A Helping Hand

In the days following the attack on Neverwinter, Roland held a meeting with the General Staff to determine their response. After the massive attack by the demons failed, the demons had been rather silent and none of them were seen. Despite it seeming that the demons had given up on attacking Neverwinter, Roland knew that they would only be up to more tricks.

Sylvie was sent to scout the surrounding areas while riding Maggie. What they found was distressing. The demons had begun constructing an outpost to the north. Once this outpost was completed the demons would have a staging point to assault Neverwinter. The demons operational range was constricted by the red mist but with the outpost being a storage area, the demons would be able to launch attacks deeper into human territory.

With such an urgent issue at hand, the meeting began to discuss appropriate countermeasures. Barov, Edith, Phyllis, and Agatha were amongst those attending the meeting as well as Anna and Nightingale. The tone of the meeting was rather solemn, as everyone knew how grave a threat was against them and how critical the coming battle was.

A railway line had already been constructed in the Misty Forest. However, in the past they had not known the direction that the demons were going to take so some more additional tracks would have to be built out to extend the line to reach the demon outpost. It was estimated that it would take two weeks to construct enough railway line with the help of Leaf.

In the meantime, supplies would have to be prepared. Adequate amounts of food would have to be packaged and boxed correctly. The ammunition would also have to be gathered and prepared for delivery. The cannons would have to be dismantled to facilitate transportation. The most important part of the battle isn't the tactics, but rather the logistics that allow the army to function.

The time spent planning the battle was actually mostly planning the logistics. The tactics of the actual battle were secondary, but still extremely important. After a few days of discussion and planning, the General Staff prepared a plan.

The army would arrive at the edge of the Misty Forest quickly in the night with the use of the railway. The demons would be caught off guard because they would not expect the human forces to be able to travel so far so quickly. This means that the demons would be unable to intercept the army through that part of the journey. The supplies would have been delivered before the arrival of the army. Being much easier to hide than people, the crates would be camouflaged by Leaf and the demons would not be suspicious because of the main human force would not be present. By the time the demons knew something was up, the army would be almost at their doorstep.

The most dangerous part of the journey would then begin. The army would have to proceed without cover from the forest as they approached the demon outpost. The army would need to escort the cannons until they were within range of the outpost. Once the outpost was in range it could be destroyed trivially. During this dangerous time Sylvie would be critical in providing information about their surroundings by watching for demons. She would have a great burden as she would need to watch the surface, the air, and even underground. Once they got within range, the army would first pause and let Sylvie conduct a thorough search before the cannons begin bombardment.

While the cannons are attacking, the rest of the army will form lines to defend against attack. Trenches would be dug, machine guns prepared, and the anti aircraft guns would be appropriately placed. The diverse battery of defenses would be able to repel any assault.

Roland felt that the plan was solid and approved it. He had made sure to talk it over with Steven over the telegraph to make sure they weren't missing anything. Steven told him to be prepared for an underground assault so Roland had made sure it was in the plan.

In addition, the church offered military aid. They would send over a hundred God's Punishment Warriors. They would also send a five hundred soldiers and some combat witches. Steven felt that they should have the armies intermingle to better lay the grounds for international cooperation. It was best to get the two groups friendly with each other now so that they could work together to defeat the demons.

The railway line between Neverwinter and Hermes constructed earlier would be of great benefit here. Using the trains, the soldiers would be able to arrive in a timely manner. If they had to walk by foot, by the time they arrived it would have already been too late. This reflected a new paradigm in warfare. With distant armies now more able to support each other, the human forces have gained a significant mobility advantage over the demons.

Roland was glad for the additional aid provided. After all, such a force would be of considerable benefit to them. However, he then realized that they also needed to prepare enough supplies for the additional soldiers as well. It was fortunate that they all used the same weapon designs and as a result used the same ammunition. Roland didn't want to imagine the nightmare of trying to coordinate the logistics of two different standards of ammunition. Plans had to be scrapped, redrafted, submitted once more and Roland had to read through the plans and approve them. In addition, Neverwinter had to foot the bill for the food of these soldiers. They couldn't even complain about that either since the church soldiers were here to help them. Roland almost had a sneaking feeling that they were being used to provide free training.

Finally the time came; everything was ready. The armies had all gathered up and boarded the trains. This would be the first major engagement with the demon forces. Victory here would be critical for morale. It was time to confront the demons after 400 years to show them how much humanity had advanced.