After the victories on sea the Sheildholt Navy seeing the impossibility to hit Firefly Ironclads. Turned to retro fitting their battle Dracon and preparing its escort fleet to join the main defense fleet. But the new cannon decide that will allow a cannon to shoot below it was quite expensive and complex. And only one navel facility could create such a weapon, equipe it on the battleship, and be safe from Firefly armed forces. Fort Thornock on the island south of the Firefly Kingdom. On April 4th, a fleet of 18 Firefly ships 10 being war ships, the rest being transports equipped with mortars on the front to provide support for the Marines. The island ahead of them had a few Frigates for patrol. The war ships fan out they find the 3 Frigates turning around the wester tip of the island. The Frigates outnumbered and out gun due to the Firefly Cruiser Epear, they run. The warships saving coal rush and keep up at the Frigates speed to keep them in range. RFN Epear had an odd design of 7 guns on each side and one inside a turret at the front of the ship. The turret aims high a fire. The shot arcs above it misses the from Frigate but hits the Frigate in the back the shell slams through the deck and explodes inside igniting the ammunition storage. The other two experience these arced shots the front one nearly had the fate as its sister now below the sea. The Frigates surrendered, well on shore 500 Marines had landed each carrying a lever action rifle. The local police are outnumbered and beaten during the landings for the smaller island the marines take it after the first battle but find remaining Sheildholt police started gorilla fighting in the hills and deep woods. Meanwell on the larger islands the small military groups station on the island formed ambush locations and raids. From experiences they know they can't win but can making occupying the islands expensive, through night raids and ambushes. On the large island of Coldland the troops gathered in the port city of Chilburg Assuming the ice would prevent an attack from the sea. Was broke just like the ice as the RFN Epear armored front rammed through the ice. With the five carrier ships following. The ports defenses would lack of modern cannons meaning the Firefly ships got much closer than they would have. On the battlefield the marine cannon crews aimed near the tops of walls not for hitting the wall but for the fuse to explode the cannon balls right on top of or next to enemy troops defending the walls. In the water a red fireworks shoot off from the leading ship. It it's an order to forces artillery on the port defenses. Ships mortars and RFN Epear front cannon fire onto the port beaching barricade, collapsing the harbor into the cold water, and causing any building that could be used to shoot down from be destroyed. Finally, a green firework fires ordered the firing to stop and launch the marines. The defenders rushed barricades in well entering buildings to shoot from. Before the marines hit the port the stop due to a red firework shooting off order the marines to hold well a wave of artillery come. The defenders now stuck in buildings could do barely much when the shells started to come in. After 10 minuets of shoot mortars and the frontal cannon of the RFN Epear shooting at barricades catching unlucky defenders with shrapnel. Then the green firework went off and marines carrying light grenades and daggers take house by house. The battle on the land side falls apart due to a ground of engineers finishing a tunnel they dug and firing off explosive barrels causing a wall segment to fall down during a mid-charge of the marines. Coldland and Chilburg are now firefly holdings. Only Sheildholt holding was Fort Thornock and its northside of its island. The marines outnumbering and through tactics such as exploding cannonball above enemies allow them to push the last Sheildholt forces on the island into Fort Thornock.
