing around it to take the paths of least resistance in their haggard flight. They counted their dead, sought to the wounded, and began to fall back into formation. A shrill brass horn sounded over the din of battles further afield, once which seemed to strike a nerve on an almost primal level. It was one that men had almost began to forget the sound of...but not Kasorymor. He had been around well long enough to know an impending cavalry charge when he heard one coming. "Form on me, you lot! Bayonets out, we charge that hill and take it now! Hup two you salty excuses for sailors! Leg it!" The commander rightfully divined that the charge incoming could very well set them back entirely in their current state, so they'd have to act fast. The group rushed up the hill with its boss taking the lead and storming ahead to set an example of brisk pace, and they were immediately beset by gunfire from the border reivers. Half of whom had dismounted to shoot them on foot. That incurred a few more losses, but the men quickly took to crouch atop the hill for cover as they fired back. They form a semi-circular formation facing outwards, bayonets bristling. The actually cavalry came in from the side, swooping in from two different angles to perform a caracole...or a more modern variation of it that didn't involve slowing. The burst of lead wasn't particularly accurate, but scathing if only in number. The groups moved in an X-like fashion, one wing and then the other, with the footmen firing another burst to cover their retreat. This would stall their flank maneuver as was predicted, to move down into lower ground would risk them getting harassed more by those horsemen, whose foot-based comrades were also quick to retreat to mounts hidden in deeper coverage. Similar to the Blades, they consolidated their position and began to move shortly, though they took shots at the dragoons fleeing as they did so. Causalities weren't too heavy from it, but they'd have to deal with their interdiction for the immediate future. Their man with Jorge reported to the Blades that they were holding the southern flank and were ready to press the enemy hard, and asks if they can help them and apply pressure on the opposite side to pin the foe between them and, hopefully, make then front line panic. Cadan's Warband:9x Kasor Platoons (130 men) 25x Gwithysi Platoons (500 men) 8x Trevluyow Platoons (240 men) --------------- The artillery fire incoming on the Securitate lessened briefly...and then intensified, as all the guns began to open fire on their second and third ranks. The elites took the brunt of that, but they were called elite for a reason. With the best armor, able to stop shrapnel, and knowing how to maneuver under fire, they managed to proceed without too awful of losses or delays. But it still didn't help, every man here dead would be hard to replace. Worse, it allowed the melee before them to continue for longer before they got stuck into it at last. The resistance form into two narrow prongs that seek to punch holes straight into their formation. It begins to work before the Death Squads get there, the lines noticeably bulging inwards...but then those elites plug the gaps. The men spearheading that assault will go down as heroes...posthumous ones. Most of them get shot by pistols or clubbed, but the damage is done as the line is made that much weaker. Asher's curious change of tactics brings about impressive results, as well. His cavalry zigzag around the pursuing element, hack through more of the sentries and light guns, and then begin to carve into the rear of the formation that is facing the swamp-dwelling warriors at the top of the ridge. By now they were aware of these guys, so the smarter ones leave their positions or guns and bail out to get out of the way of the attack...the soldiers, however, so focused forward are completely taken aback. Ashier smashes into the with hideous efficiency, all cohesion in that unit melting almost immediately. They break and run, and not even all in the same direction. About half go north, half south. The former, of course, running right past the Blades... But they were only concerned with escaping right now, fear was truly a mind killer. When Hameldon got this news it brought him to curse so hard his face reddened. All of this, combined with the other setbacks...he decided it was lost. They would have to begin peeling back if they wanted to have enough forces left to stop this army at The Mountain. The way he saw it, the sooner they began to leave, the more organized this retreat could be. The general tried to rally the reeling mercs the best he could, grabbing them and trying to form a secure position from which to fall back from. Not all of them did it, but some succeeded in finding their courage. Then he grabbed the rear reserves and picket and ordered them to take up a better formation to try and check Asher's outriders. Galloper guns were to fire and begin falling back. The 50mms were to fire another salvo and prepare to break down and go. Cavalry were to continue harassing Kasorymor, and the front line was going to start to slowly peel back by rank. The reserves at both flanks would peel back to help the Easterners in providing covering fire. The obvious weak link here, since they lacked radios, was that the force intended to cover Tres was gone. A potentially fatal flaw... TL;DR: Hameldon is trying to organize a somewhat-ordered retreat. He's arranging forces to try and cover every side while beginning to peel back from Jorge's troops. The soldiers formerly facing down Tres and his compatriots break. The 50mm's continue to shoot at James's guns and prepare to leave, meanwhile, the 37mm's pepper the rear of Jorge's on force with lighter shells as they move back in addition. Cadan faces continued resistance from the dragoons and the formation ahead of him as they pull back in addition. MapSecuritate Punitive Expedition:23x Securitate Heavy Infantry Platoons (230 men) 80x Securitate Infantry Platoons (1600 men) (Several platoons more in retreat) 11x Paemir Horse Driven 37mm Howitzer Gun (13 guns) 25x Eastern Men-At-Arms Platoons (750 men) 18x Border Reiver Troops (450 horsemen) 14x Mountain Guns (14 guns)
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Rabite
Veteran Member
Emperor of H
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Posts: 1,887
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Post by Rabite on Jun 12, 2016 12:55:27 GMT -6
While James watch the main forces attack with the vigor that are expected from a region well known for their willingness to enter a war, he noticed the enemies are beginning to react according to their last assault... that they're beginning to fall back. It wasn't a rout, they are providing cover for each other as they retreat, but it still means their last assault had broken their backbones and are forced to leave their cover. The enemy artillery seems to be doing the same, with their counterfire stopping after sometime, which suggests a full retreat and not just a temporary one.
Now is the time to give it everything you got, destroy what remaining organization the enemies might have, and push them into fleeing for their lives. Only then would they be able to achieve the most while taking the least damage in return, and would be able to finally end this battle. By now, the enemy position is quite clear to the commanders of all sides, including where the enemy artillery are positioned at, and the movements of the enemy troops.
"All cannon, shrapnel, focus fire on the center of the enemy formation. Lets see how well would they be able to retreat if their center ranks are missing. Send a call to Lord Kasorymor to inform him of our target, have him inform us when his men gets close to the area."
"What about the Northern forces? There are a larger number of troops there."
"Ignore them for now, the enemy fire is stronger in the South, the North can take care of themselves. Send a messenger out and see if we can contact the Northern forces, if possible, have the Cavalry forces disengage and cut off the enemy retreat route. Avoid the bulk of the forces and just focus on delaying the enemies until the rest of us closes the bag."
"Yes my Lord, all units, aim at the enemy artillery position! Don't forget to adjust according to their predicted retreat route... Fire!!"
They won't have much more opportunity for a concentrate fire like this if the enemy retreats out of the range of the Dosfrango guns, but trying to give chase with these heavy weapons are close to impossible without the suitable transports, they would just have to fire more and hit as much as possible before the enemies get away. Focusing on the enemy artillery that seems to have paused their return fire, they shift their targeting slightly to the East of their position, so even if they move it would be able to get a decent hit in. If they could completely disable the enemy artillery, the rest of the enemies would just be sitting duck before the Granselian guns.
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[Granselian Forces] 50/50
10x Urukuss Field Artillery Gun (20) [4000 meters range] 26x Dosfrango Light Field Artillery Gun (26) [2500-2800 meters range]
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Post by Carlos on Jun 12, 2016 17:46:36 GMT -6
Tres instructed the Youth Brigade to gather many of the enemy rifles and ammo. Some of the Shock Troopers to strip down to their front chest plate. Quickly they formed a line of Blood Blades, Youth Brigade, and less armored Shock Troopers. Fitting the latter two units with the enemy rifles and ammo. Once formed they advanced in unison. With two man scout teams from the Blood Blades spotting ahead for the enemy. In the rear fully armored Shock Troops took a more leisurely pace. While the walking wounded formed a protective circle around those more seriously injured. Dos left his bodyguard retinue with them, continuing on with a squad of Blood Blades. Upon spotting the fleeing enemy the pace quickened, followed by a sudden halt to kneel. Then a unified fusillade of rifle fire. This time they were not committing to a melee action. They had received word from Cadan's warband and returned in the affirmative to apply pressure from the other side.
10 x Youth Brigade (311 Troops) 20 x Shock Troops (434 Troops) 20 x Blood Blades (273 Troops)
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Rabite
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Emperor of H
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Posts: 1,887
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Post by Rabite on Jun 14, 2016 12:16:54 GMT -6
Being at the frontline, Jorge was able to notice the enemy's attempt to fall back, but was hesitated in pursuing after the heavy casualty that they have received. However a quick question from Margress Gransela had reminded him of this great opportunity to obtain victory, so he continues to give out the orders to attack. They do however reduce the ferociousness of their attack, and focus on pinning down their opponents to force them to counter attack instead of being able to retreat just like that. They also use their dynamites to create obstacles or concentrate firepower on certain locations, in order to crumble up the enemy's organization in covering each others retreats.
On the other hand, Asher continues to be on a roll, and breaks away from the forces that he was attacking along with the Curving Clan, and turn right back in the direct that they came from. They launch a feint attack on the infantry forces that was chasing after them, using a small number of their troops to distract them and pretend to charge towards the infantry forces, before attempting to skim near their enemy and away from them. Their new goal is to head to the front of the entire retreating forces, and delay them for the rest of the ally forces to finish them off.
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Paemirian Resistance
Lead by Viscount Asher Rorke
32x Highland Calvary (489 Horsemen) (32 Points)
Lead by Viscount Jorge Wyvern and Captain Hertz
5x Paemir Battle Wagon (15 Points) -5x Highland Infantry (Support) (25 Men) (5 Points) 30x Highland Infantry (760 Men) (30 Points)
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