Battlefield Russia

Victory over Russia

Command Sergeant Major Luke Childers couldn’t believe the war was finally over. He gazed across the Bolshaya Nevka River at the Petrogradsky District of the city they hadn’t captured yet. The bridges across the river lay in ruins, destroyed by the Russian Army as they continued to fall back. The river had finally iced over sufficiently that they could now cross it on foot, but the order never came to seize this last bastion of Russian resistance.

Two hours earlier, a message had been sent from headquarters letting them know that the war was officially over; the Russians had surrendered. When the news was disseminated to the rest of the Corps, the men broke out into spontaneous celebration. Many of them were elated that they had survived — yet the danger was not completely over. The Russians who were less than a few hundred meters away needed to be made aware of the surrender, and hopefully they would go along with it.

A brigadier general from the V Corps had assembled a small cadre of officers and senior NCOs near the edge of the Russian lines to head out to meet their Russian counterparts. Sergeant Major Childers joined the group as they raised a large white flag and approached the enemy. Several tense moments passed.

Finally, a small group of soldiers came to meet with the American contingent, who made their request to speak with the senior Russian commander. It took nearly half an hour for the Russian general to be tracked down and travel to meet them. When the group did finally gather together in the same room, the US delegation informed the Russian general of the formal surrender by Moscow.

At first, the Russian commander didn’t believe the news. However, then he learned of the coup and read the transcript of the surrender between Lieutenant General Sobolev and President Foss. He sat down on a nearby chair, dejected at first, and then he couldn’t help but cry for a moment.

As Childers watched this man fall apart before him, his own eyes got a bit misty. He understood the crazy mix of emotions the commander must be going through. His soldiers had fought and bled for their country for more than two years, ultimately losing. However, they had survived, and he must also be filled with relief that the war was officially over.

When he had had a moment to recover, the Russian general announced, “I will inform my soldiers at once and order them all to surrender their weapons to you and the other Allies.”

The rest of the day went by relatively smoothly as unit after unit of Russian soldiers lined up in the streets to discard their weapons. One by one, they slowly grouped off into unarmed formations, where they waited for the Allied troops to enter their sections of the city and take possession of them. No one offered any resistance. Many of these soldiers were tired and underfed and just wanted to return home to their families.

Two days after the surrender, Sergeant Major Childers was walking through the Peter and Paul Fortress in the heart of the city as his regiment moved in to assume control of this critically important fortress. Judging by the fortifications he’d seen up to this point, the Russians had intended on turning this into a bloody contest if the Allies had wanted to seize it.

As he meandered through the cathedral and the museum, Childers was very happy they hadn’t leveled it. It was a beautiful gem in the city. He was glad the residents would still have this piece of history to hold on to as they looked to rebuild their nation.

When Childers walked into the main building, he spotted a gaggle of officers, soldiers and NCOs going through the various rooms. At first, he didn’t think much of it and figured they were touring and securing at the same time, just as he was doing, but then he witnessed some of them snatching up items they’d found around them — probably to take home as mementos.

He remembered what had happened in Iraq when Baghdad had fallen, and how the country’s national treasures had been pillaged by the looters at an astonishing rate. He knew he had to get this situation under control immediately. Right now, two companies in his battalion were already present at the fortress, but by evening, the rest of the battalion and eventually the regiment would be there.

He quickly turned around and walked right back through the main entrance of the building before anyone else could enter. Swiftly, he unslung his rifle. He yelled at the soldiers near the entrance, “Stand back!”

Childers switched his selector switch to semiauto and proceeded to fire off several rounds, which obviously immediately gathered the attention of everyone around him. Those inside would have heard the shots, too.

He poked his head into the entrance, and in his loudest and angriest sergeant major voice he shouted, “Out! Everyone, get the hell out of the building and into formation right now!”

Instantly, the soldiers started falling into formation, and a few of the officers fell in with their platoons and troops. He saw Lieutenant Colonel Schoolman give him a bit of a bewildered look as he walked up the stairs to the entrance of the building.

“Did I miss something, Sergeant Major? What’s going on?” he asked, confused.

Childers pulled Schoolman aside so he could speak to him without giving up his staunch demeanor in front of anyone else. “Sir, when I walked into the building here, I spotted several soldiers and officers starting to loot the building. While I know we just won the war, this building is a national treasure to the Russian people. When I invaded Baghdad, one of the big mistakes we made was not protecting the national museums. They were raided, and most of the items were sold on the black market. The items in this building, Sir, are worth hundreds of millions, maybe even billions. We can’t let the men of our unit loot it. It wouldn’t be right, and it would bring enormous shame on the 2nd Calvary and V Corps.”

Schoolman nodded. “You’re right. Thank you, Sergeant Major, for taking charge of this situation and bringing the men to formation. You might have just saved my career. We’re going to nip this in the bud right now. I want you to have all the men searched, and I want you to personally oversee the security of this museum until we can get a proper unit to take over the task. Is that understood?”

Childers smiled. “Roger that, Sir.”

Then he turned around to the rest of the soldiers, staring daggers at them.

Schoolman glanced at Childers as if asking to speak first, and Sergeant Childers tilted his head to defer to his officer.

Lieutenant Colonel Schoolman did his best impression of a bad cop. “Listen up,” he said starkly. “I was just made aware of something egregious that was about to happen. This museum you see behind us is a historical heritage and landmark to the people of Russia. Our unit is not going to be the one that loots it. I won’t have the 4th Squadron or the 2nd Calvary Regiment’s name and reputation impugned by those who would seek to rob this place and bring home items to sell on the black market or hang up in their office as war trophies. Every one of you has fought with distinction in this war and brought honor to our country and your families. I won’t have a few hotshots mess that up for the entire regiment. Effective immediately, I’m placing Command Sergeant Major Childers in charge of protecting this museum. He’s going to search everyone who has already been inside the museum to make sure nothing has been taken. If you took something, then cough it up right now and we won’t hold it against you. If we find it later, I’ll have you brought up on charges and court-martialed. Troop commanders — if the sergeant major says he wants one of your platoons or squads for guard duty, you will give him control of them. Is that understood?”

“Yes Sir!” shouted everyone present in formation.

“Excellent,” Schoolman responded, speaking a little quieter now. “Captain Taylor, you’re going to work with the sergeant major as the OIC in charge of this task. When we get a proper unit to secure the museum, your group will be relieved and join the rest of the squadron in whatever duties the regiment has planned for us. In the meantime, I want camp set up immediately. I want guards posted throughout the facility, and I want EOD to make sure this place is safe. Tomorrow, I want NCOs and officers to begin writing up your AARs and award packages at once. The war may be over, but the Army will get its pound of flesh when it comes to paperwork. I want this taken care of at once before we get assigned some sort of occupation duty… and before you ask, I have no idea what that may be. When the rest of the squadron shows up, I want what was said here passed down to them. Is that understood?”

“Yes Sir,” came the reply, a little more subdued than before.

“Dismissed!” he announced.

Schoolman moved out of the way while Childers took control of the search for artifacts. While that was taking place, he decided to tour the building himself and see if he could spot any obviously missing items. As he walked in this time, he couldn’t help but be drawn into all of the intricate details and the collections of beautiful historical items. After he finished his tour, he felt more than justified in coming down hard on his unit.

With the tasks at hand set, it was time for him to find out what the regiment had in mind for them, then he had to find some time himself to sit down and write up his own AAR and award recommendations. Sergeant Major Childers had already been awarded a Silver Star and the Distinguished Service Cross, but he wanted to push for him to get the medal of honor for his heroic action a week ago, saving those wounded soldiers trapped in the street by an enemy sniper. That might be a tough sell, but he’d try. The man deserved it for how he had led the soldiers of this squadron throughout the war.

Sergeant Philip Jones couldn’t be happier now that the war was over. He had dreaded the idea of 40 Commando having to fight their way into Moscow. While their brush with combat had been limited to their last-minute dash toward Moscow from the northern port city of Severodvinsk, what he had seen was more than enough for one lifetime. Two of his Royal Marines had been killed, and three more injured during the fighting. However, by and large, his unit had come through rather unscathed compared to many of their army brethren who had fought with the Americans in Ukraine.

“Now those poor blokes saw some serious combat,” Jones thought.

After a couple of days, Sergeant Jones was permitted to take a rare break from their now daily and hourly patrols through the streets of the Ostankinsky District. He and a few of his mates sat down at a comfortable café with a cup of tea and enjoyed having a beautiful waitress serve them. After the horror of war, it all seemed very surreal.