Lion on the Doorstep
The 8th Squadron, which had been out ahead on reconnaissance,
returned to the 7th AAD several short. They had finally discovered
the Prussian positions on the outskirts of FredrickBurg. In three
hours of fierce fighting, the 8th Squadron had inflicted heavy
casualties on the enemy for the loss of five humvees and six
casualties, non of whom were fatal. One humvee and two AGS tanks
were seriously damaged and to limp back, one MBT had thrown a track
and was towed back by another of its number. All in all, it was a
successful mission.
The 7th AAD has overrun the Prussian defence line, 40 miles from
the Prussian capital after the ex-Duke announced that he was going
to take part in the defence of FredrickBurg himself, causing
Prussian commanders worried for his safety to draw thousands of
troops from the line away to reinforce the area the Duke was
defending. Ironically allowing the 7th AAD to overrun and
penetrate the line in just one attack, burying over 12,000 Prussian
conscripts in the process with only 4 loss of life on their
side.
From the 8th Squadron recon run, the 7th division knew that Ex-Duke
Reynard had retreated into the city with his Jaegers after seeing
the 8th Squadron, mistaking the 24-vehicle force for a massive XSAF
attack. In his wake he had put thousands of mines, booby traps and
untrained conscripts on the outskirts that he hoped could slow down
the SENSE advance.
The 7th AAD had no intention of being lured into a tough city
fight, nor had any intention of going in to fight the Prussians on
their terms. They called down airpower and artillery on the
Prussian conscripts, in a massive, three-hour bombardment of SENSE
guns and rockets, plus aircraft and attack choppers, the explosions
of which Ex-Duke Reynard thought erroneously in his lack of combat
experience that was the sound of his mines and booby traps when it
was the sound of his conscripts dying by the hundreds.
When the bombardment had lifted, the 7th AAD, supported by flights
of loitering Peregrines high above which they could call in within
thirty seconds, plus additional XAF airpower further away, advanced
on what was left of the Prussian defence line, the FCS tanks decked
out with newly installed level 5 armour modules, affording them the
heaviest protection ever. Also affixed on the forward tanks were
mine ploughs, bulldozer blades that dug into the ground ahead of
the tank and pushed mines out of the way. But there were few mines
left to be uprooted this way, most of them had been destroyed in
the bombardment, along with the booby traps.
The remainder of the Prussian conscripts, the few which survived
the bombardment, look out of their trenches to see the REAL XSAF
cavalry assault, and cursed as one man their ex-duke who had
cowardly retreated with his fanatic and lapdog Jaegers (who were
more interested in listening to his every order instead of
contradicting him) who provided most of the firepower in the area
after seeing the 24 vehicles of the 8th Squadron. They resisted
with whatever they could, and realized that their antitank weapons
could no longer penetrate, nor disturb seriously in any way the
level 5 armoured AGS.
The 7th AAD did not dismount its infantrymen to take the trenches
that would have led to unnecessary loss of life on their side, but
instead moved in with their dozer-blade equipped tanks and started
burying and machine-gunning the Prussians in their trenches, some
of them attempted to resist at this point, with equally futile
results. One Prussian conscript, Private Nicky, fired his PO-2
Panzerschreck point blank an AGS bulldozing his position, blew
himself into steaming bits along with his weapon, but generally
failed to do anything more then to superficially scorch and scar
the armour of the light tank. The pieces of the faceless private,
one of whom had been withdrawn from the Prussian line to reinforce
the ex-Dukes position, died along with thousands others of
Prussian conscript.
The 7th AAD had captured the city outskirts and defeated the
Prussian perimeter defence in just thirty minutes of battle,
killing over 15,000 Prussians and taking 4,000 prisoner. The
soldiers of the 7th AAD were treated to an amazing sight as
civilians started streaming out of the suburb buildings, waving
white flags and dragging with them mines and bobby traps they had
disabled, along the bodies of Jaegers they had murdered, to welcome
the SENSE troops warmly. The 7th AAD advanced three kilometres into
the suburbs of FredickBurg without any resistance, the civilians
having removed it before them. Murdered Jaegers with kitchen knives
sticking out of their back or executed with their own weapons
littered the streets in a surrealistic display.
7th AAD losses so far: none.
