“The fuse was too long,” Marc said.
The Adjutant broke rank and relayed the message to a volunteer from the town on horseback. When he ran off to relay the message, another man crossed his path to replace the messenger.
By the time smoke and dust cleared from the mortar, the men who fired from the trenches were already in position higher up the hill. Their orders were simple: strike, run, and find cover within the next trench. That tactic won’t work for long…
In accordance with his orders, a second mortar was launched almost exactly two minutes after the first exploded. Both teams were provided with hourglasses. They would alternate firing their mortars until Marc altered the order.
Disclaimer: This excerpt from Man of War is currently in development. There may be typos, errors, omissions, inconsistencies and so forth.
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