Diaries of a Dwarven Rifleman

“We had expected the usual sort of war. Basically we would fight the Baasgarta and eventually achieve some sort of balance and a negotiated peace. But after news of the slaves got out that was all dust in the wind. This would be a war of eradication, if not of the Baasgarta as a people then certainly of their culture. The dwarves of Dvargatil Baeg would not rest while a single one of their brothers or sisters labored under the lash of slave-masters.”

From the diaries of Engvyr Gunnarson

As the first blush of light touched the sky the dwarves of the 1st Mounted Infantry regiment fixed bayonets and prepared for the assault on the Baasgarta. They were outnumbered two to one and their enemies were in prepared positions. Worse yet even the light repeating crossbows favored by the Baasgarta had a longer effective range than the infantry's slug-guns. The dwarves didn't care. They were mad as hell and by the Lord and Lady they were going to crush the goblins. They were not so mad that discipline failed; their commanders had told them enough in advance so that the first flush of rage had passed. Now they were coldly angry and determined.

The soldier's slug-guns had an effective range against an individual target of about a hundred paces, but firing en mass against a target as large as the goblin's defensive works two hundred paces was not excessive. They opened the attack with a volley while the pike men rose from the trenches and moved forward. Their pikes were useless for this sort of work so they advanced behind pavises, large rectangular shields simply made of planks. These were designed to provide cover for the advancing gunners. They were proof against the lighter weapons of the Baasgarta and would at least provide some protection against their heavy crossbows.

The pavise-bearers took four paces forward and grounded their shields. The first rank of gunners moved up behind them and fired another volley. Then the next rank of shields leap-frogged them while the gunners reloaded and their own gunners volleyed. This process was repeated by the following ranks over and over, allowing the advancing ranks to maintain almost continuous fire as they moved quickly across the field between the opposing earthworks. It also spread the damage among the ranks so no single group absorbed more punishment than the others.

Crossbow bolts hammered into them, occasionally piercing the shields. The closer they got to the goblin lines the more accurate the soldier’s fire became, but the same was true of their enemies and more dwarves began to fall. Reaching the rows of spikes on the berms that sheltered the enemy they cleared them by the simple expedient of chopping at them with the lower edge of their shields. This and the rising slope of the berm exposed them to enemy fire and the first ranks of infantry were decimated. Despite this the others pushed forward until they crested the berms and the gunners went to work with their bayonets. The pike-men abandoned their pavises as they drew their shortswords and bucklers.

Once the two armies came to grips the goblins surged forward. Shooting with slug-guns or crossbows became a chancy thing. The dwarven soldiers fought in good order with iron discipline as the Baasgarta washed against them, fighting savagely but with little coordination. The dwarves had taken casualties advancing on the goblins despite their skill. Now the superior numbers of the Baasgarta and the obstacles of their defensive works began to tell on the attackers.

Far behind the lines an officer lowered the spyglass and said, “It's time.”

The dwarf next to him raised a horn and blew a short musical phrase. Other horns picked up the call and passed it along. At the top of the pass a soldier heard the call and directed his shuttered lantern into the mouth of a great tunnel that had recently been opened by the engineers. Far below in the depths of the mountain another light flashed in response. Within minutes of the command from the officer on the mountain, the word was received.