Eden's Hammer - By Lloyd Tackitt Page 0,32
will give excellent practice with the added benefit of knowing who was wounded or killed. We’ll get practice in as near a live fire environment as we can without actually killing each other.
“On top of that, we’ll be able to practice battle field communications, medical treatment and evacuation, and how best to defend the fort. We won’t be trying to capture a flag as in the usual war games. We will be continuing the exercise until one side has no survivors. It’s to be a war to the death for each side. These old paint balls might or might not burst when they hit. They will sting either way. The only safety device will be eye shields, we don’t need to lose any eyeballs in this practice. If you are hit, even if the paint doesn’t explode on you, you are to lie down and wait for the medics to find you and carry out their mission. Medics are fair game to shoot, just like they will be shot at when we actually fight. Any questions? None? Okay, captains take your men east of the fort and prepare your invasion. Colonel Fremont, as soon as the men are out of sight, take your defensive positions. Men, in this first exercise, you will imitate the known tactics of our enemy as explained to you in the briefings. This will not only give the defenders a realistic view of how they would be attacked, but will also give you firsthand knowledge of the strengths and weaknesses of the tactics you’ll be fighting against. Subsequent exercises will use our tactics and strategies, the ones we’ll be using against them. Defenders, you’ll also be involved in all exercises to keep you from getting into one set way of thinking, because the attackers will have any number of ways of coming at you.”
MARCH 11, AFTERNOON
Linda’s advance sentries began filtering in from their observation posts, relaying the incoming attackers’ positions and movements. Using this intel, Linda made subtle but important adjustments to the defensive positions.
Linda watched through binoculars as the men moved in. “Shirley, notify the squad leaders they have ten minutes before they see the attackers. Remind them of the effective range of their paintball guns, to rely on the landmarks we identified for ranging information, and that they are not to fire until the attackers reach the optimum range and target density. Stay with them and move from position to position giving advice and confidence.”
Adrian stood by silently, also watching with binoculars. They had taken a position on a rooftop where they could watch without being seen. Linda would be actively moving her troops as needed and issuing commands by runner. Adrian would only observe, offering no advice or counsel. He would instead watch everything and make his observations known in the post-exercise briefing.
The attackers followed the known tactics of the raiders. First, they sent out scouts to observe. The information was relayed to the fighters and they gathered into three distinct groups. They came at the Fort on a dead run, firing as they came. It was a classic three-front strategy, hitting the fort from three directions, putting the defenders in a crossfire while minimizing the chances of friendly fire hitting their own.
The attack was fast, furious, and brutal, and the battle lasted less than five minutes. Many of the attackers were cut down in the initial surge with few losses to the defenders. However, the attackers still overran the defenders and quickly eliminated them. The attackers won, although with heavy losses.
At the follow-up briefing, Adrian said, “We learned a lot today. Thank you, Matthew—it was an excellent idea that will save us many lives before this is over. We learned that the defensive positions need to be fortified more than they are. We learned that the defenders have a chance to succeed if we do several things differently, and those ideas will be incorporated into the next exercise. We also learned that the attack force must be cut down in size considerably if the defenders are to have a chance of success—that will be on the men’s shoulders. Our goal is to eliminate them entirely, and I plan on achieving that goal, but as a fall back, we have to be realistic about how many raiders have to be killed in order to give the defenders at the village a solid chance to win.
“Each of you as an individual has learned a lot. It isn’t a realistic live fire exercise in the