Chapter 12

York, Great Britain. August 1067

The news of the Norwegian conquest of Denmark reached Marion by mid-July; by that time, there was nothing she could do to help the Danes. After reading the reports, she called Gabriella and Luke over to figure out why their spies in Norway didn’t alert them to the pending invasion. After reviewing all the spy reports, they could only conclude that the invasion wasn’t planned; instead, it relied on speed and surprise to succeed. With Denmark being a small kingdom in disarray, the attack was successful. Against a nation like Great Britain, that kind of invasion was a recipe for disaster, but it could cause severe damage.

Marion knew an invasion was coming from Wales and the day it was supposed to start, but not the initial objectives. British spies had the probable date for the attack as 1 October:

“Do you think we should strike first, Luke?”

“No, for a couple of reasons. If they strike first, then it’s easier to justify the war. Then we have to wonder if our spies are being fed this information to fool us into attacking them. This would put them on the defense, and it’s far easier to defend than to attack. I know that’s what I would do, especially with the terrain of Wales.”

“Well, let’s hope Bleddyn ap Cynfyn isn’t that bright.”

“Don’t rely on that idea, sweetheart. When people start thinking their opponents are stupid, they lose,” Luke said. “Look at my history and all the empires that collapsed because they underestimated their opponents. What do you think, Gabby?”

“I think you’re right. If we let Wales attack, we don’t look like the aggressor, and when we strike at them, it won’t look as bad on the international stage. The other problem is Brittany; intel reports indicate an attack from them is imminent. The question is, will Hawise attack from the sea, or will she send her land forces to Wales and attack from there?”

“What do your spies say are the odds?”

“Right now, Luke, about even between the two attacks.”

“Does Hawise have the forces to hit us from the sea and transport her army?”

“If she uses merchant ships to transport her army and doesn’t escort them, yes. If she does provide an escort for her troops, then no.”

“Where would she attack?”

“Reports say the Hull Naval Shipyard.”

“Shit.” Marion cursed. “General MacDougall send word to General Hall to prepare the base for a naval attack. After that, let’s get some forces down to the Welsh border.”

“Yes, ma’am. May I suggest sending some diplomats to Bleddyn ap Cynfyn to try and get him to call off his attack?”

“You can suggest it, general, but I’m not going to do it. I want that land, and if we have to get him to attack us to get it, then so be it. As far as Brittany goes, she’s not the only one with ships that can transport an army. If that bitch attacks us, I will level her duchy.”

“Yes, ma’am. I’ll send the 2 nd division to the Welsh border; it will do them good to see some combat. Actually, at this point, they need to see some combat.”

“Then see to it, general.”

Luke came to attention and saluted before heading off to send orders for the 2 nd division to get ready to move out. They would be able to ride the railroad to Manchester. From there, it would be an easy march to the Welsh border, and Luke would make it easier because he planned to deploy the division in line from just south of Manchester to Gloucester along the remains of Offa’s Dyke. When the division wasn’t fighting off the Welsh, they were tasked with constructing a road along their defensive line after stringing telegraph cables to link each outpost. This would aid their defense by making it easier for one unit to assist another.

When Luke entered the army base, he sent word for the 2 nd division commander, Major General Reading, to report to Luke’s office on the double. Luke barely sat down in his chair when the division commander arrived at his office, still trying to fix his uniform; he had been on the can when he received the summons to Luke’s office.

“General Reading reporting as ordered, sir.”

“At ease, general. Please be seated; we have a serious issue to discuss.” Luke waited until Reading was seated before continuing. “We are faced with invasion, general. Intelligence reports that the Welsh under Bleddyn ap Cynfyn are preparing to invade. Assuming no changes are made, we are looking at an invasion on or around 1 October. That’s not all because the Bretons are also stirring, although we don’t know where their attack will be. It could be by sea at the Hull Naval Shipyard, or they could move their troops around, link up with the Welsh, and attack from there. I want your division to move to the Welsh border and deploy in a line from just south of Manchester to Gloucester. Once deployed, your troops will build a road and telegraph system linking all the outposts together.”

“What do we do if the Welsh don’t attack?”

“Then you and troops will send a comfortable but chilly winter in the southwest of England, and eight months from now, I’ll send one of the other divisions to relieve you. But from the reports we’re getting, that won’t happen. It seems both Bleddyn ap Cynfyn and Hawise of Rennes have run out of money for their military rearmament projects. That was why the Norwegians attacked Denmark; they needed the loot.”

“What are your orders for when the Welsh attack?”

“Seriously Reading? I thought I taught you better than that. It’s simple, eliminate their army and conquer Wales for the crown.”

“Yes, sir”

“You better get going because I want your division in Manchester no later than Friday. Dismissed.”

General Reading stood, came to attention, saluted, and left Luke’s office. He had his work cut out for him because many of the soldiers in his division were on leave. Reading almost ran into his office and called his commanders together. In the meeting, General Reading laid out their orders and what needed to be done to get to Manchester in the time General MacDougall had laid out for them.

It took the rest of the day for General Reading and his officers to finish making plans to move to the Welsh front. Luke had made the trains necessary to transport the division available. General Reading and his officers worked frantically for the next two days to gather the division and supplies. If Luke hadn’t set up an efficient logistics system, they would have never been able to get the needed supplies.

To all the officer’s surprise, they made it to Manchester on time and without losing any soldiers. Once all the troops had gathered, General Reading gave the individual units their orders. His cavalry brigade would be a mobile reserve stationed near the center of the line, and the three infantry brigades would divide the line into thirds. One regiment of each brigade would work on infrastructure while the others would set up a string of outposts. There were actually set up in two lines, with the rear line offset from the front line to cover the gaps. Each outpost had an artillery battery, a minimum of a company of infantry, and was situated on a hill.

Taking lessons learned in the Scottish campaign, each outpost was surrounded by claymore mines and barbed wire on top of a low wall surrounding the outpost. A watchtower was built in each corner of the outpost and linked to the command post by telegraph. The command post was next to the artillery, so firing commands could be sent verbally.

Setting up each outpost only took a week, and it was much easier to set up as nobody attacked them. Building the connecting road would take them the rest of summer to finish. Instead of just building a dirt track, they constructed a solid surfaced road as straight as possible. This would enable the cavalry to quickly move to any threatened part of the line and keep the outposts supplied. Now all they had to do was wait.

The day after giving General Reading his new orders, Luke asked Pollyanna to report to York. She would need to know about the coming attacks, and Luke knew Matt was missing Pollyanna. Thanks to telegraphs and the railroad, Pollyanna was on the first train from Hull the next morning and walked into Luke’s office a little after 10.00.

“Brigadier General Hall reporting, sir.”

“When the hell did you get so formal, Polly?”

“Since your damn wife promoted me.”

“You know I’m the one who recommended your promotion?”

“What the hell, Luke? I thought we were friends!”

“Well, you’re doing a good job, and so far, you have made me look really smart.”

“So, why did you call me back to York?”

“So, you can spend time with your family because of these.”

Luke handed her the intel reports detailing the plans Hawise has for raiding the shipyard. Pollyanna pulled up a seat and began to read through the reports. Luke watched the anger from her promotion disappear, being replaced by apprehension over what was to come. When she finished reading, her head hung down. Luke reached down and pulled Pollyanna’s head back up until she looked into his eyes.

“What’s wrong, Polly?”

“I’m pregnant again, and now I have to prepare to repeal a sea attack without ships.”

“Don’t you have a drydock done yet?”

“Yes, why?”

“As soon as you return, start building a ship in that drydock. I will send you anyone you need to make your job easier. One suggestion would be you set up turrets on land so the gun crews can get used to firing from a turret.”

“I don’t know anything about shipbuilding!”

“Well, that makes two of us because I don’t either. But I do know about designing things, and you do too. Let’s get out of here and head to my corporate office to draw some concepts.”

Luke and Pollyanna took off and headed to his corporate office. All his drawing supplies were in his office, and there was an extra desk for Pollyanna. Before Pollyanna left the base, she stopped by to see Matt and tell him the news that she was pregnant. After telling Matt where she was going, she and Luke headed to Marion’s office before going to Luke’s corporate office. There was something in Marion’s office he needed.

This was the first time Pollyanna had ever set foot in Luke’s corporate office, and she was impressed. There were several landscape paintings and a portrait of Marion on the walls, plus his desk was beautiful. The view out the windows was equally spectacular, and Pollyanna spent a few minutes looking out over Luke’s commercial empire and the city of York.

Eventually, it was time to start working on a ship design, and the two engineers sat down to brainstorm what features they wanted in the ships. Some were easy, like gun turrets and steam engines, while others were hard, like do they want to add sails or have a steel hull. It took them all day to work through everything, but ultimately, they came up with the basic design.

The two big arguments between Luke and Pollyanna were over sails and what materials to use in the ship’s construction, with Luke wanting to use steel for the hulls and no sails. His argument for no sails was these were to be coastal defense ships, so they would never be more than a few days out of port. He wanted steel hulls because they were stronger than wood and would allow for a sturdier vessel. Pollyanna pointed out that with sails, the ships could be on patrol for extended periods, and her argument for wood hulls was even more straightforward; they didn’t have time to learn how to build a steel hull while they had shipwrights that could produce a wooden-hulled ship.

Eventually, Luke and Pollyanna reached a compromise. They would build the first few ships with wooden hulls while learning how to construct steel-hulled vessels. None of them would be equipped with sails, which would help keep the cost down with their lower crew requirements. One thing Luke did insist on was the wooden hulls of the ships clad in copper sheeting to fight off sea life that would like to make their homes on or in the ship’s hull. The sheeting would be attached to the hull using bronze screws, solving the dissimilar metal problem they would have encountered if they had used iron fasteners.

Once they had the basics, it was time to produce a design. Luke brought out his computer with 3D modeling software to speed things along. The pair would still have to make hand drawings to convey the information to the shipwrights, but the initial design work and testing, Luke could do on his computer. Pollyanna watched in amazement as something that took her all day to do, Luke could do in a couple of minutes on his laptop. Once he had every piece modeled, Luke and Pollyanna went through and drew every piece by hand, but before they drew them, Pollyanna sent the lumber order to the shipyard’s sawmill.

At 40 meters long with a 10 meter beam, the ship’s keel wasn’t one piece of lumber like ships in the past; it was laminated lumber with bolts and screws holding it together. This gave the ship a stronger keel that was much less likely to break. The rest of the ship was equally stout, with all the timbers being kiln-dried before they were cut to final shape. The hull and bridge of the vessel were made of timber, while the turrets were made of steel. The ship would have one 155mm gun in front of the bridge and one aft in powered turrets, each with 300 degrees of traverse. The two main guns had an elevation of -5 0 to +50 0 and were controlled by a primitive mechanical fire control computer. In addition, there would be three 20mm six-barrel Gatling guns per side of the ship to repel close in assaults. Each Gatling Gun was manually controlled and had their own small turret. To help hide the fact that Luke was stealing the design of the multi-barreled gun, he renamed the Gatling Guns Vulcan Guns.