"The western stockade has fallen sir... sir?" asked Vincenzo.
General Garibaldi whiped the sweat from his brow and looked over the scene. The wooden walls of Salvador were falling, he could see the many banners held by the Australian garrisons as they punished this jungle fortress "How many more regiments do we have?"
"Three sir, only three. All of them are currently engaged." replied Vincenzo, he was from Monaco, one of Garibaldi's oldest and dearest friends now serving as his field marshall.
"I want detachments from each, small squadrons to amass on the western wall, we musn't let them break us. What of the silversmiths, we have paid them their gold, have they completed our supplies?" Just days before this attack a band of silversmiths were ordered to create Legion uniforms and swords, apparently not enough time was given...
"Sir, no sir, they need more time. We must hold this attack off!" Vincenzo screamed as clashing metal and horrific screams could be heard in the background.
"How many walls stand-" asked the General.
"Only two sir." Vincenzo quickly responded.
"Christ! Alright alright, have one of the garrisons retreat, we will regroup and try for an assault."
"But sir, we have no units capable of attack, only pikemen sir."
"A pike is good enough to kill a man, we have little option Vincenzo." said Garibaldi as he ran out of his tent. "GARRISON TWO RETREAT! GARRISON TWO RETREAT!" he yelled.
"Sir, I advise against this." said Vincenzo.
"Grab a pike Vincenzo!" barked Garibaldi.
The Adriatics were terribly outnumbered. Australian mounted Knights began to bore down upon the fortress from the jungle. One detachment of Australian crusaders ran straight into a band of Adriatic pikers, throwing the men from their horses to the ground, however another quickly attacked from behind.
Meanwhile atop a nearby hill...
"They are retreating lads! The day is ours!" yelled William Manning, an Australian general. "Send in two more detachments, let's finish this now!" he said proudly.
"Cavalry, forward!" yelled his under officer.
Just months prior Manning was a professor in mounted tactics at the SunTzu War Academy, he had spent most of his life in northern South America on patrol detail before beginning his career at the Military School. He was one of, if not the best generals in the Americas.
"Come now! We musn't give!" yelled Garibaldi as he slammed his sword into a fallen crusader. "Gather around men!"
Close to fifty men gathered around Garibaldi as he looked around, his eyes tearing up. He shoved his sword into the soft blood-soaked ground, and pushed his sweaty hair from his forehead.
"This is a very difficult thing to tell you" he said as he saw an Adriatic soldier being slaughtered in the background "We will lose today."
There was a long silence as sweat rolled down his forehead.
"You will never again see your homes, you will never again see your families. We have lost. I understand if you wish to surrender but I plead and beg of you not to. If you give in now, they will never let you return to your loved ones. If you give in now all is lost, if you give in now we have helped them. We must not give them an inch, they must not take anything more from us. Men, if they are to be victorious today we must give them nothing to boast, we must fight until they destroy every fiber of civilization that ever stood here."
"Look sir, what are they doing?" asked the Australian under officer as he handed General Manning his binoculars.
"It seems as if though they are having a meeting, perhaps they are surrendering the city?" asked the General.
"Shall we send someone?"
"Aye, we better. We don't want to hurt our image now do we James?" chuckled general Manning.
"Very well, I shall hear their terms of surrender" said James as he turned his horse and looked back "Wish me luck!" he said with a smile as his general nodded.
"Do you understand men? We can't give up?" Garibaldi looked at his men, dirt, sweat and blood mixed upon their faces. They were pale and ghastly, obviously tired of fighting.
"Sir, I can't... I don't want to fight anymore..." said one as he fell to his knees crying. Garibaldi ran to him and hugged him tightly.
"You must continue Hector, I am begging you to fight with me as an equal, as an Adriatic. We can't let them take this fortress." begged the general.
"Sir, I shall fight..." said one as he picked up a sword and held up his pike.
"General I will fight for you.." said another.
"I will fight" said yet another..
"I shall fight General Garibaldi" said another, the trend continued.
The General stood up smiling. He was taken back, he never expected such loyalty to be displayed.
Finally an Australian officer arrived carrying a white banner signifying peace "I am here to speak with the commander of this army!" he said.
The men all looked at Garibaldi, who looked hesitant.
"What is your business, I am the commander." said Garibaldi.
"You?" asked the Australian as he looked at the dirty and tattered clothing worn by the general.
"Aye, I am in command of these men."
"We wish to ask for your terms of surrender." he said with a smile.
"We have none-" said Garibaldi bluntly.
"No terms? You shall surely die today you know this? Your men will all perish?" asked the Australian.
"We will die before we surrender to you." said the general proudly.
"Very well, have it your way. I shall inform general Manning." said the officer as he turned his horse and galloped up the hill.
He stopped in the center of his amassed troops "They will not give in men, I don't know whether to respect their courage or to laugh at their stupidity. Well this is the final blow, they have hardly a detachment left, this shall be easy, tis only pikes. We'll have to charge them." he said, the crusaders nodded.
The under officer held his sword into the air and looked around "To the Republic men... CHARGE!!!!"
A loud rumble was heard, Garibaldi stood up. "To your positions men, to your positions!" he began lifting pikes.
"Everyone here I want you to fall back, and charge after they fall upon our pikes. You over here, hold strong, you are our first hope, hold the pikes low we want to catch the horses, we want a wall to be built. Okay we need around six pikes back here, in case any of the horses slip through, we musn't let them pass. You men, hold here, if anyone survives chop them down quickly. They must have reinforcements." The rumble grew louder. "Alright men, the time is comming, I can see their approach. Hold..." the cavalry appraoched closer "Hold... Hold..." they were 100 feet ahead. "NOW!" Garibaldi yelled as the troops lifted their pikes, most of them caught onto the Horses' stomachs, while others hit their faces and they convulsed, throwing off the first wave of crusaders, the others ran into the wounded horses and either tripped or were knocked back.
A few Australians hit the ground and were quickly attacked by Adriatic troops, others were able to block the inital attack and began swordfighting in the mud. The horses upon the pikes fell, and with them went the pikes, the second wave jumped over the fallen horses and landed upon some soldiers killing them instantly. Snapping bones, clashing swords, and ripped skin could be heard loudly as the melee ensued.
"Christ! Men fall back fall back." a little less than twenty men survived this attack and fell back. The Australians, who vastly outnumbered the Adriatics at this point fell back too in preparation. The Australian underofficer, James, approached again. "Shall we spare the lives of these final twenty general Garibaldi and surrender?" he said with a smile.
Garibaldi looked over at his men, they looked back at him. They were dirty, tired, pale, and sweaty, but they were also proud. Their eyes said it all.
"I await your response?" asked James...
Garibaldi clutched his sword tightly, and looked again around at the final twenty men who survived the battle, they all nodded.
"CHARGE!" Garibaldi yelled as his twenty men lifted their swords and bellowed a gigantic battle cry, they then rushed the Australian soldiers...
The Adriatic League would lose Salvador and Meridia before agreeing to the Prometheus City Accords. During the war well over half a million men were lost by Australia, the Adriatic League and Mongolia. The bloodshed did little to change the geopolitical realities of the world, but would begin a new era in politics. The Adriatic League lost its closest ally, and gained a new enemy. The Pacific Pact lost some of its power, but regained most in the favorable Prometheus City Accords. Most pundits of the time believed that peace was now achieved. Yet there were still the few that held a doubtful eye upon the Peace Accords, they wondered aloud whether or not this actually helped world peace...
General Garibaldi whiped the sweat from his brow and looked over the scene. The wooden walls of Salvador were falling, he could see the many banners held by the Australian garrisons as they punished this jungle fortress "How many more regiments do we have?"
"Three sir, only three. All of them are currently engaged." replied Vincenzo, he was from Monaco, one of Garibaldi's oldest and dearest friends now serving as his field marshall.
"I want detachments from each, small squadrons to amass on the western wall, we musn't let them break us. What of the silversmiths, we have paid them their gold, have they completed our supplies?" Just days before this attack a band of silversmiths were ordered to create Legion uniforms and swords, apparently not enough time was given...
"Sir, no sir, they need more time. We must hold this attack off!" Vincenzo screamed as clashing metal and horrific screams could be heard in the background.
"How many walls stand-" asked the General.
"Only two sir." Vincenzo quickly responded.
"Christ! Alright alright, have one of the garrisons retreat, we will regroup and try for an assault."
"But sir, we have no units capable of attack, only pikemen sir."
"A pike is good enough to kill a man, we have little option Vincenzo." said Garibaldi as he ran out of his tent. "GARRISON TWO RETREAT! GARRISON TWO RETREAT!" he yelled.
"Sir, I advise against this." said Vincenzo.
"Grab a pike Vincenzo!" barked Garibaldi.
The Adriatics were terribly outnumbered. Australian mounted Knights began to bore down upon the fortress from the jungle. One detachment of Australian crusaders ran straight into a band of Adriatic pikers, throwing the men from their horses to the ground, however another quickly attacked from behind.
Meanwhile atop a nearby hill...
"They are retreating lads! The day is ours!" yelled William Manning, an Australian general. "Send in two more detachments, let's finish this now!" he said proudly.
"Cavalry, forward!" yelled his under officer.
Just months prior Manning was a professor in mounted tactics at the SunTzu War Academy, he had spent most of his life in northern South America on patrol detail before beginning his career at the Military School. He was one of, if not the best generals in the Americas.
"Come now! We musn't give!" yelled Garibaldi as he slammed his sword into a fallen crusader. "Gather around men!"
Close to fifty men gathered around Garibaldi as he looked around, his eyes tearing up. He shoved his sword into the soft blood-soaked ground, and pushed his sweaty hair from his forehead.
"This is a very difficult thing to tell you" he said as he saw an Adriatic soldier being slaughtered in the background "We will lose today."
There was a long silence as sweat rolled down his forehead.
"You will never again see your homes, you will never again see your families. We have lost. I understand if you wish to surrender but I plead and beg of you not to. If you give in now, they will never let you return to your loved ones. If you give in now all is lost, if you give in now we have helped them. We must not give them an inch, they must not take anything more from us. Men, if they are to be victorious today we must give them nothing to boast, we must fight until they destroy every fiber of civilization that ever stood here."
"Look sir, what are they doing?" asked the Australian under officer as he handed General Manning his binoculars.
"It seems as if though they are having a meeting, perhaps they are surrendering the city?" asked the General.
"Shall we send someone?"
"Aye, we better. We don't want to hurt our image now do we James?" chuckled general Manning.
"Very well, I shall hear their terms of surrender" said James as he turned his horse and looked back "Wish me luck!" he said with a smile as his general nodded.
"Do you understand men? We can't give up?" Garibaldi looked at his men, dirt, sweat and blood mixed upon their faces. They were pale and ghastly, obviously tired of fighting.
"Sir, I can't... I don't want to fight anymore..." said one as he fell to his knees crying. Garibaldi ran to him and hugged him tightly.
"You must continue Hector, I am begging you to fight with me as an equal, as an Adriatic. We can't let them take this fortress." begged the general.
"Sir, I shall fight..." said one as he picked up a sword and held up his pike.
"General I will fight for you.." said another.
"I will fight" said yet another..
"I shall fight General Garibaldi" said another, the trend continued.
The General stood up smiling. He was taken back, he never expected such loyalty to be displayed.
Finally an Australian officer arrived carrying a white banner signifying peace "I am here to speak with the commander of this army!" he said.
The men all looked at Garibaldi, who looked hesitant.
"What is your business, I am the commander." said Garibaldi.
"You?" asked the Australian as he looked at the dirty and tattered clothing worn by the general.
"Aye, I am in command of these men."
"We wish to ask for your terms of surrender." he said with a smile.
"We have none-" said Garibaldi bluntly.
"No terms? You shall surely die today you know this? Your men will all perish?" asked the Australian.
"We will die before we surrender to you." said the general proudly.
"Very well, have it your way. I shall inform general Manning." said the officer as he turned his horse and galloped up the hill.
He stopped in the center of his amassed troops "They will not give in men, I don't know whether to respect their courage or to laugh at their stupidity. Well this is the final blow, they have hardly a detachment left, this shall be easy, tis only pikes. We'll have to charge them." he said, the crusaders nodded.
The under officer held his sword into the air and looked around "To the Republic men... CHARGE!!!!"
A loud rumble was heard, Garibaldi stood up. "To your positions men, to your positions!" he began lifting pikes.
"Everyone here I want you to fall back, and charge after they fall upon our pikes. You over here, hold strong, you are our first hope, hold the pikes low we want to catch the horses, we want a wall to be built. Okay we need around six pikes back here, in case any of the horses slip through, we musn't let them pass. You men, hold here, if anyone survives chop them down quickly. They must have reinforcements." The rumble grew louder. "Alright men, the time is comming, I can see their approach. Hold..." the cavalry appraoched closer "Hold... Hold..." they were 100 feet ahead. "NOW!" Garibaldi yelled as the troops lifted their pikes, most of them caught onto the Horses' stomachs, while others hit their faces and they convulsed, throwing off the first wave of crusaders, the others ran into the wounded horses and either tripped or were knocked back.
A few Australians hit the ground and were quickly attacked by Adriatic troops, others were able to block the inital attack and began swordfighting in the mud. The horses upon the pikes fell, and with them went the pikes, the second wave jumped over the fallen horses and landed upon some soldiers killing them instantly. Snapping bones, clashing swords, and ripped skin could be heard loudly as the melee ensued.
"Christ! Men fall back fall back." a little less than twenty men survived this attack and fell back. The Australians, who vastly outnumbered the Adriatics at this point fell back too in preparation. The Australian underofficer, James, approached again. "Shall we spare the lives of these final twenty general Garibaldi and surrender?" he said with a smile.
Garibaldi looked over at his men, they looked back at him. They were dirty, tired, pale, and sweaty, but they were also proud. Their eyes said it all.
"I await your response?" asked James...
Garibaldi clutched his sword tightly, and looked again around at the final twenty men who survived the battle, they all nodded.
"CHARGE!" Garibaldi yelled as his twenty men lifted their swords and bellowed a gigantic battle cry, they then rushed the Australian soldiers...
The Adriatic League would lose Salvador and Meridia before agreeing to the Prometheus City Accords. During the war well over half a million men were lost by Australia, the Adriatic League and Mongolia. The bloodshed did little to change the geopolitical realities of the world, but would begin a new era in politics. The Adriatic League lost its closest ally, and gained a new enemy. The Pacific Pact lost some of its power, but regained most in the favorable Prometheus City Accords. Most pundits of the time believed that peace was now achieved. Yet there were still the few that held a doubtful eye upon the Peace Accords, they wondered aloud whether or not this actually helped world peace...
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