Storms of Victory by Jerry Pournelle

Author:Jerry Pournelle [Pournelle, Jerry]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2011-01-09T06:00:00+00:00

So did Mason, and so did the Captain. That was why the balloon was so far back, so its anchor and ground crew wouldn't be overrun. The Westmen had done that, killing not only the ground crew but the aeronauts. It took a long time to train those crews, not just technicians for the balloon but competent observers.

All very well, but it would be nice to have more information. And who was antsy about being an officer? Yeah. A corporal who got promoted over his head, and too late to think about that now.

The rest of the Tamaerthan arrived at fast walk. Drumold was in sight, and so was his son Balquhain, in that tent-sized green cloak he'd adopted in order to be recognized in battle.

Just as important, so was the Carl Gustav recoilless and its crew. Time to get the troops deployed.

"Stand by to fire," Mason said.

Rudolf Frick, grinned like a wolf. He knelt, and Doug McQuade knelt behind and to his left. Three Guards brought ammunition from the pack mules.

Mason stood in his stirrups and looked up and down the river line. The Tamaerthan chivalry were arrayed three deep, lances erect, armor gleaming.

They looked more impressive than they were. Tamaerthon was mountainous land, poor horse country at best. Its real strength was in its infantry, especially longbowmen, and now the disciplined pike formations Colonel Galloway had trained. And none of that made any difference. The nobility of Tamaerthon wore armor and tried to make believe they were as good as the Drantos ironhats.

"All I got," Art muttered to himself.

After it crossed Herdsman's Ford the road led through a draw between two low but steep-sided hills. The enemy cavalry commander had bunched up his forces there. He'd also put archers on the hilltops, and in front of the archers was a

line of infantry forming a shield wall. It wasn't a very solid shield wall, but it would be good enough to shake up Tamaerthan cavalry.

Well, first things first. That enemy cavalry force made a beautiful target.

Hadn't those idiots ever heard of star weapons? "Six for effect, Rudy.

Concentrate on the cavalry. Fire when ready."

"Yo!" Frick took aim.

"Stand clear behind!" McQuade shouted and rammed a load into the small shoulder-fired recoilless.

"Fire in the hole!" The Carl Gustav roared, and flame belched from both ends of the recoilless. The shell slammed right into the middle of the enemy horsemen, twenty yards to the right of the CO's banner. The second shell took out the banner.

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