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Army of Liberty: a Fantasy Revolutionary Warfare Quest

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Granted, going by how much in terms of Supplies and Munitions we captured from the enemy baggage train, I'd expect the Army of the Centre to have sufficient supplies and munitions to get the troops up to full (though they'd still be badly depleted in terms of manpower and morale.)
 
Since my discussion revolves around it and it might be relevant in the future: @Photomajig, how would you handle the merging of armies? Supposing we want to integrate a few elite units of a defeated Arné army, how much time would this take generally speaking?
 
WGDragoon said:
@Photomajig how long would integrating the Army of the West remnants take von Trotha? I was assuming it'd be a march action equivalent discounting the moral and drill he'd lose, IE having to stop for 4-5 days to sort it out. Is it significantly harder than that?
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Red Rationalist said:
Since my discussion revolves around it and it might be relevant in the future: @Photomajig, how would you handle the merging of armies? Supposing we want to integrate a few elite units of a defeated Arné army, how much time would this take generally speaking?
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I think it would be fair to demand a March Action for integration when you merge with another army; possibly several, if it's got radically different Drill or Morale. You can skip the March Action, but Drill and Morale will suffer. I'll get back to you on the specific mechanics.

Amerigo Vespucci said:
I'm likely too late on this, but would you accept a write in? How about turning the guns over to the burghers? That might assuage the city residents' fears somewhat while also removing them from the battlefield, maintaining the army's desire to preserve its honor, and the guns could be taken at some later date.

It also serves the purpose of the revolutionary spirit by handing control over to the people rather than the imperial government.
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I will say they are unlikely to consider this. If you end up in possession of the guns, you can certainly gift them to the Meisterrat, though they may not really know what to do with them.
 
Ok, so this would cost Wachenheim an action. He's probably not going to get that many based on marching in rough weather and trying to reach Daurstein fast, this really isn't a leisurely repositioning to another friendly city. Getting 3 actions like our march towards the border seems like a reasonable assumption. Assuming he wants to integrate the stragglers of the west, what could he get?

  1. Lie 1st Hum Hsr (305/500, Cavalry, Trained, Offensive Genius): Good commander, though Trotha is artillery + infantry focussed and already has good cavalry. The low morale might be especially an issue for humans.
  2. Gal 14th Jäg (786/1000, Regular, Demoralizing): Good equipment, Bad commander, heavily depleted, no Halfling manpower pool. Not particularly appealing.
  3. Dau 86th Elv (825/1000, Trained, Offensive Genius): Good commander, though quite depleted manpower. Maybe.
  4. Dau 93rd Elv (876/100, Trained, Rapid): Good commander, pretty useful. I would probably pick the unit up.
  5. Bil 15th Dwa (789/100, Trained, Unsteady): Bad commander, heavily depleted. Unappealing.
  6. Mark Nymp Rng (819/1000, Professional, Feared): Professional, depleted, no Nymph manpower pool. Unappealing.
  7. Eng 100th Dwa (775/1000, Trained, CO Killed): Heavily depleted, lack of clear command. Dwarves are noted to especially struggle without a clear command structure, making the unit worse off. Probably useless.[actually captured, my bad]
After eliminating the options that are very likely not to be taken, what does us leave this with? The pessimistic scenario includes:
  1. Lie 1st Hum Hsr (Cavalry, Human, Offensive genius)???
  2. Dau 86th Elv (Infantry, Elves, Offensive genius)
  3. Dau 93rd Elv (Infantry, Elves, Rapid)
I don't consider this force addition to be a real increase in threat. Infantry heavily struggles in the mud, and Norn has doctrinal issues with cavalry. The cavalry is tough to use correctly in muddy terrain as our attempt shows, I don't think Trotha would be much more aggressive and competent in regard to cavalry charges. As long as we have to defend, slightly more infantry won't do much against our lines, especially if we operate with more artillery support. So, yeah eliminating the reinforcements is probably not worth a battle, nor would Wachenheim benefit greatly from a couple more infantry units compared to strengthening his manpower reserves.
 
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Red Rationalist said:
Ok, so this would cost Wachenheim an action. He's probably not going to get that many based on marching in rough weather and trying to reach Daurstein fast, this really isn't a leisurely repositioning to another friendly city. Getting 3 actions like our march towards the border seems like a reasonable assumption. Assuming he wants to integrate the stragglers of the west, what could he get?
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We technically don't know what von Trotha is doing or thinking right now, we've lost track of him. We assume he's marching this way to link up with the Army of the West since that's the obvious play. We don't know what he's going to do when the Army of the West meets him halfway.

Von Trotha should shift priorities to picking a fight with us before we can link up with 6th army, but that's once again assuming he'll make the 'correct' play. We saw with Wachenheim that our enemies aren't necessarily going to be making optimal decisions all the time.

Also, I think you're mixing up von Trotha (Army of the Center) and von Wachenheim (Army of the West).

Red Rationalist said:
After eliminating the options that are very likely not to be taken, what does us leave this with? The pessimistic scenario includes:
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I don't think he meant that each unit costs an action to integrate. It's one or more actions to integrate an army, depending on moral and drill difference. So von Trotha would be getting everyone that didn't break up during the rout to Daurstein if he spends his march actions to integrate the West remnants.

The question is if he has enough march actions to do that.

Red Rationalist said:
After eliminating the options that are very likely not to be taken, what does us leave this with? The pessimistic scenario includes:
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The pessimistic scenario is von Trotha getting all seven regiments and patching them up with a supply column that was still on route to the Army of the West when the battle happened. They probably get supply columns too and the Army of the West could have requested one before we smashed them.

Not that it's a particularly likely outcome. One or two of those regiments should have broken up during the rout, and a supply column intended for the Army of the West showing up at exactly the right time would be a rare stroke of luck for von Trotha.
 
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WGDragoon said:
We technically don't know what von Trotha is doing or thinking right now, we've lost track of him. We assume he's marching this way to link up with the Army of the West since that's the obvious play. We don't know what he's going to do when the Army of the West meets him halfway.
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If he doesn't go directly for us, our fears about numerical inferiority are probably moot. If he delays action significantly, the 6th is likely to join us and we get more army actions for recruiting, greatly evening the force balance. A later battle benefits us, not him since we get more army actions per time from being stationary and have a reinforcing army on the way. Suboptimal play from Trotha won't harm us.
WGDragoon said:
I don't think he meant that each unit costs an action to integrate. It's one or more actions to integrate an army, depending on moral and drill difference. So von Trotha would be getting everyone that didn't break up during the rout to Daurstein if he spends his march actions to integrate the West remnants.
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That wasn't my assumption either. There are reasons not to integrate units, as heavily damaged ones deplete reserve manpower, reduce supplies and demand additional munitions. The issue of strategic reserves is also important, and just having a lot of units on the battlefield isn't the key to victory. The campaign would be decided by a series of battles, all of which are going to cost reinforcements. Picking and refilling every unit could leave him without manpower, for a limited gain.
The better move is to grab useful units, and leave the rest to form a rearguard rather than have a giant doomstack with thin reserves eat up supplies and have on oversized army with issues withstanding high attrition.
WGDragoon said:
The pessimistic scenario is von Trotha getting all seven regiments and patching them up with a supply column that was still on route to the Army of the West when the battle happened.
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I don't see how a supply column would just happen to meet with Trotha and the stragglers on the road. I think those would stop at Engelsburg once it's clear that the Western Army was shattered, since you really don't want a supply column to run into an enemy army. Trotha would need to just happen to pick up the minority manpower, march, meet that stragglers and integrate them all without knowing which exact units even escaped. Not something I expect him to do.
 
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Hmm, one other thing to take into account is that there was a significant amount of desertion among the surviving units as well from what we can tell and what's been said by QM.

Thinking about which units would have had more desertion to deal with:
-High levels of Veterancy likely mean less desertion. So the Jaegers and Rangers wouldn't have taken as many hits from desertion on average, barring other factors, while Trained units would have more.
-May be affected by Commander Traits: Better Commander Traits in general likely mean less desertion, but certain CO Traits (like Demoralizing or Unsteady, in other words, those Traits relating to the unit's morale), are likely to suffer noticeably more desertion than average for bad COs.
-This is a bit of a stretch for whether it's being calculated or not, but for Nornish units, location of origin might matter. For exampe, the Daurstein regiments might have suffered more significant desertion since their home is right there and they have family who can take them in, particularly if we can negotiate a surrender so the troops don't have the motivation of fighting to protect their homes.
-As suggested above, Racial Traits might also play a role. Mostly thinking about the Humans here, since they have greater penalties on low morale, and that could apply to the army scale, not just on the battlefield. So they suffer more desertion (if the unit hasn't outright disintegrated entirely.)

Red Rationalist said:
I don't see how a supply column would just happen to meet with Trotha and the stragglers on the road. I think those would stop at Engelsburg once it's clear that the Western Army was shattered, since you really don't want a supply column to run into an enemy army. Trotha would need to just happen to pick up the minority manpower, march, meet that stragglers and integrate them without knowing which units escaped. Not something I expect him to do.
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I personally feel that any units that get absorbed into von Trotha's army won't have trouble being supplied. Judging by both our experience and how much stuff we captured from the Army of the West's baggage train, the Army of the Centre should have more than enough Supplies and Munitions in store to outfit any units from the Army of the West for at least a brief campaign.

Granted, technically none of the Army of the West Units should be getting involved, since part of the surrender terms (IIRC) are oaths not to fight against Arne again for the duration of the war...but I imagine we're all very skeptical that that part of the terms will be adhered to.
 
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Chimeraguard said:
-This is a bit of a stretch for whether it's being calculated or not, but for Nornish units, location of origin might matter. For exampe, the Daurstein regiments might have suffered more significant desertion since their home is right there, particularly if we can negotiate a surrender so the troops don't have the motivation of fighting to protect their homes.
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No, that's a fair point. A lot of people from a army with 0 morale would probably just stay home and quit, especially without a clear command structure. The most useful regiments would also face heavy desertion.
Chimeraguard said:
I personally feel that any units that get absorbed into von Trotha's army won't have trouble being supplied. Judging by both our experience and how much stuff we captured from the Army of the West's baggage train, the Army of the Centre should have more than enough Supplies and Munitions in store to outfit any units from the Army of the West for at least a brief campaign.
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Could you supply them in general? Undeniably. My point is that each unit eats supplies and needs to justify being included, since the rough weather prolongs campaigns and makes supply trains into enemy territory more challenging. For the wider campaigning, picking up a bunch of garbage units would be more of hinderance, since it limits your freedom to manevoure deep into enemy territory in addition to eating up your limited manpower, thus dilluting your experience pool.
Refilling the army to include the unsteady dwarven units would be a poisoned chalice, since you consume +1 supplies for limited tactical use (a dwarven unit that can't take heavy punishment before routing). Same with the severely understrength minority regiments. For this reason, I expect Trotha to be very selective about picking up new regiments, especially as this throws his manpower reserve out of balance with his force structure.
 
Chimeraguard said:
Granted, technically none of the Army of the West Units should be getting involved, since part of the surrender terms (IIRC) are oaths not to fight against Arne again for the duration of the war...but I imagine we're all very skeptical that that part of the terms will be adhered to.
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That is stuff included in regular surrenders, but the whole point I was making is that the terms we're giving to the Army of the West don't seem to include that. We're giving them 'very generous' terms, they don't have to swear any oaths or hand over any of their weapons.
 
Hmm, thinking about how much of an issue Morale might be for von Trotha.

We know that both Armies started this conflict with 4 Morale, a value which was said to be low due to the soldiers hearing about the defeat of the Royal Volunteer Army and the capture of the two Nornish Legions that accompanied it. So it seems that Armies will lose morale upon receiving news of other major armies' defeats (particularly if it's in their vicinity, so they're likely gonna have to fight the guys who defeated their fellows.)

If an Army loses 2 Morale for a defeat, then another, allied Army might lose 1 Morale when they learn of it (or maybe 2, hard to say for certain. We lost 2 morale from infighting from the Grenade, so there's precedent for losses of 2 Morale from negative events.) I think this measures up well, since the two Provincial Armies started at 4, which would mean before hearing about the destruction of the Royalist Volunteer Army they were at 5. Exactly average, which makes sense for a Provincial Army that's not really involved in any particular fighting.

If that's the case, then the Army of the Centre would be down to 3 Morale, even before incorporating any of the Morale 0 soldiers of the Army of the West. Which is probably the point where von Trotha wants to put some serious work into building morale back up before the army gets committed to an actual fight, especially if he takes in the remnants of the Army of the West.

Hmm, I wonder if maybe von Trotha might not even come south to Daurstein and risk fighting an offensive battle on low Morale if that's the case. He might instead camp on the Raoille river, since that was said to be a far more strategically vital barrier to hold for Norn compared to Daurstein.
 
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Chimeraguard said:
Hmm, thinking about how much of an issue Morale might be for von Trotha.

We know that both Armies started this conflict with 4 Morale, a value which was said to be low due to the soldiers hearing about the defeat of the Royal Volunteer Army and the capture of the two Nornish Legions that accompanied it. So it seems that Armies will lose morale upon receiving news of other major armies' defeats (particularly if it's in their vicinity, so they're likely gonna have to fight the guys who defeated their fellows.)

If an Army loses 2 Morale for a defeat, then another, allied Army might lose 1 Morale when they learn of it. I think this measures up well, since the two Provincial Armies started at 4, which would mean before hearing about the destruction of the Royalist Volunteer Army they were at 5. Exactly average, which makes sense for a Provincial Army that's not really involved in any particular fighting.

If that's the case, then the Army of the Centre would be down to 3 Morale, even before incorporating any of the Morale 0 soldiers of the Army of the West. Which is probably the point where von Trotha wants to put some serious work into building morale back up before the army gets committed to an actual fight, especially if he takes in the remnants of the Army of the West.

Hmm, I wonder if maybe von Trotha might not even come south to Daurstein and risk fighting an offensive battle on low Morale if that's the case. He might instead camp on the Raoille river, since that was said to be a far more strategically vital barrier to hold for Norn compared to Daurstein.
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A cause worth fighting for also improves morale. Our morale was so high partially because it was do or die... so fighting on their own soil could help Von Trotha's army, though there won't exactly be the desperate huddled masses of Daurstein calling out for salvation if we give them a good deal and send people on their way.
 
Chimeraguard said:
Granted, technically none of the Army of the West Units should be getting involved, since part of the surrender terms (IIRC) are oaths not to fight against Arne again for the duration of the war...but I imagine we're all very skeptical that that part of the terms will be adhered to.
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WGDragoon said:
That is stuff included in regular surrenders, but the whole point I was making is that the terms we're giving to the Army of the West don't seem to include that. We're giving them 'very generous' terms, they don't have to swear any oaths or hand over any of their weapons.
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This is correct. You are not really capturing them, so you cannot release them on parole either. That sort of requires you to have power over their liberty or lack thereof. You're not even surrounding the town, since you opted to negotiate before laying siege.
 
Red Rationalist said:
I don't see how a supply column would just happen to meet with Trotha and the stragglers on the road. I think those would stop at Engelsburg once it's clear that the Western Army was shattered, since you really don't want a supply column to run into an enemy army. Trotha would need to just happen to pick up the minority manpower, march, meet that stragglers and integrate them all without knowing which exact units even escaped. Not something I expect him to do.
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This hypothetical column isn't just going to cease to exist when they hear that the Army of the West has lost a battle. They might decide to hunker down in Engelsburg, they could have just kept following their previous orders and continued on route to Darustein, or they might have decided to link up with von Trotha and just hand everything off to him instead. I'm assuming they're going to try linking up with Center, or that von Trotha sent someone to pick them up. Why would von Trotha abandon a supply column intended for a force he's planning to link up with? He knows the Army of the West got battered and probably needs all the replacements it can get.

We have no reason to think von Trotha will cut corners just to preserve a small amount of supplies. He's not far from his main supply hub at Engelsburg, and they've been responsible for supplying both Center and West for a while. I wouldn't expect him to start running into supply issues even if he somehow managed to double the size of his army.

Of course, this assumes von Wachenheim arranged for such a column before the battle. He should have been expecting a fight (with 5th or Martelnac), so arranging to replenish his forces afterwards should have been an obvious precaution. Not out of character for a cautious commander like von Wachenheim, but he was also an awfully inexperienced commander, so he might not have thought of doing something like that. It's a worst-case scenario we could run into.
 
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[X] Demand the guns are destroyed instead. A compromise solution may satisfy their notions of honor - they'll wreck the guns before they go, preventing either side from making use of them.
 
[X] Demand the guns are destroyed instead. A compromise solution may satisfy their notions of honor - they'll wreck the guns before they go, preventing either side from making use of them.
 
Photomajig said:
Saintonge: Round 7
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I have finally reached the last round of the Battle of Saintonge. Let's go.

For some reason I decided to listen to this while typing this review.

Photomajig said:
You follow the 41st with your spyglass
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This alone (in my opinion) requires training. It can be too easy to tunnel-vision on one spot.

Photomajig said:
Ah. A miscalculation
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This is on you, Durand. In the end, the buck stops at you.

Photomajig said:
A victory that carries a cost in blood, but a far lighter one than that of the enemy
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At the Battle of Arcole, Napoleon, despite winning, reportedly lost more men than the Austrians. Makes sense as he was the one attacking and they were defending.

Photomajig said:
dead for misguided love of a tyrant, or for the lies and coercion of their aristocratic masters
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For all its controversies, I'd say that on its own, Braveheart is a good movie.
Though I wish Robert the Bruce had been more prominent of a character in it. In my opinion he was a more important character than Wallace.

"Lands. Titles. Men. Power. Nothing. I have nothing."

I wonder what Durand would think of Oda Nobunaga, Toyotomi Hideyoshi and Tokugawa Ieyasu.

Hideyoshi rose from nothing to become the most powerful warlord in Japan, and then proceeded to attempt to ensure that nobody could follow in his footsteps.

The Tokugawa Shogunate's policy of near-complete isolation from the outside world meant that it was woefully unprepared to resist a Very Polite And Considerate Request by the United States to finally open its borders to trade.

Photomajig said:
The Revolution will come to know the name of Raka Durand
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Durand: "The Revolution is over, because I am the Revolution."

Photomajig said:
Primary Objective...Completed!
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Primary Objective Achieved.
 
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  • Voting
    • Scheduled vote count started by Photomajig on Apr 3, 2024 at 10:20 AM, finished with 84 posts and 41 votes.
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    Omake: An Issue of Perspective
  • Sidestory
    • Anyways, I had an idea for another sidestory. Can't forgo the opportunity to make a little something about my favourite unit.

    An Issue Of Perspective

    Axelle, First Class Gunner of the 10th Hum Art, was having difficulties adjusting the field artillery to new directions. It wasn't the terrible weather, she was used to that. Brutét had been a good opportunity to train that, alongside Colonel Grangers plentiful advice to keep the powder dry hidden in-between one of his ceaseless flow of marriage anecdotes. It wasn't the exhaustion, she had a good nights sleep despite the exhilarating high following the victory. The munitions were plentiful, and the road leading to Daurstein made positioning the gun not to exhausting compared to how the mud season could do.
    The visibility wasn't too much of an obstacle either, the prior battle had drilled a solid gunnery routine for just that into her. Receive the target, adjust the elevation and direction, listen for some last minute adjustments by Granger, fire the gun, reload, next target. Target, adjust the gun, listen, fire, reload, next target. Target, adjust, fire, reload, next target, with machinelike precision. Rapidly going from step to step, as if her limbs were driven by unerring clockwork rather than her own straying mind. Thinking back on the battle, much of the actual firing was an odd if pleasant blur of action without thought.

    What really troubled her was the target she was aiming at. Not formations in an open field, but the bastions of Daurstein. The elevation was difficult, but that could be overcome with trial and error, especially with Grangers enthusiastic approach to gunnery. No, what really bothered her was the missing shot. It wouldn't burry harmlessly into the mud, perhaps unnerving a few moles. Here a stray shot would miss, continue with rapid speed, barrelling into a home just behind the target. The visions of some unlucky family loosing their loved ones because of her mistake would not leave her mind. An innocent soul, just gone, all because she got a tricky shot wrong. The mental image of corpses made it hard to concentrate on her task. Her hands were shaking as she pulled the metal tube upwards.

    The chipper voice of her Colonel interrupted her. "Still directing the guns, Axelle? Of course, it's hard to get this done with a sight like this. Our first battle on foreign soil is coming soon, likely near Daurstein. What a city! Always wanted to start a tour of Norn there, with a quick trip to the Drachentor. Shame about the weather, but I give it decent odds we might get to travel much of Norn, considering how the last battle went."

    "Sir! I'm sorry, I promise I wasn't distracted by the view."

    "Ah, different issue then? You were fast with the guns during the battle. Didn't manage to break Travere's streak, but that happens to the best of us. I could never beat the old sailor in gambling either. And numerous other Colonels can attest to me belonging to the best. Could have taken the shirt from them if we didn't play friendly. I know that look, something has been bothering you. If I learned anything over the course of three marriages, it's best to share those kind of thoughts when there is time. They can come out when you want them too come out, or at a bad time when you can't keep them hidden. Now's a good time, the battery adjustment is an one of the better occasions."

    "I'm worried about killing civilians on accident, Sir. It's breaking my concentration."

    "Nobody in any profession can choose to not have accidents, Axelle. We can choose to prepare, but we can't choose to stop making mistakes."

    "And I'm worried that I'm not cut out for war, Sir. I volunteered for the army. I read a bunch of Fortiers pamphlets and I genuinely believed in liberating our neighbours. To prevent any more wars between the crowns devastating the common people. Building a family of nations rather a bunch of quarrelling crowns. I believed in stopping another catastrophe like 1717. That was back then. But now we might have to siege a town, and I fear the war is just going to end up with another bunch of mass graves, with me getting the others killed."

    "I see."

    A long pause. Colonel Granger seemed to recall something. Then he spoke again:

    "The war is going to happen with or without you, Axelle. All we can do is try our best to make it mean something. Compassion is the most important thing in that."

    "Sir? I'm afraid I don't follow?"

    "Killing should never be easy. It ought to be difficult, so it doesn't become a habit. I have heard of soldiers that became too used to killing." A brief facial movement, as if the Colonel was shook by an unpleasant memory. Then it vanished. "Doesn't end well for them or their compatriots. Not to mention the fate of the civilians around them."

    "Thank you for the advice, Sir."

    "You've got a good head on your shoulders. Keep your calm, you might make a good colonel eventually. Ael knows we need more of those in the coming matter."

    Axelle returned to her duties, slightly calmer. Her hands adjusted the elevation without the nervous jitters. Perhaps gunnery and being a soldier alike were mostly about perspective.
     
  • Sidestory
    • Red Rationalist said:
    Anyways, I had an idea for another sidestory. Can't forgo the opportunity to make a little something about my favourite unit.

    An Issue Of Perspective

    Axelle, First Class Gunner of the 10th Hum Art, was having difficulties adjusting the field artillery to new directions. It wasn't the terrible weather, she was used to that. Brutét had been a good opportunity to train that, alongside Colonel Grangers plentiful advice to keep the powder dry hidden in-between one of his ceaseless flow of marriage anecdotes. It wasn't the exhaustion, she had a good nights sleep despite the exhilarating high following the victory. The munitions were plentiful, and the road leading to Daurstein made positioning the gun not to exhausting compared to how the mud season could do.
    The visibility wasn't too much of an obstacle either, the prior battle had drilled a solid gunnery routine for just that into her. Receive the target, adjust the elevation and direction, listen for some last minute adjustments by Granger, fire the gun, reload, next target. Target, adjust the gun, listen, fire, reload, next target. Target, adjust, fire, reload, next target, with machinelike precision. Rapidly going from step to step, as if her limbs were driven by unerring clockwork rather than her own straying mind. Thinking back on the battle, much of the actual firing was an odd if pleasant blur of action without thought.

    What really troubled her was the target she was aiming at. Not formations in an open field, but the bastions of Daurstein. The elevation was difficult, but that could be overcome with trial and error, especially with Grangers enthusiastic approach to gunnery. No, what really bothered her was the missing shot. It wouldn't burry harmlessly into the mud, perhaps unnerving a few moles. Here a stray shot would miss, continue with rapid speed, barrelling into a home just behind the target. The visions of some unlucky family loosing their loved ones because of her mistake would not leave her mind. An innocent soul, just gone, all because she got a tricky shot wrong. The mental image of corpses made it hard to concentrate on her task. Her hands were shaking as she pulled the metal tube upwards.

    The chipper voice of her Colonel interrupted her. "Still directing the guns, Axelle? Of course, it's hard to get this done with a sight like this. Our first battle on foreign soil is coming soon, likely near Daurstein. What a city! Always wanted to start a tour of Norn there, with a quick trip to the Drachentor. Shame about the weather, but I give it decent odds we might get to travel much of Norn, considering how the last battle went."

    "Sir! I'm sorry, I promise I wasn't distracted by the view."

    "Ah, different issue then? You were fast with the guns during the battle. Didn't manage to break Travere's streak, but that happens to the best of us. I could never beat the old sailor in gambling either. And numerous other Colonels can attest to me belonging to the best. Could have taken the shirt from them if we didn't play friendly. I know that look, something has been bothering you. If I learned anything over the course of three marriages, it's best to share those kind of thoughts when there is time. They can come out when you want them too come out, or at a bad time when you can't keep them hidden. Now's a good time, the battery adjustment is an one of the better occasions."

    "I'm worried about killing civilians on accident, Sir. It's breaking my concentration."

    "Nobody in any profession can choose to not have accidents, Axelle. We can choose to prepare, but we can't choose to stop making mistakes."

    "And I'm worried that I'm not cut out for war, Sir. I volunteered for the army. I read a bunch of Fortiers pamphlets and I genuinely believed in liberating our neighbours. To prevent any more wars between the crowns devastating the common people. Building a family of nations rather a bunch of quarrelling crowns. I believed in stopping another catastrophe like 1717. That was back then. But now we might have to siege a town, and I fear the war is just going to end up with another bunch of mass graves, with me getting the others killed."

    "I see."

    A long pause. Colonel Granger seemed to recall something. Then he spoke again:

    "The war is going to happen with or without you, Axelle. All we can do is try our best to make it mean something. Compassion is the most important thing in that."

    "Sir? I'm afraid I don't follow?"

    "Killing should never be easy. It ought to be difficult, so it doesn't become a habit. I have heard of soldiers that became too used to killing." A brief facial movement, as if the Colonel was shook by an unpleasant memory. Then it vanished. "Doesn't end well for them or their compatriots. Not to mention the fate of the civilians around them."

    "Thank you for the advice, Sir."

    "You've got a good head on your shoulders. Keep your calm, you might make a good colonel eventually. Ael knows we need more of those in the coming matter."

    Axelle returned to her duties, slightly calmer. Her hands adjusted the elevation without the nervous jitters. Perhaps gunnery and being a soldier alike were mostly about perspective.
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    This was a really nice short story. The Colonel is as fun as ever but I do hope we see Axelle again. Maybe she will be the CO for the next human artillery we found?
     
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