Capítulo 124: Garang
The initial charge the clones made had gigantic momentum, and with the support of the heavy vehicles, they tore straight through the first defensive line of the droids.
The AT-RTs were the first to get to the bottom of the hill. Many riders were shot off their walkers, and some even blew, but many more made it, and fired their mortars in the middle of the droids, causing massive casualties.
The Republic had taken action shortly after they received news that Dantooine had been conquered by the Separatist. Because of their fast reaction, the droids didn't have much time to build their defenses, and much of their effort went to the hill that the 303rd had already taken.
The 303rd might have taken the hill in just one day, but that was only because they hadn't spared any effort or troops to do it. After the battle for Dantooine was over, Dageer would discover that one-fifth of their casualties came from the very first day of battle.
Since the droids didn't have the time to set up more trenches, the battle for Dantooine was pretty much a pitched battle, with both sides colliding against one another.
In a battle of such gigantic proportions, there was little Hell Squad could do other than charge with their brothers.
The clone army made good progress in the first day of battle, nowhere near as much as the jedis wanted, but above what Dageer and Commander Keeli had expected. When they stopped at night, they had conquered twenty-seven kilometers of ground. If they continued like this, they would reach Garang in less than ten days. But as the battle raged on, the droid resistance became stronger, and the Republic started to gain less and less ground every day.
On the second day, they advanced twenty-four kilometers, and on the third day, only twenty. By the fourth day, less than twenty kilometers were conquered.
Both General Di and his padawan had lost their initial enthusiasm, and understood why the clone commanders were so serious. On the fifth day the jedis didn't even have dinner with the clones, as they had been doing, but went straight to their tents and fell asleep immediately.
Both jedis had been on the frontlines for the last few days, giving everything they had. But not only the progress was less than they expected, the casualties were also many. It was no wonder they were so tired, both physically and mentally.
That night, while the jedis were resting, Dageer and Commander Keeli were talking with Captain Rex. Surprisingly, the legion that had made the most progress on the battlefield wasn't the veteran 303rd Attack Legion, but the rookie 501st.
When he discovered that the 501st Legion was an elite legion, Dageer had already given them a high evaluation, putting them on the same tier as those legions that had joined the war in the second or third month. But it appeared he had underestimated the 501st.
While the 303rd was still struggling with the remaining ninety kilometers they had to conquer, the 501st was just thirty kilometers away from Khoonda.
Captain Rex insisted that most of it was because of General Skywalker, but Dageer wasn't so sure. Even a jedi couldn't do that much on a big battle. From that moment onwards, Dageer knew that unless the 501st was completely exterminated in one battle, they would be a major force on the Republic's side.
"Good job, Rex. How long before you arrive at Khoonda?"
"Two days, three at most. After that, we still have to evaluate how we are going to attack the city."
"Do you have enough troops?"
"Even if I don't, is there anything we can do? You all have your hands full."
"He is right, Dageer. The 501st has been doing okay for the last few days, they will have to keep that way. Captain, good luck tomorrow."
"Thank you, sir. Good luck to you too. Captain Rex out."
Captain Rex ended the transmission on his side, and the blue hologram disappeared. Commander Keeli turned to Dageer. He wasn't using his helmet, and Dageer could see he was tired. Since they had the same face, Dageer imagined he wasn't looking any better. Commander Keeli sighed.
"Go get some sleep, Dageer. Tomorrow is going to be another hard day. The closer we get to the capital, the harder it becomes."
"I know, sir. Until tomorrow."
Dageer left the command tent, and went to where Hell Squad was sleeping. While walking he crossed with many patrols. Ever since the first day, they had suffered many sneak attacks during the night, so the number of clones on guard duty had been doubled.
Dageer sat down on the ground. While in battle, the clones didn't have many liberties, and all they had to sleep was a sleeping bag. It was better than what many had. When they were on Geonosis, they all slept on the hard ground.
The moment Dageer closed his eyes, he felt his sore body relax a little, and drifted into sleep. Still, he couldn't escape the nightmares.
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Four days later, Dageer stood up beside a dead clone, after confirming there was nothing he could do for him.
He looked ahead. The once green field was now a mess of mud and lifeless bodies. Here and there, columns of smoke could be seen rising from the vehicles.
"Sir! Transmission from Commander Keeli for you!"
Dageer turned on his comlink, and Commander Keeli gave him the first good news in the last few days.
"Dageer! Khoonda is ours! General Skywalker and his troops conquered it! They will come to help us as soon as they can."
"Yes! That is good news, commander!"
"It sure is. We have to hurry up. If the 501st arrives here and we aren't even at the gates of Garang, that will be the biggest shame on the 303rd history."
"You know us very well, commander. Just tell the troops we are falling behind, and the 303rd will have Dantooine before nightfall."
"That is what I wanted to hear."
...
On the evening of the next day, the last line of droid defenses around Garang fell. On the night of the same day, the troops of the 501st Legion arrived. On the twelfth day of battle, Garang was conquered, and Dantooine became part of the Republic.
Twelve days might look like few to conquer a planet, but Dantooine was just an unimportant planet, with almost no value for both sides. So, the droid army that was protecting the planet wasn't strong. The only reason Republic and Separatist even fought for Dantooine was to show the other planets that they wouldn't give up without a fight, and to try and lure them to their side. It was too political for Dageer to even bother trying to understand.
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