Chapter 203: Chapter 179: Push for the American Republic!

Samsborough, Georgia, the United States of America

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May 2nd, 1834

Private Marie-Adriana Bonapart d’Armont, or known to her fellow soldiers as "Private Adrian d'Armont," ran across the open grounds with thousands of American soldiers to capture the enemy trenches and secure the town of Samsborough. A Georgian town that was just north of the Georgia-Florida border, Samsborough (named after the first president) was formerly a sleepy town filled with farmers before it was captured and ransacked by the French-Spanish forces. It had been under occupation for months, and now the United States military was descending upon the settlement in its first step to secure all of Georgia. The battle had been going on for hours now and the American general leading the attack, Major General Duncan Lamont Clinch of North Carolina, decided to commit nearly all his forces to breach the center. The trenches had been softened up with the constant barrages of shells delivered by the American artillery guns (numbering over a hundred), but there were plenty of defenders that were shooting back at the charging American troops. And the enemies had artillery of their own, which they used to shower shots all across the battlefield. Hundreds of American soldiers were already dead or dying on the ground while numerous medics (with the noticeable red cross on their helmets) dragging any wounded back to the back lines. From a distance, American snipers fired on any exposed defenders and provided covering fire for their advancing comrades. A hundred yards from the trenches, the young Corday-Bonapart fired three shots from her Samuel Rifle, shifting the lever where the trigger was located each time before firing. Two of the shots missed, but the third one drilled into the hole of a distracted Spanish soldier. Despite being annoyed at her aim, she plugged her bayonet before diving into the trenches with the others. She squarely landed on the wooden bottoms of the trenches and immediately jumped into the fray.

It was a bloody affair, but it was what Private d'Armont signed up for.

Her unit, the 44th Infantry Brigade of the 15th Infantry Division (led by Brigadier General Sam Houston, a man who always led his soldiers from the front), finally managed to secure the trenches after getting "up close and personal." Private d'Armont managed to kill a soldier in the trenches with her bayonet (a young French Negro, whose right arm was already injured) as her compatriots cleared the rest of the section she was in. While she loaded the chamber of her rifle and added three more shots into the tube, General Houston whipped around his pistol and shouted commands, "Hold for a potential counterattack! We are not to give an inch to the enemy! Once we are organized and artillery softens up the second line of trenches, we will push with the 14th Infantry Division!"

"I thought our second battle was supposed to be easier than the first?" A soldier next to Adriana grumbled loudly as they reloaded their firearm.

Upon recognizing the voice, the private from New York gave the soldier a wry smile, "As my brother always likes to say, 'No battle is easy.' And I think he's right."

The neighboring soldier was "Jonathan" Graham. Her real name was Jennifer Graham, a farmgirl from northern Georgia. However, after seeing her home state invaded, she joined the military under a false name (much like Adriana). Surprisingly, there were a number of female soldiers within the military (all hiding their true gender), with five female soldiers in the 15th Infantry Division alone. Though they struggled behind the other recruits at times, they managed to complete their basic training and fought on the battlefield alongside men. Private d'Armont suspected that her former drill sergeant knew that she and Jennifer were females, but allowed them to pass anyways. After all, America needed more soldiers on the battlefield, and if a few women were capable enough...

Several minutes passed by with the two focusing on the battle instead of chatting. Both of them were busy firing their rifles until they heard a loud explosion echoing from the west side. As they turned their heads, they witnessed a giant explosion engulf a large section of the trenches, throwing men up in the air like ragdolls. Private d'Armont could only stare in shock as another explosion immediately followed, this time only fifty yards from her position.

The French-American private swore enough to make a sailor blush as she ran away from the western side of the trenches. Mines were rarely used by the Alliance and the few times they were used, they were laid out on open ground to slow the American advance. Even then, those mines produced only small explosions. The scale of the explosions occurring within the trenches made her believe that the defenders buried black powder in the trenches themselves. It was something that the British used against the French in Saint Domingue (military history always fascinated her and she knew every major battle and wars from the past century like the back of her hand)...

Just as another explosion rocked her former position, she looked down at the wooden floor of the trenches and groaned. The French and Spanish soldiers never floored their trenches with wood, and the reason for the explosions became crystal clear to her. Immediately, Private d'Armont lept out of the ditch and yelled at her fellow compatriots, "The floor! The floor is rigged to blow!"

Adriana was unsure how the Spanish and French managed to set up such a trap without having the mines backfire on their own troops... But surprisingly, it worked. There were probably black powder and other explosives below the trenches, covered with some form of protection to prevent an artillery shell or accidental shot from causing a chain reaction. And they were spaced out to cause as much damage as they could without wasting any explosives. Since there was a few second delays between each explosion, that meant someone (possibly running underground) was setting off the explosions themselves...

In short, a terrifying weapon that could break even the most hardened army group.

Jennifer immediately heeded her call and jumped out. Many others in the immediate vicinity climbed out as well. Just a few seconds after a few hundred soldiers streamed out of the trenches and ducked into the dirt, the section of the trench she was occupying blew. More and more soldiers were leaving the trenches in the east, but in the process, they were taking heavy fire from the French and Spanish soldiers in the second line of trenches. Thousands were already dead or wounded from the first two blasts, and it was clear that they had to either push or retreat. In the chaos, Private d'Armont barely made out the fact that General Houston was unconscious or dead from being struck by a piece of debris from one of the explosions. When she saw that the American flag and her division's banner (a red hawk with a bright blue background) were both on the floor, her adrenaline and instincts kicked in.

Crawling to the broken remnants of the two standards while dodging enemy fire, she untied her chest bindings and tied the flags together. Now, it was one long flagpole with two flags flying next to each other. She struggled to lift it up, but a familiar face helped her, even though the woman was bleeding from her shoulders.

"Push for the republic! Into the next trenches!"

+++++

AN: Samsborough is Thomasville, Georiga of TTL.

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