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Home For the Holidays
"As you recall, Captain Nelson and part of his American 3rd Cavalry Regiment had been ordered to investigate what was believed to be a Russian camp west of Vladivostok, possibly in English territory. Captain Nelson and his men rode south to Fort Henry where they would group up with another regiment of riflemen and then investigate the camp.
"They arrived at Fort Henry around noon and left shortly thereafter..."
Frederick paused, pacing slowly in front of his audience.
"No one knows when, or even if, they made it to the encampment...two hours after they left Fort Henry, Athens was attacked and burned to the ground, and Captain Nelson was forgotten in the confusion that followed.
"The English fought bravely, but were caught off guard. No one expected an attack in the middle of winter...no one expected a war so suddenly...
"Athens was still ablaze when Russian Cossacks slaughtered the citizens of Yorktown. Smoke was rising still from this once great city during the rape of Nottingham. I suppose the Russians thought that the English people would abandon their cities and forsake the Province. They were wrong.
"The Russians managed to capture nearly half the province before their onslaught was halted. The English were finally able to coordinate a defense, and the invaders were kept at bay mere miles from the provincial capital, New London. They were determined to make the Russians pay for every foot of land they took.
"Meanwhile, news of the razings spread. Lincoln had immediately sent the American army in to fight with the English. France, which had been deliberating about how to fight a war with its modest army, now shook itself free of doubt and declared war. Bismarck and Cleopatra met at an emergency session of the League of Independent Nations, and all present made a unanimous decision to aid their English brethren. The world was turning against Russia, but the Bear did not stand alone. Hammurabi invaded France and Egypt and the Moscow Alliance appeared to be on its way to controlling the entire Northern Continent, and the rest of the world was unable to stop it in time. American, English, German and Egyptian transports all tried frantically to cross the Central Sea in time to reach their comrades.
"After three weeks of fighting in the Province, American troops landed on the shores and marched north to meet the Russians while German reinforcements arrived in the Upper Egypt and helped slow the Babylonian advance. But it wasn't enough.
A nation that had, since its birth, been surrounded by war, Babylon's veteran troops annihilated the few Egyptian soldiers. The German troops, under artillery fire since landing, was driven back. While the Russian-English stalemate continued, Babylon conquered Upper Egypt and began choking the Egyptian capital.
"Defeat seemed inevitable; in less than three months, the Moscow Alliance had captured half of the Athenian Province had driven Egypt off the continent. Russian troops were just arriving on the eastern front and pouring into France. A beleagured Thebes anxiously waited for German and American aid, knowing that it would be too little, too late.
*********************************************
"Where's that ammo!" Will Thompson shouted down the line. "GET ME AMMO!"
"Come on now, there's no need to shout in my bloody ears," Jack O'Reilly growled as he raided a nearby ammo box of its clips. "Although right now, I doubt it'll take much more than a look at your pretty 'ol face to turn the Ivans back. Maybe let them get a sample of your charmin' personality.
Will grabbed a clip from Jack's hand and slammed it into his rifle. "Keep it up and you can watch your own back."
"Is that a threat? You keep it up and I might not let you win any more poker games."
"Let me? You're a lousy player and you know it."
Snow fell softly on the English - soldiers and citizens - lying in the trench two hundred yards from the Russian frontline. The battle of two nights ago was almost just a distant memory; the bodies were gone and the trampled ground was covered in a blanket of white snow. The few trees that had survived the artillery stood proudly, their branches similarly draped in snow. Somewhere down the line he heard laughter, a comforting sound amidst all the destruction. Will sighed as he set his rifle down and stretched out his legs. His toes were numb inside his boots, and his tan uniform didn't keep out the cold, but he wasn't complaining. Neither was anyone else. They were here to defend their homes, their family, their friends, their country. It was, to them, a sacred and honorable duty. There was great pride among the men, but also a sense of fear, of depression. They had suffered defeat after defeat; but that was all the more reason: the Russians had to pay. Throughout the front line, the cry of "Remember Nottingham! Remember Yorktown!" rang across the battlefield amidst the gunfire and artillery, the cries of the wounded and the silence of the dead.
"Ten says tomorrow," someone said. Will turned his head and saw three young, red-haired soldiers huddled in a small circle.
"Ah, come on Teddy-"
"Don't be worrying about that," the soldier laying opposite of Will said. The man, who had appeared to be writing a letter, looked old enough to be nearly everyone's father, with thinning, gray hair and a slight paunch. His eyes, however, had the glint of steel in them. Dulled, perhaps, by time, but quickly regaining its edge. "When it comes, you'll be wishing it hadn't. And besides, you're wrong. You won't be seeing Ivan for a few more days. We gave 'em a bloody lip and they've gone to nurse their wounds."
This pacified the three, who went back to silently looking at the other side, the distant figures that had invaded their country.
Will caught the older man's eye. "You look like you know a thing or two about war. Will," he said, introducing himself.
"Matthew Parker," he replied. "I was about nineteen or so when we were fighting Babylon, over some colony or other. Isn't it amazing what we'll fight over? Silk or oil, it doesn't matter." He paused, then added softly, "but this is different. This means something. This is the fight worth fighting. The war that needs to be fought.
"Aye, I'll agree to that. My wife's aunt was in Nottingham." Nothing more needed to be said. Nothing more was said for a long time. Finally, Will broke the silence.
"I hear the Americans are less than three days away."
"I doubt it's that much," Matthew said with a laugh. "They're probably marching night and day. Eager to avenge their Jefferson."
"There's going to be a lot of avenging soon."
"Yes, more than you or I will be able to stomach." Both sat in silence, until the older man pulled a pencil from his breast pocket and resumed writing, leaving Will to his own thoughts of the war and whether he would live to see the end of the war, or even Christmas.
Two hundred yards away, Gregoriy Rostov wondered the same.
As always, let me know the good, the bad and the ugly!
"As you recall, Captain Nelson and part of his American 3rd Cavalry Regiment had been ordered to investigate what was believed to be a Russian camp west of Vladivostok, possibly in English territory. Captain Nelson and his men rode south to Fort Henry where they would group up with another regiment of riflemen and then investigate the camp.
"They arrived at Fort Henry around noon and left shortly thereafter..."
Frederick paused, pacing slowly in front of his audience.
"No one knows when, or even if, they made it to the encampment...two hours after they left Fort Henry, Athens was attacked and burned to the ground, and Captain Nelson was forgotten in the confusion that followed.
"The English fought bravely, but were caught off guard. No one expected an attack in the middle of winter...no one expected a war so suddenly...
"Athens was still ablaze when Russian Cossacks slaughtered the citizens of Yorktown. Smoke was rising still from this once great city during the rape of Nottingham. I suppose the Russians thought that the English people would abandon their cities and forsake the Province. They were wrong.
"The Russians managed to capture nearly half the province before their onslaught was halted. The English were finally able to coordinate a defense, and the invaders were kept at bay mere miles from the provincial capital, New London. They were determined to make the Russians pay for every foot of land they took.
"Meanwhile, news of the razings spread. Lincoln had immediately sent the American army in to fight with the English. France, which had been deliberating about how to fight a war with its modest army, now shook itself free of doubt and declared war. Bismarck and Cleopatra met at an emergency session of the League of Independent Nations, and all present made a unanimous decision to aid their English brethren. The world was turning against Russia, but the Bear did not stand alone. Hammurabi invaded France and Egypt and the Moscow Alliance appeared to be on its way to controlling the entire Northern Continent, and the rest of the world was unable to stop it in time. American, English, German and Egyptian transports all tried frantically to cross the Central Sea in time to reach their comrades.
"After three weeks of fighting in the Province, American troops landed on the shores and marched north to meet the Russians while German reinforcements arrived in the Upper Egypt and helped slow the Babylonian advance. But it wasn't enough.
A nation that had, since its birth, been surrounded by war, Babylon's veteran troops annihilated the few Egyptian soldiers. The German troops, under artillery fire since landing, was driven back. While the Russian-English stalemate continued, Babylon conquered Upper Egypt and began choking the Egyptian capital.
"Defeat seemed inevitable; in less than three months, the Moscow Alliance had captured half of the Athenian Province had driven Egypt off the continent. Russian troops were just arriving on the eastern front and pouring into France. A beleagured Thebes anxiously waited for German and American aid, knowing that it would be too little, too late.
*********************************************
"Where's that ammo!" Will Thompson shouted down the line. "GET ME AMMO!"
"Come on now, there's no need to shout in my bloody ears," Jack O'Reilly growled as he raided a nearby ammo box of its clips. "Although right now, I doubt it'll take much more than a look at your pretty 'ol face to turn the Ivans back. Maybe let them get a sample of your charmin' personality.
Will grabbed a clip from Jack's hand and slammed it into his rifle. "Keep it up and you can watch your own back."
"Is that a threat? You keep it up and I might not let you win any more poker games."
"Let me? You're a lousy player and you know it."
Snow fell softly on the English - soldiers and citizens - lying in the trench two hundred yards from the Russian frontline. The battle of two nights ago was almost just a distant memory; the bodies were gone and the trampled ground was covered in a blanket of white snow. The few trees that had survived the artillery stood proudly, their branches similarly draped in snow. Somewhere down the line he heard laughter, a comforting sound amidst all the destruction. Will sighed as he set his rifle down and stretched out his legs. His toes were numb inside his boots, and his tan uniform didn't keep out the cold, but he wasn't complaining. Neither was anyone else. They were here to defend their homes, their family, their friends, their country. It was, to them, a sacred and honorable duty. There was great pride among the men, but also a sense of fear, of depression. They had suffered defeat after defeat; but that was all the more reason: the Russians had to pay. Throughout the front line, the cry of "Remember Nottingham! Remember Yorktown!" rang across the battlefield amidst the gunfire and artillery, the cries of the wounded and the silence of the dead.
"Ten says tomorrow," someone said. Will turned his head and saw three young, red-haired soldiers huddled in a small circle.
"Ah, come on Teddy-"
"Don't be worrying about that," the soldier laying opposite of Will said. The man, who had appeared to be writing a letter, looked old enough to be nearly everyone's father, with thinning, gray hair and a slight paunch. His eyes, however, had the glint of steel in them. Dulled, perhaps, by time, but quickly regaining its edge. "When it comes, you'll be wishing it hadn't. And besides, you're wrong. You won't be seeing Ivan for a few more days. We gave 'em a bloody lip and they've gone to nurse their wounds."
This pacified the three, who went back to silently looking at the other side, the distant figures that had invaded their country.
Will caught the older man's eye. "You look like you know a thing or two about war. Will," he said, introducing himself.
"Matthew Parker," he replied. "I was about nineteen or so when we were fighting Babylon, over some colony or other. Isn't it amazing what we'll fight over? Silk or oil, it doesn't matter." He paused, then added softly, "but this is different. This means something. This is the fight worth fighting. The war that needs to be fought.
"Aye, I'll agree to that. My wife's aunt was in Nottingham." Nothing more needed to be said. Nothing more was said for a long time. Finally, Will broke the silence.
"I hear the Americans are less than three days away."
"I doubt it's that much," Matthew said with a laugh. "They're probably marching night and day. Eager to avenge their Jefferson."
"There's going to be a lot of avenging soon."
"Yes, more than you or I will be able to stomach." Both sat in silence, until the older man pulled a pencil from his breast pocket and resumed writing, leaving Will to his own thoughts of the war and whether he would live to see the end of the war, or even Christmas.
Two hundred yards away, Gregoriy Rostov wondered the same.
As always, let me know the good, the bad and the ugly!
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