| Original Message |
Robert the Brute (no login)
Posted Feb 24, 2003 1:45 PM
~Great generals are those who conquer without bloodshed~Sun Tzu
Palindros was pacing again, as the second month of campaign came to a close, his reinforcements had not arrived in their entirety. Only fourty thousand had landed where they were supposed to, the remainder had landed in Calaini by mistake, which meant of the 500,000 he intended to field against the Empire, only 70,000 were on the mainland, where they most had to worry about numbers. Worse, reports indicated that Calaini was resisting fiercly. From what the spies he had been able to get inside it said, it was largely settled by retired warriors and their mates, which meant a rich martial tradition being passed down over generations, the local troops were not very numerous, only about 20,000; largely those who had been there as a reward for good service in a prior campaign, but the militias and volunteers were streaming in to fill the ranks and reenforce their positions. He had very little real hope that he could adequately supply the invading force, so even if they won, the victory would wither away over time. He knew he couldn't order them to withdraw, that would give the Empire a victory he could ill afford to grant. So he instead took a radical step, he ordered every ship burned to the waterline. They would neither be reenforced or resupplied, whats more, any land they conquered, would be made theirs as a reward for victory, if they lost, death would be all they would recieve.
He turned to the next matter, most of the Yyumi local militias had given in or disappeared back into the populous, but those that did continue to fight, would not fight battles, they ran and hid and struck at supplies or outland patrols in isolated positions. There was no identifiable coordination and no clear leadership. It was angering and demoralizing the Hegemony troops to the point where they were severely maltreating the occupied villages. It didn't bother him much that they took women as their prizes or that the women chose them, that sort of thing could happen in wartime. However beatings and butchery became more and more commonplace even over simple offenses. As a result the irregular activity had increased dramatically over the last two weeks, he signed the form sending an additional thousand men out to lock down the Yyumi countryside. It was a drain he could ill afford.
In Foldus:
Gregor remembered the boatloads of refugees streaming downriver, the tales of what they endured would rouse thousands to the Empire's banner. Word from Calaini was not the best it could have been, thousands of troops had landed and burned their ships behind them. The fighting there would be brutal and prolonged, the Empire's first priority would be its reenforcement, if it fell, it made an excellent staging point for invasion of the rest of the mainland.
Word had come back from Agropanios, Archos was taking a sea rout with a small fleet around the coast so he would come up east of Foldus, the trip would take longer, but that seemed to be the idea, what he had in mind, that was a mystery.
The desert campaign was going smoothly, the tribesmen of the mountains were making hit and run raids at the basis, while the nomadic peoples were in the habit of poisoning the oasis, the enemy would use. It was quite cruel, but not as cruel as what they were doing to torment the invaders, they would take an oasis, offer battle, withdraw as the enemy battle lines organized, and wait....as time drew out and the desert heat took its toll on the heavily armored soldiers, and thirst began to make its demands, the poured the water of the oasis into the sands. When they did withdraw, the enemy had a bitter victory and empty desert as his prize. Nonetheless the invaders were gaining ground, the capital would have to be evacuated in a matter of weeks if not sooner. Boats of raiding enemy troops were already being encountered, and though most were killed, it would only be a matter of time before the river was cut off and escape made impossible. Still, he could slow their victories despite their increased numbers, Orulan and Zuwayzilan had mobilized, and troops streamed like water downhill into Numidars and Chi'akan, there would battle be offered, his thoughts were interrupted as the drums began to beat, a watchfort must have spotted one of the enemy companies. They had come faster than he thought they would, their drums were getting louder. |
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