In the darkness before dawn Lt. Charles Norwick moved his platoon forward towards their objective. Raids were taking place this night and morning all over Quatrel Prime's frontlines in an effort to deceive the Stygian Empire about where the counteroffensive would take place. Norwick knew however that this raid was different, this one would prelude the main assault. He had seen troops from the Kharkovian 8th Guards already moving up in his sector and already men in his regiment had begun turning over their positions to them before being sent to an assembly point just behind the front. Norwick focused again on the objective shaking off his speculation. They were to attack a forward Stygian Observation post number 277. A Helcult manned the position and they were ordered to destroy or drive back the stygian force.
So far the advance had gone well. They had run across a single stygian militia man in no mans land. A single shot had brought the wretch down near the sentinel that accompanied Norwick's platoon. The traitor had a small satchel charge on him and one of Norwicks men had finished him with a bayonet thrust. Norwick figured the man had been a sapper attempting to infiltrate imperial lines and cause mischief. Sapper attacks had been common all along the front. Still Norwick was happy to have stopped this one before it could do damage. the bloody sappers were sometimes suicide bombers killing whole squads at a time.
Dawn was starting to light up the horizon and Lt. Norwick could faintly make out the enemy OP in the gloom. Overhead he could hear basilisk shells flying towards the Stygian main line another mile further on. Norwick was hopeful that the sounds of the speculative shelling would cover the sound of his platoons approach. Hurriedly he ordered his men into a skirmish line. Ordering the sentinel on the left flank and the taurox on the right flank. He hoped that the two would then be able to bracket the stygian helbrute and take it out quickly without loss. His men took positions just as dawn's light cleared away the last of the gloom. Norwick shouted for the advance to begin. The raid was now on and the prelude to Operation Scimitar had begun.
Special thanks goes out to Chris Edstrom (pictured below) for all his help with this battle report.
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