El Grapadura III - Charge

9:35 AM

The actions of Beck, Adnan, Atlas, Emma and the rest of the regiment's right wing were the decisive stroke in the battle. The Russo-Cuban right was not driven back, it was destroyed. American air power, something which the Russians were completely lacking in, was finally committed, as a swarm of attack helicopters rained hellfire down on the retreating Russians and Cubans, decimating their ranks and preventing any attempts to regroup or make a stand. The arrival of the 71st New York on the field ended any hopes of resistance; while Atlas's battalion swept up enemy prisoners and wounded, Ackatsis and his New Yorkers advanced and mopped up any remaining pockets of Russian and Cuban resistance.

Groggy's forces in the center encountered surprisingly little difficulty in their advance. They did not meet without any problems, as Tom Overtsar found when his head was torn off by a sniper bullet, but it was mostly from sharpshooters and small detachments. Groggy couldn't tell whether this was negligence or a battle plan that had gone awry, but the success of Major Atlas's forces made this question moot. Thus far in the battle, the only prolonged resistance he had received was from a small contingent of native conscripts - and even this skirmish lasted only about five minutes, with only one American casualty.

But on the left flank, it was an entirely different story. Although Lieutenant Colonel Starbuck and the hasty arrival of B Company had repulsed the attempted Cuban ambush, they had found their advance rough going. Here, the Cubans had the better part of a whole brigade stationed in the area, which was made up of rough, thick forest and marshy swamps. Starbuck and his men had to fight for every inch, suffering many casualties along the way.

By 9:35, although Atlas and Groggy had all but destroyed the forces opposing their respective wings, Starbuck's troops were bogged down in a firefight with a crack battalion of Cuban infantry, aided by a large contingent of Russian machine gunners and mortarmen. They were too close for artillery to be called in, and thus Starbuck's men had to rely on their own firepower. Not only that, but they were also nearly a quarter mile behind Groggy's main force.

B Company had been decimated in the first few waves of assaults, and was now ordered merely to hold their position. Starbuck ordered C Company, commanded by his brother Alex, to make an infantry assault, but this led only to further casualties; Alex was wounded in the foot, the commander of his first platoon also fell, and Private Steve was seriously injured shot through the lung. Three others were killed and ten more wounded, and only the heroism of a small unit led by Corporal Miles Truelove allowed the rest of the company to withdraw safely.

Starbuck was managing the battle well - he was far removed from the shavetail Lieutenant from Mexico - but with his limited resources, and the surprisingly determined Russo-Cuban resistance, his men were paying a price in blood without much reward. He simply didn't have enough men to overwhelm the Russians in a direct assault, and he was too close for artillery or air power to be brought to bear. He radioed Groggy for assistance, but Groggy only belatedly dispatched Captain Grenouille's B Company to assist. However, this was for naught, as Grenouille's men got lost down a road and ended up trapped in a swamp, and spent the rest of the battle fighting mosquitoes and gators.

However, Fate intervened, as the 7th Florida Regiment, ordered to the front by General Ale, suddenly appeared to the left of the Cuban forces, precipitating their withdrawal. Starbuck didn't see this happening, and merely watched in stunned disbelief as the Cubans, who had resisted him for the better part of half an hour, suddenly melted away into the forest.

He advanced cautiously, attempting to siddle his forces to the right to meet up with Groggy's wing. They finally emerged from the woods, facing across a large open field. He could make out lines of Russian and Cuban troops hastily deployed around a blockhouse, along with the sun's glint on the barrel of several machine guns.

Suddenly, there was a rustling in the wood's beside him. Starbuck panicked for a moment, then saw that they were wearing American uniforms. It was F Company of the 7th Florida.

"Captain McKillop!" Starbuck shouted, recognizing an old colleague from West Point. McKillop saluted.

"My God, it's good to see you!" Joe said, smiling.

"And you, sir," the Captain answered.

"We're trying to link up with Colonel Dundee and the main wing," Joe said. "My men have seen some rough fighting on the way here."

"Don't worry, Colonel," McKillop said. "I have your right of line."

After a few moments, Starbuck was able to make out more American forces emerging from the bushes to his right. "Colonel Dundee! Groggy!" he shouted.

One of the figures answered him. "Joe, we're a long way from Fort Benlin!" he shouted. Joe smiled again.

"I want all three wings to charge in unison," Groggy shouted, struggling to be heard. "Me and Joe will charge them straight on. Captain, get word to your Colonel that I want you to pivot from the left. We'll envelop the bastards and crush their flank. We're taking them in a rush, no more of this methodical firefight bullshit. We take this spot, we win the battle!"

"Very good, sir!" McKillop shouted.

"Prepare to advance!" Colonel Dundee called. The three wings readied themselves as their officers shouted out orders.

"CHARGE!" Groggy shouted after what seemed like an eternity.

The attack went off like clockwork. All three wings swept forward over the field. The Russian and Cuban troops opened fire immediately, and many men were lost; but the Americans were too flushed with adrenaline and the scent of victory to be denied now. They quickly covered the distance to the enemy lines, and reached the Russian blockhouse, the fighting becoming close-range and often hand-to-hand.

Groggy shot two Russian machine guns. A third soldier stepped forward and fired at point blank range. Groggy winced, thinking he'd been hit, but Corporal Dan emptied his M-16 into the soldier before him, allowing Groggy to realize that he'd merely been grazed. Dan then smashed the head of a Russian officer with his rifle butt, while another soldier was felled by Captain Harriman, firing with her pistol.

Sven Celeton bashed soldier after soldier, Russian and Cuban, with his rifle, until the stock shattered in his hands. Then he commenced to using his fists to pound his enemies; not until the battle was over did he realized that a bullet had entered his left thigh. His colleague Whalestoe fought with a pistol and his clamming knife, dispatching a brace of Cubans in one fell swoop. Major Martinez shot down Russian and Cubans as fast as he could shoot, continuing even after he was shot in his left arm. C.D. used his machette to deadly affect, gutting and impaling his enemies with deadly efficiency. Even the pacifist Angel knocked down several Cubans with her gun butt, swinging it awkwardly but managing to connect with most swings.

Kyle, rushing towards the blockhouse, was shot down by a pair of Russian officers. Susie screamed and avenged her boyfriend, spraying his two assailants with half a clip of M-16 rounds. Teacher Tom charged into the blockhouse, shouting and blazing away with a pair of handguns. He came out a moment, dripping blood from a pair of shoulder wounds, but stoically smiling.

Jim Tate Tweeted as the Army advanced. At 9:46, he entered "Finally, an interesting story to cover!" At 9:50, as the blockhouse battle neared its climax, he entered, "Mom, I'm fighting in a war! This is SO COOL!"

After ten more minutes of fighting, the Americans succeeded in clearing out the blockhouse. A few Cubans attempted to make a stand, but the Americans concentrated machine gun and rifle fire on them, quickly putting them to rout. A hastily-called artillery strike annihilated the remaining resistors, and the rest of the enemy forces melted into the woods in complete panic. They wouldn't get very far, as further artillery explosions and roaring jets attested.

Groggy emerged from the blockhouse, panting with exhaustion, gripping his smoking revolver, blood trickling from a small head wound. He approached Captain Harriman, who was nursing a wound to her left hand. "THAT'S how you win a battle!" Groggy said excitedly, watching his enemy take flight into the woods.

This was the decisive stroke of the battle, and now American firepower did the rest. The infantry swept back the front line troops, the main body of Cuban and Russian troops were decimated by artillery, American bombers destroyed Colonel Marquez's redoubt at the mouth of the pass, and helicopters strafed and bombed the refugees as they fell back. By 10:00 AM, El Grapadura Pass was in American hands.

The first land battle of the Russo-American War was over.