The Hit'em Back Raid

By: AliasCWN Chapter 1

{Note: I realize that some of the men are out of their timeline but I didn't want to change it because this story follows my other ones and I wanted to keep the characters the same. Forgive me followers of Combat.}

Chip Saunders placed his men along the heavy brush row. They had their orders, keep the Germans from advancing as long as possible. They could hear the enemy trucks on the road drawing closer and closer. Saunders ducked deeper into his foxhole and mentally reviewed the locations of each of his men.

Cage and Kirby he knew had dug in on his right. Billy and Littlejohn were off to his left. He hoped Doc stayed in his foxhole behind him. The medic was dedicated and had a habit of putting himself in danger to save the men. A consideration they all appreciated but Saunders had been trying to curb. A dead medic was no good to anyone.

The lines of Germans appeared in their gunsights. Saunders waited until they were close before he fired the first shot. As the first soldier fell Saunders was already firing at the next one. Bullets whipped through the brush all around him as the weapons of his men joined the fight.

The Germans were being urged on by their officers. They came in waves, each wave covering the next as they advanced. Saunders felt a stinging pain in his shoulder. Looking down, he could see the blood already soaking his shirt.

A cry to his right sent Doc scurrying to help Kirby. The private was clutching his left arm trying to staunch the flow of blood as Doc reached him. The medic applied a pressure bandage and looked toward the sargent. Saunders gave him a nod and Doc grabbed Kirby by his good arm and helped him to his feet. With Cage and Saunders giving them cover fire, Doc and Kirby made their way to the rear of the line.

Littlejohn was the next to get hit. At the okay from his sargent he limped back to join Kirby.

The Germans were still pushing hard, urged on by an officer. Saunders watched him wave his arm at some of his troopers, sending them to try to flank the Americans. Yelling a warning to his own men, Saunders took aim at the officer. The next time the man rose to goad his men forward, Saunders was waiting. He fired one shot, hitting the officer in the chest. He fell forward, into the open, and didn't move.

The death of the officer spurred the Germans to fight harder. They were closing in on the American line, pushing them back. Saunders motioned his men to move to the rear. One by one they retreated to their second prepared line of defense. Kirby was back in the fight using his left arm gingerly. Littlejohn was still in the rear but not out of it by any means.

A grenade landed near Saunders, forcing him to duck. The Germans used that time to move closer to his position. Cage, seeing what was happening, yelled a warning to the sargent and tossed a grenade of this own. The shrapnel rattled the brush all around Saunders but the firing from directly in front of him stopped.

Throwing the grenade drew the Germans attention to Cage. Now he had to stay down as they peppered his position with lead. Saunders tossed one of his grenades in an attempt to give Cage some relief.

Billy yelled a warning from his position to the sargents left. Two enemy soldiers had managed to get through the line. Saunders opened fire as the soldiers turned toward Billy and Billy ducked. He kept his aim high knowing Billy would lie low. Both Germans jerked like marionette dolls on strings and crumpled to the ground.

Saunders called to his men and had them fall back to their next preselected line of defense. The Germans were losing men but they still outnumbered the Americans three to one. Sawyer gave a shrill cry and rolled behind a boulder, his arm hanging useless after being hit in the shoulder.

There was a pause in the firing as the Germans regrouped. Saunders could plainly hear the officers shouting orders but he didn't speak German. Using the pause to check on his own men, he found them taking advantage of the break to check clips and reinforce their foxholes. His own shoulder was starting to bother him. Without the rush of battle he was finding it hard to block out the pain. He considered calling Doc and having his shoulder patched but a renewed attack ended those thoughts. Another officer had taken command and he was once again pushing his men to overrun the Americans.

Saunders was kept too busy to worry about his shoulder as soldier after soldier tried to get past him. Cage hissed to get his attention. When he turned Cage saw his shoulder. The cajuns' eyes opened wide in surprise and concern.

"Sarge, you better have Doc take a look at that."

Saunders shook his head. His helmet slid down over his eyes and he pushed it up with one finger. "What do you want?"

The Cajun hesitated, his eyes on the sergeants shoulder.

"Cage?"

Cage jerked back to the problem at hand. "Oh, I'm almost out of ammo. Do you have any extra?"

Saunders reached into his pocket and pulled out two clips. He tossed them across to Cage and ducked as a bullet whizzed past his head. "We're going to have to fall back again. There are just too many of them. Second squad is just over the next ridge. We can join up with them and hold the line there."

Cage nodded as he shoved the new clip into his rifle.

"You lead out. Take the others. I'll follow." Saunders turned back to fire at the Germans who were regrouping again. "Get going."

With a final look at his sargent Cage pulled back, calling softly to the others. One by one they withdrew over the top of the ridge.

"Sarge." Cage let his sargent know that they were all safely over the crest of the ridge.

Saunders fired one final burst and turned. Ducking low, he prepared to follow his men. With Cage covering him, he ran. The Germans opened fire from all along the line. Cage tried to force them to seek shelter but he couldn't cover them all. A bullet caught Saunders in the back. As he fell he heard Cage yell. He could hear the scout firing wildly. Several more rifles joined the fight as more of his men returned to help Cage. In the end it didn't matter as Saunders fell to his knees and then onto his face. The burning in his back intensified until he couldn't stand it anymore. Everything became quiet. He couldn't hear the gunshots or the shouting. He never heard Cage and the others screaming his name. The light faded and his whole world turned black as he gave into the urge to let go.