The American Experiment (Riot Quest)

In lieu of a plan, a map of June 30, 1903.


Key:
Greenish-Blue: Union states and District of Columbia, and occupied territories
Greenish-Blue Hashing: pro-Union coup or uprising
Dark Greenish-Blue: Union territories and insular territories
Light Greenish-Blue: Union protectorates
Dark Gray: Pact states
Purple: Provisional Government states and occupied territories
Purple hashing: pro-Provisional Government coup or uprising
Pink: Revolutionary Government territory
Pink Hashing: pro-Revolutionary Government coup or uprising
Light Orange Hashing: Revolutionary Front territory
Dark Orange Hashing: Republic of Hawaii
Red Outlines: active fronts
Beige: non-American territory

A Great Silence

(Art Randolph POV)

Reading everything about tactics, discipline, and could not prepare you fully for the horrors of conflict. Yet you did everything you could to keep yourself busy. Administration, scouting, meeting with the officers. Preventing fights among the irregulars, or your own forces... and praying to Almighty God that you would be able to find peace when this was all over.

Regular federal forces were supplementing state militia troopers and irregulars and were holed up in Duluth. Lake Superior was acting as a barrier to their forces, allowing supplies and reinforcements from the other great lakes. Along with a way out should the Navy come to rescue them. However, that door was going to quickly be closed given that Michigan and other port cities around the lakes were in your ally's hands… but that could take time.

Meaning, they were going to have to strike south, get to the Mississippi to link up with the Federal forces, or march west through the Dakotas, then south through the Great Plains to get to Texas.

Yet it was spring, almost summer and it was cold. Colder than almost anything that you had been alive for in your long life. It was almost like a sign of providence above that he was not taking any sides. But it did allow one great advantage. Sure it was a long shot, but they could possibly work with something.

You only had one job, and that was to keep the Minnisota's communication with the rest of the forces open and allow the boys from Michigan to mobilize, and get ready for an offensive. Where you didn't know. You were too focused on the simple task in front of you.

Duluth was still one of the biggest ports this side of Lake Superior, with only the City of Superior itself being more vital in this current predicament. The River was going to be thawing soon, so the defensive positions of the bridge were going to be the most secure chokeholds here, especially given so much firepower. You were lucky to be able to secure a few Gatling guns, but those were not nearly going to be enough for an onslaught of Federal numbers coming their way.

But the River being thawed presented an opportunity. One that you were still trying to figure out how you can use it. You had hoped that there would be a minuteman among the forces here. Those boys were some of the biggest badasses fighting alive, with more experience than could ever hope to muster. But they were all elsewhere, leaving him to plan with little material.

"Colonel." An aide from first squad, Lieutenant Stacker spoke that woke you from your trance. "The equipment check you asked for?"

When the war began people were scrambling to get weapons, and trying to keep any sort of order would have been difficult. Most of the men under his command had Springfield single-shot rifles that were from the Michigan armories, what few could be spared before mobilization, lever-action Winchesters that belonged more to the era of the Frontier, or shotguns. Most just had personal weapons with not a lot of ammo.

Every man and woman serving here, had one hundred bullets for their primary weapons, and few had revolvers to serve as side arms… and every man and woman had a knife. And that was it. They weren't going to be able to do much if the federals attacked in force even with the gatlings they had. They would run out of ammo and be overwhelmed.

And it was going to get worse. "We're running low on food."

Dammit, all. "Do we have enough water?"

"For now, but we can't get more from the river. Artillery from the other side are keeping us from getting anything, and they've got sharpshooters across the river trying to shoot at anything that moves. Already had to rescue some boy who was shot when he snuck through our lines to fish." Dammit dammit.

"We get him out." You needed time to think, but you didn't have much time.

One moment looking at the pure stillness beyond your trench allowed Stacker to say. "Yeah, but the kid was bleeding pretty bad, we had to cut off his leg to save him."

"Get him to the surgeon, and ask around, I need volunteers."

"For what sir?"

"Raising hell the best way we can. We're going to cross the river, get to a flanking position, raid their supply lines, and then get back across."

"And how we plan to do that?"

You smiled. "Hope you're good at carpentry."

AN: Part one of a potential 3 part series involving Art Randolph and his company conducting a raid on Federal forces in Northern Minnesota.

This raid will be heavily using ideas from the Brécourt Manor Assault, conducted by Dick Winters and the 101st along with the diversionary tactics of Grierson's Raid from the Vicksburg campaign. Along with several raids conducted by the US Army when they were at the Rhine River in Germany during 45. My favorite one were the raids conducted during the Battle of Cologne in Operation Lumberjack.

I have no idea what to ask for a reward so... I'm willing to give the reward to whoever asks?