by D. J. Holmes
Stromboli charged across the street and into the next building that ran parallel to the barricade. Briar wasn’t sure if Stromboli had gone battle crazy or had a plan of action. As Stromboli charged up the first flight of stairs he came across, Briar decided it was the latter.
“We need to keep pushing them back,” Stromboli shouted as he sprinted up to the third floor. “Let’s take them,” he added once he had led third squad to the windows overlooking the next barricade.
The Indian soldiers obviously knew their comrades had been attacked for they were looking towards the building Stromboli and third squad were occupying. However, they weren’t expecting an attack so soon and most weren’t behind any cover that could protect them from the marines’ angle of attack. The first spread of plasma bolts from Stromboli’s men cut down four of the Indian soldiers. Within five seconds three more had been killed. The rest quickly fled into the surrounding buildings.
“That should get the attention of whoever is commanding the Indian forces around the power station,” Briar shouted excitedly. He was enjoying seeing the Indians on the run for a change.
“We will hold position here,” Stromboli said to his men. “First and second squads man the barricades. First squad take the east barricade, make sure you put some men in the building we used to advance and watch your flank. I’ll hold the building I’m in now with third squad. The defenders may try to counter attack us if they regain their courage or they may receive reinforcements, either way we need to be ready.”
As Stromboli’s platoon deployed, a small firefight broke out between third squad and Indian soldiers who had taken up a position in a number of buildings across the street. It quickly turned into a stalemate as both groups of soldiers managed to find good cover. With neither group willing to advance on the other, they exchanged fire from a distance.
Ten minutes after breaking through the Indian’s defenses Stromboli was alerted to a COM message coming from the marine headquarters in the supply depot. “Yes, what is it?” He asked the Lieutenant who had contacted him.
“Several of our recon drones have picked up Indian formations moving towards the power station,” the Lieutenant informed him. “Colonel Sanders has been ordered to hold his position for as long as he can. We’ve detected at least a company of soldiers trying to flank your position however. Lieutenant General Hawker has requested you fall back towards Sanders and watch your flank.”
“I understand,” Stromboli replied.
Switching COM channels, he barked out orders. “Second and third squad, fall back to the East behind first squad. We have Indian soldiers trying to flank us from the West, first squad, switch your positions and prepare to engage them. We’re going to fall back towards Colonel Sanders, though we’re not going to give up the ground we’ve taken easily. If the Indians want to drive us back, let’s make it costly.”
Chapter 31 – The Main Event
A ground war fought over an inhabited city or planet must be avoided at all cost.
-Excerpt from Empire Rising, 3002 AD
“Good work,” Johnston said, though no one could hear him. He was watching a holo projection of Colonel Sanders’ attack on the power station. Specifically, he was focused on the platoon Sergeant Briar was serving as a guide for. Some of the aerial drones had detected a company of Indian soldiers moving up a street parallel to the one Briar and the marines were defending. For a few seconds, it looked like the marine platoon would be encircled. Then, at the last moment, the marines had pulled back, laying down heavy covering fire as they went.
“The Lieutenant General requests your presence in his command tank,” a marine private said to Johnston as he poked his head into the tent Johnston had been waiting in.
“I guess the attack is about to begin,” Johnston said to the marine as he got up and followed him out of the tent.
For the last hour, more than three thousand marines in combat armor and almost all of the fifty British Viscount heavy battle tanks Hawker had under his command had been assembling in the thick Haven forest adjacent to the outskirts of Liberty. They were now ready to launch a strike deep into the heart of the city.
Johnston wasn’t sure he wanted to ride out the entire battle in such a behemoth. The tank was equipped with a thin layer of valstronium armor and contained multiple defensive systems. Even so, such a large vehicle would attract the attention of every Indian soldier who spotted it. I guess I don’t have a choice, Johnston thought. Hawker had requested Johnston ride with him so any intel Johnston had would be right at hand.
Stepping into the command tank, he was surprised by how spacious it was. The tank still had its main heavy plasma cannon turret at the top of the vehicle. However, the tank’s mortar system and ammunition racks had been removed to allow more room for Hawker and his staff. In total, there were eight marines crammed into the vehicle. Two of them were operating the tank and its weapons. The other six, including Hawker, sat round a holo display and a number of command terminals.
“Where do you want me?” Johnston asked.
“Over here,” Hawker said. “From here, you can keep abreast of the situation as the division advances. A second pair of eyes will be helpful. Plus, I want you nearby in case I need any intel.”
Johnston nodded and stepped over beside the Lieutenant General to sit down. As his arm brushed up against Hawker he felt a little uncomfortable at being so close to his superior. A quick glance at Hawker suggested he was unperturbed. Internally Johnston shrugged, I guess tankers are used to such cramped conditions, he thought.
Looking down at the holo display, Johnston surveyed each unit. Hawker’s division consisted of two heavy tank battalions, a light tank battalion and three regiments of marines in combat armor. Further away from the city were ten shuttles hovering over the forest. Each was loaded with twenty more marines ready to provide immediate air support or ground-based reinforcements.
The part of the holo display mapping out Liberty contained a multitude of additional Indian unit markers. Though Hawker’s aerial drones were still unable to get a detailed picture of the Indian forces, it seemed his intelligence personnel had managed to get a rough estimate of the Indian forces and had their positions marked out. Alongside and almost surrounded by the different Indian units, the red markers designating the units involved in the three British feints were heavily outnumbered.
“The Indians have moved a lot of their troops towards the power station,” Johnston commented.
“And towards the other two diversionary attacks,” Hawker explained. “We reckon they’ve moved at least two thousand troops out of the inner city to oppose our three probing attacks.”
“Will they be able to recall them when they realize where the main attack is coming from?” Johnston asked.
“Unlikely,” Hawker answered. “Each of our commanders leading the feint attacks have orders to engage and distract any forces sent to resist them. Hopefully they can keep the Indians bogged down long enough for us to storm the capital buildings.”
Johnston nodded and went back to looking at the holo display. He suspected he had far more actual combat experience than the Lieutenant General. After all, the battle for the supply depot and the battles going on today were the largest battles any British land units had fought in for more than a century. Even so, Johnston knew he wasn’t qualified to fully appreciate what was going on around him. Commanding a squad of special forces marines was very different to commanding entire army formations.
“Inform Admiral Cunningham he may begin his bombardment,” Hawker said to one of his aides.
Part of the holo display altered to show the ships in orbit. From more than twenty of Admiral Cunningham’s ships, large plasma bolts shot through the planet’s atmosphere and exploded among any exposed Indian ground forces. A number of the plasma bolts obviously targeted buildings the Indian soldiers occupied as well, for a number of Havenite structures disappeared as heavy plasma bolts blew them into rubble.
As much as Johnston h
ad come to hate the Indian soldiers, he couldn’t help but feel a tinge of sorrow for them. Any soldiers Hawker’s drones and the sensors of the ships in orbit were able to detect were likely to meet a grim end. Here and there red bolts shot out of the city to intercept some of the plasma bolts from the British ships. The Indians had a number of their anti-plasma cannons still operational, however, there was nowhere near enough of them to stop an entire fleet worth of heavy plasma cannons.
Johnston had been present several hours ago when Councilwoman Pennington had met with Admiral Cunningham. The meeting had gone as well as Johnston had hoped. Pennington had been very welcoming to Cunningham and had thanked him for bringing his fleet and his soldiers to the aid of her planet. Johnston guessed Pennington was waiting to see how the battle for Liberty went before she began to try and secure as much independence for her people as she could. One thing that had surprised Johnston had been her willingness to allow the orbital bombardment.
It had been clear from his tone of voice that Cunningham had been eager to get her approval. Without it, the damage he was now doing to Liberty would have fueled the populace’s animosity towards the British. With Pennington’s permission, there was likely to be very little backlash from the collateral damage that the city was now suffering. She was probably very happy with the prospect of vaporizing Indian soldiers from space, Johnston thought as he remembered the speed at which Pennington had agreed to the orbital bombardment. Even so, she had insisted only areas of the city that had been abandoned by the civilian population could be targeted. Cunningham had been happy to agree.
“Send the order to the division,” Hawker said. “The lead elements are to commence their attack.”
Johnston watched as the attack began. Then Hawker’s command tank slowly rolled forward, the way into the city cleared by the lead elements of the attack. He had to force himself not to fidget. For every meter the command tank advanced, Johnston was forced to watch marines being killed and other tanks destroyed as Hawker’s men fought their way through the city, street by street and building by building.
“Look,” Hawker said as he nudged Johnston. “The Indians are beginning to react. Their commander has realized our true target.”
“So I see,” Johnston said with a new respect for General Malhorta, the Indian officer commanding their ground forces. During the last several months he had come to hate Malhorta. The Indian general had been employing increasingly ruthless tactics to weed out the Haven resistance. Johnston had thought it had been because Malhorta had exhausted his tactical abilities trying to deal with the resistance. Now, as he saw the speed and efficiency at which the Indian general was maneuvering his forces despite a constant orbital bombardment, he had to acknowledge the General knew what he was doing.
“Our lead elements only turned towards the capital buildings a couple of minutes ago,” Johnston said. “That was fast.”
“A good general can sense danger before it appears,” Hawker said. “Malhorta would have had a suspicion that two if not three of our attacks were just ploys. I think he now knows our real target. We’re about to see just how much strength he has held in reserve.”
Johnston didn’t reply. From the number of units the holo- display suggested the Indian commander already had engaging different British attacks, he struggled to see how there could be any more troops left to commit. A quick glance at one of the secondary displays showed the marine analysts who were collating all the sensor data estimated there to be over fifteen thousand Indian troops either currently engaged, or already killed in the fighting. That number already surpassed the estimates Johnston and the resistance had made of how many troops the Indians had stationed in Liberty. He couldn’t see where any more would come from.
As the battle continued to unfold he realized he had badly underestimated Malhorta. Less than five minutes after the lead elements of Hawker’s main attack turned towards the capital buildings, the Indian resistance stiffened considerably. Casualties were quickly mounting. Of the three thousand marines in Hawker’s attack, almost three hundred were casualties. Five of the Viscount heavy tanks and a further three light tanks were also smoldering wrecks.
“One of the drones just obtained a glimpse of an Indian heavy tank to our northwest,” a technician in the command tank reported.
“That’s the sector were the Indian drones are putting up the most resistance, isn’t it?” Hawker asked.
“Yes General,” the technician replied. “We’ve got less than fifteen percent coverage of that area. So far none of the drones we have sent there have lasted more than a couple of minutes.”
“They’re preparing a counter-attack,” Hawker surmised. “Order Colonel Hazzard’s regiment to halt its advance. Tell Hazzard I want him to detach two battalions to fortify his western flank. Detach one of our battalions from our reserves and put them under his command. Tell him he must hold the line.”
But general,” one of his officers said. “If Malhorta manages to break into our rear, we will have no way to retreat.”
“That will be the least of our worries,” Hawker said with a wave of his hand. “We’ve committed almost all the forces we have to this attack. If it fails, it may take us months to liberate the city. If Malhorta does break heavy tanks into our rear, the rest of our reserves will just have to fight a delaying action while we push on to the capital buildings. One way or another, we are going to be knocking on Malhorta’s headquarters within the hour.”
“General,” Johnston said, concerned about the danger. “Perhaps I could go and aid Colonel Hazzard. I’ve done more than enough fighting in the city, I’m sure I could help him set up a few surprises for whatever counter-attack Malhorta is planning.”
“No,” Hawker responded. “You can open up a COM channel to Hazzard and share some of your ideas with him if you like, but I want you here. The Indians may have more surprises waiting for us. I want your focus on our main attack and lead elements.”
“Yes General,” Johnston said meekly, though he was desperate to get into the action.
After contacting Hazzard, Johnston silently watched the Colonel’s men prepare to fend off the Indian counter attack on the holo display. As the Indian forces announced their presence with a withering salvo of heavy plasma cannon bolts from the tanks, Hazzard’s first line of defense crumbled and fell back. In a rush to make the most of their advantage, the Indian forces pursued them. Unprepared, they almost ran straight into the much stronger second line of defense, just as Hazzard planned. Hyper velocity missiles shot out, destroying a number of heavy tanks, and the first wave of Indian soldiers were easily gunned down by concealed marines.
Before the Indian attackers knew what was happening, Hazzard ordered a charge. The overhead drones estimated there were at least four more Indian tanks and more than five hundred soldiers. Even so, as they went from what they thought was a successful counter-attack to having to defend themselves, Hazzard’s four hundred marines drove them back. The counter-attack turned into a rout and the marines captured or killed many of the Indian soldiers who tried to fight. The only soldiers who escaped were those who turned and fled. Even the final tank succumbed to a hyper velocity missile just before it moved out of range.
Hawker wasn’t even watching Hazzard’s defense of his flank. “They’re pulling back,” Johnston commented as he took in the Indian forces being engaged by the lead element of Hawker’s formation.
“Yes,” Hawker responded.
Scanning along the route towards the Council Chambers, Johnston saw what he thought was Malhorta’s plan. “They’re going to try and hold the river. It’s far deeper than it looks. The Havenites have cut a deep channel into the river, the far side of its bank is a sheer permacrete wall. Our tanks will struggle to cross.”
“I’ve already sent three squads ahead to secure one of the bridges before the Indians can dig in,” Hawker replied.
“There,” Johnston said, pointing to a block of buildings just in front of the river. “Those two buildi
ngs were abandoned months ago, but they both have large sub basements. I hid a whole resistance attack force in there once. The Indians might be using it to launch an ambush. They could have a couple of platoons hidden there waiting to catch us unawares.”
Hawker sent orders to Admiral Cunningham and the marine commanding the squads currently moving towards the river. A hail of heavy plasma bolts shot from orbit and pounded the two buildings. It didn’t take long for the drones to spot Indian soldiers fleeing them. One of the marine squads was already in position across the street from the building. From their visual feed, Johnston watched as the marines gunned down the Indians who had been waiting to surprise them.
“Good work,” Hawker commented as the engagement came to an end and the squads advanced.
“Damn,” he swore. So far his technicians hadn’t been able to get any drones to the river, but as the first marines got there, they saw one of the bridges explode and crumble into the river.
“Contact Lieutenants Jackson and Phillips,” Hawker snapped to one of his subordinates. “I want them taking a platoon east and west along the riverbank, they need to capture the next bridges they come into contact with.”
