//------------------------------//
// Chapter 3 Moving to battle 
// Story: Red Winter 
// by Bronycommander 
//------------------------------//


Chapter 3: Moving to battle




Nobody could say a word, just staring in shock and horror at the bodies.

“Oh…my…” Lily muttered, not able to believe what she saw. Her friends could only stare with horrified expressions.

They found themselves hugged by Casp. “Don’t look.” He said, and led them back to the tent, then got back to Alexander. “Who were they?”

The officer noticed that one of the bodies had a message in his mouth and pulled it out, reading it loud.

“I write to the swastika-painted walking dog der'mo cowering in the trenches in pools in their own urine in what little remains of their territory here in our motherland.

I come for you.

Receive now these three delusional Nazi trakhayetsya who died under my knives weeping for mercy and asking why their Fuhrer had forsaken them.

I told them why.

It is because the shambling, paranoid, syphilis-ridden konchil you hilariously call your 'Glorious Leader' made a grave oversight.

When he sent the goose-stepping armies of Germany's Overcompensation into Mother Russia, he didn't notice the bear in his path.

A she-bear with bloody claws.

The she-bear comes for you.

And you will be her meat.

Should you wish to escape her claws, I highly recommend putting a bullet in your head right now.

Maybe those flimsy armaments will work better at close-range seeing as how poorly they've defended you from us from afar.

I am here.

I am the She-Bear.

And I will tear you apart.

 

Yours sincerely, with the best of luck in the battles to come, Colonel Katyusha Kallistrovich of the 13th Artillery Regiment of the Soviet Armed Forces”

It was stamped with a crimson star-shaped seal of the hammer and sickle.

“Those men were commanders of a skirmishing force that went out to face Kallistrovich. Wilmut Von Fruttz; SS Sturmbannführer with a reputation for extravagant gestures and grand shows of the Nazi ideal. He once made an execution of a deserter last ten minutes with his posturing.

Narbert Selvian; Artillery Commandant. Once an academy rival of Gunther von Kluge, he was passed over for promotion and hoped to coddle favor with the SS recently.

Major-Count Clodyek Bielisti. Known among the ranks as 'The Silesian'. Impoverished Pro-Fascist Polish aristocrat and honorary Thule Society member. Said to be completely mad.”

“They never stood a chance,” Casp commented horrified.

The Kids could just stare in horror at what they heard. Whoever that Colonel was, she was definitely not to be underestimated and would not hesitate to kill.

It sounded like from a horror movie.

“I-I don’t want to end up like them…” Lily trembled at the thought before Dinky gave a hug with an assuring smile.

“Don’t worry, Casp and Alexander will make sure it won’t come to that.” Katja and Blau nodded with weak smiles.

Just as she said this, Casp walked in with a guilty expression. “I am so sorry you had to see this. But I’ll do everything I can to keep you safe. It’s the least I can do.”

Slowly, Lily started to smile weakly. “T-thanks…”

He waved a hand. “I am just doing what is right. Now, try to relax, a bit.” They nodded and played a round of Mau-Mau as he looked after Alexander, who was on a radio.

“Anything to report?” He asked his superior, who nodded.

“Yes. I received new orders, we’re moving out.”

“Okay. Still, we should get those children to safety as soon as possible. Is she gets them, who knows what will happen,” The interpreter shivered just to think if it but Alexander laid a hand on his shoulder.

“Don’t worry, I already work on it. Until them, we do our best to keep them safe. But, first, we have to free our vehicles from the mud. Damn mud.” He groaned and Casp rolled his eyes.

“Yeah… Always annoying…”

“Can I be of assistance?” Lily’s voice tore them out and they turned around in surprise, seeing her with an innocent smile.

“And how?” Alexander asked clueless before the filly grinned.

“Watch.” She walked up to one of the tanks, a Panzer III and pushed it. To their surprise, the tank slowly moved and was out of the mud, with the foal barely breaking a sweat as she did the same with the other tanks, not forgetting the Halftracks and trucks, with her three friends watching proudly.

“I guess her super strength has its advantages…” Alexander mumbled in surprise before he pointed to a 251 half-track and the kids got in with him and Casp. As the roof was covered by a thick canvas sheet, plus the half-track had heating, it was quite comfortable inside, despite the cold.

“Driver - a Reichsmark extra if you turn this around and head for Germany.” A soldier said as he entered the half-track too, together with three others, all armed with MP40s.

“First gear. Ja, ja, up and to the left.” They heard one of the crew members advising the half-track driver.

“Panzer III moving out.” One of the tank commanders informed on the radio before there was a cracking noise. “Stop with that junk, go!”

The journey was quiet, no enemy in sight, only the landscape and the rain until they drive past a deserted village with a farm after a while.

Dinky’s eyes and those of her friends went wide as they saw some children coming out of the hog house. They watched the German convoy with scared and desperate looks as he fought with the muddy terrain.

Their eyes became lively as Casp threw them some rations from the Halftrack. Strangely, they didn’t take the food right away but remained motionless until a little girl dared to come forward with a weak smile.

Neither Dinky now the other children could imagine the misery of the Soviet children, yet looked at Casp with smiles.

“That was very nice of you.” Dinky praised him and he sighed.

“I know and it’s the least I can do. We were told we would enter to free those people from the Bolsheviks and to create room to live here.” He let out a sneer and pointed at one of the buildings that were half collapsed. “Lebensraum? Who's gonna be left to live here?”

“You have pity for them?” Lily asked, it just slipped out.

“Yes, I had a friend once that is Russian-German, so it pains me what misery we cause to the Russian people. All that, just to defeat communism.” He lowered his head with another sigh.

Still, Dinky and the siblings looked at each other. Escher had told them once how brutal the Eastern Front was at times and because of that, he feared to get ever deployed here. Now they knew why.

Boom!

A loud explosion started them, the half-track rumbled from the shockwaves. “What was that?!” Lily yelled in alarm.

“Artillery! Everyone out!” Alexander ordered and they did as told, wasting no time.

Getting out, they pressed themselves against the transport as soldiers in khaki-colored uniforms with olive green helmet fired from both sides on the field.

“We must take out this artillery!” Stay behind us!” He yelled at the kids and they nodded, being covered by the other soldiers, a Panzer III joined them.

However, just as they got away from the fire, a whistle sounded and the tank exploded, only a burning wreck was left.

“Damn!” The officer cursed as they moved on, encountering a Soviet squad in a trench. “Lob a grenade and flush them out!” He ordered and as Casp went with two other soldiers and the kids behind a wrecked car as cover, he fired a rifle grenade.

The explosion took out the entire squad and they heard MG fire up ahead. Next to a bridge was a Soviet MG crew, firing a very old looking MG at some Germans that hid behind a stone wall.

“Soviet machine-gun has then pinned!” Alexander pointed out and aimed at the gunner.

Pulling the trigger, the bullet went right into the head. Blood splattered and the Russian fell backwards, startling his comrades.

They tried to aim at the Germans, with one trying to replace the gunner, but Alexander’s squad was faster, shooting them before they could do anything.

“Thanks!” The squad leader of the other squad said to them and pointed to a bridge, but a red flare was thrown on it.

“They have the bridge targeted. We must find another crossing.” The officer pointed out as artillery fire destroyed it.

Dinky noticed that Lily looked slightly scared around but put a brave face on. “You’re doing great.”

The Earth pony returned it as a railway bridge was just next to the normal bridge, a derailed train on the other side. The Germans took the MG squad that guarded the destroyed bridge by surprise, the children noticed how Casp aimed for the chest or head, realizing he wanted to give his enemies a quick and painless death.

After the Soviets were no longer a threat, Alexander pointed to a bulky looking rifle next to some Soviet supplies. “Casp, grab that Anti-tank rifle!” He did as told as they heard more artillery fire, getting louder. “I can hear the guns firing. We must be close.”

Barely he had spoken, they took cover behind two stone walls as more Russians blocked their way, firing behind sandbags.

The Germans returned fire, only to hear the sound of an engine, seeing an armored car driving up. For the kids, it looked like a converted truck as the turret was placed on its back.

“BA-10, take it out, Casp!” Alexander ordered and the Sergeant took aim. He fired at the engine, saying low to avoid it’s MG fire. After three shots, the car caught fire and exploded. The defenders retreated in disarray.

“We should flank them. Let’s go around those trees.” The officer suggested and his fellow soldiers nodded.

Just going around it, they spotted two howitzers, firing, guarded by two squads. The Soviets were completely taken by surprise, unable to react in time as the Germans opened fire, killing them quickly, also neutralizing the howitzers.

“Good job! That should take the pressure off the rest of our convoy. Now, let’s scout ahead, the Luftwaffe has bombed the area, so the enemy should have disappeared.” The officer said to his men.

To his word, there were no further enemies up ahead, coming past a trench the Soviets seemed to have given up before Lily’s ears peered up at another engine sounds. “Something’s coming.

Alexander’s eyes went wide as a small green colored tank came down the road. “Verdammt! T-26, into the trench, quickly!”

The tank fired, missing but the explosion still made the ears of the kids ring as they jumped in and pressed themselves against the wall and Casp took aim, firing the Anti-Tank rifle at the ammo rack and the T-26 caught fire, exploding in a small fireball.

“Damn Luftwaffe did a lousy job…again. You just have to do everything yourself.” Alexander mumbled with annoyance as it was over.

“One foot after the other, Kinder.” Alexander gave the kids a smile as they moved on.

After a short walk, the came to what looked like an abandoned camp of the Red Army. “They must have forgotten it in their hurry. Check for Booby-traps.”

They all did as told, even the kids, being very careful, but luckily, there were none. “Okay, we’ll make this our Forward base.” The officer smiled at the children. “You did well. Get some rest. You earned it.”

Lily was breathing heavily. “I-I don’t think I felt to such adrenaline before…”

“It’s okay. We felt the same in Africa.” Blau calmed her down with a weak smile.

After a short while, it started to snow, with the rest of the convoy arriving, having two more trucks in tow.

“Our winter gear, just in time. Casp commented with relief and changed his uniform with other soldiers. His Winter uniform was almost the same as his regular in color, save for a long coat, gloves and a scarf around his head. Some soldiers wore a white uniform for camouflage instead.

“Originally, the attack was planned for Spring, but as the Italians needed help in Africa, everything got delayed until summer. The goal was to capture Moskau before winter and…you saw how that went. The Red Army furthest into the front are normally the dregs of the 'motherland', usually conscripted straight from the gulags. But we need to watch our step from here on out. If we run into the She-Bear's lot, it'll be a very different story. One without a happy ending.” Casp explained.

“Okay…I guess we were lucky.” Lily replied before a shoulder looked inside what looked like a workshop.

“Hey! There’s a T-34 in there!”

The kids took a look, seeing a tank much larger than the T-26, roughly the same size as a Panzer III.

“It would make a good addition to our force,” Alexander commented and a tank crew entered it, starting the engine. Dinky and her friends saw how it drove out of the workshop, then stopped abruptly, the engine smoking.

“Damn Russian tank! We only got a couple of meters and it’s already given up the ghost!” The commander of the crew cursed and Alexander sighed.

“Was worth a try. I guess it was here for repairs.”

“Hey, what’s that?” Katja pointed to something in the distance, it looked like the top of a tower.

“Must be the spires of the Kremlin. It’s a miracle we came so far with this weather.” The officer replied.

Still, all children let out a sigh, relieved that they made were so far okay and hoped Fletcher soon catch up to them.

Lily caught her breath, huddled in her winter gear, wiping her moistening muzzle. She hoped she wasn't catching a cold, her three friends did too.

Then a voice called up. “Message from command for you, sir.” A thin, pale, nervous-looking man with a radio strapped to his back walked up to Alexander and gave him the earpiece.

“Thanks, Mardner.” Alexander said, then spoke into the earpiece, “Yes? Acknowledged, command, I move out a once and we secured an enemy camp.” Alexander gave the earpiece back and turned to Casp. “Command wants me to take the tanks to assist a nearby unit further up ahead. You hold this position, the children stay with you for their safety.”

“Alright, good luck!”

As the tanks moved out, the Sergeant checked his pocket for a cigarette, tired of seeing his own breath in vapor out his mouth but decided against it for the sake of the children.

Looking around, he saw an expanse of sheer white hills, surrounded by a wall of thin, pale winter-worn trees before them, the gaps between them black as night.

“Any idea where we are exactly?” He asked the radioman.

“Hold on, let me get the map."

As Mardner fumbled with his equipment, Casp groaned and slapped his forehead hard.

"Don’t tell me we’re took a wrong turn or something!"

“Hold on, sir. I think I've worked it out." Mardner piped up, "We're not too far. Those forests over there tell us where we are." He pointed to the tress "So that would put us here!"

"No. We're facing west of the forests, not south."

"Are you sure?" Mardner reached for a compass as Casp facepalmed a second time.

"Ja. You're right, sorry sir." he mumbled "So that would put us a bit further away but if we just acro-"

Bang!

Lily, Dinky, Blau and Katja blinked on impulse as the sudden sharp cracking sound cut through the winter wind.

Casp stared as Mardner jolted suddenly, the navigator's face twisting morbidly.

The map had a hole in it.

And so did Mardner.

Lily and her three friends screamed as the man fell dead, painting the snow below his head with blood and brains.

One of the others gave a yell.

"Snipers! In the for-"

More bangs filled the air and all hell broke loose.

Eight men died at once, flailing or flying back as the forests fired lead from the shadows.

"Get to cover! All of you!" Casp bellowed as the soldiers scrambled for safety. They fired back, uncertain if they hit anything. The trees splintered or scraped at their shots but held firm.

"We're not going to hit anything at this rate." Casp said, shaking his head "Bring up the heavy fire. Flush them out."

Three men with an anti-tank gun stepped forward.

It was the wrong decision.

A hellish rattling rang in the childrens' ears as lead rained down, peppering the snow and six men upon it, two weapon crew among them. The last one managed to duck and scanned the horizon.

A Maxim gun, half-hidden in the hilltop, was firing its rounds from up-high.

"Take that thing out! Now!"

Some soldiers manned the broken T-34, taking aim, and in the distance, Lily and the others saw two men in thick beige coats jump free of the machine gun as the shell hit home.

"Reload fast. We're pinned down." Casp ordered as his ear pricked.

A yell came from behind the smoking Maxim gun.

One of its operators, maybe both of them, were signaling someone.

Someone above.

There was a screech.

Piercing the grey haze, faint dots appeared in the sky, steadily expanding.

His heart felt grabbed by cold talons as he positively screamed a warning.

"Katyushas! Get down!"

Fire leapt out of the ground where the missiles hit. The T-34 went up in flames along with four others, screaming as the cold of Russia's winter was suddenly, painfully robbed from them.

A rocket hit right next to the kids, the explosion blasted them away.

Lily cried in pain as she rolled around before coming to a stop. Her entire body ached, vision bury, ears ringing, barely able to see her friends next to her, also lying on the ground, dazed.

Despite her blurry vision, she could see another explosion. Three men in front were practically shattered by the blast, falling to pieces all around their compatriots who struggled for breath and vision as the smoke cleared.

A rumbling sound filled the air.

The children’s eyes went small as a line of tanks came down from the fold, T-34's by the looks of them, but modified somewhat. Painted camo white and grey and fitted with a toothy metal snow pusher that opened up to form a two-foot barrier on either side of their front. Two or three Soviets with rifles were marching along behind them, guns at the ready.

A big silhouette stood atop the closest tank recklessly and rained leaden death from an automatic rifle, roaring with laughter. Despite their ringing ears, they could hear it faintly.

"Welcome to Russia, you sons of bitches!" he hooted.

Alongside him, his comrades gave out yells and curses which he, as an interpreter, knew well.

"Die screaming, you Nazi pigs!"

"Justice for Leningrad!"

"The She-Bear will have your blood!"

Then a man stumbled in front of them, apparently dazed, yet managed to hold up a hand in a protective stance.

“Casp…” All four managed to say in unison before they saw him getting knocked out.

A faint voice ringed in her ears and she looked up to see a silhouette before her. She could only recognize it was female by the shape before everything became black.