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Pov of Ernst
1916-December-29
''That makes 238 rifles and 462 pistols taken from these houses already'' I said while writing the number down in my notebook. Behind me, the men stacked the confiscated equipment into wooden crates to be sent to the arsenals in Riga, where our center of operations had been established for the moment.
Karl had disappeared for several days alongside a group personally chosen by him. That never meant anything good. Some kind of mission so filthy he did not even bother mentioning it. But once he returned it became obvious it had succeeded… because now they were burying us in work again.
And whenever Karl received work, all of us received work.
So we went back to doing exactly what we had already done in Ukraine months earlier when we arrived in Kiev: beating the population into disarmament to make sure nobody possessed the means to resist the occupation.
The Russian withdrawal had been a complete disaster. Those idiots left entire depots abandoned, ammunition crates lying in stations, weapons hidden in basements and barns. The German Army managed to secure much of that material before civilians got to it, but not all of it. There were always quick rats stuffing rifles beneath floorboards or hiding pistols behind false walls believing one day they would use them against us.
From a map it looked simple. Mark districts, search houses, confiscate weapons, move on.
On the streets it was something else entirely.
A man who steals a rifle from an arsenal does not do it to hang above his fireplace. He does it because he plans to use it. Against us, against a neighbor, or against whoever crosses his path.
That was why the idea had to be broken before it grew.
Several people only gave information after I beat it out of them. Others started talking the moment they heard their neighbor screaming in the next room. Rewards helped as well. A couple of cans of food were enough for half the street to start pointing fingers at whoever hid weapons and where.
''He has a revolver.''
''The old man keeps a Mosin under the stable.''
''The Estonian on the corner hid ammunition crates.''
People sold each other out for food like starving dogs.
Throughout the entire day I did nothing except enter houses, kick doors down, drag men by the neck, and make it very clear that the weapons no longer belonged to them. Some understood quickly. Others needed a few teeth rearranged before they started cooperating.
''We are done here. No more houses remain in this sector, so for today we are finished'' I said while pulling out a cigarette and placing it between my lips before lighting it.
''Leutnant, we still have to check that group of Latvians. Supposedly they are armed, or at least that is what the locals told us when we were paying for information'' one of my Unteroffiziere said while checking his rifle.
''Shit…'' I muttered, taking a long drag from the cigarette. Smoke slowly escaped through my nose while I stared at the street covered in dirty snow. ''Looks like we really are getting an urban fight after all.''
I walked over to my backpack and pulled out the submachine gun, checking the magazine to make sure it was ready to fire.
''The Major also gave us these in case we need them'' another subordinate officer said while showing me one of those throwable explosives. They looked like potato mashers, but Karl insisted they were perfect for clearing rooms. They had become common among our units.
''Right… they are useful. Keep them ready. From what I understand, this could get pretty ugly'' I said while moving my neck from side to side as I finished the cigarette in several deep drags.
''Hopefully this does not end in a firefight. You know how Karl gets about that. He says corpses only create more partisans'' another officer commented while adjusting his helmet.
''Meh… that is because we still have not killed enough of them'' I replied with a dry smile. ''In Ukraine we needed living workers to keep that damned place functioning. Here it is different. We need to impose order quickly and crush any idea of resistance before it grows.''
I threw the cigarette to the ground and crushed it beneath my boot.
''And if that means filling a few streets with corpses, then so be it… that is how people like this need to be treated. Same goes for socialists and communists'' I said while pointing at the crushed cigarette beneath my boot.
My men nodded while we prepared ourselves for possible combat. We strapped steel plates onto our chests and checked magazines, making sure we had enough ammunition in case things turned into a firefight with that Latvian group demanding a freedom they would never have. Not after all the blood and money Germany had buried in this war.
It did not take long before we entered a residential district where several Latvians were gathered talking among themselves. The moment they saw us, the atmosphere changed completely. Voices died away and several of them began staring at us with that mixture of fear and hatred I knew far too well.
My men quickly spread out, taking defensive positions and covering the flanks just as we had practiced dozens of times.
''Well… looks like I will have to expose myself to finish this'' I muttered while walking toward the group.
I approached slowly until I stood directly in front of them.
''By order of the chief of security of the United Baltic Duchy, you are instructed to surrender any firearms that could be used against German soldiers carrying out legitimate occupation duties within these territories. You are required to hand over your weapons immediately'' I said while watching the nearby windows and doors.
Several frowned.
Others simply looked away.
I rested my hand on the submachine gun while watching some of them slowly begin backing away toward their houses.
I gave a signal with my hand and the rest of the unit started spreading throughout the sector.
Without wasting time I approached one of the houses and pounded on the door with force.
''By official order you are required to open the door for inspection. If you do not cooperate, we will enter by force'' I repeated while continuing to hammer on the wood.
I could hear movement behind the door, hurried footsteps, furniture being dragged… but nobody opened.
I turned my head.''The battering ram.''
One of my men immediately stepped forward and a single strike was enough to rip the door from its hinges.
We rushed inside while the rest secured the exterior.
We moved exactly as we had trained. Checking every room before advancing, covering corners, doors, and staircases until we reached another locked door at the back of the house.
I started kicking it over and over until it finally gave way.
The door burst open and I saw a man pointing a revolver at me.
I fired before he could react.
The scream filled the room as the bullets tore apart his hand and sent the weapon flying against the wall.
Before he even understood what had happened I was already on top of him.
I drove my boot into his face and knocked him to the floor in a single blow.
I grabbed him by the clothes and hurled him against the dining table, making the wood crack beneath the impact.
Around me a woman screamed desperately in Latvian. I did not understand a single word she was saying and at that moment I did not particularly care.
''Come here, you worthless piece of shit'' I growled while grabbing him by the hair before smashing his face against the table again. The wood shook beneath the impact. ''You think this is a game, huh?''
I kept slamming him against the table while the man uselessly tried to shield himself with his good arm.
At that moment the woman threw herself at me, trying to claw at my face and hit me desperately.
I grabbed her by the arm and threw her to the floor with a violent pull.
I pressed my forearm against her throat and started applying pressure while she struggled beneath me trying to breathe.
''What are you waiting for? Arrest these two and take the revolver!'' I shouted at my men. ''Move your asses.''
They quickly pulled out straps and improvised handcuffs to restrain them. The man could barely walk while they dragged him outside, leaving drops of blood across the floor. The woman kept screaming and struggling while two soldiers hauled her away by force.
Then we heard gunfire outside.
I immediately rushed into the street.
The moment I crossed the doorway I saw several of my men firing their submachine guns into the windows of a house while another group did the same against the building across the street.
''What the hell happened?'' I asked while staring at the firefight.
At that exact moment someone appeared again at one of the windows holding a rifle.
''Take positions and secure the flanks'' I ordered while raising my submachine gun. ''Suppressive fire on those windows!''
I aimed and fired a short burst.
The glass exploded into fragments and the rifle flew out into the street while the figure disappeared backward.
''Use those damned grenades they gave us! Let us test if Karl was right about them!'' I shouted while several of my men started moving through the snow and rubble searching for better cover.
Bursts of gunfire echoed throughout the entire street while civilians ran to hide inside their homes.
While some kept firing at the windows, my Unteroffiziere started shouting orders to advance. The suppressive fire kept the enemy shooters pinned down while we moved uphill through the street, using doors, walls, and building entrances as cover.
We entered houses one by one to make sure nobody armed could attack us from the flanks.
We kept advancing through the gunfire until we were close enough to use those explosives.
''How do you use this shit?'' I asked while staring at the grenade one of the soldiers carried in his backpack.
''Pull this, throw it, then wait a few seconds'' he replied while handing me two of the explosives.
''Let us see if Karl was selling us bullshit…'' I pulled the pin and hurled the grenade toward the window where several shooters were still firing at us.
The grenade smashed through the glass and disappeared into the room.
''Hey, are you sure this thing wor—?''
The explosion cut me off instantly.
The blast shattered the windows and threw glass, wood, and dust across the entire street.
''Holy shit…'' my subordinate muttered while staring with much greater concern at the backpack full of explosives hanging from his side.
''Well, they work. Keep advancing!'' I shouted while activating the second grenade before throwing it at another window.
The explosion shook the entire street once more.
''Move! Get inside!'' an officer yelled while several men stormed into the house.
Submachine guns immediately started firing inside the building and the screams followed seconds later.
Gunfire came from every direction. Wounded men were dragged away from the line of fire while the fight stopped resembling a simple operation and turned into full urban combat.
Reinforcements did not take long to arrive and help us contain the Latvians who kept appearing armed from different buildings.
I licked my lips while grinning.''Come on! Make these traitorous dogs bleed!'' I shouted while advancing toward another house alongside several soldiers.
Little by little the resistance began collapsing.
Fewer and fewer shots came back at us.
Many of them were running out of ammunition. Others were captured or gunned down while we cleared their hideouts one by one.
''Bring more grenades! There are like twenty inside that house!'' I shouted while kneeling behind a small brick wall.
More men began surrounding the building, making sure every possible exit was covered while we kept firing at anything moving near the windows.
A soldier came running over carrying another backpack full of explosives.
Just as we prepared to throw them inside, several Latvians started coming out of the house with their hands raised while shouting things in their own language.
''They are probably begging for mercy, the traitorous dogs'' I said while spitting onto the ground in disgust.
''What do we do?'' one of my subordinates asked.
''What must be done'' I answered without taking my eyes off them. ''Hang every single one of them. I want the city to see how subversives end up.''
The men nodded and we continued toward the next house that was still an active hotspot.
After several hours we finally finished clearing the entire area with help from other groups that had arrived as reinforcements.
The separatist cell had been completely crushed.
Though fortunately for Karl, there were still many more things left to crush.
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