by Gary Beller
Slightly complicating matters was the positioning of the enemy base along a river, which protected the base’s flank. To counter this, Praxis suggested moving artillery across the river, with a detachment of infantry, to shell the base and prevent the Banor from escaping across the river.
“You know,” General Vishan Remol of the Valderan Marines spoke, “That might work.” He took a bite of the spicy meat dish he was eating.
“It’s the logical choice.” Matron Kiyell M’Low of the Kntarians said. “Not like we have a fleet of riverboats to deny the waterway.”
“I have several batteries of heavy howitzers I will move across the river immediately,” the First Army’s chief of artillery, Major General Javier Saldano-Perez said.
“Now, for the advance,” Lieutenant General Reynolds said, “Is there a time line for it?”
“Daybreak tomorrow?” Praxis offered.
“We have as much intelligence as we are going to get. Daybreak works.” Remol said.
“I concur.” M’Low said.
Saldano-Perez nodded his agreement. “I can have the movement of the heavy batteries done by sunset, when do we wish to begin the bombardment?”
“Praxis? This is your field trip.” Reynolds said.
“One hour after sunset. Observers reported the enemy serves their chow about a half hour after sunset, so during that period their defenses are slightly down. Artillery should focus on the field fortifications around the base, especially the tanks set hull down protecting the infantry. Orbital bombardment will focus on the interior of the base.”
“Aye, sir.”
“So what’s the rest of your plan, General?” Asked Lieutenant General Frederick Hainesworth, commander of the First Army.
“My subordinate commanders have the authority to define their own advanced plans of battle.” Praxis said, arms crossed.
“Humor me, General. I want a bit more details.” Hainesworth said.
“Fine.” Praxis said, “Each Regiment or Brigade should stay in a lane going towards the enemy lines. The artillery will pound them directly until we get there, then push forward towards the base walls, unless direct fire support is needed. Is that enough guidance for you, General Hainesworth?” Praxis asked.
“It will do.” Hainesworth said.
***
Ben gathered 1SMU on the front lines, next to Alpha Company’s area of operations. “Alright, listen up,” He began, “This should be it for this field trip. Just across this field are three hundred thousand enemy troops that have occupied this world, and committed untold offenses against the innocent people here. We have a half-million Marines and Soldiers with us, standing by to visit excessive amounts of violence upon them. Tonight, the artillery will begin their work. In the morning it is our turn. We will advance across this field under the cover of the big guns, storm the ramparts and slay bodies. Any questions?”
Nobody had questions. “Alright, get some rest, and enjoy the show everyone.” Ben said, shaking hands with the officers from Alpha Company, and sitting in a fighting hole to watch the artillery barrage.
The barrage began right on schedule. From behind the lines, the loud thumping of the guns firing travelled forward, while the guided rockets hissed overhead. Explosions ripped across the enemy’s lines. Recon and Raider teams out in the field directed the action, placing artillery rounds and rockets on targets with precision.
From orbit, the warships began firing both their particle cannons and launching missiles towards the enemy base. Chancellorsville and Teufelhund both released orbital bombs. Commanding from the New Jersey, Admiral Muller ordered the ships to level as much as possible: debris piles could be more dangerous to attacking allied infantry than standing buildings. Carrying out his orders, one battleship, two battlecruisers and two cruisers
John slipped into a fighting hole next to Dani Burke, watching the show. “John, you okay?” She asked.
“Yeah…I’m okay.” He said, “Doc cleared me, just in time for the fireworks.”
“Good.” She said, leaning back against the back wall of the fighting hole, and resting her head on his shoulder. “I was worried.”
Just beyond their position, Ashlie pointed out to Ben that John was back. Ben nodded, and watched as the bright streaks came down, followed by violent and large explosions. The heavy bombs from the cruisers were the real highlight for the ground troops.
“You know who would have liked this?” Ashlie asked Ben.
“Bielema. He would have loved watching this.” He said. She reached into her vest pocket and grabbed a protein bar, and offered one to Ben. He took it, watching as the blue beams of the warships’ guns blasted the enemy base. Whistling noises cut through the rumbles of thunder from the orbital bombardment, as the allied field artillery joined in, landing rounds on the entrenched troops outside the base.
One mile behind the front, Marine artillerists from the 1st Battalion, 10th Marine Regiment were doing their best to live up to their battalion’s moniker, “Nightmare.” Manning a self-propelled howitzer, Sergeant Frederick Lebou was giving direction to two lance corporals, Erin Mehan and Gunter Errickson on quickly reloading the vehicle, while Corporal Medavian and Private First Class Rawls kept the gun firing. Every fifteen seconds, the large cannon sent another shell flying down range at five times the speed of sound.
Each shell left the barrel at high rate of speed on a short trajectory, slamming into the enemy works and exploding. The explosion and shrapnel inflicted casualties along the enemy’s lines. Shells that went over the works landed among the support personnel and the dug in armor.
Sitting well to the rear, fighter and bomber crews awaited orders. Due to the high volume of orbital fire and artillery, it was considered too dangerous for the aviation units to make attack runs, so their crews were relegated to sitting on the sidelines, listening to the sounds of the battle.
“I hate being left out.” Kristen said to Liz.
“Even if it’s ground attack?”
“Even ground attack.” Kristen said.
***
Word got passed around an hour before the stepping off of the attack. Everyone who wasn’t already awake was woken up and told to prepare breakfast. Ben pulled out a breakfast ration and activated the self-heater on it.
“Scrambled eggs?” Ashlie asked.
“Yeah. What’ve you got?”
“Pancake wrapped sausage.” She said.
Most of the Phantoms ate breakfast quietly, and checked their gear. Danny arrived and gave them their alignment orders. The Phantoms would be acting as skirmishers ahead of Westover’s Brigade, linking up on the way with the Recon teams that were still camped out in the middle of the field. Ben lined the phantoms up, keeping the Corpsman to the rear with the Sniper teams as cover, everyone else formed a skirmish line and began advancing ahead of the 1st Brigade.
Just left of the center of the line, Rob Grimes had Forshaw and Johnson signing a tune from the Gilbert and Sullivan play HMS Pinafore. Ben wanted to tell them to cut it out, but it got the Marines moving, and it was no secret to the enemy they were coming.
Ben’s comm crackled to life a few minutes after stepping off.
“7th Marines, guide right, 5th Marines guide left. 3-7 and 1-5 keep aligned on 2nd Tanks.” Westover’s voice ordered.
“Hotel 2-5, slow it down a bit, keep your alignment on Golf.”
“Hotel 2-5 Actual acknowledges.”
“Alpha two tango, have first platoon cover those grunts on your left.”
“Roger 2 Tango Actual.”
CHAPTER 26
The sun was beginning to rise, while artillery shells and orbital fire kept falling. Now, though, Ben saw the shafts of green light leaping skyward from the surface. Something inside that base had guns big enough to engage the ships in orbit. If they turned those guns on the advancing ground forces, Ben feared, it could turn into a blood bath.
Behind him, Ashlie listened as shells continued to scream overhead. “Do they sound closer?
” She asked Kate.
“Yeah. Artillery switched to guided projectiles, they can fire those on a flatter trajectory and keep them from going too high.”
“I thought a high-arcing trajectory was what artillery did?” Ashlie said.
“Gotta deconflict the airspace, kid.” As if on cue, a dozen fighters came in from behind and launched rocket attacks against the enemy’s base. Then, for a moment, the naval bombardment stopped. In its place, bombers from the Navy’s 3rd Bomber Group made their run, with six dozen bombers each dropping seventy thousand pounds of bombs in a tight, concentrated pattern.
A squadron of fighter bombers raced in behind them at low altitude and put weapons on several of the heavy batteries that had been dueling with the orbiting warships. As the last of the aircraft cleared out, the orbital bombardment resumed. “Okay. Makes sense now.” Ashlie said. She realized, belatedly, that she almost stepped on a Recon Marine.
“Hey Doc, watch your step!”
“Sorry Top.” She said, as he stood and chased after them.
Walking on the right flank, John had his weapon at low ready. Next to him, Staff Sergeant Jackson was walking with his rifle up, using the four-power zoom scope to get a better look at the enemy. “Damn.” He said.
“What?” John asked.
“I don’t think the Red legs or Airedales left anything for us to kill. It’s one big smoking pile of rubble…and they are still pounding it.”
“Well, you know how artillery and airpower work...” He said, looking at Jackson,
“Kill it, kill it some more, kill it again and when it’s totally dead, send in the Infantry to kill it real good.”
“Amen.” John laughed.
The sun was now coming up and illuminating the field. As the range closed to five hundred meters, the first green beams came streaking in at the Phantoms. John, along with everyone else, dropped at the incoming fire. A beam passed within inches of his head. He came up to a knee, and yelled “Fuck you!” at the enemy troops before opening up with his weapon. Along the line, other Marines were doing the same.
Ben pushed his Marines forward, ordering an advance fifty meters at a time. The tanks took advantage of a longer pause in the infantry advance to disperse themselves along the lines, a luxury they did not have in the woods. Now, spread out along the line they provided cover for the advancing Marines. Their heavy guns lashed out at the enemy, breaking up concentrations of troops clustered around whatever remained of their fortifications.
Ben could see, far to his left, the Valderans pushing forward. Their tanks were riding at the front of their advance, while the Infantry struggled to keep up. Ben shook his head, but pressed on. At least the Valderan tanks were making life hell for the Banor.
One hundred fifty meters from the enemy defenses, the fire picked up. Anti-tank weapons lashed out at both the Human and Valderan machines, knocking several out. One tank from Alpha Company 2nd Tanks exploded violently, killing a dozen Marines from Golf Company, 2nd Battalion 7th Marines.
“Push forward!” Westover yelled. Ben could hear him, and looked to see his friend standing almost straight up, a saber in his hand, urging his Marines forward. A green beam found him and dropped him in a heap. Two nearby Corpsman rushed to him. Ben wanted to make sure Tom was okay, but the incoming fire demanded his attention.
Ben pushed his Marines forward again, this time to within seventy five meters of the enemy’s wall. “Grenadiers, fire!” He ordered. Staff Sergeant Forshaw let his rifle drop on its single point sling and brought his grenade launcher out. He, Jackson, and Wilkie all carried revolving grenade launchers, given to them by armorers from the 7th Marines. Ashlie, Rob, D. J. and Erica all used the launchers under their rifles to engage with grenades.
“Newb!” John yelled, laughing and firing his weapon again.
“Fuck off!” Jackson replied.
Having expended all six rounds, the three men with the heavy launchers ducked down to reload. The tanks were now right with them, and the 1st Brigade’s Marines falling in in rapid order. The tanks fired their main guns towards the wall surrounding the enemy base, blowing chunks out of it, and at the guard towers which rained murderous streams of fire down upon the infantry.
“Advance, all sectors, advance!” Billy’s voice commanded through the radio. Ben presumed Williams was now in charge of the entire Brigade, with Westover having gone down.
“Phantoms, Let’s get over that wall.” Ben ordered.
“Phantom 601 copies.” Sid replied
“602 acknowledges.” Rob said.
Together, the Operators from 1SMU moved forward towards the wall. Alpha Company from 1st Battalion, 7th Marines was on their heels, lending their weight to the push. As they closed, Ben saw something eerily familiar. Banor soldiers abandoned the built-up works towards the base, falling back through sally ports and holes made by allied tanks. Ben realized what was happening and yelled on the open comm “Hold advance and cover!” The Phantoms and Alpha Company dove, while Tanks slowed. On the far right, the Valderans missed the message, and an Infantry company and a tank platoon ran headlong at the wall.
The breastworks exploded outward, sending shockwaves and debris out towards the advancing allied troops. The humans, having held back, avoided the brunt of it. The Valderans weren’t so lucky. 614th Company of His Majesty’s 29th Royal Marine Regiment was nearly wiped out, and six tanks from the Imperial Guards 3rd Tank Regiment were destroyed in the blast. Other units along the Valderans’ leading edge suffered similarly.
Moments after the blasts, the advance resumed. The Valderans were slowed, as medical personnel attempted to handle the massive numbers of casualties, and Infantry were forced to step over, and in some cases on, their fallen brethren.
Ben climbed over the damaged works, and led his team past a burnt out tank. “Grenades over the wall, then through the hole.” He suited actions to words, pulling the pin on a grenade and lofted it over the top of the wall. He turned and led the Marines through the hole.
Enemy troops were waiting, but the grenade volley caught them off guard. Ben was able to cut down three enemies. John followed, and as his muzzle cleared the friendlies, he opened fire into a crowd of Banor. The Phantoms pushed through the hole and were followed by Alpha and Bravo Company through another break. “Phantom Six, this is Annihilator Six. How thick is that wall?”
“About a foot, looks like cinder block.” Ben replied.
“Roger that. Don’t stand too close.”
Ben turned and saw a trio of tanks drive through the wall. Unfortunately for the Banor, they didn’t have the warning about the tanks, and several enemy troops were injured or killed when they did. The tanks turned and began firing their lighter weapons as their breaching gear retracted.
Although the attack wasn’t unexpected, the violence of the action seemed to throw the Banor off guard. Even the Valderans, slowed by their heavy casualties, managed to catch up.
“Phantom Six, Lima Six.” Praxis voice came through Ben’s radio.
“Go ahead, Lima Six.” Ben replied.
“I Corps just made their breakout, and they are detaching ODA 310 and 314, Link up with them and try to take down the central command post before the Banor evacuate it.”
“Roger that.” Ben said. “Phantoms, on me!” He said.
“Orders, sir?” Sid asked.
“We’re linking up with two Army ODA’s to take down the command post. Let’s move.”
The team broke contact and moved down a street, trading fire with Banor units as they went. “Not gonna be easy to do.” Rob said.
“Since when do we do easy?” Kate asked.
“Never. Let’s go.” Ben said.
***
The movement across the enemy base was, as predicted, difficult. Adding to the difficulty of the movement was the rubble caused by the orbital bombardment. They moved past one of the heavy defensive guns that Ben had previously observed dueling with the New Jersey, sitting high in orbit. “Doesn’t this thing loo
k weird to you?” Ashlie asked.
“It’s Banor. All their architecture looks weird to me.” Ben said.
“No. Seriously, look at it.” Ben stopped for a moment, and looked. It looked like a large metal box, with one large turret and two smaller ones. Were it level, the sides and front would angle in towards the top. Ben looked closer and realized the hatches on the back…not normal doors, weren’t level with the ground. It sat roughly nose down and tilted off to its left. “I don’t think that was a building, Sir.” Rob said.
The main turret at the top was blown open, and dead bodies lay around it. “You think it could be a vehicle?” Ben asked.
“I’m almost positive of it. Look at that one over there.” He said, pointing to a similar platform, still engaging the Battleship, but using smaller weapons to engage ground troops that they couldn’t see from their vantage point. “Fuckin’ A…” Ben said, cueing his comm.
“Phantom Six to Lima Six.”
“Go ahead, Phantom Six.” Praxis said.
“See those big fuckers shooting back at the fleet?” Ben asked.
“Yeah. What about them?”
“Those are not static positions.”
“Say again, Phantom Six?” Praxis said.
“Those are mobile vehicles, sir. And if they break loose we’re completely fucked.” Ben said.
“Aww Hell. I’m on it. Continue on mission.”
Ben nodded to his Marines and they pressed forward. Moments later, missiles began streaking in from Strike Fighters, targeting the remaining vehicles. One of the super-sized tanks took a critical hit on top of its’ main turret, causing a massive explosion. The other remaining vehicle gave up its’ duel with the battleship and attempted to target ground troops with its main battery.
The gunners aboard the tank managed to get three shots off before a heavy bomb punched through one of the vehicle’s upper vents, and caused its reactor core to explode.