August 12th, 1914

Argonne Forest

On their way to Germany, Axel's squadron had to proceed on foot through the dense forest, not already knowing they were already behind enemy lines of the impending American attack.

The three squadrons of five walked together as one, their weapons in hand just in case they ran into any enemies along the way to their destination, they soon stopped as Axel gave them orders to halt, everyone taking cover almost instantly.

"I could not have been the only one to hear that, right?" He asked, looking back from one of the fallen logs Axel had ducked behind. The team was completely silent. Suddenly, a voice was able to be heard, two of them, along with approaching footsteps.

"...So, then I told the guy how stupid his idea was. I mean, trying to even suppress enemy fire with a single pistol, especially an M1911, it's just- How can people be that stupid?"

"I wonder the same thing sometimes, it's almost like what Bruce did. He really thought picking at that tripwire was a good idea. 'Oh, don't worry guys, I can disarm it.' Pfft. What a moron."

Americans, two of them. Axel gestured over to Wissenaug, pointing to a light, but fairly large bush for him. The sniper nodded and moved over to it, soon slowly stepping inside and using it as camouflage, only the bayonet of his rifle protruding outward from the shrubbery. The medic began to quietly order the soldiers to take different positions, each with their own advantages with other medics and snipers on the ridges to the left and all the assault troopers in front with him. Each began to slowly move forwards, stopping again in different cover as the two Americans soon walked by. Everything was silent, except the two patrolling men.

"And did you see Jeremy's rifle during that last firefight? Thing practically fell apart as he fired the fir-" As the first soldier spoke, one of the German soldiers used his bayonet and jabbed it into his back, straight through his heart. The second american turned around to face the attacking soldier, raising his weapon but had a combat knife jab him in the throat before he could get a shot. A second German soldier, another medic, killed him seemingly with no trouble at all.

"Good, now, keep moving. There maybe more ahead." Wissenaug said to the other snipers, making sure his bayonet was securely fastened to his Gewehr 98 MA, checking to see if all five rounds were loaded as well. Axel didn't check his weapons, just advancing forwards as he slowly drew an officer's sabre that he had stolen from a dead British cavalry soldier during previous battles. They soon came to a sudden, steep slope down to a series of bunkers, each of them, along with the surrounding area, practically filled with American soldiers. Axel gestured for the team to group up with him each of the soldiers quietly sneaking over to him.

"We are all going to die if we rush in there blindly. They have us outnumbered, outgunned, pretty much better than all of us in every way." One soldier said, setting his pump-action shotgun down on the ground, still staying in place as he looked over to the other members.

"You think we don't already know that? We need a plan, now. Every second we sit here, we are just target practice for those guys!" A sniper whispered to the small team, propping his rifle against a few nearby rocks.

"Give me a second to think, maybe I can figure something out." Wissenaug replied to the worried soldiers, everyone except Axel that was. To the medic, this guy was a genius, probably because he was drafted before he could get his PhD in physics. Axel, along with the other soldiers, did not know that at the time.

"I have a plan, although it is just to give Wissenaug some time." Lange said, the rest of the team looking towards the medic with hopeful expressions.

"We'll split up into two teams, Support and Assault. Assault team will be with me, we'll clear the way and cause a distraction for Support team. Support team, you'll be lead by Wissenaug and be perched up on the ridges, picking off anyone in case we need some extra assistance." He explained, drawing out a small 'game plan' in the dirt, everyone gathering around to see.

"You will need a real explosive entrance, catch them off-guard." One of the soldiers said with a smile, gesturing to the AT Rocket Gun that he had strapped to his back along with the dynamite that he had packed. Axel nodded at the idea, of course planning a backup plan just in case things decide to go south all of the sudden. Within a few minutes of extra planning and quiet discussion, the two teams split up and began to take their positions, Wissenaug leading the small squadron of snipers with one medic and one assault trooper. Axel led his team of assault troopers and support gunners quietly into position at the beginning of the barbed wire barricade that surrounded the bunkers. The soldier with the small packages of dynamite began to lay the explosives under the barricades and soon rush backwards into cover, joining the snipers on the ridge as he mounted the Rocket Gun by digging its bipod into the dirt.

"Remember, keep your heads down when they start firing back." Axel reminded his team as they all nodded, support gunners lined in front while assault troops stood in back of them, ready to charge in when the barricade was destroyed. Surely enough, the rocket fired off from the ridge slammed against one of the bunkers, the impact breaking off bits of concrete and kicking up dust as the snipers began to pick of soldiers one by one. The alarm began to sound, signaling that they were under attack, and that is when the Assault team rushed in, guns blazing, letting out a war cry as they marched over the barricade which had exploded as soon as the Rocket Gun was fired. Axel stayed silent, rushing to cover and occasionally peeking up and gunning down one target, his team finishing them if he only lightly injured or grazed an enemy.

"Snipers, focus fire on anything explosive!" Wissenaug called out from the gunfire as soon the soldiers began to fire their K-bullets, the armor piercing rounds igniting any fuel tanks near groups of enemies and having them explode. The small firefight continued until four Americans suddenly tossed away their guns and threw their hands up in surrender. This was at first a surprise, only two of the enemies being shot before Axel realized they were giving up.

"Feuer aufhören! Feuer aufhören! Sie haben sich ergeben!" He yelled to them in German, the Americans not knowing what to do as they heard him speak in his natural language. The medic was telling them to cease fire, explaining they were surrendering. He pointed his Selbslater M1916 AR towards the two, shouting out commands in broken, but still understandable, English.

"Hands behind heads! Turn and look at wall!" Axel spoke as the snipers regrouped with the other seven. The two soldiers did as told, each one having an assault trooper bind their wrists together behind their back with rope and then pushing them against one of the broken concrete walls of a bunker. Axel and Wissenaug instructed the soldiers to escort them, only to make sure they don't try anything stupid. To the medic's and sniper's surprise, one of them did. One soldier kicked one leg back, breaking one of the German soldier's knees as the other tackled him, pinning him down, holding a knife to his throat. The other soldier attempted to make a run for it, quickly dashing into a bunker, only to have a bullet from Wissenaug's Gewehr strike him in the back of the head as he entered the doorway.

"Stellen Sie sicher, dass der letzte in Berlin eingesperrt ist." The sniper said to Axel, basically explaining that the surviving soldier was to be imprisoned on arrival to their destination. The assault trooper holding the knife to the American's throat said nothing as he stood and picked him up by the collar, tossing him aside as a support gunner nailed him in the cheek with the stock of his light machine gun. The American dropped, spitting on impact with the wooden part of the weapon, looking up at Axel, who was just standing there, a bit surprised.

"You're all just a bunch of blind idiots, ya know that? Every last one of you will be killed when my team comes to save-!" The American started, being interrupted by Wissenaug as he stepped on his shin to shut him up, the soldier yelling out a small yelp of pain.

"No one knows you live. No one comes." The sniper said with a near-perfect English accent, soon heading off with the rest of his team. Axel helped the American up, looking at his dog tags as he noticed the sun reflect off them for a quick second. He lightly lifted the tags up to read them, reading them to make sure he remembers the name.

"Chris… Jackson. Chris Jackson. You are American?" He asked, looking up at him being one inch shorter, with a blank expression. The American nodded, staying completely silent as the German stood in front of him.

"Chris is short for Christopher. Which do you prefer?" Axel asked another question, just trying to be friendly before escorting him off on their set path to Berlin.

"I just prefer Chris, it's shorter for you fuckin' Germans to understa-" Before he can finish again, Axel delivered a hard slap to his face, his expression still blank.

"Cleaner mouth, please. Here, use when we arrive." The medic handed him a bar of soap, kept in a small, yellow box, putting it between his wrists that were currently bound. The rope seemed tighter for Chris now that the box was between his wrists, but he tried not to show that he was uncomfortable. The team of fifteen Germans kept on their path, each of them taking turns with making sure Chris also stayed on the path. During one of the other medic's turn to watch, he turned to him with a sarcastic smile.

"Du bist ein Amerikaner, nicht wahr? Solltest du nicht gut mit Geschützen und Kämpfen sein?" The medic asked, Chris looking more confused than ever, Axel holding in a laugh just seeing his expression.

"Does it look like I speak your damn language, bud?" Chris responded with a slightly disgusted tone, Axel turning to translate.

"He asked if you are American. He said, Americans are good with guns and fighting." The medic explained to him, looking back to another sniper who added in another sarcastic remark.

"Von dem Aussehen, kann er nicht einer sein." The rest of the team laughed at the statement, Chris just stood there, still walking with them as he looked around at the Germans, still more confused than a private on the frontlines of war.

"What'd you guys say? It's not like I'm going to suddenly start speaking lederhosen." The American said, slightly agitated.

"It is German. Lederhosen is clothes none of us wear often." Wissenaug corrected him, looking back for a second with a smile before turning back to look where he was going.

"We wear uniforms. Can you see?" Axel said, gesturing to his dark grey trench coat, the other German soldiers doing the same, only each person looking different. The assault troopers looked like common soldiers, only a darker grey uniform with their insignia on the helmet and left shoulder. The support gunners had a similar uniform, only a bit longer and a bit more armor on it. The sniper and medic pretty much had the same uniform, dark grey trench coats with their insignias on the left shoulder and helmet. The American did nothing but think to himself as he secretly admired the uniforms.

"Damn, I wish I was wearin' one of those. Those uniforms look awesome…" He suddenly snapped back into reality, looking away from the uniforms that looked much better than his.

"So, how long 'till we arrive at… Where we goin' again?" He questions the Germans, raising an eyebrow.

"Berlin." One of the other snipers told him, not bothering to look back at the man. Chris sighed, not knowing how much more he'd have to walk.

"Guessin' that we're gonna be on this trail a while…"

Message from the Author:

Hey guys, it's me, TheOfficialPlague. So, I was wondering how you all were enjoying the story so far. Leave a review and tell me if I need to work on anything, or even if you would like a chance to see your OC in the story as well. Of course I have a full template ready so just send me a private message in case you have any questions or want to submit an OC. For characters, please keep ranks below officer and keep all equipment World War I themed. Anyways, before I get going, only thing I ask is that you share this with friends and possibly leave a few reviews, I want to hear how the story is going for you guys. Thanks for reading!