Post by Kitsunenotsume on Jul 13, 2017 21:47:37 GMT -5
After his companions had left the room after their discussion, the metal man stood at the window and pondered the recent words they had shared. A torrent of white whipped endlessly past the glass as he looked out silently into the flurry reflecting his own thoughts. A faint glimmer caught the edge of the pane, revealing an abruptly clear day frosted with ice and grabbing a brilliantly sapphire sky. The mechanist's labored mechanisms stilled, but only for a moment before he blitzed across the room to the desk. Perhaps the storm raged still - he didn't care, his problems lay elsewhere.
James hurries his way to the others some time later, a folded and sealed parchment in hand as his respirator works overtime.
"We left, all those days ago, each for our own reasons.
My own duty was to provide guidance to the Baron, to you, to Stargsfelen as a people, of the opportunities that they make have overlooked, and to seek improvements they might leverage to better themselves and all peoples. I have not forgotten that duty, a charge I made of myself long before the University asked it of me. I have striven to meet that expectation, time and again, not to impress some pompous beurocrat, but so that I may be at ease with my concience.
If our plans are for naught, if the people wish to just lay down and die, then we let them, because there will be nothing we can do."
He paused, partially to recover from his recent hurried flight, and partially for the weight of the silence.
"But if even only one shows a fire to stand up for his home, his livelihood, and his beliefs, I shall stand by him until it is seen. We have seen and engineered death on a scale unfathomable. I will not see those souls, those lives, or those potentials wasted in an act of cowardice. I owe it at least to the dead to keep their memories. The Kaizer won't."
"Technology is naught but a tool. It is the mind that drives it that gives it purpose and value. Without that mind, without that intent, even the most magnificent of devices are nothing but dead timbers and cold steel. I provide the technology, and it will be up to the populace to provide that motivation. I am simply here to grease the gears, to provide the transition of power from driver to slave, and leverage the force of the few to match the might of many."
"This is the magnification I offer."
He holds the sealed document out, to whichever of his companions might be inclined to reveal the musings within.
James hurries his way to the others some time later, a folded and sealed parchment in hand as his respirator works overtime.
"We left, all those days ago, each for our own reasons.
My own duty was to provide guidance to the Baron, to you, to Stargsfelen as a people, of the opportunities that they make have overlooked, and to seek improvements they might leverage to better themselves and all peoples. I have not forgotten that duty, a charge I made of myself long before the University asked it of me. I have striven to meet that expectation, time and again, not to impress some pompous beurocrat, but so that I may be at ease with my concience.
If our plans are for naught, if the people wish to just lay down and die, then we let them, because there will be nothing we can do."
He paused, partially to recover from his recent hurried flight, and partially for the weight of the silence.
"But if even only one shows a fire to stand up for his home, his livelihood, and his beliefs, I shall stand by him until it is seen. We have seen and engineered death on a scale unfathomable. I will not see those souls, those lives, or those potentials wasted in an act of cowardice. I owe it at least to the dead to keep their memories. The Kaizer won't."
"Technology is naught but a tool. It is the mind that drives it that gives it purpose and value. Without that mind, without that intent, even the most magnificent of devices are nothing but dead timbers and cold steel. I provide the technology, and it will be up to the populace to provide that motivation. I am simply here to grease the gears, to provide the transition of power from driver to slave, and leverage the force of the few to match the might of many."
"This is the magnification I offer."
He holds the sealed document out, to whichever of his companions might be inclined to reveal the musings within.
My friends and allies, it is with resignation that over the course of the past discussions it has become acutely clear that such a disfavorable situation has come to pass, inevitable though it were. Over the course of the past few days, we have witnessed a threat became reality, and our contingencies become required. In all due honesty, I heavily doubt that any of us would have expected different. With that in mind, below is my current suggestion for our course of action, as modified by recent discussions.
Circumstance: Notice has been received of an encroaching army, five-thousand-strong, marching on the current expeditionary headquarters. Current allies number five-hundred Azure troops, twenty-thousand to thirty-thousand Azure civilians across the conflict zone. Anticipated time to contact is Six days. Forecasted weather is normal for Saderian Winter. As additional allied forces are under similar strain to the North, it is crucial that victory be achieved quickly so that aid may be enacted.
Objective: Survive. Generate and magnify superior morale among allied contingents. Provide maximum defensive value to Stargsfelen Keep and surrounding lands while minimising losses. Ensure survival of Rook and Bishop Azure.
Methodology:
Utilizing a distributed approach to maximise available time and skillsets, preparations are advised as follows:
- Triumvirate Militant to address citizenry, Miss Lovich to inspire a local militia to aid Azure troops, Mister BelMonte to assist Ser Nasib to ensure the timely and organized evacuation of noncombatants in the Town Proper safety of Vargensburg or the ruined Monastery as discretion requires.
* While direct instruction is improbable, oversight and involvement in the martial practice and training of any Troops and Militia not engaged in the Marksman program offers an opportunity to reinforce the ardor of our allies. Reducing the politics to a boolean moral decision of righteousness and love of kin against tyranny and oppression should garner positive reinforcement.
- Fabrication Staff - Myself, Miss Lovich, Mister Crenshaw, Herr Schmit, Mister Barry (if available), etc - to focus on implementing automatic-fire mechanisms on existing torsion bow supplies.
* Estimation of one day's work for the currently known two hundred bows. Anticipate required ammunition levels at a minimum of three-hundred bolts per weapon (ten reloads), preferably greater quantities to permit a potentially longer engagement.
* Suggested implementation would include pintle mounts or fork-rests (easier/cheaper) to counteract weapon weight and improve stability/accuracy, and to assign each crossbowman an assistant to aid with ammunition and logistics.
- Marksmen Staff - to include Miss Collingswood, Mister Horncall, and Mister Crenshaw - to organize and oversee training of a portion of the Troops and Militia in the elementary use of automatic crossbows, fire discipline and associated commands, and effective suppressing and enfilading fires.
* Given that instructors are few and time is short, volley-fire and suppressive-fire training will likely produce superior results over drilling accuracy when used against troop formations.
- Support Staff - Miss Bishop, Miss Meg and Missus Bishop if willing, Mister Horncall as time allows - to instruct medical assistants and willing volunteers on effective combat medicine.
* While hardly optimal, focus of training should be on combat sustainment over long-term survival.
- At least one member of Expedition Staff is to remain with the Rook and Bishop Azure at all times per a schedule known in advance.
- If conditions allow, couriers to the local lands requesting aid to the Templar cause and alerts to evacuate would provide further numbers and strategic preparation.
To leverage terrain, conditions, and local resources, various field-works are advised as follows:
- Frozen river to be salted, cable-detonated explosives to be planted beneath ice at fractures and weaker sections.
* If conditions allow, synthesis of simple explosive for blasting may suffice, as the intent is to crack the ice on demand if and when the ice bears troops for maximum effect. This will permit saving more refined charges for combat use.
- Bridges to be blocked by Cheval-de-Frise, various distributed swaths of open ground to be laced with buried stakes linked by thin cord or rope and concealed by snow.
* Should delay progress or encourage use of the rivers, roads, and other clear paths of approach. The threat of falling and impalement should discourage a wide troop and cavalry distribution and increasing potency of overlapping fields-of-fire from the automatic crossbows and catapults.
- If resources allow, installation of an open wooden railing installed along the outer wall, extending one meter from the edge.
* The relatively simple construction should render siege-ladders less effective, leaving attackers a distance from the wall and still within range of defenders with spears or bows. This should encourage attackers into engaging the Gate on foot and allow the crossbows more leeway to suppress effectively.
- Each catapult to be supplied with barrels of water as ammunition. Where possible, one or two boards should be capable of being fastened to a rope via an eyelet or similar device. Said rope should be fastened to an effectively immobile boulder or such and be thirty meters in length or otherwise sufficient to reach past the walls.
* At distance, unfastened barrels shall be used. Once closer engagements occur barrels will be tied to the rope to rupture the casks midair for a closer-range freezing rain. In both situations, the intent is to flush the attacking force with water, thereby mitigating the insulating properties of their garments and letting the freezing temperatures remove the incoming threat.
- Roads directly surrounding the Castle to be salted to resist frost or stabilized with a layer of straw and drenched in oil.
* Use of heavy bolts wrapped with cloth and oil are to be used to ignite these paths once they have been partially crossed by opposing troop formations. This should allow for division of attacking forces and disrupt the momentum and organization of an incoming assault.
- All buildings east of the river are to be evacuated of all persons, livestock, and articles of value; and their entrances equipped with caustic gas cylinders, rigged to disperse their contents when the doors are opened.
* While leaving the buildings intact risks the opportunity for their capture by attacking forces, the fumigant devices should prevent their habitation while leaving the majority of the structure intact.
The following Troop Distributions and objectives are recommended:
- One-hundred-fifty automatic crossbows and their aids and ammunition to be positioned along the walls of the motte, with two thirds on the exterior wall and one third on the enceinte.
* Aides should be provided spears, and if additional Troops or Militia are available, up to an extra one hundred fifty men-at-arms shall provide pike support to the battlements.
* At regular intervals on all exterior ramparts are to be places basins of water kept barely liquid, with an accompanying bucket to douse assailants at the base or side of the walls.
* A score of Troop Sergeants on this outer wall are to be entrusted with two incendiary grenades each for use on any siege vehicles or massed infantry below numbering seven or greater within a three meter span. While not wholly compatible with the buckets, the violent splattering of a potential oil-water-fire is still effective suppression tactic.
- The remaining fifty automatic crossbows are to be concealed among various towers around the City Proper and provided with the means for signal fires if attacks occur against the settlement itself.
- All other Troops, Militia, and Cavalry will muster within the lower courtyard should space permit, holding their location until the declaration of formal battle lines or after an assault has been broken if our opponent refuses such honorifics. If formal lines are drawn, Cavalry will comprise the flanks, and infantry the centre. If they are not, Cavalry will aim to break through opposing forces to be followed by Infantry into the breach. In all situations, Squad and Platoon integrity is to be attempted to minimise potential for ordinance misfire into allied forces. In the event that the Gate is under heavy assault, all forces in the lower courtyard are to prepare to engage within, as ordinance will be scheduled for assailants directly outside the Gate.
- One Mister 'Warlock' Barry is requested to join the ordinance operations staff for his aid in appropriate showmanship - presuming suitable lexicon can be observed.
Administrative: Due to the scale of the engagement, expeditionary members will work together across the battlespace in command roles as follows:
- Mister Belmonte shall manage the direct defence of Rook and Bishop Azure immediately preceding and during the assault.
- Miss Bishop shall direct the medical staff in attempting to maintain combat readiness throughout the assault.
- Miss Collingswood and Mister Horncall shall direct the battlements and fusillade operations.
- Mister Crenshaw and Miss Allie shall direct skirmishers, with up to ten automatic crossbows from the City Proper at their discretion, in flanking, harassing, and disrupting the assaulting support elements.
- Miss Lovich shall lead the ground-elements, providing our visible centre of leadership. A speech from the battlements for the benefit of both forces prior to any engagement would be particularly suitable.
- I shall direct ordinance, focusing in reducing numbers of incoming assailants through morale and physical impression, and provide supporting duties where lapses become evident.
Communications: Standard policies remain in effect.
In addition, the following pyrotechnic signals shall be used:
- A Blue Firework will be assigned to defensive commanders - Mister BelMonte, Miss Collingswood, Mister Horncall, and Miss Bishop - to be launched only in the event of a direct attack on or within the Keep itself. Such an eventuality will require address, and may necessitate a full retreat to the inner fortifications under which circumstance two blue fireworks will be launched together.
- A Green Firework will be assigned to offensive commanders - Miss Lovich, Myself, Mister Crenshaw, Miss Allie - for use in identifying and marking Targets-of-Critical-Opportunity such as Generals and Senior Commanders. Such targets will be authorised for precision fire and heavy ordinance.
~JF
<--- Distribution is to be limited to EX02 Clearance and above --->
Circumstance: Notice has been received of an encroaching army, five-thousand-strong, marching on the current expeditionary headquarters. Current allies number five-hundred Azure troops, twenty-thousand to thirty-thousand Azure civilians across the conflict zone. Anticipated time to contact is Six days. Forecasted weather is normal for Saderian Winter. As additional allied forces are under similar strain to the North, it is crucial that victory be achieved quickly so that aid may be enacted.
Objective: Survive. Generate and magnify superior morale among allied contingents. Provide maximum defensive value to Stargsfelen Keep and surrounding lands while minimising losses. Ensure survival of Rook and Bishop Azure.
Methodology:
Utilizing a distributed approach to maximise available time and skillsets, preparations are advised as follows:
- Triumvirate Militant to address citizenry, Miss Lovich to inspire a local militia to aid Azure troops, Mister BelMonte to assist Ser Nasib to ensure the timely and organized evacuation of noncombatants in the Town Proper safety of Vargensburg or the ruined Monastery as discretion requires.
* While direct instruction is improbable, oversight and involvement in the martial practice and training of any Troops and Militia not engaged in the Marksman program offers an opportunity to reinforce the ardor of our allies. Reducing the politics to a boolean moral decision of righteousness and love of kin against tyranny and oppression should garner positive reinforcement.
- Fabrication Staff - Myself, Miss Lovich, Mister Crenshaw, Herr Schmit, Mister Barry (if available), etc - to focus on implementing automatic-fire mechanisms on existing torsion bow supplies.
* Estimation of one day's work for the currently known two hundred bows. Anticipate required ammunition levels at a minimum of three-hundred bolts per weapon (ten reloads), preferably greater quantities to permit a potentially longer engagement.
* Suggested implementation would include pintle mounts or fork-rests (easier/cheaper) to counteract weapon weight and improve stability/accuracy, and to assign each crossbowman an assistant to aid with ammunition and logistics.
- Marksmen Staff - to include Miss Collingswood, Mister Horncall, and Mister Crenshaw - to organize and oversee training of a portion of the Troops and Militia in the elementary use of automatic crossbows, fire discipline and associated commands, and effective suppressing and enfilading fires.
* Given that instructors are few and time is short, volley-fire and suppressive-fire training will likely produce superior results over drilling accuracy when used against troop formations.
- Support Staff - Miss Bishop, Miss Meg and Missus Bishop if willing, Mister Horncall as time allows - to instruct medical assistants and willing volunteers on effective combat medicine.
* While hardly optimal, focus of training should be on combat sustainment over long-term survival.
- At least one member of Expedition Staff is to remain with the Rook and Bishop Azure at all times per a schedule known in advance.
- If conditions allow, couriers to the local lands requesting aid to the Templar cause and alerts to evacuate would provide further numbers and strategic preparation.
To leverage terrain, conditions, and local resources, various field-works are advised as follows:
- Frozen river to be salted, cable-detonated explosives to be planted beneath ice at fractures and weaker sections.
* If conditions allow, synthesis of simple explosive for blasting may suffice, as the intent is to crack the ice on demand if and when the ice bears troops for maximum effect. This will permit saving more refined charges for combat use.
- Bridges to be blocked by Cheval-de-Frise, various distributed swaths of open ground to be laced with buried stakes linked by thin cord or rope and concealed by snow.
* Should delay progress or encourage use of the rivers, roads, and other clear paths of approach. The threat of falling and impalement should discourage a wide troop and cavalry distribution and increasing potency of overlapping fields-of-fire from the automatic crossbows and catapults.
- If resources allow, installation of an open wooden railing installed along the outer wall, extending one meter from the edge.
* The relatively simple construction should render siege-ladders less effective, leaving attackers a distance from the wall and still within range of defenders with spears or bows. This should encourage attackers into engaging the Gate on foot and allow the crossbows more leeway to suppress effectively.
- Each catapult to be supplied with barrels of water as ammunition. Where possible, one or two boards should be capable of being fastened to a rope via an eyelet or similar device. Said rope should be fastened to an effectively immobile boulder or such and be thirty meters in length or otherwise sufficient to reach past the walls.
* At distance, unfastened barrels shall be used. Once closer engagements occur barrels will be tied to the rope to rupture the casks midair for a closer-range freezing rain. In both situations, the intent is to flush the attacking force with water, thereby mitigating the insulating properties of their garments and letting the freezing temperatures remove the incoming threat.
- Roads directly surrounding the Castle to be salted to resist frost or stabilized with a layer of straw and drenched in oil.
* Use of heavy bolts wrapped with cloth and oil are to be used to ignite these paths once they have been partially crossed by opposing troop formations. This should allow for division of attacking forces and disrupt the momentum and organization of an incoming assault.
- All buildings east of the river are to be evacuated of all persons, livestock, and articles of value; and their entrances equipped with caustic gas cylinders, rigged to disperse their contents when the doors are opened.
* While leaving the buildings intact risks the opportunity for their capture by attacking forces, the fumigant devices should prevent their habitation while leaving the majority of the structure intact.
The following Troop Distributions and objectives are recommended:
- One-hundred-fifty automatic crossbows and their aids and ammunition to be positioned along the walls of the motte, with two thirds on the exterior wall and one third on the enceinte.
* Aides should be provided spears, and if additional Troops or Militia are available, up to an extra one hundred fifty men-at-arms shall provide pike support to the battlements.
* At regular intervals on all exterior ramparts are to be places basins of water kept barely liquid, with an accompanying bucket to douse assailants at the base or side of the walls.
* A score of Troop Sergeants on this outer wall are to be entrusted with two incendiary grenades each for use on any siege vehicles or massed infantry below numbering seven or greater within a three meter span. While not wholly compatible with the buckets, the violent splattering of a potential oil-water-fire is still effective suppression tactic.
- The remaining fifty automatic crossbows are to be concealed among various towers around the City Proper and provided with the means for signal fires if attacks occur against the settlement itself.
- All other Troops, Militia, and Cavalry will muster within the lower courtyard should space permit, holding their location until the declaration of formal battle lines or after an assault has been broken if our opponent refuses such honorifics. If formal lines are drawn, Cavalry will comprise the flanks, and infantry the centre. If they are not, Cavalry will aim to break through opposing forces to be followed by Infantry into the breach. In all situations, Squad and Platoon integrity is to be attempted to minimise potential for ordinance misfire into allied forces. In the event that the Gate is under heavy assault, all forces in the lower courtyard are to prepare to engage within, as ordinance will be scheduled for assailants directly outside the Gate.
- One Mister 'Warlock' Barry is requested to join the ordinance operations staff for his aid in appropriate showmanship - presuming suitable lexicon can be observed.
Administrative: Due to the scale of the engagement, expeditionary members will work together across the battlespace in command roles as follows:
- Mister Belmonte shall manage the direct defence of Rook and Bishop Azure immediately preceding and during the assault.
- Miss Bishop shall direct the medical staff in attempting to maintain combat readiness throughout the assault.
- Miss Collingswood and Mister Horncall shall direct the battlements and fusillade operations.
- Mister Crenshaw and Miss Allie shall direct skirmishers, with up to ten automatic crossbows from the City Proper at their discretion, in flanking, harassing, and disrupting the assaulting support elements.
- Miss Lovich shall lead the ground-elements, providing our visible centre of leadership. A speech from the battlements for the benefit of both forces prior to any engagement would be particularly suitable.
- I shall direct ordinance, focusing in reducing numbers of incoming assailants through morale and physical impression, and provide supporting duties where lapses become evident.
Communications: Standard policies remain in effect.
In addition, the following pyrotechnic signals shall be used:
- A Blue Firework will be assigned to defensive commanders - Mister BelMonte, Miss Collingswood, Mister Horncall, and Miss Bishop - to be launched only in the event of a direct attack on or within the Keep itself. Such an eventuality will require address, and may necessitate a full retreat to the inner fortifications under which circumstance two blue fireworks will be launched together.
- A Green Firework will be assigned to offensive commanders - Miss Lovich, Myself, Mister Crenshaw, Miss Allie - for use in identifying and marking Targets-of-Critical-Opportunity such as Generals and Senior Commanders. Such targets will be authorised for precision fire and heavy ordinance.
~JF