Fourth Vector Ch. 34

"A home in Galicia maybe, but not a home in Java. What kind of life is that for me? I don't doubt that Galicia is probably a great place to live and I'm sure Vera would be happy with that, but I've sacrificed everything just to do what I feel is the right thing."

"What scares you the most about it?" asked Jack.

"Honestly? The idea of rootlessness. The idea of my very identity being compromised because I don't have a home."

Jack nodded. "I know a bit about that feeling and how dangerous it can be. It's something I've struggled with the entire last year."

"True, Jack, but you have the Galicians to fall back on. Who can I fall back on?" asked Greg before he pointed in Vera's direction. "How can I take care of Vera when this war is over? How will I support myself in a foreign country? What kind of lives will we live?"

Greg hung his head in shame again. Jack leaned forward and put his hand on the other man's back. His words of struggle were so familiar that he could still hear them coming out of his own mouth, but he could recognize that Greg had a point—Jack would always have Galicia.

What would Greg have?

After a few moments, Greg raised his head and wiped the tears from his eyes. "I'm sorry, Jack. I didn't mean to break down just now. You have to know how heavily this has been weighing on me."

"No one can blame you for having such thoughts," replied Jack. "Not when the stakes are still this large. You're right though. I've always had Galicia to fall back on if Java didn't work out. While that never became a factor in my thinking or why I ultimately picked Galicia, it doesn't change the facts."

Jack took a deep breath before he started again. "But the fact of the matter is that you do have a home in Galicia. I think as the king there I can do something about that particular fact. And you may not have seen it before but once you set foot in Kalmar, I think you'll realize it's a place that you can make a home."

"Perhaps," said Greg grudgingly. "That is if we get there anytime soon."

"It's my plan for us to do so," said Jack. "And when we retake the country, you and Vera will always have a home. It's also my hope that you'll be willing to entertain the profession I have in mind for you."

Greg's eyes locked on him. "Profession?"

Jack smiled and nodded. "Correct. You see, I'm always going to need good men and old friends to help guide me along the way. I know little about being a king but I know that having an old warhorse with me to lead my soldiers will only be to our benefit. Someone that I can trust in the field. Someone like you."

Greg managed a small smile. "What you're saying is that you need a colonel in the Galician Army, huh?"

Jack shook his head. "The Galician Army has enough colonels. What I need is a general, someone who has experience in leading men. What do you say, General Greg Vaughn? Think you can fight for Galicia?"

Greg's mouth dropped open. "You're certain about this? You would have a Javan as a general in your army?"

"We have a Javan as king so what difference will it really make?" asked Jack with a smirk. "Besides, there's no one that I trust more, Greg. You've always been willing to fight for me and you've suffered through every danger by my side this entire time. There's no one that deserves this more."

Jack stood up and offered his hand down to Greg. Greg looked at it for a moment before taking it and springing to his feet.

"Tell me you'll do it," said Jack. "Will you be my general?"

"I'm afraid I might not know much about being a general," said Greg. "But if you'll have my services in your army, I'll gladly continue to fight for you."

Greg's grip became stronger and the two men then embraced. Jack gave him a hearty pat on the back. "I'll always have a place for you, my brother. No matter what."

Greg could only smile. "I hope these Galicians know how lucky they are to have you as their king."

"Perhaps not," said Jack. "But our soldiers will know it when you're their general."

Greg chuckled and then looked over at Vera. "I should tell her. She'll be very excited. You haven't told her yet, have you?"

Jack shook his head. "No, I wanted you to do the honors. Besides, I didn't want her to think I was just doing it for her benefit. Vera or not, I would have made the same offer to you regardless."

Greg gave him a funny look. "And if I had said no?"

Jack shrugged playfully. "Then I would have told the Javans where they could find you."

Both men had a hearty laugh at that before rejoining the women.

*****

With the matter with Greg settled and the army ready to go, Jack was able to put a plan in motion for leaving Arezzo at long last. Since there was a rough parity in the numbers between his forces and those of the Swabians, he didn't expect them to seriously contest any breakout from the city. However, he wasn't about to take any chances in doing so.

For that reason, the morning of the departure was kicked off quickly and with all the discipline that could be managed. Galician and Apulian soldiers moved out of the defensive works on the neck and headed out towards the plain, moving in a direction that would keep them close enough to Arezzo to respond to trouble but far enough away to operate on their own without dealing with an urban environment.

Those same Galicians and Apulians were joined by men from many backgrounds. Samarans with bright orange patches matched alongside the battered Picard remnants from the loss of Daban. Javan marines brought up the vanguard of the force, keeping a close watch on the army's flanks in case the Swabians decided to respond.

True to form, the Swabian commander wasn't likely to fight without any advantages. Upon seeing the Allied Army moving out of Arezzo, he watched them cautiously for a day before pulling back toward the city of Marmora.

With that pullback, the chase was soon on. Jack took his army of about 23,000 men and pressed on against a Swabian force that was about 18,000. In such a way, the hunted became the hunter, and Jack was content to continue to pursue them until they wanted to turn and fight.

It was freeing for Jack to be back on open ground again, knowing they didn't need the city's defenses to keep their army together. However, it soon became apparent that some members of his camp weren't so used to army life.

Kat had the hardest time adjusting, so much so that he almost suggested putting her with the task force since it wouldn't be such a strain on her day-to-day life. That suggestion didn't go over very well.

"No way, no how, Jack," she said while shaking her head. "I've spent six months away from you and there's no way I'm going to go anywhere without you!"

"All I'm saying is that you might be more comfortable on theDestiny," he replied. "You'll have the same room every night and you won't have to travel across many miles of open ground every day. It won't be as hard on you and the baby."

"John and I will be just fine," she said as she gestured to the wagon that carried them. It was something that he'd purchased in Arezzo to keep them in relative comfort during the campaign. "It's not the greatest lodging but it beats the alternative." She came close to him, wrapping her arms around his waist. "I don't want to be parted from you again."

"Nor I, you," replied Jack. "But your comfort is important. And an army is a poor place for a newborn."

"We wouldn't be any safer on theDestiny," she said while crossing her arms. "We'll take our chances out here. Besides, Admiral Taylor has already left and it would take a week for him to get back to our position."

That was entirely true. After the army departed from Arezzo, Jack sent the fleet out to seek the Swabians at sea. Everyone knew the bulk of their navy was out there somewhere, and Jack was determined that he wouldn't be caught unawares when the time came.

"It could still be arranged," said Jack quietly. "One word to Abigail and they'll come back."

Kat kissed him tenderly. "Don't worry about it. I'm not. And they have more important things to deal with than a new mother with a sore butt."

That seemed to end all discussion about it but Jack was still determined that they should have whatever comforts they needed within the wagon while they traveled. For that, he could rely on many of the women within their force to keep her company. Lisa Calland, Queen Ciara, Vera, and Lindsay all took their turns attending to Kat's needs while the army continued to move further east.

Jack had to wonder how long the Swabians would allow themselves to retreat before they would finally stop to fight. There was only about two hundred miles between Arezzo and Marmora and they'd crossed about half of it before any news of Swabian intentions found its way to the army.

That news came in the form of an Apulian scout that had made his way westward from Marmora. The man was under the employ of Santino and was part of a network who kept the Apulian Director well-informed of events in the capital city. Santino brought the man to Jack one evening for a brief report.

"Tell him what you told me," said Santino to the scout, a very short man who couldn't have been much taller than Kat. "What did you see in Marmora?"

"A newly-arrived Swabian convoy," answered the scout while looking at Jack. "No idea where it came from but it was chock-full of Swabian soldiers. Some wicked looking armored cars as well, never seen those before."

That perked Jack's interests. "How many of those armored cars did you see? Can you put a number on it?"

The scout shrugged. "Maybe seventy-five in total. They just kept coming and coming! You could tell the dockworkers were getting pissed at having to keep rolling them off the transports!"

Jack shot a worried look at Santino before asking his next question. "What about the men themselves? Can you give me a rough number? How many are we facing?"

"I stopped counting after I saw several hundred," answered the scout. "But in all honesty, you're probably looking at about ten thousand men strong. I wouldn't say any less than that. It's a hell of a large force!"

The scout didn't have many more details to add after those and he was released by Santino a few minutes later. His news was troubling for multiple reasons though, and there were two reasons in particular that put Jack on edge.

"So much for our temporary advantage in numbers," mumbled Jack under his breath. "And the tanks. We're going to need a lot more sticky bombs."

"What should we do, Jack?" asked Santino. "Should we keep on pursuing them? Or should we head back for the safety of Arezzo? It's only a matter of time before they unite and then they can go back on the offense."

Jack shook his head. "We keep up the pursuit except this time we act more aggressively to bring them to battle. We have to destroy the army in front of us before it can unite with the reinforcements that have just arrived."

*****

Jack's plan made strategic sense but just like word was brought to Jack and his allies about the Swabian reinforcements, so too was word brought to the existing Swabian Army.

Suddenly, the army that was retreating slowly and tactically toward Marmora now found a sudden surge in speed. They were lucky to cover fifteen miles in a single day but one the day after the news arrived, they made nearly twenty-five. The day after was about the same.

Jack was certain of one thing—the Swabian commander was bound and determined to reach Marmora, and his reinforcements, before Jack could catch him.

That all came to head two days later when Jack's scouts reported running into Swabian pickets only about forty miles west of Marmora. Before the scouts could be pushed back, they managed to catch a view of the entire Swabian Army in front of them, newly refreshed with the reinforcements from the Apulian capital.

The two forces had united into one and now they were ready to offer battle.

The ground they stopped on was a pristine and mostly flat plain typical of Apulia. There were some rolling hills with only gentle grades and low elevations but nothing in the way of true mountains. A good portion of the intended battlefield was forested on the northern side while the southern side was bound by a turbulent stream of water that meandered from southeast to northwest where it eventually dumped into the Slot.

Near the center of the battlefield was an old abandoned vineyard, evidenced by the lack of care of the central house and its rundown condition. Most of the old fields had grown up with weeds and other tall grasses but the tallest of which only came up to Jack's knees. The house wasn't occupied by the Swabians, who seemed to congregate on the far eastern side of the battlefield before stretching out into a long battle line that flowed from north to south.

The old farmhouse would become the central pivoting point of the battle, that is, if they decided to fight here.

That evening, Jack, Greg, and Art Chapman were the ones to scope out the grounds and determine their plan of action for the morning. Across the way, they could see the presence of the Swabians spread out in front of them, the first time they'd been this close since they left Arezzo. Jack could also tell that those reinforcements had already bolstered their strength.

"This is good ground for a battle but perhaps not this battle," said Greg tentatively as they looked out on the old farmhouse a good half mile away.

"What do you mean by that, General?" asked Jack, taking the moment to reference his new rank. Greg had been well-received by the other members of the army, many of whom had already looked up to his leadership in some form or the other. Even Art Chapman seemed to get along with him, which was hopefully the promise of a good working relationship between the two in the future.

"The way I see it, we've lost our advantage in men and machines," replied Greg. "Our pilot reported a concentration of tanks on their side and with their recent reinforcements, we are once again outnumbered."

Jack nodded as he thought about the report from the pilot. Getting the single airplane from the remains of the original Allied Army in Picardy was a small godsend. He'd been missing his aerial reconnaissance from his days in Picardy, but having the extra eyes in the sky showed them just the nature of what was in front of them.

"Greg is right," said Art a moment later. "And this flat plain does us no good in terms of strategy. We can't bottleneck their forces out here and if they hit us with the full force of that army, we'll struggle just to maintain our lines."

"You're both right," said Jack. "But if they want a fight, I'm looking to give them one. The only way we get them out of Apulia is if we destroy this army."

"Why not give us the best chance to destroy it then?" suggested Greg. "The way I see it, we have little chance here on the plain against them. Why don't we pull back into ground of our own choosing and we can make a stand in conditions that are more favorable to us?"

Jack shook his head. "I see what you're saying, Greg, but I came all this way to fight. I'm not taking one step back to Arezzo if I don't have to. We can beat the Swabians. We've done it before. If we have to rely on tactics instead of numbers to do it, then so be it but I'm not going back to Arezzo. That won't help our cause."

"I don't think we would find much in the way of favorable ground either," added Art. "Everything we've passed since Arezzo has been flat. Marmora is mostly flat. We would quickly run out of land to pull back to."

"Which is why I think that Santino ended up in Arezzo in the first place after Marmora fell," said Jack. "No, we need to fight here. So let's talk tactics now."

Both Greg and Art studied the landscape a little more before offering up a plan. Jack was content to let them figure it out on their own, wanting to hear a plan from each of them. Ideally, they would have two good options to which he could choose from, but all he needed was one that would give them the best chance of besting the Swabians in the morning.

After several minutes of silence, Greg was the first to speak. "Jack, do you remember that last battle we had in Andalucia? That one with the Swabian regiment in the center flanked by the Andalucian tribes?"

Jack nodded. "How could I forget that one? There wasn't a sole survivor from the enemy by the time we were done. Is that what you're thinking?"

Greg squatted on his knees and drew a line in the dirt by their feet. He drew another line right in front of it. "It's like this—if we make another weak center while putting our best men on the flanks, we can draw them in, letting them push our center back. Once the Swabians push far enough, their flanks will collapse, and then we can surround them on all sides again."

"Ah, Rumela," said Art, making both of the other men look at him with confusion. Art blinked several times before he spoke again. "What you're referring to is an ancient tactic. The first King of Galicia used it well against another warring tribe many, many years ago. The Battle of Rumela was a crushing victory for him, and he attained it with a weak center and strong flanks."

Jack grinned. "It might be the Battle of Rumela for you, but I'll always think of it as the Battle of the Dunes. That's what we called our action in Andalucia."

"Ordinarily, I'd say such a plan is wise but remember, you're not dealing with some flunky Swabian colonel over there," warned Art. "There's a Swabian Lord over there. They are well-trained in tactics and it will be harder to fool them with such a maneuver." Art suddenly looked out toward the forest on the northern end of the field. He started to tap his jaw as if he were thinking intensely.

"What are you thinking, Art?" asked Jack, noticing the movement. "You look like you're up to something."

Art bent down to hover over Greg's crude battle line rendition in the dirt. "Something that I'd like to try. I'd like to modify Greg's idea if you don't mind."

"Modify away," replied Greg. "Are you thinking a weak flank?"

"Precisely," said Art with a grin. He used the stick to draw a circle on the north end of the battlefield. "The underbrush in the forest is thick and can be used to hide forces in. It'll be important though that we move the men in the night so the Swabians don't get a whiff of what's going on. But I'm thinking we make our left flank the weakest and the most exposed. We can station some of the more battle-weary men there and position them further out from our lines."

Art then drew the left flank as sticking slightly more out than the others. "Something that sticks out that far will draw their attention. Any Swabian commander worth their salt will think to attack that notch but we'll need an ace in the hole. We'll need a way to counter that strong attack."

"The forest," replied Jack, gesturing to it on the ground. "We hide forces in the forest and attack their flank after they try to crush ours."

"Exactly," said Art. "It's a slight modification of the Rumela plan but if we can stay strong in our center and on the right flank, we can cave them around the left."

Jack thought about the idea for a moment before he looked back out on the Swabian lines. "How have they been using their tanks recently?" he asked Greg. "Are they still spreading them out on the whole line or have they been doing something else?"

"The last few battles in Picardy, they've been concentrating their tanks at a single point," replied Greg. "They started mimicking us after we did it."

"I'm going to guess then that they'll do the same thing tomorrow," said Jack. "If they see our weak flank, they're going to position most of their tanks at that point to pierce that line. If that's the case, we better make sure that whoever occupies the flank has the most sticky bombs to deal with them."