WEST GATE COUNTER ATTACK

WAR 108, DAY 72, West Gate, Holdfast --- Following the incursion of the Wardens into West Gate, the Colonial Legion began to buttress their positions, spreading their forces across a North-South defensive line, facing The Gallows. The Meseans concern was that a Warden victory in the region would exacerbate the stresses to maintain control of the Western flank of the Mercy River Valley. Yet this victory soon became a fleeting opportunity on Day 71, as the Colonials mustered enough force to crack the tepid defensive lines of the Wardens. This collapsed their position at Holdfast, allowing the Colonials to advance rapidly towards the twisting roads of the coastal village.

As I managed to slip past naval blockades to the West, I caught up with the Colonial counteroffensive as they were consolidating their gains at Holdfast. Colonial combat engineers had turned the Warden breastworks against them, replacing dismantled trench emplacements and pillboxes into defensive positions their infantry used to great success.

At the Cattle March Road just South of The Gallows, combat between the two forces came to a head, as the second defensive line of the Wardens soon became the frontline in this sector. Warden armoured tractors and Colonial tankettes met each other and threw themselves into the fray. Surrounded by abandoned trenches and suppressed emplacements, their occupants would be pinned down by a torrent of small arms fire.

With my hiding spot less than 50 meters from the Bunker Base that serviced the defences on Cattle March Road, I watched as Colonial Field Machine Guns crept closer and closer with each destroyed Warden position. In response the Caovish infantry would throw everything into their counterattack, their infantry pressing against the Legion with as much force as was issued against them. While the Colonials, their infantry within striking distance, would commit themselves to the nearby trenches, overlooked by Warden emplacements. 

While taking heavy fire, Bombastones were thrown into occupied pillboxes, the shrapnel splintering wood as explosions wracked the Warden bunker base. Wardens would soon reoccupy the trench and attempt to stem the assault. Yet it appeared too late, as more Bombastones were thrown over the parapets and into the Warden bunker base directly, throwing bodies and dirt upwards in a monstrous fashion. All the while the emplacements were suppressed by concentrated fire, eventually exposing the flank of the bunker base to the Legion's ISGs and machine guns.

At 1228 Hours on Day 72, the Cattle March Bunker Base fell to the Legion, who continued their push forward towards The Gallows. Opening the narrow foot trails to the West of the road, the Colonials gained access to the heights above the village. Even with this advantage in the Legion's favour though, the fight is not over yet, as another Warden bunker system sits just at the fork in the road leading directly to The Gallows.

Nevertheless, by 1450 hours the bunker base was seized by the Legion, while combat moved Further North along the Cattle March Road. While in the Western Foothills, Wardens on the heights shot down at the valley below, killing any who were out of cover or moving in the open.

As night fell on West Gate, long-range battles closed in, increasing the ferocity of gunfire, with Colonials continuing to push along the road, despite the mud and intense fire from the defiant Wardens. It was clear that they were playing for time, perhaps reinforcements would arrive, or perhaps they were going to see if the Colonial push would exhaust itself, by then they could consolidate. Whatever the outcome of this counterattack by the Colonial Legion becomes, the cohesion of both sides appears to be focused. Their morale, despite the losses, is still high, and the Wardens will not give up their foothold without a fight.