Chapter 20: Taking the Fort
Appledore, United Kingdom of Edinburgh:
March 14, 1941:
Inside the Parliament's war room, Romel, a few Edinburgh politicians, and at least 3 Federation generals gather around a table replica of Cape Helles.
The atmosphere was tense as everyone in the room stared quietly into the replica, some were even smoking cigars to keep their nerves at bay.
Soon, the phone rings and a soldier quickly picks it up before it rang a second time.
"Yes" he said with a serious expression on his face "Go ahead"
Silence envelopes the room for a few seconds as the soldier's expression turns from serious to grim. "What? 3 ships sunk? Another burning?"
"What?" Romel reacted "Have they at least taken the fort?"
The soldier asks the commander on the other line. "No sir. They've yet to take it"
"They should be marching to Abgala by now" one of the Edinburgh politicians said
"They will get there" Romel firmly retorted
"Sir" the soldier interjected "The general is requesting a retreat. He says they have suffered immense losses for little gains"
"Is he daft?! This is war! Casualties are to be expected! Tell him to stand his ground!"
"General. Command orders you to stay the course and continue with the campaign"
Silence envelopes the room once again.
"The general keeps on insisting for the campaign to be called off" the soldier reported
"That insubordinate little-" Romel angrily muttered as he takes the phone from the soldier "General. This is your commander speaking"
"Romel!" General Barredo shouted at the other end "This whole campaign is FUBAR! 3 ships are at the bottom of the sea, I've lost more than half of the initial invasion force, and the enemy is heavily entrenched! We can't keep this up!"
"I will send reinforcements" Romel firmly responded
"That will take time! Time for enemy reinforcements to arrive!"
"Then hold your ground! It's not a difficult concept to grasp!"
"You don't get it! You're just going to send people on a pointless meat grinder at this rate!"
"The reinforcements are already on the way, general. You will follow my orders to the letter. Anything that deviates from that is treason. Another court martial will not end well for you. I suggest you figure out a way to make this campaign work or die trying! This is war. Casualties are to be expected! You, of all people, should know how this!"
"You don't know the first thing about leading a squad, let alone an army. I'll comply. But know this; whatever happens in this campaign will be your doing. I hope you're ready to accept that"
"I always take responsibility for my actions. Now do as you are told"
"Yes 'sir'..."
March 21, 1941:
It's been weeks since we stepped foot on Arrasian soil… We're still trying to take that fort beyond the town. The Arrasians had that place fortified tight. Any advance we attempt is blunted by their long range artillery and the skilled sharpshooters inside. They got the town mapped and the kill zones marked but there's no other way into the fort other than through the town, the geography made sure of that…
Actually, should I even call it a town anymore? All that artillery fire just charred most of it to oblivion. It looks more like no man's land now.
Airstrikes are out of the question since that fort has the only road leading further inland so we can't risk destroying it.
Does command expect us to take such a heavily defended fort with only infantry and less than 10 tanks? No… Even with tanks, if they don't have infantry support, they might as well be metal coffins once they reach the fort walls.
March 24, 1941
We lost 5 ships now… 2 were taken down by the fort's artillery, 1 was destroyed by enemy aircraft, and 2 fell victim to some mines that the minesweepers missed for some reason.
Things are looking grim but it looks like command refuses to let us retreat. Just the other day, we received some reinforcements and additional supplies. I noticed that most of the reinforcements were Federate tank divisions. They really want to open up this new front.
I'm still worried though. It's been weeks but neither Imperial or Arrasian reinforcements came. Does command know something we don't? Is this why they still continue to force us into this campaign despite the grim start? I don't know but I hope to god that command knows what they're doing...
At around 8am, we were all called for a briefing for the next attack.
Entering the tent, I could see everyone was exhausted and the atmosphere was tense. I can't really blame them… We've been fighting in the same place for weeks now and we barely made any progress.
I forgot how long we sat in the briefing tent before General Barredo came in.
"I think you all know the general objective by now" he said
"What's the brilliant plan this time?" Desmond responded
"There's only one way to that fort"
"So we're gonna do the same strategy we've been doing for weeks?"
"With modification. Command finally gave us more tanks, specifically crusaders"
"What about them?"
"Crusader tanks are one of the fastest tanks in the world" Marian answered "You plan on having them blitz past the kill zones?"
"Yes" General Barredo answered as he lays down the map in front of us "Thanks to weeks of failed attacks, I think we managed to pinpoint where each and every anti-tank gun is placed. The crusaders will rush through the killzone and quickly neutralize the guns. Once they're down, the M3 half-tracks will transport everyone to the foot of the fort with support from our shermans"
"We're basically going to rush through the town?" Jane asked
"Yes. Once the half-tracks reach the foot of the fort, everyone is to immediately and quickly deploy to protect the tanks against lancers and secure the fort before the enemy could barricade themselves further inside. Lieutenant Dupont. Your 7TP will be with the crusader tanks. Be sure to maintain a speed of 24-42 km/h. I know your tank is faster than these crusaders but I don't want you facing those guns alone. Am I understood?"
"Yes sir" Marian asnwered
"Good. Does everyone understand the plan?"
"Yes sir" we all firmly answered
"Very good. The attack will commence at noon. Be prepared by then"
9am:
I was with the other scouts by the firing range. Along with the reinforcements, command also issued some new equipment for us. One of them is a new grenade launcher attachment for our garands.
Sidenote: I've gotten used to the way this gun handles but a maximum of 8 rounds still feels odd considering the previous rifles I've used. Nevertheless, I work with what I have.
I decided to do a few practice sessions with dummy grenades. Even though I'm used to Gallian grenade launchers, these Federation variants handle a bit differently. I was a bit imprecise with my grenades as they kept landing a few feet away from my intended target.
I lost track of time but I eventually noticed someone peeking from the ammo caches on my right. I quickly turned to it and I caught a glimpse of someone's glasses reflecting the sunlight. Only one person I know would do something like this.
"Renee?" I called
"Eep!" I heard someone yell
"Come on. Don't be shy. What's going on?"
Renee then emerges from the ammo caches. She was hanging her head low and had both of her hands on her chest. "W-Well… I-I just saw you practicing and um…"
"You want to try these grenade launchers?"
"Huh?! O-Oh um… Th-That's not what I was… What I meant to say was that um… You're aiming it wrong"
"What? How?"
"H-Here let me have the gun for a second"
As I handed over my rifle to Renee, I noticed a slight glimmer in her eyes.
"Y-You see, the M7 is designed differently when compared to Gallian grenade launchers. You have to get into a crouching position like this and aim with the auxiliary sight"
"Yeah I know. That's what the manual says"
"Yes. But I noticed that you would put the grenade on the deepest part of the launching spigot. The manual should have told you that there are different settings for different ranges"
"Really?"
"Like for example, placing the grenade on the number 6 position is for short range then as you tighten the grenade further down the tube, it increases the range the grenade will fly. It's not like Gallian grenade launchers that only have one range setting"
"Oh! That's neat!"
"So in order to hit your target there, you need to place the grenade on this level here. Try it"
Renee hands my rifle back to me and I take aim. This time, my grenade lands precisely where I wanted it to be.
"Oh wow! You're amazing, Renee!" I said as I smile at her "No wonder you're the squad's demolition expert"
"Wh-What?!" she replied as she looks away "I-It was nothing… Kn-Knowing about this kind of thing makes a lot of difference in the battlefield a-after all"
Almost immediately, she goes back to stuttering her sentences. Now that I think about it, she didn't stutter a single word when she was talking about the grenade launcher. She spoke calmly and with confidence to boot.
"A-Anyway" Renee said as she turns around "Th-That's all I h-have to say! B-Bye!"
'Hang in there Renee' I thought as she ran away
Thinking back, Renee really is a different person with the right topics and situation. It's kind of endearing, really.
The general had us load into the half-tracks 30 minutes before the attack.
This is the moment of truth… I've lost count of the number of times we ran through that shelled town and barely even reached the sandbags closest to the fort.
I was with Aria, Renee, Sonia, Pietro, and Lynette. Atmosphere was obviously heavy but we all knew that we're not leaving this peninsula until that fort falls.
The crusader tanks all line up in a parallel formation. We had enough tanks to basically squish what's left of the town with the way they're positioned.
"Crusaders" General Barredo said over the radio "Be ready to move on my go!"
I check my watch. 11:59.
Immediately seeing the time, I start breathing deeply. I wasn't panicking but rather, doing some deep breathing exercises I learned. These exercises have helped calm my nerves in the past few weeks. Sometimes I would even close my eyes and just clear my mind of all thoughts while I do them.
The sound of the general's whistle brings me back to reality.
"Begin the charge!" he shouted as the crusaders plow through the town's remains at max speed.
Almost immediately, the fort's anti-tank cannons roared. Shells rained around the battlefield as the crusaders continued on their straight path towards their objective.
The Arrasians were relentless in their attacks but the crusader tanks proved to be faster than the shells. All of them were able to reach their objective. In no time, all the crusaders opened fire on the known positions of the anti-tank cannons, finally silencing them after weeks of shelling.
"Finally!" I thought as I saw the crusaders light up the fort
After all these weeks, we can finally make progress!
"Alright! 2nd wave!" General Barredo shouted "Move out! We need to provide cover for the tanks!"
We started our advance as the crusaders started pelting the fort with machine gun fire. Strangely, I saw minimal Arrasian activity after their guns were silenced. It looks like they're preparing to barricade themselves inside the fort.
In no time flat, we made it to the foot of the fort and still there was minimal enemy fire though the main gate was tightly shut.
"What do we do?" Franko asked "Do we break through the gate?"
"It's too risky" the general replied "We can't risk collapsing the only road we have!"
The general then looks around the area and notices the holes on the fort's walls made by the tanks. "Grappling hooks! We get in through the holes!"
As the general commanded, we all started climbing up the wall. The hole was a few feet off the ground so it was a bit of a climb though what made me nervous was the silence… The Arrasians stopped shooting back just as we started climbing up.
Feeling something was wrong, I looked up as the first wave of soldiers reached the hole.
"GRENADE!" one of them shouted as it detonates
The soldiers were blown out of the fort and fell to the ground below. The explosion also dislodged all the grappling hooks causing most of us to plummet to the ground.
I was lucky enough to grab onto some kind of hole in the wall, saving me from the fall. I then grabbed onto a ledge and stabilized myself before looking around.
I noticed that Desmond, Aria, and Drifa also managed to hang as well.
I called out to them. "Desmond! Aria! Drifa!"
"Denzel!" Drifa responded
"What do we do?"
"We climb, of course!" Desmond answered "Come on! We gotta secure that area if we want to take this fort!"
"Ok! Ok!"
I took one deep breath before starting my climb up the wall. I've done some outdoor rock climbing with some friends 3 years ago so climbing the wall wasn't that difficult but the other 3 seemed to be far more experienced since they made climbing the wall look like it was child's play.
Of course, they reach the hole first but before they climb up, Desmond throws a smoke grenade inside. By the time I caught up, the smoke had just thickened.
Without hesitation, we all climbed up and immediately took positions behind some pillars while Desmond and Aria threw some frag grenades down the hall.
"Charge in!" Desmond shouted "Let's go!"
Following his lead, we all emerge through the smoke guns blazing. The Arrasians returned fire but we managed to neutralize a few of them before they could properly suppress our advance.
As we reached the first set of makeshift cover, the remaining Arrasians retreated further into the fort. Very odd… They didn't even try a counterattack or something.
Despite this, we decided not to pursue the retreating soldiers yet. Who knows, maybe they were setting another trap for us. The 4 of us dug in the hallway as the others climbed back up.
It took the others a couple of minutes to regroup and a squad of about 4 Arrasians, 2 scouts and 2 shocktroopers, tried to push us back.
We firmly held our ground, focusing on suppression. After what felt like hours, a few allied soldiers finally managed to climb back up. With our increasing numbers, we slowly advanced towards the 4 Arrasians.
Desmond and Aria managed to position themselves behind some large metal boxes while me and Drifa were still in the same position we started.
"Go!" Drifa said "We'll cover you!"
I nodded to her before I broke cover and ran towards a nearby pillar. Just then, an Arrasian scout bursts from cover. I immediately notice him as he fires a shot. I instinctively used my legs to kick me a few feet back as the bullet grazes my right arm before travelling parallel to my rifle.
I then turn to the enemy soldier and fire my rifle without properly aiming down the iron sights. Amazingly, I managed to see my shot land on the enemy's right shoulder, forcing him to retreat back to cover.
We exchanged fire for a couple more minutes as both sides were able to pin each other down. Eventually, our superior numbers managed to finally break through the stalemate. We gunned down 2 of the Arrasians as the remaining 2 made their way to the exit doors.
I saw that one of them stopped and seemed to urge the other soldier to keep running. The soldier gives a quick salute before closing the double doors behind him. Now it was just us and this lone Arrasian. His uniform suggested to me that he was a ranking officer.
"Hands up!" I shouted at the enemy
"Federation soldiers..." he said as he unsheathes his scimitar with his right hand and grabs his Mauser C96 with his left.
"Hands up!" I shout again "This is your final warning!"
"... You will take this fort… from my COLD DEAD HANDS!"
With a loud battle cry, he charges towards us. He unloads his pistol on us, killing a few of our men and quickly closing the distance.
A few tried to counter with their bayonets but the Arrasian soldier seemed to be a seasoned warrior. He easily parries each attack and slices the soldiers with ease. Should he fail to slice his enemies, he would catch them in a deadlock before shooting them with his pistol. Despite being shot a couple of times, the soldier refuses to go down and continues his onslaught.
He then turns his sights on me. My garand had the grenade launcher attachment so I was forced to attempt to simply block his attack with it. Our weapons clash as he points his pistol at me.
Before he could pull the trigger, Drifa stabs his left arm with her knife. The soldier drops his gun and jumps back before attacking with his scimitar. Drifa dodges each strike and responds with a couple of her own, which the soldier dodges as well. During the scuffle, the scout draws her Browning Hi-Power and fires a single shot to his chest at near point blank range. The bullet hits its mark but the Arrasian refuses to go down and continues fighting.
While the 2 were busy fighting one another, a couple of Federation soldiers ran past them, heading towards the gate.
Seeing this, the Arrasian kicks Drifa in the stomach, turns to the Federation soldiers, and throws his scimitar, impaling one of them through the chest. The Arrasian attempts to grab a nearby dropped garand but Rain cuts him off with a shot to his back, forcing him to kneel.
It was a direct hit but he still refuses to go down. With all his might, he stands back up and charges towards the Federation soldiers with nothing but his bare hands. He shouted one last battle cry before Rain finally neutralized him with a headshot.
He may have been an enemy soldier but I can't help but admire his courage and resolve. God knows we could use some of that spirit...
Wasting no time, we burst through the double doors towards the fort's courtyard. Almost immediately, we were pelted by heavy fire from different sides of the courtyard. We lost a few more men to the onslaught while the rest of us dove to the ground. We all crawled our way towards some cover and returned fire.
This was their last stand. Beyond this courtyard is the road leading deeper nito Arras. There was no more retreat and their patriotic zeal prevented them from even considering surrender. They are more than willing to fight to the last man and being cornered like this, they fought with so much fury.
I was able to catch a glimpse of the enemy position. There were 2 machine gun nests placed on each side of the courtyard and down in the middle is the final squad of Arrasian defenders huddled behind sandbags and other makeshift cover. Their shots converge towards the hallway we came from which acts as a funnel. Not surprising the Arrasians would devise these kinds of overlapping defenses. They wouldn't have lasted this long if they weren't tenacious and crafty. Their ingenious defense got us pinned down though we were able to return fire at times but it had little to no effect on the enemy defenders.
The machine gun nests, especially, were the main cause of us getting pinned down. I don't think small arms fire could neutralize those nests without getting closer and being able to even peek is a feat in and of itself!
As I was trying to think of a way to get through the enemy defenses, I saw my garand's M7 grenade launcher. I remember the manual saying that the grenades had an effective range of 32 meters. At that moment, I knew what I had to do but I don't have the equipment to do it, let alone the means to even do it from where I am.
"Rain!" I called over the radio
"What is it?" She responded
"Can you calculate the distance between my position and the machine gun nests?"
"I can try with my scope!"
I heard about some kind of technique taught to snipers since 1933. I think it's called stadia-something rangefinding. I was hoping with that technique, Rain can help me estimate if my grenades can land just inside those nests!
After a few minutes, I hear from her again. "Denzel! You're around 22-26 meters apart!"
"22-26! Got it!"
It was within range! I quickly ejected the clip and loaded the special ammo used for launching the grenades. I grab the grenade and place it on the spigot. Remembering Renee's words, I estimate the proper placement for the grenade before going on a crouching position, while making sure to keep my head down, and positioned the rifle as if it was a mortar. I quickly estimated the proper angle for my rifle but before firing, I turned my head to the person closest to me.
"Aster!" I called
"What?" he replied hiding back into cover
"I need you to spot for me! When I fire, check the right machine guns if my grenade lands!"
"Ok!"
I take a deep breath and fire my grenade. I close my eyes and pray that my estimation was spot on.
Seconds later, I hear a loud explosion.
"Nest neutralized!" Aster shouted
"YES!" I exclaimed as I myself to fire the 2nd grenade
And as with the first nest, the 2nd one is also neutralized. I have to remember to thank Renee for teaching me the proper way to use this.
With both machine gun nests down and the tide turning against them, the Arrasian defenders all shouted "For Arras!" before doing a bayonet charge. We gunned down a few of them before the rest of the fight became a brutal melee.
One of them managed to get close enough to nearly skewer me but I quickly parried his bayonet with my rifle. I attempted to draw my M1911 but the Arrasian drops his rifle and punches in the side of the face.
The force pushed me back a bit as the Arrasian drew his knife and tried to stab me. I quickly grabbed the knife's blade with my left hand. I could feel the metal cutting through my skin as blood drips from my hand as the Arrasian puts all his might to push the blade into my left eye. I desperately used my right hand to feel around the right side of my hip. I needed to grab my pistol or else I risk losing my left eye or worse. Luckily, as my strength was waning, I finally managed to draw my pistol and shot the Arrasian several times in the chest at point blank range.
Our faces were so close. As I saw the light slowly fade from his eyes, he gave me an odd smile before he fell to the ground. Was that a smirk or a genuine smile? Nevertheless, the fort finally fell seconds after his death.
It took 20 days for this fort to fall and for the Federation to finally establish a proper beachhead in Arras. I wouldn't know this until years later but I found out that the fort alone was defended by only 42 Arrasian soldiers. It's really impressive how such a small force could hold off hundreds, if not thousands, of soldiers for almost a month. It turns out that reinforcements from the Imperial and Arrasian armies were delayed which meant that those 42 Arrasians were the only ones that stood between the Federation and their capital. I commend those brave souls. They fought to the last man and achieved their objective…
Van (Ostende-Arras border):
On a hill overlooking the Arrasian border city of Van, a female Imperial officer looks at the still intact town. The war had yet to reach this side of Europa. Before the war, this town was one of Arras' many trading cities used to trade with their neighbor, Ostende and Derft.
"General" an Imperial soldier said approaching the officer
"What news on the beachhead?" she asked
"We received reports that the fort has fallen. The Federation is now establishing a beachhead"
"Heh… Took them long enough but I guess these Arrasians are quite the tenacious fighters and it bought us time to get here"
"What are your orders?"
"Are the troops ready to move out?"
"Yes ma'am!"
"Good. We have much ground to cover if we want to take back that beachhead. Give the order to move at once!"
"Yes ma'am!"
The Imperial soldier leaves. Minutes later, several Imperial tanks, soldiers, and walkers marched past the officer.
With a grin, the officer utters to herself: "This is where the fun begins"
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone