The Price of a Mile -A WW1 forum game

[Bialaska]

OOC: Just in case we encounter zombie / vampire Huns.

SCNR

More because I figured that since my character was religious and was risking his life, he'd carry such stuff. Was actually first thinking of him as the company priest, it was not until later I realized that there was a separate chaplain unit, so I had to revise and instead made him the medic.

 

[Stuckenschmidt]

We seem to be in the drole de guerre.

 

[EasternBloc]

We seem to be in the drole de guerre.

Aye, but of course things get interesting after now don't they?

 

[Stuckenschmidt]

I guess the Huns are simply too chicken. I would be too if I had to fight against me.

 

[bakerydog]

Wait guys I just updated stats fully and to make up for yesterday I will make the pre-battle update for you guys to IC on.

 

[bakerydog]

August 21st 1914,

The I Corps will be sent to defend the left of the line against the German Attack and hold for as long as possible. It will be a delaying action the Corps is expected to hold while the II Corps will protect our right flank against the Germans. The left flank is expected to experience the most of the fighting in the upcoming battle. While we have great defenses we can not simply hold out against the number of Germans expected to descend onto our positions with the number of men we have in both of our Corps. The I Corps will be given 2 machine guns from command with one going specifically to the Northamptonshire Regiment as they are placed in the middle of the I Corps line. With limited time to prepare the Corps will be digging in with expected help from civilians. The civilians do not yet know of the upcoming battle but will be alerted so they are given sufficient time to evacuate from Mons. Casualties are expected in high numbers due to our defense to give the French units time to reorganize and prepare for the upcoming German onslaught. Our position is required to hold at least for a day and then fight a fighting retreat towards French forces but this is an expected task with our defensible position. If the troops can dig in we can hold for a while until German numbers will overwhelm us. The canal with its bridges as choke points will be heavily contested but as long as the Corps can hold the position for the time required the battle will be won. Godspeed men, we will win the day against the Huns.

Corps Letter from Douglas Haig:

Men, we have been ordered to hold our position at Mons by army command. They know the task is difficult but not impossible and I think we can achieve this task but many of our divisions will be destroyed or captured. We have the superior positioning over the Hun but I do not know if our positions will hold for the expected time without a miracle. All I know is that we will dig in and we will fight the Hun and send them back over Germany to whence they came. Our Corps will hold the left of the line and this is expected to be the hardest hit. We will have artillery support which will surely help a lot but if the Huns overrun our positions we will retreat in good order and fight a fighting retreat against them to stall for time. I think that we shall serve the country well and bring honor to it. Gentlemen, I suggest that we now prepare for battle and dig in for the Germans to come across our positions.

GM Note: You can IC about pre-battle stuff now that the game has officially begun and IC as your characters now know what coming for them across the river. You cannot buy anything really just yet as Mons wouldn't really provide anything you actually want. The battle will commence tomorrow most likely after most people have ICed.

 

[aedan777]

Gentlemen, I won't lie to you. We face overwhelming odds and there will be casualties. The Germans will be throwing everything they have at us. However they will not take this city, they will not take this land, they will not take one inch without paying for it in vast quantities of their blood. You are the greatest soldiers in the greatest army on the planet. Until now the Germans have only fought Frenchmen, and defeated them time and again. But now they face true men of valour, and they will learn how Britain became the Greatest Empire this world has ever, and will ever know. When the Huns try and cross that river, they will find us waiting there, waiting to unleash God's Judgment upon them, in retribution for the many Belgian dead.

Despite whatever fears you may have, know that tomorrow, no matter what we face, I will stand with you. No man will be left behind on my watch. When the time comes to retreat I will be the last to do so, for it is the duty of any officer to preserve the lives of his men above all else.

May God bless you, and may God Bless England.

-Sergeant Jonathon Moresby

 

[EasternBloc]

"Today my superiors informed us of the upcoming battle that's going to take place the next day. While the other officers tell us the threats of the German attack, I however would like to see how those Jerries really fight. I'm sure they as well are interested to see how we fight for our nation, and God dammit we're going to show them. Our fighting spirit will surely give them Jerry scum a real bloody nose.

The Germans have overstepped their limit and this is the showdown: toe-to-toe combat with the Jerries. Sometimes I look at my insignia, and think about why I was promoted to a Lance Corporal of the best nation in the world. Then I remember, to serve my people, king, and country, and there's no way in hell I'm letting them down! Tomorrow will be my test, our test, and Britain's test against evil. The fate of the world is hanging in the balance and we shall come out on top!"

-Entry from Lance Corporal Smith's Journal

 

[baboushreturns]

The night before the battle Will sat alone for a while assembling and dissembling his rifle several times to clean it. He had never seen combat but he had seen the inside of a French field hospital and he knew what to expect. He thought of his men and wondered how many would make it to see tomorrow.

After a final cleaning he crouched down in his section of the trench and tried to catch some sleep.

 

[Noco19]

Private Priddy listened to Sergeant Moresby's little speech and gave himself a hearty chuckle. Afterwards, Priddy spoke with a Welsh fellow who he had met earlier in training.

"God Bless England eh? Ha, I believe they's got blessed enough, with us Welsh behind 'em. Let's show them 'Sais' just WHO makes Britain the mightiest Empire, and hunt down some Germans! By these war's end, I bet us two will be proper commanders, top of the top I say."

 

[borrowski4]

Robert Davison sat quietly, contemplating the bloodshed and chaos that will no doubt await the next day. He made sure his rifle was clean and realized his best hope was to stay in position with the unit and just unleash as much lead as he could when the time came. He quipped, mostly out of nerves, and a sense of false bravado, "We know those Jerry bastards like to march and strut about as they kill women and children, but come tomorrow, they best be ready to all march straight to hell once they meet real men on the field."

 

[Stuckenschmidt]

Howard looked around. This spot was to his liking. A lot of cover but, on the other hand, a good sight on the canal with the unspeakable name. The locals and their weird language. Others in the Regiment had less luck and had to dig themselves deep holes. He went to some of his pals to scrounge a cigarette from them. He had been smoking too much lately. When he took a drag and felt the smoke going down his lungs, he watched at the canal again and then at the surroundings. He had been in Yorkshire once and this scenery reminded him of the coal fields there.

He wondered what would happen the next days. Well, it would surely be nice to not die. Or get a bullet in the tummy. Or lose an arm or leg. Or be a coward in front of the others.

`Ah, hush`, he thought. `You are as good as the other guys.`

When he had finished smoking, he threw the stub away and returned to his group, checked his gear and went with the others for lunch.

 

[Bialaska]

Douglas was shivering. Now so much because of the cold, but because of his surroundings. He had certainly heard about war being brutal, but that was all in books. Reality was far worse. And tomorrow might be his last day.

When he had signed up to serve his country, this was not what he had been expecting. Glorious battles, heroes fighting bravely. He had not expected to be part of this ragtag band of people he did not really know.

He picked up his cross, gave it a kiss, before he clutched his bible and started praying for the survival of himself and the rest of his platoon.

 

[unmerged(106213)]

A group of men huddled around Martin, their inner turmoil betrayed by anxiety strained expressions. Martin was talking excitedly to them. "My comrades, tommorow will be a monumentous day but do not worry! Remember the words of our Saviour, Christ, who beseeched us not to worry about our lives and bodies - to look at the birds who do not sow or reap, to see the splendour of flowers that do not labour or spin - our Lord will provide for us. Trust in him for our deliverance on the morrow!'

 

[bakerydog]

The Battle of Mons Day 1

August 23rd 1914

While the British were preparing the Germans were marching in support of their center wing on their right with the First Army. The First Army vastly outnumbers the Corps of the British Expeditionary Force but the First Army lacks the marksmanship the British posses. In an attempt to stop the Germans here and delay them to give time for the French to reorganize a defense of France and what remains of Belgium. The town of Mons was situated near a canal in which the Germans would have to cross in order to continue the advance. In the short time alloted many civilians helped the British build trenches and emplacements but most other civilians continue to just resume normal life oblivious to what was about to descend upon Mons. The Germans expect a quick and total victory after the victories over the French and Belgium troops who had already contacted them. But the British Expeditionary Force was not the same as the Belgians and French, they were soldiers just looking to beat back Jerry and get home for Christmas.

At 7:00 AM the outer cavalry units just ahead of the I Corps line encountered German scouts who they destroyed and pushed back the survivors. After being alerted of the threat the I Corps prepared for the battle against the Germans which would be hard fought. The plan of battle was for the machine guns of I Corps would be placed in the middle and the left with the middle one going to the Northamptonshire Regiment. At about 10:00 AM the Germans launched a light artillery barrage in which the I Corps was hit the hardest with. The Northamptonshire troops took a casualty though before the battle even started, an artillery shell landed into the machine gun entrenchment 2 of the crew were killed and Private Smythe was calling for the medic with Corporal Haig lying next to their machine gun with artillery shrapnel in his legs. The Medic Edwards did his best that he could and tried to take him out of the entrenchment but he refused and would stay in there as long as possible. With the problem resolved most of the men returned to their positions horrified at what they had just witnessed. The attack began at 11:30 AM with the Germans in line formation across the Canal waiting for the order to march across and attack. Finally at 12:00 PM the real attack began when some of the bridging equipment was brought up, the German infantry massed in line and charged across the bridge heading for the British lines. The Northamptons ready opened fire along with the rest of I Corps and instantly cut down half of the troops already across. While the Germans were being kept at bay II Corps was receiving information that the I Corps was under attack began to slowly pull back in an attempt to cover a possible retreat.

By 12:30 PM the Germans had suffered heavy casualties but were starting to break into the British lines in places where heavy casualties were being taken. One of those places was the Northamptonshire's line where casualties were quickly mounting due to the increasing pressure by the Germans. Private Holliday was lying in his shallow trench along with the rest of the platoon but he had suffered a major wound when he was firing he had gotten shot in the chest by a German and fell down. The Medic Edwards did his best but as a result he was in danger of dying unless he could be transported to the rear of the line. Many other members of the platoons had been lightly wounded with shots that ricocheted off of their trench and hit them, Privates Davison and Wood were one of those hit and both their non shooting arms were bandaged by Edwards. The machine gun entrenchment was starting to fill with empty machine gun ammunition cans and water buckets brought up from the rear to cool the machine gun. Private Smythe though was oddly unscathed with many of the shots missing him even if he was out in the open and his bible was in his coat pocket where everyone could see it. So far only Holliday and Haig were seriously wounded and would need more attention than just a medic. An hour later the Germans had finally crossed in sufficient numbers and charged the line the Northamptonshire was manning, the fighting was fierce and brutal with many of the Northamptons fixing bayonets and stabbing upward from the bottom of the trench to get the jump on the Germans. The tactic though became ineffective when the Germans started to shoot blindly into the trench and throwing some rocks they found at them. The machine gun entrenchment was having a tough time of moving with an injured Haig and 2 of the operators fighting with their pistols. The order to retreat had been made at 2:00 PM when German numbers alone were winning the battle.

What some saw around Private Smythe​

The retreat was in good order except for the wounded who were having trouble being transported. Holliday was being carried on a stretcher while Smythe was carrying Haig on his back. The retreat was proceeding well after the wounded were being evacuated but some confused townspeople obstructed the transport a bit. Private Priddy was helping to cover the retreat though he was wounded in the shoulder and having a tough time with his rifle. Corporal Tenenbaum and Lance Corporal Smith were helping as well to cover the retreat of the wounded. Smythe gave Haig to Tenenbaum to take back while he went under fire and destroyed the machine gun to prevent its captured by the Germans. The only soldier not accounted for during the retreat was Sergeant Moresby who had helped pull Private Stark out of a trench where the dirt walls partially collapsed and then fell back to the unknown. The retreat was completed at 4:00 PM with I Corps telling II Corps of the retreat and to prepare for the battle and the remnants of the units that were harshly hit. Meanwhile the German Army was establishing their bridgehead and bringing artillery and heavy equipment across now that the area was mostly safe from British interference.

Finally at 6:00 PM the battle's first day was ended and many men had been wounded but not killed on the British side. On the German side most casualties were deaths due to the marksmanship of the British units and the effectiveness of the artillery called in by officers. The estimated casualties of the British by the end of the day had been 3,090 with the Germans estimating they lost 9,600 men. While the British had given the Germans a bloody nose for the size of the armies the only thing that had prevented a total rout was the bottle neck and the fact that German forces were not all available until the end of the day. The British fell back to Elouges in order to reorganize for another days defense of the area. The German decided to rest and on their beachhead dug some emplacements around the camp. Though Moresby was still missing and nowhere to be found for no none of the platoon had died just yet with Haig and Holliday reaching the II Corps to a field hospital. Both were critical but they were not deteriorating at all and as a result they are expected to be OK as long as infection doesn't find them. Command has given a job well done, the troops sure do deserve it after the carnage and blooshed seen by both sides.

 

[EasternBloc]

Later that night, Smith walked through the trench in order to see if Sergent Moresby had returned. As far as Smith knew he was still amongst the missing. He was rather disappointed Moresby was not yet seen by the other officers. He had meet with the other platoons that evening in the mess hall. His eyes were quite bloodshot and somewhat tired, yet he ate his meal in peace and without complaint. "It was a miracle nearly everyone in our platoons made it back, with great, sheer luck. Wish the same could have been said for Moresby..." On his back he passed the hospital, wishing them good health and a good night.

As people went to rest, some could heard Joseph whistling an old American war song, 'When Johnny Comes Marching Home'.

 

[Revan529]

Name: Maximilian “Scouse” Fightmaster
Role: Rifleman
Rank: Private
Traits: Cadet training, martial tradition
Experience: 1
Equipment: Standard, family claymore
Bio:

Born in Liverpool, England on the fifth of May, 1896, the latest in a long line of Fightmasters who have fought for Crown and Country (dating back to, at least the Spanish Succession War), Maximilian was raised hearing tales of his ancestor’s bravery from his father, Colonel Sir Malcom Fightmaster DSO VC (a veteran of the Boer Wars); these tales of heroism and sacrifice had a profound impact on the young lad’s psyche. As a student, he was largely regarded as average at best, though he excelled in history and athletics.

At the earliest possible moment, he signed up for the Army Cadets (1908), where he showed a surprising willingness and aptitude for battle; he won multiple Cadet marksmanship competitions, and he was often the first to finish any activity assigned by his superior. It was also during this time that he acquired a great love for boxing, and when not on duty, he often found himself in the ring (a popular apocryphal tale amongst the younger boys in the Cadets recounted when a young and lithe Cadet Fightmaster, standing at a paltry five foot four inches, barely weighing seven stone, beat another Cadet three years his senior and twice his weight; the veracity of this story has never been confirmed).

When the war began, his superiors recommended him to enlist as either sniper or a junior officer, which he declined out of hand, instead demanding to be made a private on the frontlines. He breezed through proper army training, and was assigned to the Northamptonshire Regiment (and was assigned his nickname due to his very notable Liverpudlian accent); like the rest of the men, he arrived in France and was marched to the front, though he did not serve with his platoon-mates until the second day of the battle due to him and a few other men being sent to assist a French force several miles to the north (which ultimately saw little action). He arrived on the second day ready for the war to begin in earnest for himself.

Private Fightmaster carries all the standard gear of a British infantryman; however, he also carries into battle his families sword, a claymore reputed to be centuries old. When asked by his superior about it, he casually replied "any soldier who goes into action without his sword is improperly dressed."

A recolourised photograph of Private Fightmaster in the 25th of August, 1914​

 

[Stuckenschmidt]

Howard looked down on his left arm. What a pity. Surely he was holding his rifle with the right arm, but apart from that he was nevertheless left-hander. Darn. Now he could not even write a letter about all this home and let his people know, that he was alive and well. More or less so.

Although he was miffed about his injury, he knew that it was not really bad. Edwards had told him, that if he survives the next week, his arm would be as good as new. It did hurt a bit, but after all he was still fit for duty. And he had the feeling, that they would have to fight again soon.

The Germans had been a sturdy bunch. Lots of them had fallen, but wave after wave of them arrived despite their casualties and finally made the Regiment retreat out of their position. A shame. And bad luck, for now they had less favorable defense positions.

He shrugged and walked to some of his comrades for a little talk.

 

[baboushreturns]

Will was brought to a field hospital were French nurses took a look at his legs. Each piece of shrapnel had to be pulled out one at a time and the process was agonizing. He tried to catch some sleep and upon waking up he saw Private Holliday. The man was seriously wounded and it was obvious he was not in good condition. He had occasional coughing fits and every so often some blood would come up.

As he looked around the tent he saw men with missing legs and arms. He could hear the screams of the dying and men asking to see there mothers again. Before drifting off to sleep once again, Haig prayed that he'd see his family again.

 

[unmerged(106213)]

Edwards undertook his pastoral duties with zeal. He went hither and thither, checking up on all the men in his platoon who had suffered injuries. He had already done all that he could do - with limited supplies - to tend to the physical side of their wounds. Now he wanted to assuage the spiritual side of the pain. He offered to assist Howard with letter writing. He visited the more seriously wounded men at the field hospital, sitting at the bedsides of Haig and Holliday, offering some words of comfort and encouragement and letting them know that Jesus loved them.