Chapter 246: Battle of Ladakh part -4
Near by post, at elevated height,
Captain Ayush was leading one of the posts from which rockets were fired. In addition to the 5 rocket launchers, his position was equipped with 5 falcon cannons as backup. He had 20 artillery crew members and the rest of his soldiers were armed with musket rifles fitted with bayonets.
He was a new recruit, and fortunately for him, with his given top performance in training and with the need for the expansion of the mercenary army, he managed to get in the eye of higher officials and secured a promotion to captain.
But the ridicule of colleagues and subordinates was hard to wash off, as others often deemed him a favored candidate rather than the rightful one. But this battle was the chance to wash his shame and prove his merit, but luck played a joke as he got positioned to stay at a high altitude to just fire at random positions with no sight.
However, he was soon proved wrong. The time to prove his worth came earlier than anticipated. After the assault at the hidden pass, soon, he saw the incoming enemy at the foot of the mountain with considerable size, which formed dotted patterns in the thin sheet of ice.
The distance was approximately a kilometer.
The mountains on the opposite side didn’t have that much ice, so they couldn’t figure out when they descended from the other side, but it was good.
Now they were clear, identifiable targets—almost around 300–350 soldiers in three groups approaching their post from the downslope. Similar dotted patterns could be spotted directing to other parallel posts too, but that wasn’t his concern for now.
Soon the whistle boomed, and he got the signal. He turned to his soldiers. "Bring forward the cannons and prepare the shells."
The rocket-launching stands were taken back. They were waiting for the new rockets, but now it was time to launch the cannons, which were kept behind. The crews pushed the cannons forward, cleared the barrels, and brought forward the crate containing all types of shells.