Axis & Allies - damowords

First Skirmish
Wild flowers swayed in the soft sommer breeze;
Cloakʹd by clouds of skirmishing Tirailleurs
Columns of infantry aim for the trees,
Toward poisʹd troops of red‐coated soldiers;
Battle baptisʹd,
A hail of musket‐balls,
The blue‐coats halt surprisʹd, a whirl of wounded souls.
From tree to tree throʹ that dense wood
Dashing hordes of Jerome surge,
Soil saturated with the blood
Of many a murdʹrous urge,
The first Frenchman spat, sniffʹd & stood
At the foliage verge,
Where the rickety chateau of his goal
Loomʹd large behind itʹs gun‐lined garden wall.
LʹEnforceur burst throʹ the North gate
With four & thirty men,
Death dealt by Fate, before too late
The gate was closed again,
Sharp bayonets dealt to those few trappʹd in the Lionʹs den.
Hougoumont
12:00
Cannonade
With the sultry blaze of the mid‐day sun
Came the barrage of the Grand Battery,
Shot & shell hurtlʹd from a hundred gun
Cross the vale with a volumous volley;
Iron shower,
Dealer of destruction,
Falls to slay the flower of the Belgic nation.
Exposʹd upon the forward slant,
Close by the Papolette farm,
The anguishʹd moans transpose to chant
As the devlish shells reek harm,
Whilst some poor dashing Lieutenant
Clutches his severʹd arm ‐
Time abandons this terrible limbo,
This howling hurricaneʹs booming bellow.
Waiting for war behind the hill
Men of Alban Highlands
Led statue still beneath the shrill
Each fearsome shell commands,
Awaiting to do battle, muskets clutchʹd in eager hands.
The Fields of Waterloo
12:30