OT: Page 10 and Chapter 30. Good lord I didn't think I would get that far.
Chapter 30
"Faugh a Ballagh, Clear the Way"
Order #26, by General Liam Lynch 16/07/1916
"An Artists Impression of the Irish Fleet of Vancouver, The Ship in the Foreground is the HMIS Vinegar Hill"
Landing Zone Alaska,
Vancouver, British Columbia,
17th of July, 0901am
The explosion rocked the boat and threatened to capsize it before it could reach the shore. Tetsuo lifted his head back up from between his knees where it had gone when the explosion rang out. He scanned left and right and saw with horror that one of the landing boats, a Merchant ship that had been pressed into service, was rolling on it's side into the water. Thick black smoke was rising from it and men were jumping over board into the water. The wooden paddle boats that had been prepared on the side for the actual disemarkment slid in their mooring lines and when the lines failed, plummeted into the water below. He saw soldiers who had been fully kitted out hit the water and get dragged down under the weight of their gear, the floatation devices they had been given where just not capable to keep them afloat.
"Holy Mary mother of God." Came the voice of S. Sergeant Conner. The hushed voices of Tetsuo's men muttering similar things showed that the Sergeant was not alone in his sentiments. Tetsuo felt stunned as well but he knew he couldn't let it rule him. Not now any way.
"What are you all standing around for?" He asked turning to them "Get to your ready positions now. Staff Sergeant I want these men ready to go the second this metal box they call a ship reaches the shore!" The soldiers rushed to their positions but their eyes kept darting through the water to keep an eye out for mines. Naval Intelligence had said the area was clear of them but as had just been shown that wasn't true.
The ship rocked forward while behind the booming thunder of the main naval guns kept reaching across the water to the ears of the soldiers aboard the landing ships. Every now and again a sight of a geyser of rock and mud rising from the ground could be seen in front of them from where the Navy was bombarding the area in preparation. Tetsuo knew that the shells were supposedly clearing out any possible soldiers waiting for them at the shore and once the men were on the ground they would be shifting fire to try and assist the Canadians in their push to the North of the city. He scanned his head around again to make sure his men were ready, he could see S.Sgt Conner berating some men and keeping them ready to get down the netting ladder into the boat once it was lowered, he could also see the new Leftenant De Valera checking and rechecking his pistol, the mans long features a sea of anxiousness and worry. Tetsuo prayed the man didn't lock up as he had seen some men do before, being scared was one thing but being locked up was another.
It was then that the ships crew started to lower the boats into the water. It would take a few moments and once they were down Tetsuo raised the whistle he had around his neck to his mouth and blew three quick bursts, the signal to start climbing down into the boats. He scrambled over the railing onto the rope ladder, something he had forgotten how much he detested from the last time he had to do it at the Phillipines, and climbed slowly and carefully down towards the waiting boat.
US Supply Dump #212,
Vacouver,
17th of July, 0905am
All hell had broken loose. First the Canadians had opened up with a massive artillery barrage but that had been at the front so the staff at the supply dump had been fine. When the order came in for all non-essential personnel to get to the Front to reinforce the troops at the dump had been fine as they were counted as essential. The the Sergeant while lighting up one of his fat cigars that he got from god knew where looked out over the water and had nearly dropped the cigar. There where ships out there, there where a lot of them and after the debacle off Hawaii there was no way in hell they were friendly.
The ships had started firing and the shells had been hitting around the supply dump for what felt like an eternity by now. The guys at the dump had jumped into their dug outs because there was no way in hell they were staying outside for that. It took a little while for them to notice the shelling had stopped. The Sergeant ordered them back outside and as he was turning out the entrance of the shelter he came face to face with a big man in grey uniform holding a bayoneted rifle to his face. The Sergeant started to reach for his revolver when the man barked out in an Irish accent "Go on you Bastard. Make my day".
Landing Zone Alaska,
Vancouver, British Columbia,
17th of July, 0910am
"We got another bunch of them over here Sir." S.Sgt Conner called out. Tetsuo acknowledged it and went back to watching the unloading of the ships. They hadn't hit anymore mines but a group of US soldiers had tried hosing the boats with a machine gun on the way in and had hit a few of them. The HMIS
Buttercup, a destroyer that had been sent to help the wounded from the stricken landing ship, had quickly sent them running when it had turned it's guns on their position. It was now dutifully watching the coast to help the landing forces.
It took a further five minutes before the entirety of the 35th was ashore. Well as many of them as their could be, a full sixth of the Regiment had been knocked out by that mine in either wounded or killed. Much to Tetsuo's relief Col Brady had survived but had been wounded and was already being shepherded back to Victoria where the Irish had established on the ground aid centres. Once the regiment was ashore the easy part of the day was over. Now they had to advance around the Eastern edges of the city and link up with the Canadians to trap the Yanks inside. Other Regiments who's ships where already on the way would be following behind them to help form the ring but the 35th had the job of going first.
"Leftenat De Valera" The tall man looked at Tetsuo "Get the men ready we are moving out."
"A Typical US Army machine gun position. Note the lack of helmets indicating a pre-1915 time when this photograph was taken"
Outskirts of Vancouver,
July 17th, 1030am
They had made it only half way to their destination before running into US troops. A group of US soldiers had set up a position inside a house and were taking shots at Tetsuo and his men. He had a couple down with wounds and a few dead but his men were firing back. They worked their rifles and split into groups. While one was firing the other would advance on the house. Eventually De Valera and his squad reached the edge of the house. Tetsuo saw him throw a couple of grenades into the building, Tetsuo had ordered his men to carry as many of the things as possible, and after the hollow booms De Valera and his men rushed into the building. Tetsuo advanced the rest of his company forward.
Before they reached the house Leftenant De Valera came out the front door reloading his pistol. "The house is clear sir." He said and Tetsuo's men passed it to continue their advance.
"How many were there Leftenant?" Tetsuo asked.
"There where four sir. Three upstairs and one down stairs. One of the grenades got the man in the downstairs and another stunned one of the men upstairs. The others tried to fight back but we took them out without incident." He worked the slide on his pistol to punctuate the sentence.
"Very well. Get the survivor detained and get him back towards our lines. Only detail two men, I want the rest of your squad back in the advance immediately." The Leftenant saluted and turned back into the house as Tetsuo caught up with the rest of the company.
They made it only a few dozen yards before running into more US resistance. This time however the enemy surrendered when they saw how outnumbered they where. When they realised that Tetsuo was in command their eyes nearly bulged out of their heads. They kept moving and occasionally ran into small pockets of groups but the groups started to get more and more frequent the further forward they went. At one point the company was under fire from a Yank machine gun. Staff Sergeant Conner however offered some insight into the matter.
"If they are shooting at you Sir you must be doing something right."
Service Trenches,
US Defensive Lines,
Vancouver,
17th of July, 1122AM
Sgt. Michael Dunne rammed the butt of the shotgun into the Yanks stomach. He then pulled it back, and with all his strength drove it into the back of the Yanks head. The man went down immediately and Michael assumed he was either out cold or dead. Either way he wasn't a threat right now. His hands worked through his pockets and he loaded shells into the Shotgun. He brought back up to his shoulder as another Yank just came around the corner near where he was. He fired into the centre of the Yank and the men fell backwards. Michael moved forward and behind him his squad moved as well.
They had been assigned the job of clearing the Trenches from the Yanks and to get as much new ground under Canadian control as possible, due to their record in the fighting in Vancouver they had been given such an assignment. However the going was getting tough. The Yanks were pushing back right now and pushing back hard, the fact they had the Canadians outnumbered was not helping. He used a mirror to peek over the lip of the trench he was in and saw that more Yank reinforcements were slipping into the thing even though some Canadian machine guns had been rushed forward and were trying to help with the defence.
Michael moved slowly around the corner in a weird bodily contortion with his shotgun held ready to fire while he kept the rest of himself back. The last thing he wanted was to get jumped by someone waiting around the corner. He moved around and moved forward some more. A bayonet missed his head by an inch and he turned and started firing his shotgun into a slit trench running nearby he hadn't seen. By the time he was finished there where three dead Yanks. However at that moment a rifle cracked and Wiggins went down, a hole through his chest.
"Christ get into cover." He screamed at his squad. There was no way they could advance any further.
"It would be nice if we had some god-damn support sarge." Came the voice of one of his men. He turned around to answer when he heard a roar unlike anything he had heard before come from the Yanks position. It was quickly followed by the hollow boom of several grenades detonating. He looked to see what it was and saw a sea of grey uniformed individuals rushing the Americans from behind. Michael didn't hesitate.
"COME ON" he yelled and lead his men towards this new fight. They moved forwards shooting some of the Yanks and they reached closer to the the fight. It was at this point Michael Dunne saw a man in grey uniform ram a Yank in the stomach with an honest to god sword before twisting it out and using it to deflect a bayonet. The man seemed to dance among the Americans slashing and stabbing them while all around him other men in Grey fell on the exposed Americans like demons. One tall man in a uniform turned to Michael and upon noticing that his uniform was Khaki and not Dark Green moved over to his squad.
"Leftenant Eamon De Valera, 35th Okinawa Rifles. Pleasure to make your acquaintance Sgt...." This Leftenant trailed off waiting for Michael to give him his name. Around him the fight started to die down as additional Canadian troops started to poor in to help these new friends against the Yanks.
"Sgt Michael Dunne sir. 16th Vancouver. I'm glad as hell you Irish finally decided to show up." Behind him the man with the sword was ordering men into positions. He then wiped the blade against a fallen Yank and sheathed it. He then noticed the man had Captains pips on his shoulders. He then noticed the man had to be Asian. At this moment in time Michael would have followed that man and his demons to hell itself after that display.
~~~~~~~~~~
The Irish landing at Vancouver was not flawless. Mines that Irish Naval Intelligence were sure were not there managed to sink four Transport ships and three destroyers. The troops on the ground were lucky during the initial wave in that the surprise of the landing was absolute but consequent troops started to come under fire from US skirmishers sent forward to try and slow down the landing. However the damage caused by the initial troops was done. Although they came under fire from pockets of resistance, the first Irish troops on the ground, the 35th Okinawa Rifles, the predecessors of today's Okinawa Army Division, successfully fell upon the exposed rear of a US troop assaulting into the Canadian lines and linked up with the 16th Vancouver Regiment. They were followed throughout the rest of the day by other Irish regiments who helped see to it that by Four PM July 17th the US army in Vancouver was surrounded.
General Liam Lynch, who had assumed command over the area from the Canadians, offered the Americans the opportunity to surrender. When they initially refused he ordered the shelling of the City of Vancouver until Nine PM causing serious damage to the city. The US Army had believed that no Commonwealth force would do such a thing and the Canadian commanders in the area were shocked an appalled by the action. It however meant when General Lynch offered a surrender to the Americans again at 9:30 PM on the 17th of July they accepted it.
The Battle of Vancouver marked the beginning of serious Irish intervention in the war in North America. It also lead to a lot of lessons being learned. It was the first battle in history to use Tanks but out of the eight that had been sent only three of them had seen action. It had shown that the need for better weapons was serious for the Canadians. It had also shown that Naval landings would be costly no matter how well planned, an argument that the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps had learnt a few months earlier during their invasion of Cuba.
However the biggest repercussions of the battle would be felt not in Ottawa, Dublin or London. but in Washington DC.
~~~~~~~~~~
Washington DC,
The United States of America,
July 18th
The messenger hurriedly passed the Secretary of War a note. The whole War department was in chaos after the defeat at Vancouver.
The note however made all of that fade away from his mind.
Theodore Roosevelt looked up at the gathering of officers and officials before him and spoke.
"Gentlemen i have just been passed a note that informs me that following the stress caused by the defeat at Vancouver, that President Wilson has suffered a fatal stroke and died in the White House residence at 4AM this morning. As of now Vice-President Thomas R. Marshall is now acting President of the United States of America. God save America."
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Comments Questions Etc?
So there we have it. Vancouver is liberated and once again the day is saved thanks to the Powerpuff Gir- er I mean the Irish military.
Next update is a global update whenever I get it written and I just want to say that when I started this thing I never thought I would get to 30 chapters of writing, or more accurately 20 chapters of good writing and 10 chapters of learning to write.
Thank you to those of you who read this AAR. If you didn't I'm sure this would have been abandoned by now. We have ways yet to go in this and we are nowhere near done just yet.