An Account From A Kansan Volunteer Part 2

 Suddenly the amphibians let out a high pitched scream and charged the machine gunners. So sudden was the attack that the machine gunners were reached by the creatures. The machine gunners fired their pistols at them as they jumped over the machine gun. My regiment turned to assist our men. As the creatures raised their clubs we rushed in and gave them the bayonet. Their blood was black. Soon there were only a handful left and they turned and fled back to the pond and submerged. We didn't know then but later were told that it was their spawning ground and they were defending their young. I wonder if they looked like tadpoles or something.

The pause in the fighting was short lived for next we heard frightening roars as immense lions and something which looked like a cross between a tiger and a bear jumped from the cave to our left. Fortunately the machine gunners had survived the recent melee and turned their gun on the beasts. The creatures were big but they could not stand up to that many bullets. Six of the creatures lay dead.

But there was more. An eerie rattling sound came from the cave and there then emerged skeleton warriors! How their bony bodies held together without muscles and sinews was a mystery. They wore what appeared to be bronze and gold armour with bright blue enamel. They resembled ancient Egyptians and held a gold banner. 

The dark eye sockets suddenly glowed with eerie lights, alternately red, green and blue. The skeletons marched, in perfect coordination toward us. They raised their swords and attacked. The machine gunners and our soldiers opened up and the first ranks of skeletons fell in heaps of bones but the ones behind did not pause. Despite the fear in the eyes of our men they were pushed back only briefly before they pushed back. The bayonets were of limited effectiveness and clubbing with rifle buts seemed more useful until the heads were knocked from the skeletons bodies. We pushed them back into the cave. Then suddenly they stopped coming. The machine gunners stationed themselves at the cave entrance and continued to fire into it.

Things were happening elsewhere on the battlefield but I could not see it all. To our right other regiments were encountering more attacks by very short men, Munchkins! Little men on little horses had charged and their infantry were giving at least as good as they got. We heard the booming of artillery as the Munchkins had positioned their guns on a hill near the mushroom houses.

They also had a hot air balloon which hovered over that part of the battlefield and sharpshooters gave our own cavalry and guns some grief. But we had our own air force, a steam flyer. The flimsy looking flying machine soared over our heads and moved towards some new threats emerging at our front. We were told that the pilot had some explosives he could drop over the enemy. Suddenly the steam flower was pushed, by an unseen force, 100 or so metres, almost directly back.

Then another regiment of skeletons came in front of us, up the road and pushing a wagon in front of them for partial cover. We could still see them though and we poured shot into them. We could spears  bony limbs and heads fly into the air. Again we had defeated a regiment of skeletons but there were other enemies.

From the forest a regiment of grenadiers in uniforms very similar to French Napoleonic troops fired at us with their muskets. Our rifles outranged theirs but we were within their range and the forest gave them some protection from our return fire. 

Another one of our volunteer regiments, The Greys, in their grey tail coats and black shakoes had advanced in the centre and encountered heavy opposition from other enemy forces. These enemy troops wore orange great coats, bearskin hats and brandished halberds and other pole weapons. Some of our surviving troops described them as having unnaturally yellow skin, breast and arm plates.

Meanwhile the steam flyer had again moved forward and was attacked by dark bird like creatures that emitted unearthly screeching. we could not see from where we were but they had the heads of women with fangs! The flyer was in trouble and we could see it lose altitude and heard a couple of explosions. The remnant of the bird creatures hen turned on the Greys, as did more skeleton warriors. Somehow the Greys fought them all off but then more volleys rang out from the forest and the rest of our greys fell, heroes all.

Then we were attacked by short men with red beards and armour, kind of like short Vikings but they were dwarves! At this point our army was plainly getting the worst from it and the first lot of skeletons had re-emerged from the cave to attack our men. The machine gun crew was dead. The Napoleonic looking troops in the forest were emerging and calmly advancing towards us.

Somehow we made new defensive lines and hung on by a thread but we had been whupped. 

Then we were attacked by short red bearded men in armour - dwarves!