"Battle of the Bulge"
Chapter 1
“Battle of the Bulge”
The cold mountain wind moved slowly. From the top of the tall pine trees of the region of Ardennes in the western front, to the final year of World War 2. Still, the silence of the prelude to battle covered entirely the region. No animals stirred, the cold snow and freezing air blinded, not letting much be seen. Still, American troops were stationed there. After all, the war had gone now pushed more towards Germany and the Americans were slowly leaving that zone. The commanders of the troops were not expecting anything, at least not at the moment.
The tents of the small camp of soldiers that were defending that part moved with the wind as storm clouds approached; It was not going to be a good weather that day. The commanding officer stood alone, wearing a heavy winter military coat. His dark mustache covered in small frost as was his hair made him look, in a way, more intimidating than what he really was. He overlooked what he could from where he stood. A tent stirred as a private got out of it. He saw the officer and walked over.
“Sir.” He said as he walked beside him. The officer only acknowledged his presence by nodding slightly. “Nasty weather we got coming, no?” The officer smiled.
“Yes.” He said. The private stared around as well, overseeing everything around. It seemed so peaceful and so calm. There was no way the Germans would ever attack them. First, their aerial support would spot them as they approached, and these horrible conditions made it even more difficult to mount an attack. The private smiled at the thought of a nice, calm evening. The officer noticed his smile and shook his head.
“Don´t be fooled by the actual conditions private. War is not as predictable as many think it is. Who knows what the Germans would dare to do, especially now that were getting closer.” As he spoke, the wind began to howl as it became stronger. The officer´s hairs moved slightly as it passed him. The private shivered as he noticed he did not have a big coat on, but rather a small camo jacket. He looked around and shook his head.
“I believe the Germans are just too busy planning their defense they will not attack, and if they do, they will in better conditions.” He walked towards the tents. He hugged himself, trying to keep some heat as he entered into the nice, warm insides of the tent. The officer only glanced at him for a second and then resumed his watch. There was something in the air… something that made his mind uncomfortable.
After being so long in the war, he knew for some reason when things were about to get ugly, but still he knew if there was no proof of it, he couldn't bother his troops. Probably it was just a small concern which would go off in no time. Still…
He was going to turn around when he heard a bumming sound… a sound which only meant one thing.
“Artillery!!!” He shouted. Immediately shouts began to be heard across the camp. Men got out of their tents as more explosions were heard. The officer looked around to see if everyone was doing what was necessary. So far so good. He turned and inspected where the artillery was. The 6th panzer division was in that direction, and there had been recent attacks against it, so it probably was a counterattack. Still, this looked slightly more than a counterattack. He turned to look at the road they were supposed to be protecting. He walked over to a private.
“Private! We need to secure the road. If Germans are coming they will try to pass their tanks through there!” He said shouting over the thundering sound of explosions. The private nodded and ran off towards some other soldiers. The officer turned again at the direction fromm where the artillery was firing from. This could not be good…
Just then, one of the rounds of artillery fell within the camp. The officer covered himself as the deafening explosion sent some tents flying and created a crater in the middle. He quickly stood up and ran towards it.
“Men! Check for wounded!!!” He shouted. Immediately his men were running around.
“Medic!!” Shouted one. Other were helping some which had not been injured badly. The officer stared at the place where the artillery piece had fallen.
“Sir, Edward and Mc´konor are dead. Privates Stephen and Nicholas are wounded.” The officer nodded.
“See that the doctor checks them.” He said. The soldier saluted and ran off. The officer looked back towards where the artillery was coming from.
This could not be good…
* * * *
Finally the shooting stopped and the soldiers greeted with smiles the silence that followed after the last explosion. The officer was less enthusiastic.
“Men! Take position beside the road.” Everyone stopped cheering and went back to their duties. Some carried big machine guns towards the road as others single weapons. The officer cursed under his breath that they had been sent here with such a low number of soldiers. A hundred and fifty one; That wasn't good, considering that if there was indeed a German attack it would be much greater.
He picked his own gun and walked towards the road. In there they had placed a barricade and men prepared. Everyone finally fell silent.
That’s when the snowstorm began.
The officer cursed again and prepared his gun. There would be no air support. He then walked over to the radioman and told him to dial the command post. They only received static. This was absolutely NOT good. He walked over again to the barricade and prepared. Again everything turned silent. After an hour of waiting everyone was tired. They now thought no one was coming.
That´s when they heard the tank.
As a long barrel of a panzer tank suddenly appeared over a small hill where the road passed a man shouted.
“Tank!” Everyone turned stiff. The officer signaled the men that had an anti-tank gun to prepare. That´s when they saw the second tank… then the third. Men began to talk quietly. He knew what they were saying. This stand was hopeless.
Still, it had been their orders to defend that road at all costs, and so at all costs he was going to defend it.
“Men! Take aim!” He shouted. Everyone readied their guns. As soon as German soldiers began appearing over the hill, they began to fire. The Germans, which had been in a line, soon dropped their formations and began to shout as they returned fire.
The officer shoot some times before analyzing the situation. He nodded at the anti-tank guns as they fired. One of the tanks exploded in a hell of fire and smoke. The other two aimed at the barricade. As soon as the officer gave the order of firing again the gun, the two tanks fired. The barricade went flying in pieces. Shouts of men were heard all around as some fell wounded or killed. The doctor ran towards the scene with an escort. The officer looked around. This battle was heavily lost. They were outnumbered by the hundreds. Blame the commanders and their intelligent decisions. Still, he saw that somehow the Germans had fallen into disarray themselves. If he could somehow use that to his own advantage…
The tanks fired again, this time close to the officer. He was sent flying back, and as he landed he felt a sharp pain in the head and everything went black…
* * * *
“Attack!” shouted an officer. The German private prepared his gun to the great battle that would be fought. He saw the Americans ready for them, but they were lesser in number. They were going to win this. He shouted along his comrades as they advanced, shooting at them. He loaded his gun three times as he advanced, as well as his fellow soldiers. He saw some fall at the enemy´s guns, but he also saw the Americans fall. This was going better than he had anticipated. He was loading again when an explosion was heard and he felt everything suddenly turn hot. After that, he felt the soft grass and then no more…
* * * *
His head ached terribly as he opened his eyes. The blinding light of the sun made him need to close them up again. Sun? In the middle of winter? That was new. He also felt heat, extreme heat due to his own winter coat. He opened his eyes and managed to keep them open this time. He sat and took off his jacket. As he did so, he saw his surroundings.
If one thing he was sure was that he was no longer in Ardennes. All around him he saw some trees and a forest nearby, and no snow. He stood up and breathed in and then out. He looked around and saw his rifle a few feet from him. He picked it up and began walking. He remembered his coat but continued moving on. He would not need it here and it would only prove to be a burden.
Then he heard the groan of another person close by. He turned and saw what he didn´t wanted to see: German soldier. He aimed his gun just as the soldier saw him. The German looked at his own rifle, then at the American officer. He moved so fast the officer fired his gun second late, missing by a lot. The German picked his own rifle and pointed it at the officer. Both stared at each other, none firing nor saying a word. Finally the German spoke. His accent was strong, but his English easily understandable.
“Where is this plade?” He asked, making “place” sound strange. The officer shrugged slightly.
“I had hopes you knew.”
Bothe kept on looking at each other. None moved a single muscle. Minutes passed, and still, nothing.
Finally the American groaned. “Look, I can do this all day, but that doesn't mean that I want to. Why don't we just drop this.” He immediately regretted saying that. He had said that at a German?! How low he had placed himself. The German seemed slightly confused.
“Mmm… I… I agreed vith you.” He said, again, making the “with” sound weird. Still, the American didn't cared.
The German soldier lowered his rifle. The American lowered his seconds later.
“Now, I´d like to know where in hell are we.” The officer said. The German nodded.
“Thame here.” He said. The American stopped paying attention to the weird accent he could speak as he wanted.
“Alright. I propose a truce. You don't kill me, I don´t kill you.” The officer said. The German nodded. “Perfect.” He moved his hand towards him.
The German hesitated, but ended up shaking it.
“I´m officer Davis, by the way.” The German nodded.
“My name is Louis.” The German said.
Davis nodded. “Alright, now to see where are…” He stopped as he noticed a… WHATTHEHECKWASHTAT???!!!
Louis also stared in shock at what they were watching, because right there, in front of them, was a pastel colored horse… no, pony. It was smaller than a horse. The creature stared at them the same way. The three didn't said anything.
Finally the… thing… spoke.
“Mmm… I guess you are not from around here…”
"Battle of the Bulge"
