Forged in Fire (Destiny's Crucible Book 4)

by Olan Thorensen

  “Although we had decided on the action, timing had been left undetermined. That is the topic today, and I will call on Culich Keelan and the leader of our Intelligence Department to explain the proposed timetable.”

  Culich walked to the same blackboard they’d used earlier, showing a drawing of Caedellium with arrows indicating the planned advance lines of the Southern and Northern forces.

  He glanced at the map, then turned back to his audience with a smile. “I’ll start by saying that nothing focuses our attention like having a looming deadline. Most of us, myself included, find we do our best work and are most productive when we have no choice. Having said that, I anticipate that all of us here, and thousands more throughout Caedellium, are about to experience peak productivity. We propose that the action to cut off Selfcell and Eywell commence two sixdays from today.”

  Culich’s pronouncement was followed by a range of responses, depending on the individual: shock, groans, cries of disbelief, shouts of approval, and utterances of an unidentifiable nature. Despite his entreaty for non–War Council members not to participate, Orosz decided to allow limited comments and questions.

  “Two sixdays!” exclaimed Cirwyn Gwillamer. “How is that enough time to gather all the men and supplies?”

  “Yes!” acclaimed Lordum Hewell. The young Hewell hetman would lead one of the four Southern Force regiments. Yozef worried about his enthusiasm for killing Narthani. His younger brother and wife had been killed by a Narthani assassin who mistook the brother for the hetman. He was the least experienced of the Southern Force’s four regimental commanders. Although none of them could realistically be considered qualified, Hewell was a fervent student of Yozef’s On War, and Reimo Kivalian had reported that the Hewell hetman was one of the best students in the Fuomi’s crash course on military leadership and tactics.

  Hetman Skouks first groaned, then said, “I’ll have to get an encoded message off to home as soon as we finish here. Our one complete regiment isn’t fully trained yet, but they’ll have to finish on the way to join Hetmen Stent.”

  Orosz let the initial responses and subsequent hubbub continue for only a minute before striking the gong three times to quell the more vociferous attendees. “We’ll let Hetman Culich continue with the rationales for this decision. There will be opportunity later for questions, comments, and reasons why this timetable is impractical.”

  “Thank you, Tomis,” said Culich, who then addressed the audience. “There are two primary reasons for launching the invasion so soon. One is that we don’t know when the Narthani reinforcements will arrive. If we were to take more time—say, one or two months—for all we know the Narthani by then might have too many men for us to stop Selfcell and Eywell from supporting them. In other words, if we’re going to do this, it has to be before the new Narthani arrive.

  “The second primary reason is surprise. Even though we’ve done our best to seal the borders, we can’t be sure that Narthani patrols aren’t slipping into our territory or that spies still aren’t sending messages to ships off the coastal provinces. Once we start gathering men and moving to the Eywell border, word of this is bound to reach the enemy. For this plan to work best, our invasion needs to be as much of a surprise as possible.”

  Several men motioned or spoke to get attention. Culich was about to say something when his eye caught Yozef signaling and tapping his chest with his fist, which Culich interpreted as wanting to speak.

  “Yozef, would you like to elaborate?”

  “Yes, Culich, if I may.” Yozef rose and stood in front of the blackboard. “There will always be a conflict between preparation and action. If you think of it, you can imagine a commander able to think of an endless list of reasons why his unit could be better prepared. More training. More ammunition. Better and more horses. Cannon need repairing. A sickness has impaired too many of the men. The enemy has done something to make the commander question the absolute accuracy of intelligence information. The weather isn’t perfect. On and on. At some point, a commander has to make the decision to act.”

  Yozef was thinking of the United States’ Civil War history and how General George McClellan was a masterful organizer and trainer of Union forces but could never pull the trigger once engaged with the rebels, being more interested in not losing than in winning.

  “That’s not to say none of these factors is important,” Yozef continued. “They all are important. The commander—or commanders, if it’s a group decision—are ultimately left with the responsibility to decide on the totality of factors that justifies action. That is what the War Council has done. In their judgment, the summation of reasons to delay acting to isolate Selfcell and Eywell is insufficient to take the risk that the larger Narthani army arrives before we act, nor do those reasons justify taking longer to act and risk losing the element of surprise.”

  Harmon Swavebroke rose from his seat. He had been hetman only since his father had died with three hundred other Swavebroke men. They had fought a rearguard action inside Shullick, the clan capital, to delay the Narthani, while most of the city’s population fled inland. The Narthani burned ninety percent of the buildings within five miles of the city center, and the homeless clanspeople were still being quartered in towns, villages, and tent encampments or already on the way or preparing to leave for a redoubt in the Farkesh Province mountains. The previous hetman, Margol Swavebroke, had dithered in making better preparations to defend Shullick from sea attack or to begin a clan redoubt. Several of his boyermen, including the boyerman for Shullick, had resisted wasting coin on defenses or a redoubt that might never be needed. The new Swavebroke hetman, with the support of all the clan’s boyermen, had decreed that there would be no effort to rebuild Shullick until the Narthani were expelled from the island or all killed. Feren Bakalacs, the Farkesh hetman, had offered to shelter as many Swavebrokers as could make trip to the Farkesh redoubt.

  “Yozef, pardon,” said Harmon. “I understand the reasoning, though the uncertainties fill me with worry, but shouldn’t we consider the possibility that no matter the arguments, what if not all the men are in place and organized well enough to launch the invasion? Could there be at least a short delay until everything is put in place?”

  Yozef had hoped for the question or something close to it.

  “The problem is the same as I’ve already said. There will always be reasons why everything is not in place. One more company is a day away. A battalion is three days away. A hundred extra horses are delayed because of a rainstorm that made a river too high to risk pushing the horses across. Orders or understandings got confused, and an Adris regiment went to the Northern Force muster site instead of the Southern one, as was planned. Again, on and on. A delay or even cancelation can always be an option, but that is only the decision of the commander or commanders and only for compelling reasons. Each unit of the operation has to act as if there is no option to delay. If we allow that, then inevitably unit and clan leaders will find reasons to justify why they don’t put out the maximum effort to be where they are supposed to be at the time they’re supposed to be there.

  “Then there is a final point, one that was mentioned in the previous War Council session. We are so inexperienced in large-scale warfare that we have to have some minimal idea of what mobilization problems will happen once the new Narthani army arrives and they launch whatever action they choose to finish conquering Caedellium. For example, in what we are currently planning, what if Orosz—I’m only using your clan, Tomis, as an example, not because I think this will happen—doesn’t get a regiment to the northern muster point in time to join in the invasion? What if a Keelan regiment doesn’t bring any 12-pounder ammunition? What if Nyvaks refuses to send whatever men and supplies they were assigned to send? We’ll have little enough time and experience, and this might be the only chance we have to identify major problems such as I’ve mentioned.

  “It’s also been noted that commanders all the way from Brigadiers Vegga and Stent down to squad leaders will be
evaluated, and those who perform badly, for whatever reason, will be replaced before the next action.”

  Adris sat down, satisfied his question had been answered, even if he didn’t completely agree with what he’d heard.

  Balwis followed with a question, then Hetman Skouks, Hetman Vandinke, men whose names Yozef didn’t remember, and others for the next two hours. They adjourned for midday meal, set up under trees a hundred yards from the conclave building. Pairs and small groups carried on conversations about what they’d heard that day, as well as about more innocuous personal matters. Hetman Orosz kept an eye on the meal’s progress, and when everyone seemed finished, he stood and announced it was time to resume inside.

  All of those attending the meeting took seats. The mood was subdued, compared to the animation before the morning session started. Yozef glanced around at the room. People’s faces had mainly looked shocked when, at the last conclave, they first heard news of another, larger Narthani army coming to Caedellium. The same faces appeared exuberant when he gave his short speech, cribbed from famous Earth speeches. Now, the faces exuded resolve. A decision had been made. Actions to be carried out were known. Prices to be paid were unknown but accepted.

  The afternoon council session lasted fifteen minutes.

  Tomis Orosz struck the gong. “The War Council session will resume. Hetman Stent will summarize the council’s decision.”

  Welman Stent went to the blackboard, picked up a wooden pointer, and faced the listeners. “Two sixdays from today, on the fourth day, second sixday, month of Makothon, the free clans of Caedellium will launch an attack on Narthani-controlled territory with the objective of isolating the Selfcell and Eywell clans from Narthani control.” Stent turned to the blackboard and pointed. “A Northern Force will be composed of eleven regiments of a thousand men from eight clans. This force will muster and then launch from Lanwith, a Moreland town near the Eywell border. Another six regiments will be known as the Northern Reserve and will also gather at Lanwith. On the designated day, both groups will push hard toward Hanslow, the Eywell capital and only twenty miles from the border. The Northern force will push by Hanslow but not stop to besiege the city. It should be large enough to brush aside any Narthani and Eywell forces outside Hanslow. The Northern Reserve will encamp two miles south of Hanslow and within sight of the city’s walls. They have two purposes. One is to discourage enemy forces in Hanslow from following and harassing the Northern Force. The second purpose is to serve as a reserve, in case the Northern Force runs into more trouble than we anticipate and needs assistance in withdrawing. This reserve is composed of regiments not as organized and trained as in the Northern Force, and it will not just sit but will use the time to continue training, which will include both regiment-sized maneuvers and live-firing exercises. That should also keep anyone in Hanslow guessing at our intentions for the city.

  “The Northern Force of eleven regiments will strike southwest to reach the sea fifteen to twenty miles south of Sellmor, the Selfcell capital. The combination of our seventeen thousand men both threatening Hanslow and moving through the center of Eywell Province should prevent any significant threat in the force’s rear.”

  Stent moved the pointer to the small piece of Keelan on the Gulf of Witlow. “The Southern Force will muster at the town of Dornfeld on the Keelan/Gwillamer border, twenty miles from Eywell. It will be composed of four regiments of twenty-five hundred men each and five regiments of one thousand. As with the Northern Reserve, these smaller regiments are less trained. Three smaller regiments will encamp at the same position used in the raid into Preddi after the Narthani attacks on Swavebroke and three hetmen. They will secure a defensible position for the Southern Force to retreat to, if necessary. As with the Northern Reserve, they will use the time to train in maneuvers.

  “The rest of the Southern Force, twelve thousand men, will push west along the southern Eywell coast on the same route used on the raid. Their objective is to threaten Preddi City and discourage the Narthani from helping Selfcell. The force will approach Preddi City as close as it can without engaging in major battles. However, if small-enough Narthani units or vulnerable-enough positions are encountered, the force will consider attacks, if it’s consistent with blocking major Narthani moves north and northwest of Preddi City.

  “In contrast to the Northern Force, which will move as quickly as possible and bypass towns, the Southern Force will attempt to capture two towns, Neath in southwest Eywell and Ponth in northeast Preddi. Whether or not the two towns can be captured, the remaining two small regiments will occupy or invest those towns to keep them inactive. The four larger regiments, ten thousand men, will threaten Preddi City and provide support to the Northern Force’s left flank of their advance. The Southern Force’s dealing with these towns will slow the force, so we hope the two forces will arrive at the Preddi border at about the same time.”

  Stent set down the pointer and faced the listeners. “Assuming we’ve severed contact between the Narthani in Preddi Province and the Selfcell and Eywell clans, we will leave a screen of units to make the Narthani uncertain of our objectives, and we will move on Sellmor. The city has no significant Narthani fortifications, as far as escapees have reported, only the original city walls. We also have reason to believe the Selfcell hetman will not attempt to fight our combined forces. Assuming that to be the case, we will compel both the Selfcell and the Eywell clan to evacuate all their fighting men and weapons north and west to territory we control. We intend to force evacuation only of fighting men. Depending on how things proceed, they will be disarmed and kept in encampments in the Vandinke Mountains, thus achieving our objective of stopping men from these two clans from supporting the new Narthani army.

  “As Yozef has warned us, again and again and again . . .” Stent paused to let a tension-releasing edge of humor pass through the group. It had become a point of amusement or annoyance, depending on the recipient, that Yozef reminded them over and over about the “fog of war” and the need to adjust plans according to circumstances. “ . . . this outline is subject to change at the discretion of myself and Brigadier Vegga. The initial separation of our two forces will place them out of regular contact until they near the Preddi border. As soon as possible, the two forces will keep up an exchange of information by riders on their positions and intents on an hourly basis.

  “There we have it. We have tried to plan for most contingencies, but ultimately it will be the decisions of our leaders and the courage of our men that determine success. I will add that while individual units from single clans may fly their clan banners, mine and Brigadier Vegga’s headquarters and the forces as a whole will fly the green-and-white flag of Caedellium.” Stent pointed to the wall in the back of the room and the four-foot by six-foot green flag with a central large star, surrounded by eighteen smaller stars. “May God grant us strength and courage.”

  To Home

  The War Council meeting formally ended. For the next two hours, Yozef listened as commanders, hetmen, and advisers talked details about what each needed to do, discussed who they would be in contact with, and voiced frustrations that they didn’t know how they would accomplish everything they needed to do. Yozef answered questions, shook hands, gave words of wisdom (he hoped), and struggled not to show his fear that, once again, he’d started something he had no business doing.

  Finally, a brief report on battlefield candidates was given and discussed before all delegations dispersed.

  Two hours of sunlight remained when trains of horses and wagons left Orosz City, all parties wanting to reach home as fast as possible—they had too much to do to wait for the next morning.

  Orosz City was still in view behind them when Maera questioned her husband’s silence. She thought, mistakenly, that he was once again obsessing over his lack of qualifications.

  “No, Maera. Oh, I guess there’s some of that, but we had to come to Orosz City to attend the War Council. Orosz City will always be the logical meeting site, since it’s cen
trally located for the four council members. It’s impractical to hold meetings in any of the other three members’ provinces, because of the distances some hetmen would have to travel. It will only become more apparent that Orosz City has to be the center of planning. Look at us . . . or me, anyway. How many times have I already made the trip from Caernford to Orosz City? And imagine once the Narthani make their next move on the clans.”

  She knew where he was heading; she had already done the same reasoning. “You think you need to be in Orosz City full time, at least until the Narthani threat is settled?”

  “I’m afraid so. Damn! I moved from Abersford to Caernford, and now I’m thinking I need to be in Orosz City—and not just me. The entire MIU needs to move, which means you, too, both for the intelligence work you contribute to and because I need your help.”

  Maera sighed and put a hand over Yozef’s. “If we have to, we have to. I hate the thought, but necessity must rule. When do you think we should make the move?”

  “Not until the Selfcell/Eywell campaign is over,” said Yozef. “The Southern Force is launched from Keelan with Denes commanding, so I assume we’ll be engaged in preparations.”

  “I suppose it’s too much to hope you won’t be going with Denes,” Maera said with resignation.

  “I’m afraid so. I don’t know what I will contribute. By now, enough men have training that they don’t need me looking over their shoulders. I won’t be commanding anyone, but I feel I can’t send this many men into danger while I stay behind—especially when so much of the plan is from me.”

  They camped outside a village once darkness forced a halt. The next day, as the train reached forks in the road, parties to each clan took the routes toward their provinces. First, the Hewellians left them when the train turned south toward Moreland. Then, the few Morelanders left south of Moreland City. Two days later, Gwillamer left twenty miles north of Caernford, and Mittack went all the way to Caernford before continuing to their province.