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Imagination, v. 1, issue 3, whole no. 3, December 1937
Page 12
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Chapt 6: MENACE ENDS At the same hr &, nr as can be ascertaind, the same moment the incredible armada fell in the Bay region the Federal Army with its auxiliary State Troops faced the enemy forces in the battle array at Deming. For a description of what occurd there we again turn the reportr Grene & the bk he later publisht. "Twas 2 hrs past noon" records Grene. "The Fed-Forces hastyly had dug in. Earthworks were thrown up, heavy batterys set in position, & the Hazy Hord faced us across praps 1/2 mile of barren territory. "Poleon's planes flew overhead dropping the customary commands. "At 2 o'cl the enemy advanced. I was with the Staff of General Kutkins, the office commanding, at the time, & the Gen sayd 'If we were facing soldiers alone, tho outnumberd drasticly I'd have little doubt of the outcome; but as it is--' he raisd a hand--'look at the planes! They've drivn our own supporting aerial-craft to earth; the sky is theirs...' "The inimicable infantry forwarded to within 1/4 miles of our first line defenses & haltd. Tanks were wheeling into position. Still Gen Kutkins hesitated to give the order to fire. I heard him muttr something about 'suicide'. about the 'useless sacrifice of men's lives'. & then he swore suddenly 'But we cannot surrendr! No; we must frite--' He truned on his heel & crispt commands rite & left. Orderlys scattered. Crutching gunrs sprang to life. Along the ranks rippld a tense wave of expectation. "'When the enemy again advances--fire!' "Men gript their rifles, machinegun crews poisd their leadpoisonrs. Ahead of us masst on the side of a slitely riding ground the extraordinary army could be seen indistinctly. Section aftr shadowy section was moving into position with the precision on pieces playd on a chessboard. They had no heavy gums but they had m-guns, rifles, & tanks. "& the planes! The red red skybirds circled over us like countless flocks of falcons, the purr of their engines a steady rythm on the air. The Feds possest but few antiaircraftguns, the use of which was utterly inadequate against such swarms. "Thus mattrs stood in that pregnant moment befor the the opposing forces lockt in battle, in that crucial second before the enemy could advance, the guns open fire, the air deliver death... "But what--! The hord was halting! A miracle was happening. An officer gript me by the shouldr. "'Look! Look!' "The misty automatons were moving--but not toward us! "I was using fieldglasses. It was an amazing, an unforgetable sight; for those spectre soldiers were falling. They were falling like stocks of grain mowd down by a Wall St reapr. Not here & there but in one topple. & from their ranks came an odd sighting that was simultaneous from 1000s of lips. & even in that chaotic moment I thot of the Assyrian Host & of Bryon's lines: 'The Angel of Death spread his wings on the blast & breathd in the face of the foe as he passt.' For over that mighty mass it were as if the Grim
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Chapt 6: MENACE ENDS At the same hr &, nr as can be ascertaind, the same moment the incredible armada fell in the Bay region the Federal Army with its auxiliary State Troops faced the enemy forces in the battle array at Deming. For a description of what occurd there we again turn the reportr Grene & the bk he later publisht. "Twas 2 hrs past noon" records Grene. "The Fed-Forces hastyly had dug in. Earthworks were thrown up, heavy batterys set in position, & the Hazy Hord faced us across praps 1/2 mile of barren territory. "Poleon's planes flew overhead dropping the customary commands. "At 2 o'cl the enemy advanced. I was with the Staff of General Kutkins, the office commanding, at the time, & the Gen sayd 'If we were facing soldiers alone, tho outnumberd drasticly I'd have little doubt of the outcome; but as it is--' he raisd a hand--'look at the planes! They've drivn our own supporting aerial-craft to earth; the sky is theirs...' "The inimicable infantry forwarded to within 1/4 miles of our first line defenses & haltd. Tanks were wheeling into position. Still Gen Kutkins hesitated to give the order to fire. I heard him muttr something about 'suicide'. about the 'useless sacrifice of men's lives'. & then he swore suddenly 'But we cannot surrendr! No; we must frite--' He truned on his heel & crispt commands rite & left. Orderlys scattered. Crutching gunrs sprang to life. Along the ranks rippld a tense wave of expectation. "'When the enemy again advances--fire!' "Men gript their rifles, machinegun crews poisd their leadpoisonrs. Ahead of us masst on the side of a slitely riding ground the extraordinary army could be seen indistinctly. Section aftr shadowy section was moving into position with the precision on pieces playd on a chessboard. They had no heavy gums but they had m-guns, rifles, & tanks. "& the planes! The red red skybirds circled over us like countless flocks of falcons, the purr of their engines a steady rythm on the air. The Feds possest but few antiaircraftguns, the use of which was utterly inadequate against such swarms. "Thus mattrs stood in that pregnant moment befor the the opposing forces lockt in battle, in that crucial second before the enemy could advance, the guns open fire, the air deliver death... "But what--! The hord was halting! A miracle was happening. An officer gript me by the shouldr. "'Look! Look!' "The misty automatons were moving--but not toward us! "I was using fieldglasses. It was an amazing, an unforgetable sight; for those spectre soldiers were falling. They were falling like stocks of grain mowd down by a Wall St reapr. Not here & there but in one topple. & from their ranks came an odd sighting that was simultaneous from 1000s of lips. & even in that chaotic moment I thot of the Assyrian Host & of Bryon's lines: 'The Angel of Death spread his wings on the blast & breathd in the face of the foe as he passt.' For over that mighty mass it were as if the Grim
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