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Little Round Top Dulce bellum inexpertis. ("War is delightful to those who have no experience of it.") รณ Erasmus Many people in my company do not look at this war as a war for their nation. They think of this war as a war of attrition. They look upon this war as war of unprovoked aggression. I cannot deny them the fact that they are undoubtedly correct in the latter. I joined the Corps to fight for my family, country, and mother planet. I have fought in this war against the Covenant for five months now. Many of my comrades in arms haven't lasted half that time. I endured the sights of their deaths, and mourned them all the same. This is my holographic log of one of this fierce clash of armed combatants. July 2 We arrived in bulk. Our commanders ordered six companies to prepare for the battle. At least two were under strength. Our commander, Strong Vincent, was insistent in conducting the enemy's point of attack. He placed the two strongest battalions in the center of our lines. We protected a small hill complimented by a larger one. Our position was called Little Round Top. We garrisoned the southern slope of this rather insignificant mound of dirt. Little Round Top's topography was very ideal for defensive capabilities. Its southern slope was barren, with very little brush. It was covered with boulder, rather large ones at that. The western and eastern slopes were dense copse. My company, from New York, and its sister company from Michigan, was beyond under strength. The first attack that we repelled by one Covenant Company, eighteen hundred strong, had more men that both companies put together. Their first attack started in the afternoon. The Covenant charged up the minute hill, and was cut down by the unfavorable terrain and a hail of lead and brass. The hilly mountainside made the prospect of small artillery batteries from fortifying the UNSC position. Strong Vincent, the commander of my company, ran back and forth along the line throughout the fight in harms way, encouraging the men to fight on. He was eventually struck in the thigh by a plasma bolt. He suffered for five days before he finally succumbed to his horrifying wound. The Battle Starts We knew they were coming. They knew we knew they were coming. Our six companies against their seven. Unfavorable odds, yes, but unbeatable, no. The first of their attacks came at the point of engagement. We stretched our lines, and had our orders, "Give not an inch of ground." I cocked my MA5B and unleashed a three round burst of a pack of a backers dozen of Grunts. My three rounds ripped through one and lodged into the next behind it. "Ready-set- Run!" Cowardice Grunt yelled as he fled the battle scene. The man to my right mowed him down like his grass. I took a plasma bolt in my left shoulder as I followed a Jackal running unshielded. I misfired wildly, hitting a tree several meters to its left. I turned to face the Elite that shot me. As I shouldered my MA5B to unload on it, a white contrail connected with the beasts' skull. It toppled over head over heels. We took minimal casualties thanks to the fact that we had the advantage of higher ground, and the enemy couldn't sneak up on us. The Covenant withdrew rather fast to regroup. They came back two hours later in force. This assault was complimented by the whole semicircle encircling the summit being attacked by Covenant combatants. ***** "Sir!" The lieutenant saluted the general. General Warren returned the gesture. "Where shall we place the artillery batteries?" "Place them on the summit of Little Round Top." "Sir!" The lieutenant returned to his battery and instructed his men to take the guns to the summit. Those men in the batteries would not later say, "Wow! Lots of soldiers died by our sides." Totally contradicting this statement, they would say, "Wow! Getting those guns up to the summit was tough." The steep incline of Little Round Top made the ascent very difficult for the men of the battery. ***** We repelled the second attack with volleys of gunfire, cutting down wave after wave of Covenant attackers. As they ascended towards the summit a second time, they trod on the bodies of fallen comrades. They showed no sympathy for those lots, and did not grieve their losses. The battery of six cannons opened up on the Covenant lines, rejuvenating our courageous fight of valor and honor. Many of us, including myself, stood up and cheered on the men of the artillery battery. The kept coming, a mix of red, blue, and orange waves of terror. The ground began to pile high with the bodies of the fallen assailants. The ground became stained from blood, and became a horrifying abstract painting of reds, blues, and purples. We repelled attack after attack, pouring lead into wave after wave of Grunts, Jackals, and Elites. Colonel Chamberlain, holding the extreme left of the lines, uttered the words "Fix bayonets!" The line was stretched to the extreme, giving the enemy no opportunity to out flank their company. The formation of men rose up, withdrew Ka-bar combat knives, and placed them on the muzzles of their weapons. The lines steadily advanced, taking prisoners foolish enough to lay down arms and surrender. Fierce hand-to-hand, and CQB (Close Quarters Battle) ensued. Melee attack became frequent with the compliment of razor shape titanium blades piercing flesh. The Covenant withdrew, leaving behind prisoners and dead comrades. They forfeited the attempts at take Little Round Top, and a day later lost the battle. For those of you who know and study history, The Battle for Little Round Top was the defying battle in Gettysburg. It marked the turning of the Civil War and the farthest advance in the North. A day later, on July 3, the Union soldiers held the lines at Pickett's Charge, helping win the battle. The aftermath revealed that both Billy Yank (Union) and Johnny Reb (Confederate) had lost twenty thousand a piece. |
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