Duchy of Elysion Forces Study Report
Subject: Task Force Beowulf or Special Combat Group Beowulf
Author: Major Lionel Creed, Her Majesty's Intelligence Office. (MIO)
It should be noted that the year 1019 was quite eventful in Elysion, particularly because of the political pressure the parliament was under. For its part, the assembly of Ducal representatives had to meet and decide on the course of action to follow. Which in fact means that they will decide on the best way for them to follow the orders of the empire.
Of course what had to happen happened, Inglesia was mired in such an international mess that it needed a constant influx of soldiers on all fronts. But I'm not here to talk to you about Geopolitics. Here we are going to talk about a rather particular kind of soldiers. A unit of a new kind created to meet particular expectations on the front. The name of this unit comes from the hero of a legendary tale, an epic poem known as: BEOWULF
January 1021 somewhere in the Yukon. Region I had just spent a good month on the front with these guys and I must admit... I was disappointed. My first impression of this unit was not the right one and even then it was boring.
-It's fucking hot, Chief. Can I take off my beret?
-No way Cowl. You're a squad leader so set an example. His leader retorted.
From what little I saw Beowulf was a pretty standard fighting force, they certainly had better equipment but I had yet to witness anything great. Admittedly there wasn't much action either. And here we were sitting in the back of a Jeep, stuck in a traffic jam of about a hundred vehicles. The whole company was immobilized and since nothing was happening in half an hour, we were going to sit there for a while.
-Relax, Major. The Lieutenant told me. It's not like we're in a hurry, is it?
-Don't tell me there's no traffic in Lunden. His second in command added.
The two men in front of me were the leaders of this group. First Lieutenant Bryce Hartkins was the leader. Young, younger than me, brown hair, no hat on his head. From what I saw he is someone who knows how to make himself respected, he has total control over his men and knows how to lead them. That said I find them much too relaxed for soldiers deployed in a war zone.
-Actually, there are plenty. I replied, looking at his second.
I prefer to walk. Statistically speaking it is the safest means of transport.
The second was Staff Sergeant Luther Streiss. He too was a young man, with curly brown hair, a smiling gaze and wide-open eyes that exuded confidence. Hartkins and Streiss were clearly best friends, they addressed each other informally and rarely considered their rank. Streiss made a great second, as he and Hartkins were always on the same wavelength. Sometimes I envy the chemistry between them.
-Oh you're teaching me something Streiss told me. If one day I go to visit Lunden you'll show me the shortcuts.
-Your shitty salary won't pay you a trip to Lunden. Hartkins said, mocking him.
-With 50 thousand Dalks a year I could even pay for a cruise for my wife.
-You don't get that much of money as NCO
-you can talk, you are an officer.
-All my salary goes to the education of my children. I have mouths to feed. Hartkins replied
-You wouldn't have so many mouths to feed if you didn't fuck haphazardly...
I cleared my throat and realized they were going too far. Tch these guys, no manners I swear. What a great example for their men.
-Act a like gentlemen dammit.
-Sorry true, there are children among us. Said the driver.
Beowulf was an armed group the size of a battalion. About 1000 men separated into several groups according to their specialties. Infantryman, artilleryman, scouts snipers, mortarmen, artificers, medics, each is specialized in a very specific area. While in our standard army we prioritize homogeneity. Such versatility within a single unit is very rare. His Founder Lord Cailum called it The Combined arm doctrine.
Combat groups like the one I was in were called cages. References to the fact that the soldiers were caged wolves waiting to be released. All cages were under the direct command of General Steinberg as well as the commander of field operations. And each soldier had one of the specialties I mentioned above.
-Hey look up there. Cowl said.
The boy pointed at the sky
-Easy, he's one of ours. The lieutenant replied.
-A Beowulf pilot? I asked.
-Beowulf doesn't have an air force yet. He tells me with a smirk. But it's coming.
-If that happens we will truly be the ultimate multirole unit. Said the driver.
-What are you talking about, we're already the Ultimate unit. Cowl continued.
-Tch, what a bunch of arrogant young people. I muttered.
A cage is a platoon of 60 men led by a lieutenant, himself assisted by a sttaff sergeant . The cage is divided into 3 teams of 20 each led by a sergeant who has under his command a squad leader (usually at the rank of corporal).
If everything I say seems extra-compartmentalized it is because Lord Cailum himself has taken care of the details. Everything is done so that everyone knows exactly what their role is.
-Well, we've been waiting for hours. Luther pouted. Aneun goes to see what's going on.
-Sir yes Sir. She replied.
An interesting fact here is that they let female soldiers fight. Corporal Fiore Aneun is one of them. Personally, as long as they show their usefulness, I wouldn't complain. Besides, while we're at it, let's talk about equipment.
To support the comparison, the average Elysian soldier wears a forest green uniform, a bolt action rifle rifle held by a strap, a helmet, and a pack to carry the equipment.
Beowulf's uniform was a hooded hoodie, baggy pants, a pair of rangers, and fingerless gloves. The camouflage pattern ranged from dark green (Standard) to gray (urban/mountain combat). Ours currently was gray. Squad leaders and NCOs all had a red beret on their heads. The standard equipment was a 20-round semi-automatic assault rifle. Some had shotguns, submachine guns, but there was always a heavy machine gunner in everysquad, in short 3 per cage. But what really made the difference was their body armor. They had a kind of a ligth flak jacket, a tactical vest they called it, the thing was reinforced with steel plates strong enough to stop some caliber. Besides, I wouldn't have believed it if mine hadn't stopped a point-blank shot during a Stupid test Streiss pull up.
-I will payback that sadist.
Where I'm not reassured is that the weapon he used wasn't very powerful though. A shitty revolver that officers like to use to show off. The girl who had been gone for a while already comes back to report.
- Lieutenant apparently there would be unexpected resistance inside the city. The lead vehicle was destroyed and the vanguard was ambushed.
-Casualties? Hartkins asked.
-Several men and some injured people too. They are pinned.
-How many enemies? I asked.
-At a rough estimate I would say half a company.
I saw Brice let out a sigh, then a smile appeared on his face before he raised his head.
-Alrigth Gentlemen, get your ass out.
Suddenly I saw the soldiers start preparing their weapons and loading their ammunition. I quickly understood that their relaxed attitude was only there to release the stress before the fight. Now they were totally focused.
-What do you plan to do specifically, Lieutenant? I asked.
-You said the safest way to get around is walking. Are you a walker, Major?
I sighed and got out of the Jeep, finger on the trigger.
-Let's walk.
-Okay sqaud, urban combat scenario, you know the drill. I'll take group A, Luther you take B. We go through the building and meet in the middle.
-Let's see which of us gets there first.
-Lets rock.
They got out of the Jeep and we walked towards the city. I admit that I was surprised by so much audacity but also curious. Do you remember when I said that a cage had 3 squads of 20? Well here we went with half a squad, in other words only 10 men,
-Those who want to turn back, it's now. I said out loud.
-Don't worry, Major. The Wolf likes to fight. One of them answered me.
That's when I saw, in the soldiers' eyes... They were smiling, like fucking kids going to Christmas. And that was the case because the average age in this unit was between 18 and 24. We finally entered the city. The further we went, the louder the gunshots became. At a certain point, the two friends exchanged a last check and Sergeant Streiss left with half the men on the left.
-Better and better.
In all lucidity I decided to stay with Lieutenant Hartkins.
-Ok guys it's time to earn your wages. Who's praying?
Prayer?
-Well you... You're the highest ranking officer.
-Ah yes... What a stupid rule.
I was expecting a prayer to God Almighty or to his son Joshua but this was even more shocking. Especially seeing him pray with such fervor. As the Wolfs entered the buildings and got into position this prayer was still echoing in my head.
"Lord Ares God of War," Hartkins began. "After a long month of biding my time, you have finally put enemies in my path."
Hartkins gave the signal to enter and his men broke down the door. The enemy had ambushed our guys on the road by positioning themselves into the houses. So Hartkins had simply decided to go around by entering the surrounding houses to engage directly with the enemy.
"Those poor dudes do not know what awaits them. For there is no one better than us to accomplish your work."
Bullets fly, when I entered the room a dozen enemies were already dispatch I advanced cautiously with my rifle in sight as I heard the weapons spitting their lead on their enemies. Cowl threw a grenade through a kitchen window, the panicking enemies left the room and Aneun eliminated them with a machine gun.
"They still don't know that the sons of Mars are not fighters like the others."
Everything from the position of the weapons, their movement, no room was left to luck. They covered the corners and protected each other while advancing. An enemy came out behind me and tried to shoot me in the head. With a slight gesture of the hand Hartkins, who was in the next room, moved the barrel of the pistol. The shot went off and I was momentarily deaf in my ears, but I reacted quickly and planted my bayonet in the poor man's eye and exploded his skull. The bullet went through his skeleton and lodged in the torso of the one behind. My rifle fired one by one, also taking advantage of the reload time, an enemy appeared from the front, the lieutenant threw him out the window with a kick before chaining 3 shots into his torso. The guy was dead before his skull smashed on the ground.
"We are Beowulf. The deadliest strike force in Elysion. Let the gates of the pantheon be opened to us."
A grenade rolled to the ground right at our feet, as I was about to jump on it I saw one of the men put a big a metal crate on top of it before leaning against it. The grenade exploded without causing any significant damage and while the enemy who had thrown it showed himself, Bryce and I shooted his chest. He then made sure his soldier was okay and we continued on our way.
-HAIL ARES
I had been impressed. I have rubbed shoulders with many combat groups in my life having fought on bloody fronts myself, but this one stood out from the rest. They were pros who knew exactly what to do and how to do it, there were barely 5 of them and I know very few elite soldiers who can claim to keep up with them. Such cohesion in a standard unit takes a long time to get going. building after building they clear room mainly with grenades or smoke bombs but left no one behind. This armed group that I wanted so much to see at work. Beowulf Cage One: Black Fang. Specialty "Tactical support of conventional forces".
-Clear.
-Clear
-Clear
-Building Secure lieutenant.
-Good. Let's move on to the next one.
By clearing the buildings outside Beowulf forced their main force to abandon the street, the Inglesian forces took advantage of this to recover their wounded and counterattacked. The enemy had taken refuge in the large market in the central square but this is precisely where Hartkins wanted to attract them because on his side Streiss had maneuvered so that all the enemy forces converged on this point.
-Is this a joke? I said to myself out loud. You didn't even exchange a word?
-We've got them cornered now we're finishing the job. Aneun the radio.
-Yes, Sir.
Hartkins ordered a mortar strike right into the center of the market. After a devastating first salvo the remaining enemies surrendered without resistance. The Yukonite soldiers were brave, but they had just run into stronger troops.
-Come on now, let's secure the area.
When the other 2 Black Fang squads arrived the city was half under control. Beowulf had set up observation posts on the roofs and in key buildings, covering the advance of the main troops by supporting them with precision fire, sniper shot and mortar strike. In the evening I found Hartkins and Streiss in one of the houses they had "secured" they had been welcomed by the locals who had kindly given them a room. Streiss was at the window with a sniper rifle in his hand, Harktins was reading what seemed to be a book while smoking a pipe.
-Can I ? I asked.
-Of course.
He closed his book and Streiss removed his rifle from the window.
-So, how did you find my players?
-Players?
-Well, you're like a football scout, right? I know you have your sights set on my men.
-I... I am...
I don't know why I burst into tears. It's true it wasn't even funny but I couldn't help it it made me laugh. How did he manage to stay so calm after the carnage that had taken place this morning seriously? I regained my composure and stared at them.
-I was impressed, I admit.
-That goes without saying. But I warn you, there is no question of letting one of my men go.
-Don't worry, I'm not here for your men, but to observe.
-Observe? Streiss said. That's why you were useless.
-Luther....
-It's okay, I don't blame him. Nevertheless, I was satisfied with what I saw.
-We'll do it again whenever you want, Lionel.
At first surprised by this familiarity, I sketched a slight smile.
-See you next time then. Bryce. Same to you Luther.
-Yeah like you said.
Hartkins was a stoic fighter but when he wasn't killing he was an everyman.
-I was wondering, how did a lunatic like you manage to lead an elite unit of the crown? I asked.
I saw in their eyes that I seemed to be asking a sensitive question but he just smiled on me.
-Oh my story is so ordinary. The little daredevil of the village fell in love with a girl he found cute. And when they were only 15 years old they made love, the girl got pregnant. The village chief which also happen to be the girl's father fell into a mad rage. He tried to decapitate the boy with a machete.
-Hardcore your story.
-What he didn't know is that the boy was quite the fighter. He disarmed him and stabbed him with his machete. Then he ran away with his fiancée. They spent months alone far from everything, unable to keep a job the boy worked hard to feed his family as honestly as possible. But in the space of 2 years they were already their 3rd child.
-Bad calculation. I said. You don't know about coitus?
-You haven't bed with many women don't you ? Luther told me.
-That's where I saw this recruitment poster for the ducal marines. According to the recruiter, my family was going to be taken care of, so I didn't think twice, I signed up straight away.
-And Bam. 4th child.
-He was born 2 years after my elistement okay ? And Alfar is our youngest.
-Alfar ? Like....
-Yeah like Lord C. Luther confirmed. In short, he met a girl that he fucked a lot. And by having too many kids, he understood that he needed money, so he joined the branch that killed the most and paid the least.
-LUTHER you son of....
There's no denying these two were some funny characters . But from My journey perperspective, they were as well the most ordinary guys.
End of chapter