Ok people pop some popcorn, grab a beer and get comfortable, cause here it is the thrilling conclusion to; "The Great War-Northern Front"
Chapter 10
“The euphoria swept the nation like a plague. The years of hard work and sacrifice had finally paid off. Banks and Schools were closed for a week straight as the country celebrated the end of the war.”
-Pg. 632 from a High School History book circa 1963
Military Cemetary just north of Cambridge
February 6th, 1909
2 Miles South of New Karachi
Sam stared at what used to be New Karachi; all that remained were several extremely large piles of rubble. What the artillery hadn’t leveled the continuous fires had. It didn’t look like anything could have possibly survived. But through a pair of field glasses, you could see movement in the ruins. Now instead of a thousand defensive positions, there were a million. Sam sighed, this was going to be a lot harder then it needed to.
Joe walked up next to Sam and looked at the city for himself, “Well, looks like we are going to earn our pay on this one.”
“Looks like it, sure glad that we are not the unlucky bastards that have to go in first.”
The two men turned around and looked at the soldiers of the first wave. There before them was a group of several hundred men dimly lit by several campfires; most of them green as the money in their pockets. Their hands wrapped around their knees as tight as possible. They would visibly shake with each crash of the artillery. Some had managed to get some paper and were trying to write letters, a few were in tears.
Joe slowly shook his head, “My god, what a waste.”
“Better them then us.”
Joe looked at his watch, “The sun will start to rise soon, shouldn’t be too long now.”
As if on cue a captain emerged from a nearby tent and nodded to a sergeant, it was time. One by one the attacking soldiers got up, grabbed their weapons, and moved to the forward positions. The on-looking veteran’s stood on both sides of the advancing troops, forming an impromptu honor guard.
As the units started the advance on the city, the artillery, which had subsided for a moment, started up again at full force. Shells were falling all over the line of advance, thoroughly confusing the remaining Indian defenders. After 5 minutes the guns stopped and the field was eeriely silent.
The sun started to peak above the horizon as the first wave reached the defenders. The silence was shattered by the sounds of the Indians opening fire. The white puffs of the muskets seemed to come from every opening in the rubble. Many attackers fell as the rest broke into a full charge.
The final battle had begun.
February 15th, 1909
New Karachi
“Sniper!” Yelled Joe.
The entire unit immediately dove for any cover they could find. The screams of the man that had been hit echoed through the narrow street.
Joe peeked around the corner of the building he took cover from; a puff of smoke was slowly dissipating from a large pile of rubble about 20 yards down the road from him. Suddenly the brick 2 feet above his head exploded as the sound of the second shot resonated through the air. Joe snapped back around the corner and yelled, “Careful there is more then one! Jones where are you hit?”
Jones didn’t answer, he just screamed
“Ok, sit tight we’ll get to you soon. Did anybody see where that second shot came from?”
Sam replied, “Yea, about 5 yards to the left of the first one.”
“Ok, everybody listen up, on my signal I want Alpha squad to lay down fire on that pile of rubble. The rest of you move up to the next intersection. Then you will lay down covering fire as Alpha advances. Everyone understand?”
The platoon barked out a series of “Rogers”.
“OK, COVERING FIRE!”
The men went into action, the platoon of veterans carried out the orders to the letter. Soon the platoon had advanced up to the pile of rubble and were searching for the snipers. They found one body, shot through the head.
“Damn, the other one got away, he must have retreated immediately after firing. He knew that ancient musket gave a way his position, un-like his companion here. Well that will be the last mistake he ever makes.”
Joe turned around to check on Jones, a medic was hunched over him working furiously. The medic looked up at Joe and shook his head.
Joe nodded and said, “Make him as comfortable as you can.”
The medic grabbed 3 morphine needles from his bag and injected them into Jones. His screaming slowly subsided, most of the platoon gathered round to comfort the man as life slowly drained away from his face. It was soon over; Joe leaned over the corpse and gently closed his eyelids. He then removed the dog tag from his neck and stood up.
“Smith, Miller, you got stretcher detail.”
The two men made a crude stretcher out of a blanket and two near by 2x4’s. And picked up Jones’s body. The platoon then started the march back to camp.
Later that day Joe and Sam were sitting around a table. Sam was helping Joe write letters to the kin of the soldiers he had lost over the past few days. Joe had neglected this grizzly duty for 4 days now. Casualties were becoming less frequent so now was the time to catch up with the paperwork. It hadn’t been that way at first, the first few days of the attack were bloodbaths. The Indians had taken shelter in the cities sewer system. Most survived the artillery barrage, and rooting out those sewers was nasty business. But the American numerical and technological advantage proved over-whelming. And a week after it started the last organized resistance was driven from the city. The past few days had seen a massive mopping up operation. Most patrols were just un-eventful strolls but every once in a while a straggler or two would pop up and cause some damage. The rest of the day was spent hunched in front of radios waiting for those 4 little words that would end this nightmare.
“Joe how does this sound; Dear Mrs. Jones, as Adam’s commanding officer it is my sad duty to inform you that your husband, was shot today while on patrol in New Karachi. Our medic did all that he could, but his injuries were too severe to repair. You should know that his last thoughts were of you and your two boys. And when he passed on he had a smile on his face knowing he had done his part to protect his family. Adam was as fine a solider as you could find in this army. He performed his duties with honor and dignity that served as an inspiration to everyone around him. I hope this will in some way make you grieving that much easier.”
“Very good Sam, better then anything I’ve ever written.”
“Yea well writing was one of my stronger skills in school. As a matter of fact I’m thinking about writing a book after the war is over.”
“What are you going to write about?”
“Well my experiences here in the army of course.”
“Come on Sam, who is going to want to read about a silly little private’s experience in a war like this?” Joe jokingly asked.
“Well I’m sure there are a few misguided souls out there that want to hear what I have to say.”
“Whatever you say Sam, come on lets go send out these telegrams.”
Joe and Sam grabbed the dozen or so letters and walked out of the tent. It was an unusually warm February day. There wasn’t a cloud in the sky and the sun was burning bright as it started its downward trip to the horizon. Men were taking advantage of it by playing some baseball, writing letters, or just taking a much-needed nap.
They arrived at a very crowded Com tent. Joe shoved his way through the crowd, “What the hell is going on here?”
A nearby private blurted out, “Something big happed back home last night, they are expecting an announcement any time now..”
Sam ran up, “If you’re joking with us I’m going to put one between your eyes.”
The private replied, “No joke man, that come straight from an army news report.”
Joe nodded, and made his way to the telegraph operator, “These are to go out as soon as possible.”
The operator read over one of the telegrams, “Of course Sergeant.” He then turned back to his set and started to tap the telegraph madly.
Joe went back to Sam, “Come on Sam lets get out of here, it’s too crowded in here.”
“But what if the news comes, I want to hear it first.”
“If it’s important they’ll let everybody know.”
Sam nodded and the two men went outside and joined the baseball game. They played until evening chow was called. They were walking to the mess tent when the PA system crackled to life. Everybody in the camp immediately stopped what they were doing and looked up to the nearest speaker.
A deep voice cam over the airwaves, “Ladies and Gentlemen this is Dan Roberts of RCA radio news. We now go live to the steps of the capital where I’m told the President is about to make a speech. The next voice you here will be that of the President of the United Sates of America.”
“My fellow Americans, I speak to you today on a date that will be remembered for generations. For the past 3 years we as a nation have collectively suffered through the pains of war. Every sacrifice made by our brave men on the front has hurt as all. The selflessness of our boys has brought tears to my eyes on more then one occasion. Our nation will mourn for these lost souls for years to come. But I stand before you today to inform the world that those gallant men did not perish in vain.”
The camp was so quiet you could hear a fly’s heartbeat
“Last night at 2 AM our diplomats completed a cease-fire agreement with the Indian Empire. As of the top of the hour, the war is over.”
The camp exploded as the men celebrated the news. People were in tears as the shouted, hugged, laughed, and screamed. The rest of the Presidents address went unnoticed by most of then men. He had already said the only words that mattered.
That night witnessed the biggest party the army had ever seen. The celebration lasted long into the night.
Joe and Sam walked out of a tent holding their beers. They went to a nearby hill and sat down. Joe took out a pack of cigarettes and lit one. Sam looked over, smiled and said, “Hey Joe, you know those things will kill you right?”
They were still laughing 15 minutes later when the sun started to rise.
“My god, Joe that is the most beautiful thing I have ever seen.”
“Yes it is, you know recently every time I see a sunrise I get the feeling that no matter what happened the day before it doesn’t matter. It tells you that today things might get better. It fills you with a sense of…”
Joe smiled, “Hope.”
So there you go my 22 page WW1 epic, I hope you all had as much fun reading it as I did writing it.
As always if you would like to know more, I'm just a pm away.
