58 - Logistics Part One

Nearly a week has passed since Raidon, along with his first company, relieved Linh. Throughout the week he had to leave the leadership of his company mainly to his sergeants. He himself has been working almost non-stop trying to reorganize the entire frontline. The commander of the southern border had succumbed to his injuries withing hours after the Chakran armies left. About three hundred other warriors had preceded him in the defense of the third border fort, leaving the garrison with only about seven hundred warriors. All of the other forts also lost warriors, but not in such large numbers. This makes Raidon the most logical person to command. Only the commander of Linh objected, but that man is so inexperienced that no one supported him.

Raidon can hardly comprehend that he and his men have driven so many enemies to flee. Despite the stories, no one from the New Legion expected that there were so many Chakran warriors in the south. According to the messages Raidon had received, there should only be a few thousand Chakras near the border. That number was pretty similar to the numbers they fought off at Linh. However, the new reports from the five border forts offer a very different view of the enemy troops present.

Along with Morris, Raidon interrogated a surviving Chakran captain. The man was badly injured in the fight, but was still clear enough to answer a few questions.

"Our armed forces consist of a few dozen armies which are led by generals. I think even the emperor doesn't know exactly how many armies he currently has.

Each army has ten regiments of a thousand men, led by colonels. Below that are the captains, lieutenants and sergeants with their smaller units."

This information gave Raidon enough information to ask some additional questions.

"So it wasn't just one army attacking here? There were several?"

"That's right. Although normally only the seventh is stationed at the border, because you never attack anyway, more armies have been sent south for a surprise attack. The Eighth Army had been waiting for a week for the fifth to arrive with the general in charge. However, when it was delayed, our commander decided that two armies would be enough. The general of the eighth agreed, especially when he was told about the fame they would get if they could achieve a great victory."

"But fortunately for us, it didn't happen that way."

"No," replied the captain, "the general of the eighth had not counted on how treacherous the general of the seventh could be. Instead of a strong attack at one point with both armies, he ordered at the last moment that only two regiments of the eighth would participate. The general of the eighth had already given his word to follow his colleague, and so could do nothing but watch as he was left behind with most of his men."

Exhausted from his injuries, the captain closes his eyes, while Raidon and Morris look at each other in a silent thanks to the Chakran general's stupidity. A worried medic rushes to the captain.

"I fear this man will not give you any more answers, Captain. He is still alive, but I doubt he will return to the waking world before he dies."

"That is regrettable. Not only for us, because we can use all the information we can get, but also for the man himself. I had hoped he would survive."

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The doctor shakes his head. "There's always a chance, sir. But I don't give it much hope."

Moments later, Raidon and Morris are back in Raidon's tent.

"So we’ve had more luck than we could have dreamed of. Against thirty thousand men we could never have held out. Not even if we had deployed every soldier of the entire legion."

"I'm already surprised that we have now this time," Morris replies, "that group that besieged Linh was only a quarter of the attacking troops. You must have made them really afraid to let all those others flee."

Raidon waved Morris' words away.

"That bunch was almost defeated before we started. Firstly, they had not expected a counterattack, secondly, they had never had to deal with legionaries..."

"And thirdly?"

"Thirdly, we are obviously very frightening."

Morris looks at Raidon with such a surprised face that he has a hard time holding back his laughter.

Later that afternoon, Raidon looks up from the maps on his table to look around the tent. The New Legion has set up camp near the third fort, which is a stone's throw from Linh. Raidon's tent is set up first so that he can focus on going through the reports of the scouts. Apart from a collapsible table, however, the tent is still almost empty.

"We need to fortify this whole border," Raidon murmurs, "those border forts are all good and well, but totally useless if the enemy doesn't want to have them. There are more than a dozen places where an entire army can push through without being hindered by the forts. That means that the walls of the forts are useless, and we have to leave the forts every single time we want to stop the Chakras."

While Raidon is still thinking about how best to handle the situation, the tent canvas is pulled away with a jerk in front of the entrance.

"Raidon!" shouts Morris as he storms in, "You never believe what those lunatics have come up with again."

"By those lunatics you mean the leaders of the border forts, I assume?" Raidon has sent Morris on his way to tell the captains that the boundary is not going to be given up.

"Of course the captains. Those slackers plan to stick to the old schedule. Apart from the third fort, of which you have temporarily taken command, the others plan to leave within three days. They are afraid that the Chakras will attack again, and thanks to recent developments, they are all understaffed. I have told them that they can just sit behind their walls, but even that they are too afraid for to do."

"I expected something like that. That is why I asked for reinforcements immediately after the battle. With a bit of luck, the regular army will answer my call. If so, we can expect the first troops in a few days. At least I hope that the commander of Peredur is kind to us, because most of the other troops are still too far away."

"He can't miss all that many troops either. I don't think a few hundred warriors will make a big difference to the leaders of the forts."

"Maybe not, but if I can send the four commanders a hundred extra men each, then maybe I can persuade them to wait until the rest of the army is back."

Raidon gets up, "come on, let's take a look at the hard work of the men. It has been about a thousand years since a legions' camp was set up. Fort Alpha doesn’t count, because the walls were still standing there."

Together, Raidon and Morris step out of the tent.

The New Legion makes its camps just like the legions of old. The tent camp is set up in a square, with an open field in the middle with the public space. For example, on the square there are, among other things, the tents of the captains, the kitchen and the arsenal. Around the tent camp will be a ditch or moat, the earth of which is used as the foundation for a palisade. The whole is completed with four gates and a number of towers. First the tent of the commander is set up, then that of the other commanders, then that of the soldiers themselves.

By the time Raidon and Morris have a look, all the tents are already set up and the soldiers are busy with the defensive moat and earthen wall. Then there is the strong wooden palisade, but for that they first need to obtain enough wood. All the forests near the border on the Falwyn side have long since been felled, so the only place where the trees can be found is the Ancient Forest.

"It's a good thing I sent John and his team out to look for suitable trees in the ol Ancient Forest."

"I still don't know why John's team is so special, Raidon."

"Let's just say they're special scouts. That's all I can tell you about it. For now, it's enough to know that they will perform some important tasks for the legion."

"Like finding a suitable place to set up this camp, and making a trek to the Ancient Forest?"

"Indeed"