Ever since the Empire had marched into Gallia, the Gallian military forces (Both Militia and Army) had been suffering loss after loss and it was getting painfully clear that if this pattern was allowed to continue then the war would end in an overwhelming Imperial victory long before the sons and daughters of Gallia would have a chance to organize a proper defense of their nation.
This had been the center point of Captain Alexander of the Gallian army's speech to his combined army and militia forces. A veteran of the First Europan War, Captain Alexander had devised a plan of action that would stall at least one of the Empire's advancing armies and earn Gallia some time to train solders, supply them with arms and armor and drive out the invaders once and for all.
The plan itself was simple; Two trenches, one dug forty meters behind the other. The Militia forces would be bunker down in the first trench while the Army would bunker down in the second. News of what had happened with the St. Courain militia had reached the ears of Captain Alexander and his forces surprisingly quickly and a grave edict was handed down: Any member of the militia that turned and fled their trench without an order to pull back would be executed for treason and cowardice on the spot.
When the hammer of the Imperial column arrived and smashed into the Militia trench, some members of the militia attempted to call the Captain's bluff and flee only for everyone else in the trench to discover that Captain Alexander was not one to make idle threats. With retreat denied and only one course of survival open to them, the Militia forces fought like cornered demons against the Imperial onslaught. As time passed the body count of both sides started to rise, countless Imperials and brunt out tanks littering the ground in front of the trench while what had started out as the entire 9th Militia Regiment, 5th Company had been reduced to less then a squad.
The sound of gunfire still echoed through the air over Private Macdonald's head as he glanced over the top of the trench to spy the next tank that needed to be dealt with before ducking back down and moving along the trench a little in order to avoid the bead of any Imperial snipers that might still be left. A part of him couldn't help but be grateful to the Army snipers that had taken up positions somewhere behind their trench that had been given free reign to counter snipe, but despite the fact that he hadn't heard sniper fire coming from the Imperial side of the trench for a while now it was just as likely that they were just waiting for their chance to strike again.
Once he was a somewhat safe distance away from where he had popped up to check for targets, Andrew rose over the trench again at an angle; It was another trick that he had picked up from one of the sergeants earlier in the battle to angle yourself so that while you were aiming your lance, your lance was in-between your head and the incoming fire. His gaze finding the light tank he had sighted earlier and doing his best to ignore the pitiful stream of bullets that were still flying, Andrew lined up his shot and fired it off before ducking down. While he didn't see the rocket hit, the explosion that followed was much larger then if just the rocket had gone up.
Letting out a breath he hadn't known he had been holding, Andrew was in the middle of reloading when he noticed the sound. Or rather, the lack of one. The sounds of gunfire had ceased completely. This meant one of two things; either everyone else in his company was now dead or...
It was a bit of a risk to look up over the trench to see what was happening, but it was one that Andrew felt he needed to take. There were plenty of dead or dying Imperials to see and there were a number of wrecked tanks whos broken hulks scarred the landscape, but Andrew's attention zeroed in one the few remaining Imperials that were currently in the process of running away.
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Sitting a little ways away from another group of what looked like other militia members, Private First Class Macdonald sighed a little as he looked out over the field were this practice battle would be taking place. Dressed in his uniform, two medals adorned his chest. One of them was the Bronze Star of the Home Guard, but the second was the Silver Lance; During the final battle of the 5th company, survivors of the company and witnesses from the Army had been able to confirm that he had personally ended three tanks and aided in the destruction of two more. He had honestly lost count after a while, more focused on keeping himself and those around him alive as much as possible then anything else and that had meant killing enemy armor.
The 5th company would be rebuilt in time, but the survivors of its first incarnation had been reassigned to other companies to help bring them up to strength. In a rare show from the Army, Captain Alexander had given the 5th militia company full credit for their heroic and zealous defense and the defeat of one of the Empire's vanguard armies The whole thing smelt of propaganda to him; An attempt to whitewash the disgrace of what had happened at St. Courain while restoring the faith of the general public at large in the Gallian Armed forces. As long as the rest of the company had gotten the honors that they were due, Andrew couldn't bring himself to object.
All he could do for the time being was watch how his future squad performed.
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