November 14, 1944
Hürtgen Forest, Germany
We've been sleeping and fighting in the Hürtgen Forest for the past week. Our mission is to clear the forest the best we can so the convoy* trailing behind us can move up and make its way to the Rhineland*. We're currently waiting to hear our next objective, so we've been in the same spot for the past three days now. It's been nice being able to set up camp and get some rest.
It's November now and it's hard to believe that I left my family to join the Army almost a year ago. With Thanksgiving coming up soon, it's making me wish I were home since it was the last holiday I spent with my family before I left. I remember trying to enjoy my time with them, but I couldn't help but wonder if they'd ever see me alive again. Well, here I am, still alive, but just not with them.
Time seems to move fast when you're distracted. It also moves slowly for us, especially since we're in the middle of combat a lot of the time and it sometimes feels like it'll never end. Because of all the distractions and orders that are thrown at us, I often forget the date and if it weren't for Stiles or the letters from my mother, I'd have a much harder time trying to figure out what month we're in.
The letters my mother writes to me give me something to look forward to while fighting in this war. It's nice to hear how my family's doing back in the states and I especially love when my mother includes family photos in the envelope. Whenever I miss them, I just pull out the few family photos I have and look at them for a moment. I even stuck one in the strap of my helmet as some type of good luck charm next to the picture Zussman had given me of us. They're nice to look at whenever I take my helmet off.
Judging by my mother's recent letters, my brother and her seem to be doing okay. It's my father who hasn't been doing too well lately. My mother says he's been a lot more paranoid ever since they got the news that I joined the Army. That's not to say that my mother isn't scared for my life, but because he's been in combat before, he knows too much about the different ways someone could lose their life. What he doesn't know is that war has changed since his time in service. We don't live in trenches or fight from them very often as he did. We're constantly on the move and we have to be otherwise the Germans will know where to find us. I'm just glad he doesn't have to be here to see for himself.
The weather's been getting colder now that autumn has settled in. It's been a bit hard trying to keep warm since we don't have too many layers on, but I try to keep in mind that it could be worse, especially since winter isn't too far away. I sure as hell am not looking forward to freezing my ass off and having to fight in the snow.
Even though it's been cold lately, some of the men had gone to the nearby river to wash up. I had been tempted many times to go myself since I feel pretty damn dirty, but I didn't want to risk finding myself in an uncomfortable situation. It's bad enough trying to clean off properly when you're pretty much exposed and even vulnerable to the enemy, so I definitely didn't want to end up in a Peeping Tom situation with any of the men in my platoon.
I had enough of being dirty today though, so I grabbed my bar of soap and quickly dragged Zussman to the river, not offering him an explanation and hoping no one would be there already. Thankfully, no other soldiers were there when we arrived.
"If you wanted to wash up together again, you could've just asked," Zussman said, unzipping his coat.
"Hold on, mister, keep those clothes on. You're here to keep watch while I wash up," I told him just as he was about to take off his uniform pants. He froze and refused to make eye contact with me as I held in my laughter.
"Well, uh, okay," he said, trying to act like he wasn't embarrassed as he fixed his pants and zipped up his coat. "I'll just be standin' by that tree, keeping watch."
"Okay, thank you."
"Yeah, of course."
"And Zussman?" I stopped him in his tracks as he began walking towards a tree.
"Yeah?"
"When I say keep watch, that doesn't mean try and catch a glance at me whenever you think I won't notice," I said.
"Yup. Gotcha."
I began to undress, leaving my brassiere and underwear on. Once my socks were removed and my bare feet made contact with the cold damp dirt that made up the riverside, goosebumps spread across my body and I began to shiver due to the slight breeze in the air. I stared at the river for a moment, bracing myself for the cold water. I quickly stepped into the water and let out a yelp as the cold water barely went past my ankles. The current wasn't very strong which I was glad about.
"You alright back there?" Zussman asked.
"The water's cold as hell."
"Hell's hot, not cold."
"Thanks for letting me know, Captain Obvious. Been there before?" I asked, picking up a pebble from the side of the river before throwing it at him, accidentally hitting him on the head.
"Ah! Just for that, I may just see you down there," he rubbed his head.
"If there's a bathtub, I'm there," I joked as I dipped the bar of soap in the water and rubbed it together in my hands.
I began wetting the upper half of my body, trying to adjust to the cold water before scrubbing my body with the bar of soap. I then wet my hair and scrubbed out most of the debris and dirt that got stuck in it from all the explosions. My brassiere and underwear were slightly damp now, so I quickly stepped out of the water to remove them. As much as I didn't want to, I sure didn't want to deal with the uncomfortableness of soaked undergarments.
Once I was done washing off the soap, I stepped out of the river and used a small cloth I had in one of my pants' pockets to dry myself off the best I could. My body still felt damp and my hair was still dripping, but it was better than being soaked. After putting my uniform back on, I grabbed my belongings and made my way towards Zussman who was still turned around, leaning against a tree and fiddling with his combat knife.
"I said to keep watch, not mess around with your knife," I nudged him playfully, earning a laugh from him.
"Unless you consider a squirrel a Peepin' Tom, the coast was pretty much clear," he said with a smirk, wrapping his arm around my waist as we began walking back to camp.
When we arrived at the camp, we immediately spotted Pierson smoking a cigarette by the nearest tent a few feet away. He was staring at the ground, combing his brown hair with his hand. It was odd seeing him without his helmet on since that thing is glued to his head most of the time.
Zuss and I tried to walk by him without being noticed by walking with two other soldiers who had just arrived at the camp, probably from using the forest as their toilet. We should've known better than to think that would work because just as we were about to walk past him, he looked up and recognized us even though we were looking down, making our helmets tilt to cover the top halves of our faces.
"Privates, do you think I'm an idiot?"
All four of us turned around.
"You two," he pointed at the two other privates, both looking terrified and confused, "Get the hell out of here."
They scurried off, leaving Zussman and me to get scolded over nothing. It wasn't until now that I realized Zussman still had his arm around my waist. Pierson looked at us with an irritated expression on his face, making Zussman quickly bring his arm to his side.
"We're about to be briefed by Colonel Davis and you two are out frolicking in the woods? This ain't no place for that. This is a goddamn war zone and I don't wanna see none of this love crap between the two of you," he finally spoke.
"Sir, who said we were frolickin' in the woods? She was washin' up in the river and she asked me to keep watch," Zuss explained.
"You really expect me to believe that?" Pierson scoffed, "Especially since I've already caught you once."
Thanks for the reminder.
"Well, sir, if you need proof, then here you go," I held out my used bar of soap in front of him. I wanted to laugh as he stared at the bar of soap and grumbled. I heard Zussman clear his throat and I figured he was trying not to laugh either.
"Get a load of her hair too. It's wet! Can you believe it?" Zussman said sarcastically.
"Quit messing around. Be ready for the briefing. Now, go," Pierson ordered, staring at us with his cold eyes. Zuss and I walked off, heading for our squad's tent while we stifled our laughter.
I should probably watch out with what I tell Pierson since he can still get me in trouble with Turner, but I'm tired of constantly being pushed around by him. There's a difference between giving orders and being an asshole to the soldiers in your squad. It seems like Pierson has a hard time determining the difference between the two.
Just as we arrived in front of our squad's tent, I felt some pain in the lower part of my stomach. Not just any pain, but goddamn cramps. If it weren't for the fact that my menstruation was causing them, I probably would've been worried that it was something I ate. Definitely didn't need this right before a briefing, but the good thing is the pain isn't too bad.
"You alright?" Zussman asked as I exhaled some air.
"Yeah, just got some cramps because of my..." I trailed off, feeling a bit shy talking about this with him since it's normally something I keep to myself. It's been annoying dealing with menstruation ever since I joined the Army, especially when it arrives during combat or when we're on the move, but I simply use the gauze from my medkit and thankfully, it works pretty well.
"Oh!" Zussman said, realizing what I was going to bring up. "Well, I was just about to go check if I got any mail, so I'll bring you a cup of Joe. Maybe the warmth will help."
"Wow, Zussman, what a gentleman you are," I teased.
"You're lucky I'm not holdin' that pebble you threw at me against you," he pointed at me jokingly as he walked off.
I walked into the tent and found the rest of my squad in there, each man doing their own thing and not bothering to talk to one another. Daniels was laying on his cot and staring at the letter from his girl which still has yet to be opened, Stiles was sitting next to Aiello's cot, fiddling with his camera lens as usual, and Aiello was laying down, tapping make-believe drums in the air with real drum sticks.
"Where'd you get those, Aiello? You play back at home?" I asked as I sat down on my cot and took off my heavy helmet.
"Yeah, I do. I have a drum kit back at home and I've been missin' it a whole damn lot, so I had my Ma' send me these. It ain't the same but it'll do for now."
"Drums are too noisy," Stiles spoke abruptly. "Y'know what you should play inste-"
"Y'know what I think is too noisy, college? Your damn mouth," Aiello cut him off before tapping Stiles' head with one of his drum sticks.
"Ow!"
The sound of ripping paper could suddenly be heard and we all looked at Daniels to see him opening up the letter. We quickly looked away as to not make him the center of attention. The poor man has been very off lately since the thought of whether he should open the letter or not has been stressing him out. Hopefully, he can finally get some closure.
As Daniels started reading the letter, Zussman walked into the tent with two mugs of coffee and a yellow envelope tucked between one of his arms. He handed me one of the mugs with a wink before taking his helmet off and placing it on his cot.
"If it's over, we're here for you, pal," Zussman turned towards Daniels whose cot was right next to his.
"I tried to warn ya," Stiles said nonchalantly, making me shoot a glance at him.
"College, let the man speak," Aiello said, sounding slightly irritated.
"She's pregnant," Daniels suddenly said with a straight face which left us silent for a moment.
"Whoa! Hey, that's huge!" Zussman broke the silence and patted Daniels' shoulder.
"All right! Daniels is gonna be a daddy!" Aiello said with a grin on his face.
"Congratulations, Daniels," I lifted my mug up in his direction, earning a slight nod from him.
"She was tryin' to let me know, but I wasn't ready to hear it," Daniels said before pursing his lips and looking down at the letter again.
Makes sense now why we seem happier for him than he seems to be for himself. There's plenty of reasons why he might not be ready to be a father, but that's none of our business.
"All right," Zussman stared at him for a moment before pointing at his mug, "I could use another cup of Joe. Come on, you mooks*, let's give 'im some space."
Aiello and I got up from our cots and began following Zussman out of the tent.
"But I don't want coffee," I heard Stiles say from behind me.
Good 'ol Stiles. Smart as hell, but can't always take a hint.
"Sure, you do," Zussman peered back into the tent, staring at Stiles until he finally got up.
"So, I'm a mook now?" I asked Zussman jokingly as we walked over to the small fire with a pot of coffee on top of it that a few soldiers had made.
"I'd say yes just to piss you off, but I don't think I want my ass kicked," he said, making me laugh.
We sat down near the fire and he filled our mugs up with more coffee. Nothing special; no cream or sugar, just the plain dark bitter liquid that we've grown to enjoy. We're given sugar in our K-rations, but as long as there's time to drink a cup of Joe, I'll drink it with or without sugar.
"Whatcha got there?" I asked him, pointing at the yellow envelope in his hand.
"Just a letter from my Ma'."
He began to open it and I sipped away at my mug of coffee as he read it.
"Y'know, in my last letter, I told her about you," he turned his attention towards me.
"Oh, you did?"
"Yeah, she didn't expect me to meet somebody while in service, but of course, she just had to tell me it's about goddamn time I start thinkin' about settlin' down. She hopes to meet you someday."
"I know the feeling. Before I met Wayne, my parents were always telling me to find myself a husband. Sometimes it felt like that's all they ever cared about. It's like they wanted me to get married, have some children right away, and then do nothing for the rest of my life," I sighed before looking at him with a smile, "but hey, I'd love to meet your mother."
"She'll love you, I'm sure. Oh, and Y/N, I hope you know that I ain't one of those men that expects ya to be one of those women who's stuck in the house all the time. If you get back to the states, with or without me, I want you to do whatever the hell will make you happy. And if I'm lucky enough to go home with you, I'll someday put a ring on that finger of yours." He grabbed my hand. "We'll live out our marriage the way we want to, but you have to promise not to throw any more pebbles at me."
I should've known a joke would be thrown into his little speech.
"I thought you said you weren't holding that against me," I chuckled.
"Do you want the ring or not?" he asked with a serious face. I noticed the corners of his lips had twitched, meaning he was trying not to laugh.
"Fine, I'll promise, but only if you stop being a mook," I poked him in the gut.
"Get used to it cause you just might end up marrying this mook," he pointed at himself confidently, a goofy grin on his face. I couldn't help but laugh and I was once again reminded of why I love him.
I'd say this is the first time we've talked about marriage. The thought of marrying Zussman is nothing new to me though. I've thought about it a few times before, but it's something I worry about as well because there's that possibility that it might not happen. It's easy to think about all we hope to do, but it's not easy realizing that we might not get to do those things because anything can happen to us. We won't know for sure unless we're both alive when this war ends.
* * *
"Everyone, gather around!" Turner told my squad and me as we stood in front of our tent, waiting to be briefed. Colonel Davis was standing right next to him.
"Where's Daniels?" Stiles asked.
I watched as Zussman put half of his body into the tent and it didn't take long for Daniels to come walking out with his gun and helmet.
"The Hürtgen is dark and nearly impenetrable," Colonel Davis began speaking, taking a clipboard from Turner's hands and pointing at a drawing of a hill on some type of coordinate map. "Our mission is to take Hill Four-Ninety-Three. Whoever holds the hill dominates the valley."
He handed the clipboard back to Turner who immediately took it from him.
"For lesser men, this task might seem insurmountable. But our division boasts a proud history of firsts," he walked towards Stiles and stared him in the eyes. "In World War I, we were first to hold off a German attack."
"First, to launch a counteroffensive," he walked in front of Daniels, pointing at him.
"First, to cross the Rhine," he said, this time in front of Zussman. "Nothing has ever stopped us, nothing ever will!"
He then glanced at another soldier and me before returning to his position next to Turner in front of all of us.
"Lieutenant, tell 'em what we're all about."
"No mission too difficult. No sacrifice too great. Duty first," Turner said calmly.
"I can't hear you!" Davis slightly raised his voice while standing with both his hands on his hips.
"No mission too difficult! No sacrifice too great! Duty first!" Turner repeated, this time with more emphasis.
"That's right! Now get ready to move out!" Davis told us before patting Turner on the chest and leading him to a nearby tent.
"Duty first," I heard Zussman mock our division's motto in an irritable manner as he looked at Daniels. "Back to the 'ol meat grinder."
"Amen, brother," Daniels said as Zussman walked off.
"We move out in five," Turner informed us from the tent where he and Davis were looking at documents on a table.
I quickly grabbed some ammo and went to stand with Aiello, Stiles, and Zussman. When I walked up to them, Aiello was making fun of Stiles for looking so scared when Colonel Davis went up to him during the briefing.
"Leave him be, Aiello."
"L/N, why you always protectin' him? I'm just toughin' him up," Aiello turned towards me.
"Interesting, Mr. Tough Guy. If I remember correctly, a squirrel scared the crap out of you the other day," I reminded him, making Zussman and Stiles laugh.
"Okay, but to be fair, I thought it was a Kraut."
"First Platoon, we are moving! On me!" Turner suddenly yelled out.
My squad and plenty of other soldiers headed over to him. He and Pierson were standing near one of the exits of our camp that had logs and barbed wire lined up along the sides which had been left by the Germans.
"All right, our objective is to eliminate the hilltop artillery so we can hold the forest. First stage is linking up with second platoon at the river, then we move out," Turner explained as he and Pierson began leading the way, the rest of us following behind.
"What kind of resistance are we looking at?" Stiles asked.
"The heavy kind. Bridge has been changing hands all day."
"We're gonna help them secure it," Pierson added.
As we continued running towards the Frontline Bridge, the sound of tanks could suddenly be heard.
"Here she is! Davis assembled the biggest damned armored convoy ever!" I heard Perez say.
"Huh! If that don't put the fear 'a god in them Krauts, nothin' will," Daniels told him.
"It's still a long drive to the Rhine," Zussman said.
"That's why we need to hammer those guns and keep them alive," Turner proclaimed as we jumped over a log.
"Ey, watch your asses! You're in the death factory!" Perez warned.
Death factory? Yup, that's one way to put it.
"Hey, Zuss. Does the cold make the 'ol wound act up?" Aiello asked, out of the blue. "Cause my Nonna, she broke her hip, and every winter-"
"Do I look like your Nonna?" Zussman cut him off.
"Eh, now that you mention it..."
"Kiss my frozen ass."
"I'd rather kiss my Nonna's," I heard Aiello mutter and I almost burst into laughter.
"That's a pretty picture," Zussman said sarcastically.
Didn't expect to hear that conversation while heading towards more combat. Then again, I should expect to hear that from Aiello and Zussman since they can be quite the odd duo. You can't always tell if they hate each other or not. They're always either arguing, joking around or saying the weirdest things to one another.
"Everyone, on me!" Turner yelled just as we arrived at the bridge. He ran up to Lieutenant Marks who was standing in front of the bridge. "Marks! How you guys holding up?"
"Sons of bitches keep hitting us. Next wave could be any minute."
"Alright, First Platoon, let's help these boys out!"
"Set up perimeter defenses!" Pierson ordered. As I walked towards some barrels on the bridge to take cover, I realized Pierson's been awfully quiet since we've started our objective. I couldn't help but wonder if he had been scolded by Turner or something for whatever reason.
"Grab some mines and get those MGs ready!" I heard Turner say from behind me.
"Barclay, Cooper, advance to the bridge and signal when you see movement!" Lieutenant Marks called out to some men in his platoon.
I got up and grabbed some mines to take them to the soldiers up front, one of them being Daniels. He was placing mines in the land in front of us which had a few X-shaped tank traps left there by the Germans. I called him over and handed him the mines, so he could place some more; The first German soldiers to arrive are gonna be in for an unpleasant surprise.
"Sir, I thought we're gonna hit the artillery at Hill Four-Nine-Three," Zussman came up to Turner. They weren't positioned on the bridge like Daniels and I were. They were standing in the river on one of the sides of the bridge.
"Can't leave our lines exposed. We'll advance to the assembly line once the bridge is secure," Turner explained.
"Judgin' by these craters, it ain't gonna be easy," Aiello remarked.
"Easy's not why we're here, Private."
All was quiet as we waited for the next wave of Germans to arrive. I was beginning to feel anxious since we never really know if an objective will be successful and if we'll come out alive. I decided to get off the bridge and join the soldiers down below. I didn't like how I couldn't move around very much on the bridge. At least down below I'm able to move to different positions which could make it a little easier to shoot Germans in case they're coming from different directions compared to being stuck in one position.
I stepped into the river and took cover behind a big rock on the right side of the bridge, the cold water immediately filling my boots. Wet socks are never good, but luckily I have an extra pair of socks in my bag that I'll hopefully be able to put on soon.
"See those Kraut Dragon's Teeth? No way our armor's gettin' through," Zussman said as I made sure my gun was fully loaded.
"Yeah, I think that's the idea," Pierson said with a hint of sarcasm in his voice.
"Krauts coming through the fog!" a soldier suddenly warned us.
"Firing positions!"
"Prepare to engage!" Pierson called out.
"They're comin'!"
"Get ready!"
The swarm of German shadows in the fog was getting closer.
"Engage!"
"Fire!" Turner yelled and our MGs began to let loose.
I kept half my body hidden behind the big rock and began shooting at as many of the German soldiers as I could. Once they were only a few feet away from the bridge, the mines were set off, sending German soldiers and dirt up into the air. The MGs were also making it hard for them to get past the bridge which I was glad about.
"Incoming!"
I was caught off guard when a bunch of explosions started happening on top of the land in front of us. The explosions were much different compared to the ones caused by the mines. I knew right away that bombs were being dropped once I heard the sound of planes flying above us over the commotion.
"Get to cover!" Turner yelled and I did just that, hiding behind the big rock once again. My cover wouldn't do much if a bomb was dropped on top of me, but it would at least keep shrapnel and dirt from hitting me in the face.
There was no shrapnel flying near us though. I looked towards the explosions to see that the bombs were only being dropped on the land in front of us. This made me realize that the Germans weren't trying to bomb us; they're trying to create smoke so we have a hard time seeing how many of them are coming towards us.
"Smokescreen*!" Pierson warned.
"Get ready! They're coming! SS troops!" I heard Aiello yell as I looked at the white clouds of smoke in front of us. I began to see dark figures and I shot at any movement in the smoke.
With so many Germans eventually getting too close to the bridge, Turner ordered the soldiers at the very front to start pulling back which made me start to worry. Pulling back usually means we're at risk of getting overrun. Daniels eventually joined me near the big rock and we continued to shoot down the Germans trying to take over our side of the bridge.
Turner suddenly ran over to us and quickly handed both of us some more ammo.
"Check for mines, grenades, whatever you can find!" he said before running off to take cover by the bridge.
"Yes, sir!" Daniels and I said in unison.
"Enemy armor!
"Panzer inbound!"
"Goddammit," I muttered when I spotted the Panzer tank approaching the bridge through the fog.
"I'm moving up!" Daniels told me before running towards a log up ahead. There were a few German soldiers trying to shoot him, so I quickly shot them down. I watched as he jumped into a trench, bent over, and came back up with a rocket launcher over his shoulder. Just what we needed to take down that Panzer. I covered him as he shot a rocket at the tank.
"Great job, Daniels, it's almost dead!" Turner informed him. Daniels then shot a rocket at it once more, making it explode.
"They're fallin' back!" I heard Aiello's muffled voice coming from the left side of the bridge. There was nothing but silence for a moment.
"Good work, Daniels. First Platoon, rally on me!" Turner broke the silence. We met up with him near the area we had come through to get to the bridge.
"We're gonna split into two teams. Pierson, you'll head north over the bridge to reach the hill. I'll follow the river with a squad to guard your advance. Assembly point'll be the base of Hill Four-Nine-Three. L/N, you'll come with me," Turner quickly laid out the plan. He then looked at Pierson and they nodded at each other before Pierson started running towards the bridge.
"See you soon," Zussman told Daniels and me, a worried look present in his eyes.
"Yeah, you be careful out there," Daniels said.
"Come back in one piece, you hear me?" I added.
"Eh, you too," Zussman pointed at us before Pierson dragged him towards the bridge. The rest of us followed Turner in the right direction from the bridge.
"Hope splittin' up was the right move," Daniels said loud enough so Turner could hear him up ahead.
"If we let the Krauts cross this river, they could endanger the whole mission. That's why we're guarding Pierson's flank."
"How far 'til the assembly point, sir?" Daniels asked as we started running in the river, getting the bottoms of our pants wet.
"We'll get to the base of Hill Four-Nine-Three soon. Just need to follow the river," Turner answered.
As we continued to follow the river, the sound of mortar fire eventually could be heard in front of us.
"Stay low," Turner said in a low voice. "We have to take them down, but we're outgunned. Gotta probe their flanks. Don't let them see you."
We went up a small hill and I was able to get a quick look at the German camp. We hid behind a big log as we waited for Turner to give us our next orders. A German soldier suddenly appeared a few feet away from the log with his back turned towards us and we all froze for a moment. Turner signaled to Daniels to take the soldier out, so he quietly climbed over the log. We watched as he slowly walked towards the German soldier, covered the soldier's mouth, and stabbed him in the neck. Daniels then signaled for us to come over to him.
When we got to his position, we were met by a German half-track that had an MG mounted on the back. Daniels opened up the back and climbed in before positioning his hands on the MG, preparing to fire.
"All right, Daniels. On your signal," Turner whispered.
"Fire!" Daniels yelled out and began to fire away with the MG.
"First Platoon, advance!"
I fired at the surprised Germans, especially trying to take out the ones who had been unleashing mortar fire as I advanced and used the big rocks on the sides of the river as cover. The Germans began to pull back, so I decided to advance even more and headed for a truck in front of me to use as my next cover. As I ran towards it, another truck to the left of me suddenly exploded, making me lose my balance. Stiles quickly helped me up and we ran towards the intact truck together as we continued to shoot at the Germans attempting to retreat.
"They're falling back! Keep on 'em!"
We all started running forward, trying to catch up with the last of the Germans that had managed to get away. Once we reached the top of a small hill, we spotted the Germans below us and fired at them. I was able to throw a grenade directly at one of them even though my hands were shaking because of how panicked I was feeling. As we headed down the hill to kill the last few, one of them set off a red smoke grenade, making us stop and shield our eyes due to the bright red flash.
"Shit! It's a trap!" Stiles yelled and I heard what sounded like something was coming towards us from above. I looked up into the sky to see a bomb coming down on our position.
"We've been spotted! Come on!" Turner signaled for us to follow him and we all began to run, being careful not to run into any trees. The sound of bombs headed our way kept getting louder and I tried to prepare myself for what was to come next, but nothing can prepare you for your possible death when you don't know where those bombs are going to hit.
"Artillery! It's a trap!"
"Keep moving!" Turner yelled as the bombs began to drop all around us.
I ran as fast as my legs could go, jumping over logs and watching out for falling trees. My lungs were being filled with cold air, making my chest hurt as I breathed. Tree trunks were being turned into splintered wood as the bombs hit them. I was hit in the face with splintered wood at one point and I could feel that some of it had cut me, but that was the least of my worries.
"Go left! Get up that hill!" Turner ordered. "Left! Left!"
As I ran up the hill, the bombs were zoning in on us and I felt like I wasn't going to make it out of this artillery attack alive, but I still continued to run. I kept running as the explosions sent soldiers from my platoon flying down the hill and I didn't take the time to turn around and find out who they were. I kept running even though I could hear the sounds of the wounded coming from behind me. I even kept running as I passed by dead and wounded soldiers who were laying on the ground in their growing pools of blood. I felt so selfish as I kept running, but I had to reach the top of the hill. When I finally did reach the top, a bomb was able to successfully bring me down to the ground.
I laid on my back and stared up into the sky with my blurred vision. I looked at the white smoke all around me and waited for a bomb to bring me to my death, but the bomb never came. In fact, no more bombs were coming down.
"Paul... Paul!" I heard Daniels' voice cry out. I turned on my side and could see him laying just a few feet away next to another soldier, so I began crawling towards him with my gun still in my hand.
"You alright?" I asked once I reached him, my voice hoarse.
"Can't really say for sure until we finish this goddamn mission," he began to get up, letting out some groans. He picked up his pistol and helped me up. I felt as if my body had no strength as he pulled me up, but I quickly mustered up enough strength to stand.
I dusted myself off as I watched as he kneeled down and turned over the soldier, that he had been lying next to, onto his stomach. I immediately recognized the face as Private Briggs; a young man no older than 40 who had treated me very kindly from the moment I met him. He was bleeding from his neck and chest due to some big pieces of splintered wood that had stabbed him. Too many good men had lost their lives right now and I was filled with both anger and sadness.
"Briggs... God...," Daniels groaned as he got up from his kneeling position.
There was still so much smoke surrounding us and a few nearby tree trunks were on fire. It was awfully quiet too and it was as if Daniels and I had been the only two soldiers to survive that artillery attack since there was nobody else around.
"We gotta find the assembly point," Daniels said, trying to catch his breath.
"Should be up ahead. Let's keep moving," I told him and we did just that, eventually finding a crashed plane with its end being raised up by a big rock which allowed us to walk right under it. Walking a little further ahead, we found a pilot hanging from his parachute which had gotten caught in a tree.
"Jesus...," Daniels said as he examined the pilot.
We continued walking and a barking dog suddenly came from out of nowhere and ran towards us.
"Oh shit!" Daniels yelled as he shot at it before I could, successfully killing it.
I stared at the dead dog for a moment before walking again. I did not feel the guilt I have felt before. I was too worried about the possibility that Daniels and I might not find the rest of our squad alive to feel any guilt.
A voice yelling in German could be heard up ahead after Daniels had killed the dog. I immediately spotted a Kraut in the smoke and I signaled to Daniels to get down. I then spotted another Kraut in the distance. Using the big rocks and logs in the area, we managed to sneak past the Krauts pretty quickly. It was just too risky to shoot them down since there could be more nearby. We soon learned that there was, in fact, more nearby when we found another German base. The Krauts below couldn't see us since we were on top of a small hill, hidden by shrubs. We were just about to head down into the base when we heard the yells of what sounded like they belonged to American soldiers.
"We surrender!"
"Wait! Stop!"
"No!" Daniels whispered in frustration.
Our comrades had pleaded, but the Kraut with the flamethrower showed no mercy as he burned them. I felt like vomiting as I watched the scene in front of me. The American soldiers screamed in pain and thrashed their arms around until suddenly, they just fell on the ground and all was quiet. It took Daniels to gently shake me in order to get me moving again.
We headed down into the base and used these strange pyramidal stones that were placed in horizontal lines around the area. Daniels found a gun near one of the stones and we began to try and silently take out the few Krauts on guard, using our combat knives and hitting them in the head as hard as we could with our guns.
One of us was eventually noticed and we were soon being fired at. We ran toward a bunker and we both raised our guns as someone stepped out of it. We quickly put our guns down when we realized it was Turner. It felt so damn good to know he had survived the artillery attack. He provided us with cover fire as we ran into the bunker.
"Let's move. Assembly point's not far. Our guys are gonna need support," he told us after killing the Krauts outside. He then ran deeper into the bunker and we followed.
"You got it, sir," Daniels said.
No time to rest now. Like our motto says, "Duty first."
"One of you, get the door. I'll cover you," Turner whispered once we reached a door. Daniels quickly opened it and we found nobody on the other side. We stepped out into the forest and ran straight ahead to find a broken down truck and what appeared to be an empty bunker.
"Looks too rundown to provide much defense," Daniels said in a low voice just in case there really were some Krauts hiding inside the bunker.
"Krauts probably abandoned it," Turner examined the bunker.
"Think they'll be back?" Daniels asked.
"Hope not anytime soon," Turner started walking forward, "See any of our guys out there?"
"No, sir," Daniels answered as we followed our lieutenant.
"Hope they made it to the assembly point."
Me too.
"Listen. It's water. River must be close," Turner said as he hopped over a tree trunk.
"I'm prayin' our boys found cover from that artillery," Daniels said, fiddling with the gun in his hands.
"We'll back them up. Don't you worry," Turner reassured us before glancing at me from in front. "L/N, you're too quiet. You alright? Are you hurt?"
"No, sir. Just shaken up, that's all."
"Nothing wrong with that. Just keep movin'."
We eventually started walking in shallow running water in an area of the forest that wasn't as full of smoke. The air was much easier to breathe now.
"Here's the river. Just gotta follow it to reach the assembly point," Turner informed us.
"And then silence those guns," Daniels added, his voice slightly raspy.
All I could do was hope that we'd find the rest of the boys alive and I was beginning to feel anxious. We're either going to be really hurt or really relieved once we reach the assembly point. Even then, whatever the outcome of the rest of our squad may be, the fight isn't over yet.
We were approaching some logs when a gunshot rang out in the area and a piece of one of the logs was broken off, startling us.
"Sniper! He's up in that bunker! We're gonna flush him out. Stay low," Turner led us to a trench to the right of us and began crawling into it. "On me!"
The sniper continued to fire as close as he could to us as we crawled throughout the trench. At one point, we were next to some wooden crates and it didn't take long for the sniper to send a bullet at one of them, making it break apart. I was feeling a little glad that this sniper seemed to have some bad aim because there were times where we raised our heads above the trench just a little too much and Turner kept warning us to keep them down.
"Ah! Somebody help!"
"He got one of ours," Daniels hit the dirt with his fist in frustration.
"Check the flanks. See if we can reach him," Turner suggested.
I peered over the side of the trench to see an American soldier out in the open, laying on his back. He kept screaming for help and I knew that if we left him there, the sniper was bound to silence him with another bullet. He was only a few feet away, so I gathered up the courage to go out there and get him.
"Daniels, how about the both of us go out there? I'll bring the soldier into the trench and you sprint into the bunker and kill that damn sniper. We'll make it hard for him to try and shoot us down if we move as fast as we can," I looked at Turner for his approval.
"Sounds like a plan. Get a move on, you two."
"Alright, Daniels. 1...2...3!"
We both sprinted out into the open and parted ways once we reached the front of the bunker. The sniper continued to fire, but we must've surprised him since he didn't hit any of us. Daniels headed towards the bunker door while I quickly grabbed the wounded soldier when I reached him and started dragging him towards the trench. I could feel the sniper bullets flying past me and hitting the dirt instead which sent dirt up into the air. When I finally reached the trench, Turner quickly helped me bring the wounded soldier down into it. I took off my bag and began to get to work on fixing the soldier's wound as Turner turned his attention to Daniels who I could hear was opening up the bunker door.
"I'll draw his fire. You flush him out. I got you covered!" Turner told him.
I listened to the sound of gunfire coming from inside the bunker as I slightly tore the wounded soldier's right pant leg using my combat knife to reveal the wound on his midthigh. I then turned him over on his stomach and tore the back of the same pant leg to find that the bullet had gone straight through his thigh. I noticed he still had the ability to move his leg which made me hopeful that he'd be fine as long as it doesn't end up infected.
"Am I gonna be okay, L/N?" The soldier was breathing heavily. I was finally able to get a good look at his face and realized it was Private Stewart from our platoon. A boy of 18 years old who had joined our platoon not too long ago and who I've had to patch up a few times already, mainly because of clumsiness.
"Yeah, bullet went straight through. You'll be walking with a limp for a couple of weeks, but you'll be fine since you can still move it. We gotta stop the bleeding though and prevent infection."
I turned him back onto his stomach and took some sulfa power and a battle dressing* out of my bag. I tore the rest of his right pant leg off, leaving him with only some pant leg above his wound. I sprinkled the sulfa powder* onto his wound to prevent infection and he let out groans of pain when I began wrapping it tightly with the battle dressing. When I finished wrapping his thigh, Stewart thanked me and I realized that there was no more gunfire coming from the bunker.
"He's down!" Daniels shouted at us from the upper level of the bunker.
"You did good, Daniels. Moving out! On me!" Turner began climbing out of the trench.
"Sir, we can't just leave him here." I pointed at Stewart.
"We gotta move, L/N. I need you with me and Daniels. When the medics sweep the area, they'll find him."
"Yeah, I'll be fine. Go." Stewart looked up at me.
I jumped out of the trench and ran with Turner towards a road up ahead where we met up with Daniels who had just come out of the bunker. The dirt road had been turned into mud and it was making a squelching sound as we ran on it. When we reached the end of the road, we turned right and climbed up some rocks. The sound of gunfire could suddenly be heard and we followed a little pathway which led us to what looked like a German village. The area was filled with shouting, gunfire, and explosions and I frantically tried to search for the rest of our squad in the battle while hiding behind some shrubs.
"Lieutenant! They got us pinned!" I suddenly heard Stiles' voice, but I couldn't find him.
We began to get fired at and I fired at the Krauts standing in front of the house straight ahead of us. Daniels had found a sniper on the ground and was trying to take out the Krauts shooting at us from the house windows.
"I'm moving up!" I yelled over the commotion before running down the hill we were on and towards a stack of wooden pillars which already had a soldier using it as cover. I continued to shoot away at the Krauts near the houses, some of them running out of the houses and trying to find cover.
"L/N, is that you?" the soldier next to me asked and I looked over to see a familiar face.
"Stiles! How you holding up?" I focused my attention back to firing at the Krauts in front of us.
"I don't know how I'm still alive!"
"Me neither!"
Daniels eventually joined us, so we decided to get closer to the houses. We ended up going into each of the houses and clearing them. After the village was cleared, we rallied with Turner on the North-West side of the village where we found a bridge which led into the forest.
"Not another bridge!" Stiles complained. And soon after he said that the gunfire began again.
"Approaching from the North!"
It was hard to see the Krauts in the forest because of all the smoke in the area. Stiles and I were using a wooden crate in front of the bridge as cover and we pointed out any dark figures we could find in the forest to one another. We fired away at the Krauts as they tried to get closer to our position and Daniels was running around, sniping as many of them as he could. It felt like the Krauts were never going to stop coming and I began to worry that we were going to get overrun, especially when Stiles pointed out a half-track had arrived.
After minutes of exchanging gunfire, Stiles informed us that the Krauts were beginning to retreat and I began to feel a bit relieved. Although I still had enough ammo, I was going to be running low soon and I had just resorted to throwing the last of my grenades at the Krauts to try and save ammo.
"Stay alert!" Turner said once the gunfire came to a halt. "We're gonna wait for Pierson, then proceed to the assembly point. Stiles, Daniels, L/N, on me!"
He was crouched near some sandbags on the bridge so we quickly walked on over to him.
"We hold this position 'til Pierson gets here, then we take the hill together."
"Unless he bypassed the mill and went for it himself," Stiles said as he carefully pulled a coil of barbed wire across the bridge.
"He doesn't have the manpower," Daniels said.
"That's never stopped him before."
I knew right away that Stiles was referring to whatever happened back at Kasserine Pass which we still have yet to hear the full story of. There's more to what we heard from Perez.
"I said we wait here and that's what we're gonna do." Turner let out a grunt as he lifted an MG-42 on top of the sandbags.
"No disrespect, sir, but what if Stiles is right, and Pierson did go ahead?" Daniels proposed.
Sure sounds like something he'd do.
"You let me worry about that, Daniels."
"My gut tells me something's off," Stiles said as he jumped over the sandbags and crouched right next to me.
"Yeah, but when isn't it telling you that?" I teased, earning a nudge from him.
"If I made decisions based on your gut, Private, we'd still be on the boat at Normandy." Turner glanced at him before walking towards the other end of the bridge in front of us.
"Exactly," Stiles mumbled grabbing hold of the MG-42. "You heard how Pierson's platoon got wiped out at Kasserine? Looks like history's repeating itself."
"It better not. I wanna know what really happened there," Daniels said.
"I think we all wanna know. Our boys could be in danger." I looked at Daniels and he had a worried expression on his face.
"Yeah, well, I don't have the guts to ask Turner, but I know someone who does." Stiles slightly jerked his head towards Daniels and glanced at him.
* * *
"Dog One Outrider, this is Dog One Six, do you read me? Over," Stiles talked into the handie talkie*, but he was getting no response which was annoying him. Turner had told us to try and see if we could get a response as we continued to wait in the village for Pierson and the rest of our squad to arrive, but all we could hear was static. "Any and all receiving units, this is Dagwood White Dog One Six requesting a commo check. Can you read me? Over."
No response once again.
"If you don't mind me sayin', sir, maybe we should head to the assembly point," Daniels suggested as Turner walked over to us.
"Not yet. Pierson'll get here."
Doesn't seem like it, sir.
"Sir!" Daniels went after Turner when he walked off.
"You think he's asking him about Kasserine Pass?" I asked Stiles as I watched Turner and Daniels talking. Turner looked tense and his face was serious.
"Yup, hopefully, he can find out what happ-"
All of a sudden, a voice could be heard through the static of the handie talkie. I couldn't recognize who's voice it was but I listened closely, trying to make out the words that kept being broken up by the bad signal. The voice said something about assaulting Hill Four-Nine-Three and that Pierson was with him along with second platoon and the rest of our squad.
"You called it! He's gonna get those men killed!" I told Stiles, gripping my gun tightly in frustration. We both ran over to where Daniels and Turner were still talking.
"Lieutenant! Just got a transmission from Baker. They're gonna assault Hill Four-Nine-Three. Pierson's with them," Stiles informed Turner, slinging the strap of the handie talkie over his shoulder.
"What?!"
"He took our guys and second platoon," Stiles continued.
"Gear up! Let's move!" Turner yelled out, wasting no time and we all began heading towards the bridge.
* * *
"Keep up! Let's go, Let's go!"
Turner was growing impatient with us as we struggled to climb a hill. It had started to rain, making the dirt beneath our feet very slippery. He hardly talked to any of us after we left the German village. I could see the anger in his face that he was trying to conceal, but there was no hiding it and we knew that Pierson was about to get one hell of a scolding when we find him.
"Maybe Pierson's still at the base of the hill!" Daniels said.
"I'm guessing we're way past that!" Stiles turned around and looked at Daniels who was behind me. I nudged him to keep moving since now was not the time to stop.
"Keep moving, goddammit!" Turner said in frustration up ahead.
Yup, not the time to stop.
When we finally reached the top of the hill, there was gunfire very close by.
"Sounds like our guys!" Stiles said as we ran towards a log just a short run away. There were two American soldiers leaning against it. One of them was holding his leg.
"Daniels!" one of the soldiers called out. I immediately recognized the voice as Aiello's.
"You alright?" Daniels asked when we reached him. He crouched down next to Aiello along with Turner.
"Yeah, I'm alright."
"Where's the rest?!" Turner got up close to Aiello, desperate for the answer. He had his hand on Aiello's leg, helping him apply some more pressure to the wound.
"Pierson took 'em to attack the guns. We begged for reinforcements."
"Stubborn son of a bitch," Turner muttered before getting up and signaling for us and the rest of the soldiers who came along with us to follow him. "Hurry! They need us!"
"We'll come back for you!" Daniels told Aiello. "L/N, ya think you can patch him up?"
"Yeah, I-"
"No!" Turner exclaimed, startling us. "She's coming with us and that's final! We need all the soldiers we can get! L/N, give him something to stop the bleeding and let's get moving!"
Luckily, I had another battle dressing in my bag, so I quickly took it out and handed it to Aiello.
"I checked, the bullet ain't in there," he said, wincing.
"Alright, good. There should be sulfa powder in your medkit. Pour it onto your wound and then tie that around it as tight as you can," I pointed at the battle dressing.
"Thanks, L/N!" Aiello called out to me as I ran after Turner and the rest of the men.
When we got to the area up ahead, an artillery barrage began, splitting apart trees. I was feeling pretty damn frustrated with everything going on. Our sergeant had disobeyed Turner, I couldn't stop worrying about Zussman and the rest of the men, and to make things worse, the Krauts started firing at us with MG-42s.
I moved around the area, using trees and big rocks as cover. I could feel the bullets going past me, but for once, I didn't feel frightened. I just kept shooting at the gunners on the MG-42s as Turner said to. With help from Daniels' sharp aim, the MG-42s were silenced after a few minutes.
"MGs down! Push forward! We gotta link up with Pierson!"
I ran up the hill with Stiles, following behind Turner and Daniels. This would be the moment of truth; We were finally going to find out if our men on top of the hill were alive, including Zussman. My nerves were running high as I watched Turner and Daniels reach the top of the hill first.
"Daniels, you made it!" I heard a familiar voice say. "Where's L/N?"
"Good to see you too, buddy! She's right here!"
I finally reached the top of the hill and spotted Zussman right away. We both didn't say anything when we saw each other, but I could tell that he was filled with so much relief just like I was. He beamed at me and I felt so thankful to see that smile of his.
"Pierson! What the hell were you thinking?!" Turner stormed towards Pierson and crouched down next to him. I could hear plenty of gunfire in an open area of the forest up ahead from our position.
"I'm stayin' on mission! We need to get our engineer to clear that pillbox*!"
"This isn't over!" Turner told Pierson.
"Daniels, escort Parker so he can plant a charge on that bunker!" Pierson ordered. Parker was standing next to Pierson and holding some kind of pole that had a lot of explosives tied to the top of it. It looked like more than enough to take out the bunker.
"Yes, sergeant!" Daniels said before running out into the open with Parker.
"Covering fire!"
I quickly reloaded my Thompson and tried to shoot as perfectly as I could at the gunners in the bunker on top of the hill. Whenever I saw Daniels and Parking moving up the hill and out into the open, that's when I unleashed my fire at the gunners. I was on the last of my ammo which meant I had no choice but to try and make every shot count. I had no more grenades either and was soon going to have to resort to using my pistol.
At one point, I couldn't see Parker with Daniels and it didn't take too long for me to find him down on the ground. I could see the pole charge next to Daniels and it seemed to me like he was going to have to take the responsibility of taking it up to the bunker. As if Pierson had read my mind, he ordered Daniels to pick up the pole charge and "finish the job."
We continued to provide Daniels and the rest of the men who had joined him on the hill with covering fire. My eyes kept darting back to where I was aiming and then to Daniels just to make sure he was alive or unwounded.
"Charge is planted! Get back!" I heard Daniels yell from the top of the hill. He began to run down the hill towards our position which was hidden by shrubs. The charge went off and exploded, sending pieces of the bunker up into the air and silencing the MGs.
"Bunker's clear! Let's go!" Pierson yelled at us and we began running up the hill to meet Daniels at the top. The rain made the run up the hill a slippery one, but luckily no one fell into the mud. Not that it mattered anyway; Our uniforms were soaked and it was beginning to make me feel uncomfortable and cold.
Daniels was the first one to climb into the bunker through the hole the explosion had caused followed by Pierson. It almost felt like Pierson was trying to get away from Turner who was trailing him. The rest of us waited to hear our next orders from outside of the bunker. By "rest of us," I really mean Zussman, Stiles, and me; All other soldiers that had been with us before Daniels planted the charge had been killed running up the hill.
"How many casualties?" Turner suddenly asked, climbing into the bunker.
"We executed the mission," Pierson said calmly.
"How many?!" Turner got up close to Pierson's face.
"Our instructions were to take this hill!" Pierson raised his voice and pointed at the bottom of the hill.
"You should've waited for us!"
"There wasn't time." Pierson looked away from Turner.
"What about our soldiers?"
"We had orders-"
"To hell with our goddamn orders!" Turner suddenly punched Pierson in the face.
No one dared to get in between them. Not even Daniels who was standing right next to them.
Pierson turned away from Turner and put his hand to his jaw. He was breathing heavily, probably trying to calm himself down so he wouldn't end up responding to Turner's punch with more physicality. Now was not the time for a fist fight.
"You think I wanted any of this?" He turned back towards Turner. "We are cogs in the machine, Joseph. We start going our own way, the whole thing breaks down. When did you forget that?"
"These are soldiers! Our soldiers! When did you forget?" Turner grabbed Pierson's shoulder and jerked him towards Daniels, trying to get him to look Daniels in the eyes. Pierson refused to look up, choosing to look at the ground instead. He seemed afraid to look at one of his men in the eyes.
What sounded like an explosion or gunfire in the distance made Turner release Pierson and look towards the direction of the sound.
"Those 150s are still firing on our position," Pierson informed him.
"Keep moving. We're taking them out," Turner told us before walking deeper into the bunker.
The rest of us climbed into the bunker and Turner ordered Daniels to open a door near the back. When he did, we found ourselves in another system of trenches dug by the Krauts. There were no more than 15 Krauts in the trench and we were able to clear it pretty quickly.
"Daniels, get a thermite on that gun!" Turner said once all the enemies were down. Daniels quickly went over to the big artillery gun and put a thermite where a shell should have gone. When the thermite exploded, it left the gun completely destroyed.
We weren't done just yet. The trench continued up the hill and I could hear the sound of Krauts yelling coming from the top of the hill. There were still more 150s that we needed to take care of. Daniels ended up finding a flamethrower and clearing the bunker on top of the small hill. We entered the bunker and exited through its back door, going into more trenches.
The rest of the 150s were to be found somewhere around these trenches, but the Krauts did not make that an easy task. They kept firing at us and if it weren't for Daniels having the flamethrower still, we probably would have had a much harder time trying to advance. Not to mention, more of our soldiers arrived which also helped us out a lot.
I eventually ran out of ammo, so I threw my gun and was just about to pull out my pistol when I noticed a dead Kraut nearby with his rifle to the side him. I quickly ran over and grabbed it, checking to see if it still had ammo loaded in it. I knew nothing about this strange rifle like what kind of ammo it needed or how powerful it was, but I didn't want to scramble around with a pistol while being faced with heavy fire; I needed a bigger gun, so I fired away with the strange gun, eventually finding an ammo box and stocking up with bullets that looked similar to what had already been loaded in the gun.
"Enemies down! Hit the last guns!" Turner ordered when the trench was finally clear.
Daniels blew up the last artillery guns and just when we thought we were safe, Kraut reinforcements came out from the trees ahead of us and jumped into the trenches. To make matters worse, they had a damn Tiger tank with them. We exchanged so much fire with the reinforcements, but it felt like they just kept coming. The Tiger tank was much closer now and it was trying to fire into the trenches to clear us out.
"Daniels!" I heard Zussman yell out. I looked over at the tank to see Daniels climbing on top of it and dropping thermite into the engine. The tank exploded which sent Daniels flying back, but it still looked like it was pretty much intact besides the fact it was on fire. It was suddenly shot at by something and we looked to our right to see one of our Sherman tanks rolling up.
"It's Perez!" Stiles exclaimed.
We thought that the Tiger tank's crew had been killed, but we had been wrong. Whoever was still alive inside was able to shoot at Perez's tank. I heard a groan in the distance and I could see dark figures through the smoke jumping out of the Sherman tank and retreating. Just when we thought we had a tank to help us out, it was snatched away from us.
I jumped out of the trench and barely realized that we had managed to clear the area of the reinforcements. I quickly ran over to the Tiger Tank to see two armed German soldiers crawling out from underneath it, but Turner ran up and shot them, not letting them get very far.
"It's okay. I've got you, son." Turner held his hand out to Daniels who was still on the ground.
All of a sudden, a gunshot rang out and Turner let out a groan, collapsing on top of Daniels.
"Lieutenant!" Daniels yelled, grabbing hold of Turner.
I was in so much disbelief as I stared at our wounded lieutenant. When I looked up at the tank again, a man in a black trench coat with a pistol in his hand was standing on top of it, speaking angrily in German. He didn't waste any time, quickly going over to Daniels and Turner and pointing his gun at Daniels' head. I realized he hadn't noticed me yet since I was on the side of the tank, but just as I was about to raise my gun to shoot him, Daniels took matters into his own hands and used Turner's pistol to kill the German.
"Turner!" Pierson ran up to us.
I watched as Daniels pushed Turner off of him and that's when I got a good look at all the blood soaking through Turner's coat as he lay on his back. I was distracted when I suddenly heard gunfire coming closer to our position.
"Enemy reinforcements! Fall back!" Pierson ordered.
"I'm not, not gonna make it. Leave me." Turner was breathing heavily. I ran over to him and Daniels looked up at me.
"L/N! You gotta save him!"
"I- I can't do anything unless I can examine it better. Just start dragging him back. We gotta get him out of here," I told him, feeling my panic rise. I wasn't sure if it was possible to drag a soldier, who's bleeding out, down a hill while we have reinforcements behind us. The trip down the hill was also worrying me because the rain was continuing to pour, even harder now, which means stepping the wrong way as we run down the hill could get some of us hurt, but we have to at least try and get Turner off this hill. He's done so much for us; It's the least we can do.
As Daniels began to drag Turner, the rest of us tried to shoot down as many Kraut reinforcements as we could, but they just kept coming. They were closing in on us and we were soon going to have no choice but to retreat.
Turner screamed out in pain as Daniels sat down against some sandbags, allowing Turner to lean against him. I crouched down next to them and noticed Turner had blood dripping down the side of his mouth. The color of his skin was beginning to drain and I knew there wasn't much time left before he'd start going unconscious.
"Lieutenant!" Zussman shrieked, his voice slightly cracking. He and Stiles had just jumped over the sandbags and joined us. "L/N, do somethin'!"
My hands immediately reached for Turner's coat to try and reveal the wound.
"No! It's no use!" Turner grabbed one of my hands. "Just promise me this...that you'll keep that good heart of yours, L/N, and that you'll keep...being the good soldier that you are."
"I...promise, sir." I gave him a small nod. A lump in my throat began to grow and I bit my lip to stop myself from crying.
"You gotta get our soldiers out of here!" Turner looked up at Pierson who had just run up to us.
"No, we can still make it."
"You have to- you have to retreat." Turner handed Pierson his Thompson, groaning in pain as he held his wound. He wanted Pierson to pull back the bolt for him.
"No, we ain't leavin' you here." Pierson pulled back the bolt. There was a slight pleading in his voice, wanting Turner to just let us take him.
"You get me up, I'll hold 'em off."
Pierson was quiet as he looked at the number of reinforcements coming closer to our position.
"You have to go. Go!" Turner yelled so the rest of the American soldiers near us could start retreating. He was still looking Pierson in the eyes.
"It was an honor," Pierson said with sadness in his voice, handing Turner back his gun.
"No sacrifice too great," Turner told him. "Go."
"Fall back!" Pierson ordered, getting up from his crouched position. The rest of us got ready to start retreating, except for Daniels who was still on the ground holding Turner.
"Sergeant!" Daniels looked up at Pierson with tears in his eyes and shook his head, refusing to leave Turner.
"Move! Move!" Zussman shouted at some other soldiers before grabbing hold of Daniels.
"Fall back! I said fall-," Pierson said in frustration, grabbing hold of Daniels as well. Together, he and Zussman were able to pull Daniels away from Turner.
"You can't do this! No!" Daniels cried out as he tried to break free from Pierson and Zussman's grip.
"That was an order, goddammit!" Pierson yelled at Daniels, continuing to pull him towards the bunker we had come into the trenches from.
Stiles and I began heading to the bunker alongside them, listening to Daniels' screams. I wanted to burst into tears as I listened to him, but I held them in. I refused to let myself look back at Turner because I was frightened to see what I didn't want to.
"No! ...No! ...No!"
We couldn't blame Daniels for trying to go back to get Turner. I'd say the rest of us were acting that way in our heads; I know I was, but we did what Turner wanted us to do and we left him. He sacrificed himself for us and I don't think I'll ever forget that; We all won't be able to.
We had just lost the man who treated us with respect from the moment we met him, the man who'd been like a father to us, and most importantly, the man who we looked up to. He's gone now and there's nothing we can do about that but keep on doing what we're told in order to end this war, hopefully, continuing to make him proud wherever he may be.
~ ~ ~
* "Rhineland": an area of Western Germany that goes along the Rhine river. It was demilitarized due to the Treaty of Versailles after WWI, meaning it couldn't have military forces occupying it, but Hitler went against the treaty and sent military forces there anyway before WWII started. It contributed to the growing tension in Europe that led to the start of WWII
* "convoy": a group of ships or vehicles traveling together, typically accompanied by armed troops, warships, or other vehicles for protection
* "mook": a stupid or incompetent person
* "Smokescreen": a cloud of smoke created to conceal military operations
* "battle dressing": a kind of bandage intended to be for immediate use in case of (typically gunshot) wounds
* "sulfa powder": Sulfa drugs, the first of which was discovered by Gerhard Domagk in 1932, are a group of synthetic drugs derived from sulfanilamide that are used to treat bacterial infections.
* "handie talkie": Its real name is the SCR-536 and it was a hand-held radio transceiver used in World War II. It is popularly referred to as a walkie talkie, but it was originally called a "handie talkie".
* "pillbox": a type of blockhouse, or concrete dug-in guard post, normally equipped with loopholes through which to fire weapons
This was honestly one of the hardest chapters I've written so far. I also didn't realize that this is the level where we lose the lovely Turner until I was halfway through the chapter omg. I cried towards the end since I had to rewatch his death :'( He was a great Lieutenant, so may he rest in peace. Now, we're in "Pierson's World" from here on out.
- Sam