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Dyke.
Corfe was there on the parapets of the eastern barbican along with Martellus and a collection of senior
officers. They saw the enemy van spread out with smooth discipline, the long lines of elephant-drawn
drays in their midst and regiments of heavy cavalry the famed Ferinai spread out on the flanks.
Horsehair standards were lifted by the wind and on a knoll overlooking the deployment of the army
Corfe could see a group of horsemen thick with standards and banners. Shahr Baraz himself and his
generals.
 Those are the Hraibadar, Corfe told Martellus.  They spearhead the assaults. Sometimes the Ferinai
dismount and aid them, for they are heavily armoured also. They are the only troops who are issued
wholesale with firearms. The rest make do with crossbows.
 How far behind the van should the main body be? asked Martellus.
 The main levy moves more slowly, keeping pace with the baggage and siege trains. They are probably
three or four miles back down the road. They will be here by nightfall.
 He keeps his men well out of culverin range, Andruw, the young ordnance officer in charge of the
barbican s heavy guns said, disgruntled.
 His light cavalry found out their ranges for him in that skirmish the other day, Martellus said.  He will
not have to waste good troops by inching forward to test those ranges. A thoughtful man, this Shahr
Baraz. Ensign, what kind of siege works did he use before Aekir?
 Fairly standard. His guns in six-weapon batteries protected by gabion-strengthed revetments. A ditch
and ramp surmounted by a stockade with many sally-ports. And a rearward stockade in case of any
attempt to raise the siege.
 No need for him to worry about that here, someone said darkly.
 How long did he spend in preparation before the first assault? Martellus asked, ignoring the comment.
 Three weeks. But this was Aekir, remember, a vast city.
 I remember, Ensign. What about mines, siege towers and the like?
 We countermined, and he gave up on that. He used enormous siege towers a hundred feet high and with
five or six tercios in each. And heavy onagers to break down the gates. That s how he forced entry to the
eastern bastion: a bombardment of both guns and onagers accompanied by a ladder-borne assault.
 He must have lost thousands, someone said incredulously.
 He did, Corfe went on, his eyes never leaving the group of Merduk horsemen that looked down on the
rest out in the hills.  But he could afford to. He lost maybe eight or nine thousand in every assault, but we
lost heavily too.
 Attrition then, Martellus said grimly.  If he cannot be subtle, he will simply attack head on. He may find
it difficult here, with the dyke and the river to cross.
 I think he will assault with little preparation, Corfe informed them.  He knows our strength by now, and
he has lost much time in the passage of the Western Road. I think he will come at us with everything he
has as soon as his host is assembled. He will want to be in possession of the dyke before the worst of
winter.
 Ho, the grand strategist, one of the senior officers said.  Someone after your job there, General.
Martellus the Lion grinned, but there was little humour in the gesture. His canines were too long, the set
of his face too cat-like.
 Corfe is the only one of us who has experienced a full-scale Merduk assault at first hand. He has a right
to air his views.
There were some dark murmurings.
 Did the Aekir garrison sortie? Martellus asked Corfe.
 In the beginning, yes. They harassed the enemy while he dug his siege lines, but there was always a large
counterattack ready to be launched mainly by Ferinai. We lost so many men in the sorties and they did
so little damage that in the end Mogen gave up on them. We concentrated on counter-battery work, and
mining. They are not so skilful with their heavy guns as we are, but they had more of them. We counted
eighty-two six-gun batteries around the city.
 Sweet Saints! Andruw the gunner exclaimed.  Here at the dyke we have less than sixty pieces, light
and heavy, and we thought we were overgunned!
 What about mortars? Martellus asked. Everyone hated the huge, squat weapons that could throw a
heavy shell almost vertically into the air. They rendered the stoutest protecting wall useless, firing over it.
 None. At least they used none at Aekir. They are too heavy, perhaps, to bring over the Thurians.
 That is something at least, Martellus conceded.  Direct-fire weapons only, so we will be able to rely on
the thickness of our walls and the refugee camps cannot be bombarded while the wall stands.
 They should be herded out of the defences at once, Corfe blurted out.  It is madness to have a crowd
of civilians in the fortress at a time like this.
Martellus blinked.  Among those civilians are would-be nurses and healers, powder and shot carriers,
fire-fighters, labourers and perhaps a few more soldiers. I will not cast them out wholesale before seeing
what I can get out of them. [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]