Battle Hymn

HANS COULD SEE THE BANTAG DEPLOYING OUT ALONG THE RIDGE,

forming into assault lines, battle standards held aloft. The standards were bloodred, and from a distance reminded Hans of Rebel battle flags from the war back on Earth. There was almost a nostalgic feeling at the sight of them. At least against the Rebs, the fight would be an honorable one and if overwhelmed, surrender was still a possibility. He looked down at the line of his "army" and could see the fear on their faces. But they were committed now, knowing what would happen if the Bantag should ever break in.

"Here they come!"

A line of skirmishers started to deploy out from the ridge facing the eastern wall. Hans raised his glasses to study them. Their lines were well inter-valed, spaced half a dozen yards apart, moving deliberately. They knew what they were doing, he realized grimly….

"Bill Forstchen's works have flair and power."—Joel Rosenberg

"Some of the best science fiction writing in years!"—Science Fiction Chronicle

They were captured from Civil War America into a time-warped world of horrifying conflict.

THE LOST REGIMENT SERIES BY WILLIAM R. FORSTCHEN

□ THE LOST REGIMENT #1: RALLY CRY. Can advanced knowledge and training save the 35th Maine from a terrifying alien enemy? (450078—$5.99)

□ THE LOST REGIMENT #2: UNION FOREVER. In this powerful military adventure, the empires of Roum and Cartha clash in a soul-stirring struggle. (450604—$5.99)

□ THE LOST REGIMENT #3: TERRIBLE SWIFT SWORD. Thanks to a human traitor, the aliens have acquired a decisive edge—airpower. "Moves like a bullet!"— Locus (451376—$5.99)

□ THE LOST REGIMENT #4: FATEFUL LIGHTNING. Andrew Keane, formerly a Northern colonel in the American Civil War, was now leading a mixed force of humans on a desperate flight from an enemy more horrific than any nightmare.

(451961—$5.99)

□ THE LOST REGIMENT #5: BATTLE HYMN by William R. Forstchen. If Hans Schuder and his ragtag force make it through the hundreds of miles of enemy territory, there might be enough time to save the fledgling human republic from a ferocious onslaught. But if they are caught, Hans and his fellows face a ritual death as horrific as Ha’ark's alien imagination can conjure. (452860—$5.99)

FOR TWO FRIENDS WHO HELPED KEEP ME ON TRACK—
BILL FAWCETT AND MAURY HURT

In recording the history of the Human-Horde Wars on Valennia, confusion often arises over military, technical, and political terminology. The difficulty of this issue is compounded by the multiplicity of languages involved, both Human and Horde.

To simplify this issue the author has taken the liberty of applying a common terminology for both sides, based upon definitions used in America at the time of the Civil War.

The reader will therefore note that in this and subsequent works members of the Horde will refer to units as regiments, to steam-driven machines on iron track as railroads, and to ships sheathed in armor as ironclads. The use of the actual Horde words for these items—
kagth-umen, vagga ca qugarmak
, and
vagga ca x'qiere
—would only result in confusion.

Regarding the organization of the Army of the Republic, it was structured along lines similar to the Union Army during the Civil War. Two key exceptions are the field strengths of regiments and batteries. American Civil War regiments in the Union Army had a paper strength of one thousand enlisted men and thirty-five officers, and batteries almost always had six guns. Regiments in the Army of the Republic had a paper strength of five hundred enlisted men and twenty-six officers, while batteries were organized into four-gun units.

During the Tugar and Merki Wars, infantry regiments of the Republic also had two four-pound artillery pieces, an idea borrowed by the architect of this army, Andrew Lawrence Keane, from the European armies of the seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries. This system was abolished two years after the end of the Merki War because of the increased firepower available to infantry regiments with the standardized issuing of rifled muskets and the introduction of breechloaders. Four-pound artillery pieces were in general phased out of the army at this time.

Units in the Army of the Republic were recruited locally and designated in the official rolls by the community they came from—i.e., First Murom, Third Capri, Eighth Suzdal. During peacetime two to four companies of the unit became the "active battalion," and the remaining companies were the "reserve battalion." The active battalion served as the training unit for new recruits, who after two years of service were transferred to the reserve.

By the end of the Merki War the vast majority of units had suffered casualty rates as high as 50 to 60 percent, and three to four years later were still attempting to rebuild their strength; thus in reality most regiments could field only three hundred fifty to four hundred men.

Five regiments were organized into a brigade, two brigades formed a division, and three divisions formed a corps, which on paper should have a strength of fifteen thousand men, along with a battalion of artillery and a regiment of cavalry.

First through Fifth Corps were in general made up of units from Rus, and Sixth through Eleventh Corps were made up of units from Roum. These separate formations were designated as the First and Second Armies.

A note should be made here as well of the interesting political structure created in the year after the end of the Merki War. Rus and Roum joined together as a single political unit called the Republic. A general election was held, and the president of the Republic of Rus, Kalencka, took office for six years, with Pro Consul Marcus Licinius Graca as vice president. Congress was of two houses, with representatives elected based upon population and senators based upon states. As a concession to Rus's position as the founding state, the Second Constitution of Valennia declared that it was entitled to fifteen senators and Roum to ten senators. This inequity was balanced in part by the fact that Roum, with nearly double the population, dominated the lower house. Any new states that joined the Republic, coming in with a population of more than one million, would be entitled to five senators. Again, the terminology applied here is based upon English usage, although Rus was the official language of the government.

The issue of dates has caused significant confusion at times. Thus this note of clarification: Rus, Roum, Bantag, Merki, and Tugar each used different calendars based upon the 340-day year of Valennia. The Republic of Rus, upon its founding after the Rebellion against the Boyars, declared that its calendar would start at year 1 beginning with the next midwinter day. It should be noted that the rebellion occurred six months after the arrival of the Thirty-fifth Infantry and the Forty-fourth New York Artillery. Thus the first day of year 1 roughly coincided with late summer of 1865 a.d.

Upon the drafting of the Second Constitution, incorporating the Republics of Rus and Roum into a single political entity, the Rus calendar was adopted. Therefore the Battle of Hispania was fought in the fifth year of the Republic and the Second Constitution was signed in the sixth year.

Regarding Horde organization, the term "umen," which applies to a unit of ten thousand warriors, will continue to be used, since it has found general acceptance, even among the humans living on Valennia.

Horde military organization was based on the umen, which generally was organized from a given subclan within a horde and commanded by a subclan Qarth. Umens were divided into ten subunits, and the American concept of a regiment is most applicable to this formation and will thus be used, but it should be kept in mind that Horde regiments tended to have twice the numbers of a human regiment.

Ha'ark the Redeemer found that the umen organization was so ingrained into Horde society that it could not be changed, though he did move to create a corps system, with three umens to a corps and then three corps to an army.

A final note regarding language: Human captives of the Hordes tended to adopt the dialect of their captors as a common language, thus enabling people from a wide variety of nationalities to communicate.

In closing, I again wish to thank John Keane, president of the Thirty-fifth Maine Historical Society for valuable insights and a most generous access to the society's magnificent archival resources. Additional thanks must go to Professor Dennis Showalter, who had an ancestor serving with the Thirty-fifth, for the opportunity to examine his yet to be published work "The Impact of Rifles and Railroads on Bantag Military-Political Reform" and to Professor Gunther Roth-enberg for the guidance provided by his noted study, The Military Border of the Republic and the Bantag Empire.

Fifth Year of the Republic of Rus—
Summer of the Battle of Hispania

Long he fell through the fire, until he believed that this was, indeed, the punishment for his sins. That thought alone was nearly beyond his ability to accept. A life of war, of struggle and annihilation, had inured him to such philosophical concerns. There was life and there was nothingness. He had sent more than his share into the nothingness, watching the life drain out of their eyes … and now it was his turn.

Funny, he could not remember being hit. Even now he could yet sense his body. No wounds. I'm still whole. Strange.

My uxar, my command of ten? What of them? And as he wondered he could hear screams. Are they with me in this torment now as well?

Four were dead. That he knew. Falling in the first moments of the ambush, torn apart by the fusillade that erupted from the jungle. Are their spirits now around me? Am I a spirit as well?

"Kasar!"

He turned. It was Ha'ark, the new recruit, but he could not see him. The idiot. It would be my fate to have him as my companion in the afterworld. The new recruit, a book reader, a fool who was useless except to be beaten to relieve the boredom. Absurd that he had survived the ambush. No, Ha'ark was still with me, running through the jungle, heading into the ruins of the temple.