"When an army is seperated

from one another by even the distance of a li (ancient chinese unit of measure, equaling a little more than a mile) the left will be unable to succor the right, the right unable to aid the left, the front unable to support the rear, and the rear unable to succor the front. How much more so, than when they are seperated by a distance of several li?

Thus numerical superiority comes, by putting the whole or greater part of your force, against a portion of the enemy's own."

~Sun Tzu

*this was the means with which the Godslayer host attacked the Warlock Order. the Hagalz line stretched between 6 and 8 miles end to end. Their greater numbers, meant nothing if those numbers were not all present at the location of the attack. It would take hours for the troops to arrive, and that would be much to late to alter whatever tide of battle would occur.

This Archos knew, and the baron would be enraged. Archos was pitting the vast majority of his force against the flank and local center, while well over half the WO defense force was well out of reachable range. Thus, the Godslayer host gained not just the initiative, but numerical superiority for so long as he kept that, and after, if the line could be broken*


Part One: Let the dead stay dead, countering the rising corpses.

*Archos himself was not present for the rising of the deadly 125. But his commanders were capable warriors, who could largely recognize and counter a threat presented to them effectively. Casualties from the 125 were a result of the surprise. But the commander on scene, one "Gregor Thunderhand" swiftly evaluated the threat, and gave order that 4 dragons should flit about the foes, and lay fire to the walking corpses. (if you recall, zombies are easily combatted with flame) from a distance, while the fastest elves in his squad were to keep them under control, by hacking off limbs, since the dead do not die cleanly, it is best to remove the limbs with which they may threaten you. He then sent a runner to the nearest mages to begin countering the foul magic that would bring rise to the foe. Some did this by setting fire to bodies unrisin, others by blessings or curses as was their specialty. (i'll leave it to you to decide the effectiveness of blocking magic on it, but i think the flame is fairly certain)

Part two: Countering the tunnels.

*Archos had been aware of tunneling during the previous advance of the WO against his lines, and the tactic of tunneling under the enemy was not unknown to this veteren commander. His army was over wide areas to engage as many of the outnumbered foes as they could, and end the fight quickly. Yet still the tunnel casualties would be nasty. Yet he was not without resources, the tunnels had two weaknesses: first, the classic weakness, if it caved in, it killed everyone in it. Second, a newer weakness, limited mobility and less breathing space. Both these weaknesses were exploited by the army and the mages. When the first tunnels began opening up under the host, the mages countered, by rushing within range, and using small spells, they collapsed the tunnel atop the subtle attackers. (i think that would be quite effective *S*) the army countered in a much more ugly way, and in a way perhaps unseen before now. A dreadful, cruel way, they lobbed poisoned gass into the opened holes. (since it hasn't been used before, i doubt they were prepared for it) Those who do not die from the deadly air, would die as they scrambled to escape and were cut down by the foe. With the gas card played, it was played well, the trenches were not spared, as dashing troops tossed a can in and let their more heavily armed bretheren deal with those poor soldiers who would scramble out, and in to waiting bullets* (i think this fairly effectively halts the tunnel usage of the wo and traps troops below ground, since the gas is heavier than air, it would linger and trap them if it doesnt out right kill them)


Part III: Countering the Orcish threat, at the anthill

*The commander of the anthill was one Ssuma'solora, a high elf of ancient standing, and veteran of the Godslayer's campaigns. as the dwarves and hobgoblins hate one another, so too do elves and humans rival themselves against orcs. They were eager charging down the anthill, boiling out like a flooding river overwhelming its banks. as they rushed down hill, they jumped into foxholes to pick off the orcs at the bottom. the mad dash of the charging bull is something no smaller creature is a match for, even an armed orc. and being set on fire is enough to madden any bull. The anthill troops take full advantage of the chaos to unload on the confused orcs, firing tommyguns and tossing grenades to give the illusion of a greater host of men than there truely is. so that when they are finally able to close, many of the foe should be dead dying wounded or fled in confusion.

Now the human ordinarily is at a disadvantage in night fighting, however as a warrior knows, sight is but one of the senses. And the human warriors who were ancient if friendly rivals with their elvin counterparts, took that to extreme, learning to fight blind and in the night. some few took this to great extremes, such as blinding themselves by putting out their own eyes, to show contempt for elvin sight, few of even the elite troops went to that step, but the human vision problem was much reduced because of the rivalry. and it is an ancient principle not to oppose a foe charging down hill. when the anthill warriors came down hill, they had much force behind them to hit a disorganized multitude, like the force of a rock against an egg*

Part IV: the Dragon legion meets its namesake.

*when the Godslayer host encountered the marching ranks of the Dragon legion, a cheer went up, worthy foes were a warriors dream, great men, need great foes, and these would be theirs. The host of the Empire opened up with heavier weapons first, firing submachine guns of their own, tommyguns were weilded by dwarves, while grenades thrown by humans, they opened up with glee as they spread out around the dragon legion, before the distance between the two shrank to to little for heavy weapons, and then they drew out not blades used for butchery, but personal blades, reserved for killing only honorable foes. Heavy weapons were still firing on other portions of the field, but these two hosts were destined to close, and heavy weapons were small use at such range. And so as the dragon legion released theirs, so too did the host of Archos release their own, and let their ranks clash together.

The godslayer host is armed with a variety of personal weapons, some use traditional swords to combat axes, others use axes of their own, some use other forms of weapons, naginatas, two handed swords, short spears, and studded shields. Dragons are used in a supporting role this time around, holding points such as flanks against attempts to go round the flanks, and used to push in against weak points in the dragon legions lines. dwarves fight against hobgoblin rivals the hardest, but they would ultimately be doomed without the support of their comrads, who back them up and try to get round the dragon legion's well trained force.

the numbers of these two elite forces would largely be equal, though the rest of this area of the field is clearly out numbered by the massive pinpoint strike of the Empire's army.

The attempted flank is countered by the pressing advantage of the Empire's elven snipers, who have a field day picking off the troops they made the attempted flank, before they opted for a more massive strike, unloading with semiautomatic and automatic fire respectively, before rushing into the fray with bright steel, right at the flank of the attempted flank. The beyonet charge is met by a swift highland strike (so named because the highlanders of scottland used it to rule the battlefield for more than 50 years. it goes like this, as the enemy charges, you sweep away his blow with your left hand, duck, and slash with your blade or what ever weapon you had. whole ranks of british troops were decimated by the mad fury of the highland method, after that it settled to individual combat)

Dragons here too, prove their mobility and usefulness as point holders. by positioning themselves at key points, corners and the center, they support their smaller bretheren against charges, by fire and then by sword. ((all in all this is a close one either way, and the two forces should inflict some nasty losses one way or the other))

Part V: The measure of victory is captured arms.

*As gun positions were overrun here and there by the sudden blitzcreig, the guns were then turned around and opened up wherever the warlock troops would make a stand. the chief purpose of these taken positions, was to use the line against itself. Normally, dragons were the support for the smaller infantryman. But in this instance, the infantryman was the support of the dragon. To stop the stakes and antidragon weapons from being brought to bear, the guns targeted the crews of those. as the ballistas were by necessity immobile, and those who hold up great spears cannot run, they make easy targets for the lost heavy gun positions, and allow the host to establish themselves where they go. as the second division of the Army fulfilled its part, specifically, halting any and all reinforcements, the first division fulfilled its role, utterly wreck the line and roll it back to the very sea it seemed to stretch to. the requirement of the hagalz line to spread its troops about, meant that it was like a repeat of the battle of the beachhead, superior numbers and mobility pitted against a line with no real flank (since that's been largely overwhelmed now looks like) gives overwhelming advantage, the captured weapons gives greater firepower, and the battle raged on, fleeing troops were allowed to flee for now. if the foe can escape, they need not be desperate. and a second flaw in the WO method is made clear: "If you are shooting your own men, you're not shooting the enemy, and you reveal who is in charge." Any WO soldier that targetted a fellow WO soldier, was made an instant target of snipers or regulars.

Part VI: Lose the soldiers, lose the battle, lose the people, lose the war. the part the rebels play:

The rebels lack training, but not rage, their thirst for revenge boils over like molten lava. They now hate the WO army more than they love their own lives. ANd they have been given arms, and a target. They went upon it with pagan glee, more than willing to throw away their lives to do the enemy one last harm. munitions are not concerned by them, if they run out, they pick up a dead friend or foes weapon and keep fighting, their pent up frustration given outlet, they release it on any soldier in their path.

Part VII: Archos's desire

Last came Archos's wish, he and his personal guard were ranging over the field, his target, the Baron himself. He tossed gas canisters into holes and trenches as he found them, killed those he came upon, burned tents and anything not his own that he came near, his personal guard doing the same, he was sure of the baron's location. The baron was arrogant, he would not encamp with his men. He was prideful, he would not encamp with his officers. he was cautious, he would not encamp within easy view of snipers. but he was also in charge, which meant he would have to encamp in a position from which he could maintain communication between himself and the rest of his army. that meant being near the center rear of the line. and it was to that which Archos's bodyguard and he were to go.

((k. not sure if the baron is actually at such a position, its the logical one it seems, but as he may not be, can't post finding let alone killing him. we may have to rp that part out. looks to me like this battle is pretty much in my hands. i liked the use of the zombie type guys this time. S clever really, i must give due credit.))