Jean wished he could run. Every step was a step further away from Annie. Still, he had to be careful holding Armin. The man was completely limp, and Jean seriously worried if all of this activity had caused permanent injury to Armin's brain.
He had no worries about getting turned around in this labyrinth of stone and concrete halls. All he had to do was follow the trail of bloody boot prints and thick purplish drips from where Floch had made his way to them, his hand print sometimes smearing across the wall as he held himself upright and pushed onward. It was a clear sign of the man's determination and dedication.
Jean frowned at just how much blood there was, and then looked back at where Floch now hung over Reiner's shoulder. It felt like such a disgraceful way to handle the body of a man who was a hero and probably saved many of their lives.
When they exited into the predawn darkness, they saw blood pooled in the back of the limousine.
"How did he even make it that far, bleeding so much?" Jean whispered in horror.
"We have a problem," Reiner said, looking at the truck. "That bitch slashed the tires."
"Shit!" Jean saw that both the limousine and the truck's tires had been stabbed. He also saw that the fuel lines had been cut.
"I brought my own car," Reiner offered. "It might be better if I use that one anyway."
Jean nodded to himself. Yes, an SS officer would have an easier time getting through checkpoints.
They hurried through the courtyard. Air raid sirens blared, gunshots rang, and shouts barked out from all directions. The sky was starting to lighten with the coming sunrise. Overhead in the pinkish-purple sky, they saw the ominous silhouette of squadrons of American bombers.
* * *
Up in one of the lookout towers, Gabi was reveling in the battle. Although Metz had been bombed in the past, never was it so close to her. She had her rifle out, the sights pointed to the fort directly below. When she felt she safely could, she took shots at German soldiers.
Beside her were her two friends from school, Udo and Zofia. The teen boy with thick glasses looked anxious as Gabi's rifle kept firing shot after carefully-aimed shot.
He muttered, "I thought you said that the German soldier told you not to shoot anyone."
"He just doesn't want me to shoot his friends. They're all in the Heer, so I'm shooting anyone in a Waffen-SS uniform, especially all the ones who look like they're 40. Old geezers should know better." She glanced back at them. "Hey, Zofia. You're a good shot. You should have some fun too."
Zofia's face looked distasteful. "I prefer shooting ducks, not Germans. I don't see killing people as having fun. Besides, I thought you liked Hitler."
"I do," Gabi said proudly. "I think he's a great man with bold ideas. Just look at how he turned his country's economy around. I feel he's the right man for Germany ... but I feel Germans need to stay in Germany."
"Isn't your father a German immigrant?" Udo asked hesitantly.
Gabi scoffed. "That's different. He came over legally, peacefully, and he's loyal to France."
Zofia pointed out bluntly, "He's loyal to the Nazis."
"A political party, nothing more. I have no problem with National-Socialists, but I will shoot any invaders." She turned back to the window and took another shot.
Udo mumbled, "I don't like Nazis. I had Jewish cousins taken away."
Gabi insisted, "Hitler has his reasons." She fired the gun again. "Damn, how did I miss that one?" She fired again and smiled. "Gotcha!"
"Reasons?" Udo exclaimed. "For kidnapping and slaughtering French Jews? What possible reason would he have for that? Do you support France or not?"
Gabi's mouth dropped at the insinuation. "Of course! I love France more than anything!"
"But not the Jews?" Udo challenged. "They're just as French as you or me. How could you still love Hitler when he has killed so many of our countrymen for no reason besides bigotry?"
She tried to come to the fascist leader's defense, but just then something caught her eye. "Jackpot!" She swung her rifle over and began to carefully focus.
Down in the courtyard, Kriminalsekretär Koslow stepped out to see the chaos. "Get in order, men! Where are those prostitutes? I bet this has something to do with them. Shoot them all when you find them, especially that Jewish whore. If you see a woman in this fort, shoot—"
He never knew what hit him as a bullet pierced the side of his head and his brains splattered in a pink mist.
Up in the tower, Udo gasped. "I've seen that man with Falco's brother. He's in the Gestapo."
Gabi smirked. "All the more reason he should die. He was there the day the Resistance was massacred."
Zofia mumbled, "So was Falco's brother."
"That's different!"
"Is it really?" Udo whispered. "Or is it just that you like Falco?"
Gabi spun around, her ponytail swinging. "What?"
Zofia shook her head. "Udo..."
Gabi yelled, "Who says I like him?"
The tall boy looked torn. "You do, don't you? I had a feeling it wasn't me."
Gabi's cheeks began to flush. "What are you talking about?"
"Udo," Zofia again warned, putting a hand on his shoulder. "This is not the time."
"She's right!" Gabi turned back to the window to hide her fluster. "Let's focus on the mission. It's more important than anything right now."
Udo's shoulders sank, and he hung his head in heartbreak.
Zofia rubbed his back in comfort. "You know how she focuses on one thing at a time."
He glanced up at the taller girl and whispered, "You know, don't you?"
She smiled softly and whispered back, "It's been obvious for years."
He laughed wryly and shook his head. "Obvious, huh? Not to her." His lips pursed before cautiously asking in a soft voice, "Who do you think she'll pick?"
"Right now? Neither of you."
He had to laugh again at that. "How true! But when we're older? Which one of us has a chance?"
"Falco will leave when the last of the Germans retreat. You'll have your chance. For now, she's right. We need to focus on the mission." Then in a voice loud enough for Gabi to hear, Zofia said, "I'm going downstairs to keep a watch on the entrance."
"Understood," Gabi muttered, focused completely on her rifle's sights.
Zofia left the lookout radio room and jogged down the staircase. Udo looked down at the pistol he brought, frowning at the prospect of having to use it against people. He came to make sure Gabi would be safe. Her headstrong personality tended to get all of them into trouble.
Gabi took aim at another man in a Waffen-SS uniform but paused as she realized this one was carrying someone who was injured. "That's the German with the head injury." She shifted her scope. "And that man is the one named Jean but he isn't actually French. Why is he with some SS bastard?"
"Maybe he's also there to help. You should stop shooting people before someone figures out—"
Udo's words were cut off as they heard a gunshot and a scream. Gabi spun around, and Udo stared at the door in horror.
"Zofia?"
"Don't just stand there," Gabi yelled. "The door! We need to bar the door."
"Zofia is down there!"
"Hurry!"
Udo ran forward, tripping as his heart began to race in terror. Just as he reached the door, it was kicked in, sending him stumbling backwards. A squad of Germans stepped inside.
"Es sind einfach nur ein Haufen Kinder." They're just a bunch of kids.
"Sie sind Partisanen, knalle sie ab!" They're partisans, shoot them!
Gabi raised her rifle, and a gunshot exploded. However, it was not her weapon. She watched in horror as Udo fell to the ground.
"Udo!" Tears in her eyes, she dove for cover behind a metal cabinet and took aim. "Salauds de Chleuhs! Je vais tous vous tuer!" You fucking Krauts! I'll kill you all.
The sound of bullets whizzing through the air, hitting the metal cabinet, the cries of men falling, and Gabi's screams of rage and grief filled the small lookout tower.
* * *
Reiner saw Koslow fall and glanced around. Where had the bullet come from? That was a bit too close to be the Resistance. He looked up to the towers and briefly saw Connie. It wasn't him, so who shot the Gestapo agent?
Oh well. He had to focus as he crossed the courtyard. All around, he heard hundreds of bombs, most far away, but a few hit close. Finally, he came to his car. He opened the back door, and Jean carefully set Armin inside, sprawled across the back seat.
"You were right," Reiner muttered. "I shouldn't have gotten him involved."
"We can worry about blame later. Right now, you need to get him to a hospital." Jean straightened up and looked at the body slumped over Reiner's shoulder. "Where do we put Floch?"
"Open the back."
"You're going to throw him in the trunk?" Jean exclaimed.
"Do you think I can get through a checkpoint with a dead body?"
Jean frowned, but he realized this indignity was the only way. He opened the trunk, and Reiner rolled Floch's body up until it fit in the tight space. Then they closed it on the macabre scene. Reiner grimaced as he realized his shoulder and back were saturated in blood.
Jean looked up at the towers. "Armin was supposed to signal Connie. Wait here." He walked out into the courtyard and looked up to the tower he knew Connie should be in. This was the wrong area, but he hoped Connie could see him. He gave hand signals up to the tower.
* * *
Up in the watchtower, Falco saw the signals. "Sir!" he shouted to Connie. "That soldier looks like he's waving this way."
Connie turned his gaze to the side. "Jean? I thought he was leaving too. Well, it's definitely the signal to retreat." He pulled out his torch and flashed it twice to let Jean know he saw him. Then Connie pulled up the receiver on the radio. "Valentin! Valentin! Valentin!"
"Valentin?" asked Falco.
"It tells them to start going north. It'll pull fire away from the ones escaping to the south. It's also my cue to pack up and head out. Been nice meeting you, kid."
Just as he was about to unplug the radio, it crackled to life, and they heard Gabi's voice shouting angrily in French, sounding like she was crying. The voice of Hugo replied, and an argument broke out.
"What's going on now?" asked Connie. "They had better not be planning to shoot me."
"No..." Falco's face looked horrified. "It's my friends who came with us, Udo and Zofia. They ... They're dead. Gabi keeps saying something about revenge, but Hugo is telling her to retreat."
"Go over there and drag her away by her ponytail if you have to."
"She's pinned down. Please, we have to go help her."
"And do what? Do you really expect me to kill a bunch of my fellow soldiers just to save some little girl who never should have come here?"
"You were willing to shoot them to save your commander."
"That's different. Eren is a friend."
"Gabi is my friend."
"Then I'll tell you what. I'll leave the radio here, you contact the French Resistance, tell them to launch a rescue, and find some more Germans willing to help you. I've done enough stupid things for one night. I need to make sure my own friends can make it out of here without all of us ending up hanging from the gallows." He shouldered his rifle and began to march away.
Falco bolted after him and grabbed Connie's sleeve. "Please, sir! I love her!"
Connie looked down at the boy. "What?"
"Gabi, I ... I love her. I've never even had a chance to tell her. Udo also likes her, so I kept quiet, but ... but I love her. Please, sir. Help me save her."
Connie looked down in astonishment. Slowly, his face sank, and a heavy sigh escaped his lips. "Valentin. And here I am, about to help a boy save his first love."
"Then you'll help me?" Falco asked in excitement.
"On one condition. Come with me."
They marched down the winding staircase. When they came to the body slumped from a bullet to the face, Connie bent over, pulled off the man's rifle, and handed it to Falco.
"Your little knife is as worthless as shit in a gunfight. Do you know how to use this?"
He nodded as he took the gun and looked it over. "It's different from what we practice with in Deutsches Jungvolk, but I know how to shoot and reload."
"Good. Grab an extra clip off of his belt." As the boy knelt and retrieved the extra ammunition, Connie warned, "This gun probably kicks harder than what you're used to. Try not to fall on your ass. Have you ever killed a man?"
Falco gulped hard and shook his head.
"Is she worth becoming a murderer?"
Now, Falco had no hesitation in his eyes. "If I have to become a monster to save her, she's worth it."
Connie patted the boy on the head. "Now, that's a true German spirit. Let's go save your girl."
They stepped outside of the tower and into the sound of gunfire, the percussive echoes of bombs around the city, and distant anti-aircraft artillery. He saw Jean across the way, and Connie shouted.
"I need to go rescue a girl first."
"A girl?" Jean snapped. "You need to go now! Armin is unconscious, and Floch is dead."
Connie's mouth dropped. "Dead? Dammit," he sneered. He knew the chances of all of them making it out unscathed were next to zero, but he had tried to be optimistic. Now, reality was setting in. "I still have to help. I'm not leaving behind a child!"
Jean finally noticed the young blond boy walking a little behind Connie with a gun in his hand. "Falco? That's Colt's little brother." He laughed briefly and shook his head. "He's grown up."
Falco looked closely at Jean. "I recognize you. The Kirschtein boy. You used to visit on holidays, but your family avoided mine after my parents died."
"We didn't avoid you. Our fathers were friends, and after Mr. Grice died, we simply had no reason to drive that far to visit. Colt mentioned you liked some local girl. Is that who you want us to save?"
"Yes, sir. Her name is Gabi Braun. Can we hurry?"
Reiner was at the driver's side door, but he jolted as he heard the name. "Gabi?"
Jean looked over at him in surprise. "Your cousin!"
Falco looked stunned. "Gabi never mentioned having a cousin in the SS."
Reiner mumbled, "She doesn't know me." He looked over to Jean. "I have to help save her."
Jean shook his head. "I swear, you really are as stubborn as Jäger! Shit." He looked to the south. Annie was back that way, but he could not leave these children to die.
Reiner pulled out his Luger. "You should go be with your girl."
"No. How can I think I'm man enough to be a father if I can't save a child?" He began to march forward. "Where is she?"
Falco turned and pointed up. "That lookout tower."
Jean scoffed. "What is a little girl doing alone in an internment camp lookout tower?"
Connie explained, "There's a whole group. I found this kid and the girl in my lookout tower. She left to go be with her other friends. Apparently, these kids are with the French Resistance."
Falco mumbled, "Not really. Udo used to be, but he lied about his age. We're too young, but we help how we can."
Jean yelled, "Does Colt know about this?"
Falco's eyes widened. "No! Please don't tell him!"
Jean shook his head in exasperation. "I'm leaving this damned city, so I won't be the one to tell him, but if you die here, he'll figure it out." Jean walked by Falco and ruffled up his blond hair. "So don't die."
Jean, Reiner, and Connie looked grim as they marched together across the courtyard and entered the building with their weapons ready. Falco followed behind, in awe at seeing German soldiers ready to fight to protect a French girl.
Jean gestured for Reiner to take point. The brawny man eased open the lookout tower door. They moved swiftly inside before anyone spotted them. Their eyes scanned for any signs of danger, yet all they found were dead bodies on the ground floor.
Reiner frowned as he thought about how each of those men had a family back in Germany, until he realized one was easily over 40 and wearing a strange uniform.
"Conscripted locals," Falco whispered. "These poor guys probably didn't even want to be here, but they didn't have a choice."
Jean kicked one body over. "I know him. The janitor at the hotel Jäger and I stay in. Ralph, I think was his name. I heard he had a fight with Jäger a few days ago where he admitted he hoped Germany lost. I guess his punishment was to be conscripted and fight for us. How ironic!"
A door on the other side of the room led to a spiral staircase that wound its way up the tower. From high above, the unmistakable shouts of German voices reached their ears, along with gunfire.
Jean cursed under his breath. "These might be conscripted Frenchmen, but those are definitely Germans up there."
Suddenly, Falco gasped. He ran forward to a smaller body lying on the staircase. He knelt beside the girl with dusty blond hair and began to reach out to her, yet seeing all the blood, his hand refused to move.
"Shit," Connie whispered, shaking his head. "Shooting a little girl."
Jean scowled. He recalled a scene from months ago, yelling at Eren as they stood beside the body of a dead French Resistance courier.
*
"She was an enemy, Jäger! She was too stubborn to accept that we won. Just as she lost her life, soon France itself will lose its autonomy. First we'll destroy England, then we'll force the Vichy cowards in the south to surrender or die. The Führer will not show mercy a second time. Don't you ever sympathize with the enemy again."
*
He shook his head, hating that old attitude.
When had it all changed?
"Things used to be so black and white," he mumbled to himself. Connie hummed, having not heard him clearly, but Jean ignored the complex emotions for now. He looked around at the other soldiers. "There's no turning back if we head up."
Reiner and Connie both looked determined.
Jean took the lead while Reiner guarded the rear. As they climbed, the distant sounds of gunfire and shouting became clearer. Jean's heart raced and sweat beaded on his forehead as he gripped his rifle tighter, ready for the inevitable clash that awaited them.
Finally, they reached the top floor. Jean signaled for the others to stay low as he cautiously peered around the corner. The scene that unfolded before him was one of chaos and desperation. Gabi was huddled behind a metal cabinet riddled with bullet holes, screaming defiant French curses and insults. On the ground in a pool of blood lay Udo.
Reiner suddenly stepped forward, fearless and cold. Jean hissed at him, hoping they could have done this in a more sneaky manner, but it was already too late.
One German turned around at the sound of boots and saw the SS officer. "Herr Untersturmführer, heil Hitler. Are you here to help exterminate this French infestation?"
Without a word, Reiner raised his Luger and shot the man in the head. The others paused from shooting at Gabi, shocked at the sudden act of treason.
"Shit," Jean sighed.
Without hesitation, Jean and Connie opened fire, unleashing a hail of bullets that cut down the soldiers. A few tried to shoot, but Gabi pecked them off from her position, until all the soldiers at the doorway were down.
Jean shook his head. Killing fellow Germans! There really was no going back after this level of betrayal.
Gabi kept yelling and firing, and one bullet came close to striking Reiner. He leaped back, flattening himself against the wall.
"Wait!" Falco ran forward. Jean tried to grab his shirt for his own safety, but the boy was quicker. He ran inside and shouted in French, "It's me, Gabi! We've come to get you out of here."
Gabi hesitated for a moment, her gun trembling in her hands. Then, as recognition washed over her, tears welled up in her eyes. She dropped her rifle and rushed toward Falco, enveloping him in a hug. Falco also broke into tears as his arms squeezed her.
"They killed them!" Gabi wailed. "Zofia and Udo. I couldn't stop it. No time. I couldn't do anything. They're dead! I brought them here and they're dead!" She crumbled apart with guilt.
Falco held her tightly. "We knew what we were getting into. The price of liberty, right? Come on. We'll bring them home, but we need to go."
Gabi pulled away and looked at the three Germans. Her language changed to match theirs. "You! Why would you come? You ... You killed your own men ... for me?"
Reiner stepped forward and looked down sadly at the girl. Yes, he could see the family resemblance. Despite having brown hair and eyes, he saw Braun family traits. He knelt to be eye-level with her. Such huge brown eyes lined pink with grief! This was not the way he had hoped to finally meet his little cousin.
"We'll get your friends. No one gets left behind."
Gabi looked dumbfounded. "I'm French. I'm a partisan. Why ... Why would you help? You ... SS scum ... filthy German..." The insults faded.
Reiner put a hand on her head, as if to calm down a scared cat. "Perhaps one day you'll figure it out."
Jean cut in, "We need to go. Braun, can you get the boy?"
"Braun? Wait, your last name is Braun? Mine too!" Gabi said in excitement.
Reiner smirked to himself. "Perhaps we're related." He rose back to his feet. "Sure, Kirschstein, I'll get him. At least he's lighter than Floch."
Reiner went over to the fallen body of Udo and hefted him up. The boy's glasses fell off. Gabi picked them up and held the glasses like a hallowed relic.
"He was trying to tell me something, but I wasn't really listening," she said, stunned in grief. A pang of guilt stabbed her chest as she realized that she had ignored the last thing her friend tried to say to her.
Falco again hugged her.
"Come on, brats!" Jean snapped. "Fight now, cry later."
Gabi snuffled up her tears and shoved the grief down. Rage took over. She shoved the glasses into her coat pocket, picked up her rifle, and her knuckles were white as she gripped it fiercely.
They retraced their steps, descending the narrow staircase. As they reached the bottom floor, they came across Zofia's body. Gabi flinched and looked away, unable to handle seeing her friend like that.
"I'll get her," Jean said solemnly, and he carefully lifted the girl. So young!
They gathered at the entrance, weapons at the ready, and exchanged grim glances.
"Connie, take point. Reiner and I can't shoot like this, so you and Falco are our guns now."
Gabi stepped forward. "Me too. I'm ready to fight."
Jean pouted at the small girl. "Maybe you should..."
"Let her," Reiner cut in.
Jean looked back, surprised that he was not trying to protect his estranged cousin.
Reiner stated, "A Braun is always calmer when they're fighting."
Connie snapped at the children, "To attention! If you're going to use those guns, get in position. Falco, to my right. Girl, to the left. Ready?"
"My name is Gabi," she grumbled as she took her position.
With a nod of determination, Connie pushed open the door, stepping out into the maelstrom of battle. The deafening roar of gunfire and the acrid scent of smoke filled the air. It was a chaotic and brutal scene, with explosions shaking the ground.
Although all three were tense and prepared to fight a whole fortress, the chaos was a shield to them. Soldiers were too busy trying to pinpoint the mysterious attackers to the south who seemed to be much closer than the Americans were supposed to be, and not really paying attention to men in uniforms moving across the muddy courtyard.
Connie shouted back to Reiner, "Where's your car?"
"Up ahead, under the tunnel ... shit."
Right in front of Reiner's car, they saw two Wehrmacht soldiers. Jean stopped as he recognized the two men, and he slowly set down Zofia's body.
Gabi's rifle aimed. "I'll kill them both."
Jean stomped forward and pushed her rifle down. "Don't shoot. They've got Armin." His eyes narrowed. "Daz, Samuel, what are you two doing here?"
The two officers looked angry and confused. Daz had Armin yanked up out of the car, the wounded man barely even conscious. Daz's Mauser C96 was up against Armin's head as he held him hostage.
"Explain all this, Kirschstein," Daz cried out. "Is this all your doing?"
Jean scoffed. "Do you really think I control the American army? Are you that stupid?"
Samuel yelled, "What happened to Armin? That body in the trunk, I've seen him. He's Eren Jäger's driver."
"We saw you two," Daz yelled, shaking with rage. "You were with Madame Carly. The French Resistance was there. A prison break ... why would you work with the enemy? Have you betrayed us? Betrayed Germany?"
Reiner set down Udo's body, realizing they may need to fight. He glanced over at Jean. "They're officers from your hotel. Were you being followed this whole time?"
Jean clenched his teeth. He thought he and Armin had been discreet. Had these two really been spying on them?
Daz shook Armin's limp body and pressed the gun tighter into his head. "You betrayed us, didn't you? Dammit. Why did this..."
Jean whispered to Connie, "Can you take them down?"
Connie already had his sniper rifle up, focused on the sights. "He's keeping Armin in the way. I can't make a clear shot without endangering him."
Samuel shouted, "We're on the same side. I thought you were our friend, Kirschstein. We sat in your aunt's parlor and ate her candied walnuts. Connie, you too. We sang and drank with you and the rest of Jäger's platoon. Aren't we comrades?"
Connie yelled back, "You are old comrades, but if you truly were comrades with Eren, you'd be helping us to save him."
"You traitors!" Samuel screamed.
"Is that it?" Daz asked in outrage. "It's all about him? Why? Is a single man really worth turning your back on your entire country?"
Jean yelled, "Loyalty to comrades is more important than loyalty to politicians."
As they shouted, Armin's eyes began to focus. He took in what was going on, feeling Daz's gun at his temple, seeing Reiner, Jean, Connie, the two children, and the chaos of battle. Slowly, his hand moved to his belt, unsnapped his holster, and eased out his Mauser. Then he pretended to slump forward. As he had expected, Daz heaved him up and spun Armin around to keep him as a human shield. Just then, Armin reached up and pressed the gun barrel into Daz's stomach. Too late, the man realized what Armin was doing.
"What..."
"Shoot me, and I'll shoot you," Armin said, his words slurred. His eyes were hazy but focused straight on the grimacing man. "I don't want to, but I will protect my friends."
"Connie!" yelled Jean.
"I still don't have a clear shot." Connie snarled as he focused on his scope. He turned to Gabi. "Can you get them?"
Her rifle was aimed. "I can get the dark-haired one, but I don't have a clear shot of the other. We'll need to take them both down if you want to save your turban friend. We need to distract them, even just for two seconds."
Reiner leaned down and grabbed a stone. Lobbing it across the courtyard with all his strength, he screamed "Grenade!"
Sure enough, Samuel ran away from the tunnel, and Daz suddenly pulled away from Armin in terror.
Connie's rifle fired the instant Daz was clear, and Gabi's rifle went off at nearly the same time, taking down Samuel. She looked over to Connie, who looked anguished at having to kill these men. Suddenly, Connie dropped to one knee, his hands gripping the rifle like he wanted to snap it in half, but the gun was too strong to break.
"He's right. We were friends. Why did it have to turn out this way?"
Falco put a hand on Connie's shoulder. "There was no other way. They didn't give you a choice."
Connie looked up at the boy. This child was the future they were fighting for. The future of Germany!
"I hope all of Germany ends up like you, kid."
Jean rushed over to Armin, who still stood upright but looked ready to faint. "Let's get you back in the car."
"The children. Who..."
"It's a long story. They'll sit in the back with you. Kids, get over here. Your job now is to make sure he stays upright, got it? Connie ... Connie!"
Connie still looked like he wanted to snap his rifle. Slowly, he rose and trudged forward.
Reiner looked at the two lifeless children. "We have to take them, but ... where do we place them? My car isn't big enough for more bodies."
Jean opened the trunk, again sickened by the contorted position Floch was in. "We might fit the girl in here, but the boy is taller."
Gabi suggested, "Put Udo next to me. We'll say he's asleep."
Falco looked disturbed. "You'll sit next to him?"
"What other choice do we have?" she snapped. "This is my fault, so I'm going to make sure they get back home."
Falco cringed as Connie and Reiner got to work shifting Floch, folding his body up even tighter to fit another corpse in the trunk.
Reiner straightened up and saw Falco looking traumatized at the manhandling of the bodies of his friends. The bullish man pitied the little boy, but he also knew this was simply how war sometimes ended up.
They finally had Floch and Zofia in the trunk. Reiner covered them with some blankets and tarps, then tossed on some random supplies to make it look chaotic. Hopefully, no one inspected the car thoroughly. Then the trunk slammed shut on the macabre scene.
Jean looked down. He was covered in blood, but so were the others. "It's taken so damn long. I hope Annie is somewhere safe by now."
Reiner clasped him on the shoulder. "You go. I'll get Armin to the hospital."
"No one can know he was involved," Jean insisted.
"Trust me, they won't," Reiner assured Jean. "Go. Be with your girl. Maybe name one of your kids after me as a token of thanks."
"You wish!" He turned to Connie who gave him a friendly smile.
"It was good serving with you, Jean."
He scoffed. "You can't even address me formally now?"
"A man needs to deserve being addressed formally," Connie teased. Suddenly, he stiffened up and saluted with his hand to his cap. "Good luck, Herr Leutnant. May our paths cross again."
Jean laughed that now, at the very end, Connie showed him proper respect. He saluted back—the old salute they used to give one another, not the new one they were forced to use. Without another word, he turned and ran toward the fort.
Reiner took a moment to watch him go. "Lucky bastard. I hope I find a girl who's worth going through all this. Well, let's get out of here. Gabi, how is it going?"
She looked at Udo's body that was now cleaned up with some fabric plugging the hole in the boy's forehead. "It's the best I can do. He needs a hat to hide the bullet hole."
Reiner took Samuel's cap and gave it to her. Then he hefted up Udo and placed him in the back of the car. Both Gabi and Falco stood nearby, trying to help with their lost friend. Armin was already in the backseat, so he held onto the corpse so they could shut the door.
"Armin, are you going to sit next to him?"
Armin still looked woozy. "I don't think I can hold him up. I can barely hold my own head up."
"Okay, kids you're going to climb into the back on the right side..."
Just then, a bomb burst behind them. Connie was blasted back and slammed into the tunnel wall. Reiner grabbed both Falco and Gabi, shielding them as bricks and stones sprayed out. Suddenly, he howled in agony.
"Sir!" Falco cried out.
"Reiner!" Connie pulled himself up and raced forward. Even in the dark pre-dawn light, he saw the chunk of sharp metal that pierced Reiner's lower back.
"Shit! Shit!" he growled. "Get it out."
Connie warned, "It's best to leave it in and let a doctor do that. If I learned anything from Armin, it's how to handle shrapnel. Don't touch it. Sit in the passenger seat. I'll drive you to the hospital."
"Do you know how to drive?"
Connie laughed nervously. "The last time I did, I almost crashed into a French palace."
Reiner groaned. "This is no time for jokes."
Connie just smiled, deciding not to tell him that he wasn't joking.
Connie and Falco helped Reiner. He limped, searing pain with each step. Gabi climbed into the back of the car, crawling over Armin with a muttered apology. She grabbed Udo, whose body had begun to slump. She shifted his limbs into a natural pose until it looked like the boy was merely sleeping with his face pressed up against the window. After Reiner managed to carefully sit down in the passenger seat, Falco also climbed in, crawling over Armin to sit in the middle. He glanced over at how Gabi kept adjusting Udo's body, and his stomach turned sour.
Connie carefully backed the car up out of the tunnel and drove to the fort's exit. Right at the bridge spanning the moat, soldiers stopped them.
"The Untersturmführer has been hit," Connie shouted. "I'm taking him to the hospital."
The soldier looked in the backseat. "Who are the brats?"
Gabi glared at him for such a disrespectful tone.
Reiner answered, "I brought my little cousin and her friends here to look around."
"I don't recall letting children through."
"It was earlier this afternoon," Reiner answered, knowing that the shift had changed in the evening. "We were going to spend the night and return them to the school in the morning. Now for God's sake, let me get to the damn hospital to get this shrapnel out of my back before it hits my spine, or I will report you to the Hauptscharführer."
The soldier again glared at the children, but he could see the chunk of metal protruding from Reiner. He waved them through, and Connie tensed his knuckles on the wheel as he slowly drove over the narrow bridge.
"Don't fall off, don't fall off," he whispered repeatedly to himself.
Reiner glanced over. "Do you really know how to drive?"
"I can drive straight, at least."
Reiner shook his head. "Wonderful. We're all gonna die."
Once they were over the bridge and heading back into the main part of Metz, the tension in the car eased. Gabi looked over at Udo, who had begun to slip down again. She hoisted his body upright, struggling with the weight.
"Dammit. Why did you have to follow me?" she whispered as she snuffled in grief. "It's all my fault."
Armin glanced over at her. He had gleaned enough from just observing the situation. "As a leader, you take responsibility, but you can't let guilt poison you. Guilt means you can learn from your mistakes, it motivates you to be better, but that only works if you're not too scared to try again. Any fool can bully others into submission. A true leader acknowledges their mistakes, faces their guilt, learns from it, and figures out a better path to continue leading."
Gabi looked over at him, then down to his uniform and the stripes marking his rank as a Stabsgefreiter. "How is it you're not an officer?"
Armin chuckled weakly. "I actually tried to apply. I was too scrawny. I wasn't the perfect Aryan the officer training school wanted. The most I can do is give others advice."
"Then what advice would you give me? What could I have done better?"
"I don't know every action you did out there, but I know that you were ordered not to go tonight. You went anyway on your own, bringing only friends you trusted in a fight. No one else knew you were there, no one to back you up, no communication with your allies. You were on your own. That's your mistake."
"Taking the initiative?" she asked in anger.
Armin shook his head. "Not communicating. When they wouldn't let me be an officer, they trained me on radios. In battle, logistics and communication are the two most important factors to staying alive."
Gabi argued, "The Resistance didn't want me to go."
"Perhaps for a reason. They knew how dangerous this mission was. They didn't want to see you or your friends get killed."
Gabi looked over at the lifeless body next to her slowly getting cold. "So, if a leader is to learn from their guilt, what's the lesson? Don't do anything? Sit at home, knit and be a proper lady, wait until I'm old enough? By then, the war will be over."
"I sure hope so," Armin sighed. "The lesson is to communicate and listen when others with more experience suggest a course of action. Also, their deaths are not your fault. You didn't pull the trigger."
"I brought them to the internment camp."
"You didn't bring them. They came willingly, because they fight for the same cause. It was their choice. After living in this city through over a month of battles, they were not ignorant of the danger."
Gabi still looked wracked with guilt.
"With any luck, this battle for Metz will be over before the month is done. You won't need to worry about fighting for much longer. As you go through life, carry this brutal lesson with you: before you go running head-first, tell someone else what you're doing. Communicate, listen to underlings and commanders alike, and if one day you get married, communicate with your husband as well as your children. It's amazing what simply talking together can accomplish. If we all communicated better, perhaps this world would stop plunging itself into global wars."
Connie managed to drive through nearly empty streets. Few vehicles were out in the midst of the air raid, so even when he had to turn corners, he was able to swing wide and pull the car back into position without hitting anyone.
Reiner breathed slowly through the intense pain, sweating and starting to feel woozy from blood loss. He watched as Connie turned another street corner, and finally they saw the hospital. He pulled along the side, when suddenly Connie stopped sharply, causing them all to jolt forward.
"Shit, Connie!"
"Sorry," he cringed and turned off the car.
Reiner told him, "Get Armin in first. I'll make my own way."
"I can come back and help you," Connie offered.
Reiner shook his head. "Then I have to explain how I know you. The children will help me."
"What?" Falco asked in surprise.
He explained, "You're both covered in blood. You'll need an excuse why."
Gabi looked over at Udo. "What happens to them?"
Reiner looked over to Connie. "Do you have a plan?"
"Not really," he admitted.
"I do," Armin said, looking only half-conscious. "Go back to the bookstore. Get the old man to help you. Put Floch's body at the lip of an alley, face-up, with the two children just behind him. Police will find them and think it was a robbery gone wrong. Just how many times Floch was stabbed and shot might look suspicious, but the fact that it'll seem like he died trying to protect two children will make others think he was a hero."
Connie came around the car and opened Armin's door. "All right, enough planning from you. I swear, how is your brain barely intact, yet you keep coming up with genius plans?" He hoisted Armin up, steadying him as waves of vertigo pounded through Armin's head. "And kid," he said, affording Falco a smile. "Thanks for the backup."
"Same to you, sir. Thanks for helping to rescue Gabi."
"Hey, when a kid tells me he's in love with a girl who's in need of rescuing, of course I'll help."
Falco gasped, and his eyes grew massive. Gabi's eyes also went huge.
"What?" she asked softly, and she looked sharply over to Falco.
Reiner shook his head. "Connie, really?"
Connie patted Falco on the head. "Now you don't have to be too shy to confess to her. Farewell, falcon-boy. All right, Armin! My turn to make the battle plan. We tell the nurses I sneaked you out of the hospital for a night of drinking and whoring..."
"Absolutely not!" Armin snapped.
Reiner moved slowly as he shifted out of the car. Falco hurried over to help him. Meanwhile, Gabi looked at the cold body beside her.
"Do we just leave him?"
"Lay him down on the floorboard."
Gabi began to shift Udo, cringing as the hat fell off and she saw his lifeless face with his hazy eyes staring at nothing and his mouth slumped.
Reiner groaned as he rose to his feet. Gabi closed the car doors and hurried to Reiner's other side. He was forced to lean heavily on both children as he walked away from the car.
"I can run ahead and get a nurse to bring a wheelchair," Gabi offered.
"No! We need to get away from that car. We can take our time. Hopefully Connie doesn't..." Just then, they saw Connie leaving the hospital. "Huh! I thought he'd take longer. Did he just dump Armin in there?"
Connie walked by and without stopping quietly said, "I'll take the car. Should I bring it back here?"
"No," said Reiner. "There's too much blood in it. Abandon it somewhere or dump it in the river."
Connie nodded and continued to walk by. They heard him start up the car and drive off.
Reiner finally made it into the hospital, where they saw other people with injuries from the bombings.
"Set me down in a chair," Reiner said, and the two children helped him to a seat. Gabi ran over to the nurse's station to let them know what happened.
Falco muttered under his breath. "I didn't even really want to fight tonight. I just wanted to protect her."
Reiner glanced at the boy. "Well, you did. If you hadn't come to get us, they would have all died. You can't save everyone, but if you can save even a single life, then you were meant to be there." He watched Gabi talking to the nurse and whispered to Falco, "Is she worth it?"
Falco laughed quietly. "People keep asking me that tonight." He also stole a glance over to Gabi and blushed. "Yes."
Reiner began to laugh, but hissed as the movement sent pain through his spine. "Jäger, Kirschtein, now you. That's three people who have found a love so strong, they'll do something stupid. Why am I so unlucky?"
Falco smiled and said, "Maybe you'll meet a cute nurse."
Reiner again began to laugh, only to flinch. "Take good care of her."
"You act like you know her."
"Let's just say, my mother knows her father."
The nurse came forward and told Reiner they would get him back right away. She had a wheelchair to roll him back. He painfully shifted over to the chair. Before leaving, he flopped his SS officer's cap on Floch's head.
"I hope we meet again, kids," he said to the two, and Reiner was wheeled away into the hospital corridors. "Hey nurse, could I get some paper? I want to write a recommendation that those two children get awarded for their heroism."
"Of course, sir."
Reiner looked ahead and saw Armin also in a wheelchair. Their eyes met, they shared a silent nod to one another, and that was it.
"Do you think this will mean the end of the war for me?" he asked.
"I've seen patients recover from worse. God willing, you'll be back fighting for the Reich soon, Herr Untersturmführer."
"God willing," he muttered, although Reiner hoped that God was more merciful than to send him back out there.
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RIP Samuel and Daz. You didn't fully understand why people you thought were friends would seemingly betray you. (You were still an asshole, Daz.)
RIP Udo. You just wanted liberty and freedom.
RIP Zofia ... yeah, it sucks, I changed her to be with her friends Gabi and Falco purely to kill her off. Hate me if you want, but I stand by the changes I made to this story!
RIP Ralph. The last time we saw him was Chapter 70 "What Was It All For," when Eren beat him up in a fit of post-battle psychosis because Ralph had grown out his "Hitler mustache." I imagine, because he yelled some rather partisan-sounding things at Eren, someone reported him, and his punishment was to be conscripted. Ironically, it was Udo, a Frenchman, who killed him ... which, if he had survived, might have been his fate anyway. The French executed many Nazi collaborators after the war.
Some people have written to me, wondering if I'm okay since it has been over a month since my last update. The truth is, I was drawing a blank on how they could rescue Gabi. I had no inspiration, nothing to read and glean ideas for how to do such a rescue mission. Finally, I turned to ChatGPT. I gave it a few prompts, including that this is set in WWII, 3 soldiers rescuing a French Resistance girl, I put in about Connie being a sharpshooter and even added in Falco being a French youth. It spit out a story in 10 seconds. The result was not perfect, I'd give it a B+ for a good intro but weak ending. Still, after reading a few AI-created stories based on the prompt (with wildly different results, so I got various ideas) I at least had some inkling about how to write the scene. Don't worry, I didn't copy/paste anything. That's cheating! I simply absorbed the results and used that inspiration to create something unique. THAT is how writers should use AI. Not to replace the art of writing, but to inspire the author and give them a little nudge. It's like having a Muse that happens to live on the internet. I did create a ChatGPT fanfic for April Fool's Day, but I was 100% open that this was NOT written by me.
Jean's memory of scolding Eren comes from Chapter 9 Rake the Coals Hotter.
The Guns of AOT – While I was working on this chapter, I went back to the manga, Chapter 128, to re-read the confrontation between Samuel, Daz, Connie, and Armin. My husband happened to walk by and saw the scene.
He went, "Oooh, a Mauser C96 Broomhandle."
I turned around. "Huh?"
"Yeah, they were common in World War II. And below, that's also a Mauser."
Compare that to the actual gun.
(Mauser C96 Broomhandle with Nazi insignia. They had to stamp frigging swastikas over all their stuff!)
I wanted him to identify something else. I scrolled up to Floch's scene in that chapter, because I noticed something. This bastard has two guns. The first one, my husband confirmed, was another C96 Broomhandle. The second time we see it, the gun style changes, only to change back when Floch gets his ass kicked.
My husband said this was also a Mauser, but he has no clue about the block on the bottom. I realized that many of the Jaegerist forces carry this block-bottom gun. I tried to look for a real-world equivalent but came up with nothing. I can only imagine that it's a unique design to help with stability when flying around on ODM gear.
Then I went over to Chapter 129 to show my husband Jean's rifle.
This is the Gewehr 98 Mauser bolt-action rifle, used in the First World War.
I also looked at Gabi's gun back in Chapter 105.
(Prelude to the saddest scene in the whole manga!)
That is also a Gewehr 98. My husband could tell these firearms just by glancing at the screen as I worked on this chapter. That's impressive! We're both into historical weaponry and watch way too many YouTube videos on our respective interests. (I'm into swords, he's into firearms.)
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Attack on Queuleu – It took me ages to find any mention of precisely when Fort Queuleu was attacked. I read everything I could on the Battle of Metz, but I couldn't find that one bit of information ... until finally I came across this website. (It's a subscription now, not sure how I managed to read it for free.)
https://warfarehistorynetwork.com/2019/01/21/pattons-bloody-battle-at-fortress-metz/
I wrote that their escape happens in the early hours of November 9th, since it seemed like this was when the first real surge on Metz happened. Turns out, Fort Queuleu was not attacked until November 17th.
By the time I came across this, I had already written that the escape would happen the day after Generalleutnant Lübbe had a stroke and right as General Patton's XX Corps attacked Metz in the pre-dawn hours.
The Germans had not been expecting the November 9th attack, since it had been heavily raining that week and the Moselle was flooded. However, Patton got word that there would be a break in the storm right around dawn, and he ordered for the bomber planes to be ready to scramble. Under the cover of night, Patton and his men crossed the swollen river.
As the clouds broke apart, more than 1,300 American heavy bombers raced toward the Metz region and began their assault. Hundreds of divebombers dipped lower than usual to shoot at targets, and then an escort of 500 fighter planes brought in "the big boys," B-17 Flying Fortresses and B-24 Liberators. A total of 689 bombs carpeted Metz in massive destruction.
So, it seemed like this would be the perfect time for Eren and Levi to make their escape!
However, the bombers were not aiming for Fort Queuleu. It was attacked on the 17th.
November 17th simply doesn't work with the rest of the story I had written. I had two choices: spend months rewriting everything, go back and edit old chapters to manipulate details and stretch out the time by eight days ... or toss up my hands and roll with it.
To be honest, this arc has dragged on WAAAY too long, which is why I finally decided to split it into Book Two: Metz and Book Three: Lorraine. Even then, when I turn this story into a book, I'll likely be cutting out whole chapters!
So, while I hate to be historically inaccurate, for once, I'm going to claim creative license. My solution was to bring the French Resistance into this escape. Originally, that wasn't supposed to happen. Gabi and Falco weren't originally in this battle. I needed someone to be shooting at the fort, though, and if it wasn't the Americans, it could be the French.
So ... this isn't precisely following history. There really was a huge attack on Metz on November 9th, and the Air Force really did drop hundreds of bombs that day. It's also stated that the bombers "missed most of their targets." So it's possible a few stray bombs hit Fort Queuleu.
So yeah, let's just go with "stray bombs plus the French Resistance."
Newspaper from Nov. 9 1944, showing all the many battles going on all on a single day — https://ethistory.blogspot.com/2012/11/november-9-1944.html
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History classes in America thrive on battles, although discussions of tactics can get complicated, so teachers skip that, leaving students a little confused why the army attacked some city that had nothing to do with the main objective.
For instance, why waste two months on a single city like Metz? Why not go around it? (That was actually an option, but deemed a bad one.) I'm going to explain the Battle of Metz as simply as I can, and why the Allies could not simply avoid conquering the most heavily fortified city in Europe.
History nerds, rejoice!
This is my 3000-word essay on:
The Battle of Metz ... for Dummies
The Allies landed on the beaches of Normandy on June 6th. Big fight, lots of waves, sand, chaos: we've all seen movies on that battle, right? They then spent a couple of months shipping over all the tanks, jeeps, ammunition, food, and men they needed to force their way inland. Otherwise, they just sat there suntanning as the shipments came over from England.
After breaking out of Normandy in August, the Allies raced 640 km (400 miles) across France in just a few weeks. This was way faster than the Allies had anticipated. They thought they would face staunch fighting the whole way to the German border, with months of slow advances, which would give their ships time to bring in more supplies and fix the railroads the French Resistance had destroyed to slow down the Germans. Instead, the Wehrmacht retreated in disarray.
Unlike Germany's highly organized offense in 1940 that led to Paris surrendering in just a month, the Germans were plagued with communication problems thanks to sabotage from the French Resistance, which meant they kept getting caught by surprise. Without direction, they fled from the approaching army. It didn't help that while Hitler was screaming "Don't surrender, burn it all to the ground," his generals were like, "Yeah, no. We're NOT burning Paris to ash."
While the rapid advance made American soldiers feel a bit cocky that they were sooooo scary, it was actually a big problem. They were using TONS of gas in their tanks and jeeps, which had to be shipped in from Texas. However, it takes time for an oil rig to cross the Atlantic Ocean, and there were German U-boats out there in the water eager to torpedo the tankers.
In short, the Allies simply ran out of fuel.
Supreme Commander Dwight D. Eisenhower called for the advance to stop. They needed a major seaport to bring in more oil, and the British were closest to Antwerp. Therefore, any available petrol would go to the British, and the Americans could just chill out.
This pissed off Patton to such a degree, his rants are now the thing of legend. He had "colorful words" about British Field Marshal Montgomery and Supreme Commander Eisenhower. He happily raged to any reporter, spittle flying, claiming Eisenhower (who would go on to become President) was less an American patriot and more an Allied patsy. Patton wanted to push on all the way to Germany, if on horseback if he had to (and being a champion rider, Patton might have loved the idea!) Now, his gas allowance was a mere trickle. He feared any delay would allow the Germans time to regroup.
Patton was right; that's precisely what happened. The Germans collected their scattered troops from around France, Belgium, and Luxembourg, and gathered all they could into Metz.
Patton pointed and went, "See, told you so!" and Eisenhower said, "Fine, fine, while you wait, how about you deal with Metz?"
Metz-schmetz! Patton had little care for yet another city to liberate. Still, America's foul-mouthed, hot-headed General figured being the first military leader since Attila the Hun to defeat the city's defenses and take it by force would bring him honor and glory throughout the rest of human history...
... and Patton was ALL ABOUT GLORY, even if he knew it was fleeting.
So, why was Metz important? Why not go around?
There were only two main highways connecting France directly to Germany (without going a long way around through Belgium and Luxembourg). The Allies needed both of these roads to transport supplies to the front lines.
Well, guess which city one of those highways ran through.
Yep! Metz!
(1930s road map of France with the two major Paris-to-Germany highways highlighted in blue, and Metz circled)
They needed to liberate two cities, Metz and Nancy, so they would have roads big enough to transport truckloads of food and ammunition toward the German border. As I wrote in "A Forest Ride," Field Marshal Erwin Rommel was right about one thing: "The battle is fought and decided by the quartermasters before the shooting begins."
In other words, logistics and supply lines win a battle, not bullets. After all, you need a way to get the bullets to the soldiers, and that means highways, rail lines, seaports, airports, etc.
If the Allies wanted to invade Germany, they needed these two highways.
Metz was the most heavily fortified city in Europe because it was so important, and it ended up getting attacked a lot. The ancient builders of Metz didn't mess around. They had lots of hills, some over 400 meters (1200 feet) tall, and they used them! They built over 60 forts up on these hills. By the 20th Century, these were some of the most high-tech fortresses in the world, with the best artillery guns that could shoot any army that tried to go around them, insane 5-meter-thick armor plating in case planes dropped bombs, and the tunnels under the hills would make a queen ant nod and say "Most impressive!"
General George S. Patton loved to brag that he was undefeated in battle. Yet as he got to Metz, something happened.
He was forced to retreat for the first time in his life!
(General Stafford LeRoy Irwin)
In mid-September, Major General Stafford LeRoy Irwin, head of the awesomely-named "Red Devils" 5th Infantry Division, had tried to cross the Moselle River at the village of Dornot, just south of Metz. He was suddenly pelted with artillery.
"Where the hell is the gun?" he (probably) screamed. After some chaos, they realized this was coming from Fort Driant, located a few kilometers north and perched up on a tall hill.
"I have the high ground," the Germans taunted as they drove Irwin back. He tried again, a little farther south at Arnaville, out of reach of the fort's guns, and managed to cross the river there. Still, he realized that the forts of Metz were no joke.
(Meeting at 5th Infantry Division HQ, Metz. (left to right) Lt. Gen. Thomas T. Handy , Lt. Gen. George S. Patton, Jr., Maj. Gen. Hiram C. "Bulldog" Walker in the dark jacket, Maj. Gen. S. Leroy Irwin pointing at the map, and Gen. George C. Marshal.)
So when the American generals all gathered around to discuss how to attack Metz, Irwin pointed to the map and warned about Fort Driant and other forts in the region. These could target armies many kilometers away (although, he would have said "miles" because 'MURICA!) If they wanted to take Metz, they had to eliminate all the fortifications that encircled it.
Enter Colonel Charles W. Yuill. Now, I'm not saying Yuill was an idiot—he obviously managed to reach that rank for some reason—but he is now most known for vastly underestimating the Germans during the Battle of Metz. Air surveillance showed few troops around Fort Driant, and Yuill convinced Patton that he could easily storm it with merely "a few regiments." (A regiment is 800 soldiers.) His plan was to rely on heavy air support from P-47 Thunderbolt fighter-bombers. He called it Operation Thunderbolt.
Irwin, who had been attacked by the fort just days earlier, was strongly opposed to the idea, but Yuill convinced Patton and the rest. (Maybe they liked the name he gave his operation.) For Patton, "bust in through the front door" was totally his style, so of course he supported it.
In the meantime, the weather sucked ... literally. The rain was so hard, it was sucking the tanks into the mud, and men were slogging around in mud up to the tops of their boots.
On September 28th, the weather cleared just enough for Patton to launch his attack, starting with the 9th Air Force P-47 Thunderbolt fighter bombers dumping 1000-pound bombs and napalm onto Fort Driant. According to reports, it made the hill leading up to the fort look like "the face of the moon."
However, as I wrote back in the chapter "Patton's Move," the first attack Patton launched failed. This was not just a minor setback. No, the Americans were decimated!
For the first time ever, Patton was forced to retreat. I hope Irwin gave him a solid "I told you so!" although Patton would have given him a good ol' American middle finger and some "colorful words" for daring to talk back to him.
Patton was a hothead, but he was not an idiot. He had already figured he had the advantage in numbers, and even before Yuill's failed attack, Patton had sent one part of the Third Army to the north, another to the south, to do a pincer maneuver, coordinating attacks from both ends. This would force the Germans to split their troops into two parts, making them weaker.
Back in the Franco-Prussian War of the 1870s, the Prussians did the same maneuver as they attacked Metz, but they still could not break the defenses, finally opting for a siege, starving the army and citizens. That would take months, and Patton said, "Ain't nobody got time for that!"
So Irwin and his "Red Devils" came up from the south. Meanwhile, the XX Corps would come around from the north.
XX Corps had been chilling out in Thionville since the 12th of September. They ran out of provisions and had to stop their advance, taking a defensive position to conserve food, gasoline, and ammo. There was a major highway from Thionville to Metz, but it ran through a few cities still controlled by Germans.
One of those was Maizières-lès-Metz. (Remember that place?)
(Americans entering Maizières-lès-Metz)
Part of the XX Corp was Maj. Gen. Raymond McLain and his "Tough 'Ombres" 90th Infantry Division. At the call to action from Patton, they headed down to Maizières-lès-Metz. They were still limited on gas, so many soldiers rode horses.
Patton realized that this was a good chance to teach the soldiers and officers tactics that would be useful for taking the fortifications around Metz, so he encouraged close-quarters combat. Officers were to discover what worked best with minimal loss of life. With these live-ammo practice runs, the mostly-untested soldiers grew more confident, as opposed to relying on tanks (which obviously could not enter narrow city streets or underground forts).
The soldiers learned to improvise alternate methods of attack, such as molotov cocktails and house-to-house clearing out of the enemy. The Battle of Maizières-lès-Metz lasted from October 6th to 30th; the Tough 'Ombres lost 55 men, as opposed to the Germans who lost an entire battalion (around 1000 soldiers). When Patton figured they had learned enough, he had a 240 mm howitzer M1 decimate the whole town and any Germans left in it. It would take the citizens decades to rebuild.
So now the Americans had a solid hold to the north of Metz, but there were still problems with the south. Fort Driant was proving to be a headache for Patton.
He ordered Irwin to attack the fort on October 7th. Having seen how devastating and impenetrable that fort was, Irwin tried a more cautious attack, only to fail and be forced to retreat. A further attack on Fort Driant was deemed too costly, as German firepower proved too accurate.
Patton blamed the failure of Fort Driant on Irwin, saying he was "moving too slow." So, rushing in was a mistake, but taking it slowly was a mistake. Patton was growing frustrated by just how to take this damn fort.
Then the whole reason Eisenhower diverted the gasoline—Operation Market Garden—ended in a massive failure for the Allies. Down in Metz, the weather continued to be nasty, and many soldiers developed trench foot.
Finally, Patton threw his hands up and ordered that they bypass Fort Driant. They had enough river crossings elsewhere, and so long as they kept out of range of the fort's cannons, they could let the Germans sit in their fort and starve. Irwin maneuvered around, but he would not reach southern Metz until November 17th.
At one point, Patton's troops got spread too thin. Realizing this gap posed a serious problem, he deployed the Ghost Army.
You heard that right! The Allies had a Ghost Army!
(Four men lifting a Ghost Army rubber tank)
This is honestly one of the best stories of World War II: under the cover of darkness, a group of artists armed with paintbrushes rushed out onto the front lines and set up an elaborate fake army (a "ghost army") made of rubber tanks, inflatable artillery guns, fake radio chatter for the Germans to pick up, and they would blast the sounds of military drills on giant speakers, including officers yelling at soldiers to put out their cigarettes. From Normandy to the Battle of the Bulge, these artists faked out the Germans.
Truly, they practiced the ART of War.
The Ghost Army was top secret, and it was so successful that after the war, America worried the Soviets might try the same thing if they found out. The military did not declassify information about the outfit until 1996. These artistic and brave men received a belated Congressional Gold Medal, the country's highest civilian honors. One of their members, Bill Blass, later became a fashion designer. (I used to own a pair of Bill Blass jeans; they were a thrift store find, BLASS across the butt pocket, but the "L" was worn off, so I joked they were my "B' (an) ASS jeans." Seriously one of the most comfortable jeans I've ever owned.)
Back over to the Germans for a moment.
(Generalleutnant Vollrath Lübbe and Generalleutnant Heinrich Kittel)
On November 8th, commander of the Metz forces Generalleutnant Vollrath Lübbe had a stroke. The very next day, Patton launched a massive attack, surging over the rain-swollen Moselle in the pre-dawn hours and dropping 689 bombs, aimed at strategic defense points. (And missing most of them due to bad weather.)
On the 14th, Generalleutnant Heinrich Kittel was appointed as the new commander of the German forces in Metz. He was furious at the transfer, as by this time everyone knew Metz was a lost cause. Kittel realized he was simply there so someone of rank could surrender when the time came.
I would almost feel sorry for Kittel, spending his whole life rising through the ranks, surviving two world wars, spending decades learning about strategies and tactics, only to be sent to what everyone knew was a lost battle, except ... well, this guy was a genuine asshole.
In one interview after the war, Kittel talked about a mass execution of Jews in Latvia that he oversaw. "They seized three-year-old children by the hair, held them up and shot them with a pistol" he related, all while looking very excited. Given his rank, he could have stepped in to stop the massacre, but he obviously enjoyed watching his men kill toddlers. So perhaps it's karma that he was put in charge of Metz right as it was falling.
He did not have much time to settle into his new position. He arrived on the 14th, and the very next day, Generalleutnant Kittel sent a detachment of the 462th Volks-Grenadier-Division to take position inside and around Fort Queuleu. He also ordered 400 men from the Volkssturm (militia) to be armed with French rifles and placed by police officers in the lines between Fort Saint-Privat and Fort Queuleu. This Metz Volkssturm battalion consisted mainly of former police officers, civilians over 45 years old who were forcibly incorporated into the militia, and children from the Hitler Youth aged 14-18. He begged for engineers and equipment to reinforce the defense lines, but Berlin basically tossed up their hands and said "You're on your own. It'd be a waste." (Which it really would be. They were already doomed.)
On November 18, 1944, the Americans breached the city.
(5th Infantry Division "Red Devils" entering Metz, November 18, 1944)
By November 19th, the Americans had captured the Gestapo Headquarters and sealed off all means of German retreat. The 2nd battalion of the 10th Infantry Regiment "Tomahawks" captured Fort Queuleu on November 21th. After negotiations with the German defenders, 200 people were taken prisoner, some of them locals who had been conscripted, some of them mere children in oversize uniforms.
Heinrich Kittel was wounded on November 21st and taken to a field hospital. When American troops overran the hospital later that day, Kittel was taken prisoner. The following day, November 22, 1944, Kittel formally surrendered.
With that, the Battle of Metz ended. On November 25th, Patton marched through the gates of Metz, the first commander to capture the city since Attila the Hun in AD 415.
(November 25, 1944. General Patton leaves the Metz town hall with Mayor Gabriel Hocquard, where Patton had just been decorated with one of the first commemorative medals for the liberation of Metz and made an honorary citizen. Also visible in the photo are General Giraud; Louis Tuaillon, the prefect of Moselle; General Walker, commanding the XX Corps of the 3rd US Army; and General Dody, military governor of Metz. Photo DR (Paul de Busson-Christian Fauvel collection)
4,000 prisoners of war were rounded up. The rest retreated or were killed. However, the garrisons in many of the surrounding forts continued to be defiant. Rather than stay and pound on defenses that would not break, Patton again said, "Ain't nobody got time for that." He immediately handed control of the city back over to the French people and prepared to march on, leaving just enough troops to keep the Germans trapped in their anthills.
Like the Prussians before them, the Americans chose to starve the stubborn forts out. A week later, on November 29, 1944, Feste Württemberg/Fort Saint-Privat (where Eren's platoon was sent) surrendered after running out of ammunition and having too many wounded. Fort Driant, Fort St. Quentin, and Fort Plappeville surrendered on December 8th. The last stronghold, Fort Jeanne d'Arc, finally surrendered to the Americans on December 13th. From these forts, another 6,000 German troops were taken as prisoners of war.
Due to parts of the forts collapsing underground, no one knows just how many soldiers were down there, so it is unknown how many Germans died at Metz. Still, losses on both sides were high.
(American troops from the north and south meet in Metz after a successful pincer maneuver)
The Allies had a tactical victory, but the Germans had a strategic victory, succeeding in their goal of slowing the Allies down by a whole three months, allowing the rest of the German Army on the Western Front to retreat and regroup behind the Siegfried Line (Westwall). They were able to save most of their army for a later engagement: the Battle of the Bulge.
The capture of Metz meant the Allies now had a clear road to the Rhine river and into Germany. It was a major step toward victory.
(French General Henri Giraud, Lieutenant General George S. Patton, Colonel William Collier of the XX Corps, and Major General Walton "Bulldog" Walker, commanding general of the XX Corps, the definition of "tiny but mighty")