The marshal indicated a defile. "Were we actually duplicating the
Civil War battle, this would have been the right flank of Sedgwick's
two army corps. We're not dealing in army corps these days but only
regiments, however, the position is relatively as important. Jack
Altshuler's cavalry is largely concentrated here. When the action is
joined, he can move in one of three ways. Through this defile, is
least likely. However, if his heavy cavalry _does_ work its way
through here, I must know immediately. This is crucial, Joe. Any
questions?"
"No, sir."
The marshal turned his attention to his chief of artillery. "Jed, when
we need your guns, we're going to need them badly, but I doubt if that
time will develop until the second or third day of the fracas. Going
to want as clever a job of camouflage done as possible."
The other scowled. "Camouflage, sir?"
"Confound it, yes. French term, I believe. Going to want your guns so
hidden that those two gliders of McCord's will fail to spot them." The
marshal grimaced in the direction of Joe Mauser, who, having his
instructions, had fallen back from the table again. "When you
reintroduced aerial observation to the fracas, major, you set off a
whole train of related factors. Camouflage is going to be in every
field officer's lexicon from this day on. Which reminds me." He looked
to his artilleryman.
"Yes, sir."
"Put your mind to work on devising Maxim gun mounts to be used to keep
enemy gliders at as high altitude as possible, or preferably, of
course, to bring them down. We'll need an antiaircraft squadron, in
short. Better put young Wiley on it."
"Yes, sir."
X
The airport nearest to the Grant Memorial Military Reservation was
some ten miles distance from the borders which, upon the scheduling
of a fracas, were closed to all aircraft, and to all persons
unconnected with the fracas, with the exception only of Telly crews
and military observers from the Sov-world and the Neut-world, present
to satisfy themselves that weapons of the post-1900 era were not being
utilized.
The distance, however, wasn't of particular importance. The powered
aircraft which would tow Joe Mauser's glider to a suitable altitude
preliminary to his riding the air currents, as a bird rides them,
could also haul him to a point just short of the military
reservation's border.
Joe Mauser turned up on the opening day of the fracas, which was
scheduled for a period of one week, or less, if one or the other of
the combatants was able to achieve total victory in such short order.
He was accompanied by Freddy Soligen, who, for once, was without a
crew to help him with his cameras and equipment. Instead, he sweated
it out alone, helped only by Max Mainz who was being somewhat huffy
about this Telly reporter taking over his position as observer.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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