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Description
As his forces fell upon Daagsgrad General ti'Belnoth monitored things from the back of his spider in the Army's rear. Occasionally he would listen to a verbal report from one of his aides, but most of what was happening was clear enough. Things were not going perfectly, but they were proceeding along acceptably. The initial attacks from the dragon riders had done it's job of softening up their defenses, though they had taken higher losses than he expected and the survivors had gone back to the ships.

The ground troops were faring better, even though Infrastructural guns had lived up to their reputation. Through his looking glass he saw dozens of Jannissaries fall from a single artillery strike. Before the battle began, he judged that one third Jannissary losses in battle was granted and soon enough he saw that said losses had been inflicted even before they had closed the distance with more falling every second. Many would say that they were doing their job and that it meant that less Drow soldiers would die this day. It was not that he disagreed with that position, but even so every one that died or crippled to the point where he would have to be put down meant one less slave soldier for the remainder of the campaign and they was not an infinite supply of them. Even so things were going well on the whole. He had a dozen field commanders managing individual units and they were doing as well as could be expected, following his plans as well as they should and responding to changes in an acceptable manner. Unessisary micromanagement of their affair was not worth considering.

In suveying the battle there was a large number of things that he needed to take into consideration. One of these was the reports from a patrol he had set which had yet to arrive. It was not to say that it was unconsidered, but there were more pressing and immediate concerns. He sent a few runners to inform his commanders about this and went back. As did a faint haze on the horizon that appeared about the same time that the Janissaries went under enemy fire. He had messages relayed to his hindmost commanders in anticipation of the what was likely coming, hoping it would be.

Never the less, when he saw a purple pillar of light suddenly rise the battlefield through the thick smoke that was enveloping the Infrastructural defenses and permitted himself a small grin. That meant that a Platoon of Drow Shocktroops had managed to get through their lines and were carving through the defenders and clearing the way for more forces. When that happened thousands of Drow Warriors began their march onto the Infrastructural lines. The shocktroops, surviving janissaries and their overseers would most likely overwhelm most of their defenses by the time they got there but some backup would be useful never if something went wrong and it would let the rest of the warriors claim some share of glory even if the risks were minimal. This good mood however was short lived.

"My lord!" A lookout barked "They're coming in from the Southeast! Six thousand a least!"

He quickly turned around and saw the wall of dust and got out his spyglass to get a clear view. In the distance on the horizon was a mass of men on horeseback advancing steadily and forming battle lines. However, he could also make out guns

"Prepare to repulse a rear attack!" He yelled. With that trumpets barked out their notes and three green short green manaflares were sent up in quick succession. With that eight thousand Drow Warriors made an about face and abandoned their advance.

---

Sven Smedth surveyed the battlefield from the top hatch and surveyed the battlefield. The last few days had had not been easy on him or his troops. There had been a rush to get enough supplies ready and move out followed by sixty kilometers marching. He was glad that he did not need to ride a horse, he had enough of that in the wars of unification for five lifetimes at least though the alternative was still bumpy as all hell and it smelled of unwashed soldier after a day. But worse still were delays. Delays due to mud, delays at crossings, delays refueling, eating and sleeping. He knew that these were unavoidable, attempts at evading them would just cause more and worse delays and weaken morale and getting out and stretching did make him more comfortable. But regardless even if (metaphorically speaking) he could not see it's hands he could always hear the clock ticking.

Ahead he could see the city of Daagsgrad as a number of smoke columns in the distance as well as the Drow Encampment. A few hundred slaves were under the half hearted guard of a small number of low ranking Drow warriors and a few exhausted mages, both of which scattered with their approach. They were not of concern at the moment in of themselves but they did indicate two things: the Drow had begun their assault but had yet to take the city. Soon he saw the distant armies in the horizon through his binoculars. He made out their distant formations and the violet and green lights rising up in the distance. They probably were sighted.

At least his forces were not too late. Even so, behind his steady expression he still had his doubts. Regardless of Drive's points about him being viewed as a great leader and a hero of Infrastructure by the men, he knew that in truth he was nothing special. Twenty four years of military service had given him an adequate understanding of how to handle troops, execute plans and make minor adjustments when needed, but even so he had gone over the great commanders of history who could overcome forces five times their size through clever maneuvers, well positioned ambushes and a deep understanding of their enemies and their commanders. He was not one of those men. Sven did have a solid track record of victories, but those had far more to do with fighting axe armed warlords with rifles and cannons. Today he was fighting an army of warriors trained from childhood in warfare equipped with a plentiful supply of magical weapons and armor led by a general who had an education in military command and maybe centuries of combat experience.

Despite this, his voice remained stony"Signal the rocketeers to set up." He said to the driver.

"Yes sir!" he responded as he had the whistle give off the series of blasts. Rockets were inaccurate, but against an enemy force that big surgical percision would not be necessary. Whatever he was up against, he had his duty to do. And if nothing else, he had with him ten thousand cavalry and twenty automatic weapon packing armored Battlesteamers.

Previous-Infrastructure: Part Two Hundred and Eight
Next- Infrastructure: Part Two Hundred and Ten

Description
As his forces fell upon Daagsgrad General ti'Belnoth monitored things from the back of his spider in the Army's rear. Occasionally he would listen to a verbal report from one of his aides, but most of what was happening was clear enough. Things were not going perfectly, but they were proceeding along acceptably. The initial attacks from the dragon riders had done it's job of softening up their defenses, though they had taken higher losses than he expected and the survivors had gone back to the ships.

The ground troops were faring better, even though Infrastructural guns had lived up to their reputation. Through his looking glass he saw dozens of Jannissaries fall from a single artillery strike. Before the battle began, he judged that one third Jannissary losses in battle was granted and soon enough he saw that said losses had been inflicted even before they had closed the distance with more falling every second. Many would say that they were doing their job and that it meant that less Drow soldiers would die this day. It was not that he disagreed with that position, but even so every one that died or crippled to the point where he would have to be put down meant one less slave soldier for the remainder of the campaign and they was not an infinite supply of them. Even so things were going well on the whole. He had a dozen field commanders managing individual units and they were doing as well as could be expected, following his plans as well as they should and responding to changes in an acceptable manner. Unessisary micromanagement of their affair was not worth considering.

In suveying the battle there was a large number of things that he needed to take into consideration. One of these was the reports from a patrol he had set which had yet to arrive. It was not to say that it was unconsidered, but there were more pressing and immediate concerns. He sent a few runners to inform his commanders about this and went back. As did a faint haze on the horizon that appeared about the same time that the Janissaries went under enemy fire. He had messages relayed to his hindmost commanders in anticipation of the what was likely coming, hoping it would be.

Never the less, when he saw a purple pillar of light suddenly rise the battlefield through the thick smoke that was enveloping the Infrastructural defenses and permitted himself a small grin. That meant that a Platoon of Drow Shocktroops had managed to get through their lines and were carving through the defenders and clearing the way for more forces. When that happened thousands of Drow Warriors began their march onto the Infrastructural lines. The shocktroops, surviving janissaries and their overseers would most likely overwhelm most of their defenses by the time they got there but some backup would be useful never if something went wrong and it would let the rest of the warriors claim some share of glory even if the risks were minimal. This good mood however was short lived.

"My lord!" A lookout barked "They're coming in from the Southeast! Six thousand a least!"

He quickly turned around and saw the wall of dust and got out his spyglass to get a clear view. In the distance on the horizon was a mass of men on horeseback advancing steadily and forming battle lines. However, he could also make out guns

"Prepare to repulse a rear attack!" He yelled. With that trumpets barked out their notes and three green short green manaflares were sent up in quick succession. With that eight thousand Drow Warriors made an about face and abandoned their advance.

---

Sven Smedth surveyed the battlefield from the top hatch and surveyed the battlefield. The last few days had had not been easy on him or his troops. There had been a rush to get enough supplies ready and move out followed by sixty kilometers marching. He was glad that he did not need to ride a horse, he had enough of that in the wars of unification for five lifetimes at least though the alternative was still bumpy as all hell and it smelled of unwashed soldier after a day. But worse still were delays. Delays due to mud, delays at crossings, delays refueling, eating and sleeping. He knew that these were unavoidable, attempts at evading them would just cause more and worse delays and weaken morale and getting out and stretching did make him more comfortable. But regardless even if (metaphorically speaking) he could not see it's hands he could always hear the clock ticking.

Ahead he could see the city of Daagsgrad as a number of smoke columns in the distance as well as the Drow Encampment. A few hundred slaves were under the half hearted guard of a small number of low ranking Drow warriors and a few exhausted mages, both of which scattered with their approach. They were not of concern at the moment in of themselves but they did indicate two things: the Drow had begun their assault but had yet to take the city. Soon he saw the distant armies in the horizon through his binoculars. He made out their distant formations and the violet and green lights rising up in the distance. They probably were sighted.

At least his forces were not too late. Even so, behind his steady expression he still had his doubts. Regardless of Drive's points about him being viewed as a great leader and a hero of Infrastructure by the men, he knew that in truth he was nothing special. Twenty four years of military service had given him an adequate understanding of how to handle troops, execute plans and make minor adjustments when needed, but even so he had gone over the great commanders of history who could overcome forces five times their size through clever maneuvers, well positioned ambushes and a deep understanding of their enemies and their commanders. He was not one of those men. Sven did have a solid track record of victories, but those had far more to do with fighting axe armed warlords with rifles and cannons. Today he was fighting an army of warriors trained from childhood in warfare equipped with a plentiful supply of magical weapons and armor led by a general who had an education in military command and maybe centuries of combat experience.

Despite this, his voice remained stony"Signal the rocketeers to set up." He said to the driver.

"Yes sir!" he responded as he had the whistle give off the series of blasts. Rockets were inaccurate, but against an enemy force that big surgical percision would not be necessary. Whatever he was up against, he had his duty to do. And if nothing else, he had with him ten thousand cavalry and twenty automatic weapon packing armored Battlesteamers.

Previous-Infrastructure: Part Two Hundred and Eight
Next- Infrastructure: Part Two Hundred and Ten