General Ivan Stervonokov surveyed his troops. The haggard, weary men had been marching for days in the long retreat from the Mongol attackers, yet not a single man had complained but to say "Why must we run from them, let us stand and fight!".
Each man counted his kills on his gun with a mark of a face with slits for eyes, a byproduct of the harsh anti-Mongolian propaganda released by the Russian government in the last few months the boost the morale of the troops.
Ivan noted that no men had injuries in his company, those that did had to be left to the Mongols and the cold, doom for any man. The russian winter had helped the army though, and as the men shivered and mumbled under their breath they knew the mongols were doing the same, and dieing.
A man had just fallen when a letter arrived for Ivan from the Russian High Command. A smile spread across Ivan's face, and he called his men to attention.
"Men, now is our time, we bring the fight to the Mongols!"
That was all that was needed. He immediately turned around on his horse and marched in the opposite direction, the men followed with a renewed vigor as they marched doubletime toward the front, ready to deal a blow to the overextended and weary Mongols. Ivan knew this was his chance, if he could lead his men to victory now he could deal a decisive blow to the Mongol forces, and finally drive the invaders from the Motherland....
In Kazakhstan Vassily Dergonovich was handing out weapons to the line of volunteers, both men and women, who wished to aid the russians in deposing of their despotic ruler who had continually abused them and starved them for his own amusement. The line seemed to never end, from day to night the men and women lined up to aide their country from the despotic grip of their evil King. They had run out of weapons within hours, but the men and women remained waiting for a new shipment.
With each town Vassily had enetered, thousands of people had rushed up to greet the russians with gifts of flowers and kisses, and Vassily had noticed that as they entered and left each town the number of Russians decreased and the number of Kazaks increased, they had already surpassed the russians in size, but in combat the russians units always lead the breakthroughs and advances with the kazaks in the rear ready to kill mercilessly the loyalists of the King.
Vassily had signed up for the army 5 years ago, thinking that war was far in the horizon and being stationed in the ever volitile Ukraine. He had been sent to kazakstan as an advisor the Kazak rebels but saw far more combat than any other man in his unit. He heard the army was fast approaching the capital of the country, and thanked god that the war would end soon, but knowing that the battle of almaty wouldbe more horrible than anything he will ever see...