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14-January/1915
We had already spent several days inside Russia. In fact, we had even crossed into a new year while operating behind their lines. We spent Christmas eating wild boar we hunted in the forests, all while studying our target, trying to identify the routine of the general of the Russian Fifth Army. So far, we had no success. Russian uniforms were far too similar and I couldn't recognize their medals well enough to distinguish ranks.
South of the city we had a perfect observation point. A raised hill covered by forest allowed us to monitor the area where the Russian trains moved. Several times we had seen highly decorated uniforms, but we couldn't determine if any of them were our target. We only had one shot.
If I missed, the Russians would go on high alert and their general would still be alive. That shot had to count. But waiting this long for a single opportunity was starting to wear on all of us.
We could have already moved on the objective. We had identified a village where the Russians kept their horses during winter. We could steal them and ride straight to Riga to destroy the bridges.
But that would be too early for Hindenburg. He couldn't launch an offensive in January. The cold alone would kill soldiers who weren't equipped for Russian winter.
Even then, we would likely spend a month along the river placing explosives without being detected. At the very least, I wanted to create paranoia among the Russian ranks. If I could eliminate one of their generals, it would send a message. But it was difficult to strike when you didn't even know your target's face, relying only on interrogation scraps.
We couldn't risk acting blindly, and we couldn't make an officer disappear either. That would trigger investigations and force our target to relocate if he was even in the city. So we waited.
''See anything?'' I asked Friedrich, who had just returned from a scouting run.
''Not much. I observed training exercises. There are more troops than yesterday, so recent train shipments likely brought ammunition. They've been firing constantly. That lieutenant colonel we interrogated was right. They're preparing for an offensive. Training intensity increases every day'' Friedrich said.
''Yes, we've seen it… constant train traffic. We could sabotage one, derail it and make it look like an accident. But that only works if the general is there. He might inspect the damage… or maybe not… damn it… always the same problem. German intelligence is terrible. I need a clear description of the target to identify him through the scope'' I said, irritated.
''We have Subject C. Well dressed, has guards, occasionally visits the training grounds. But we don't know if he's the target. We could take the chance'' Ernst said, eager to end the waiting.
''You don't understand what killing a general does. If we take him out, we make sure they know who did it. The German Empire. We want fear. We want them to hesitate, to stay away from the front, to think twice every time they step outside. If that spreads among their officers, they'll start hiding, making decisions from outdated or useless information'' I said with a faint smile.
''What about the Lithuanians? They could cooperate with us, like the Poles. If we get one of their soldiers…'' Hans began, but I cut him off.
''Does anyone here speak Lithuanian?'' I asked while sitting down and maintaining my rifle.
''Right… no one does. Not even Ferdinand. So that plan is useless. Best option is waiting until Subjects A, B and C gather in one place and then strike'' Hans admitted.
''We've spent three weeks scouting this area and all we have are three possible targets'' Friedrich said.
As we debated our next move, one of our men came running.
''Hauptmann… a group arrived by train. They're carrying cameras… journalists… looks like propaganda'' the soldier said, pointing toward the Vilnius train station.
''Then the wait finally pays off. It's likely a propaganda effort. Either to restore morale or to mask their losses after Poland. There must be unrest in the cities. This is probably meant to control that'' I said, already moving.
''Yes, but where will they go? That's what matters. If we know where they're heading, we can prepare the strike'' Friedrich added.
''Remember the Kaiser's visit? They'll go to a training ground. That explains the ammunition and the activity. They're preparing for a demonstration'' Ernst said.
''It fits. More troops and equipment have been arriving there daily. Add journalists and that becomes the logical destination'' Hans said, watching the city through his scope.
''Then that's where we move. Contact the others. Prepare positions near the Vilnius training grounds'' I ordered.
We moved immediately. What should have been a twenty-minute walk took nearly two hours. We had to avoid patrols and move through forest cover the entire way.
The training ground was a massive clearing west of Vilnius, carved out of the forest. They hadn't cleared much beyond the immediate area, which worked in our favor. We set up roughly 700 meters out, with a clear line of sight.
From there, we watched Russian soldiers preparing.
We watched as there were crates full of ammunition, weapons and machine guns set in position, while hundreds of soldiers stood in lines waiting for something that was about to arrive.Finally, men with cameras appeared, who had to be the journalists.
''Hans, bring the machine gun'' I said whispering.
Hans quickly set up the machine gun on its bipod. It wasn't anything special, since i had made it in just a few days with the help of some gunsmiths to create a weapon that could use Russian ammunition as quickly as possible, so it was an experimental weapon and one that would probably fail, but at least it had worked in test firing.It was similar to a DP-27, only it used a side-mounted 45-round magazine.
''Come on, help me fill the magazine'' said Hans while dropping Russian rounds and empty magazines so they could load them by hand into the magazine.
When the magazine was full, it was placed into the feed slot.
''I think it's ready'' said Hans positioning himself to fire with this light machine gun.
''Good, Ernst, get next to him. As soon as he runs out of ammo, put the other magazine in. We have the chance to kill a lot of them here'' I said while taking out the bipod of my rifle and placing it, positioning myself to shoot, covering the scope to avoid any glare that could give away our position.
Like that, everyone started doing the same, taking bipods out of their packs or bracing themselves against trees and using them as support.
''Ferdinand… Ferdinand'' I said looking at the officer who was holding a Russian rifle.
''What…? My Hauptmann'' said Ferdinand turning his head before correcting himself with my rank.
''Write a note and leave it nailed to one of the trees… "the Devil of Masuria sends his regards"'' I said with a smile.
''And what the hell am I supposed to write with?'' said Ferdinand turning his head and showing me his hands.
''Take it'' I said pulling out my notebook, tearing out a page and handing him a graphite pencil.
''In Russian?'' asked Ferdinand taking what I gave him.
''Of course… or do you think I don't know how to read and write?'' I said staring at him.
''No… right away'' said Ferdinand writing the note.
''Also in German, that way it's more believable it was the German Empire'' I said while observing that we were finally seeing a group of officers.
''Everyone is saluting that one'' said Ernst while observing through his scope.
''Careful with the glare, the sun is in our face and the reflection could be seen'' I said while doing the same, covering my scope as much as possible, and I noticed it was Subject B, the one we had seen before, but who rarely left the city.
All the officers were saluting him.
''Have your men kill the ones stationed on the machine guns. If they aim them at us it would be terrible…'' I said to one of my Leutnants, who nodded and began ordering his men to aim at the machine gunners.
We watched as the journalists started taking pictures of the man, so I finally decided to take the shot, and if it wasn't the general, at least it would be in front of the press, even if due to censorship we wouldn't know if the soldiers would hear about it.
I aimed my rifle, calculated the distance at around 800-850 meters, began compensating for the drop and adjusted my scope. When the general stopped, I pulled the trigger, hearing the crack of the weapon.
A barrage of shots was heard from our side, especially when Hans began firing the machine gun, watching the casings being ejected.
My target dropped, as did almost everyone around him, and quickly all the Russians in sight began to die and run in every direction in panic, while the civilians did the same.
They quickly swapped the magazine on the machine gun and kept firing until the last round was spent.
''The note'' I said looking at Ferdinand.
He handed me the note and, taking out a knife, left it nailed into a tree.
''Let's get out of here… now… we're going to have the angriest Russians in the world chasing us'' I said with a smile.
Without saying a word, we grabbed our things, left the empty casings and began moving north.
We started moving quickly toward the village we had identified where they kept the horses.
Without stopping, and after an hour of intense movement, we reached that village north of Vilnius, where without wasting time we began shooting at the soldiers guarding the place, hearing the machine gun firing again, although something happened when it was halfway through the magazine.
''It jammed!'' shouted Hans, struggling and trying to eject the round.
''Forget it, just carry it, we need to get to those horses'' I said while shooting and killing a Russian officer who was peeking out.
We kept advancing until we eliminated the last Russians in the area and saw others fleeing down the road.
We quickly entered the stables and took several hundred horses, stole the supplies they had in the storage to feed the local troops and, without wasting time, began mounting. Luckily, most knew how to handle themselves, but some had to ride together with others to keep moving.
We quickly galloped west, killing a small group of Russians guarding the road who didn't react in time to our presence. Then we moved north to throw off the Russians, since we needed them to lose our trail for at least a few hours so the snow could cover our tracks.
We kept moving erratically through the area, traveling west, north and east multiple times, avoiding Russian patrols until we entered deeper forests, where we began to move more slowly.
Where we finally rested, since night had fallen and it didn't seem like the Russians were following us, as we had shaken them off. The strike had gone well, although now the Russians would be more alert than ever to our presence.
As soon as the sun rose, we began moving north again, now on horseback, although probably not for long, since without food for the horses we would have to abandon them soon or turn them into soup if we had to.
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Weekly Schedule
Monday: Day off / Chapter of my choice
Tuesday: Path of the Basileus
Wednesday: Path of the Basileus
Thursday: Sword of Mars
Friday: Day off
Saturday: Forged in Blood and Fire
Sunday: Forged in Blood and Fire