Capítulo 16: Preparations for Quebec City
"Two days? And is Colonel Arnold certain about his estimates?"
"Yes, sir. He says he's confident he'll be ready within two days."
General Kim paced in front of a strategic map of Quebec City, a map he detailed and copied by hand using various sources from his laptop. The four western gates, the Quebec Citadel, and redoubts were marked on the map while lines were drawn on the northern part of the city to outline the defenses overlooking a steep hill. Those were the points where the British were expecting the colonial forces to attack from. The eastern portions of the city were exposed, but it was directly facing the St. Lawrence River. Meanwhile, the southern defenses consisted of a cliff with a wall to boot. With the weapons and tools he had at hand, it was "technically impossible" for him to attack anywhere but the western and northern portions of the city.
The colonial forces arrived outside Quebec City on October 15th and immediately began a siege to wear down the defenders. General Kim was aware that the city needed to be taken preferably before December, or he risked his soldiers and supplies being pelted and drenched from snowstorms. Thus, just hours after arriving outside the city limits, General Kim ordered his artillery to begin a constant barrage of bombardments on the western city walls and implement his plan against the city's defenders. Before leaving Montreal, General Kim shared his plan with the rest of the colonial officers, and the plan was set into motion even before the army arrived at Quebec City. Colonel Arnold and one hundred marines, along with Major Knowlton and his company, were sent ahead to carry out their part of the plan (possibly the most crucial part of the general's plan), which involved seizing Point Levis. This small village sat directly across from Quebec City, on the other side of the river. Colonel Arnold was chosen for the task due to his ability to improvise quickly and his excellent leadership abilities (not to mention, he was one of the few colonials to enter Quebec City in the other history).
While the bombardment was underway, the Continental Army made several feints towards the city to raise the alarm. Still, General Kim pulled back his troops immediately after the colonial soldiers fired off a volley. Once the colonial soldiers withdrew, the bombardment halted, and the guns did not fire against for exactly four hours. His troops took turns making feint attacks toward the city, both as a probing attack and as a distraction to tire out the British and make them less wary of an imminent attack. Already, seven days had passed and the British units were getting used to the scheduled artillery barrage followed by a feint attack, cautiously making General Kim hope that the actual attack would catch the defenders off-guard. Even so, General Kim was acting carefully and making sure all his units were in place before the assault into the city. He was aware that Governor Carleton was not a stupid man and played to his strengths well, unfortunately for General Kim and his men. While his troops were better equipped and better motivated than the invading soldiers of the other history, the general needed additional reassurance to prevent his forces from being caught in a stalemate or being cut off within the city itself.
A portion of the western wall was already in disarray and broken, with the gap in the wall covered by logs and mismatched stones. The northern and western fronts were ready to push in on his mark, and now all he needed was Colonel Arnold to finish his preparations.
The cost of capturing the city would not be light, but it would be worth it.
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Colonel Benedict Arnold, commanding officer of the 3rd Connecticut Regiment, Hero of the Battle of Fort St. Johns, and "daring" Continental officer, was not as courageous as his men thought he was.
Oh sure, he volunteered to lead this mission, due to his experiences in the navy and his own belief in his abilities. But he wasn't doing this so that some other poor bastard wouldn't be tasked with leading the assault.
In fact, it was quite the opposite. He was afraid of dying. Despite his "heroics," Colonel Arnold was a man that never took unnecessary risks and was only "daring" when he needed to be. He cared deeply for his men's health and his health for varying reasons. Just two months ago, he would not have given a damn about his health or his men as long as he achieved victory: victory for himself and the colonial cause.
That was until his views and outlooks were shattered completely by General Kim.
At first, he was eager to learn about his future. After all, General Kim specifically summoned him to his side and revealed his deepest secret to him. He was so sure that he was remembered as a hero in the future, a renowned patriot military leader whose name was passed down through the ages. The truth was much dimmer than he thought it would be.
The history of the other world, of his other self, disgusted him. To see how far he would have fallen without General Kim's appearance and support was both painful and disgraceful. Even after learning of his fate in the other history, Colonel Arnold could not come to terms with the fact that he abandoned the patriot cause in the other history, the cause he believed in for years. And to think, his betrayal was because of his hunger for money and fame, which clouded his better judgment, and led to his own destruction. In a way, it was ironic; he always believed he was above ranks and fame until he was shown the "other history."
He came to his decision just a day after his first meeting with General Kim. Colonel Arnold accepted General Kim's offer of commission and formally became the leader of the 1st Pennsylvania Regiment initially, and then transferred to the 3rd Connecticut Regiment upon the general's request. What the "other" Benedict Arnold in the "other" history was disgraceful and he himself was ashamed. And while General Kim was the only one to know of his "other" self, Colonel Arnold was going to do his damn best to ensure that he didn't disgrace his family name this time around.
Thankfully, when the general said he would be given a fair chance to prove his worth, he meant it. And Colonel Arnold's opportunity to prove himself came when he was tasked with seizing a British ship docked near Fort St. Johns to capture supplies and demoralize the defenders of the nearby fort. He led three dozen men to raid the lightly defended docks at dusk and seized the schooner before it could make its escape. The capture contributed significantly to the fort's fall, and he was hailed as a hero.
But it wasn't enough. He needed to do more, achieve more, and win more for the patriot's cause. Ranks and money be damned, he was getting paid well enough by the general and was ranked highly enough to lead nearly a thousand men by himself. No, he needed to achieve more and win more to get placed into the history books, this time as a hero, not a villain. And above all else, he needed to atone for what he had done in the other world.
Colonel Arnold couldn't die yet; he still had so much to do.
"Colonel, the general has sent the signal! The attack has commenced," One of the marines he was leading stated.
The colonel grinned as he looked at the marines around him. They were all skilled and disciplined men, some of the best the marine regiment had to offer. General Kim was loaning these men to him to cause chaos behind enemy lines. They all looked at him expectantly, as he was the first officer outside of the marine regiment to command the marines. Regardless, he was going to win and bring these men back home.
"Prepare the rafts and canoes!"
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