I clambered out of the BMP, rifle in hand. Polish soldiers flooded around me as we quickly started setting up a crude defense line. I'd ceded the interior of Las Vegas, pulling back to the outskirts, and this was just another fallback line. One a bit south of the city and the newfound hordes that were just, spilling forth.
BMP 100mm low velocity guns and 30mm auto cannons started opening up as the endless wall of the dead came pouring out from ever gap between buildings, running, crawling, flying, leaping. Machine guns were slammed onto tripods, gunners barely adjusting the sights as they started firing, letting the tracers guide them in.
The artillery spotters were already calling in coordinates as a trio of T-72s rolled onto line, adding their firepower to the mix. I moved behind a squad that was busy digging a few low pits for them to kneel in while I waited for the horde to get even closer. For every body that fell, for every mutant that was turned to mist, another just seemed to take its place, tanks, sentinels would charge foward, shoving the walkers away like ants. Berserkers and reavers would claw their way to the front, frothing at the mouth.
"General Reichenbacher, I think it best you return to headquarters." A captain waved me down. I shook my head, turning my attention to the feild in front of us.
A pericing shriek came in, an explosion and the ground peppered with thousands of fragments. A few hundred undead came crashing to the ground. But more easily filled the gap. Then came another, and another as the spotters had the artillery begin firing for effect. This barrage quickly began to thin the onslaught of bodies, but even with the barrage undead were still slipping through, the horde also unmolested by the area the bombardment didn't cover, and the increasing number came running from further along the suburbs.
I grit my teeth as I watched another platoon come racing up the dirt track, sand being thrown high in the air as they raced past my Sutton to continue building out the line. BMP-3s discouraging squads as quickly as possible as more T-72s came racing up from the main road along the track. As the barrage of cluster munitions dwindled a low whistle came in. Another explosion that threw up a great cloud of sand and dust.
They'd started calling in good ol' fashioned HE. My bread and butter. As the bombardment intensified the fire from the line began to slack off. It was some 900 yards to where the nearest rounds were falling. And judging by the number of rounds coming in… this was likely one of the battalions from the independent artillery regiments, those D-30s were still finding use.
Maybe I should get some more towed artillery, I had the extra artillery tractors. Maybe some D-20s and more D-30s. The extra artillery seemed to be needed, at least if every city was going to turn into this mess.
Off to the east I could hear the scream of thousands of rockets churning up the earth. I'd could've cared less about fighting in the city itself, I would have happily shelled the city of sin from dusk till dawn every day, but the undead just kept coming from below, ever Spetsnaz team I'd dispatch hadn't returned, likely becoming one with the horde long before their ammo ran out.
The rest of the division was quickly arriving from the south, that would allow me to contain this threat for now, get resupply up to the front, get some barb wire and mines in front of everyone. Make a couple tank ditches to slow and funnel the dead into kill zones.
If nothing else just having more artillery to simply smother anything that twitched was enough. It alone was keeping the hordes at bay, though they was going to remain dependent on the division's stocks and incoming resupply. We'd not really foreseen the need to move up the ammo dumps this far forward, so the closest ones were at Barstow. A good three hour drive for any convoy bringing up supplies for the hungry guns.
The hinds were being moved up to a temporary airfield being made at the state line, from there they'd cycle through emptying their guns and rocket pods before returning to the field to be rearmed and refueled.
I continued watching the intensifying barrage as more plans slowly manifested in my mind. There had been a few… odd reports. Maybe I'll have the Spetsnaz brigade look into it, have them circle around to the northern side of Vegas and probe into the city. For now though… I should probably get some more of those thermobaric bombs, have them shoved out the back of the Il-76s. That would probably deal with a large amount of the horde.
I'd heard General Ponatoski had 'recovered', she was expected at her headquarters around noon today, likely driving up from LA as fast as possible, I'd be turning command back over to her once she arrived. So none of that heroic stuff until after she gets back. Once she has official command I'll go do the fun stuff, let her fight her division as she pleases.
For now, I just have the 1st motor rifle regiment and 4th tank regiment engaged, I'll hold the other three tank regiments back for Ponatoski to defend or attack as she pleases, probably have them take up positions south of Sloan, that's where I'd told the headquarters to move, I wondered if they'd made it there yet, started setting up comms with everyone again since they'd bailed from the last one in Caesars Palace.
The captain from earlier drove his Uaz up next to me. "Sir, headquarters has 2nd tank regiment on the horn, they want to know where you want them."
"Tell them to hold south of Sloan, General Ponatoski will direct them upon her arrival." I replied, starting to walk the length of the firing line.
I nodded to machine gunners as they prepared more cans of ammo, stopped briefly to converse with the riflemen busy creating foxholes and filling sandbags. I clambered up onto the engine deck of a T-72 to converse with the tank commander about his opinion on the sudden increase of undead that had forced me to call a retreat from the city.
Let's see, Ponatoski had left LA around 0430, it was about 0800 now… if she caught a hind she'll be landing anytime now, otherwise it'll be a few more hours at best speed.
I finally stopped, maybe a half mile from where I'd started. That Captain had slowly been following me the whole time. I relented, hopping in the back. He turned around, wheels whirling as they threw rocks and sand. The driver raced back up the dirt track, quickly loping on the highway and racing the short distance to the new headquarters. We quickly hopped on the exit as I looked south, seeing the long line of vehicles of 2nd tank regiment.
I repressed a few grumbles as I got out, the captain leaving as he raced back to his company while I walked to the headquarters. Honda littered the field, fuel trucks slowly moving along the rows, filling each as trucks laden with ordnance slowly reloaded the helicopters.
I walked into the headquarters, a shop repurposed for the task. The first person I noticed upon my entry was Major General Ponatoski herself, closely studying a map, helping a pair of majors craft a fire plan for all the artillery currently engaged in the art of eliminating undead. I tapped the nearest officer on the shoulder, a Lieutenant colonel.
"When did the General arrive?" The colonel seemed flustered for a moment, nearly sputtering.
"Division! Attention!" I bit my lip as the whole headquarters shot ridgley to attention. I waved my hand dismissively and they returned to their task.
"Answer the question please… When did General Ponatoski arrive?" I asked again.
"Almost an hour ago sir…"
"And why… did no one think to tell me that?" I asked, anger boiling deep within me.
"You had assumed command sir, I told them not to bring it up sir." Ponatoski's said, her voice surprisingly closer than I'd thought.
I sighed, and turned to her. "Can we speak privately for a moment?"
We walked outside, the rest of the headquarters falling unusually silent. "Your illness, have you recovered?"
"It won't hold me back sir." She replied stiffly.
"Regina…" I stared into her eyes, she stared impassively back.
"If it's still bothering you, you can go back, don't push yourself too hard… okay?"
"I can perform my duty sir." She replied quietly, her voice a bit hollow.
"That's… alright… don't push yourself, keep me updated, take breaks, don't overwork yourself."
I sighed again… I… I closed my eyes for a moment, briefly recalling the verbal dress down my wife had given me after what had happened. "Take command of your division, this is your fight, I trust you to fight them better than I possibly could."