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already fallen behind and took  two more hits. This time it stopped all movement, but continued shooting.  Return fire on the walkers was fierce.  One more walker exploded with a direct hit.  The last two walkers popped more smoke and ducked back down behind cover.   1600 metres… 1500 metres…  The spider-mechs relentlessly closed in.
    Ericson saw that the range was good.  “All units, engage your targets!” His own command tank surged forward to expose the turret over the top of the overpass embankment to add additional firepower.  He had also been using the overpass embankment for cover. “Gunner.  Fire at will,” he ordered.  
    All nine MBTs open fire within a second of each other.  The open woodlands was filled with the roar of 130 mm cannon fire and the pulsing cracks of the enemy beam weapons.   Each of the  enemy mechs was hit by the initial barrage, brilliant explosive flashes from the impacts lighting up each mech, but they withstood the attacks.  Laser fire began stabbing back at the dug in tanks.  Flashes of light, the explosive vapourization of ablative armour blocks indicated direct hits on several of the tanks, but the ablative armour held.  
    Before the autoloaders on the tanks could complete the loading of the second rounds into the gun breaches, dozens of anti-tank missiles streaked out from both the north and south woods.  The battlesuit infantry platoon and other combat walker platoon were engaging the spider-mechs from the flanks.  A second set of 130 mm discarding sabot penetrators fired off just 7 seconds after the first set.  They were at the maximum rate of fire for the guns.
    The battle became frenetic, with the air filled with laser fire, missiles, and tank shells.   A flanking spider-mech suddenly exploded from either an armour piercing round or a missile hit – no one was sure.  A tank exploded, multiple heavy lasers burning through the ablative armour and the composite armour underneath.  Infantry fired grenades from their launchers and emptied clips of ammunition into the spider-mechs. More anti-tank missiles fired off.  The combat walkers fired off their second wave of missiles then engaged with machineguns.  Machine guns had little affect on the spider-mechs, but they could damage sensors, and distract the enemy.  Spider-mechs had their primary beam cannon, but they also had a secondary laser for use against softer, non-armoured targets.  These rapid fire guns began firing back at the combat walkers and infantry, suppressing and killing them. 
    Another spider-mech exploded, then two more tanks.  Smoke filled the air from burning wreckage, burning trees and brush, and all of the explosion s.  Yet another tank exploded, it’s turret hurled up into the air.  God, that was Zawadski ’s tank, Ericson thought to himself.  Zawadski ’s wife was now a widow, but he didn’t even have time to think her or even his own wife as events were moving too quickly.  The alien spider-mechs kept coming, attacking, and were breaking out of the ambush.  The range was now down to 900 metres.  Two more  spider-mechs were damaged and limping, but they kept coming. 
    Nothing breaks these guys, he thought.  We need more firepower.  He was strangely calm – beyond fear now that combat was underway.  This was a battle the tanks wouldn’t be able to disengage from too easily due to the speed of the alien mechs.  The battlesuited infantry might be able to escape as they could use the woods for concealment, but the tanks would win or die on this battlefield. 
    “Gunner.  Target mech right,” he yelled, feeding coordinates at the same time.  A spider-mech was targeting them. 
    His tank rocked from the recoil of  its main cannon.  “Sabot. Away,” the gunner called out. 
    At the same time, his tank was rocked by a direct hit on the turret from the alien’s main beam.  Ablative armour erupted in a incandescent blast cloud, absorbing the high-energy pulse.