Chapter Six
There were no further alarms for the rest of the night, the platoons not on watch were stood down to get such sleep as they could manage though only the most seasoned of veterans were able to sleep much. Those who had not seen the figures walking toward them take hit after hit during the attack had heard every detail repeated many times afterwards.
In particular the men who had gone out with the general and seen that last corpse, still clawing its way across the sand trying to reach them. That story was growing by the minute.
Still the sergeants made sure the gossip was kept to a whisper and several times the silence of the night was shattered by leather throated voices bellowing for the soldiers to shut their mouths and get back to sleep.
Men sought such rest as they could manage. Rumours that they were to be attacking at first light swept through them as soon as the officers meeting had broken up and the shouted orders to prepare the guns and Land Frigate for dawn were heard.
With the first light of dawn in the eastern sky the camp sprung into action. Steam engines were fired up and bought to full pressure. Men were checked to ensure they had everything for the attack. The quartermaster and his men stood by a pair of wagons piled high with munitions crates handing out rounds to those soldiers who had not yet replaced bullets fired during the attack.
With a clatter of hooves and iron shod wheels on the hard packed sand and stones that made up the road the artillery and lancers set off to the south.
The courier reported to the generals tent for the days messages as soon as it was light enough for him to safely ride, he tucked the letters and reports in his satchel and walked his horse to the edge of the camp. Just as he reached the road he was called and turned to see the doctor walking quickly toward him. The doctor reached him and spoke quietly then handed the courier a leather bound package, perhaps the size of a small book.
The courier took off at the gallop.
With the horses out of the way the platoons began to form up. Two platoons forming up behind the road either side of Greyhound. The four Ironsides behind the Land Frigate. The siege mortar and half the company men behind them. The reserve platoon, the quartermasters wagons and, the medical wagon waited in the camp. They would move out some distance behind the main force.
Lieutenant Digby had half the levy ready and they marched out to the north; they were going to block the foot paths that led through the hills to the rebel town. The other half would be left with remainder of the company men to secure the camp.
~
The light guns and cavalry escort made the trip down the road and then across the desert without encountering any rebels or other difficulties. To the south of the rebel town they were easily able to position themselves in the shadow of their target tower and close to within half a mile. The guns were unhitched and set up quickly by the well drilled crews.
Lieutenant Engler personally placed the marker stakes to line up the guns and calculated the range. Both guns were loaded and ready.
Gun A fired first, its shell dropped short and exploded in the town at the base of the wall. Gun B fired next, its shell struck the hill behind and to the right. Both crews reloaded and man handled the guns back into position between the marking stakes.
“Gun A up ten, B left twelve and down four.”
A fired, this shot struck the ground twenty yards short of the tower. B then fired, its shell passed just to the right of the tower about mid way up and vanished into the distance.
“Gun A up five, B left three.”
Both guns were loaded and fired again. A gun’s shell struck the base of the tower and exploded there but threw up clouds of dirt not brick. B gun’s shell hit the edge of the tower and blew a great hole in the brick structure.
“Gun A up another two, B spot on.”
Both guns were loaded and fired again. A hit the upper part of the tower and blasted another great hole in the brick structure. B missed, its shell flew past the tower by no more than a few feet.
“Dammit, reload and line them up this time!”
The gun crews reloaded both guns and checked they were lined up to the marker stakes. “Fire A”.
A belched flame and smoke, its shell flew across the distance and slammed into the tower shattering the upper section of the tower and sending a cascade of bricks down the centre of the tower. B gun fired, its shell struck the middle of the tower and with a great cloud of smoke and dust the entire tower collapsed. The ruin was hidden behind the dust; it was gone and on the eighth shot. The gun crew cheered.
Then the steady breeze cleared away the smoke to reveal that the tower still stood. Only the side facing the guns had fallen.
“Reload!”
The guns were reloaded and fired again, A gun’s shell passed though the collapsed side facing the guns and stuck the back wall. B gun’s shell hit falling bricks as the entire tower was collapsing, a torrent of bricks covering the gabions and the rebel cannon under a mound of rubble.
“Good shooting men” Engler congratulated his gun crews while cursing under his breath, that missed fifth shot had cost him ten guineas. Still look on the bright side, Ambrose was a terrible card player.
~
By the road the bulk of the British force waited, officers watching the tower fall through binoculars.
“Ten guineas to you Ambrose.”
“Yes sir, close though, I nearly ended up owing money to the artillery. Oh the disgrace.”
General Summerby chuckled then raised his voice.
“Advance!”
Greyhound led them forward, smoke pouring from her stack as her tracks dug into the soft sand beyond the road. Behind her the Ironsides lumbered forward. Both platoons of infantry waited until she was about a hundred feet away before they started to walk, far better for the first shots to be aimed at the land frigate.
The rest of the force followed along behind.
The first enemy shot did not come until Greyhound was three hundred yards from the wall of the town. Seeing the gun smoke erupt on the fort wall the platoon sergeants shouted for the platoons to disperse and they broke into a trot, spreading forwards and sideways to make themselves less of a target.
Behind the two platoons General Summerby was watching the action through binoculars, he could see no more than a dozen rebels firing from the fort wall and none of their big guns were in action. He waved to the siege mortar crew and pointed at the flashes of musket fire on the fort. The gunner waved back and the crew turned the mortar to face the rebels then shipped the wheels and in less than a minute fired the first round.
The round flew high and seemed to drift over the town before falling just in front of the fort wall. Three seconds passed and a blast of fire and smoke and what looked like the roof of one of the local buildings went skyward.
The second round landed just behind the fort wall and again there was a slight pause until the fuse burned down and it exploded. A ball of fire and smoke and shrapnel engulfed one section of the wall and all rebel fire stopped as the surviving rebels vanished.
The Ironsides had fallen behind a little as Greyhound advanced and were now a good fifty yards back, the two platoons dispersed as skirmishers were all around the land frigate but taking care not to move in front of the steam powered land ship.
In the distance the lancers and light guns were also moving closer to provide covering fire if it was needed.
~
Greyhound approached the wall slowly and steadily, the narrow prow hit the wall first, pushing bricks aside and breaking through. Then the widening hull pushed through and a whole section of wall collapsed, the bricks falling apart as long dried mortar crumbled away.
A cloud of dust from the collapsed wall billowed outward, only the tail and tall exhaust stack of the Greyhound were visible. The driver changed to his lowest gear and engaged the drive. The massive steel vehicle began to grind forward, crushing the remnants of the wall under its tracks.
It pushed completely into the open area beyond then hit one of the buildings, the mud brick walls collapsed before the multi ton bulk of the Land Frigate and Greyhound was barely slowed as it smashed its way into the town leaving a trail of devastation behind it.
The leading platoon advanced behind it, red coats quickly turning orange and grey as the cloud of dust covered them. They were slowed by the wide road of rubble that Greyhound had left behind it and so were falling behind the Land Frigate as it ground its way onward.
Greyhound smashed through one final building and entered the market square, the only large open area in the town. At once rifle and musket fire began to bounce off her thick armour. Lieutenant Digby and his gunner Leading SeamanTroughtman used the narrow vision slits on the turret and cupola to try and spot the firers. But there was too much dust and smoke from the destroyed house they were still sitting on top of.
“Driver, advance, get us out of this damn dust.”
Greyhound clanked its way forward into the centre of the market crushing a number of small wooden tables as it did so. Clear of the dust from the smashed building they could now see the flash and smoke of gunshots coming from the battlements of the fortress wall.
“Gunner target.” ”Load canister.” “The wall.” “Round loaded.” “Firing Wall.”
The crew were working like the well drilled team that they were, each calling orders or information over the others.
The twelve pounder fired, smoke and fire belching from the barrel, the turret rattled from the recoil. The round broke apart almost at once and a cloud of lead balls and the base of the round flew across the distance between gun and wall. The round was fired low, most of the shots smashed the brickwork of the wall, perhaps a third of the shots struck the battlements and the area above them.
The volume of fire from that section stopped at once, several of the rebels were dead, several more wounded. The remaining men crouched behind the wall, fear and shock on their faces.
The first of the infantry came through the smashed house into the square and came under light fire. Most of the rebels were firing at the Land Frigate.
Under the orders of sergeants and corporals they spread out to find cover, several sharpshooters forcing their way into the intact houses either side seeking access to the flat roofs.
Someone on the wall was shouting in Arabic and the volume of fire falling like rain on the Land Frigate began to drop, instead the leading infantry squads came under heavier fire and first one, then another and a third cried out or fell.
Then four new figures crunched their way across the rubble and into the square. The Ironsides had arrived. Designed in America, a number of these experimental devices had been purchased for testing by the British Army. Renamed Ironsides they were so new there were less than a platoons worth of them in the entire army.
Each was a remarkable device, Nearly eight feet tall and humanoid, massive steel legs surrounded by a frame of pistons and armour. A barrel chest topped with a small hatch. Arms of pulleys and gears, puny when compared to the size of the Ironsides but still much larger than a human arm. The men who drove these machines were amongst the biggest and strongest in the army and they still collapsed from heat and exhaustion within an hour of being deployed. But for that hour they were gods of steel and fire on the battlefield.
Two carried short barrelled two pounder cannon with five round revolver mechanisms, designed by the Royal Arsenal at Woolwich, specifically for the Ironsides. The navy was showing an interest in them as well, for close in defence weapons for the Land Cruisers or fleet ships. These were built into the right arms, the left arms were fitted with crude and clumsy but very strong gripping claws.
The other two carried maxim machine guns, the canvas belts of ammunition held in great steel boxes slung beneath the weapons.
All four Ironsides immediately became the centre of a storm of fire as every rebel opened fire at these steel giants as soon as they came into sight. They lumbered forwards, the soldiers within struggling to move despite the complex system of pistons and pulleys. Sweating in the heat of a steel box under the Egyptian sun and with steam engines strapped to their backs. Struggling to see the enemy through the grill like face plates of heavy armoured slats, the gaps filled with sheet metal drilled with hundreds of close set small holes to allow sight and protection.
One Ironside fired a burst of Maxim fire along the closest wall, driving the rebels into cover. Following the fire both cannon armed Ironsides paused and fired one round each into the wall just below the battlements. The rounds were light but the wall was no more than brick and a whole section of the wall and battlement collapsed.
With the Land Frigate and the Ironsides drawing what enemy fire was still coming towards the British force the infantry were able to spread out across the square, moving from cover to cover. The sharpshooters on the flat roofed buildings began their work and one after another rebels who exposed themselves on what remained of the closest battlements were cut down.
Nothing moved except the infantry and Ironsides, the firing had stopped.
It looked like the British had taken the town with barely a fight.
There were no further alarms for the rest of the night, the platoons not on watch were stood down to get such sleep as they could manage though only the most seasoned of veterans were able to sleep much. Those who had not seen the figures walking toward them take hit after hit during the attack had heard every detail repeated many times afterwards.
In particular the men who had gone out with the general and seen that last corpse, still clawing its way across the sand trying to reach them. That story was growing by the minute.
Still the sergeants made sure the gossip was kept to a whisper and several times the silence of the night was shattered by leather throated voices bellowing for the soldiers to shut their mouths and get back to sleep.
Men sought such rest as they could manage. Rumours that they were to be attacking at first light swept through them as soon as the officers meeting had broken up and the shouted orders to prepare the guns and Land Frigate for dawn were heard.
With the first light of dawn in the eastern sky the camp sprung into action. Steam engines were fired up and bought to full pressure. Men were checked to ensure they had everything for the attack. The quartermaster and his men stood by a pair of wagons piled high with munitions crates handing out rounds to those soldiers who had not yet replaced bullets fired during the attack.
With a clatter of hooves and iron shod wheels on the hard packed sand and stones that made up the road the artillery and lancers set off to the south.
The courier reported to the generals tent for the days messages as soon as it was light enough for him to safely ride, he tucked the letters and reports in his satchel and walked his horse to the edge of the camp. Just as he reached the road he was called and turned to see the doctor walking quickly toward him. The doctor reached him and spoke quietly then handed the courier a leather bound package, perhaps the size of a small book.
The courier took off at the gallop.
With the horses out of the way the platoons began to form up. Two platoons forming up behind the road either side of Greyhound. The four Ironsides behind the Land Frigate. The siege mortar and half the company men behind them. The reserve platoon, the quartermasters wagons and, the medical wagon waited in the camp. They would move out some distance behind the main force.
Lieutenant Digby had half the levy ready and they marched out to the north; they were going to block the foot paths that led through the hills to the rebel town. The other half would be left with remainder of the company men to secure the camp.
~
The light guns and cavalry escort made the trip down the road and then across the desert without encountering any rebels or other difficulties. To the south of the rebel town they were easily able to position themselves in the shadow of their target tower and close to within half a mile. The guns were unhitched and set up quickly by the well drilled crews.
Lieutenant Engler personally placed the marker stakes to line up the guns and calculated the range. Both guns were loaded and ready.
Gun A fired first, its shell dropped short and exploded in the town at the base of the wall. Gun B fired next, its shell struck the hill behind and to the right. Both crews reloaded and man handled the guns back into position between the marking stakes.
“Gun A up ten, B left twelve and down four.”
A fired, this shot struck the ground twenty yards short of the tower. B then fired, its shell passed just to the right of the tower about mid way up and vanished into the distance.
“Gun A up five, B left three.”
Both guns were loaded and fired again. A gun’s shell struck the base of the tower and exploded there but threw up clouds of dirt not brick. B gun’s shell hit the edge of the tower and blew a great hole in the brick structure.
“Gun A up another two, B spot on.”
Both guns were loaded and fired again. A hit the upper part of the tower and blasted another great hole in the brick structure. B missed, its shell flew past the tower by no more than a few feet.
“Dammit, reload and line them up this time!”
The gun crews reloaded both guns and checked they were lined up to the marker stakes. “Fire A”.
A belched flame and smoke, its shell flew across the distance and slammed into the tower shattering the upper section of the tower and sending a cascade of bricks down the centre of the tower. B gun fired, its shell struck the middle of the tower and with a great cloud of smoke and dust the entire tower collapsed. The ruin was hidden behind the dust; it was gone and on the eighth shot. The gun crew cheered.
Then the steady breeze cleared away the smoke to reveal that the tower still stood. Only the side facing the guns had fallen.
“Reload!”
The guns were reloaded and fired again, A gun’s shell passed though the collapsed side facing the guns and stuck the back wall. B gun’s shell hit falling bricks as the entire tower was collapsing, a torrent of bricks covering the gabions and the rebel cannon under a mound of rubble.
“Good shooting men” Engler congratulated his gun crews while cursing under his breath, that missed fifth shot had cost him ten guineas. Still look on the bright side, Ambrose was a terrible card player.
~
By the road the bulk of the British force waited, officers watching the tower fall through binoculars.
“Ten guineas to you Ambrose.”
“Yes sir, close though, I nearly ended up owing money to the artillery. Oh the disgrace.”
General Summerby chuckled then raised his voice.
“Advance!”
Greyhound led them forward, smoke pouring from her stack as her tracks dug into the soft sand beyond the road. Behind her the Ironsides lumbered forward. Both platoons of infantry waited until she was about a hundred feet away before they started to walk, far better for the first shots to be aimed at the land frigate.
The rest of the force followed along behind.
The first enemy shot did not come until Greyhound was three hundred yards from the wall of the town. Seeing the gun smoke erupt on the fort wall the platoon sergeants shouted for the platoons to disperse and they broke into a trot, spreading forwards and sideways to make themselves less of a target.
Behind the two platoons General Summerby was watching the action through binoculars, he could see no more than a dozen rebels firing from the fort wall and none of their big guns were in action. He waved to the siege mortar crew and pointed at the flashes of musket fire on the fort. The gunner waved back and the crew turned the mortar to face the rebels then shipped the wheels and in less than a minute fired the first round.
The round flew high and seemed to drift over the town before falling just in front of the fort wall. Three seconds passed and a blast of fire and smoke and what looked like the roof of one of the local buildings went skyward.
The second round landed just behind the fort wall and again there was a slight pause until the fuse burned down and it exploded. A ball of fire and smoke and shrapnel engulfed one section of the wall and all rebel fire stopped as the surviving rebels vanished.
The Ironsides had fallen behind a little as Greyhound advanced and were now a good fifty yards back, the two platoons dispersed as skirmishers were all around the land frigate but taking care not to move in front of the steam powered land ship.
In the distance the lancers and light guns were also moving closer to provide covering fire if it was needed.
~
Greyhound approached the wall slowly and steadily, the narrow prow hit the wall first, pushing bricks aside and breaking through. Then the widening hull pushed through and a whole section of wall collapsed, the bricks falling apart as long dried mortar crumbled away.
A cloud of dust from the collapsed wall billowed outward, only the tail and tall exhaust stack of the Greyhound were visible. The driver changed to his lowest gear and engaged the drive. The massive steel vehicle began to grind forward, crushing the remnants of the wall under its tracks.
It pushed completely into the open area beyond then hit one of the buildings, the mud brick walls collapsed before the multi ton bulk of the Land Frigate and Greyhound was barely slowed as it smashed its way into the town leaving a trail of devastation behind it.
The leading platoon advanced behind it, red coats quickly turning orange and grey as the cloud of dust covered them. They were slowed by the wide road of rubble that Greyhound had left behind it and so were falling behind the Land Frigate as it ground its way onward.
Greyhound smashed through one final building and entered the market square, the only large open area in the town. At once rifle and musket fire began to bounce off her thick armour. Lieutenant Digby and his gunner Leading SeamanTroughtman used the narrow vision slits on the turret and cupola to try and spot the firers. But there was too much dust and smoke from the destroyed house they were still sitting on top of.
“Driver, advance, get us out of this damn dust.”
Greyhound clanked its way forward into the centre of the market crushing a number of small wooden tables as it did so. Clear of the dust from the smashed building they could now see the flash and smoke of gunshots coming from the battlements of the fortress wall.
“Gunner target.” ”Load canister.” “The wall.” “Round loaded.” “Firing Wall.”
The crew were working like the well drilled team that they were, each calling orders or information over the others.
The twelve pounder fired, smoke and fire belching from the barrel, the turret rattled from the recoil. The round broke apart almost at once and a cloud of lead balls and the base of the round flew across the distance between gun and wall. The round was fired low, most of the shots smashed the brickwork of the wall, perhaps a third of the shots struck the battlements and the area above them.
The volume of fire from that section stopped at once, several of the rebels were dead, several more wounded. The remaining men crouched behind the wall, fear and shock on their faces.
The first of the infantry came through the smashed house into the square and came under light fire. Most of the rebels were firing at the Land Frigate.
Under the orders of sergeants and corporals they spread out to find cover, several sharpshooters forcing their way into the intact houses either side seeking access to the flat roofs.
Someone on the wall was shouting in Arabic and the volume of fire falling like rain on the Land Frigate began to drop, instead the leading infantry squads came under heavier fire and first one, then another and a third cried out or fell.
Then four new figures crunched their way across the rubble and into the square. The Ironsides had arrived. Designed in America, a number of these experimental devices had been purchased for testing by the British Army. Renamed Ironsides they were so new there were less than a platoons worth of them in the entire army.
Each was a remarkable device, Nearly eight feet tall and humanoid, massive steel legs surrounded by a frame of pistons and armour. A barrel chest topped with a small hatch. Arms of pulleys and gears, puny when compared to the size of the Ironsides but still much larger than a human arm. The men who drove these machines were amongst the biggest and strongest in the army and they still collapsed from heat and exhaustion within an hour of being deployed. But for that hour they were gods of steel and fire on the battlefield.
Two carried short barrelled two pounder cannon with five round revolver mechanisms, designed by the Royal Arsenal at Woolwich, specifically for the Ironsides. The navy was showing an interest in them as well, for close in defence weapons for the Land Cruisers or fleet ships. These were built into the right arms, the left arms were fitted with crude and clumsy but very strong gripping claws.
The other two carried maxim machine guns, the canvas belts of ammunition held in great steel boxes slung beneath the weapons.
All four Ironsides immediately became the centre of a storm of fire as every rebel opened fire at these steel giants as soon as they came into sight. They lumbered forwards, the soldiers within struggling to move despite the complex system of pistons and pulleys. Sweating in the heat of a steel box under the Egyptian sun and with steam engines strapped to their backs. Struggling to see the enemy through the grill like face plates of heavy armoured slats, the gaps filled with sheet metal drilled with hundreds of close set small holes to allow sight and protection.
One Ironside fired a burst of Maxim fire along the closest wall, driving the rebels into cover. Following the fire both cannon armed Ironsides paused and fired one round each into the wall just below the battlements. The rounds were light but the wall was no more than brick and a whole section of the wall and battlement collapsed.
With the Land Frigate and the Ironsides drawing what enemy fire was still coming towards the British force the infantry were able to spread out across the square, moving from cover to cover. The sharpshooters on the flat roofed buildings began their work and one after another rebels who exposed themselves on what remained of the closest battlements were cut down.
Nothing moved except the infantry and Ironsides, the firing had stopped.
It looked like the British had taken the town with barely a fight.