Twilight drummed her fingers along the large oak table with mild irritation mixed with a dash of worry. Her eyes scanned over the map of Equestria that was spread before her with several pieces the size of chess pieces scattered about the land. Each piece either had a red or blue flag with the latter being what had worried her the most. Her gaze eventually landed on a certain small town labelled as Ponyville, atop of it a single piece with a blue flag. With a slow reach out she ran her pointer finger over the the small carved intricate design of the wooden pony. A explosion rocked the dirt loose from the nearby bookshelf as it also drew Twilight's gaze to the surrounding three pieces that held red flags.
The noise around her finally filtered back into her conscious as ponies dressed in a olive drab uniforms scurried around. The basement of the library had been turned into a makeshift HQ for the 232nd Equestrian Militia Regiment. Like the name insinuates, the 232nd was made up of almost all hastily drafted citizens to defend their homeland. Hell, even most of Ponyville was completely absorbed into the regiment. This fact made Twilight uneasy knowing somewhere on the front line were her friends in various positions fighting for their lives.
The Changelings had them encircled to the point where even air support was deemed impossible. The last report that she held in her hands was second only to her friends, to which she kept fighting for. It was directly lettered to her from both Princes Celestia and Princess Luna. They were marshalling the entire Equestrian Military for the counter attack but they needed time. Ponyville and countless other villages were to mount any and all defences until the army lead by the Princess sisters could arrive. Several have fallen and now the swarm was on Ponyville's doorstep. Their constant chittering and screeching howling through the night.
Another explosion shook the tree again causing everyone inside besides Twilight to look up in silence.
“Keep working. The Anti-Artillery spell is still in effect,” Twilight ordered without looking away from the board. The few staff she still had nodded their heads and continued upon their tasks. “For now,” Twilight continued though under her breath not daring to let any of the others to hear such morale crushing words.
The spell generated over the inner town was possibly the only thing from keeping her entire regiment from falling apart. Ponyville citizens had heart, she never doubted it, but they were vastly outnumbered even if Ponies were generally better fighting force. The Changelings had artillery, massive amount of infantry and assorted heavy weaponry now dug in. Her scouts constantly report of the heavy chargers being marshalled which meant Chrysalis wishes to start her assault like any traditional Changeling plan of attack. Heavies go in first followed by waves of infantry.
Twilight was prepared as she had ordered the small town to be turned into a fortified position with machine guns that covered interwoven arcs of fire. Their positions heavily enforced both by magic and by good old fashioned work. Sandbags lined walls and many doors were booby trapped to dissuade any assault troops from entering or at least to give the occupants a heads up that enemies were now inside. Mines, both anti-personnel and anti-tank were placed to funnel many of the bugs into the machine guns fire. Every house, every pile of rubble, even the low flying clouds held rifleponies.
Ponyville may fall in this siege but the blood of Changelings will flood the sewers by the that time.
Unbeknownst to Princess Twilight, a few pair of foreign eyes spied upon her town from a well hidden spot. A whisper were passed upon the two men as they observed through binoculars at the town's defiant resistance to the invaders.
“Ja, we have found them,”
Panzerobergrenadier Karl Drossel
Panzergrenadier-Lehr-Regiment 902
II. Battalion – II. Kompanie
They have been moving while in the tight confines of their Sd.Kfz.251 half track trying to either get some sleep or simply smoke. Karl was staring up into the bright sky noticing how the day was so beautiful. It was still early in the year but the spring was eagerly welcomed after the last winter. His gaze caught something peculiar though which caused him to squint. He thought he saw a faint rainbow effect wash over them in an almost bizarre subtle fashion. He quickly gazed around to his other squad mates but they didn't show any signs of noticing.
Karl simply just rubbed his eyes and continued to think nothing of it.
Just a trick of the mind.
His eyes turned upwards once more and noticed that something was now for sure wrong. The clear early spring skies were now cloudy.
“What in the. . .,” Karl spoke as he pushed the brim of his helmet up to get a better look.
“What's wrong, Drossel?” a voice called back to him which caused his head to turn to his gruppenführer, Unterfeldwebel Lukas Kayserling.
Karl and Lukas were an odd pair. The two had served in the eastern front together in a grenadier battalion with nothing really special about either. It was on a cold night however that Lukas noticed that the young grenadier Karl Drossel looking up into the night sky. It was a quiet night but it all changed when Karl slowly looked over to him and simply muttered, 'They're here'. Not even five minutes later did a long sharp whistle blast echo throughout the woods.
There was too many and they were everywhere.
It was there on foreign soil as a brand new squad leader that Lukas thought he was to be killed. His MP 40 ran dry and as a man no older than him levelled his Mosin-Nagant rifle, he closed his eyes in acceptance. His cloudy fate tricked him that day however as his would be executioner fell to his knees in disbelief. Lukas opened his eyes to noticed that Karl stood behind the man, one hand still clutching the bloody bayonet and the other his trusty rifle.
That day, the battle was not to be won but a lesson was learned.
Karl exchanged knowing looks with his squad leader with out a single word in response. The squad members that were still awake and not in depth with their own conversation now looked at the quiet senior member of the squad. The all knew him as Stolperdraht, Tripwire. His uncanny sense was something to be heeded. The young soldier however simply just shook his head which caused many in the vehicle to slowly breath out in relief. Superstition wasn't rampant in the company but it was hard to argue with what he did.
Another hour went by in the same fashion until the convoy was halted.
Lukas stirred from his own rest to notice Karl giving him the gaze that sent a shiver up his own spine.
“They're here,”
Every other soldier in that half track suddenly shifted as their grasp on their own weapons tightened as Lukas peered over the edge of the half-track to see that to the columns right was a wooded area but to their left was an open field surrounded by thick tree line. Lukas was desperately trying to pick up some sort of indication of an enemy attack but nothing could be heard besides the multiple engines. Was it partisans? Did they honestly have that much swinging brass to attack a division convoy?
“Unterfeldwebel!” a voice shouted out which caused the mentioned man to look at a younger member of the squad pointing towards the distance. Behind the tree line was a cloud of dark smoke rising in the distance. The squad leader cupped a hand over his eyes and noted that it was rather close, closer than he'd like.
In a rush, orders were passed down the entire battalion as trucks, half tracks and other vehicles were ushered into cover of the nearby forest. The next hour was a confusing period of reports and defensive lines. Scouts were pushed out and what they found was beyond believable. Creatures of some sort of sick twisted sense of humour were besieging a small town. They vastly outnumbered the German Panzergrenadier battalion but they also didn't seem to notice their arrival. How these creatures even appeared in northern France was beyond the officers but the fact remained that it was a possible danger to the Division.
It was at that moment that the mysteries started to pile up but only known to the battalion's higher ranked staff. Radio contact with the rest of the division was almost non-existent and their maps were now almost useless. They had perfectly tracked their progress in western Europe but now they were no where near where they should be. All of this threw the Officers in a spin but as the night steadily approached, it was decided to wait till morning to venture forth to find the rest of the division.
It was the night that bathed all of the new comers in a baptism of fire.
“Alarm!”
Karl stood in shock as his chest heaved at the sight before him. His shoulder twitched with the adrenaline as his heart threatened to burst from within. He pulled his hands up to see the green lick ichor that had splattered over his hands. The half crescent moon above bathed his shallow trench with a grim light but it did not deny any on looker to which the disturbed dirt now held.
“Karl!”
The young man twitched when his name was called. It was the moment where he seemed to collect his nerves and reached down to grab the wooden shaft of his entrenching tool.
Said tool was now deeply embedded into the throat of those Käfer.
“Soldaten, report!” the voice called out again with much more persistence.
Karl placed a boot on the creatures chest and pulled until the make shift weapon was freed from it's deadly scabbard. The creature's head wobbled to the side showing very little actually keeping it connected to the rest of the torso. The lone German soldier didn't bother examining any further as he moved his way to the man who was slumped over still. He snaked his fingers around his arm to turn him over only to see several small black shards protruding from his chest and two lifeless eyes looking back up at him.
“One of the Käfer made it's way into our trench, Unterfeldwebel! Eckehard is dead!” Karl shouted back as he quickly let his training take place once more. He ran his fingers over his friend's eyes to let him sleep in peace and then pulled the stielhandgranate from Eckehard's belt. His friend's fight was now over but Karl's was about to start in earnest. In the low moonlight, he breached the top of his trench slowly just enough to see the surrounding area swashed with interweave laps of fire from the machine guns. He raised his own Kar 98k and rested it on the dirt for the most stable firing position.
It wasn't long until he noticed a shape moving in the dark. It was only for a second and he almost missed it in the long cast shadows. It almost seemed like a shadow but when his instinct kicked him figuratively in the ass, he ducked only a second before the area that used to hold his head was churned apart by the same black crystalline shards that had gutted the poor lad beside him. Immediately after the incoming projectiles, Karl rose again and levelled his rifle at the approaching shadowy figure that now froze in it's own steps.
A small half breath out and a gentle squeeze of the trigger passed in a fated moment as the rifle kicked controllable into the shoulder. The round left the barrel and just as aimed, it punctured through the creature to spill it's bright green luminescent blood in a splatter.
Karl didn't even watch the body fall before lowering himself again and working the bolt action to load another casing into the chamber.
The bastards were perfect night fighters. The black, bug like shell didn't reflect light and their dark grey skin easily meld with natural shadows. It also didn't help that they had this uncanny ability to meld with the shadows. The only thing that made their position even slightly advantageous was that the creatures didn't have any Panzers to break through the hastily dug trenches.
Karl took another brief moment to look over the edge of his trench to see that his area was clear. With that he took out all the grenades he had on him and let them rest on the trench wall with the caps mostly twisted off. He was down to only himself within this trench and the last thing he wanted to do was possibly kill himself because he wasted time on grenade primers. Seeing his preparations were done he noticed that the platoon machine guns had gone quiet. In fact, everything was quiet.
It was an awkward moment when not a living thing but your very own breath and roaring heart beat was all that could be heard. Karl tried to fight it by taking long, deep breathes as he scanned his arcs. It was then that a loud, night piercing screech echoed out for all to hear.
Like a wave of shadows, they ran through the trees with weapons firing bursts inaccurately. The black shard projectiles spraying over and before the trenches in an almost wild abandon as the bug like creatures advanced. The approaching wave meet no resistance until the order was given across the line.
“Feuer!”
The night was suddenly set afire as the machine guns opened up with angels of death singing a choir quite beautiful. The black carapace they wore seemed to provide little protection against the rifle rounds and like an unorganized mass they were cut down. Karl had joined in the fray himself as he watched the attack with a sharp eye. The enemy was something of an oddity to him. There was no individual characteristic among them, either by height, weight or voice. They were almost all the exact same.
Except for one.
The lone one watched behind the trees with a odd shaped black, jagged crown atop it's head but otherwise was no different from the rest. Karl's eyes instantly focused as he began his easy breathing, the rifle becoming a steady weight in his hands. His iron sight rested with the picture of the lone suspected bug officer as the target. Karl slowly squeezed the trigger until the weapon recoiled into his shoulder.
The bullet found it's deadly mark as the creature's head snapped back, the crown now much more illuminated with the blood of it's now deceased owner.
Karl watched all of it with a small smile before working the rifle's bolt action to load another round. He found his next target running towards his position but also noticed an odd behaviour. The wave of Käfer were now running in several different directions. While some had did a 180 and completely abandoned the field of battle, others seemed to almost go berserk. They charged with wild abandon into the trench lines only to be meet with a mixture of hardened veterans and newly trained recruits.
Lukas greeted one such rage possessed enemy as it jumped into the occupied trench with a closed fist. His trench mate, panzergrenadier Alfred, raised his rifle and quickly struck with the butt into the creatures back causing it to stumble forward. Lukas, spotting the opening, gave the creature a quick shove into the dirt wall and then raised his MP 40. The burst of the sub machine gun punched through the creature almost point blank causing the blood to spray out onto the squad leader. The illuminating blood ran down the wounds as the creature fell to the ground with a slump.
Alfred nodded with satisfaction before returning his attention to the enemy approach that was falling apart. The few who didn't retreat beyond the trees were cut down without hesitation. Lukas waited a moment before calling for his squad. Names were checked off with only Eckehard being the one absent. Ammo was being redistributed across the line and runners had their work cut out for them as they ferried both ammo and messages. The machine gunners checked their weapons and if needed, changed their barrels.
All of this ended when another screech filled the air.
Morning had finally arrived for the battalion and with it, much welcomed visitors.
Panzer IVs moved inside the large defensive perimeter and further emboldened the position along with the rest of the pioneers and supply kompanies. Many of the new comers had to take a moment to witness the the pure destruction wrought in one single night. Hundreds of the weird enemy corpses laid still in the early morning light. A cheer had arisen from the weary panzergrenadiers as they all finally managed to see friendly faces and the very welcomed supply trucks. The cheer was allowed to set in for but a moment before officers were making their orders known. Positions were issued to the arriving panzers and pioneers had gotten to work on assembling a proper defensive line.
All higher ranking officers and platoon leaders were ordered to attend a meeting.
Oberleutnant Engel Ritter was one of those officers as he left his second in command to set up proper defensive lines for the rest of the kompanie. He however sat at a make shift table that sat upon a barrel and atop it was a crudely drawn map. While the table only had a handful of chairs with men of appropriate rank sitting around it, many more men stood in a circle around it with something to write with and on. Engel turned to his right and left to acknowledge the men surrounding him.
Major Uwe Wach of the pioneer battalion sat with a rigid back almost as if the Führer himself was about to step forth from the crowd of men. His greying hair almost hid the dark black of his natural colour but his most defining feature was the ugly scar that traced across his right cheek. Engel didn't bother asking but he knew there was bound to be a story worth that scars weight.
Next was Major Erich Leiber. He had his arms crossed over his chest but his glare upon the map was anything but hidden. He lead the Panzergrenadier II. Battalion of the Panzergrenadier Lehr regiment and by the look on his aged face, he seemed to get not a single wink of sleep.
The last man sitting at the table, and possibly oldest, was Oberstleutnant Thorwald Viermetz. He was slightly thicker than the rest of the men, especially around the gut, but it didn't demean his overall presence of authority. While being the highest rank present among the assembled officer core, he was in charge of the Panzer-Versorgungstruppen 130, or otherwise the supply for the entire division. He was not a stupid man in the slightest and already made it clear to all of the senior men before the platoon leaders assembled in as well. He was going to leave all combat oriented decision making towards Major Erich Leiber.
“That being said, gentlemen, I still must point out our supply problem,” Thorwald spoke as the Officer meeting had officially begun. “As I am sure everyone here is aware, we have no clue where we are with an unknown threat. Ammo and fuel must be conserved till we can establish proper lines with the division and that with the rest of the Army group,”
Not a single officer there could argue that blunt statement.
“Agreed. While we do have fuel trucks to resupply the halftracks, trucks and panzers, trying to ration will only do us well later on if need be,” Uwe spoke without losing his rigid posture.
“I trust all of us know how to conserve our resources but that is not what concerns me, Sirs,” Engel broke the thought train as he pointed onto the map. “We have an enemy barely outside of artillery range with numbers staggeringly higher than ours at our current strength. We have no clue where the rest of the Division is nor have we seen another person civilian or otherwise,”
“Yes, Oberleutnant, while supply will become a risk, it is time we decide on our immediate future,” Major Erich spoke as he nodded towards the youngest of the senior staff. “My men have begun calling the damnable creatures Käfer which is an accurate description. From here on, I will describe them as so. Attention to the map, gentlemen,”
Engel listened in as he too leaned in along with the rest of the officers. Erich had begun to describe what his own recce element had described to him. The enemy had at least four regiments of infantry spread out in a complete circle around the moderate sized town. It was an encirclement and that was no lie. Ever since Stalingrad, the Wehrmacht had a chip on their shoulder about such predicaments. Many veterans from Stalingrad who managed to escape it's clutches knew they were lucky. Engel however pushed such thoughts from his head as he paid attention to the briefing.
“Another thing our recce units have been able to tell is the inhabitants are protected from artillery fire by some kind of a bubble,” the Major finished with pursed lips as if even saying the sentence was a hurdle.
“A bubble?”
“Ja. It seems to stop indirect fire from actually entering the town however it seems any direct fire methods still produce results,”
Engel made a motion to raise his hand to gather the mens attention. “And the civilian populace? Are they consisting of these Käfer as well?”
Major Erich Leiber took a moment to wipe his forehead from any accumulated sweat before answering.
“Now listen here. I am reporting this as my men have seen it with both their own eyes and that of their own optics. The populace within the town are humanoid but nothing like the beings we have dealt with so far. The men described to me that they almost seemed to be a mix of Human and Equine,”
A quietness filled the area as eyes of disbelief were exchange everywhere.
“Trust me. I did not believe it myself and ordered a completely different crew to go recon the same area only to return with the exact same report. The populace have ears atop of their head and range multiple colours underneath their uniforms. They are armed with small arms and what we expect are machine guns of equivalent calibre. Perhaps, after seeing these Käfer perhaps horse people are not so far fetched,”
None of the lower ranked officers dared to say anything but the awkward tension in the air could be cut with a bayonet.
“Putting that aside, does either side have any armour or armour defeating properties?” Engel asked trying to re-direct the conversation back to the obvious threat.
“From what we can tell, the Käfer have only light infantry, artillery batteries and those large creatures that you have already ran into. So far the count is in the twenties for the Behemoths. The horse people seem to have only militia assembled weaponry and from what the men can tell, poor training but high morale,”
“It is safe to assume that the push into the town will be very soon,” the pioneer commander muttered as he tapped his finger on the town described in the map.
“That is assuming that they don't see us as a threat. We have Scharfschütze that are making sure to keep most of the enemy scouting units at bay which may work to our advantage,” The Panzergrenadier officer spoke up as everyone could see the gears begging to grind away within his mind. “Platoon leaders, it is now,” Erich gazed at his own watch. “0655, meet back here at 0720,”
A wave of salutes were given as Engel and the sitting officers watched the men leave the small temporary HQ area. As one they all turned back in to look down at the map.
“Sir, are you suggesting that we attack the encirclement?” Engel spoke with a slow smile tugging at the edges of his lips.
“I think it is safe to say that we are not in Europe any more,” the Major responded with a more somber expression than the younger officer. “With that being said, we need to crush the opposition with both mobility and fierce firepower. Does anyone have any objections to this notion?”
The table was silent for a moment as the men gave some thought to their situation.
“We can perhaps turn this to our advantage and relieve some of our supply problems,” Thorwald spoke up which drew many of the others curious gaze.
“The enemy of my enemy is my friend,” Engel spoke out as he tapped on the same town as before. “If it is true, and we are in a foreign land, we need to establish some form of supply before we starve to death,”
“It is decided then. We break the siege and crush the enemy from their rear,”