by N. C. Reed
“Still, he meant well and there's no doubt he's learned from that mistake,” Parno continued. “I think it will work. I intend for them to take ten, perhaps fourteen days to prepare and then make a move around the enemy's right and into their rear. If nothing else, they should be able to draw the rest of the Nor horsemen away and probably some of those damned Wildmen as well.”
“Their presence is a problem,” Karls agreed. “Though I daresay that our little set-to today is already passing among the army and making the troops realize that they aren't nearly as formidable as they seem. And that can only add to the mystique of the Sheep, by the way,” he added with a grin. “And that will help make your position more secure. Especially when they realize that this is only one battalion of the regiment. Anyone who wants to usurp your authority will know they will have to contend with us in order to do so. That will stop all but the most determined.”
“You're developing quite the ego, Karls,” Parno chuckled, but his friend merely shook his head.
“Not at all. But don't think that the Sheep aren't looked at with envy among the rest of the Army, Parno. We've already had two dozen junior officers and senior non-coms approach about 'joining'. I don't even know how many troopers. I've lost count, to be honest.”
“Have you explained that you can't simply 'join' the Sheep?” Parno asked with a chuckle.
“I haven't personally, but you can bet the troops have,” Karls smirked back. “They take their reputation very seriously.”
“They earned it,” Parno said simply. “They have the right. Paid for it in blood.”
“Well, the point is the Army will be getting the idea sooner rather than later. I had thought to mention to you that we might begin to accept recruits for the regiment at some point. Send them to Cove for training. Those that survive would be able to fill the holes left by losses.” Anyone else might have thought Karls funny with the mention of survival, but Parno had gone through the training himself. In fact, one of the reasons the Sheep were fanatically loyal to their prince was the simple fact that he had endured the hellish training alongside them. He had earned the right to be known as their superior.
“A sound idea,” Parno nodded his agreement. “Pursue it at your discretion. It's your regiment now, my friend.” He returned to his desk, and Karls stood. Parno had much to do.
“I'll expect you at table tonight as well,” Parno told him. “I'll have you and Enri there as well as Master Feng when we meet with Beaumont and Whipple. Be thinking about my plan. If you have ideas I want to hear them.”
“Aye, milord,” Karls bowed slightly, a small smirk on his face.
“Get out,” Parno shook his head. “I have work to do.”
*****
It was three hours before dinner when Enri Willard arrived at Parno's tent carrying a bundle of papers. The remains of a working lunch littered Parno's table. He kept his face carefully neutral as he looked up at his Chief of Staff. This report would establish how successful his plan had been executed.
“Command reports, my lord,” Enri said evenly. “Division and Brigade level.”
“Numbers?” Parno asked. Enri didn't even consult the pages in his hands.
“We lost two thousand, three hundred and forty-two men dead or missing and presumed lost,” Enri replied. “Another five hundred seventy-two are seriously wounded and will not return to duty soon if at all. One thousand three hundred and ten other wounded of all ranks that can and will return to duty, ranging in time from already reporting to four-to-six weeks. Total casualties four thousand two hundred twenty-two.”
“Estimates on enemy casualties?” Parno asked, not sure whether to be grateful his own losses weren't higher or saddened that he hadn't found a way to lessen them somehow.
“Rough estimates are all we have at this point, my lord,” Enri said. “We'll have more definite estimates once we receive Regimental reports. However, the rough estimates are that we killed, injured, or otherwise debilitated twenty-one thousand Nor soldiers of all ranks. Both figures include the cavalry clash as well as our attack on their flank.” He kept himself carefully neutral but it was obvious he wanted to add something.
“What is it, Enri?” Parno asked.
“Sir, this was an overwhelming victory!” Enri enthused. “Our actual losses are less than three thousand, while the enemy losses are well over twenty-thousand! The morale of the army is higher than at any point since the war began, my lord. We inflicted casualties totaling almost ten percent of the enemy's forces!”
“And we won't be able to do it again,” Parno said softly, letting the boom down easily. “Today was a great victory, Enri,” he nodded. “A very satisfactory outcome. And one borne of complete surprise and ineptitude on the part of our opponent. Something we cannot count on seeing again. And if we do, we can't overlook the possibility that it's a trap.”
Willard nodded his understanding but his enthusiasm was not diminished.
“All that may well be true, my Lord Marshall, but nothing undoes the damage inflicted on the enemy, both in terms of outright losses and in morale. Their confidence in themselves and their leaders will be shaken while our own is soaring.”
“I suspect that is true,” Parno allowed. “Still, let's not deceive ourselves into thinking that this has ended the struggle before us. Or even shortened it. At best it had bought us time to regroup and reinforce our positions. At worst they will hit us in the morning with everything they have in an attempt to end the war right here.”
The look on Willard's face said it all. That had not occurred to him.
“All commands will be standing to at one hour before dawn,” Parno ordered formally. “Scouts out during the night, bonfires to be set one hundred yards in front and lit at least an hour before dawn. Scouts will return to our lines at dawn or when and if the enemy approaches. The units involved in today's attack are to be assigned to the reserve for two days rest and refit barring their need in repulsing attack.” He looked down at his desk and picked up a sheet of paper.
“General Beaumont's brigade and General Whipple's archer brigade are to be separated from service tomorrow and assigned to a new command. The details are here, but I want this order held with you until tomorrow. I plan to inform the two of them at supper this evening. I want you to be there as well. In the meantime, I want your opinion of the basic concept which is outlined there,” he indicated the paper he'd just handed over. “Be thinking as well about which other units would be a good fit for the new command. We'll discuss that this evening as well with their input.”
“Yes sir,” Enri nodded, looking at the brief plan. “With your permission?” Parno waved and Enri retreated, reading as he went. Harrel Sprigs was waiting at the entrance of his tent and Parno waved him inside.
“I've secured a house nearby for tonight's meal, my lord,” he said without fanfare. “The owners were glad to offer their home for your quarters as well.”
“No,” Parno shook his head. “I needed a secure place for tonight's supper because of the plans I'll be discussing, but I won't put someone out of their home just to be more comfortable. Please extend them my thanks and see to it they are compensated for any inconvenience that tonight may cause them.”
“Already done, my lord,” Harrel nodded. “I have arranged for a room at a local inn, complete with meals and livery as well as a two-man escort to see them there and back in the morning.”
“Very well,” Parno nodded, returning to his work. “Please have Mister Parsons report to me here.”
“Right away, sir,” Sprigs nodded again and slipped away. So engrossed was he in his work that it was not until Parsons cleared his throat that Parno realized the man was standing before him.
“Wanted to see me, sir?” he asked.
“Yes,” Parno smiled. “I'm going to need you to detach a squad of your men who are familiar with this part of the country to attach to an independent command. They need to be smart, resourceful and able to think on the move. They will be scou
ting for a unit operating behind enemy lines on a regular and sustained basis.”
“How many?” Parsons asked.
“I think ten should be more than sufficient,” Parno replied. “They won't be screening the command as your men often do for me. Instead they will be doing work more in line with your actions before the war. They will be General. . .the commander's eyes and ears, so to speak. This is, needless to add, secret information. Select men you trust implicitly. Their actions may mean the difference between victory and defeat. They will certainly be the difference in life and death for several thousand Soulan troopers.”
“I'll have it to you this evening, my lord,” Parsons promised. “I'll need to ponder on this a bit.”
“Morning will be fine,” Parno assured him. “We need to be looking for men who can fill your ranks again, Mister Parsons. Hunters and trappers I suppose, but. . .well, you do as you think fit. I can provide incentive to the right men if you think they're worth it. We have to know what's going on.”
“I'll see what I can come up with,” Parsons promised.
“In the morning,” Parno nodded. “One last thing. I need one man, completely trustworthy and able, to carry a dispatch of sorts to Cove for me. I need to send a message and some items to someone there.”
“I'll have a man here within the hour,” Parsons promised. “By your leave?”
“Carry on.”
As the scout leader departed Sprigs returned.
“Time for dinner soon, my lord,” the aide reported.
“Very well,” Parno stood and buckled on his sword. “I'm actually hungry.”
*****
The home that Sprigs had arranged for the meeting was very nice, built along the lines of a manor house with a large dining room and well-appointed kitchen. Parno's own staff, such as it was, had taken over the home for the night, with Sergeant Berry and his men standing guard at the doors while other members of the Black Sheep roamed the grounds.
Generals Beaumont and Whipple arrived together trailed by a runner and a single aide each. They would not be included in the meeting but supper would be provided to them along with Parno's own men. Karls and Enri Willard arrived together shortly afterward with Cho Feng having made the trip alongside Parno.
Parno could not begin to imagine where his men had found a ham and didn't ask. Instead he dug into the meal of ham, potatoes and beans with fried bread to the side along with coffee and lemonade.
“Splendid meal, my lord,” Whipple commented as he wiped his mouth. “Thank you for inviting me.”
“Agreed,” Beaumont nodded, his face still showing a bit of embarrassment at his snafu earlier in the day.
“Well, I'm sure the two of you realize that I didn't invite you here to give your opinion of my cook,” Parno smiled and the two chuckled. “My aide should have everything set up for us in the study of our host, so if you'll bring your brandy and whatever delicacy you have yet to finish, I'll show you what I have in mind.”
The entire party adjourned to the room where Sprigs had set up a map easel and had arranged chairs for all participants. He excused himself as the men filed inside and then closed the doors, isolating the room and its occupants.
“Today was a good start, gentlemen, but there's no denying that's all it was; a start.” Both generals nodded their agreement.
“We have other concerns than this army, too,” Parno continued. “There is a determined attack underway in Shelby, though the enemy has not yet made its way across the Great River in any substantial numbers. That may or may not last. If they are determined enough, and willing to spend the lives necessary, they may eventually force their way across.”
“In addition, there is a large naval force off our coast, somewhere in this area,” he pointed to ocean area off the Sunshine Coast. “Our navy is assembling to try and run them down, but until we know they aren't carrying another infantry force capable of landing somewhere on our coast we have to honor that threat. Our fleet will hopefully be able to not only determine that but also engage and destroy or drive off the force altogether. Once their superiority of the sea lanes is established, again assuming they can do so, it will provide us some breathing room in other areas as well.”
“Our position is not untenable but it is precarious,” Parno told his guests. “Not only can we not afford a mistake, we must take advantage of every mistake our enemy makes, and try to force him to make more. We have to play to every advantage we can and wring every possible advantage we can from each favorable situation we find ourselves in while also mitigating the damages we suffer when conditions do not favor us, preserving our men and resources for when we can get the most use from them.”
“The force before us here is by far the strongest thus far committed since the war began. Their numbers are great, their training far above anything we've ever seen from the Nor and their equipment and tactics greatly improved over what we've seen in the past. Unless our fathers have lied to us about how easy it was in the past to deal with the Nor,” he grinned and received polite laughter in reply.
“We are undertaking a massive training program,” he told the two Brigadiers. “One that will make our army far more formidable than ever before. Unfortunately, that takes time, and we can only train so many troops at one time since they have to be removed from the line to accomplish that. So far we're taking on the best and brightest for inclusion in my own unit, mainly because the training is actually at least as savage as combat.” Both men exchanged a glance at that then looked to Karls Willard who returned their gaze steadily.
“We've seen your men in action,” Whipple offered finally. “Whatever the training regimen may be, Marshal, it's obviously effective.”
“And someday we'll have entire divisions trained up to those standards,” Parno nodded. “We'll need them. But for now, we have to buy time. Time to assembled and train our men, time to allow our advances in tactics and training to be applied across the board, and time for our newest inventions to be readied for use across the battlefields wherever they may be. You've likely heard the rumors of our battle at the Gap.” Both nodded again, leaning forward.
“They are true, save those references to witchcraft,” Parno chuckled darkly. “Though I don't mind the Nor thinking we're using wizardry; the fact is that simple chemistry is responsible for the weapons we employed at the Gap. If it were wizardry, we could utilize it again right away. Since it is not, however, we require time produce those weapons in sufficient numbers to stockpile them for continued and sustained use on the entire war front.”
“And that's where you two enter into my plans,” Parno brought his point back to the two men he'd chosen to lead this effort. Both leaned in once again, eagerness clearly written on their faces. Parno nodded in satisfaction.
“As of tomorrow morning your units will be detached from your normal command structures and combined to form a new unit. Brigadier Beaumont you will be given a brevet promotion to General, and receive overall command, with Brigadier Whipple as your second. Your respective staffs will be maintained and your commands will remain with you. There will be at least one additional brigade, probably of cavalry, and a support regiment of farriers, engineers, wranglers, supply, medical and so forth.”
“You will have two weeks to integrate these units into one command, at which point your mission will be simple; take your command behind the enemy lines between here and the Ohi and raise as much hell as you possibly can.”
“Yes sir!” Beaumont positively beamed while Whipple smiled broadly, nodding his approval.
“You will pick your battles carefully gentlemen because you will be a long way from home. My scout master, Mister Parsons, is selecting a squad of his best men, all familiar with this area, to bring you information. You'll have to depend on your own men for screening since there won't be enough of these scouts to do that. You'll use them instead to locate and then destroy isolated units of the Imperial army, outposts along their lines of communications and any supply depots or wag
on trains headed south.”
“I cannot stress enough how cautious you must be in conserving your forces,” Parno continued. “Yet you must also take measured risks in order to be effective. You will at times be tempted to attack when you should not, and to pass when you should attack. You will have to learn to make those decisions on your own, and then live with the consequences of those decisions.” The two men sobered as the import of his words sank in.
“You will be completely out of communication with us, dependent upon your own resources and whatever you can steal from the Nor and nothing else. I will try to find a quality unit of Tinsee militia horsemen from this area to accompany you as scouts and flankers to help you in managing your units in the available terrain. I understand that you are at least nominally familiar with the area yourself, General?” he said to Beaumont.
“I am sir,” the big man nodded.
“Do not limit yourself to operations only in the Tinsee province, or even the Tinsee valley,” Parno added. “Remember that you can range as far north as the Ohi River, but do not attempt to cross over. Not yet,” he added. “That will come later on, once we have dealt with the immediate problems.”
“Sir?” Enri blurted, caught by surprise.
“We'll discuss that later on,” Parno promised, then turned back to the two men he'd just assigned to his pet project. “Questions gentlemen?”
“Black Flag, sir?” Whipple asked.
“Absolutely,” Parno replied. “Not just because you'll have no way to care for prisoners, either,” his voice was grim. “We've used this same tactic in the past so the Nor will be expecting it. The difference this time will be that we will not be engaging in any of the so called 'rules of civilized warfare'. I intend to teach the Nor a lesson that they are not likely to forget for many generations. Namely that any attack on this kingdom is not only doomed to fail, but be so costly that it's too horrible to contemplate. I have only one rule of war, gentlemen. Win. Understand?”
“We do sir,” Beaumont was as serious as he knew how to be, his normal exuberance nowhere in evidence as he received his orders.