His forces were spread out, conducting operations over a wide area, but when he saw those landers, he issued the recall orders immediately. He wanted everything he could muster massed together. Those newcomers would be looking for a fight soon, and Will needed everything he had to face them.
He knew there would be no finesse, no elaborate strategies. Once the newly arrived troops were organized, the entire federal force would come out with one purpose…to destroy his army. Once his force was annihilated, the newborn Republic of Arcadia would be defenseless. General Merrick could systematically sweep up any remaining pockets of rebellion. The dream would die, and with it a last chance to preserve freedom. Will was determined to prevent that, no matter what the cost.
He gambled that the enemy would attack him wherever he was. He chose a fitting spot…the old Sander’s Dale battlefield. He deployed the same way he had, holding the center and the two flanking ridges. Merrick was no fool; he would remember the death trap the center had become for his troops. But Will wasn’t planning to fight the battle in the valley this time. Merrick’s forces had almost taken the high ground south of the lowlands in the first battle, and their failure to do so led directly to their disastrous defeat. This time, Will was certain Merrick would throw his strength against the left…that was where the powered infantry would hit.
Even if he was right, he didn’t know how much he could do to counter them. The ridge was wooded - partially wooded since the last battle had raged there, destroying many of the trees. The ground was steep and rocky, and the landscape was littered with shattered logs and muddy trenches, half-collapsed and partially filled with water. It was difficult ground to cross, even for armored infantry, and Thompson was going to turn it into a death trap.
They buried mines throughout the area where the fighting had been heaviest before. They only had a few of the powerful scratch-built explosive devices, but Will was hopeful they would inflict significant losses, even on the powered infantry. He was going to have his troops deployed farther back this time, and the enemy would have to come through the torn up ground and the makeshift minefield to get to them.
He reorganized the rest of the army, massing those with decent assault rifles on the left. It was a risk – if the enemy attacked anywhere else with the powered infantry, the defenders wouldn’t have weapons powerful enough to penetrate their armor. But if he didn’t mass his better-armed forces somewhere, he didn’t have a chance of even slowing the enemy assault troops.
Everyone else dug in. All across the line his troops were deployed in trenches, along rock outcroppings, and hidden behind the shattered wreckage of vehicles and machinery from the first battle. They were vulnerable to being flanked, but again Will was gambling. Merrick knew if he flanked Thompson, the rebel army would retire and maneuver to another strong location. The federals wanted to destroy his army, not force it from position to position…he was sure of that.
Will’s instincts proved correct. The federal army advanced directly against his position. They were completely unopposed – Will didn’t want any of his troops facing the powered infantry until the main battle began. The Marine vets knew what was coming, but there was no reason to get the others talking about how tough the armored troops were. The Arcadians were still a victorious army – let them focus on that, he thought, as they went into battle.
Kyle Warren stood in just about the same spot he’d occupied during the first battle, though this time he wore a star on his collar and commanded the entire left wing. With the loss of Sanders, Will needed a reliable number two, and he’d opted to move Warren up. The Arcadian command structure was in its infancy, without a clear system of seniority among the higher ranks. But it was important for the army to have a clearly designated second in command.
Warren peered over the edge of his trench, squinting into his ‘scope. Kyle Warren was one of Erik Cain’s veterans…he knew just what was coming and how unlikely it was that his forces could stop them. He flipped on his comlink. “Major Calvin, I need a report. Are your people all deployed?”
Ed Calvin was a Marine veteran, a sniper in an assault platoon for ten years. He was badly wounded in the first battle, but he was fully recovered and back at his post. Thompson had put him in command of all of the army’s snipers and asked him to train more. Anyone with any aptitude was drafted into the new sharpshooter company, and Calvin drove them mercilessly. They were armed with the best weapons in the army, and Warren had ordered them deployed all along the enemy line of approach. It was dangerous work, but each powered infantryman they picked off was a big help.
“Yes, sir.” Calvin had a deep, scratchy voice. “I have 311 troopers positioned in vantage points all along the front.” He paused then added, “We’ll make them pay, sir. You can count on us.” Most of those 311 men and women fell far short of the training and experience of a Marine sniper, but they were all good shots armed with decent weapons. That would have to be enough.
“I know I can, Major.” Warren had pushed for more discipline and military formality in the army when he moved into the number two spot. Will was a better tactician – Kyle would have admitted that in a second – but he tended to be too familiar with subordinates. They had a different perspective. Warren had fought in several campaigns as an officer, but Thompson had done all his combat service as an enlisted man. Kyle wasn’t a martinet, not by any standards, but he realized the army had grown too large to be managed informally. They were the armed forces of a planetary republic, not a band of pirates.
“And Major?”
“Yes sir?”
“No heroics.” Warren’s voice was firm and commanding. He’d been a little intimidated at first when Will moved him up, but he’d gotten more comfortable with it. “Your people are to take every shot they can get and then pull back before the enemy gets to them. A handful of snipers aren’t going to beat the enemy by themselves, and I don’t want you trying to. I just want you to bleed them…and then get your people out of there.
“Understood, sir.” Calvin’s rasp sounded sincere, but Warren wasn’t totally convinced. The major knew as well as he did how tough a fight they were in for. Kyle could feel it in his gut – the casualty rate for the snipers was going to be high. Marines didn’t like passing the problem to the next guy, and Warren was afraid Calvin was going to hang in too long trying to hurt the enemy just a little more.
“Just remember what I said. Pull back when it gets too hot.” He paused. “I mean it, Ed.” Will would have given me shit for that, he thought. He’d pushed for more formality, that was true, but sometimes there were exceptions. He didn’t want to lose over 300 of his best troops before the battle was even in full swing.
“Yes, sir. I read you loud and clear.”
“Good. Warren out.” Kyle cut the link. “Good luck, Ed,” he muttered to himself.
“Fucking Merrick!” Will Thompson was out of breath. He’d been running up and down the line, moving reserves back and forth. The Alliance general refused to cooperate by doing what Thompson expected him to do. So far he’d held the powered infantry completely in reserve, and he’d pushed an entire division through the center.
The Arcadian forces were strong on the flanks, but the center was only moderately held. The fortifications were heavy, but the troop concentration was light, and the reserves were inadequate. It was looking like the Feds might push right through and cut the Arcadian army in half. Unless Will ordered an attack from the ridges against the enemy flank.
“No, that’s what you want me to do.” Will was talking to himself as he walked back to his command post. The fighting was heavy, but he was confident his troops could hold. For a while. “No, Merrick. I’m not going to bite.” He looked back over his shoulder, in the general direction of the enemy position. “If I pull those troops off the ridge you’ll be on us with that armored infantry in a heartbeat.” He offered up a grudging smile to his adversary. “No way.”