CIRCLES OF TIME: The Great War
-by: the Yarnspinner-
the_yarnspinner@yahoo.com
www.geocities.com/the_yarnspinner/
Rated: PG-13
> Chapter 8 - Blood Sodden Plains <
"The situation looks most favorable," Francesca announced, in the
Order's Swiss command center. "The Central Powers are in the ascendant,
which will force the Allies to dig still deeper into their reserves of
manpower as both are preparing large offensives for the Western front.
And, of course, the Russians continue to fight, contesting every bit of
ground while giving up lives in tremendous numbers. Even with the still
unidentified drain on our energy collections, things look very positive
for us to recoup our recent losses."
"I'm sorry to disagree, but the situation is hardly as rosy as you
make it out," Alphonse said. "Word from Berlin is that the German Navy is
yet again pressing the Kaiser for an all-out assault on Britain's
maritime supply lines, with the general staff chief, General Falkenhayn,
in full agreement. You will remember the difficulties we had last year
bringing sufficient pressure to bear to get Wilhelm to back down and
forestall a premature intervention by the Americans."
"And it is still too soon for that," the High Priest pointed out.
"The addition of America's tremendous industrial power to the Allied side
might allow the peace factions in Berlin and Vienna to force their
governments into negotiations. That would end the war far too soon."
"We do have one factor in our favor in that area, I'm happy to say,"
Alphonse continued. "It is an election year in America, and early
indications are that Woodrow Wilson will seek reelection as a peace
candidate."
"But that means Wilson might try to broker a settlement among the
combatants," Francesca said. "We cannot permit that!"
"Our operatives in Washington will have to keep Wilson's attention
on his reelection bid, and not on Europe," the High Priest said, opening
his notebook. "In fact, the current civil and political strife in Mexico
might prove an ideal distraction. The threat of rebel bandits setting up
safe havens just inside the American border should keep Wilson quite
busy. And anything that ties down still more American forces will limit
Wilson's ability to threaten intervention in Europe."
"That does sound like a good plan," Francesca agreed. "But an armed
incursion by Mexican rebels might serve even better. There is no secret
that the rebel leader Pancho Villa is most angry at the international
community's decision last October not to recognize him as Mexico's
leader. It should take little effort to get the notoriously hotheaded
Villa to raid an American border town as a gesture of his displeasure."
"Very good, indeed," the High Priest said, making notes.
"I'm afraid I have more bad news," Alphonse interrupted. "We're
beginning to see a weakening in the Austrian resolve." He help up a sheet
of paper. "This is part of a correspondence between Field Marshal
Hotzendorf, the Austro-Hungarian chief of staff, and Grof Tisza, the
Hungarian prime minister. This particular letter is from January 4.
Hotzendorf writes to Tisza, 'There can be no question of destroying the
Russian war machine... England cannot be defeated; peace must be made in
not too short a space, or we shall be weakened, if not destroyed'."
"Dammit all! Such sentiments should be enough to have that fool
sacked..., if not shot!" Francesca declared angrily.
"Actually, it is Hotzendorf's responsibility to advise the political
leadership of the state of his army and the general military situation,"
the High Priest pointed out.
"But I trust action is being taken to stiffen the Austro-
Hungarians," Francesca said.
"Our agents are already doing what they can," Alphonse confirmed.
"But the major effort will have to come from Germany, and word has
already been passed to Berlin. I think a favorable result from Germany's
upcoming offensive will do a great deal to firm up the Austro-
Hungarians."
"Good," the High Priest said.
"Unfortunately, there is one more item," Alphonse said.
"Now what?" Francesca asked, exasperated.
"If you would read the briefing material..." Alphonse replied with a
groan. "We are running into differences even in Berlin."
"What do you mean?" the High Priest asked.
"No doubt, you have heard of the sporadic labor strikes and unrest
in Russia," Alphonse said. "The Germans have decided to do what they can
to fuel the fires of anti-war sentiment in Russia, in the hopes of
changing the Russian political landscape and forcing Russia to make
peace."
"That must be avoided! At all costs!" Francesca said.
"Even more alarming, though it is still only a vague suggestion, is
a proposal to send the exiled leader of the Bolshevik faction, Vladimir
Lenin, home to Russia," Alphonse said.
"Lenin is a damned socialist radical," Francesca said. "He would
take Russia out of the war on whatever terms he could get!"
"Precisely," Alphonse agreed. "Our operatives have been pouring
massive quantities of cold water on this idea, but the longer the war
drags on, the more Germany is going to want to get the Russians out.
Eventually, even our best efforts will prove not enough."
The High Priest nodded. "Then we must make certain we achieve our
objectives before that point is reached."
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
The sun shone low in the early morning sky as Setsuna and Eric
walked along the bank of the Meuse River, outside the fortress town of
Verdun, a cloak shielding them both from mortal detection. The town had
been a fortress since Roman times, and was now supported by a network of
outlying forts. It was now a vulnerable location, anchoring a salient
that bulged into the German lines. In the face of French disregard, the
Germans had been greatly strengthening their forces around Verdun, but a
week of rains had brought all efforts to a halt. The rains, however, had
finally ended on February 19th, and the 20th saw a warm sun dry the
ground.
"There is a feel of menace in the air," Eric said.
Setsuna nodded. "Very soon now."
"It is amazing the French are so ill-prepared," he said. "The
Germans have been massing in this area for several weeks."
"Joffre is preoccupied with his own offensive plans," Setsuna said.
"And he has been having repeated arguments with the new BEF commander,
General Sir Douglas Haig, over just where and how that offensive should
be carried out. To put it mildly, Joffre and Haig do not get along well."
Eric nodded his head in understanding. "And we already know that
General Falkenhayn is planning actually a fairly limited campaign that
will nevertheless compel the French to throw in ever greater numbers of
men until they are bled white."
From the distance came a screaming roar of a large artillery shell,
which smashed into the Verdun cathedral. More reports followed, booming
like thunder, which quickly swelled into a ongoing roar. Flashes and
smoke rose into the sky.
"Well... the Germans have finally started," Eric said. "This place
is going to become very dangerous quite quickly. I think we should return
and report."
"Yes," Setsuna agreed. "And the Germans will soon use gas."
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
As shells rained down like hail, French infantrymen dove for what
cover they could find. Their trenches and breastworks quickly began to
crumble under the repeated impacts and explosions. In the deafening roar,
officers who could no longer give orders verbally struggled to rally
their men.
One officer scribbled a hurried report, handed it to a runner, and
motioned frantically back toward Verdun. The young runner, not yet
twenty, flinched as more shells crashed around them. He saluted the
officer, then jumped to the top of the trench and raced away as fast as
he could. The runner was already nearly deafened by the tremendous noise,
which had a physical force of its own, beyond the concussion of the
blast. A nearby impact threw him to the ground.
The officer watched as the runner regained his feet, and took
another step. A flash and explosion threw the officer down into the
crumbling trench. He pulled himself back up, but found no trace of the
runner, only a cloud of smoke marking the point where the young man had
been.
Men huddled deeper in the bottom of the trenches, only to find
broken earth raining down on top of them, threatening to bury them alive
where they lay. The brutal roar continued to split the air, while the
earth itself seemed to scream at the punishment being inflicted on it in
that place.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
After a nine-hour bombardment, including a use of gas by both sides,
the French positions were in ruins, ready to be overwhelmed by a German
infantry attack that did not come. One French unit signaled 'We shall
hold against the Boche although their bombardment is infernal'."
Not until the next day did the Germans begin to advance in force, by
which time the surviving French forces had recovered enough to mount a
defense. The French fell back before superior German numbers, while
supplies were hurriedly rushed up the single road from Bar-le-Duc. German
planes ranged overhead, spotting for their artillery.
By February 23rd, the third day of the attack, Joffre was already
assembling every available man to reinforce Verdun, determined to hold it
at all cost. The French forward lines, by that point, however, had been
completely overrun, and only two forts stood between the Germans and the
approaches to Verdun itself. On the 25th, a sergeant of the 24th
Brandenburg regiment was knocked into the moat surrounding Fort Douaumont
by an artillery burst. Pulling himself out of the water, the sergeant
entered the fort to find only a handful of French soldiers. In a
blustering manner, he demanded their immediate surrender, warning of his
comrades waiting just outside. The French troops gave up, marching out of
the fort to discover, too late, that the sergeant had been bluffing.
Now, General Philippe Petain took command of the French forces
around Verdun. Though it would have been better, both tactically and
strategically, to yield Verdun to the Germans and fall back to more
defensible positions behind it, Petain was a fighter who saw the defense
of Verdun as virtually a sacred cause to demonstrate the ability of
France to survive. Such a man, who was not afraid of high casualty rates,
was just what the Germans had hoped for. General Falkenhayn and his
fellows, however, had completely underestimated what a man like Petain
might be able to accomplish. Within just days, the German advance ground
to a halt, to resume with only the most strenuous and brutal exertions.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
As the fighting around Verdun dragged on, consuming ever greater
numbers of French and German lives, plans for the Allied offensive still
went forward. The situation at Verdun, however, now compelled the British
to take on the bulk of the responsibility.
The BEF was no longer the small, all professional force that had
played so critical a role in the crisis of 1914. The British Army was
swelling with the ranks of civilian volunteers, hastily trained and put
into service. Though completely patriotic, they lacked the years of
experience and military tradition of their regular army colleagues.
The new commander, General Sir Douglas Haig, was a man of the upper
classes. Well connected socially, and married to a lady-in-waiting at the
royal court, Haig corresponded privately with King George V. It was
Haig's comments to the king that had delivered the final blow to Sir John
French, and brought Haig himself to the ascendency. Though a highly able
soldier, both militarily and politically, Haig was aloof and distant,
showing no visible regard for his men, but apparently expecting that
simple devotion to God, king, and country, would carry them forward to
bear their duty, as it did with him.
Behind the lines of the Somme River, a quiet area since the early
battles of 1914, a huge force had been assembled. Haig expected to
achieve a massive breakthrough after a week-long artillery bombardment.
The bombardment began as scheduled, but unknown to Haig, the German
positions had been dug deep, providing shelters that were largely
impervious to the rain of shells. At the same time, the explosive shells
which were expected to break up the barbed wire, only exploded on impact
with the ground, and merely tossed the rolled wire around without
breaking it up.
On July 1, the British troops received the order to go forward. The
"creeping barrage" of artillery, which was supposed to be timed to stay
just in front of the advancing infantry, had already crept too far ahead,
both with the infantry moving slower than expected, and the British
artillery officers deliberately aiming beyond their assigned targets out
of fear of shelling their own troops.
The British advanced, almost shoulder to shoulder, to find the
German positions largely unscathed, and deadly barriers of barbed wire
obstructing their path. Caught out in open ground, a force of more than
60,000 found itself facing withering German machine gun fire, resulting
in a massive slaughter. Of all the British and Commonwealth soldiers who
marched forward that morning, one in five did not survive the day. For
some units, it was even worse. The 1st Newfoundland regiment by the end
of July 1st had ceased to exist.
Haig met with his generals to discuss how the battle could be
continued, still unaware of the true magnitude of the losses his men had
taken. The British commander insisted the Germans could only have minimal
reserves left and that one good push should do it. In fact, the Germans
had taken only a tenth the casualties of the British, and were already
bringing up reinforcements. The Germans were also switching to a new form
of "defense in depth", in which the forward line would be only thinly
held and quickly given up. Once the direction of the British movement had
been identified, the Germans could strike back repeatedly, inflicting
heavy casualties and gradually regaining the ground they had lost.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
In Havana, two maps were posted, showing in detail the battlefields
around Verdun and the Somme. Albert stepped away from the main table, and
updated the two smaller maps with the latest information.
"From the maps, it doesn't look like much is happening," Jason
commented.
"Perhaps not," Setsuna said quietly, standing there in civilian
dress, a teacup in hand. "But young men are dying in the hundreds and
thousands."
"This has been going on for months," Samuel said. "Just from the
amount that we've been siphoning off, we know the Order has collected a
tremendous amount of energy."
"But there is a greater risk for the Order," said Albert. "In
Germany, Falkenhayn is virtually in disgrace, and will probably be sacked
at any moment. Austria-Hungary is growing daily more feeble. Franz
Josef's health is failing, and his empire seems to be dying with him.
There will almost certainly be food and fuel shortages this winter. In
France, the gap between the soldiers and the high command is growing ever
wider. Petain was removed from Verdun when casualty rates grew too high,
but even so, many of the men feel like they are nothing but cannon
fodder. And still another big fight is looming as the French command is
said to be planning a counter-attack in the Verdun area for later this
fall. Even Britain is beginning to feel the pinch. If the combatants
continue to bleed at this rate for much longer, they will not be able to
go on, and will have no choice but to settle this."
"Which means the Order needs to see the pace of battle slowed down a
bit," Jason said.
"That's right," Albert confirmed.
Just then, Eric entered the room. Seeing him, Setsuna put down her
teacup and walked toward him.
"Eric. Just the person I need to see," she said.
"Your message didn't say very much," he said. "What do you need."
She led him off to a side room and opened a map book. "I've spotted
an unusually strong point of magic energies, here in the Brazilian
jungle."
"The Order?" he asked, glancing at the map.
"That's my guess," she said. "The area is too remote for anything
else. I want to check it out, but I also want an experienced field
operative along to look things over as well."
"Of course. I'm glad to help in any way I can. When do we leave?"
How about right now?" she asked in reply, her disguised time-key
appearing beside her.
He blinked once in surprise, then nodded. Energy glowed around them
both and they vanished.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Cloaked from detection, Eric and Setsuna walked along a wide tunnel.
A spacious cavern lay behind them, filled with numerous storage vessels
in varying stages of construction. Reaching a side passage, they turned
down it, soon finding another cavern, also with storage vessels being
built.
"When these two chambers are complete, this place will have more
than three times the storage capacity of their site in Austria," Eric
observed. "And there are probably more storage chambers than just these."
Setsuna nodded. "Yes. I have to think this place will be for more
than just storage."
They returned to the wide tunnel and continued along. Minutes later,
they emerged into a simply immense chamber. The floor swept down toward
the center of the room, where rose a large dias of polished black stone.
Around the dias were five huge columns, rough hewn out of solid rock. At
the center-point between the columns was another raised platform.
"My God!" Eric exclaimed. "I've only heard of this. It's a very
special type of altar."
"This must be where they will try to awaken Metallia," Setsuna said.
"That would also explain the need for such tremendous storage capacity."
"Yes. They would shift all their gathered energy here prior to
performing the ceremony," Eric said.
"We still have time," she said. "They will need at least six months
to finish all the storage vessels here and the preparations that must go
with it."
"That sounds about right," he agreed.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Several days later, diagrams of the Order's new facility covered the
walls of a side-chamber of the Paladin's Havana center.
"This place is huge!" Peter exclaimed, studying the charts closely.
"Do you have an image of the altar?"
"Yes," Eric said.
He placed a polished black disk on the table and passed his hand
over it. Energy shimmered, forming into a three-dimensional image of the
altar. Peter stared at it intently, a grim expression on his face.
"I had hoped you were wrong, Eric," Peter said softly. "But there's
no doubt about it. They couldn't use an altar like this for anything
other than summoning Metallia."
"Why not?" Samuel asked. "Other than the stone pillars, I don't see
anything unusual about it. It's just big."
"Those pillars are magically and dimensionally attuned," Setsuna
said. "Any magic projected into that space will be captured by the
pillars and converted to the specific form and frequency needed to open a
portal for Metallia."
"Exactly," Peter confirmed.
"And am I correct in assuming the only way we can destroy that altar
is to collapse the chamber?" Eric asked.
Peter nodded. "Yes. There's no way we could use magic. If it did
anything at all, it would only aid the Order's cause."
"What about destroying the storage vessels once they have energy in
them?" Eric asked. "Is that also going to risk awakening Metallia?"
"No. The energy would need to be channeled directly into the altar
space in order to bring Metallia to Earth," Setsuna answered.
"OK," Eric said, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. "That gives us some
possibilities... If we could blow all the storage chambers at once, that
should disrupt the magic field they're using to prevent cave-ins, and
bring the whole altar chamber down."
"What do we do in the meantime?" Samuel asked. "This place will be
ready to receive energy in just about six months, and then they are only
waiting on collecting just enough energy."
"Very true," Peter agreed. "We must destroy their Austrian storage
center, as soon as possible. We have to wipe out as much of their energy
stores as we can."
"We still don't have a really good means of getting in there," Eric
cautioned. "Certainly not good enough to assure a reasonable likelihood
of success."
"I understand. I want you to give that top priority," Peter said.
"If we don't take a few chances now, it may become academic later on."
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Francesca entered the office of the commander of the Austrian
storage center.
"All arrangements have been made," he said. "The new security
procedure is in place, just as ordered."
"Excellent," Francesca said. "We have reason to expect the Paladins
will strike before the year is out. When they do, I want them crushed.
And then nothing will stand between us and the return of our great dark
lord."
"The Darkness shall triumph!" the man declared, a broad smile on his
face.
"Oh, yes. Indeed it shall," she agreed. "It is inevitable."
< To be continued >
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Always remember, good gentles, that a yarnspinner works from and within
existing legends and stories. The characters of "Sailor Moon" belong to
others. In spinning my yarns, I do not seek to infringe on their rights
of ownership, but merely to join with other fans to spread the legend
still further. "The moonlight carries a message of love." Enjoy.
-03.23.2001
(
geocities.com/tokyo)