Battle of Ferville

[callmedelta]

"Are those bastards suicidal? They're charging again," an artillery spotter wondered aloud, setting his binoculars down from his eyes. He turned around. "Keep up the bombardment! Our boys got another bigger UST charge comin' and we gotta soften them up." The men of the Franerri artillery didn't cheer or cry out, but the words were clearly understood. The pace was quickened and the artillery bombardment was walked back as far as it could go without risking friendly fire.

~

"Round two!" Lieutenant Colonel Jordane cried, wildly firing his revolver at the UST cavalry opposite is own. His own charge had been defeated earlier, and he didn't even manage to bait these bastards into attacking him earlier. He couldn't just charge straight into them since they had the artillery to protect, but Jordane would be damned if he'd let the UST get away without a decisive fight this time.

~

Private Henri huddled down in the artillery crater his unit had claimed, the only thing that passed for cover on this side of the city. A runner dived into the crater, grunting as he hit the dirt before quickly scrambling to the edge of the crater. "Orders from Captain Gerard," he groaned, rubbing at his shoulder. It looked like it was just sore from the dive, rather than any bullet wounds, thankfully. "We're in a decent line as is, and the Union's got another charge coming. We're digging in place and letting the artillery and Gatlings soften them up." Letting his training take over, Private Henri grabbed a shovel and began to dig.

[aimway921]

The machine gunners and artillery crews had a field day, mowing down UST soldiers by the hundreds. Eventually, however, the observers noticed that more and more Unionites kept coming. If nothing were to be done, they might win by simply drowning the field in corpses. A Colonel on the far Southern end of the battle line decided to take the initiative.

"Get ready for a charge! Fix bayonets! Tachankas shall cover us!"

Almost 10,000 Light Infantry, accompanied by 20 Tachankas, would sally out of the southernmost flank, aiming their charge to hook around the UST line and hit them from the side.

Meanwhile the 4,000 Infantry that charged earlier in the middle were getting into melee range with the UST that sallied out, erupting into a messy close-quarters combat.

[Greywall]

--Tafatu--

Despite the rebels firing at the wave of men before them, the UST second assault forced so many men onto the field that melee combat was unavoidable. Kendaya seeing the 1st Army and the Marrlan forces could be overrun ordered the conscripts back in with bayonets to engage in the melee. Before long a massive grueling fight in close quarters spread across the entire field. Kendaya couldn't believe what he was watching, hundreds of thousands fighting and flooding the fields of Ferville with blood.




--The field of blood--

UST and Rebel soldiers were pushed into one another as space shrunk quickly, rapidly swinging and stabbing into one another amid their screams and cries in the brutal fighting. UST soldiers fought across the entire Eastern field with the coalition in close combat. An incident where a UST soldier wrestled a Ashigawan to the ground into the red stained mud fighting over where the bayonet would land, rebels bare knuckle beating UST infantrymen off their comrades from being stabbed to death, Marrlan machine guns cutting down UST charging infantry only for the sheer number of men to overcome the bulletstorm. 

The drowning noise of men dying and fighting made Kendaya stare off into the hell before him and tears rolled down his eyes, this horrible war just kept getting worst. 

--UST--

Genta stared at the melee, he was depressed, but as his men prepared to hold the initial lines they made, Taronki was building new trenches and preparing to further escalate the battle. The Union soldiers watched in despair from the trenches, their officers no longer trying to pump them up into a frenzy and just accepting the fact that thousands more were going to die. Taronki watched the carnage from atop his horse using a set of binoculars, to him it was a small price to pay to retain and recapture Ferville and win the war, if the Union was to survive, he needed to retake the region and break the coalition here and now. 

[Greywall]

Casualties for ferville
UST 4,598
Tafatu 531
Marrlan 201
Ashinara 402
Frannerre 197

[callmedelta]

Tarafan

OOC Note: Everyone involved with the war kinda forgot I had these 120k men who had been sent in the Drums of War thread before this point.

With the harsh winter in Tarafan now behind them, the additional 100,000 Heavy Infantry, 10,000 Dragoons, 10,000 Carabineers, 1,000 Mortars, and 6,000 Special Infantry support staff could finally begin their march to join the battle in Ferville.

~

Ferville

With the initial thrust of the Union's counter-charge broken, the Franerri forces resumed their slow advance, the speed due to both the large amount of UST soldiers who were still charging and the fact that Franerre's artillery bombardment had to be walked back behind the Union's frontlines so there was no risk of friendly fire. This battle had turned into a slog long ago, and this was the thick of it.

[Artsy Astra]

The Marrlan Army and Marines would continue to try and hold the line. The mix of disorienting gore and the ground slowly turning red with even more blood. If any hint of pride and victory was left it was drained from the men. Morale was beginning to feel rough but they continued to hold. The veterans among their number helped steel the rest of the formations resolve.

The Artillery corps seeing the mass of melee would continue to bombard the enemy trench line. All field and howitzer batteries would open up and to try and stem the flow of further bodies into the meat grinder. Some mortar teams would move ever so closer to take better fire mission information from the men close to the front. They would fire a mixed HE smoke bombardment at the enemy trench line.

Further fortifications would be made in the city as checkpoints would be turned into full-on road blockades. Buildings would become makeshift bunkers with the number of sandbags lining the walls and windows. Machine guns nests honeycombed windows and rooftops making kill boxes should any intruder dare enter. Word would spread back to them from forward observers of the mince meat line the charge had turned into. Many were glad to be among the rear guard.

[aimway921]

An officer, after being knocked down into the mud by a hit of a UST rifle's buttplate to the chest, managed to stand up and pick up his sword. Raising it to rally his men to continue the charge, he suddenly jerked and fell down again, a bullet hitting him in his left temple.

A mortar team commander observed the fire mission through his binoculars, ordering adjustments after each shot to shoot different targets, aiming the high explosive shells both at the UST trenches and at the exposed Unionites charging, where it was safe enough not to hit friendly troops.

A machine gunner kept on pressing down on the firing trigger, worryingly glancing to his right as the pile of used up ammo strips was about to start getting bigger than the pile of fresh ones that his assistant was feeding into the gun.

Over the several weeks of fighting around the city, Ashinarans largely forgot Ferville’s nickname of Tafatu’s Breadbasket. They were referring to it as the Ferville Meatgrinder. And while they were suffering relatively few losses - compared to the enemy, at least - the stench of the ever-growing pile of corpses littering the no-man’s land between the Coalition and UST lines was starting to become unbearable.

General Lishenko knew that this couldn't last. Either the Colaition comes up with a joint plan to take the enemy out quickly, or this will quickly devolve into a battle of attrition, and the side with more bodies to throw at the hail of bullets will be the winner. And while Ashinara was committed to the effort of Tafatu's liberation, it was not ready to throw away soldiers lives just like that. As the massed attack on the Southern flank continued, the 10,000 infantry supported by tachankas attempting to envelop the UST line, aiming to have part of the attacking troops to end up in the UST's side and rear, Generals Lishenko and General Yaremenko made it to a house on the West-most part of the city, as close to the center of the frontline as they could find, and sent out riders to assemble the Tafatu, Franerri and Marrlan generals for a meeting to discuss their next actions. Should they retreat to Tarafan? Should they attempt to attack? Anything but staying in this slog, because frankly, they were starting to drown in it.

Just in case, however, a rider was sent to Tarafan with simple orders. Dig trenches, fortify the outskirts of the town, and evacuate civilians further West, to Le Troi and Bellen.

[Greywall]

--UST--

The brutal melee was whimpering out as men continued to slaughter each other in the open mud and fields. UST men exhausted and bleeding slowly dragged themselves back to their lines that were still being hammered by enemy artillery. The UST front was a mess, utter chaos as men began faltering under the heavy fire and approaching forces. Taronki finally gave the order to fire all his artillery right at the middle of the advance, caring little for the remaining UST in the melee.

Kumo made guns roared and rained hell across the open fields decimating the remaining UST in the melee and allowing the remaining forces under Genta to fall back to the line Taronki had established. With fresh riflemen, Kumo machine guns and artillery Taronki was now ready to give the coalition a more leveled fight. Genta's forces made their way to the rear of the massive 400,000 man deployment and sought rest and medical aid.

--Tafatu--

The UST artillery forced the Tafatu to fall back into the city yet again as the initial strikes took out large groups of troops out in the open. Omani ordered a full withdrawal back after sustaining heavy losses. Kendaya appeared frustrated as he realized the UST had received reinforcements, "It's Taronki." he muttered, knowing full and well the entire UST military was practically here and now. He received the message from the Ashinara to meet, "Omani, you have the command. I'll go see what our allies want."

Kendaya also ordered a rider to Le Troi asking for additional reinforcements.

[Greywall]

Casualties

UST: 785
Frannerre: 2091
Tafatu: 1200
Ashinara: 1400
Marrlan: 550

[Artsy Astra]

The entirety of the Marrlan forces in the field would begin a full retreat back to their lines on the edge of the city, those men exhausted wounded, or suffering from shell shock would be sent into the rear lines and fresh men would be brought up. The men back at the city's edge would finish their very rough trench line, and begin to fortify it properly.

General Grendel would watch the bombardment through binoculars. He'd slowly lower them before adopting a sour face. Despite his experience, he still couldn't find the will to stomach the sight.

The howitzers would be retreated entirely behind the city. The field guns would remain in their mixed spread between the inside of the city and on the trench line. The mortars would fully be brought back and spread evenly on the trench line and a few would begin finding positions within the city.

[callmedelta]

Victorious on those bloody fields, the Franerri forces retreated back to their own lines to regroup and recover. The Franerri forces would be bolstered by the new arrivals from Tarafan, the beliguired forces rotating off the front line. The fresh 100,000 Heavy Infantry would dig in on the northern flank for the time being while the remains of the first 90,000 Heavy Infantry rested and recouped.

The cavalry, meanwhile, wouldn't get a break. That last bombardment on the Franerri line didn't come from the retreating UST soldiers, and so it had to come from somewhere else, that same somewhere likely exactly where the UST retreated to. 20,000 Carabineers and 20,000 Dragoons sallied forth, fanning out to scout by 1,000 man strong battallion. They were instructed not to engange unless they were certain they could neutralize any artillery the Union had or, if the Franerri command was incorrect and there was no further reatreating forces, to continue to press the advantage on the beligured UST infantry.

General Tauroneo would respond to the Ashinaran's request for a meeting, letting the one who called it speak first.

[aimway921]

"Gentlemen, we have a problem," Lishenko began at the staff meeting. "Firstly, we are getting bogged down here. It is turning into a battle of attrition, and the cost is the soldiers lives. I strongly believe that if we do nothing other than attempt to hold our ground, we will beaten here. We must either press forward or retreat. In case we decide the second option, I've already sent messengers to Tarafan to prepare defensive lines and to evacuate the civilians further West.

Secondly, my artillery crews are reporting that a new wave shells began falling from the UST's side, and based on the trajectory, the range of these new guns is at least twice anything we have faced so far. Either UST finally pulled in some heavy artillery from the South, or... Or perhaps they got their hands on new guns from another nation...

Furthermore, if that is the case and there is new artillery behind them, it is no doubt heavily guarded. If my suspension is true and there is an even bigger force for us to face here after we beat this first one, I believe then that we indeed should begin a tactical withdrawal to Tarafan, and then to the Le Troi Fortified District should need arise. What are your thoughts, gentlemen?"

[Greywall]

Kendaya's face had a sour look to it, he didn't like the idea of leaving Ferville. "I sent for reinforcements, and I think its best we do not leave. If the UST takes Ferville they'll have a centralized location to wage this war, not to mention once they have control of these fields they'll reap the benefits of controlling them. I think we should hold out til reinforcements come and then push them out."

[Artsy Astra]

General Grendel would arrive with part of his command staff. Richard held a stern face and listened. His face soon twisted slightly in disconcert as he spoke. "I agree with Commander Kendaya. This is a place of utmost strategic import. We can't back down now unless we want to spend the rest of the war on the back foot or dead." He'd wave another officer over and a map would be held up. He'd gesture to it as he spoke, "We have the advantage of the city being our central point. Even if we can be shelled, it is far easier to defend and fortify. We should begin a concerted effort to further entrench ourselves."

[alxeu]

[This post is to clarify the results of the Ashinaran infiltration attempt, posted last month, and nothing more. Assume the events mentioned happened during the winter, as that's when the infiltration attempt was initiated.]

Though the attempt by the 3rd Rangers was spirited, and their execution of the plan was as perfectly performed as they could've hoped, there were significant flaws in their plans that unraveled the entire scheme.

UST forces, on high alert, would be looking for any suspicious activity occurring, especially attempts to breach their lines. Though the obvious fur-covered features of the Ashinarans were decently hidden from a distance, the weight of the explosives they brought with them made it hard to conceal their locations (especially the locations of 200 soldiers) for long. Inevitably, a sharp-eyed sentry spotted the infiltrators and sounded the alarm, at the cost of his own life. A skirmish broke out, and while the Ashinarans withdrew in good order, they had to abandon their explosives and a couple dozen of their comrades, at the cost of about an even number of UST forces.