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Pov of White Guard Officer
12-April-1921
Drawing my saber, I remained looking at my men while the sound of artillery continued echoing across the entire field and Azerbaijan's defenses were struck without any pause.
''We will not allow our country to be ruined! Russia is one country and there can be no other. Our people and God will save it. Dawn will rise over Russia again. We will take revenge on the communist trash and on all the traitors who turned their backs on us while Russia bled, and we will not rest until our flag rises over the Empire again. GO AHEAD, GO AHEAD, FOR THE TSAR!'' I shouted at the top of my lungs while pointing my saber toward the enemy positions and, taking out my whistle, placing it between my lips as I watched my watch.
When the hour matched what had been established in the plan, I blew with all my strength and all my men shouted at the same time while we heard exactly the same thing from multiple sectors of our offensive.
''GO AHEAD, GO AHEAD, FOR THE TSAR!'' could be heard shouted from multiple directions as we began running.
The Azerbaijani forward positions were only a few dozen meters away, but we had to cover that distance as soon as possible to prevent our artillery fire from ending up wasted.
Listening to the many shouts of other officers, we continued running while I heard the whistle of bullets passing over my head. I only clenched my teeth when it did not take long before I heard the first screams of some of my men as they were struck by enemy fire.
''Enemies in those ruins!'' I shouted while pointing with my saber and continuing to advance, hearing the dry cracks of our opponents' rifles.
As I kept running, I saw several Azerbaijani soldiers trying to get up among the rubble of a building that seemed to have collapsed recently. I raised my revolver, slowed my pace for barely an instant and pulled the trigger three times.
The man who was trying to pull one of his comrades from beneath a pile of bricks fell over the one he was trying to help while I heard a cry of pain among the ruins.
A bullet passed dangerously close to me and I moved quickly again while hearing my men's footsteps behind me, accompanied by the gunshots constantly echoing at our backs.
''Ura!'' I shouted while seeing a group of enemy soldiers ahead of us.
An artillery shell exploded nearby, throwing an enormous amount of debris in every direction. I felt something strike me hard in the face, but I only bit my lip and kept pushing forward.
As I ran and gasped from the effort, I saw someone aiming his rifle at me while taking cover among some rubble, so I began moving irregularly and, when a bullet struck the earth I was stepping on, I fired the last three shots from my revolver, claiming the life of the Azerbaijani soldier.
I ran toward them while my breathing, increasingly agitated, echoed loudly in my ears.
I tried to reach the dead soldier's rifle, but just as I was about to grab it, another Azerbaijani threw himself at me with his rifle and bayonet forward. I immediately jumped to the left to dodge him and quickly threw out a hand to seize the rifle by the barrel, which was hot. Since the soldier never let go of his weapon, I took advantage of the moment to strike with my saber, slicing his throat and feeling a great amount of blood cover me.
I took the rifle and, crouching, placed myself in firing position. I fired twice at the enemy troops fighting against ours until the weapon ran out of ammunition, so I went for another rifle lying on the ground.
''Keep pushing! The secondary lines are the weakest! That is where most of the artillery fire was concentrated!'' I shouted while taking the rifle and beginning to follow my men.
The defending troops soon broke, since when we began pushing toward where there should have been greater resistance, we found only that the enemy was withdrawing from the front almost entirely.
''Call the cavalry! The enemy is retreating quickly! Someone go find a rear officer so they can pursue the fleeing enemy!'' I began shouting while continuing to breathe heavily.
I saw one of my men begin running back the way we had come, while with the rest of my troops we continued advancing in depth, trying to approach Baku.
''We have orders to keep moving. We have to prevent the enemy troops from entering the city. The attack from the north is working and they are almost completely cutting off their chance to retreat toward Baku'' a messenger told me while grabbing my arm.
''Understood. Do not stop to loot the dead, we have to continue!'' I shouted while raising my saber and beginning to reload my revolver and the rifle I had taken from the dead.
I organized my men and we began advancing toward the city, trying to move south to block the retreat of the Azerbaijani troops in the area.
So, under some enemy fire, we moved along the roads using some houses as cover while continuing to advance. After approximately half an hour of combat, we ended up stalled because we were beginning to run out of ammunition. The carts that were supposed to bring us ammunition seemed to have become stuck somewhere.
So we simply tried to maintain a certain pressure without compromising too much of our scarce ammunition.
''There is one. Try not to shoot if you cannot see his torso'' I said while remaining crouched, observing an enemy soldier and pointing out to one of my men where he should aim.
''Podpolkovnik'' someone said while touching my back.
''What is it?'' I asked after swallowing and turning around.
''The politicians of Azerbaijan have accepted an unconditional peace. We have to cease the attack'' said the messenger, who looked completely exhausted.
''Understood. It is not as if we had much ammunition to keep attacking anyway. The ammunition never arrived'' I replied, somewhat annoyed, since I had requested that shipment three times.
''They diverted it to the northern front. They were the ones who secured the entrance to the city and were already penetrating deeply into Baku's defenses'' the messenger explained.
''Right… fall back. There is nothing more to do. Go help the wounded and see what we do with the prisoners… What are we supposed to do with them?'' I asked while resting my head against the bricks of a house that had been practically reduced to rubble.
''Katorga. All of them to Siberia. We have to capture them all. Politicians and soldiers must be sent to Siberia, although supposedly there is a list with some names that must be executed on the spot'' the messenger replied.
''I understand'' I said while nodding.
We reorganized our forces, gathering my officers and my men, while I gave orders for the wounded to be transported and for the prisoners we had captured to be taken away.
After organizing the basics, we finally entered Baku.
''These Azeris did not put up much of a fight. They have too many complications inside their own government to offer an organized and decent response'' the commander of my regiment said while we observed the interior of the city.
''We did not suffer many losses in our unit and managed to cause a great number of enemy casualties. We finally recovered another territory of Russia, following the path toward one single united Russia, and eliminated another group of traitors we must crush'' I said, nodding at my commander's words.
''Yes. General Nikolai Yudenich will continue evaluating the possibility of recovering the entire Caucasus, but what mattered most is already in our hands. We have the oil wells of Baku and prevented them from destroying them, burning them or doing anything that would stop us from using them. With that, we will finally be able to obtain the income the Government so badly needs to begin paying the debts we still owe'' our commander said while walking through the streets and observing everything around him.
Some screams did not escape my notice and, when I turned, I saw several soldiers belonging to another regiment looting some Azeri houses, mainly taking food and any valuables they found inside.
''Do we do anything?'' I asked my officer while watching as some soldiers left a house carrying sacks and different belongings.
''No. Traitors must pay. If it were possible, we should send this entire damned city of traitors to Siberia, but we do not have enough places to take them all. Besides, the oil must keep flowing'' my commander replied without even stopping.
He continued walking a few steps before speaking again.
''Although that does not mean that, in the long term, they will probably move a good part of the city's population elsewhere and fill it with loyal Russians. It would be preferable to continuing to depend on this lying scum that surely has Bolshevik sympathies and did absolutely nothing to support the legitimate government of Russia.''
My commander continued advancing as if nothing were happening, completely ignoring the looting and the screams echoing around us.
''And in the end, are we not going to do anything with the territories in the west, or are they simply going to demobilize us?'' I asked while walking, hearing glass breaking and screams around us.
''The Tsar gave us unity when Russia was going through its most critical moment, but it seems he has shown that, precisely when a firm hand is most needed, he cannot be trusted too much either. He has stopped every attempt by the marshals and generals to draw up invasion plans against Ukraine, Belarus, the Baltic and even Poland, preventing the reunification of Russia into one and indivisible by his own hand. It is outrageous that the Tsar himself does nothing when his brother and nephews are under the control of another State and simply ignores the needs of his people'' my commander said, with obvious annoyance in his voice.
''Commander, you should watch your words. That could be considered…'' I tried to say while continuing to walk beside him.
''Treason? Is it not worse to prevent an attack against a weakened Ukraine or Baltic merely because they practically have members of his family prisoner? I am only stating the facts. There is a shortage of food, barely any money remains in the State coffers because of the debts and all that burden falls on us, while enormous parts of Russia do not cooperate with the country and we do nothing to reintegrate them. Now the army will be demobilized and any short-term opportunity to recover Russia's pride will disappear, because we will have to concentrate on rebuilding everything that was lost because of Bolshevik and Menshevik lies'' the commander replied.
''Well… it is certainly complicated that we did not launch the invasion of Ukraine when a good part of the Empire's grain was produced there. Now we have the problems we have and must buy food abroad'' I said while lowering my head slightly.
''I am not an ingrate who denies what the Tsar did to save Russia, but he himself is condemning it by allowing the Germans to control Russian territories without doing anything. He has become a problem for Russia. The people can no longer afford to consume the same amount of rye bread, producing vodka is forbidden to save grain and potatoes, and practically the same thing is happening with beer. Restrictions and more restrictions that the Russian people must endure because the Tsar shows weakness'' the commander said, with deep disappointment in his voice.
''And what do we do?'' I asked while holding one arm with my other hand. Talking about that was beginning to make me rather nervous.
''There is little we can do now. They will probably loot the Azeris' granaries to reduce rationing inside Russia a little, but it is already almost certain that the army will be demobilized. Only one or two armies will remain to maintain border security. The army of almost two million men that was forged in the furnace of this war against the traitors will disperse and we will not be able to dream again of a united Russia for who knows how long'' the commander said.
''Let us hope the generals can do something to convince the Tsar'' I said in a low voice.
''Let us hope. Do you have any bullets left? We have to execute some traitors. Although many will be sent to Siberia, there is also a limit there and it seems we will have to make some room'' my commander said while checking his revolver.
''Yes, I already filled my pockets with bullets'' I replied.
''Excellent. There are traitors to kill'' the commander said.
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Here are the most fully developed ideas about what I would do in the stories, and the results so far, since I only included the ideas that received the most support.
brief summary of what I would do.
Warhammer Fantasy:Pick up where the original story left off, polish the text, improve the grammar, and put some love into the many chapters I wanted to write but never did.
The Witcher:Kingdom-building, focusing on the preparations made by a northern noble for the War of the North or by a southern noble who must serve Nilfgaard
Youjo Senki:(I was thinking of introducing a die-hard atheist, like a Terran from StarCraft II, with psycho-indoctrination) or it could simply be a person who lost their faith in the middle of the war, who serves the Empire in the engineering branch rather than the military branch, and who comes from an aristocratic background with a greater focus on politics,while X tries to get him to pray.
Baldwin without leprosy:A story focused on domestic politics, defensive warfare, and some diplomacy, considering the situation of the Kingdom of Jerusalem
The Hundred Years' War:A commoner who joins a band of mercenaries and slowly rises through the ranks; given the story's setting, he would be a very cruel main character, considering the role of mercenaries in war.
House of the dragon:I was thinking of a story similar to that of the Cleganes, for example, a peasant MC who, by some twist of fate, saves the king from being killed by a wild animal and is given Harrenhal a couple of years before the Dance.