» Mon Mar 14, 2011 11:35 pm Meaningless Blood
Battle of Hero Hill
By Cobb aka Josh D. Slingerland
"I have no more men to command."
The day started out with a low roll of thunder symbolizing the approach of a thunderstorm. As the troops warily slogged down the Blue Road towards Cheydinhal, the last retreat of General Galdon Morentiss. They marched eyes sunken, armor battered, clothes torn, faces showing the hunger, wariness, and desperation of a lost cause. They marched with, to some, no purpose at all, they soon gave up and collapsed on the side of the road or sat down and stared blankly at something distant. This was all that was left of the Army of Freedom, after fighting for eight years for there freedom from the Empire and its rulers, fighting battle after battle, facing cold winters impregnable mountains, and the Army of Cyrodil. The Last Stand of the Army of Freedom is recorded here on these pages for all to know of how those men fought and died for what they believed was right.
The men reached a valley south of the city of Cheydinhal where on the north end they found the most amazing ground ever seen in the war a hill steep and open dotted with trees. General Morentis sent orders to his Division Commanders to entrench themselves on the hill and to ready every man to fight. Everyone knew the plan if not before the commanders themselves of what had to be done, they would hold this hill and kill as many of the Imperial Troops as they could until there was not a single man left the Army of Freedom. Colonel Bartwel's Division was to hold the center with Colonel Beger's on the left and General Uvelion's Division on the right with Colonel Gomes's Division as a reserve. Lieutenant Colonel Leonidas Travers was to command the 43 catapults. There were only 20,000 men in the army to facing the Army of Cyrodil with over 113,000 men, it would be a blood bath larger than anything ever seen in all of Tamriel.
General Tiber Septim soon camped in the base of the valley, "The camp fires," noted a soldier, "made the sky glow orange from the being so many." Early in the morning rain began to fall it soon turned into a down poor but this did not keep the troops of the Army of Cyrodil from forming there lines to attack the waiting enemy. First to attack was General Smoglan Elzie's Akatosh Legion. "The officers all down the line raised there swords and called for us to march, we all did with great eagerness for we were close to the end. Little did we know that we were going to walk into a blood bath", Commander Dilemon Anfort wrote in his journal after the battle.
The Akatosh Legion began to move forward but soon came under accurate fire from Colonel Travers's catapults on the hill, blasting holes in the lines but the troops still pressed forward until they were about eighty yards from the fortification where a blast of bow fire stooped the oncoming troops dead in there tracks. "The first rank," said Major Glennwart, "seemed to dissolve from our fire." The Imperials opened up with there own volleys but the fortifications made it near impossible to hit there targets but the enemy was able to kill the men with ease for they were out in the open. The Akatosh Legion fell back loosing nearly 30 percent of its total strength. The I Legion was next but they to suffered almost the same amount of casualties, then came the X Legion who did not stay long for when there commanding officer General Wilman rode to the front to try and keep the troops moving a sharpshooter's arrow pierced him in the hart and his men carried him back while the rest retreated.
Now it was the V Legion's turn as the men stormed up it seemed as they would meet the same fate but instead hugged the ground and returned fire at the enemy positions. One Captain from the 34th I.I.R. wrote "The men pressed forward dying every step, until we reached the hill where we lay on the ground and returned fire. A man in front of me tried to get a shot off but when he stood he was killed by six arrows." Having reformed there line the Akatosh and I Legion's began there assault again but they soon became pinned on the hill with the V Legion, the Imperial Legion made there own assault hitting the right of the enemy line and managed to break through which resulted in fierce hand to hand fighting but the legion was repulsed. The Swampmoth Legion made there assault in the same are but did not have the numbers to break the line and they to hugged the ground and returned fire and by the end of the battle had lost nearly 75 percent of there strength.
General Septim rode forward, his staff after trying to stop him, and lead the assault of the remaining units that were pinned in a massed attack of the entrenchments and overwhelmed the enemy who fought like mad, one enemy soldier killed ten Imperial soldiers before he was killed by a arrow into his head. General Morentiss formed the last of his men and counter attacked, even fighting with his men, and slowly but surely the line began to disappear.
General Morentiss rode forward and he soon came under fire ,his aide wrote in his journal, "General Morentiss rode forward but he suddenly stopped and clutched his side. I rode over to him grasped his shoulder and asked if he was alright. He then slowly began to slide out of the saddle I grabbed him and dismounted. With the help of several other soldiers we lowered him to the ground. He was dead." This had caused the whole battle to stop as the enemy soon crowded around the leader of the lost cause. Men began to weep the Imperial soldiers were amazed to see that every man lowered his weapon and put up there hands. Then as if from a novel the sun came out showering the hill in sun light as though it were a signal from the gods that it was all over.
The total casualty count for the battle was 13,018 dead, 35,881 wounded, and 1,235 missing for the Army of Cyrodil the Army of Freedom lost over 15,000 of there original 20,000.
However, I believe it could have used more "character". It reads like an essay for English class (if this is what you were going for ignore all this garbage I just posted), simply stating basic facts, numbers and what have you, know what I mean? 
