Battle of Ferville

[aimway921]

Ashinaran Trenches

As the UST soldiers began jumping into the Ashinaran trenches, this is where the foxes shined. With their shorter height they were less constricted by the tight confines of the trench than their human enemies, and thus were able to be more nimble in the melee. This mattered naught for the most part, as there was less and less room to move around for anyone as the trenches became jampacked with the assaulting UST soldiers. After several dozen minutes of brutal fighting, order was given to abandon the forward trench, with any still alive retreating, or at least attempting to retreat through communication trenches to the deeper and more fortified second line - which all the soldiers not fighting in the forward trench worked hard on for several months since the first skirmish around Ferville.

This is where the sly foxes prepared a nasty surprise for their attackers. The second line of trenches was connected to the first via a number of communication trenches that were wide enough to fit no more than 4 people shoulder to shoulder. They were winding, except for a 20 yard final section that was just a straight line. The communication trenches also gradually sloped down to the level of the second line, which was dug in about 4 feet deeper than the forward line. This meant that there was no practical way to get in or out of the trenches now, other than go back to the forward line or proceed all the way to the last rear lines. Barbed wire prevented getting close enough to the edge of the trenches on top to have a good line of fire into the trenches, and those who would try would be lost in the maze of barbed wire strung across the trench edges, only to be cut down by machine guns from an even more fortified third line. All this meant that the UST soldiers charging down the communication trenches had nowhere else to go other than forward into the second line, or back to retreat. And what waited them if they chose to go forward to continue their attack was essentially a 20 yard long tunnel (just with no roof) with absolutely no cover and two machine guns at the end - and around a dozen riflemen ready to fire salvos behind the machine gunners. They would have also erected walls of barbed wire to make breakthroughs as unachievable as possible, but they had to allow for friendly forces to retreat.

There were a total of 15 of these "Funnels of Death", as the soldiers manning the second line called them. They would be the stone that must shatter the scythe of the Unionite onslaught. 

---

Several miles to the North-West of Ferville, safe in the back lines.

It has been tough, with the winter freezing the ground solid making it very hard to work with, and spring turning it into pools of mud, making almost all work impossible, but the work was completed as the summer finally brought favorable conditions. The airfield, though much smaller than the one at Tarafan, was ready to be used. A messenger on horseback was immediately sent to Tarafan to transfer 2 of the recon planes here, and start bringing in the supplies for their upkeep. Some fuel was already brought with the main army and would be waiting for the planes to refuel as soon as they land, and immediately to prepare for their first real mission.

Soon, the first ever airplanes will fly over the battlefield, providing the kind of reconnaissance no side in this conflict was able to achieve yet. The UST forces would be completely exposed, and most importantly - they would finally know the exact location of that god damn artillery. 

While one of the planes would be tasked with approximating the total number of enemy troops and pinging the location of enemy artillery, the second plane would fly repeated missions further East - at least once a day - as far as the plane's fuel range would allow it while being able to safely return - to keep an eye on any enemy reinforcements that might come from Juaz or Dor'Ville.

[Artsy Astra]

The Marrlan forces would continue to assist and push onto their trench line. A few Beast Hunters would be brought up from the rear lines in their plated diving kits. Acting as a bulwark they would surge into the fray hoping to give further relief to the Tafatu pulling off the lines. What forces that were not directly pushing ahead would begin making small checkpoints on the way to the next trench in the rubble of the city. Combat medics could clearly be seen now. Not because of their traditional markings, but because of the blood soaking their uniforms and field aprons. A glance at them gave many different expressions. Some of the pain of seeing so many die without even a chance to save them, while others had fully broken and had begun openly sobbing as they moved. They continued to work diligently as the wounded piled.

The artillery corps orders stayed the same and they continued their combined bombardment of different sectors to soften and disorganize the enemy as they sallied out.

[Greywall]

UST

Northern front

The UST forces stagnated against the Tafatu and Frannerre forces, being the force needed to break across and flank Ferville they found themselves being maneuvered and countered extremely well by the rebels. As if someone knew their baser infantry tactics. Union commanders had no choice but to report to Taronki their stalemate and likely inability to break through. 

Frannerre front

The bravery of the Frannerre kept the UST at bay, the brutal melee in the first trench began to soak it in blood and bodies as the charge began to slow down and lose momentum. Many UST infantry groups were now opting to simply shoot rather than join the upclose engagement. 

Tafatu/Marrlan front

Vast numbers of UST soldiers were wounded and dying in the fire fights of the outer city, with no end in sight they began losing steam in their push against the enemy. The arrival of Marrlan beast hunters stunned frontline troops sending them reeling, when their officers heard of 'demons' they dismissed it and told their soldiers to keep fighting on. The slog of fire fights was taking its toll on both sides and likely coming to a conclusion soon.

Ashinara

The Union troops found the Ashinara trenches a difficult fight, the tunnels led to death and the barbwire was something none of them were trained in. They utterly were stopped at the front of the enemy line. Heavy losses repelled charges into the trench network and forced range attacks until enemy machine gun fire drove off the assault. Officers couldn't get their men to pursue deeper into the enemy defenses resulting in the Southern flank stalling out.

Taronki watched from his command tent, the assault was staggering out and failing. He ordered a slow withdraw back to UST lines and for his artillery to fire at the front to cover the retreat. He ordered riders to Falalu and Juaz to get additional men convinced Falalu was secured and Juaz should have been restaffed by now. 

Tafatu

The Tafatu were bloodied, beaten, and holding on desperately to their city. Fighting and dying with their allies in what seemed like a never ending battle of armageddon. Omani kept encouraging his fighters forward but saw in all of them the weary and worn looks, he felt it too, this battle was unlike anything he had seen before. If this was what war war to become he prayed to never see it again. 

Tafatu infantry replenished those fallen at the front as the fighting dragged on. Then the UST, started falling back, slowly but surely. "Come on! Press on!" The Tafatu emerged from the rubble chasing their oppressors out of the city before the sky fell on them. UST artillery came raining down, but something weird happened then. The Tafatu kept surging forward attacking the UST not giving them the relief from their artillery strikes. Many rebels fell, but they didn't seem to care, they wouldn't let their oppressors leave without feeling their wrath. 

"You're not getting away!" Omani cried, he lept up followed by hundreds of rebels who despite the artillery striking around them surged toward the UST. Omani fired his revolver striking several UST soldiers trying to provide covering fire for other running. Suddenly the withdrawal was turning into a full route. As they climbed over the wreckage of the city taking the very edge of it back and saw the UST running full sprint back to their lines, Omani was overcome with grief and exhaustion. He collapsed onto his knees tears falling down his face, but he was quickly picked up by nearby rebel soldiers. "We have you general." Omani looked over the devastated field and cried out "TAFATU!" over and over again joined by his soldiers having repelled the UST assault. 

[Greywall]

Casualties

UST: 65,674
Frannerre: 16,764
Tafatu: 22,478
Ashinara: 14,574
Marrlan: 12,785

[aimway921]

As the UST had retreated, a general atmosphere of cheerfulness has broken out among the Ashinarans. The enemy would be flushed out of the trenches, and the abandoned MGs on the front line would be re-manned as quickly as possible, cutting down on the retreating enemy soldiers while they still could.

Next came the preparation for a counterattack. The enemy using unknown new artillery was still mercilessly pounding them, and that was the main obstacle.

But soon enough good news came from the rear. Lend-lease equipment, the first shipment, was finally here. Over 100 Howitzers able to shoot at a distance of almost 13 kilometers have arrived. A huge amount of helmets were brought in, which were immediately distributed among Heavy and Special Infantry. The helmets would help reduce fatalities from artillery explosions sending rocks up in the air and then raining down on the men.

What's more, 10,000 UKUG-made light machine guns have arrived. Several Companies worth of Heavy Infantry and Special Infantry would be rotated to the rear to learn the new weapon train new tactics with it. Meanwhile soldiers on the front line were busy preparing the trench for the attack. A number of shallow trenches that the soldiers took to calling "the sap" were dug perpendicular to all the other trenches, the same direction as communication tre chest - except right into No-man's-land. They were only deep enough to be able to crawl on all fours without exposing themselves into the line of enemy rifles. They would be dug roughly to the middle of the No-man's-land.

Finally, the two requested recon planes that were on furlough this whole winter and spring have touched down in the new airbase, and began refueling. Runners were also sent to the allies informing them that recon operations from the airfield may begin - as well as it's open to their aircraft as well if they wished to use them.

The first phase of the new offensive operation would begin after about a week of preparation. First a recon aircraft would fly over the UST positions - the first ever use of air power in this war - and to Ashinara's knowledge - in the world. They would locate and document the position of UST's mysterious long range artillery.

As soon as they would be found, a merciless bombardment would begin, aiming to wipe the UST artillery off the face of Ouhiri. Every hour a recon plane would make a fly-by, checking the status of the enemy artillery - have they been destroyed yet, or are they attempting to move, necessitating a change in the aiming?

As soon as at least 80% of enemy artillery would be confirmed destroyed, a new phase of the operation could begin.

[callmedelta]

The Airfield

The time had arrived. Once the news from the Ashinaran's came, Franerre's own planes and pilots (about a third of whom were Lusatian volunteers) would begin to ship south to join them. The MAFB VII fighter-bombers could not only assist in recon, but in the destruction of the Union artillery itself. The Ashinarans may have had the first aircraft used in the war, but Franerre would have the first kill with an aircraft. 

Once word had been spread among the infantry of the planes' arrival, the effect on moral was sharp. It was like the angels themselves were watching over them, ready to smite those who had once seemed untouchable. 

The Northern Front

A slog was the best word to describe what was occurring in these fields. Riders had been sent back to the trench lines to inform command of what was happening and to call for reinforcements, but none would be coming yet. The Franerri cavalry couldn't afford to charge into the enemy for the monstrous cost of life, yet couldn't afford to retreat, either, and leave the door wide open to the struggling main front. They would simply have to dig in their heals and pray to God that the Tafatu could break the Union before they broke themselves.

The Main Front

The shrill cry of a whistle cut through the cacophony of battle. "Over the top!" the man yelled, signaling for another 20,000 men to join in the brutal melee of the main trench. The Union's charge had been mauled and was stalling. Just a little more, a few more men into the meat grinder, and they could be beaten back and the infantry given time to recover. 

[Artsy Astra]

Another wave was sent to crash into the stalling UST offensive as the Beast Hunter's arrival only spurred the men on. The metal-clad men and women led the Army and Marines into the fray attempting to rid the city's edge of any Blue Shirts. Feral screams of rage filled the air mixed with the crack of guns and thunder of artillery as they staked their claim. In the streets, buildings, and alleys, they fought systematically forcing what they could out of Ferville. More Beast hunters would be called from the mid-city reserve force to bolster the counter-attack and improve morale further.

Field gun crews moved their guns around with the infantry. Filling a heavy direct-fire support role where feasible, the light but lumbering 75mm guns advanced very slowly with the infantry. Firing at groups of blue shirts when directed. Any hold-outs in buildings would be engaged and bogged down as a field gun crew would roll up to split a wall in half and let Marine shotgunners poor in.

[Greywall]

UST

Northern front

The UST forces slogged in their efforts to break the Frannerre and Tafatu lines, Tafatu forces were now gaining ground pushing them Eastward. When the order to fall back was given it gave the Union commanders some relief as the situation had simply not gotten better. Union forces began a slow withdrawal from the Northern front laying down covering fire to pull front line companies. 

Frannerre front

The withdrawal was complicated with Frannerre surging ahead, some companies remained to cover the pull back East. The troops in the melee were too far gone and were left to finish their brutal fight with the Frannerre as the majority force pulled back to UST lines. UST artillery was signaled to hit the enemy. 

Tafatu/Marrlan front

The UST forces here were in near total rout, the Tafatu charge had practically broken them and the Marrlan push only made covering the pullback extremely difficult. Holdouts were quickly cleaned out in the city and surrendered rather quickly. The Union had been hard in the center and the withdrawal here was more or less chaotic compared to the North and South, exposing the line. 

Ashinara

The UST suffered rather hard losses to the Ashinara, as they pulled back from the South enemy fire cut down troops and made the cover efforts difficult. UST artillery was then instructed to hammer the Ashinara harder than any other front. Hundreds of howitzer shells pulverized the Ashinara line.

UST main encampment

Taronki stared at the rider with sunken eyes, tired from overseeing the assault and it stalling out had not put the general in good spirits but what was being relayed to him was worst. "Falalu is gone sir, Do'rville has fallen. Juaz has riders from Veneshy, no word on our forces in the league we've lost all contact." Taronki knew what happened. It was the worst case scenario, there was a small chance he could pull his forces to Juaz in time before the Frannerre intercepted him and the Ferville forces be held back long enough to not encircle him. And he knew the league had likely decimated the scantly drafted Southern Army. "We have little choice, have our artillery guns fire without end until the infantry are safe here. Send a force of 70,000 to the crossroads. I want our withdrawal secured to Juaz and 


WHAT IS THAT FUCKING SOUND!?"

Taronki's voice cracked in a mix of fear and anger at the strange sound, as he rushed outside his tent looking at where it was coming from. Thousands of Union soldiers pointed to the sky at what they only could describe as machines. "What are those things sir?" an officer asked. Taronki had no reply, he never saw anything like it. Nothing in the Seleucidinian military academy described this sort of thing, as the 'machines' flew away some of his men continued to ramble on about them. When another sound came in, more 'machines' but these were much lower. Taronki grabbed his binoculars and saw the Frannerre emblem and the planes dropping something, his insides turned into water as he watched them drop right onto his artillery exploding and killing several men sending the entire base into panic. "Get those guns moved now!" these new weapons of war had completely shattered the General's confidence, after the bombing concluded he finished his orders. 

"Get that force set up, we have to leave Ferville." as his messengers moved to inform his commanders artillery strikes began to come in, but these weren't random hits. They struck the UST artillery, Taronki pieced it together, they were using the damn things to report their position. He clenched his fist in rage, 

"Who.Gave.Them.Those."

He only saw anger. What was his greatest battlefield victory was turning into the defining defeat of the Northern campaign.

Tafatu

The Tafatu forces ordered artillery strikes on the fleeing Union soldiers, but kept their battered infantry held back. The Tafatu hanging out in the ruins of the city cheered as Frannerre and Ashinaran planes flew by toward the UST lines. "Have you ever seen anything like that!?" some of the soldiers commented. Omani and Kendaya were also impressed, Aniyah returned to them at their central command post with Yeeda. "The enemy has been repelled, the city is secured." Yeeda said in a cold almost robotic tone, Aniyah couldn't blame him, it must had still been awkward to assist in defeating his former comrades but Yeeda knew the Union he knew never existed. 

Omani gave an annoyed nod, he still didn't like the Union commander but he did repel the Northern assault. Another figure entered the tent, the mayor of Ferville. "Mayor Guya, this is still a combat zone. It's not safe for you." Omani chimed, but the mayor simply acknowledged him and went to Kendaya, "Charles. My city is destroyed, so much of our country is, and..." Omani interrupted him "Oh you regret this? What the men who die-" Kendaya stopped his general's rant to let the mayor finish. "Charles, its time...its time we assembled the council and form the Republic. There is no turning back, we must do what the Union failed to do and ratify a proper nation and constitution." Kendaya softly replied, "then let us gather our brothers and sisters. It's time we declared ourselves no longer rebels...but free." 

In a matter of weeks messengers rolled across Tafatu, the Union lines in chaos allowed them to travel far and wide, representatives of territories in Tafatu and even some of the Union would attend the Le Troi convention. Kendaya left the battlefield to Omani and Yeeda and returned to the Tafatu capital. Aniyah was given a much more...difficult task, she would be sent to secure a line of credit for the new Tafatu nation. 

[Greywall]

Casualties

UST: 94 field guns, 9,453 infantry
Frannerre: 2,342
Ashinara: 4,393
Marrlan: 124
Tafatu: 94

[callmedelta]

North Front

As much as they wished they could, the Franerri cavalry was unable to give chase to the fleeing Union infantry. They were tired, and much closer to breaking than they'd like to admit. Once the Union had fully retreated from the northern front, a few riders would be sent to convene with the Tafatu army who had saved them, while the majority of the riders retreated back to friendly lines.

Main Front

As the Union retreated all across not just Franerre's frontline, but the entire Ferville front, a decision was made by Franerre's command. A single, unified charge by all armies involved to cleanly knock out the Union forces in the field would be in order. With the recon intelligence from their planes, they would have perfect knowledge of the Union's movements and strength. Riders were sent to all other fronts to confirm their opinions on the course of action. With one final push, this battle, and nearly the entire independence of the Tafatu, could be secured. 

The Airfield

The bombardment of the Union's artillery continued in force: so long as a single Union gun continued to threaten Franerre and her allies, and so long as they had bombs to drop and pilots to fly, there would be no halting.

[aimway921]

It was finally time. Seeing that their allies up in the central front were preparing for a grand charge, and the enemy artillery was busy either getting blown to bits or moving to avoid being blown to bits - as long as it wasn't able to keep a sustained fire on the friendly troops - the general directive has been passed down to all officers and NCO's, as well as a message sent to Franerre to delay their charge a bit to time it with their own.

A couple hours would go by as the Ashinarans would stage their assault. First, field artillery and mortars would be rolled up closer to the front, and begin bombarding the UST front line. The heavier UKUG-made howitzers would continue mostly focusing the enemy artillery to minimize their counter-battery capability. Second, using the saps they dug out earlier, 1,000 Heavy Infantry armed with Light Machineguns and repeater bolt action rifles (bayonets fixed, of course) would crawl as close as 200 yards to the enemy positions. They would be massed in several clusters that have been spread out along the Ashinaran section of the front. The Light and Standard infantry massed at the frontline would get ready to charge. Finally, the 8 tankettes, fully loaded up with ammunition for their machine guns, were prepared to sally out. Meanwhile, an artillery officer commanding the field guns has had an epiphany. They were close enough to observe the attack from their binoculars. To give the infantry enough breathing space, they would hammer the UST line until the assaulting troops are just 100-50 yards away - and then they will move the barrage a hundred yards towards UST's rear, cutting off both their retreat and reinforcements.

The hour has come. A series of whistles have ordered the tankettes to roll out. Lumbering through the passes made for them in Ashinara's forward trench, they have entered No-Man's Land. First, about 50 soldiers would march out behind every tankette. Soon they would get close enough to see the the UST trench in their sights and open fire. That was the signal for three things to happen.

The Heavy infantry that crawled out earlier and stayed hidden so far by a combination of hiding in the shell craters from earlier bombardments, crawling through corpses littering No-Man's Land, and the enemy being suppressed by the artillery, have set up their Light Machine Guns and opened fire. The bombardment by the field guns and mortars has ceased, as they readjusted their aim to bombard just behind the UST forward trench. All of the Heavy Infantry groups, aside from the machine gunners, would surge forward. A dozen of strong fists aimed to punch the stretched enemy line. Their purpose was not to capture and hold the enemy position, however. They just had to cause enough chaos for the main force to have minimal resistance while they approach the enemy position. This was same the tactic used earlier in the war with Tachankas, but on a much grander scale, and with infantry having the machine guns instead of vehicles. This was experimental, but it was better than the previous tactics of just throwing men at machine guns that were unharmed and just waiting for them - something that had just proved deadly to the UST as their grand assault was repelled earlier.

And finally, the third planned event. Save for machine gunners manning the heavy machine guns, absolutely all Light and Standard infantry in the forward trench, totaling about 150,000 soldiers climbed over the top. With a deafening war cry of one and a half hundred thousand men shouting all together, they have charged forward.

The full might of the Ashinaran war machine was on it's way to slam into the UST defenses, already weakened by the failed UST assault and softened up by artillery.

[Artsy Astra]

General Grendel would agree. With the enemy in a complete rout and momentum on their side on the agreed time to go over the top, the MEF would be ready. The Beast Hunters would again be prepared to lead the Marrlan charge, those who helped force the blue shirts out of the limited rotated out for fresh ones who had been held in reserve. At least 20,000 (10K Heavy 5K Special 5K Standard) men and women would be ready to go over the top at the slightest hint of the allied advance beginning. Despite the risk of being vulnerable, 20 field guns and 30 mortars would be readied to follow the infantry advance and support them as best they could.

The howitzers and stationary field guns would open up on the UST line directly ahead of the Tafatu/Marrlan one to soften them up further before their advance and remove as many retreating forces from the equation as possible. They would do another mixed smoke and HE bombardment to disorient the blue shirts as much as possible.

Through binoculars, Commander Helga and General Grendel would watch the Ashinaran tanks with great interest As they trudged on toward the enemy line.

[Greywall]

--UST--

With their forces in withdrawal to the main lines, it didn't take long to notice the Coalition forces pushing forward. "Here they come!" some infantry companies wouldn't reach the trenches in time and opted to take cover in the crater pocked fields opening fire with their bolt action rifles. Ashinarian artillery hammered them as several UST companies managed to get into trench for cover. UST artillery focused now on Ashinarian advances in the South likely alone as the Frannerre nor Tafatu moved much.

Frontal infantry had difficulty holding their positions with constant artillery barrages and enemy infantry firing rounds faster than they could react against as the Ashinaria used light machine guns cutting down Union soldiers rapidly. The last of the field defenders were dislodged when the tankettes showed up, "What in gods are those!?" firing at the slow moving metal beasts did nothing as they eerily moved closer until their guns likely wiped out the infantry companies.

UST artillery barrages went on despite the Frannerre and Ashi bombings. Union infantry tried in vain to shoot the Franch bombers down and Ashinarian artillery barrages were hitting dead accurate. With the enemy launching an assault Taronki couldn't order a full retreat yet. He opted to brace and break this assault.

--Tafatu--

Omani and Yeeda agreed to the assault on the Union, it was time to end the war and breaking Taronki's deployment was the fastest way to end the conflict. Yeeda chimed quietly that Taronki's forces would be the Union's best trained and disciplined soldiers, they would not surrender lightly and fight very hard.

Tafatu forces began their advance behind Marrlan forces and field gun fire that joined allied fire on the UST frontline. "Wait, we have something from Le Troi." a messenger brought in a pole and a colorful piece of cloth. "By order of our President, Charles Kendaya, you are no longer the rebel army. But the Republic Army of Tafatu. And you are to fly this." He handed the officers the new flag of the Tafatu Republic, soldiers gazed at it, the reality of victory closer than ever. "Let's go! Let's end this war!" the Tafatu roared to life following their officer flying the flag toward the Union lines.

[Greywall]

Casualties

UST: 3,424
Frannerre: 99
Tafatu: 19
Marrlan: 45
Ashinara: 1,453

[callmedelta]

The Franerri infantry crept closer at what was practically a snail's pace. There was a multitude of reasons for their slow pace; the artillery was rushing to catch up behind then now that the threat of Union counterbattery operations was nearly nonexistent, the Ashinaran tankettes that were to be the first wave weren't exactly the fastest machines, and the Franerri cavalry needing to swing the long way around the Union flanks to hammer their rear. This took some time, but once every element was in place and the combined coalition bombardment had ceased, every force Franerre could muster in this battle, the surviving members of her grand army of 210,000 Heavy Infantry, 20,000 Carabineers, 20,000 Dragoons would charge into the Union's left flank, any retreating units hammered by 1,000 Artillery and 1,100 Mortars.