This Forsaken World

This Forsaken World Chapter 32

This Forsaken World Chapter 32

Captain Victor Grimm

While I'd been in the military most of my adult life I was still amazed at the efficiency in which they prepared for combat. Within an hour and a half the entire base was ready for action and on stand by for the order. My Lieutenants had digested the information I'd provided for the battle plan and gone to work rallying the company in no time at all.

According to my orders we were one of the only units that would retain our armored element, both tanks would join the advance with the infantry while the mechanized walker would be dropped from a cargo shuttle at the battle site.

The formation set up for command structure was anywhere between three to five companies creating a battalion led by a Lieutenant Colonel. After this a Brigade was comprised of three or more battalions. After that came Divisions led by a Major General, these were formed from three brigades which had a soldier count of up to sixteen thousand troopers. Finally there were Corps comprised of two to five divisions or forty thousand soldiers but due to our lack of numbers we had been restricted to divisions only.

For this battle we had six divisions all together including up to ninety six thousand men while the armored element was a simple brigade of thirty two hundred with there combined mechs and tanks. Air defense was on a separate command line since they were considered to be fleet and retained a number of personnel.

While we sat in a tight formation alongside the rest of the companies I stared out across the sea of soldiers around me. Our trucks were idling nearby waiting to be loaded while the troopers were munching on food, playing cards or chatting among themselves. The pre-combat jitters was strong in the air almost so intense you could cut it with a knife.

Anyone who had seen combat suppressed this feeling but they couldn't completely bury it, there was always going to be fear, excitement and stress. Any new troopers would be foolishly excited for the coming thrill of there first battle but they were blind to the dangers ahead, something that would get a lot of them killed.

For my part I focused on my command duties, walking through the men and giving them the pep talk about how well they were performing, attempting to inspire confidence. Evan was cradling his sniper rifle on top of a tank while gazing off into the distance.

The battle would be at night so things would be interesting while each soldier had been ordered to equip tracer rounds every fifth shot to help identify friendly fire. Spotlights had already been installed in the canyon to help illuminate the entrances for when the enemy forces arrived.

The waiting was killing me as I checked my watch for what felt like the fiftieth time. The sun had battled for dominance over the sky until it finally lost and the red glow faded, vanishing and leaving a dark desolate landscape around us. Almost as if the setting sun was a sign the air horns were sounded to order the advance.

The men and women of the Panther Claw's stood up and began loading into the transport trucks while I mounted the second tank opposite Evan. I noted that the vehicle my friend had selected was piloted by Warrant Officer Vesper and I chuckled.

Slapping the roof of the hulking war machine I held on as it lurched forward and the entire combined force of Alliance military, close to one hundred thousand soldiers, formed into a long line and made the slow dangerous journey to the river bed.

The roar of engines caught my attention and I looked up as troop transports and cargo shuttles passed by overhead to deploy there payloads of men and machines at the designated location. The ABW-3 piloted by Jenkins, his Wynona, slowly vanished in the distance and I swallowed hard in anticipation.