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POV of an American lieutenant
1917-December-17
''We have to go check what is happening inside Dijon. We have orders to keep hitting the German positions, or we will have the problem of them digging in too much. By the time the moment comes to launch the offensives, we are going to have a lot of trouble getting through those defenses. So we have to retake the ruins of Dijon and allow the observers to start doing their job. Everyone get ready because we move out soon'' the captain said as he adjusted his helmet and tucked his pistol into his belt.
''Captain'' I said, following his pace when he began walking toward his tent.
''What do you want, Lieutenant?'' the captain asked, pressing his lips together as I approached.
''Shouldn't we tell them to stay alert? The French have lost almost two companies in Dijon over the last few days, and we lost an entire platoon in there. It is dangerous to make it look like an everyday thing. A lot of men could suffer if they are not truly prepared'' I said, licking my lips a little before closing my mouth as I heard the captain's irritated breathing.
''Oh, you want me to tell all of them to be more ready to piss and shit their pants before they send us off to almost die? Huh, Walter? Because I am not happy at all about having to go into a city full of krauts. Maybe you are, because maybe you could ask your old countrymen to spare your life, but the rest of us are being sent because the French are refusing to go, and because they absolutely need observers'' the captain said, annoyed.
''I seriously doubt being of German descent will win me any sympathy with the krauts. On the contrary, it may even work against me for wearing a color that is not the Kaiser's. But we cannot send the men in blind. The Germans have been there for more than a week, killing everything that goes in, and it looks like the artillery fire has done little or nothing to drive them out of Dijon. The bodies of the dead are still there, piling up'' I said after swallowing and staring straight at the captain.
''And what can I do? These are orders from above. They want us to gain 'experience' so that when the reinforcements arrive next year, we can teach them what we have learned. Looks like they accepted that we are going to be target practice for the krauts, because those fellows, according to French sources, are not just anyone'' the captain said, entering his tent in a foul mood before he began moving several documents around.
''Not just anyone?'' I asked, surprised, since that was information even I did not know.
''Of course not. Have you heard of the Kaiser's Hounds?'' the captain said as he pulled out some documents.
''I have never heard that'' I replied, shaking my head.
''That is what the British call the unit where the Ghost of the Canal is, or the Devil of Masuria, depending on who you ask. But that has to be the son of a bitch with the most blood on his hands, and especially his unit. One of the French spies detected that the Baltic unit had arrived, and it was confirmed that it belongs to the Baltic Army, where almost all of the Kaiser's Hounds are. Veteran troops from the beginning of the war. That is the shit we have to march against'' the captain said, showing me the document.
''Oh, shit'' I said, opening my eyes wide.
''The French found out, and that is why their troops are mutinying. They do not want to be next, but they also do not want to burn the city down to ashes just to kill those krauts, because it is their city and they want to retake it with as little damage as possible. So now I have to lead a bunch of men who have only known how to use a rifle for a few months against fucking monsters'' the captain said as his eyelid twitched.
''But… weren't several French companies supposed to go with us for the clearing, or are we going in alone?'' I said, swallowing hard as I began to feel a pounding in my ears and a weight in my stomach.
''Yes. They barely managed to gather three French battalions that are going to help us, but nobody knows how many krauts are inside. It could be a hundred, or it could be three thousand, since very few have come out of that damned city. So maybe we will get lucky and the French will be the ones who eat the problem, or maybe we will be the ones who end up full of holes. That is why I do not want to tell them anything. Do you think it is easy to tell them: do not worry, boys, you are only fighting against the best of the best Germany has? It is not as if on the other side there is someone the German press credits with more than a thousand deaths'' the captain said, raising his voice a little as I saw him clench his jaw hard.
''God… a thousand deaths'' I said as I licked my dry lips and moved closer to the captain, who had sat down.
''Yes. So do not stick your head out anywhere, not even by accident, because it could be the last move you ever make'' the captain said as he finished making some notes in his notebook. ''So prepare your men however you like, but avoid telling them what we are up against. I do not want the men running at the first shot'' he finished, pressing his lips together.
With no more words to exchange, I prepared my equipment and decided to keep quiet, since in a way, he was completely right to try to hide the information. I could not stay calm now that I knew we were fighting against an extremely veteran German unit.
And someone famous on the front had arrived.
If they had given him a nickname, then at the very least he had to be good. For the German press to credit him with that many deaths, he had to be much more than good. So all that was left was to pray to God that we would not be the ones unlucky enough to run straight into the Kaiser's Hounds.
Holding my breath, I prepared my platoon, which was already ready to advance, just like the whole company. The captain was also getting ready for action, like all the lieutenants and sergeants, who were preparing to keep the chain of command together once hell began.
We gathered in the first trench, fairly far from Dijon, where we met the French captains and their lieutenant colonel, with whom we were supposed to clear the city.
There were two other American companies joining us, but we did not form a brigade, since there were not enough men to be everywhere. For the most part, we tried to support the weaker areas, which were the French ones, since their morale was usually on the floor after defeat after defeat against the Germans.
I watched as our captains spoke with the French lieutenant colonels, who were looking at the city through their binoculars, and it did not take them long to start talking about the plan.
They spent several minutes talking among themselves while our captains wrote everything down, and the translator told them what the French were saying.
''All right, looks like we got something halfway… maybe'' the captain said, looking at all of us lieutenants while he checked his notebook. ''We have to go in from the south and move up to Rue Chabot-Charny, where after that we should support the taking of the city center and try to surround the position. So we have to check a lot of buildings and make sure there are no krauts inside while we advance toward the objective area'' the captain said.
We began to check the map of the city they had given us and started dividing up the buildings we had to search as we advanced. Still, the whole time, I could not get that feeling of what might happen out of my head, because who knew what tricks a veteran could know after fighting for years since the whole thing began.
The captain's whistle sounded, and we began to gather to advance, since we had to move relatively close together as we entered the streets of Dijon.
We advanced several hundred yards as we approached the city, which stood before us amid murmurs, a few spits the men sent into the dirt, and the sound of our boots on the ground and the road. I could also hear the French company that was with us.
Among a bunch of words in French, I kept walking until I heard a sound coming from the city.
Before I realized what it had been, I heard the French begin shouting and panicking. When I looked, I saw that the French captain standing in front of his men had just had his head blown apart.
''Shit… from that far away…'' I said, looking toward the city, my eyes going wide.
More sounds came from the city, and it did not take me long to see one of the lieutenants take a shot to the jaw and fall to the ground, shrieking like an animal while he covered his mouth and kicked desperately from the pain.
The captain's whistle rang out.
''We're easy prey for kraut snipers! Run!'' I said, pointing at the buildings several hundred yards away.
Without hesitating, I started running. I brought the whistle to my mouth and blew it.
''Move, move!'' I shouted while running at full speed toward the city.
More sounds, becoming clearer and clearer as gunshots, kept being heard, and I watched as several men began to fall from the bullets tearing through us.
I saw one of the lieutenants fall wounded, and two sergeants went down as well, along with around nine men who had been near the officers, so the krauts were aiming directly at us.
When we were already close to the buildings of Dijon, I thanked God when I managed to touch the wall of the building in front of me, which gave me cover. I pressed my back against it while calming my breathing and looking at my men, the other officers and the captain, who were also taking cover behind the wall. The French company was doing the same, though they had lost their highest-ranking officer.
''Goddamn it, those snipers. What the hell was that? It looked like it came from the church, but we still have a long way to go before we get there'' the captain said while calming his breathing.
''Forget that. Did you see they were only aiming at the officers?'' I said, placing a hand on my chest while my heart beat incredibly fast.
''Shit. Those krauts could even pick their targets'' the captain said, shaking his head and beginning to move toward the corner. ''Well, it looks like they could not hit us here from the church. The buildings block the view, but we still have to keep clearing''.
''Understood'' we lieutenants said.
We began moving, trying to spread our groups out so we would not be so bunched together and to get away from the church's line of fire, though there were other positions that could trouble us just the same.
We quickly sent men to check the first buildings. A lot of shots could be heard in the city, so it seemed other companies were having a rough time, while we were relatively calm as we searched this area.
We checked several streets, and most of them were clear as we kept pushing deeper into the city.
''Quickly, don't waste time. We have to keep moving up'' I said, pointing at the three-story house while I watched the street and some windows, trying to see whether there were krauts in the area.
While I was watching the street, a heavy explosion sounded to my right, and it did not take me long to hear gut-wrenching screams.
''What the hell happened?'' I shouted, looking inside the house while some men came out covering their ears.
I quickly entered the house and saw that one of my men was missing a leg, while another was missing both. Both of them were screaming while clutching their stumps.
''Somebody get them…!''
I did not manage to finish shouting before another explosion sounded in another house.
''There are traps in some of the houses!'' a sergeant shouted.
''Call the medic! I have two badly wounded in here!'' I shouted, snapping out of the shock.
A mess of gunfire began to echo, including what sounded like machine guns.
The captain appeared, looking incredibly nervous, to the point that he began lighting a cigarette and taking quick drags from it.
''What do we do, Captain?'' I said while seeing him completely rattled.
''How the hell should I know? I don't have the faintest idea what we're supposed to do now'' the captain said, clenching his jaw hard.
We gathered in the street, since we could not keep checking the houses considering many of them might be trapped, though not all of them were prepared that way, because out of the twenty houses checked on that street, only two had explosives inside.
''We'll have to hold our positions and send a runner to find out what we're supposed to do now. From the sound of it, the krauts are busy with the French and…'' the captain said, until we heard something approaching down the street.
It did not take us long to see an armored vehicle in the middle of the street, followed by several krauts.
Without thinking, I jumped toward the intersection beside me, and several others followed my example to get out of the line of fire.
But a machine gun roared, and I saw dozens of men torn through by bullets while a mess of screams filled the street.
The sound of the vehicle did not stop. It kept moving forward, and the machine gun kept firing.
''Let's get out of here!'' I said, getting up from the rubble where I had fallen.
''But the captain, I think he…'' one of the men said.
''The fucking krauts are there with a machine gun! We have to get out now!'' I shouted, moving down the street as I tried to escape that place.
While I was running, a kraut patrol appeared, waiting for us at the intersection, and they began firing.
I quickly threw myself to the ground and started moving toward a house, covering myself with the rubble, but not everyone was that lucky. Most of them were cut down by the krauts' shots, who were firing far too fast for there to be only four of them.
With one jump, I went through a window of the house and tried to help those who were with me, but only one managed to get inside before the rest were shot down.
''Shit, shit'' I said, pulling out my rifle and aiming toward the nearest windows.
The only man still with me did the same.
''Two Americans in there'' I heard a kraut say.
''Careful! Hand grenade!'' another kraut shouted.
I saw two objects come through a window and jumped for cover, just like my subordinate, before hearing two heavy explosions.
''Go, go!'' I kept hearing among the krauts' shouts.
Taking my rifle, I managed to see my subordinate get stitched with bullets by some kind of automatic weapon, since they put more than ten rounds into him in a second while he tried to fire.
I let my rifle fall and raised my hands.
It did not take me long to see the tip of a weapon, and then the helmet and eyes of a kraut who leaned sideways to look at me.
''An American surrendered'' the kraut said, disappearing from my sight.
''Are you sure it's not a trick?'' another kraut asked.
''I surrender, I surrender'' I said in German while my hands trembled.
''The American speaks German'' the kraut said, leaning out again. ''Throw me the rifle with one hand and keep the other raised''.
I lowered the hand closest to the rifle and, taking it carefully, threw it at his feet while raising my hands again.
''The pistol too'' the kraut said.
I moved my hand to my holster and threw it at his feet.
''You are a prisoner of war. Stand up'' the kraut said, approaching while aiming his weapon at me.
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