A Desperate Situation

Chief War General Kishore was marshalling his depleting forces valiantly. He was an experienced warrior capable of miraculous deeds but even he couldn’t produce a miracle in every fight that was stacked against him. He needed support and support was one thing he didn’t have. He couldn’t abandon the fight either as his forces were the only thing that were keeping the royal family safe.

As he surveyed his forces he saw the north gate under tremendous pressure. The enemy had noticed the weakly guarded link and was using the bulk of his forces to breakthrough while the rest of his force kept them engaged.

“Captain Sukhbeer! Reinforce the north gate!”

“Sir!” the young warrior left with a platoon fighting his way to the north gate. Every member of this platoon was a valiant sikh soldier who never surrendered till his last breath. Their battle cry “Bole so nihaal, Sat sri akaal!” sent shivers down the spines of the enemy. They were great warriors to have in a desperate situation.

The ferocious charge of the sikh platoon shattered the enemy attack forcing them on the backfoot thereby relieving the stress on Commander Mitra’s battered troops giving them the much needed respite.

They fought with renewed vigour not only reinforcing their position but also trying to rescue the brave warriors who had charged to their position. The fight turned ugly as Mitra razed his way to the platoon who was now outnumbered 20 to 1. He was unaware and unmindful of the wounds spewing blood in streams. He was unmindful of the new cuts in his body piercing his now battered armour. He kept surging forward hacking down enemy soldiers like a crop ready to be harvested. Hands, legs and head rolled as his murderous weapon quenched its lust for blood in the battlefield that was now a heap of shattered bodies and wounded soldiers screaming in pain.

The sikh platoon piled up their own victims to the gore that was bloody, brutal and merciless for the enemy. The second charge had been successfully halted but Mitra had lost 90% of his battalion. He was the last man standing when captain Arunima fell to an unexpected blow from behind. He promptly decapitated the offending soldier only to realise that his own head was rolling to the ground. As his body fell, he was satisfied to see that none of the sikh platoon had fallen to the enemy. The defence of the north gate was now in their hands.

General Srikar retreated to a safe distance reluctantly. He had suffered defeat twice that day. He needed to come up with a new plan quickly or everything would be lost. He looked at the battalion commanders that had assembled in the command tent. Out of twenty he found 8.

“Commander Sakuni. Status report.”

“General, we lost 12 battalions today and have been forced to yield ground to the loyalists. Their forces are depleted and tired and we need to take advantage of that to force a victory or else everything will be lost.”

“I agree general,” said a second commander. “The problem is that we have been fighting non-stop for the last 36 hours. The men need rest, food and sleep before we can ask them to fight again.”

“What about the morale in the troops? Are they willing to fight?”

“Yes, general. The consequences of defeat are so spine chilling that they are fighting like devils. We don’t have to worry about that.”

“We already have lost the element of surprise. What should be our strategy?”

“Sir, we still have 10 battalions against their 3. Besides we also have another three battalions of reserve troops. We can use them to fight the tired loyalists while our main force rests. Let our reserve forces harass the enemy depriving their sleep. They are bound to make mistakes which we can exploit.”

“Sounds like a good plan. Any objections to this plan?”

They discussed the plan till they had covered every aspect that could go wrong. It appeared to be fool proof with a high success probability of 80%. The problem now was in the execution of this plan.

“There is one major flaw in this plan.” General Srikar concluded. “The reserve battalions must hold till our main force has had enough rest. Otherwise we will end up losing everything. We must take the royal family hostage at any cost by 10 am tomorrow or everything is lost. The main force must be in action by day break tomorrow. Dismissed.”

The eight commanders saluted and left to prepare for the upcoming battle. This final assault would decide their fate. Losing was not an option. They had to win at all costs or they would face unending pain for the rest of their lives.

General Kishore was pacing his tent, his brows knit together in a frown. It had been 40 hours since the palace had been seized and still the rebels had not been pacified. His forces had been reduced to two full battalions and a platoon each of sikh and gurkha soldiers. The enemy still had eight battalions along with another three reserve battalions.

All his men were dead tired after a sleepless, restless fight for forty hours. Mistakes were bound to happen which could be deadly for the royal family. Moving the queen was out of the question. The three elite commando companies protecting the queen were the best but they could only delay the inevitable if they had to face overwhelming odds of 100 to 1.

He decided to make his last stand at the main gate and sent word to Princess Satyabhama about the situation. He gathered his men for one final effort to protect the queen. He surveyed his troops who were alert despite the heavy fighting and the lack of sleep and rest. He looked at them proudly and addressed them one final time.

“Dear heroes! The battle raging for the past 40 hours has shown the empire what true loyalty is. It has shown the universe what true heroes look like. Today, I see before me soldiers who defied fate – soldiers who made the gods stand and watch their skill in battle. They have defeated the enemy despite the heavy odds; despite their injuries; despite their lack of support. What makes me feel proud is that you have stood by your oath; you have stood by the principles that our young ones should emulate. You have left a legacy today.” He paused to look at the faces that were beaming with pride at his words. Their fatigue seemed to disappear and they seemed to be ready for another fight.

“The enemy will make one final effort to take the queen hostage. We must prevent it at all costs. This is where we make our last stand. If anyone wants to leave, now is their chance.” No one even stirred from their places. Kishore’s hand groomed his moustache involuntarily with pride at his troops.

“It has been my greatest honour fighting by your side. Let history be written with our blood that this was the best last stands in our history.” He took a deep breath.

“FOR THE QUEEN!”

““FOR THE QUEEN!” the palace reverberated with the roar of the soldiers who had one goal in their life now – to fight to the last man and protect the Queen.

The heavens opens opened up as if mourning the tragedy about to take place.