An aide interrupted Zulfa’s thinking. “Brigadier! A message from Colonel Erdelin.”
Zulfa snatched the sealed sheet from the aide’s hand, broke it open, and read,
To: General Zulfa
From: Colonel Erdelin
Estimate 2/3 to 3/4 of Eywellese left positions
to pursue clan group withdrawing to the south.
No immediate threat, but possible cannon and musket
fire to the south. Request permission to shift one
block to support flank.
“Narth damn the Eywellese!” Zulfa’s staff members’ heads jerked toward their commander.
Zulfa looked to his right. He could see no obvious threat through the smoke from the Narthani cannon and muskets and the smoldering grass set afire by the islanders, and he saw no reason not to agree to the repositioning. He turned to his scribe. “Message to Colonel Erdelin. Permission granted to redeploy block. Stretch other block spacing to cover gap. Keep me informed of any change.”
The scribe wrote two copies on paper and handed the sheets on a support to Zulfa, who signed both. The scribe placed one inside the shoulder bag he carried and gave the other to the aide, who ran to pass it to a rider to gallop back to Erdelin.
Denes halted their advance behind a screen of trees just out of sight of the remaining Eywellese, who were still unaware of the disaster befallen their clansmen. Through foliage he saw Eywell banners at a cluster of riders to their front, probably whoever was in charge when Brandor Eywell went off to the afterlife. He estimated two hundred yards of open ground between himself and the edge of the Eywell horsemen and perhaps four hundred yards to the end of the Narthani infantry line. Not that he could see either the Narthani or all of the Eywellese through the smoke. His role now was to wait until Luwis and Gwillamer attacked from the east and Mittack from the west. He looked behind at his 471 men. They’d suffered only 9 casualties during the ambush. Denes decided on his own initiative that once they got within firing range of the Narthani, they would stake out their horses and leave only one man in eight to tend them. He figured if things went wrong, he would need every musket to extricate his men.
Demian Eywell was simultaneously proud that his father had left him in charge of five hundred men to protect the Narthani line, angry he couldn’t take part in riding down the Keelan hetman, and hoping his father returned before he had to make any major decisions. That hope vanished when he saw a mass of Keelan and Gwillaer clansmen galloping straight at his position.
He was smart enough not to go charging directly at the attackers and lose supporting fire from the Narthani block to his left, but suddenly shouts came from behind him. He stood in his saddle to look to the rear and froze for several moments, as his mind took in riders led by Mittack and Keelan banners. Uncertain what to do, he sat on his saddle as the seconds ticked off, his mind a whirlpool of conflicting and confused options. Thus, he did the worst thing possible. Nothing.
Subcommanders screamed at him for orders, and when none came, they acted independently, with some charging the Keelanders to their front, others wheeling to face the new threat, and a hundred or more still milling around, waiting for Demian’s orders. Outnumbered badly on all fronts, they were overwhelmed. The Eywellese fought bravely but failed in their primary mission. In less than seven minutes, the Narthani flank was completely exposed.
Patmir Tullok intuited the problem as soon as he saw the melee of horsemen to his right. In response, he ordered one rank of pikes and one of muskets to face right, even though he couldn’t identify what was happening through the smoke and chaos. One islander looked like any other to him, and all he saw was unidentified horsemen. He also did the right thing by sending a message to the right wing commander, Colonel Memas Erdelin, that his flank was threatened. He did everything right, not that it ultimately saved him or his men.
Erdelin got the messages from Tullok and Zulfa within seconds of each other. He immediately sent orders for the former reserve block to move from their position as part of the arc of the Narthani trap back and to the south to support the right flank.
The remaining Eywellese screening the Narthani right were pushed west and away from the now exposed flank. Denes gave the order committing his men to move toward the Narthani infantry block. Their mounted clansmen either pursued the Eywellese or moved aside, following orders not to attempt a direct horse assault on the Narthani infantry. Denes’s dragoons weren’t as disciplined as the Narthani infantry, but in five groups, each under a leader who tried to maintain a degree of order, they moved quickly toward where the Narthani block was supposed to be. It was a chaotic order of battle but the best they could do. The five groups moved abreast forward with the three artillery pieces following in a central position, and the extra men with cannon experience followed the artillery. There was no reserve. This was an all-or-nothing throw of the dice.
They trotted 250 yards before making out the first vague figures through the smoke. Occasional Eywellese riders retreating from either the north or the south engagements sporadically appeared. Many rode on, ignoring the Keelanders on foot. Some Eywellese stopped and attacked, to be cut down by musket fire. Other Eywellese saw Denes’s dragoons, recognized who they were, and rode off, whether to warn or escape was unknown.
At two hundred yards from the Narthani, Denes signaled to dismount, the horses were led to the rear, and the dragoons and the artillery formed up to face the flank of the Narthani infantry block and moved forward.
Patmir Tullok was alerted to something happening by the sporadic musket fire to their right and then the first outlines of men on foot through the smoke. Since there weren’t supposed to be any Narthani infantry to his right, he hesitated for another minute until the figures became more distinct and then ordered the rank of musket men to open fire and start bringing the other ranks to face the new threat.
Eleven Keelanders fell to the first Narthani musket volley. That it wasn’t more was due to smoke-obscured vision, the distance being at the limit of effective musket range, and disorder in the Narthani ranks. The Keelanders kept moving, and each man began firing independently. If it didn’t have the shock impact of coordinated volleys, the number of muskets compensated. Almost four hundred Caedelli muskets fired into the compact Narthani formation. More than eighty Narthani were hit, inflicting moderate wounds to fatalities. The solid ranks of pike and musket men facing the Keelanders suddenly had gaps, with standing men separated by dead and wounded.
While the surviving Narthani musket men reloaded and the other ranks attempted to swing into position to fire, the three Keelan artillery pieces rolled into line, all pointing to the center of the Narthani formation. As soon as each piece was ready, it began firing its three barrels. It took twenty seconds to fire all nine barrels, resulting in hundreds more musket balls scything into the Narthani. Many balls impacted the ground before reaching the Narthani or went over their heads. A quarter of the balls found human flesh.
Yozef had followed his carriage crews, offering no advice or leadership. They’d been drilled enough not to need his help. He also wasn’t eager to be at the forefront but was startled when he thought rockets arced over toward the Narthani infantry. As his eye followed one trail of smoke, he realized they were crossbow quarrels. The three crews were fifty yards behind and began firing as soon as they set up their carriages. He hadn’t expected they would get this far, so he hadn’t given the crossbow crews instructions on what to do after the ambush.
Two quarrels flew over the Narthani, but one landed within the block, scattering bodies. The Keelanders stopped and poured independent fire into the Narthani, the swivel carriages firing as fast as the outer two barrels were reloaded, and quarrels impacting in and around the disintegrating Narthani block. By the time the swivels fired for the third time, there were barely 150 of the original 500 Narthani still standing. Not among them was Patmir Tullok, who, despite his inexperience, had done everything right but now lay lifeless after any one of four Keelan balls kil
led him.
Of the surviving Narthani, only 50 carried muskets. The pike men had knelt or lain flat to allow their musket men to fire over them and had thus escaped most of the Keelan fire. Now 100 Narthani pike men stood helpless or tried to flee, as they were shot down piecemeal. In less than five minutes, a 500-man Narthani infantry block had ceased to exist.
Chapter 32: Take the Guns!
What in Evil’s name is happening?!
Lieutenant Narfak Salel commanded the rightmost 12-pounder battery of cannon in the right Narthani artillery position. His senior noncommissioned officer stood beside him, as they watched the frantic movements of the last infantry block. He had no word of any threat, so why was the block repositioning? They’d heard firearms and shouts beyond the block, but residual gunpowder smoke and smoldering grass lit by the islanders obscured details of the action.
Salel watched for only a few more moments, then cursed and ordered two of his cannon to face ninety degrees, while he sent a runner off to Major Urtek, commanding the entire artillery position. Lacking orders, he hesitated to reposition all of five of his pieces without approval.
What in Evil’s name is going on! Zulfa raged to himself. As the firing died down toward the islander horsemen milling just out of canister range, he could hear sounds of fighting toward his right flank. Suddenly, an Eywellese rider galloped up to this staff area, the horse lathered and the rider with a superficial slash on his cheek and blood on one shoulder. Zulfa’s guards stopped him twenty yards away, took his sword, and led him to Zulfa’s platform. The man did a quick bow in the saddle and blurted, “General! The clans are on our rear!”
Zulfa didn’t question the man’s veracity. His appearance, the uncertainty about events on their right flank, and Zulfa’s instincts combined to elicit decisive actions after a moment’s reflection.
If they’re on the rear of the Eywellese, then the entire flank might be in danger.
He quickly wrote out orders for Colonel Metan on the left to send all of the Narthani heavy cavalry to Zulfa’s position, along with half of his artillery, and a second message to Colonel Erdelin warning of clan horseman possibly threatening their rear. It took two minutes to write the messages, six minutes to get it in the hands of the recipients, two minutes to issue orders to subordinates, three minutes to organize the units chosen to respond, and six minutes to bring the five hundred heavy cavalry to Zulfa’s position. In those nineteen minutes, the Narthani right collapsed.
When they rushed forward to the first Narthani infantry block, Denes told Yozef to accompany their three artillery pieces and the extra men. Yozef had planned on staying as far back from the point of conflict as possible and that he could get away with. This left him little choice. Yozef knew Culich had instructed Denes to keep him well back of the front, but in the furious action of the moment, Denes either forgot his instructions or figured that despite such orders, he needed Yozef’s advice as far forward as possible. Yozef swallowed hard and followed to the rear of the artillery group.
From where he stood, Yozef could sporadically see the Narthani infantry, although most of the time the smoke continued to obscure. He wasn’t sure what was happening until the Keelanders opened up with musket fire and their cobbled-together field pieces. Any visibility vanished as their gunpowder smoke added to that of the Narthani and the smoldering grass. All he saw were the backs of Denes’s dragoons and the swivel crews firing and reloading.
Suddenly, the firing subsided, and the men pushed forward again, then stopped at Denes’s shout. From the corner of his right eye, Yozef detected movement. He turned in time to see outlines of horsemen, swords held high, lances leveled, pound past the dragoons toward where the Narthani infantry lay shredded. Hundreds of Keelan and Mittack horsemen. He heard shouts, Narthani cannon fire, pistols, and a few muskets. Two or three minutes later, some of the riders galloped back the way they’d come, and a group of four rode up to Denes, said something, and followed the others. Denes shouted, and the dragoons and the artillerymen surged forward again. Yozef followed to avoid being left standing alone.
The dragoons hadn’t gotten off unscathed. As Yozef hustled past the position the Keelanders just left, he saw Keelanders lying on the ground, perhaps thirty either dead or wounded, a couple screaming from wounds. Medicants came forward, several running past Yozef to the injured. Yozef passed one man he thought he recognized, though he couldn’t recall from where. The man lay staring at the sky and arguing to “someone” about a dog.
In shock, Yozef thought, as a medicant tied a tourniquet above where the man’s arm used to extend. Another man was beyond the medicants’ help with a musket ball hole in his forehead and a surprised look on his face. Yozef hurried forward to catch up with the advancing Keelanders.
Then, the scene of Keelan wounded and dead became a relative refuge, as they reached the ground where the Narthani infantry block had stood and died. The men in front of him made no efforts to avoid walking on dead or wounded Narthani. The dead didn’t care, and Yozef could see the wounded being reassigned to the first category, as Keelanders moved over them, using musket butts and knives. The men pulling artillery pieces and limbers also made no effort to avoid bodies and pulled carriages over whatever was in the way.
Finally, Yozef found himself past the carpet of Narthani bodies, still following Denes’s men. More Keelan horsemen flowed to their right and left, their departure revealing their target—the Narthani artillery position. In the hundred yards between the original Narthani infantry block and artillery positions were scores of downed clan riders and horses, medicants rushing aid to the wounded, and dragoons giving mercy to the animals. Beyond, he could see 12-pounder carriages and limbers interspersed with Narthani bodies.
Well, kiss my ass, Yozef thought in wonderment, as they moved into the artillery position, the dragoons moving on past. Half of the 12-pounders still faced the Moreland charge, while the others had obviously been turning to face the clan horsemen when they were overrun. Narthani bodies lay still, twitching, or screaming.
Luwis and Mittack! They surprised the Narthani artillery once the infantry block was gone. When I suggested taking the artillery positions, I didn’t actually believe it. It was just a remote possibility.
Yozef’s wonderings came to an abrupt halt when musket fire erupted to their front, and musket balls whizzed nearby. Several Keelan men fell, and Denes and other leaders tried to get their men to form lines. The next Narthani blocks had realized what was happening and were responding.
For Memas Erdelin, the textbook battle plan turned to disaster. As soon as he realized his end block was under serious attack and the Eywellese no longer protected his flank, he asked for and received permission to move the reserve block for support. By the time they started moving into position, the artillery battery was already being overrun. Not the most capable of commanders, he still recognized the severity of the danger, and, even to his own surprise and without Zulfa’s permission, he ordered the next two blocks to face right and move to support the artillery position, a saving correct move if it had occurred ten minutes earlier.
Aivacs Zulfa stood even farther behind events happening to his right flank but was experienced and decisive enough to act, based on what he knew and what he didn’t know. With firing to his front having stopped minutes previously and a slight pickup in wind clearing visibility, he knew their front was secure, but from his position, he could see something major happening with Erdelin’s wing of the formation, although he couldn’t pick out details.
He heard continuous musket fire interspersed with what sounded like light cannon firing. He knew for certain from the distinctive sound that it wasn’t Narthani field cannon, so had to be from the Caedelli.
Where did they get field artillery? They weren’t supposed to have any.
Even if lighter than his own cannon, such unexpected capabilities of the islanders could wreak havoc with his packed infantry blocks. His heavier cannon could easily handle what he assumed were these smaller
-caliber cannon, but since he wasn’t hearing the heavier guns firing, he assumed the islanders hit his flank and his artillery hadn’t yet turned to suppress the lighter guns.
As yet, Zulfa had no thought that his right flank might be in serious danger, but he left nothing to chance. His left flank was reasonably secure from direct attack by the ridgeline only if he didn’t leave a gap between the leftmost infantry block and the rising ground, thus preventing islander cavalry from using the gap to attack or get to his rear.
“Ketin!” he barked out to his subordinate, who had initiated the trap maneuver and then rejoined him at the headquarters position. Ketin stood looking at the map of the battlefield and dispositions. “Get forward and reposition blocks four, five, and six to form a line facing south.”
The order didn’t surprise Ketin. He knew of the messages coming to Zulfa and could hear and interpret that something was happening to their right. “You think we’re in danger from an islander flank attack?”
“There’s no immediate danger from the clan horsemen to our front, so prudence dictates we reposition until it’s clear what is happening on our right flank. Get down there and assume it will be necessary for our right flank to retire to your position and repel a flanking attack. I have the rest of our cavalry here to provide a flanking screen, in case our entire line has to redirect. Leave room for artillery also. I’ve already ordered half of the left batteries here, and I’ll now order them to your new position.”
Without further questioning, Ketin saluted, leaped off the platform, and mounted his horse. He and his aides raced off. Zulfa quickly wrote an order to Nuthrat Metan, commander of the left flank.
The Pen and the Sword (Destiny's Crucible Book 2) Page 39
