The Skirmish at Hammond Lake

The Skirmish at Hammond Lake would not have been remembered if it not had been for the circumstances that occurred that battle - the world's first use of biological warfare. The attack was led by Belarussian Colonel Redd Dipp and Major Voroxian Mendeleev against militia captain John Saints of the Gravenhague local militia.

### **Background**

The Kingdom of Belarus had been eyeing to expand more geographical grip across Libertatem... especially distant western Hadoktin, a weak confederacy. On December 1st, 1913, a Belarussian regiment had been dispatched to test the waters of the local forces. Gravenhague was not protected by their state troops and were forced to rely on their local militia.

On December 3rd, 1913, on a cold, gusty winter day, a logging detail from the local militia reported armed Belarussian troops were headed straight towards Gravenhague and between them - Hammond Lake. Captain John Saints rallied all of his men, all 910 militiamen, and drunkenly marched eastwards during a blizzard to make a trenchline in an effort to stop the attack, not knowing how many Belarussians there really were.

The Belarussian 2nd Regiment, led by a green Colonel Redd Overton, previously from intelligence, and a seasoned Major Voroxian Mendeleev marched their way south from their homeland in a bid to test the waters of the local Confederate Hadoktinite forces. They were also very eager to test out biological warfare in a crude fashion - dead bodies of the infected and a couple shells from the science department.

On December 4th, with a hastily-built trench line in front of the tiny, sleepy hamlet of Hammond Lake, named after the lake before it, Captain John Saints was confronted by a much more well-trained, well-prepared, and well-equipped Belarussian Army and a nasty surprise.

### **The Battle**

The battalion of militiamen were confronted at the very early morning hours, when light had not quite yet approached, with mortar shelling at their positions. The militiamen, having never been to battle before, were absolutely astonished and startled by the sound. The reality of war had hit them.

At roughly 5:30 AM, the first wave of attacks from the Belarussian side commenced. Two companies from the Belarussian side had went over and began charging at the Gravenhague militiamen, who had been awake from the mortar shelling. The militiamen's weapons were of ill-quality or from the century before - most did not hit their targets, even if they had any sort of training with such firearms, and some could not fire at all. The two Belarussian companies were able to establish yet a new frontline, this one barely half a mile away from the Hadoktinite lines. The rest of the Belarussians caught up to the first two companies dispatched, while under light Hadoktinite fire, and helped reinforce the new line.

Captain John Saints had lost roughly 20 men already from the initial attack. He had radio'd for state troops to come and reinforce Gravenhague as soon as possible and was met with a somewhat negative reply - there were no available state troops as they were dealing with a local peasant rebellion in another town further inland and he was on his own.

Captain Saints decided his best option was to hold the line. The Belarussians noticed the militamen did not want to budge and launched yet another charge. However, Captain Saints, fearing that if they managed to get to the trenches they had a good chance of driving them much further, ordered for a counter-charge. The militiamen, timidly advanced, and were quickly hit by a much more enthusiastic shock attack that pierced through any frontline and forced engagements in the backline.

The shock attack worked very well, as it plummeted whatever morale the militiamen had to almost none. The militiamen made a disorganized retreat but managed to regroup at the hamlet behind hastily-made palisades. Some of the men of the hamlet joined the militiamen in their desperate attempt of defense. Captain Saints lost another 215 men from that single shock attack.

Shooting had erupted throughout the day and night and slowly whittled numbers, however, only on the militia's side. The Belarussians had only lost 59 men.

On the second day, Colonel Overton gave the command to Major Mendeleev and on December 5th, 1913, the world's first use of biological warfare was used. The Belarussians had been wearing gas masks and protective clothing, making them very bulky but very well protected against their own weapon. With crude catapults, they began flinging dead bodies of plague victims into the hamlet of Hammond Lake. The militiamen were confused at first until they got a good glimpse of the bodies and by then, it was too late as they were contaminated. This caused widespread panic and chaos. Militiamen began scattering and so did the inhabitants of Hammond Lake. To add more chaos, they fired two of the six first weaponized shells of the plague into the hamlet for good measure. By the afternoon hours, the occupants of Hammond Lake had all left - straight for Gravenhague and by nightfall, the Belarussian troops moved in to occupy Hammond Lake.

However, after sending a radio report back to the Kingdom of Belarus, Colonel Overton was abruptly demanded back to the capital along with the major. As the 2nd Belarussian Regiment began to make their withdrawal, peasants from Hammond Lake along with the remaining elements of the Gravenhague militia, made their way back, this time with gas masks, and made an attempt at sending them back. Since the 2nd Belarussian Regiment was planning on leaving, they only needed to cover their rear as they made their withdrawal. By 11 PM, December 6th, all elements of the 2nd Belarussian Regiment had left the area and so had the militiamen. The skirmish was effectively over.

### **Aftermath**

*"A fire so damned large... you could see the smoke all the way from Imperium..." -an unknown count from Imperium*

Many of the militiamen, from Gravenhague and from Hammond Lake, were infected with the Plague. Out of the total 910 men, excluding the 29 men that made up the impromptu militia of Hammond Lake (of which 18 were infected and later died), 770 men died from infection from the plague, infection from their wounds sustained at the skirmish, or were simply killed from the shellings or shooting. Captain John Saints soon went mad, as he was a hatter by profession, and compounded by his shellshock, became a backwoods trapper and preacher. He is presumed to have died in a barn fire though official records remain unclear.

Colonel Overton had never been heard from again since his recalling - some suspect he had been assassinated - and Major Mendeleev was put in a forced labor camp where he was tortured and eventually succumbed to starvation and exhaustion. Despite losing only 83 men out of their 2,000, the battle was declared inconclusive. However, it brought forth the Convention of 1914, hosted by EurCorp, that addressed the use of biological weapons in the field of war. The results that came out of it were that it was to be illegal with all partnered nations agreeing unanimously.

Those that died that battle, the ones that died from infection from the plague, were thrown into mass graves - including the bodies of the dead Belarussians - and then burnt in a large fire.