Chapter 33: Deadly Finds

Morning in the ravine comes late due to its geography. When the men get organized for the day Kyle and Dana appreciate KK cooking their breakfast while the rest of the men cook their own. One of today’s tasks is made a lot easier by the horses making their own way back into the ravine to the fodder set out in the corral area. It was their after dawn return that woke up most of the Shiloh men, not the small amount of sunlight filtering down to them.

Most of the men are busy preparing the horses with saddle packs or saddles while Kyle and Dana question their prisoners. All of them refuse to say anything, except swear at them and tell how Carl will kill them when he rescues them. Kyle knows what they need to do, but he isn’t allowed to do it. He gives a short nod when he turns to walk away and says, “Dana, this is your patrol and you manage it. Do what you think you should!”

Dana replies, “Yes, Lord Kyle.” Turning to the guards he nods at the prisoners and follows Kyle as the guards execute the men. They don’t have enough men to control all of the horses and a group of prisoners who promise to cause trouble, so they get rid of the problem.

Half an hour later all of the men are on horses with six leading the pack horses and horses without riders on long lead ropes while Dana and Kyle lead them out of the ravine and down the valley. The ride around the mountains to Shiloh takes them several days of trouble free travel at a medium pace since they don’t want to wear the horses out.

When they reach Shiloh Nathan is surprised to see them riding in and leading pack horses. The new horses are soon unloaded and added to the Shiloh herd while the quartz is stored in a corner of Kyle’s office; it used to be Jonas’ office. After a late lunch Kathleen checks on how the men she trained to teach the others in the use of the longbow are doing while Kyle checks on Nadia and the compound’s defenses.

Nadia is very happy and doing well with the training of the cavalry. A few of the men didn’t like the idea of being taught how to fight by a woman, but she very quickly showed them she knows more than they do, so now they all listen. Each day sees more men as trained cavalry.

All of the new outside and inside walls are now completed as per the plan, so is the moat on all four of the sides, with only one approach road on the north side left to finish. Digging out the stream was easy when compared to getting the pipes laid and building the approach road over it. The adobe side walls for each house partially enclose the porches they have, thus protecting against fire arrows on the porches. All of the roofs are sod and they have nice six foot wide pathways between buildings to enable small animals and people to move about on all the roofs. The goats, dogs, cats, and other small animals that live in the compound find the grass on the roofs much nicer as places to hang out than the dirt of the compound. All of the free land inside the compound is now packed dirt, or vegetable gardens, or buildings as well as the several wells and many water troughs.

After inspecting the defenses Nathan and Kyle are walking back to the main house when Nathan says, “Lord Kyle, nearly all of the women and children of Shiloh are now living here, as are most of the children and women of Riverview. To enable the men to continue with their daily work we’ve strengthened the defenses of some of the larger farmhouses to be secure bases to operate from and have strong patrols across our lands. I can’t think of anything more we can do to prepare for this war. Is there anything else you can think of?”

Kyle thinks for a moment and replies, “Nathan, you’ve done all I can think of to prepare us to best meet whatever the enemy throws at us. The only other thing I can think of is to locate the enemy camps and attack them. But that depends on locating them first.”

Eight days later a messenger from one of the patrols reports a large force moving onto Shiloh land from the south-east. It comprises of fifty-three men on horseback, two wagons of people with their hands and feet tied, three wagons with twenty soldiers in each, and several wagons of supplies. Because of its size the force is traveling slow. Due to the large number of fighting men the patrol is shadowing them.

Nathan and Kyle take the young woman into the office to have her show them where this force is on the big map of Shiloh on the wall in Kyle’s office. The patrol shadowed them for two days before sending the messenger so they could give a fair line of march for the invaders. She points at the spot where the other force was first spotted, then at the places where they camped that night and the next night. Allowing for slight deviations due to the terrain the force is on a straight line to the valley Kyle’s patrol met an enemy force in. It seems this is some of Carl’s people sent to investigate the mine. Kyle was half expecting it.

Kyle sends for several of the other Shiloh leaders, Dana, Nadia, and Kathleen for advice on how to deal with them. After explaining why the meeting is called Kyle asks for an update on the combat training. They soon learn there are over six hundred people now trained in the use of the longbow in combat and five hundred cavalry trained in a mix of the Cossack, the Mongol, and the American Plains Indian tactics in both standard cavalry maneuvers and guerrilla warfare. Two hundred of them are trained in both skill sets. The sad part is the officer training is lagging behind due to the trouble finding suitable people for it. Both forces lack enough trained officers capable of adjusting to suit changing situations. In another few months they’ll be right as they’ve got some men and women who show a lot of promise, but aren’t yet fully trained.

Nathan, KK, and Nadia have a long argument with Kyle before he’s forced to agree to the combat forces they send having to be commanded by Nadia and KK. Sighing, Kyle turns to the young women and says, “Just remember you’re the generals in command, you do not lead the attacks, you hang back to direct the forces where to go and what to do for each attack. Is that clear?” Both nod yes, although Nadia looks sad about being ordered to stay back and not get into the middle of the fight.

Two other factors in the situation are the need to leave a strong force at the Shiloh compound and the number of trained troops who are out on patrol reducing the size of the force they can take with them. The enemy force numbers about one hundred and fifty fighters when the wagon drivers and their helpers are taken into account.

Kyle turns to Nathan to ask, “If we leave mid-afternoon and ride hard how many days will it take to reach them and about where would they be when we get there?”

Nathan studies the map while thinking on the speed at which the enemy force is traveling and how fast his people can ride when they have to. Finally he touches the map while saying, “You should plan on meeting them here late on the second day.”

The area concerned is wide open plains, but a little further along the line of travel is an area with some hills and light forests. Kyle points at the hilly area and says, “This is where we’ll meet them. We can set up inside the tree-line and surprise them. It also means we can delay leaving until just before dawn tomorrow and still be on site to be ready for them in three days’ time. Now what size force and force mix to use?”

The group of Shiloh leaders discuss many options for half an hour before they come to a consensus of what to take and a plan of attack. As there’s no need for a major head to head attack they feel they don’t need to outnumber the enemy; the extra range of the longbows is helpful in reaching this decision, since the enemy will be in their range well before they’re in the enemy’s range. The final force mix is decided on as being fifty bowmen and fifty cavalry with the two best officers for each as the commanders of twenty-five person platoons under the command of KK for the bowmen and Nadia for the cavalry while Kyle is in charge.

With a force size and plan decided the meeting breaks up so they can start getting organized to move out before dawn. The troops will have to make sure everything is packed and ready before they go to bed tonight, including extra arrows and food for the campaign. Each person will have to carry their own food and the weapons needed.

Malcolm Bennett is riding along with the local commanders of the force protecting the mine relief column, one leads the mounted soldiers and the other commands the foot soldiers in the wagons. Their scouts reported a patrol of about twenty men shadowing them for the last five days, but they keep well back and evade any attempt to attack them. All three of the leaders read this as them waiting for more support. So do their troops, so for the last five days they’ve all been on edge while waiting to be hit.

To make things harder for the Shiloh troops they always camp in wide open areas with pickets well out, even if it means camping early for the day. This puts them a little behind their original schedule, but they feel safety is more important than speed.

Today they’re camping earlier than usual as there’s a point where the trail runs close to some forests not that far away and they see that as a possible ambush point. Thus they want to pass it late in the morning, well after their scouts have had time to check it out and report back.

Two days of hard riding and short nights is a bit wearing on all of the Shiloh people involved, but they arrive near the planned trap point very late on the afternoon of the second day on the road. The messenger from the patrol came with them until she was sent off to locate the patrol at lunchtime. She has orders for them to drop back and to deal with any of the enemy who seeks to head back to their base. So the patrol will hang back and keep the enemy force just in sight.

Just in case the enemy has scouts out they’re having a cold camp on the hill behind the ones they’ll use for the trap. The horses are fed and watered and all are ready to camp for the night when the two men Kyle sent out as scouts report back.

Morris and Bill squat down beside Kyle as he eats his cold meat and they start on theirs. Bill says, “Lord Kyle, they’ve scouts out to check the area a couple of hours ahead of the column’s march. Two scout on each side of the road while six ride along the road, they report back after an hour and the next four scout ahead while one takes the report back to the column. They rotate who’s doing what to share the work.”

Kyle thanks them for the report and sends them off to get some rest. He calls his six officers over and relays the report before he adds, “This means we have to wait this side of the hill while they scout the ambush area then be careful when we move in after they pass by. We also need to keep an eye out for them after the attack starts. Due to how far ahead of the column they are there should be more than enough time to travel from this hill to the ambush site between when they pass and when the column arrives. Make sure your troops know what’s going on and they have to take care not to draw any attention or make any noise when we move into place. No other changes to the plan, so let the troops rest and have a late breakfast, it seems we’ve got a late start tomorrow.”

They all nod and move off to let their troops know the change. Just as Kyle is getting ready to sleep for the night KK joins him and they snuggle up together; both appreciating the mutual warmth and cuddle.

When the dawn breaks Bennett’s guards wake the scouts for today and they’re soon on their way while eating a cold breakfast in the saddle. The guards also wake up the rest of the camp and they start getting ready for the day, taking time to have a breakfast of warm porridge. The scouts are about an hour out when the column is ready to move out.

The first scouting report comes in and he has nothing to report yet, the plains are clear to the forest. The next report will cover the forest.

While they move out Bennett thinks the next scouting report will be the most important for some days. An hour later the report arrives and the forest areas are empty with no trace of anyone being in them for many days. Also, the scouts checked the top and the backside of the hills. The three commanders smile and start to relax again, knowing there’s no ambush for them this morning is reassuring to them.

The sun wakes the Shiloh troops up and they take their time getting ready as they know they can’t move up until after the enemy scouts have been by and reported all is safe. So they enjoy their cold breakfast, well, as much as they can enjoy a cold meal, and check their gear.

An hour later the two scouts hiding on top of the hill the Shiloh force is camped behind report seeing the enemy scouts in the trees on the ridge opposite when they check the top and the backside of that hill. The enemy scouts don’t go far down the first hill and only give the next hill a cursory glance before going back the way they came.

A few minutes after the report comes in the Shiloh force is all packed up and mounting their horses. A few scouts move out ahead of the main force and they check where the enemy scouts are. Moving at a walk the Shiloh force crosses over their hill, down through the dale between, and up the last hill before the track. When they near the top their scouts report the enemy scouts as being almost past the next set of hills and a report rider has gone back to the column.

They start to break up into their combat forces as they move down the hill. As they do Kyle reviews the terrain. This is more of a ridge than a hill and is a bit over half a mile long, so they’re setting up over a long part of the tree-line. The bowmen will set up at the edge of the tree-line, about five hundred feet in from the right end of the forest, with the cavalry lined up about fifty yards to their left. This will allow the enemy to approach from the right and be hit by the bowmen before the cavalry ride out to sweep down the remains of the column. The cavalry are in a good place to counterattack a charge by the enemy’s mounted force too.

The bowmen secure their horses about fifty yards back from the tree-line. The only member of the archery force still on horseback is KK riding War Bonnet so she can range along the whole line of men faster.

Kathleen and Nadia check their troops are ready and report back to Kyle. He nods to them to acknowledge their reports then the three sit on their horse, and they chat while they wait for their enemy. When the enemy column comes into sight Kyle lifts up the whistle he has on a lanyard around his neck and puts it in his mouth. Nadia and KK do the same while they ride off to be with their forces. When the two pass their officers they check the platoon leaders also have whistles up and at the ready to use them.

Knowing communications are important in combat Jonas had set up a series of whistle commands when he first set up the Shiloh combat forces. There are four tones used to designate the rank of the whistler. That way they can tell if the command is from a higher level or not. There are forty whistle commands, but less than a dozen have been found to be needed in most combat situations.

The bowmen officers move along their men designating first and secondary targets while the column passes in front of them. When the head of the column is directly in front of Kyle he blows his whistle; not a full blast, but loud enough to be heard along the line of his troops.

At the sound of Kyle’s whistle blast of ’engage’ two things happen: the waiting bowmen fire their arrows at their targets and Malcolm Bennett’s head comes up at the feint sound of a whistle.

Malcolm turns his head to the left a little and catches movement in the air. He turns his head a bit more and sees the flight of arrows descending upon his force. He opens his mouth to shout a warning just as the arrows land among his troops and he sees another flight rise up out of the edge of the forest. He shouts orders to attack the archers while he turns to survey the damage.

The few who saw the arrows in the air can’t believe they reached the column. Despite the scout report of all clear the force commanders had the column passing the forest at just beyond bow-shot range so the few who saw the arrows in the air felt safe right up to the point the arrows fell among the men of the column.

When Baker, the commander of the mounted force, saw Bennett turn to look to his left he did so too and he also saw the arrows in the air. His shouted orders to his troops mingle with those of Bennett’s as the first flight arrives. He has to shout again before his orders are understood and his men respond. However, by now twenty-five of his men are dead or dying with arrows in them while they lie on the ground or across their horses. He can’t understand how that happened because they’re beyond bow-shot. He does what he’s been trained to do and he orders his men to charge the bowmen. The remaining men swing out and charge across the intervening space.

The wagons come to a stop because all of the drivers and the person sitting beside them have fallen down with arrows in them, because they were the initial targets of the second platoon of bowmen. The soldiers in the wagons are starting to react and are getting out of the wagons when the second flight of arrows arrive; some are wounded and some are missed because the wagon is between them and the archers now, but many die with an arrow in their upper body.

Baker and his men are two thirds of the way to where the archers are when a whistle blows from his right and fifty mounted soldiers charge out of the forest at what’s left of his force. This mounted force is bigger than his and the men and women of it are all smiling as they seem to be competing for who can reach them first. He signals for his men to turn to confront this new force. Many of his men are still on the turn and the new enemy is almost on them. A whistle blows and all of the new enemy suddenly raise their right arms up and forward to make a bunch of over long spears appear. He’s never seen a lance before and he has no idea of how they expect to fight on horseback with spears, despite realizing they’d kept them close to their side until now so they wouldn’t be seen. Baker pulls out his sword and readies to fight when they get close, and it’s only then he realizes the extra length of the spear means he won’t ever get close enough to use a sword when a lance penetrates his leather armor, chest, and out his back before he falls off his horse, dying.