F.I.S.H: British army colloquialism for F.I.B.U.A. FIBUA stands for “Fighting In Built Up Areas”. FISH stands for “Fighting In Somebody’s House”. Can be served with chips.

 

Victor had decided to take direct control of scouting and screening operations in their march ever since the “incident” and right now he was glad he had. For they had come across a problem that reminded him of his time in so many wars against authoritarian regimes who resorted to asymmetric warfare. From Iraq to Russia.

Using civilians effectively as human shields.

The enemy had dug themselves into a town and had seemingly forced the population to stay with them even as the outer houses had been connected together into a makeshift wall made of carts and logs.

Hell, they’d even made a show of having children and mothers peer out of those windows.

The fuckers seemed to have figured out their rules of engagement and were happy to do a few war crimes to leverage that.

Despicable but clever non the less.

It was also something he could work around but…

It requires an infantry assault into the town and even if they were only using flint locks it was still far riskier than what he would usually do. That is either level to the town or blast very large holes into anything that might look it’d have an enemy soldier in.

But nope. He needed to preserve civilian lives and property to the best of his abilities. Hence the need for the infantry assault.

He could blast open any buildings that had a definite enemy presence and were mostly likely empty of civilians but that was the most he could use his heavy support for.

And for that it’d have to be direct support from the tanks as his HIMAR’s six-meter accuracy with its MLRS missiles was too imprecise for this. Not to mention they might blow up several building with one strike with it too given how densely packed they were.

So hence, that’s why he picked the current plan.

Set the tanks up for direct support. Move the infantry up with the two AVCEs they had. Use the AVCEs and APCs to shield the infantry as they moved up. Have the AVCEs ram holes into the defences along with a few sappers. Then move building to building clearing out the town.

He sighed.

He was probably going to have to wait for reinforcements after this. Given the chance of casualties that would put them understrength for a city assault like this.

It would be nice to have the marine Blacksuits, but they were dealing with secondary objectives. Like the rest of the marines and Laurence wasn’t the most talkative commander. So, he probably wouldn’t be able to request support either. Though he didn’t need any other than those Blacksuits in their power armour.

But there was no time for delay, it was time to draw up the assault plan.

 

---

 

Emelia wasn’t sure if she was going to live today. The looks on everyone’s faces suggested this assault was risky despite the inferiority of their opponent. That’s how assaults against fortified urban positions worked.

And their company had been picked as one of the assault elements.

It was highly likely there would be mines, hidden cannons, marksmen and all sorts of other dangers. So hence they had decided to stay in their APCs until they were up in the enemy’s faces, hoping a cannon ball didn’t tear a hole through it.

That would most likely be the end of them to say the least.

But for now, most of them were blind to what was going on outside as they rumbled up the hill. The commander and the driver were the only people who really knew what was going on given the lack of forward-facing periscopes and view ports for them all.

Yet again she felt the familiar feelings of tension and fear rise up in her. She started to try and control hear breathing, even as the occasional musket hit the hull of the Panther, loudly plinking off like hail.

She just had to hope that the IFVs assaulting the town from the front had all the attention from the enemy’s heavier weapons.

Their HMG was firing back however with the familiar muffled sound of it firing and the empty casings clattering against the roof. Punctuating the occasional volleys of musket fire.

Just any moment now, any moment and they’d be there and would need to dismount as fast as they could and deploy around their vehicle. Then she guessed they’d most likely then storm into one of the houses. Or at least that was what she was hoping for as at least they’d be in heavy cover after clearing the house out.

The Panther lurched to a halt, the HMG opening up fully as Kenneth yelled, “Dismount! Quick now!”

The ramp was slammed open as all of them charged out, pushing their way out of the confined vehicle and out into the chaos of battle in a warming morning.

Behind their Panther was a scene of destruction. Enemy field cannons had been blown to pieces in their hidden positions. A Panther was immobilised with part of its disembarked squad carefully advancing up the hill. And there were patches of burning grass, covered by the kingdom’s knock off napalm.

It seemed like they were lucky then so far. “So far” being the important phrase.

“Alright! B section move up! The Engineers are going to smash a hole up for us!”

Alexandra nodded, “Alright, with me! Get behind the tank!”

The commotion of voices and boots mixed with the existing sounds of gunfire and explosions in a cacophony of noise. Her section and the B section of another squad all tried to huddle behind the AVCE Defender, guns pointed high up to the windows of the already bullet ridden timber frame buildings. It was impossible to tell if any of the voices mingling in the air were from them and eyes could peek out from anywhere.

It’s roof mounted 20mm barked, sending a stream of rounds over the top log barricade and down main street. Crackles and screams following. It then lowered it’s dozer blade and rammed the barricade.

The wall of logs didn’t budge. Instead, a mechanical clunk came from it as it remained still for a moment.

“Everyone out of the way it needs to reverse and get a proper run up!”

The quiet chatter faltered, everyone taking tentative steps away from the tank as it reversed.

While being behind it didn’t really confer much cover given where they might be shot from, it made them feel safe. And without being huddle up behind its Emelia couldn’t help but keep her eyes open and her rifle up.

The tank stopped again, another clunk following before it sped towards the barricade at full speed.

This time several logs were knocked down or snapped, leaving only a wait high log in their path.

“Lets go!” Alexandra yelled, waving at everyone to move.

And with that they ran for it, turning the corner onto the main street just as a set of muskets fired at them.

Emelia didn’t stop as she took point, ramming the door to the building down, falling in with it. Her body was wracked with dull pain, but she escaped the second volley that rippled down the road, screams following.

The rest of her section rushed in, with Alexandra sporting a bullet impact on her torso armour, her free arm clutching her gut as she stumbled in.

Her eyes then wandered throughout the crowded room, counting everyone, flicking to panic as she didn’t see Emelia, then finding her on the ground. Quickly, she slung her rifle and hauled the still groaning private, even as it made her wince.

Her eyes then went back to the rest of her section, currently all watching the entrances, “What are the rest of you lot doing!? Get up to the other floors and clear them! Half of you should know this already!”

A cascade of yes Ma’ams followed as the other three squaddies made their way up the stairs. Emelia was about to follow but Alexandra clamped a hand against her shoulder.

“I told those three to do it. Us two will stay down here and keep watch. That and I don’t think either of us are in any state to be storming up flights of stairs.”

“R-Right…”

Though she couldn’t help but keep her ears open, listening to every thump of boots from the people upstairs.

Shouts then started to echo down the stairs as their radios crackled to life.

“Alexandra, we have a few civies up here, but all hostiles are dead. I don’t think the civies are particularly welcoming our presence however.”

Alexandra sighed, “Are they hostile at all or can you just keep them bared up there till the battle is done?”

“I think we might need to put a broom to put against the door handle, yeah.”

“Well do that then while I call up A section. Sir! We have the house, what's next?”

The radio fell silent, before it then came back to life with the stern man’s orders. “We’re moving up behind the Panther, when it comes to your house, get out and we’ll then push up while the others clear the houses.”

“Roger.” Alexandra huffed, “Front line duty, fun.”

The Panther however was quick to arrive, the rest funnelling down the stairs.

That soon left them walking behind and besides the APC as it slowly rolled down the street at walking pace. Their necks either craned upwards or their eyes straining to see things in every shadowy shop front potentially hiding a gun.

This place was clearly nice before it was turned into a defensive point. Many of the shops still had their bright awnings and merchandise on display. Everything from trinkets and tools to some food which was now about a day old. Probably left out as everyone huddled inside expecting some sort of pre-emptive barrage.

But so far in the minute they had spent walking there hadn’t been much. The few threats that had emerged had been dealt with by a simple burst from the Panther’s M2 before anyone else saw it.

But it was enough to make most want to hide inside of their APC.

But Emelia, like the others stood her ground. She seemed to be correct about most of the enemy being pivoted to face the assault by the IFV’s and their troops but her now paranoid eyes spotted something.

They were coming up to a shop which was a bit more solid than the rest of them and notably seemed to be half warehouse. On it’s second floor there were multiple doors leading out into the air where simple cranes were hung above them. If anyone wanted to jump out at them quite literally, they’d do it here.

She tapped Alexandra’s shoulder and pointed up, “You think they’d have anything in there.”

Alexandra kept walking but her eyes squinted up at it, “I doubt they’d have any guns to really wheel out from them and jumping from there would be stupid.”

“The height from it to the Panthers wouldn’t be too bad though…”

“Yeah las bu-“

And that’s when her prediction was proved correct.

All of those doors slammed open as yellow cloaked mailed soldiers jumped from the now open doors. A number of them missed the Panther, slamming into the cobbles bellow and crumpling as their bones snaped. One however slammed into Keith before he could react, the two collapsing unconscious. Five of them made the jump, however.

Three with maces, one with a sword and the last one with a spear.

One of the mace men slammed their weapon into the remote weapons station and smashed it’s electronics before it could turn around. One other started pounding on the commander’s hatch as the others turned to the rest of them.

Kenneth raised his rifle first. A two round burst piercing their chest with pinpoint accuracy, two exit wounds bursting open in their back as the bullets simply went straight through them. The swordsman downed.

The spearmen took his shot and threw their short spear towards the assembled infantry. Weighting that he wouldn’t be around long enough to do anything else.

Luckily for them it hit Henry right in the chest, cutting into his rigging but the plate in his vest stopping it from cutting into his heart.

Juliet was able to then put an end to those targeting them, an automatic spray across the two leaving them tumbling off of the squad’s transport. Finishing the immediate to them with her machine gun.

The bark of a pistol soon followed, the driver opening their hatch to poke their 9mm out to blow a hole straight through the head of the remaining assailant.

A few more tense seconds followed. But as time passed and nothing else popped out at them, they started to lower their rifles. It seemed all of the attackers were dead.

Though, as if that wasn’t enough a scream came from down the road, everyone whipping around to peek at what it might be.

It was a woman, looking wide eyed at the destruction that had just occurred down the road.

Tears dripped down her face and onto a grey dress.

She stood there, out in the open, screaming, “Y-You daemons! You heartless monsters! Why did you come here!?”

Emelia felt herself take one step forwards before she was stopped, Zachary clasping onto her waist.

“Lass, this is the sort of thing that stinks of a trap…”

Everyone started to raise their rifles back up as the peek around the sides of the vehicle. The woman’s eyes only growing wider as she took a step back.

A gunshot echoed down the street, a man tumbling down a roof and onto the cobbles behind the woman.

She whipped her head around and bolted, running straight into a nearby building as she stumbled over the cobbles.

Louis’s marksmen rifle still smoked a little as he lowered it, inspecting the body on the ground.

If this was what the attack on their capital would be like, she wanted no part in it.