[Ch5B COR] Spike the Guns!

[Ayrlego]

The professionals of Corrington's armed forces are closely watching the first old world conflict to be fought in the new world. On Celestia, newly appointed Governor, Major Dirk Allcock, is prepared to do his part to ensure Corrington benefits from the lessons learned by both sides in the conflict. While other Corlander officers will be tasked with gathering the Eslandolan point of view, Dirk is uniquely placed to gain lessons from Mardier. He has recently learned of the arrival in theatre of Mardierian officer with whom he studied with at the University of Bellson, one Captain Giovanni Lorenzini. Lorenzini, on completion of his studies in Corrington returned to Mardier, where he joined the Royalist Forces in the civil war. Now he has arrived on the Isle de Medio to reinforce the garrison against the Eslandolan and Garvian invaders. Wasting no time, Dirk has immediately written to his old friend, asking that he may send a man to observe the conflict from the Mardierian side.

The observer he has chosen to send is a former Royal Army officer, Captain Adam Todd.  Captain Todd resigned his commission to pursue a trading career in Arlinsport, but so far has not been lucky. Dirk has offered him a generous commission to go to the Isle de Medio with gifts for Captain Lorenzini, and a letter requesting observer status. Captain Todd, although not military anymore, is under strict orders to observe only, and not interfere. Major Allcock has also made very clear he is not being sent in any official capacity, rather he is being dispatched on a private expedition.

On arriving, Captain Todd discovers that Captain Lorenzini has been dispatched to one of the Royal Fortresses on the Island that has come under siege by the combined Eslandolan and Garvian forces. A dedicated man, he has managed to smuggle himself inside the fortress, where he is given a warm welcome by Lorenzini, who happy allows him to attach to his company of infantry.

After a few days inside the fort, the besiegers start bombarding the fort with mortars. These artillery pieces are able to lob rounds over the walls deep inside the fortress. Using incendiary and explosive shot, they are a present a nuisance to Mardierian high command, who are unable to target them with counter-battery fire due to the clever positioning of the battery behind sand dunes on a spit of land in the nearby bay.

Captain Lorenzini shares his knowledge of the battery with Captain Todd. The Mardierians believe the mortar fire is unusually accurate due to the fact it is operated by a Garvian contingent. Most of the besieging army is made up of Eslandolan mercenaries, whose quality and professionalism is mixed, but generally quite poor. The Garvians, on the other hand, are professional artillerymen from the regular army. To take advantage of the terrain, the battery itself is quite exposed, and relies on a half regiment of Eslandolan mercenaries for protection. Lorenzini explains however, that Mardierian fisherman have reported that incredibly, the majority of the guard force sails back to the comforts of the main camp every night, leaving only the Garvian artillery men and a small group of Eslandolan regulars. Furthermore, the mercenaries have been observed returning later every day. Captain Todd, finding himself drawn to the Mardierian officer, and even sympathising with their cause, helps plan a daring amphibious raid on the battery, with the goal of spiking the guns to prevent their further use. Mardierian high command will only risk one half company of troops, to be led by Captain Lorenzini. Despite his orders to the contrary, Captain Todd insists on accompanying the raid.

The fishermen's information proved correct, in the early dawn, the Mardierians successfully surprise the battery as it begins to prepare for the day’s bombardment. The Eslandolan guard force is reduced to a mere handful of regulars and a single officer. Charging up the beach, the yellow coats achieve complete surprise.

The Garvian battery is led by a Major of artillery, Major Jan Nieuwenaar. A good, well trained officer, it was his plan to position the battery in such a cunning position, and his calculations that allow the the battery to so accurately target the fort. He attempts to rally his men, but is mortally struck very early in the battle by a musket ball to the chest. As he falls, he is caught in the arms of his sergeant.

The Mardierians overwhelm the battery. The guns are spiked and the prisoners rounded up into boats and transported back to the fort before the main Eslandolan guard force returns.

Although Mardierian command seems confident. Captain Todd is not so sure. Although the quality and morale of the Mardierians seems far better, he is reminded of a quote from the famous scholar of antiquity, Marcus Tullius Bricero, “The sinews of war are infinite money”. The Greenbacks are certainly not short of gold, and seem unusually focused on spending it in this war. The Mardierians, on the other hand, are still in the grips of a civil war, with limited resources to devote to what essentially for them is a side show. He will report as much to Dirk, along with his tactical observations. No need to bother the Major with full details of his participation in the planning and execution of the raid though…..  

Details

Wow, alot of conditions for this one, so let's check them off,

This entry is Pro-Mardierian

Character funded the assault/defence - Yes!

Beaching landing - Yes! (although in reverse)

Mardierian defence - Yes! (even though they are conducting the landing, technically they are defending the fort

Death of a hero and close up shot - Yep.

Eslandolan torsos from @Captain Braunsfeld

Enjoy and C&C welcome!

[Kai NRG]

Neat beach scene Ayrlego, the focus here is obviously on the minifigures and posing and that is well done!  Good work on the beach texture too!  

Edited March 14, 2017 by Kai NRG

[Mesabi]

Great build Ayrlego! The beach really turned out nice. You sure have a lot of Mardien soldiers, you really went all out.

[Captain Genaro]

A lovely build all around. You did an excellent job with the beach and incorporating the corner of the jungle into the beach is a great touch. And of course, it doesn't hurt that the vegetation is well done, too. The sea weed washing ashore is nicely done as is the use of trans-clear and trans-blue to create the transition as the ocean hits the shore.

[Captain Braunsfeld]

Fine build, fine beach, fine torsos - pity it is for the wrong side

[Brandon Stark]

I love all those custom prints. Too bad they don't exist in LDD. Aside from that, the mortars are great, and so is the minifig posing. You also did a good job on the layering and texturing.

[Ayrlego]

Thanks for the comments everyone! The focus here was indeed the minifigs, I actually feel the build itself is a bit... well boring!

 

[Bregir]

I really like the story behind this one, Ayrlego - you've put a lot of work into it making sense gamewise, and into a good story for the build it self. Both the context and and the action parts of the story are well-written and dramatic. Keep it up!

As to the build itself, I really like the dynamism you have built into it with the dramatic poses and faces. My only gripe is that the Mardierians appear to be coming out of nowhere. Obviously, there are boats just outside the build, but perhaps including one in view would help the picture be more self-explanatory? (Is that making any sense to anyone but me? :P) I also like your mortars - the use of trashbins is quite effective. As always, your landscaping is nice. I like the olive patches in the corners, and the topography of the beach, as well as the pieces of driftwood and washed up weeds on shore. If you had the bricks for it, you could have made the entire lower part of the beach (up to the small rise around mid-beach) dark tan to indicate that that is the wet sand where the waves still reach from time to time.

Generally, great build! :)

[Jacob Nion]

Great layout! The use of more natural colours like the olive green adds a feel of realism.

[Brickwolf]

Great build!

[Keymonus]

Wonderful fighting scene, Ayrlego! The battery is simply great, and the custom uniforms are very nice... Not to mention the texture of the beach!