-----------------------------
If we reach 15 comments. You have five hours from the time this chapter is posted. If we reach the goal, the next chapter will be posted in eight hours.(Valid comments must include information about what you like or dislike about the story, what you would like to see about the story, or any questions you may have about the story,Only one comment per person will be accepted, as the devil is in the details.)
-----------------------------
Pov of Ernst
1917-December-8
''Do you see anything?'' I said while leaning out a little and observing the streets of the city we had to enter.
''Nothing, Herr Leutnant. Everything seems clear'' one of the men said, holding his binoculars and carefully observing all possible enemy firing positions.
''Good, we are clear. We move. We have to install that radio in an area where we can move and establish our operations center temporarily'' I said, pointing to the soldier carrying a heavy backpack on his back.
Without wasting a single second, we began moving, watching our flanks and observing the windows as we walked through the cobbled, though abandoned, streets of Dijon, since apparently the city had been evacuated by the French.
We had orders to fight for control of the area and kill and capture as many as possible, so that was what we would do, and we tried to move quickly to find a place where we could make contact with the radio that had been installed behind us.
I raised my hand and stopped hearing the movement of my men. Closing my eyes, I began to hear footsteps and, at the same time, movement over some rubble.
''Company to the left'' I said, pointing with my finger toward where I heard the movement.
''Enter this building and cover the intersection'' a sergeant said to his men, and they began climbing into the building through the window to watch from above and be able to know what the French were doing.
I kept hearing footsteps and, from time to time, movement inside the building when those who had entered made noise, until one of ours appeared at a window and began making hand signals.
''12 Frenchmen'' I said, observing the hand signals made by the man who had leaned out the window. ''We are going to hit them at the corner and try to take them all down.''
With the semi-automatic rifle in my hands, we moved and positioned ourselves at the intersection while we had our men in the upper building, as I began hearing the French speaking among themselves.
''At my signal, you run to the next street. We will provide cover'' I whispered, pointing to the other side of the street and signaling to those inside the building to act at my signal.
We prepared ourselves and when I heard them close enough, I shouted.
''Now, for the Kaiser!'' I shouted and leaned out firing, noticing the French patrol completely surprised. Some even had their rifles slung over their shoulders.
I fired repeatedly at the Frenchmen who tried to seek cover, taking down two instantly before they could do anything.
The group we were covering sprinted at great speed, crossing the street, and began firing at them. It did not take long before a great number of shots were heard from the third floor of the building.
The screams of the French were heard and several were wounded, writhing from their injuries while crawling or simply screaming while covering their wounds, while the rest fell.
''Quick, gag those who are alive and try to stabilize them. We need answers and to see if we can get their orders out of them'' I said, aiming at the wounded while moving.
''Someone go and cover that building. It will allow us to control the center of this square. Reinforcements may arrive soon'' one of my sergeants said, pointing to a five-story building that was somewhat damaged.
''Yes, and someone cover that building. It will protect our rear'' I said, pointing to another building, and one of my Unteroffiziere quickly took his men and went to cover it.
We took the wounded and bandaged them, trying to save their lives, although little could be done when a rifle bullet hit you in the chest, since they were simply dying and would not take long to die. We had hit them in vital places. Literally, the luckiest ones simply had an arm nearly torn off by the shot, and they were the ones most likely to make it out.
Searching the pockets of the officer who had been the first to fall with a hole the size of a fist in his chest, I found his notebook and maps, but since I did not understand a damn thing of French, I simply kept them for the moment when we sent a messenger back to the trenches we had left behind.
With everything we cared about under our control, we began positioning ourselves inside the buildings, since it would not take long for the other French patrols in the area to arrive, and it was better to fight inside buildings than to stand in the middle of the streets.
''Good, how are we doing?'' I said after climbing to the third floor of one of the houses and seeing that some French prisoners were dying in pain while biting their gags.
''This one might survive, this one I do not think so and this one only has minutes left'' said one of the soldiers, who was the one who had received more medical and treatment training than the others.
''Meh… you cannot save them all. And how does that thing work or what?'' I asked, turning around and seeing the one carrying the radio, who was crouched and trying to make it work.
''Yes, I think. Give me a few moments'' said the officer who was moving things inside the device while some sounds came from that radio they wanted to test.
''Leutnant, I received information from another group. Patrols are approaching from the north'' one of my men said, coming from watching through the window.
''Ah, apparently those sign language classes Karl made us take were not stupid after all'' I said with a smile, noticing that a great deal of information was being passed through signs instead of shouting.
''This is the second Baltic company of the first regiment. Do you copy? Over'' the radio operator said, trying to communicate by radio.
Only a strange sound came from the machine while the operator began moving many cables and other things I did not understand much about this experimental technology.
''Received… situation… over'' was heard through the radio, although several parts cut out, with that sound I did not know how to describe.
''Something is failing. Let me see if I do this and move this here'' the operator said while trying to keep adjusting things. ''This is the second Baltic company of the first regiment. Do you copy? Last transmission had too much interference. Over.''
''Some interference. Over'' the response was heard.
''What do I say?'' the operator said, looking at me.
''Eh… well… ah, exchange of fire. 9 French dead, 3 captured. We have documents from an officer. Possible future combat'' I said, looking at the radio operator.
He began transmitting the message.
Then we began hearing the French shouting names in the middle of the street.
''What are those idiots doing? Do they not know they are in a kill zone?'' I muttered as I approached the window and observed the French moving through one of the streets while someone was shouting names, probably those of the men we had eliminated.
So we let them pass while we listened to them moving below us, until we heard shouting and then hurried footsteps. Leaning out slightly, we found that they had begun checking the dead.
I began giving hand signals to the men at the front, and all of us leaned out from the sides, aiming downward.
Again, I was the first to pull the trigger, watching as the bullet blew apart a Frenchman's head and sent his helmet flying.
As soon as I confirmed he was dead, I aimed at another Frenchman who looked up with his eyes completely wide open, and I also put a piece of lead between his eyebrows.
My next target was one who threw himself to the ground, but I still had him perfectly in my sights, so while biting my lip, I pulled the trigger again and saw a hole open in the Frenchman's back.
A lot of screams were heard while I fired, and by the time my magazine ran empty, the French were full of holes.
''Ah, this shit is a beauty'' I said, kissing the weapon while removing the magazine and putting in a new one.
''Yes, much better than having to work the bolt. It saves you time that could be vital'' one of my sergeants said, also observing this new rifle, fresh from the production lines, that was doing wonders.
''How many dead?'' asked the radio operator, who began transmitting again as soon as the clash ended, since he had silenced the radio while the French approached.
''I think about 20'' I said, looking at the bodies scattered everywhere, in addition to the ones we had killed earlier.
''Leutnant, I need confirmation. I am reporting everything'' the radio operator said.
''Yes, yes, I know. Someone go and check how many there are in total and remove the ones we had eliminated before'' I said, taking off my helmet while scratching my head.
While someone went down to check, I heard more shots. From the sound, I simply assumed it was an ambush by one of my subordinates who were protecting one of the paths we had taken to arrive, or there was a French company in the area, judging by the number of shots that could be heard.
''So, what do we do now?'' said the radio operator, who was attentive to anything I said.
''For the moment, nothing. We have to wait for the other Leutnants to give their information from their positions and then we will see. In a couple of hours, we should already be expecting the orders that come to us, but we are only here to make the French bleed a little and see if we can capture some American and get information from him about his company'' I said while searching for a can inside my backpack.
''Understood'' the radio operator said.
Listening from time to time to the echo of some weapons resounding and occasionally larger sounds, it seemed the plan was going quite well.
The group was composed of veterans of the Eighth Army who had transferred to the Baltic army and a few Jägerkommandos who now fulfilled leadership roles in this mission.
And for the moment, everything seemed to be going exactly as expected, with the French having grown used to the fact that our brothers-in-arms rarely sent patrols, and it was only a matter of time before they sent even more troops to fight us in these areas, since if they wanted to bombard the German trenches, they absolutely needed observers positioned in the ruins of the buildings on the outskirts to calculate where they wanted to strike.
I opened the can of preserved meat with my knife and simply sat down on one of the chairs, eating calmly while waiting for my instructions, since the radio worked, so all that remained was for everything to be resolved.
''Leutnant, the first company reports that more troops are entering the city and are beginning to check the buildings, so this time it will not be so easy'' our radio operator said.
''Good, it seems we have to kill more men today'' I said, taking the rifle and setting aside the can of meat.
Cleaning my mouth and licking my lips, I led a group of 30 men to prepare for urban combat, carrying a machine gun, several submachine guns and automatic rifles, in addition to a large number of grenades for clearing, and we positioned ourselves at one of the long intersections from which the end of the city could be seen, taking an apartment building as a strongpoint.
Taking the fifth floor of the place as an observation point, it did not take long for us to observe the French moving and carefully watching their positions, although it seemed they did not know how to do it properly, since they rarely covered each other's backs.
In addition, they were carrying out a very slow clearing, since many troops entered the buildings and some troops simply stayed outside, ready to be shot like targets.
''Set up the machine gun and let no one escape. Wait until they leave the building and fire'' I said while beginning to go down.
Once I was already on the first floor, I heard the machine gun resound in short bursts and several rifles sound off, so those men must already have been very dead.
''Americans to the west. The third company has them surrounded'' one of my men said.
''Ja, it seems we have more to hunt'' I said with a smile.
-----------------------------
If there are spelling mistakes, please let me know.
Leave a comment; support is always appreciated.
I remind you to leave your ideas or what you would like to see.
-------------------------------
Hello everyone! If you'd like to read chapters in advance, you can support me on P.a.t.r.e.o.n. Currently, there are 7 chapters available
without spaces
p atreon. com/Chill _ean_GUY
Thank you all for your support!