Red Devils

34

They’d spent too long on the back-foot. It was time to reverse the tide.

Lieutenant Coley ordered a group of men to advance onto a section of land that had just been hit with a barrage of shells. ‘Get in quick,’ he shouted over the chaos. ‘You find anything moving out there, you hit it hard until it lies still. Understand?’

‘Yessir,’ came the reply from several American soldiers as they piled forward.

Coley felt a hard slap on his shoulder and he span around fast, rifle primed and ready to fire. ‘Whoa, now, take it easy,’ said Escobedo. ‘Good to see you too, Lieutenant.’

‘Sorry, Escobedo. Never been so tired, but I’ve never been so keen to keep fighting, neither.’

‘I know what you mean.’

‘Can’t remember the last time I slept for anything longer than a couple of minutes.’

‘You making progress here, though?’

‘It’s damn slow, but yeah. We’re getting there. We’re moving in the right direction now, at least. Tactics are pretty straightforward – hit ’em hard, then clear the way through.’

Escobedo went to move on, but then stopped. He checked himself. Munitions exploded in the near distance, and a prolonged barrage of machine gun fire ripped through the air nearby. Foul-smelling smoke drifted between the two men. ‘Reckon we’re going to make it?’ he asked.

‘Damn right we are, soldier,’ Coley said without hesitation. ‘There’s no way we’re going to let all this have been for nothing. Get your head down, get fighting, and keep fighting ’til there’s not a single one of those diseased bastards left standing. You hear me?’

‘I hear you, sir,’ Escobedo said, and he shouldered his rifle and charged headlong into battle.

Coley surveyed the devastation ahead of him. A world in ruins. Americans killing Americans who’d already died once before. Nazis fighting alongside sworn enemies to defeat an even greater foe. Civilians burning corpses and delivering supplies.

This was a battle which had to be fought.

A war which had to be won.