Chapter 224: Forced Back

Chapter 224: Forced Back

The next Astragoth attack reached the goblins before the new defensive positions were ready. Machine-gun crews were still clearing debris from their firing lanes when the first armored Astragoths came into range. Tank crews fired their main guns as soon as their gunners had clear targets, while RPG teams waited for shots that would not pass near friendly soldiers. Ordinary Astragoths spread out behind the armored creatures and continued advancing whenever the goblins concentrated too much fire on one armored target.

One machine-gun crew had barely secured its weapon when an armored Astragoth entered the machine gun’s firing lane. The gunner fired repeated bursts into the creature while nearby goblin soldiers targeted the ordinary Astragoths moving around it. The armored Astragoth slowed but stayed on its feet. Before the machine-gun crew could finish it, another Astragoth attack group began moving toward the supply route behind the defensive position.

The officer responsible for the defensive position looked at the supply route, then at the approaching Astragoths. If the Astragoths reached the route, the machine-gun crew would have to abandon the weapon or fight through the enemy to withdraw.

"Start breaking down the machine gun," he said. "Take as many machine-gun ammunition belts as you can carry and leave the ammunition crates."

The gunner looked at the ammunition crates stacked beside the machine-gun position. "We can move the machine gun now, but most of those crates will have to stay. Keep the Astragoths away from the route until we get the weapon out."

"You’ll have covering fire. Start moving before they get closer."

Nearby goblin soldiers increased their rifle fire while two members of the machine-gun crew lifted the weapon from its position. The other crew members carried several machine-gun ammunition belts and their rifles. Once the machine gun was moving toward the next defensive position, the soldiers providing covering fire began withdrawing as well.

The armored Astragoth reached the abandoned machine-gun position and struck the damaged barrier with its tail. Ordinary Astragoths crossed through the opening and continued after the retreating goblins. They ignored the abandoned ammunition crates. The Astragoths remained so close to the withdrawing goblin soldiers that the artillery crews could not safely fire on the abandoned defensive position.

A goblin tank covered the withdrawal by firing its main gun at the largest Astragoth group pursuing the soldiers. The first tank shell killed an armored Astragoth, and the driver began reversing as soon as the main gun was reloaded. A second tank tried to follow, but damage from earlier fighting had slowed one of its tracks. The damaged tank crossed the broken ground unevenly and continued losing speed.

The tank commander reported the problem to the officer coordinating the armored vehicles. "The main gun still works, but the damaged track is getting worse. We are not going to reach the next defensive position before the Astragoths catch us."

The officer checked the distance between the damaged tank and the nearest Astragoths. "Can you fire one more main-gun round without stopping the tank?"

"Yes, but after that the Astragoths will be close enough to reach the vehicle."

"Fire the round, then get the crew out. We’re leaving the tank behind."

The tank crew fired one final shell and killed the nearest armored Astragoth. The crew members climbed out immediately afterward and withdrew on foot with the goblin soldiers moving behind the vehicle. The damaged tank was left where it stopped because recovering it would have required another group of soldiers to remain behind and protect it.

The next defensive position had little prepared cover. The goblins chose the ground because several groups could fire from it without crossing one another’s firing lanes and because the supply route behind them remained open. Machine-gun crews placed their weapons on stable ground. Tank crews stopped their vehicles where they had enough room to reverse. Soldiers stacked rifle ammunition and machine-gun ammunition near the crews that needed them.

The Astragoths arrived before those preparations were complete. Several goblin soldiers were still carrying ammunition crates when the first armored Astragoth reached effective range. The goblins killed that armored creature before it reached the barrier, but another survived long enough to strike the defensive barrier twice with its tail. The second strike broke part of the barrier and created an opening wide enough for ordinary Astragoths to enter.

Goblin soldiers fired into the breach from both sides. They killed the armored Astragoth at close range, but the opening remained. More ordinary Astragoths were already approaching, and the neighboring goblin defensive position had begun withdrawing. That withdrawal left the supply route behind this group with less protection.

The officer contacted his commander. "We can still hold this breach for a few minutes, but the soldiers beside us are already pulling back. If we stay for another attack, the Astragoths will be able to reach the supply route behind us."

"Is the supply route still clear?"

"It is clear right now."

"Then withdraw while you still have that route. Take the machine gun and the machine-gun ammunition belts that are already packed. Leave the ammunition crates that will slow the crew down."

The machine-gun crew removed the weapon while goblin soldiers at the damaged barrier covered them. Once the machine gun and its ammunition belts were moving toward the next defensive position, the covering soldiers followed. Several ammunition crates remained behind, but the machine gun, its crew, and the ammunition they could carry reached the next defensive position.

Similar withdrawals began elsewhere. Some goblin groups left after armored Astragoths broke their defensive barriers. Other groups withdrew before the Astragoths reached their positions because neighboring goblin groups had already fallen back. Officers stopped waiting for the Astragoths to physically enter a defensive position once the route behind that position could no longer be protected.

The earlier withdrawals kept more goblin soldiers from becoming trapped, but they also allowed the Astragoths to gain ground more quickly. Astragoth attack groups crossed abandoned defensive positions without stopping. Armored Astragoths continued leading many of the attacks while ordinary Astragoths spread toward separate machine-gun positions and groups of goblin soldiers.

Supply vehicles also stopped using the unloading points that had become too close to the fighting. Drivers stopped farther behind the active defensive positions, unloaded ammunition crates, and turned their vehicles around before nearby supply routes became threatened. Goblin soldiers carried the ammunition crates forward by hand from the new unloading points.

At one supply route, a vehicle still held half of its ammunition when observers reported an Astragoth group moving toward the route. The driver looked toward the machine-gun positions while soldiers continued unloading ammunition crates.

"The machine-gun crews are still asking for more ammunition belts," the driver told the officer beside the route. "If I leave now, they only get the ammunition we already unloaded."

The officer looked toward the approaching Astragoths. "You do not have enough time to empty the vehicle. Leave the unloaded ammunition crates here and take the remaining load back. If the Astragoths reach this route while the vehicle is still here, we lose the vehicle and every ammunition crate still inside it."

The driver looked at the remaining load, then climbed back into the cab. "Tell the soldiers to clear the back of the vehicle. I’ll turn around now."

The supply vehicle left while goblin soldiers picked up the unloaded ammunition crates and carried them toward the machine-gun positions.

The Astragoth attacks soon began overlapping. One Astragoth group would be stopped while another group was already approaching a different defensive position. Tank crews fired their main guns, reversed their vehicles, and changed targets. RPG teams moved when friendly soldiers entered their firing lanes. Machine-gun crews relocated whenever wrecked vehicles, broken barriers, or retreating goblin soldiers blocked a clear field of fire.

The goblins continued killing large numbers of Astragoths, but those losses did not provide enough time to retake abandoned ground. Every short pause was used to carry wounded soldiers, move rifle ammunition and machine-gun ammunition, relocate heavy weapons, or prepare another defensive position. Damaged barriers were often left unrepaired because another Astragoth group arrived before the repairs could be completed.

At another defensive position, a machine-gun crew began firing before the tripod was fully settled. An armored Astragoth was already advancing while ordinary Astragoths spread around it. The machine-gun crew concentrated on the armored creature while nearby goblin soldiers used their rifles against the ordinary Astragoths.

The officer at the position watched a wrecked vehicle beside the supply route behind them. If the Astragoths moved beyond that vehicle, they would be close enough to threaten the goblins’ withdrawal route. The soldiers at the next defensive position were still placing their weapons, so the officer kept the current position active.

"We stay here until the soldiers behind us finish setting up," he told the machine gunner. "If the Astragoths move past that wrecked vehicle, we take the machine gun and withdraw."

The gunner kept firing at the armored Astragoth. "Tell me before the soldiers start moving behind the machine gun. I need to stop firing before anyone crosses the firing lane."

"I’ll give you the order before they move. Keep firing until then."

The armored Astragoth fell before reaching the barrier. The machine gunner shifted his fire toward the ordinary Astragoths. Soon afterward, a goblin soldier near the supply route reported that another Astragoth group had reached the wrecked vehicle. The next defensive position was ready, so the officer ordered the machine-gun crew to withdraw. Goblin soldiers covered the crew until the machine gun was moving, then followed them.

The commanders began judging each defensive position by three specific conditions. Ammunition had to be able to reach the soldiers. Nearby goblin weapons had to be able to support the position. The soldiers also needed an open withdrawal route. If one of those conditions failed and could not be restored, the officer responsible for the position ordered the soldiers to withdraw before the Astragoths isolated them.

The result was clear on Noah’s battlefield map. Earlier withdrawals had created separate gaps between positions. Now several connected defensive positions were moving inward together because the ground between them could no longer be defended. Supply routes that had previously been behind several layers of goblin soldiers were now close to active combat.

Noah contacted the commander coordinating the withdrawals. "I’m seeing defensive positions abandoned before the Astragoths reach them. Are the soldiers leaving because they cannot hold the positions, or because their routes are becoming exposed?"

"Both are happening, but exposed routes are causing more withdrawals now," the commander replied. "A group may still have enough soldiers and ammunition to keep fighting. But if the neighboring position withdraws, the Astragoths can move through the empty ground toward the route behind them. If our soldiers stay too long, they may have to fight through the Astragoths just to get out."

"Would moving more tanks to those routes stop the problem?"

"It would protect one route, but I would have to remove those tanks from another defensive position. Then the Astragoths would have an easier time reaching that position. We do not have enough tanks to cover every threatened route at the same time."

Noah examined the routes that still connected the remaining goblin positions. "Then keep the withdrawal routes open instead of trying to hold every defensive position. If an Astragoth group is about to reach a route behind our soldiers, move those soldiers before the route is cut. I do not want them fighting another battle simply to retreat."

The commander passed Noah’s order to the local officers. From then on, they did not need to wait for Astragoths to enter a defensive position before ordering a withdrawal. If neighboring goblin groups had already moved back and the route behind the position could no longer be defended, the remaining soldiers left while they still had time to carry their machine guns, rifles, RPGs, and ammunition with them.

The withdrawals became more frequent. Some defensive positions could probably have survived another attack, but remaining there would have separated the soldiers from the rest of the goblin force. The Astragoths followed closely after each withdrawal, leaving the goblins little time to establish their next defenses.

One defensive position survived two attacks before Astragoths began approaching the route behind it. The goblins had already killed the armored creatures that reached the barrier, but another Astragoth group was crossing ground abandoned earlier. The officer ordered the machine gun removed, distributed the remaining machine-gun ammunition belts among the crew members, and withdrew before the Astragoths reached the route. The enemy occupied the empty position soon afterward and continued advancing.

The western and southern fronts also began moving back. Their withdrawals were smaller at first, but officers there faced the same problem whenever neighboring defensive positions could no longer protect one another. The northern and eastern fronts had already moved farther inward. Keeping all four fronts connected required the goblins to abandon more ground instead of leaving isolated groups ahead of the rest of the defense.

The smaller defensive area also changed how the tanks operated. Routes between firing positions were shorter, but wrecked vehicles blocked several routes, and other routes ran too close to the fighting. Tank crews began choosing firing positions that gave each tank enough space to reverse if another withdrawal became necessary.

Supply crews faced the same restriction. Some supply vehicles stopped farther back and left goblin soldiers to carry ammunition crates toward the active defensive positions. This increased the distance the soldiers had to carry the ammunition, but it kept supply vehicles away from routes that might be cut before unloading was complete.

Another Astragoth attack forced two goblin groups to withdraw at almost the same time. An armored Astragoth broke part of one defensive barrier, while ordinary Astragoths approached the route behind the neighboring position. Both goblin groups moved to the next defensive line instead of attempting to retake the ground they had lost.

The new defensive line became crowded when both groups arrived. Officers repositioned the soldiers so each machine gun had a clear firing lane. Tanks were given enough space to reverse without hitting ammunition carriers or other vehicles. Soldiers carrying ammunition crates were directed away from the routes reserved for tank movement.

Noah received another report while those adjustments were underway. One supply route was becoming exposed because the goblin positions protecting it had withdrawn. Several ammunition crates remained near the former unloading point, but recovering them would require soldiers and supply vehicles to move back toward the approaching Astragoths.

"Leave the ammunition crates that cannot be recovered safely," Noah ordered. "Keep the supply vehicles and their crews behind the current defensive line. Sending them back onto a threatened route risks losing the vehicles along with the ammunition."

The remaining ammunition crates were abandoned.

By the later part of the fighting, the goblins had been pushed away from many of the defensive positions they had occupied at the start of the day. The remaining defenses were still connected, but the active fighting had moved closer to the central part of the foothold. Supply routes that had once been safely behind several defensive positions now passed close to machine-gun crews, tanks, and groups of goblin soldiers.

The next defensive line was still being organized when observers reported more Astragoths approaching. Machine-gun crews placed their weapons where they had clear firing lanes. Tank crews stopped behind the infantry with enough room to reverse. RPG teams selected positions where they could fire without friendly soldiers crossing in front of them.

No counterattack was ordered. Every available weapon was needed against the approaching Astragoths, and officers were already checking which supply routes and withdrawal routes would remain open if the goblins were forced back again. The goblins had lost more ground, but the soldiers still reached each new defensive position as organized groups, bringing back the weapons and ammunition they could carry before the Astragoths closed the routes behind them.