63 – Plans Part One

After thinking about it, Raidon also invites his sergeants and the other cavalry captain to his tent. Even before Morris has returned from washing, Ice, Mateo, Owen, Liam and Mark are standing at attention in his tent.

"Relax, men. I have called you here to make plans for the future, but we’ll do so in an informal way. So find a spot and grab a cup of wine. We'll wait a little longer for Morris and Harris."

The sergeants all grab a stool and then sit down at the folding table. Morris managed to scavenge it from the fort the previous day. Officially it is a table for the commander, but since there is currently no commander there, he does not need it either.

"Ah," Morris notes as he enters last, "I didn’t steal the commander's map from the fort for nothing."

The sergeants look up as Morris mentions the map, and after looking specifically for a map, it catches their eye.

On the table is a large map of the southern border. Not only the border is on it, but also the entire area from the border to Peredur and from the ocean to the Ancient Forest.

Raidon looks at his people one by one.

"Gentlemen, we are facing a big problem. As you know, the entire border is under severe pressure. The regular troops haven't returned yet, and even when they get back, they probably can't fend off a strong attack.

What you see here on the map are the well-known regiments of Chakra."

Raidon puts a double handful of wooden warriors on the map with a red stripe around their waist.

Then he picks up a handful of warriors with a blue stripe.

"These are the regiments of the regular army, when they arrive. As you can see, even after all their losses, Chakra has at least double the number of warriors here in the south than we have."

"But how did this happen, Captain?" Sergeant Ice asks, "wherever the Chakras attack, they are in the majority everywhere."

"That's easy to explain. Before the war, about twice as many warriors were stationed here. That is, about five thousand warriors at each fort with a reserve in Linh. However, after the surprise attack in the north, more than half of the troops were sent there to reinforce the northern army. After all, there was never a real threat here."

"But why has Chakra never attacked here? The border here is twice as long as in the north, but all the battles of the last hundred years have been fought there."

"That has to do with Chakra's policy," Morris replies for Raidon, "instead of a series of defenses and fortifications like we have, Chakra has destroyed an area more than a mile wide on their side of the border. All the trees have been cut down and the earth has been sprinkled with salt. Thus, they have created a desert where nothing grows anymore. As a result, it is impossible to enter the country unseen. The only positive thing is that the Chakras have been lazy in one thing. They could have extended that desert anywhere up to the Nirj River, but in most places there is a small patch of greenery on this side of the river.

All the Chakran army has to do to stop an invasion is to send out some scouts, while the rest can sit quietly in their only fortified fortress. I don't think I need to tell you that Falwyn has never tried such an attack."

"Right," Raidon takes over again, "while the Chakras only need enough warriors to defend a single fort, we have to man and maintain a whole series of defenses. However, it was never necessary to leave large garrisons here. No army can would think about leaving thousands of warriors in their forts and push on to the country. Then they would have an army at their backs that would simultaneously blocks their supplies. And when several garrisons join together, they form a joint army that is strong enough that each enemy general would think twice. Furthermore, a very large army is needed to defeat a well-entrenched enemy. With proper preparation, the forts can probably kill five or more men for every warrior who falls."

"If the situation has been the same for more than a hundred years, why is it suddenly different now?"

"There are several reasons for this. Firstly, the garrisons have been halved, severely reducing the danger to the back of an invading army and seriously affecting the resilience of the forts. Secondly, Chakra normally has only one army in the south, which consists of about ten thousand warriors. At the moment we know of three armies that are in the vicinity of the border, although one of them is undermanned, and there may even be more on the way. And third, it's not just the forts that are understaffed. The generals have used almost all reserves to strengthen the north. So there is no one to reinforce a fort or to stop an army while the garrisons attack from the back."

"Except for us."

Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.

"Indeed, except for us. To sum up, we have half of the warriors needed, and Chakra has triple and more to deploy. Our task now is to come up with something that gives us a chance to win the war."

"To win? Don't you mean to stand our ground, Captain?"

"No Liam, just standing our ground is not enough. That is the first possibility, but in the end we have to end this war."

After this explanation of the situation, the officers look at the map. Not much more is said now, everyone is lost in their own thoughts.

Eventually, Sergeant Ice breaks the silence.

"Can't we adjust the defensive line?"

"What are you thinking about?"

"Well, if we leave the forts as they are, and build the standard defenses between the forts, you know, canals, ramparts, stakes, the whole shebang, then a smaller unit at any point can stop a way stronger attack."

"That would be possible, but even then we don't have enough people to protect that line. The border is simply too long. That’s exactly what they are doing in the north. It’s quite possible that that's why the Chakran armies are trying their luck here."

"What if we could disrupt supplies?" Captain Harris asks no one in particular, "without supplies, they cannot carry out an attack. Then we will at least gain some time."

"How do you want to do that? They have enough supplies stored in Fort Shi to maintain those three armies for several months. And that fort is not only deep in enemy territory, there are also three armies around it."

"Simple, we lure them away."

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"I have to admit that I'm not good at this." John tells his squad mates.

"Well you have to admit sergeant, there is little we can do to change the situation. Until the rest of the army is here, we're stuck running around chasing all those raids."

"Yes, and that's the problem. We’re always too late to do anything. And don't call me a sergeant. You know that no one outside our squad knows that I am not a squad leader, apart from Captain Raidon."

"Sorry squad leader John. Ever since your promotion you just have such an overweight on us that I can't hold back."

John looks at the soldier scathingly. "Are you saying I'm fat?"

"Well squad leader John, all that new authority of yours you has to settle somewhere."

"In that case," John replies with a mean smile, "we just have do some extra strength training exercises with the entire squad. We'll see if the rest is so happy with that loose mouth of yours."

Now the other men of the squad look angrily at the loose-lipped soldier. None of them are excited to do extra heavy exercises.

Then the tent flap is pulled open.

"Squad leader John, you are expected at the captain’s."

Later that afternoon, John and his men find themselves a long way south.

"Why did we have to march to this fort to speak to the commander?" One of the men complains. "Not that I don't like the smell of the sea here, but the other forts were a lot closer.

"Because those were our orders, Maarten. The captain had to have a good reason to send us here without arousing suspicion. We were not sent because our squad consists of such sweethearts."

"So there's another reason we're here? What’s that?"

"We'll find out later. The captain has urged me to go to our second destination before I open his other orders."

"So even more walking. When will that stop?"

"If you would keep your mouth shut for a few minutes, Maarten, you would already see our destination right in front of you."

"Uhm, but John, that's the sea..."

"Right, you've seen correctly. Shall I see what our orders are?"

John picks up a roll of paper, after which he carefully breaks the seal. When he has read the orders, he gives a brief summary to his men:

"Apparently our captain is planning to make a new defensive position. Actually, we are the ones who are going to make it. We have to make a neat harbor here where our ships can dock, complete with palisade, ditch and space to house two companies. We can decide ourselves how we do it, as long as there is a fortified port here in the end."

For a few minutes it remains silent, while the men take on this news. There are only ten of them, and this job can take days, if not weeks.

"John, how long do we have to do that?"

"Hmm, it's not exactly described here, except that we have to be ready when the warship arrives here. That's what, a week and a half?"

"that’s impossible!"

"Not if we keep standing here, you layabouts. Get to work!"

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"You can go in." The secretary of Linh's commander sounds surly when he finally lets Morris in. For the past three hours, Morris has been twiddling his thumb in the waiting area, while other people have been given priority with a visit to the commander.

"Ah, Mr. Morris. You had an urgent reason to speak to me, I heard."

"Yes, commander, that is why I must also report that I find it extremely unsettling that you make me wait so long. It is not for nothing that I indicated that it’s urgent."

"That may well be Mr. Morris, but I am still the commander of this city. Therefore, I will determine what is important and what is not. Since you could not indicate why your visit is so urgent, I could not give you priority."

"But that's idiotic! I'm here in a military capacity, you can't expect me to pass on important information to any random clerk. The information and request I have are only for your ears. There is already far too much information that ends up with the Chakras in a strange way."

"Well, if this is so important, I'd get to the point if I were you."

"You are right, we do not have time for bickering about the correct way to handle this. I came here to ask if you could spare some of your warriors to help secure the border. My commander, Captain Raidon, has drawn up a solid plan to keep the Chakras at bay. For this, however, he needs more people than he can free up at the moment. Also, the border forts are severely understaffed and cannot spare any warriors."

"I can be very brief about that request, Mr. Morris. Your Captain Raidon may ask a lot, but I can't spare any of my warriors. As you may know from our previous conversations, I myself have very few warriors to defend this city. If I also have to send part of those few warriors to reinforce you, I won't have anyone left."

Morris lets out a deep sigh. In fact, he had already expected this answer. After all, he has already met with the four commanders of the border forts. The only option now is to implement the plan with a smaller unit.

With a heavy heart, Morris climbs his horse a little later. Raidon can speak easily that the plan can be carried out with only the soldiers and cavalry of the New Legion, but he himself has his reservations.

As he drives towards the gate with his escort of four cavalrymen, he suddenly sees a unit of warriors entering the city. The first of the recalled units have arrived.