Never Sound Retreat Part 30

Andrew put his hand on Vincent's forehead, pushing back a lock of sweat-soaked hair.

Vincent's gaze locked on Kathleen.

"Mama?"

Andrew closed his eyes. How many times had he heard that cry. The wounded, who in daylight would stoically hold on, not crying, not struggling, but in the night, would call for their mothers, the oldest of soldiers, and the youngest boys, in their fear, their pain, dreaming of a soothing hand, the gentle touch in the night.

"Here, son," Kathleen whispered.

She took his hands in hers and, leaning over, softly began to pray.

"Now I lay me down to sleep, I pray the Lord . . ."

Andrew drew back, tears streaming down his face, stunned by the anguish he felt for the boy he had used up, the frightened young Quaker who had become the coldest of killers and was now a frightened boy again.

He was stunned as well by this other side of Kathleen. In his eyes she was, and always would be, the beautiful young Irish la.s.s, red hair, sparkling green eyes, the lilt of a brogue when anger or pa.s.sion flashed.

And now, she seemed almost Madonna-like, the soothing mother, not just of their children but of so many frightened boys who stood upon the final threshold.

A hand touched him on the shoulder. It was Emil, and Andrew withdrew. Walking the length of the car, he stepped out onto the rear platform, breathing deeply of the cold night air. There was still a war on, artillery fire flashing along the ridge, Marcus directing the bombardment that was covering their final loading up. An hour before dawn the remaining guns would be spiked, the crews loading onto the last train, and then the pullback to where new lines were being prepared, two hundred miles to the rear.

Ferguson had even thought of how to manage that. The last locomotive to back down the track would pull a hooked plow behind it, tearing up the track, twisting the rails so that Ha'ark would be forced to advance slowly, repairing the track if he ever hoped to keep his army supplied.

In the darkness he could see the last of the wounded being loaded on the cars in front of him while on the siding a battered ironclad, the nameSaint Maladystenciled on its side, edged up a ramp onto a flatcar, the ironclad's commander standing anxiously by his machine, shouting orders. On the other side of the train he could barely see Petracci and his copilot, supervising the loading of their airship's wings, all that could be salvaged of their ruined machine, which had crash-landed after dropping a Bantag airship.

"Smoke?"

Andrew nodded, accepting the cigar Pat offered. Sitting down on the steps of the car platform, Andrew was grateful as Pat gently readjusted the blanket draped over his shoulders.

"If's all so different now." Andrew sighed. "Perpetual war, no end in sight, new machines and yet newer machines." He pointed toward Timokin and his ironclad.

"No more cavalry charges, no more volley lines shoulder to shoulder," Pat replied sadly. "At least not against those d.a.m.n smoke-eating monsters."

"It saved our a.s.ses, though," Andrew said. "h.e.l.l, another half hour and they'd have overrun us."

He shuddered at the memory of it ... the Bantag bursting into the forest, falling back up the hill, trees crashing down around him, the high, ululating screams of the enemy slashing forward with the bayonet, driving toward the pinnacle of Rocky Hill, and the huddled wounded on the east slope, then the charge of the ironclads breaking into the rear of the Bantag host.

"You two sound like you'll miss the old way of killing," Emil snapped. "It's just killing to me."

"No alternatives anymore," Andrew replied. "We have to keep on going. The retreat buys time yet again, trade s.p.a.ce for time. G.o.d willing, the weather will help, autumn rains, winter snow, maybe the fighting won't start up again till next spring, give us time to build a new army yet again."

"And he'll build a new one as well," Emil replied.

"The way of things back home, and here," Pat said. "Keeps us employed, it does."

"Sometimes I think you really are one sick son of a b.i.t.c.h," Emil snapped angrily.

Pat laughed sadly.

"Keeps me from going crazy with all of this, dear doctor."

Emil nodded, embarra.s.sed over his outburst and, reaching into his jacket pocket, pulled out a flask and handed it to Pat.

"We might call this a defeat, but you two fought like avenging angels, you did."

Pat raised the flask, looking to the east, as if offering a salute to the fallen, and took a long drink.

"Andrew."

Frightened, he looked up at Kathleen. Sighing, she stepped down from the platform and, taking the flask from Pat's hand, took a long drink and sat down.

"Vincent?"

"Asleep."

"Thank G.o.d," Emil sighed.

"Fever's breaking, but oh, Andrew, that boy's torn up terribly. I don't know if he'll ever walk again."

"At least he'll live," Andrew said.

She nodded, unable to speak.

"Sir."

Andrew looked up and saw a messenger standing, holding a telegram. Somehow he could sense that the news was bad, and, reaching up, he took the slip of paper. Opening it, he fumbled in his pocket for a match. A light flared beside him as Pat held a sputtering match so he could read.

"Merciful G.o.d," Andrew whispered.

He looked over at his friends, tears in his eyes.

"Chuck Ferguson's dead. He pa.s.sed away in his sleep an hour ago."

"Oh G.o.d, no." Pat sighed and, lowering his head, walked off into the darkness.

Kathleen stood up, shaking, her arms going around Andrew.

"What are we going to do now?" she whispered. "Without him, what are we going to do?"

"We'll live, we'll find a way to live through this," Andrew whispered. Holding Kathleen tight, he looked to the east and the glow of fire on the horizon.

"One hour," Ha'ark snarled bitterly. "One hour difference and we would have had him."

Jurak stood before his commander, defiant in spite of the burst of outrage.

"Eight of their umens should have been destroyed, and yet now word comes that even Hans will most likely escape. We should have crushed Keane and been marching on Roum, following their panic-stricken retreat. We should have ended this campaign before winter in Roum, perhaps even Rus itself. Now winter will stop us, all because you could not come up fast enough."

"You ask too much, Ha'ark," Jurak snapped. "You've taken a d.a.m.n mob of illiterate barbarians and raised them through a thousand years of change. Six months will give you the time to finish that change. Come spring another dozen umens will be armed, there'll be a hundred land cruisers, with rails connected all the way back to our factories. You yourself said this war started too early."

"But now they know," Ha'ark said bitterly. "Keane now knows what he faces. In six months, what will he do as well? You should have killed him; then it would be different."

"Four of their umens are shattered, Ha'ark. They cannot replace that. We love eleven, but we can replace them. We will grind them down and win."

Ha'ark finally nodded and, leaving his lieutenant, stepped out of the command bunker and looked to the west.

He could sense they were pulling back, that come dawn the line would be empty.

You can run, but I will follow, he thought coldly. And in the end, there will be no place to run to, and then I will finish it, finish it as I should have finished it yesterday. As I will finish it tomorrow.

Organizational Structures of the Army of the Republic At the Start of the Bantag Wars

It should be noted that prior to the beginning of hostilities the Army of the Republic had been organized into two separate "armies"-the First and Second. The First, made up of 1st-6th Corps, was primarily of units from Rus, while 7th-12th Corps were recruited from Roum. This initial organization was due in large part to the language difficulty, along with the usual political considerations. The decision was reached to abandon this structure and fully integrate the two "armies." This did create certain command difficulties, even though it had been agreed that the language of Rus would be the official language of the army.

COMMANDER OF THE ARMIES-COLONEL ANDREW LAWRENCE KEANE(Note-Andrew Keane has always maintained the official rank of Colonel, even after the rapid expansion of the army, refusing any attempt to confer upon him a high ranking appropriate to the level of command. The same is true of Sergeant Major Hans Schuder.) ARMY OF THE SHENANDOAH (EASTERN FRONT)Major General Patrick O'Donald 1st, 3rd, 9th, & 11th Corps ARMY OF THE SOUTHSergeant Major Hans Schuder 2nd, 7th, & 8th Corps RESERVE CORPSMajor General Vincent Hawthorne At Fort Lincoln 5th Corps At Suzdal4th Corps At Roum10th Corps WESTERN FRONT(Deployed to the west of Suzdal on the old Potomac Line to block possible action by the scattered remnants of the Merki Horde.) Major General Vincent Hawthorne 6th & 12th Corps NOTES ON ARMY ORGANIZATIONCorps Organization * Three Divisions per Corps * Two Brigades per Division * Five Regiments per Brigade Average strength of a regiment at the start of the Bantag Wars: four hundred and thirty men, though certain units in 1st-3rd Corps had as little as two hundred men under arms. 1st through 6th Corps bore the brunt of fighting during the Merki Wars and as such had the strongest contingent of veterans. 7th through 12th Corps was recruited primarily from Roum.

A battalion of artillery is attached to each Corps. Four to eight batteries of four guns each comprise a battalion. Approximately two thirds of the artillery batteries a.s.signed to field operations are equipped with ten-pound breechloaders converted from Parrott Guns. Rocket batteries, part of the overall artillery reserves, are a.s.signed to Corps as needed.

Additional units attached at the Corps level-one regiment of engineering troops, a light brigade of cavalry, pontoon bridging unit, one company of sharpshooters armed with either Sharps long rifles or Whitworth sniper guns, various supply, transport, medical, and signals units.

Military Railroad of the Republic Railroad transport had been reorganized as well, recognized now as a separate branch of service answering directly to the Commander of the Armies. During the Tugar and Merki Wars, men serving on the military railroad were also part of field infantry units, usually from the 1st Corps. With the increasing needs of railroads to support far-flung operations, men were a.s.signed to the military railroad system on a permanent basis. A fair percentage of personnel are veterans of the earlier wars, discharged from field service due to disabilities.

Naval Units The Navy is divided into two fleets; the First Fleet based in the Inland Sea, the Second Fleet in the Great Sea. Given the relatively small size of the Fleets, both are under the direct command of Admiral Bullfinch, who answers directly to Colonel Keane. Plans were underway at the start of the war to form a separate Marine Brigade.

Additional Units The air force, fortification units, heavy artillery, artillery reserves, the headquarters and training regiment (the old 35th Maine & 44th New York) all answer to the office of the Commander of the Armies.