Chapter SEVEN
07/01/2028 - Time 23:00
I slept most of the way back, when we arrived we were moved to Camp Blue, as it was nearer to the fight. We weren’t allowed anywhere near our loved ones, instead staying in terraced houses on the outskirts of the camp, reserved for the military. We were ordered to get some sleep, but we were on a high after the bridge mission, and wanted to get back into the fighting, to help consolidate our position. I could hear the vehicles arriving back at camp with the injured and tired, and listened to the convoys of fresh companies leaving for the front line. After a couple of hours trying to sleep, I gave up and left the house, finding most of Blue and White Company had experienced the same problem, and were mixing with the camps residents. We hung around the base, waiting for orders, but none were forthcoming. Whenever we asked any senior military for an update, we were just told to wait, which was frustrating to say the least. At first we tried to make ourselves useful around camp, transferring boxes of ammo onto vehicles bound for the front line, and sorting through crates of ration packs, but the military seemed on top of everything. With little to do, we ended up in The George and Dragon, re-opened by the military to give the soldiers somewhere to partake in a little of the amber nectar. We hadn’t seen or heard from Sergeant Welsh or Sergeant Hargreaves all day, only appearing as the days fighting came to an end. We were then informed The Lancashire Fusiliers Ninth and Seventh Battalions had been taken off the front line, in order to rest and recuperate. The news went down like a lead balloon, everyone wanted to get back into the action, and finish the job.
‘It’s out my hand’ remarked Sergeant Welsh. ‘General Morris has made his decision, we will have to wait a little longer before we can join in. He did congratulate us on the mission to blow the bridge over the River Wyre, which has put us into a strong position. I’m just about to go into a meeting with Lieutenant Colonel Carter, to discuss our next objectives, I’ll speak to you when I know more.’
We headed back to The George and Dragon, and continued to drink like there was no tomorrow. Sergeant Welsh later informed us we were to be kept off the front line for a further three days, to fully recover, and prepare ourselves for the offensive on Torriero’s camp, that we would take a lead role in. In reality, this time away from the front line would obviously be used to get more and more drunk, forget the horrors we had witnessed, and those still to come. As we did, the battles raged on, and we received updates via Sergeant Welsh, or Lieutenant Colonel Carter. On the seventh, Torriero’s men regrouped after the set back of losing the bridge over The River Wyre, and launched an attack on The Leicester Tigers Battalion, who were holding Poulton Le Fylde and Skippool. The military estimation of Torriero’s numbers, based on spotter information, was four hundred and eighty men on this side of the river, three hundred and fifty on the other. Added to that, ten or eleven tanks on this side of the river, and a similar number on the other, where The Queens Lancers and The Rifles Battalions were keeping them occupied. The battlefield was mainly fought over the town of Skippool, which had been evacuated ahead of time, and suffered catastrophic damage. An eight hour tank battle ragged, destroying eighty percent of the buildings, and taking up most of the days fighting. Tank manoeuvres, mass games of hide and seek, and a large stand off. The losses for the day were estimated at fifty for Torriero, twenty one dead for the army, and ten injured and evacuated. Torriero lost two tanks in a particularly intense offensive, ending in the town centre, where they also lost the majority of their men. Before the fighting died out for the day, small scuffles broke out on the outskirts of Poulton Le Fylde, where the army had formed a small camp, after evacuating the town. On the opposite side of the river, Torriero’s army attacked The Queens Lancers and The Rifles Battalions, but were quickly driven back towards Hambleton, as they hit a larger and more organised army. The tanks were never used, and we received unconfirmed reports of them heading back towards Leeds.
08/01/2028 - Time 22:00
The generals of Camp Blue made changes on the front line on the morning of the eighth, The Queens Lancers, The Rifles and The Leicester Tigers Battalions were replaced by The Black Swans and 2nd Cavalry Battalion. The Black Swans took control of the remains of Hambleton, as Torriero’s army retreated back towards Leeds, and 2nd Cavalry Battalion went to meet Torriero’s men on the outskirts of Poulton Le Fylde. The Black Swans Battalion continued to hold position, on the north of the river, guarding an area roughly three miles square. We received confirmation that Torriero’s men, cut off from the rest of their army and retreating, had completed the journey to Leeds and were back within the city blockade. On the south of the river, Torriero’s men were first spotted heading down Breck Road, the army marching behind a convoy of tanks, spilling into the fields surrounding them. The 2nd Cavalry Battalion were rushed to meet them, and there ensured a muddy and bloody battle across the mainly open landscape. They had control of Amounderness Way, but as the road didn’t link up to anything, and they had no way of using it to get supplies, we let them have it. By midmorning, Torriero’s men had pushed The 2nd Cavalry Battalion back into Poulton Le Fylde, where the fight became more strategic, as buildings were used to take up sniping and gunner positions. Around five pm, Torriero’s men entered the town centre, splitting the army into two as one group continued down Breck Road and another followed the A588. After a few hours of fighting, for the majority of which had seen The 2nd Cavalry Battalion on the back foot, reinforcements arrived in the shape of The Black Cats Tank Battalion and The Red Rose Battalion. The tanks approached along the A585, which becomes Amounderness Way, and attacked Torriero’s army from a blind position. The Red Rose Battalion helped increase the numbers of boots on the ground, and fought alongside The 2nd Cavalry Battalion as the days fighting came to an end. Soldiers who had fought, described a fog of dust and ash clouding the sky above Poulton Le Fylde, as buildings on the outskirts were brought down. The battle was a bit cagey, like a game of chess, as both armies felt each other out, not wanting to show their hand, or make any mistakes. The army’s stats for the day were eighteen dead, seven injured and evacuated and six missing, presumed dead or captured. We also lost one tank, the first of the war, bring The Black Cats Tank Battalions vehicles down to nine. We estimated Torriero to have lost upwards of fifty men, and one tank, bringing their total down to nine on this side of the river. Before nightfall, the army positioned gunners and snipers on the northerly outskirts of the town, and had companies patrolling the areas we occupied.
9/1/28 - Time 19:30
If yesterday’s fighting had ended with a whimper, today’s started with a bang, as Torriero launched a make or break offensive on our army in Poulton Le Fylde. Some of our soldiers had been sleeping in properties on the southerly outskirts of the town, and were rudely awoken by mortar strikes around six am. No one was injured, but they caused damage to many properties, and were a reminder that this battle was far from over. Before the dust had chance to settle, Torriero’s army stormed our defences, advancing quickly into the centre of town, with a convoy of nine tanks, and the army following behind. They took out all our gun placements along Hardhorn Road, with shelling and tank fire, before they reached the junction with Garstang Road. There was a gunfight involving three companies from The 2nd Cavalry Battalion over the junction, but with no tank cover, the army lost the position. Torriero’s tanks split up, three positioning themselves along Hardhorn Road, three along Garstang Road and three on High Cross Road. His men swept through buildings, killing anyone they found, and driving The 2nd Cavalry Battalion back towards Blackpool. By the time The Black Cats Tank Battalion had entered the fold, Torriero’s men were dug in, and not to be moved easily. The army’s reluctance to hit Torriero’s men full on, when they had them on the ropes, had come back to bite them. Instead they’d stretched their battalions out, trying to cover a large area of vulnerable land, leaving key positions prone to attack. Torriero’s army of around four hundred men had burst through our li
ne of defence, disorienting us, much like the Nazi Blitzkrieg tactic worked in the early movements of World War Two. Reinforcements arrived at midday, in the form of The Blue Frog Battalion, joining The 2nd Cavalry Battalion and The Black Cats Tank Battalion. After a short spell gathering intel on positions, the fight back started. Most of the early fighting was concentrated around High Cross Road, as the tanks were far enough apart to single out, and isolate. After the gun positions had been taken out, we were able to send two tanks in, to attack one enemy tank. Torriero’s communications were clearly limited, sometimes only relying on men on foot, which we could observe, and take out when necessary. The army used this tactic to good effect, taking out the first two tanks, as the soldiers on the ground mopped up any remaining men, painstakingly searching each building. Further allied tanks followed behind, as backup, as the convoy moved further into the centre, occupied by Torriero. The tank positioned on the junction for Hardhorn Road was a bigger obstacle, as it was within the sights of another tank, further up the road. We took it out, but at the cost of one of our own tanks, the first of the day. The flames and smoke coming from the shell of the tank covered the skyline, and we lost the element of surprise. A short but fierce tank battle ensured, in which the army lost three more tanks, and Torriero a further two, all within the space of an hour. There followed a period of stalemate, as both armies re-grouped, and tanks manoeuvred positions. Most of the fighting was on foot, shooting through buildings from behind cover, trying to take control of key positions, that would become a tactical advantage. At the end of the days fighting, it might have been the most costly day for the army, and Torriero’s men, although no numbers had been released at the time of writing. The loss of four tanks was a high price to pay, for regaining a bit of territory. As the battle tired battalions arrived back tonight, the soldiers looked exhausted and a little despondent, many carrying injuries. There will be changes on the front line tomorrow, as the generals try to regain the upper hand with fresh battalions, to face off with Torriero’s tiring army.
10/1/2028 - Time 21:30
We were given the news that both Lancashire Fusilier Seventh and Ninth Battalions would be back on the front line, on the morning of the tenth, and sent to sort out our equipment. The last three days had dragged like none other, and we were all pumped and ready to get back into the action. We were introduced to Clarets Company’s new recruits, Jim Garner and Michael Smith. Both men looked nervous, in their crisp, clean, ill fitting uniforms, and hung on every word Sergeant Hargreaves spoke. When we were ready, the Vikings rolled out of camp, heading for the battle zone. The conditions were cold, glum with a persistent rain that would stay with us most of the day. We drove through security positions, and acknowledged the soldiers guarding them, along Normoss Road towards Poulton Le Fylde. The dust over the town was still visible from miles away, as we drove into it the sounds of battle became more audible. Short bursts of gunfire, interspersed by long muffled explosions, as though the sound was being played through treacle. We continued onto High Cross Road, past the burnt out tank remains, slowing down as we reached a blockade, at the junction with Hardhorn Road. One of our tanks, none operational since yesterday’s fighting, had some of the army’s engineers working on it, trying to bring it back from the dead. A couple of soldiers stepped out of a building, by the remains of a tank, and waved us into a dentist’s car park. The first thing that struck me about the area we’d just landed in, was the bullet holes in nearly every surface I could see, metal signs, walls, windows and buildings. Every surface had been affected, chipped away at, as bullets tore through anything solid. We were ushered into a building, and told of our objectives, as the guards were relieved of their posts, and headed back to Camp Blue. Lancashire Fusilier Ninth Battalion was heading along Garstang Road, from the direction of Blackpool, where it would meet Torriero’s forces. Lancashire Fusilier Seventh Battalion would clean out any remaining fighters along Hardhorn Road, and surrounding area, incorporating retail outlets and housing estates, meeting up with The Yorkshire Terriers Battalion around the junction with Garstang Road. The Stanley Company took control of the guard post, and the rest of The Lancashire Fusiliers Seventh Battalion collected their equipment, and set off on foot, past the blockade and into the battle zone. Glass and bricks covered the road, with cars and some buildings still burning. We stayed in our companies, and searched through the retailers on both sides of the road, finding bodies, debris, anything caught up in the gunfight. Some of the buildings were unsafe, with walls that needed knocking down before we could enter and search. Clarets Company came out of a hardware store with four of Torriero’s men, who had surrendered, their faces down as they were gathered together, and held at gunpoint by The Tangerine Company. Some of them sat on the pavement, huddled together like the homeless, enduring abuse from some of the soldiers. The first of Torriero’s men we found, were hiding in the back room of a car supplies centre, and came out with their hands in the air when they saw us. Sergeant Welsh was straight onto them, hitting one in his stomach with his rifle as he started to drop his arms.
‘Get your fucking hands up you piece of shit’ he shouted, as Little D walked between them. ‘I’ll take them back to Tangerine Company’ he said calmly.
‘If any of them try anything, kill them’ Sergeant Welsh snapped back. Little D walked the men out at gunpoint, as we continued to search the building. There were bits of half eaten food, and tin cans littering the area where they’d been sleeping. We cleaned out hundreds of buildings, through housing estates and shops, arresting any of Torriero’s fighters we found. We also discovered groups of civilians, hiding in properties, scared about what they’d witnessed. Some were too affected to even talk, cowering in the darkness, refusing to move. Back on the street, the first bit of resistance we encountered was gunfire from two apartments above a convenience store. There was a mounted gun placement, in the nearest building, in a street facing window. It opened up on the newly reformed Shrimps Company, as they approached the building, searching for enemy soldiers. It wounded two men, who lay prostrate on the ground, as more bullets hit the floor around them. We couldn’t get anyone near enough to the injured men, the gunner opening up on anyone who approached. Keane climbed up a building close by, to try and get a sniper position, but the gunner was too well dug in. Sergeant Hargreaves requested tank assistance, and Lieutenant Colonel Carter sent two vehicles from The Black Cats Tank Battalion to our position. One soldier was shot, and then blown to pieces by his own grenade, as he tried to throw it into the gunners nest. We put sustained fire on the position, but the gunner was too embedded, we couldn’t get close enough. He toyed with the injured men, shooting close to their heads, and coaxing our soldiers out of cover. The sound of the approaching tanks was a relief, following our route along High Cross Road, they pulled up fifty yards from the target. Sergeant Hargreaves climbed on top of the tank, as the hatch was thrown open, and a conversation had. The tanks then moved into position and fired a shell into the window, where the gunner was positioned. Plumes of black and grey smoke poured out of the apartment, as another shell was fired in, causing the front wall to collapse. As this was happening, the injured soldiers were pulled to safety, where the medics could treat them. Our company was sent in to clear the building, along with Clarets Company, who lined up behind us as we set off across the road, dancing between the debris. Another section of the wall crashed down to the ground, causing clouds of dust to fog our view. Inside the building was dark and dank, the walls shuddered like they could collapse at any moment, bits of plaster and wood fell to the floor. We held our rifles out in front, as we made our way into the property, through the dust and debris. There was a short gun fight with two enemy soldiers, in the stairwell climbing up to the apartment. They were softened up with a couple of grenades, and then finished off with ruthless efficiency. Up the stairs there were three rooms, and the landing. In the first room on the left we found the gun placement, with body parts covering the vicinity, too small t
o identify. One shell had travelled straight through the building, taking with it the internal wall and half the roof. Keane and Atkinson went into the room straight ahead as I searched the room on the right, with Little D. There was rubble covering the children’s beds, abandoned weapons and half empty ammo boxes sat on the carpet. We made our way back onto the landing, where we found Sergeant Welsh and Murphy heading towards the end room. They walked past Keane and Atkinson, who were leaving the room, with a look on their face that worried me. They shook their heads as we walked towards them, trying to stop us from entering the room.
‘Don’t go in’ said Keane. ‘You don’t need to see it.’
He tried to stop me but I forced my way past, as Atkinson sat on the floor with his head in his hands. Inside the room was a double bed, a wardrobe and a dressing table. There was a woman lying across the width of the bed, straddled with her feet on the floor, and her arms tied to the bed frame. The bottom half of her clothes had been ripped off, her skin bruised and battered. She had been dead a while, her throat slit when they’d got what they wanted from her. We untied her, and moved her to a more dignified position, covering her up with the bedding. Everyone was silent, unable to register what we’d been looking at, we left the building with a different mind set. But that was not the last horror we witnessed, as we moved into the area Torriero’s men had occupied for the last couple of days. Most of the residents of Poulton Le Fylde had been evacuated, but those who had decided to say, or who’d been missed, paid a heavy price. We reached a particular area of Hardhorn Road, where residents had been hung from lampposts by their necks. There were around four or five bodies per lamppost, men of all ages, some too young to contemplate, all dead a few days. Some had signs around their necks, one stated ‘This man refused to fight for Torriero’ and another read ‘This is what happens when you pick the wrong side.’ We also found a few more women, treated in a way I don’t wish to describe, but a precedent had been set. One old lady had been nailed to the double doors of a mill half way along Hardhorn Road, with a sign fixed to the drainpipe that ran down the wall by the side of the door. It read ‘This woman refused to fulfil her duty to our fighters.’ After our grim discoveries, it was hard not to blame all of Torriero’s men for these acts. But surely it was the action of a few, not many? I couldn’t help but look into the eyes of every fighter who surrendered, to ask if he looked evil enough to have committed these acts. They all claimed their innocence of course, claiming it was the behavior of a unit within Torriero’s army, who had been tasked with spreading this horror, everywhere they fought. The arrested men had a name for this unit, they called them, Bringer Mortis (Bringer of the Dead), not something I was familiar with. A few of our soldiers had to be dragged off Torriero’s men, after physically attacking them, blaming them for the acts of the few. The main battle seemed to be raging on the other side of a housing estate, the final area still to search. Hardhorn Road was blocked off ahead, where it meets Garstang Road, with a blockade of vehicles. The army had a unit around it, but they were pinned down, with gunfire coming from their left, and right. We heard reports it was The White Hart Company, from the Yorkshire Terriers Battalion, who had become isolated from their comrades after intense fighting. They had a new sergeant in charge, after Sergeant Peters had been decapitated by a mortar strike, in the battle for Hambleton. The men looked panicked, and were trying to get a response from their new sergeant, who appeared to have lost it. He was sat with his back to a burning vehicle, refusing to move, as the rumble of a tank could be heard over the sounds of war. Little D didn’t wait to consider the situation, he ran into the hailstorm of bullets, dancing around them as they peppered the ground by his feet, stopping only when he reached the company and dived into cover. After a short conversation, he got the men to organise a response, with half of them putting fire on the enemy as they evacuated the sergeant, and then the rest of the company. We helped, by firing at the approaching tank, and throwing smoke grenades to obstruct its view. Little D got every soldier out, and they joined our battalion, after another member took responsibly for the company. The noise of war was so loud, my lip reading skills were growing considerably. Around midday, with just one housing estate still to clear, Sergeant Welsh ordered Blue and White Company to complete the objective. He sent us off in pairs, Little D and myself, Atkinson and Keane and he paired with Murphy. The houses looked like they were built in the seventies, with wooden facias and red brick walls. Nice family homes, with a garage and drive, and a little garden at the front and back with a quiet through road. There were three houses for each group to search, in our first we found an elderly couple, hiding under their bed. They looked dehydrated and in need of food, Little D took them outside, and they were taken off to be treated. As we were entering the hallway of our second property, we heard a gun shot from the house across the street, followed by another three. We ran across the road, removing our rifles before we entered the property.
Aftermath: The complete collection Page 53
