Chapter 42: Chapter 40: The March to Savannah

Savannah, Georgia
July 22nd, 1776

Lieutenant Colonel Archibald Campbell felt relaxed and bored as he watched some of the British regulars drill near the town. He and one thousand British soldiers, along with an additional one thousand or so Loyalist militiamen, were stationed in the small port town of Savannah. The location of Savannah was the reason for his relaxation and boredom, as the town was far away from the front lines. He did receive reports of the Huns raiding plantations near the borders between South Carolina and Georgia, but not a single raid had happened in the last week. The reason being was because of General Burgoyne's reckless invasion of Boston and the surrounding areas, as the lieutenant colonel heard rumors that the "Chief" Hun was recalled to lead the bulk of the Continental Army in South Carolina (which in turn, meant that the lieutenant colonel was left with fewer men in Savannah). Personally, Lieutenant Colonel Campbell was against his superior's attack on Boston, as he believed it was a foolhardy invasion that would result in loss of precious territory in South Carolina and would yield little results as the general only had eight thousand soldiers with him. Even more so, since London informed General Burgoyne and the other British generals in North America that they would only receive token reinforcements: mainly consisting only of a few German mercenaries and recently recruited soldiers from Great Britain. However, the Commander in Chief of the British forces in North America carried out the invasion regardless and left the southern colonies in a more vulnerable position. Currently, the British Army only had around fourteen thousand soldiers in the colonies, which meant that South Carolina, Georgia, and East/West Florida only contained six thousand regulars in total, supplemented by Loyalist and slave units. He was unsure of the exact strength of the Continental Army, but he knew that the Yankees were growing stronger day by day and the fact that the colonials had rolled the greatest military on Earth in nearly every engagement wore down the morale of the British troops.

Thankfully, the men under his command were in decent spirits and were in far better conditions than some of the frontline units up in South Carolina. While the soldiers and militiamen guarding Savannah were rather inexperienced, they were fresh, well-rested, and decently trained. He had made great efforts to train the few men he had under his command and to prepare the defenses around Savannah accordingly. While it was highly unlikely that Savannah would come under attack, due to the withdrawal of the Huns from Georgia and the new front in Boston, the lieutenant colonel wasn't taking any chances.

Just when he believed that nothing of significance would happen for the rest of the day, a group of militiamen ran towards him. One of the Georgian Loyalists, a Scottish Colonel named Lachlan McIntosh, looked worried as he approached his British counterpart, "Lieutenant Colonel, we have spotted a large group of Continental troops heading towards Savannah. They are only an hour's distance away."

Suddenly, the lieutenant colonel snapped to attention at the mention of Continental troops, "Do you know who is leading them?"

Colonel McIntosh grimaced, "It's the Hun."

"I thought he retreated back to South Carolina a week ago?" Lieutenant Colonel Campbell answered angrily. It was the Loyalists that informed him of the Huns supposedly "withdrawing" from Georgia, as they received the information from plantation owners in the border areas.

"Evidently not. He must have moved his troops discreetly."

The British officer sighed and marched towards the barracks, "Inform your men to take positions on the western portions of the town. The Huns may be fearsome, but they are few in numbers. We may be able to hold them off and force them to retreat."

An hour later, it became evidently clear that the Huns were both fearsome and many in numbers. He had heard initial reports that the Huns only numbered only a thousand or so, but from what the lieutenant colonel saw, there were easily over two thousand Continental marines invading Savannah.

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"Oorah!"

Lieutenant Colonel Campbell swore that the Hun's battle cry rocked the ground itself and the men under his command looked shaken. He waved one arm in the air and rallied his men, "Hold your ground and don't let those damn Huns get on your nerves!"

The Huns opened fire outside of his own men's range and inflicted a few casualties in the British ranks. However, the lieutenant colonel had adapted several of the tactics used by the Huns themselves and had his troops hidden in fortifications and ditches. While he thought the style of fighting was "ungentlemanly," he knew that it was a necessity for victory.

"Maintain your positions and force them to approach us! Do not fire until you see the whites of their eyes!" The British officer ordered.

Thankfully, the Continental marines did not have artillery amongst them and was forced to resort to musket fire. After several rounds of ineffective fire, the Huns moved forward closer and closer to the British positions. Towards the front, the lieutenant colonel could make out a single Asian man leading the pack. Strangely, it seemed as though the Huns were moving in an arrow formation. Once they got within a hundred yards, Lieutenant Colonel Campbell called out his order, "Fire!"

Hundreds of muskets rang out in unison and the British officer was pleased to see dozens of the Huns fall onto the ground. However, the marines took no time to exploit their chance to snipe down the exposed British soldiers and returned fire, causing dozens of his own British regulars to collapse. Even so, the British continued to pour fire on the exposed marines, who pushed forward despite losing numbers of men.

Just then, the center of the marines arrow formation opened and hundreds of horses and their riders charged towards the British positions. The charge caused great disarray amongst the British lines and despite the British officer's best efforts to organize his men, chaos fell upon the battlefield. The other marines, taking advantage of the chaos, pushed forward with little opposition and pushed into the British defenses relentlessly.

The lieutenant colonel managed to rally a few hundred of his men to fall back towards a secondary defensive position. After receiving reports that the Loyalists were also on the retreat, the British leader was forced to abandon his positions. Unfortunately, as he was leading his men deeper into the town, he was shot in the back by one of the marines.

In another timeline, Lieutenant Colonel Campbell would be hailed as a hero for becoming a crucial part of the defense of Jamaica. In this world, he was one of four hundred British/Loyalist casualties in the Battle of Savannah (along with one hundred and fifty marine casualties).

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