Maps!
by veilwar
I’ve been hearing complaints. Ok, ‘a’ complaint – that the action in this battle is somewhat confusing. Well, there’s a lot going on and it is often difficult to keep it straight myself. So, here then is a sketch map of the general outlines of the battle:
Here you can see the two hilly areas where the Snake River Brigade and Lewis have taken positions. The little thing in the middle at the bottom is the gun emplacements that Lewis happened upon right at the beginning, and then the line to the left is the ravine that he followed to get to his low hill.
The Prince and Odo came in from the left or west. The goblins and other beasties are coming up the ravine, a natural ramp through the cliff. Several regiments attacked the 116th, and you can also see the initial positions of the goblins, trolls and giants that the crusaders are fighting. I didn’t include it, but the dragon would have come in from the middle of the right side of the map, flown along the north edge of the hill, turned north, got shot, and aimed back at the 116th before being drive off.
Another note: this terrain actually exists, more or less I’ve drawn it here. Google maps set to satellite view is a remarkable thing.
Thanks a lot, this map just really helped me bring the action to life “in my mind’s eye” and appreciate the scenes more. Nice touch using real terrain too.
Could I ask just where this is, in real life?
I’ve really enjoyed reading the story so far, and have missed seeing any recent chapters. I hope everything is fine on your end–no serious issues you might be facing.
@Ted: I’m back – no issues aside from a mild case of burn-out, travel, and work.
@DMRGrimes: If you call up Rafha, Saudi Arabia in googlemaps, toggle on the satellite view. if you follow the main highway east out of the city, you’ll see a track heading straight north that peters out after a while. From the end of that, scroll north and east and eventually you’ll see the little scalloped shapes of the tank emplacements. The battle takes place north of there. I’ll see about finding a link.
I added a new post, with link to a googlemap. Or you can click this.