Now this chapter was pain in the ass to write but I managed to finish it before the end of the year
Chapter 7: Bloody Battle of Omaha
0650 hrs
Offshore of Omaha beach
Omaha was a tough nut to crack; it was any defender's dream with dominating cliffs and few routes inland. The early naval bombardment was more for show than use as it left the neuroi position nearly intact.
The Allied troops bound for Omaha were in deep shit for the very start. Despite of the preparations, very little went according to plan. Fifteen landing craft were swamped by the rough seas before they reached the beach and several others stayed afloat only because their passengers bailed water with their helmets. Seasickness was prevalent among the troops waiting offshore.
"Listen up, once you hit the shore head straight for the shingle! Don't stop! You stop you're a dead man" A Liberion captain said. The soldiers were anxious and nervous as for many it was their first taste of war while others, veterans of previous campaign who wanted to get it done with so they go back home.
"20 seconds!" The Higgins boat driver shouted as the boat came closer to the beach. Just then a beam slammed into a nearby Higgins boat wiping it off the face of the earth.
"Oh hell! That was 2nd Platoon in that boat!" A soldier shouted. Soon more beams slashing towards the infantry landing crafts. The Amphibious tanks were not so lucky either as they were launched too far out to sea. Out of the 50 tanks that were launched only 15 survived and majority of these surviving tanks were the lightly armed T-40s, Type 2 Ka-Mis. Type 3 Ka-Chis and the Type 5 To-Kus. There were only 2 M4 DD Shermans and 1 Panzer IV DDs and they were fighting hard.
Meanwhile the units became hopelessly entangled as offshore currents dragged craft away from their objectives. As the boats approached within a few hundred yards of the shore, they came under increasingly heavy fire from the neuroi beams. The force discovered only then the ineffectiveness of the pre-landing bombardment. Delayed by the weather and attempting to avoid the landing craft as they ran in, the bombers had laid their ordnance too far inland having no real effect on the coastal defences.
0700 hrs
Omaha beach
"Witches move the front of the craft, we need your shields" A Liberion lieutenant said. Then the troops shuffled around in the boat accordingly.
Soon the landing crafts reached the shore and their ramps dropped and the soldiers began their dash to the Jaws of Death. Men were being slaughtered as they exited the landing craft. The neuroi have apparently developed a new weapon, the laser machine gun and the Allied troops were the unwilling target boards. Men tried to get off the landing craft by climbing over the side to avoid being mowed down by the Neuroi MGs but they fell into the water and since they were weighed down by their gear and they sank to the bottom. Now the troops that survived where cowering behind destroyed boats (This is to replace the obstacles the German placed prior D-Day)
"Damn it! This is getting us nowhere!" A Karlslander shouted.
"Get your ass to the shingle now!" A Karlslander master sergeant snapped.
"Get to the shingle! Move it!" An Orussian sergeant shouted.
"Are you going to lay there and get killed, or get up and do something about it?" A Liberion Lieutenant barked.
"If you want to live, get to that shingle!" A Fusoan witch howled.
"Fuck! Where are the tanks, captain?" A private shouted as he cowered behind a metal scrap.
"They are either at the bottom of the Channel or burning in the beach, any way we have little armoured support" A Liberion captain said.
"What good sitting here like a baby when the neuroi hold Europe? Get up and fight!" An Orussian Sergeant scolded.
"Lieutenant Cynthia Charles! Try and push forward!" A Liberion captain ordered.
"You got it sir!" Cynthia replied as she got up and began to move forward, instantly being fired upon by neuroi positions. Cynthia Charles is a part of the Liberion 1st Infantry "Big Red One" Division. She uses the M6A2E1 Custer striker unit with the 105 mm T5E1E gun. Her magic ability is Fire which has earned her the nickname "Roaster". She is addicted to smoking cigarette because it the only thing that calm her unsteady nerves.
"Alright let's start hauling ass!" The Liberion captain ordered as he moved up towards the shingle.
The battle was a bloody stalemate with the most of Allied troops stuck on the beach while small groups of troops at the shingle. Landing crafts brought in more men, equipment, bulldozers, jeeps, halftracks, motorcycles and other vehicles, which piled up uselessly on the beaches.
0800hrs
Omaha Beach
George A. Taylor arrived on the beach in a later wave, about 0800 hrs. He was the regimental commander for the 16th Infantry Regiment, which took many casualties in the initial assault. He found the remnants of his exhausted and shell-shocked men pinned down along the seawall. He was able to motivate, organize and lead the attack inland.
"There are two kinds of people who are staying on this beach: those who are dead and those who are going to die. Now let's get the hell out of here" Taylor rallied the men and witches into the charge inland.
"Amelia Patton, shut down those neuroi positions!" A Liberion major barked.
"Alright, let's murder those neuroi bastards!" Amelia shouted as she shot the neuroi with her 75 mm cannon. Captain Amelia Patton truly a chip of the old block that is George S Patton. She is the reason why Patton is on the Liberion cruiser Augusta right now. Amelia uses the M4 AED Sherman with the 75 mm cannon. She was one of the first of the amphibious witches to disembark. Actually she was too impatient to wait for the landing ship to come closer to the shore; she jumped over the side of the ship and swam to the battle. She is a tough action loving tomboyish girl with a "will get the job done no matter what" attitude. She has the magic ability, Hurricane which is technically useless to a tank witch but Amelia has been able to use her ability to her advantage where she makes a concentrated hurricane that severely damages or cripples the neuroi. She is friendly and loves to talk with others however piss her off and there is nothing in the world, neuroi included that will stop her from obliterating you other than some sharp words from her father.
"Hey there, this is Lieutenant Pool of the 3rd Armoured Division, don't ask how we got here, apparently some dumbass in command misplaced us into the invasion force" A tanker said as three Shermans rolled into the push as well.
"Well you know what they say, the more the merrier" Amelia said as they began to assault the cliffs.
Meanwhile in another section of Omaha Beach
"General Cota sir, the situation is not looking good, we got units mixed up as you can see the Orussians, Karlslanders, and Fusoans around us, and we need to do something about this sir" A Liberion officer said.
"We need to push forward, we are dead here" Norman Cota said. Brigadier General Norman Cota, the Assistant Division Commander of the 29th Infantry Division was a part of the soldiers landing in the second wave and now he was in the thick of the fight. He was assessing the situation. The troops were pinned a neuroi machine gun that overlooked the route inland.
"The only way we are going to change this fight is that we haul ass" Cota uttered.
"Sir?" the officer asked.
"Sir, if you need someone to blast the neuroi positions, I am here to do the job" A witch with her armed bandaged and her face had a cut that still bleeding.
"Who are you? And are you in condition to fight?" Cota asked.
"Lieutenant Bianca Bells at your service, sir and I am in the condition to fight, sir" Bianca saluted. Lieutenant Bianca Bells is a lieutenant of the Liberion 29th Infantry Division. She has the magic ability, Wind which allows her to cancel out or change the influence of wind on her shots so they hit the target dead on. She uses the M36 Jackson striker with the 90 mm M3 cannon. She is rather clumsy
"Gentlemen, we are being killed on the beaches. Let us go inland and be killed" Cota said as he led the charge inland with Bianca right behind him.
"Well we can't have him go alone, let's go!" A Liberion lieutenant shouted as he and the rest of the soldiers in the area began charging inland as well.
USS Augusta
"Damn the boys aren't moving from their landing spots" A general said as he watched the battle unfold from the observation deck of the cruiser.
"Damn, Bradley this is worse than Torch" another general said.
"Well Patton, that one easier since Morocco didn't have cliffs so close to the beach" Bradley said.
"Damn it, Black! Get your ass over here!" Another commander, this time a vice admiral ordered as he observed the battle.
"Yes sir!" Black said as he rushed to the Vice Admiral Kirk's side.
"Black, get the destroyers to move in closer! Those boys need the fire support! And while you are at it raise the Reprisal and Iwo Jima, tell them to launch more bombers and witches now!" Kirk ordered.
"Sir the destroyers will get to close to the shore and they will be in range…" Black said before Kirk cuts in
"Those boys need more naval support and I intend to give it to them!" Kirk barked.
"Yes sir!" Black said before getting to radio the orders.
"I am thinking of cancelling the Omaha landings" Bradley said.
"You can't be serious! You can't cancel the landing when we already have troops there!" Patton exclaimed.
"We aren't winning any ground and we are losing men" Bradley argued.
"Give them another an hour, they will make it" Patton said.
"Alright then but if they don't move by 0930 hrs, I am calling Omaha lost, George" Bradley sighed as destroyers began to steam towards the coast.
IJN Junyō
"Hell, our forces aren't moving from the beaches" Yukikaze growled.
"So what do we do now, Admiral?" Hoshigawa asked.
"Get those destroyers and light cruisers to close in so they can support our landing forces" Yukikaze ordered.
"Yes ma'am" Hoshigawa replied as he went to the radio. Soon, 2 light cruisers; the Tenryuu and Oyodo accompanied by 3 destroyers which were the Yukikaze, Shimakaze and Sakura steamed for the coast to support the ground forces. The Karlslanders sent the destroyers Z23, Z34, and the Z44 to support the landing forces, while the Orussians sent the Petersburg and Kharkov to provide naval support.
"Hey what are those ships doing so close to the shore" A Liberion engineer asked as he saw these destroyers and light cruisers near the coastline.
The destroyers, however, were able to get in closer, and from 08:00 began engaging their own targets. At 08:50 the destroyers were ordered to get as close in as possible. Some approached within 1,000 yards (900 m) several times, scraping bottom and risking running aground. An engineer who had landed in the first wave at Fox Red, watching the Frankford steaming in towards shore, thought she had been badly hit and was being beached. Instead, she turned parallel to the beach and cruised westwards, guns blazing at targets of opportunity. Thinking she would turn back out to sea, the engineer soon saw that she had instead begun backing up, guns still firing. At one point, gunners aboard the Frankford and the Sakura saw an immobilized tank at the water's edge, still firing. Watching the fall of its shot, they followed up with a salvo of their own. In this manner, the tank acted as the ship's fire control party for several minutes.
Sky over Omaha
"Those troops are not in a good position" Erica stated as the 501st Joint Fighter Wing flew towards Omaha after getting a desperate radio call.
"They haven't gotten off the beaches yet" Lynette said.
"Those are brave men down there" Gertrude said. Minna then noticed that Yoshika's hands were trembling and she looked as if she was about to cry. Minna knew this was Yoshika's first time to see death and large numbers at that.
"Miyafuji, if you can't handle this, you can return to base" Minna said.
"No I am staying, commander but can I help those injured?" Yoshika asked.
"Permission granted" Minna said.
"Thank you" Yoshika said before she descended to the ground to assist the wounded. Lynette joined her as well.
"Come on let's support those ground forces" Katherine said as she dived on a neuroi position that was blocking a group of infantry from moving inland. She unleashed a barrage of 23 mm HE rounds towards the enemy position. When she was very close to the position, she threw a satchel charge toward the neuroi position. The neuroi position soon disappeared and the small group pushed inland.
"Thank, babe!" A radioman radioed.
"You're welcome, I am a general so respect" Katherine replied.
"Oh sorry, ma'am" The radioman said.
"It's alright, now haul ass" Katherine ordered.
"Yes ma'am" the soldier replied.
"Alright we got a lot of beach to cover, so split up into groups of two" Mio ordered.
"Roger!" the rest of the witches said.
Another section of the beach
A bunch of Liberion troops were now at the shingle. Now separating them from the cliffs are some barbed wires the Gallians built in 1939 because some military commander was paranoid of an invasion from the sea.
"So what now captain?" A sergeant asked.
"We need the Bangalore to get pass this barbed wire" The captain said.
"Bangalore!" The sergeant shouted.
"Bangalore coming through" Soldiers shouted as they passed the Bangalore torpedo to where the captain and the sergeant were. Once they got it, they slid the torpedo over the shingle and activated it.
"Fire in the hole!" The captain shouted. The Bangalore tube exploded and created a path through the barbed wire.
"Dog One is open for business!" the sergeant shouted as the captain ran through the gap. The sergeant quickly followed suit with a group of soldiers. They soon get to the side of the cliff. Now a machine gun nest needed removing
"Hey, Liberions, do you need some witch support?" A Fusoan witch asked as she joined the group of Liberion troops.
"Who the heck are you?" A soldier asked.
"1st Lieutenant Ino Takima of the Fusoan 2nd Armoured Division here to help" Ino answered. Ino Takima is a tank witch with one of latest strikers available the Type 4 Chi-Ri medium tank with the 88 mm Type 99 cannon. She has the magic ability, Frost. She is very tolerable with any weather which can also you can see her wearing summer uniform in the winter.
"Alright, Takima, see that MG post?" the captain asked.
"Yeah, you want it decommissioned, sir?" Ino said as she cocked her 88 mm cannon.
"Now would be nice" the captain said.
"Okay" Ino said
She began to recite a little prayer. Meanwhile across the beach other troopers were praying as well.
"Going loud" Ino shouted as she fired the 88 mm cannon at the neuroi position. Just then another Fusoan witch came into the scene and she was running like she was on fire.
"BANZAI!" The witch shouted as she sped past the group.
"Who the hell was that?" A Liberion corporal exclaimed.
"That was Touko Namikaze using her banzai ability" Ino answered as she began to move up. Then flying overhead were Shirley and Francesca and they came low and hot to strafe the enemy neuroi targets.
"Well we can't let her be first inland, let's support her" the captain said as he moved up with the rest of the soldiers who were now moving inland. Tanks began to rumble inland and the support troops were rushing in.
"Come neuroi, have some 30 cal. special" Shirley as she strafed some neuroi with Francesca was right beside her firing her 50 cal. SAFAT.
"Yeah I got me a neuroi!" Touko shouted after she smashed through a neuroi that resembled a Char B1 but now there was a problem.
"No, no, no! Help! I can't stop! Oh shit!" Touko shouted before slamming into the side of an abandoned truck.
"Ouch, that hurts" Touko rubbed her face. Lieutenant Touko Namikaze is a tank witch of the Fusoan 2nd Armoured Division. She has the magic ability, Banzai and for this she is always carrying a katana. She has one problem with this ability which is that she can't stop running unless she trips or slams into something. She is a friendly girl but she is very dense and a bit slow sometimes but she is determined.
"Hey Touko, are you alright?" Ino asked as she grabbed Touko's hand
"Yeah I am fine, I was wearing my helmet" Touko smiled.
"Come let's go find more neuroi to kill" Ino said as she pulled Touko up.
Meanwhile on the beach
Yoshika and Lynette were busy helping the medics tend to the wounded.
"Okay, Sergeant Miyafuji you can rest now, you help save a lot of lives" A Liberion medic said as he patted Yoshika's shoulder.
"No, I am okay and we still have more injured" Yoshika said as she wiped the sweat off her forehead.
"Okay then and sergeant" The medic said.
"Yes?" Yoshika asked.
"Injured is for when a soldier is hurt in non-combat situation, hurt from battle, you call it wounded" The medic smiled. Yoshika looked a bit embarrassed but she shook it off very quickly.
"Sorry, I kinda forgot" Yoshika nervously giggled. Lynette just smiled at her friend's antics.
"Well I best, be going, we need more bandages" The medic said.
"Yoshika, you should rest, you have done a lot already" Lynette said.
"I am fine, Lynne" Yoshika said. Just then a group of soldiers came rushing in.
"Medic" One of the soldiers shouted. Yoshika and Lynette quickly went to the group.
"What happened?" Yoshika asked.
"She was hit by a beam" One of the soldiers said.
"Where was she hit?" Yoshika asked.
"She was hit in the chest" Another soldier answered.
"Alright, put her down here" Yoshika said pointing to an empty blanket on the ground. The soldiers followed her ordered.
"Alright now apply pressure on her wound" Yoshika ordered. The soldiers looked reluctant to touch the witch especially seeing where she was hit and that is because not for the fear of blood. Yoshika could see the witch was pale and the men were just staring at each other. Yoshika was already tired from the older causalities and she wasn't going let this witch die like this.
"Come on! You call yourselves men! Apply pressure on the wound!" Yoshika barked. The men still didn't move as they were too embarrassed to move their hands. Yoshika seeing that no one was moving grabbed the hand of the nearest soldier and place it on the wound.
"Um… no offense, ma'am but why don't you use your magic" the soldier who Yoshika placed his hand on the wound asked.
"Just in case I run off magic, so she doesn't lose too much of blood" Yoshika answered. Yoshika looked at him more closely and saw he was a private.
"Okay…" The private said.
"Okay here I go" Yoshika said as she began to use her healing magic but no matter how she tries she can only get a flicker of a healing glow. She was beginning to pant as she tried harder but to no avail. Yoshika was feeling depressed as she couldn't help anyone right now as her magic was kaput.
"Damn it please let me heal this one more please!" Yoshika mentally pleaded. Suddenly everything around her froze. Yoshika was shocked.
"Hey guys, guys, guys? Hello? This is not funny" Yoshika said as she pushed one of the soldiers and he just fell over not moving like a statue.
"What the hell is going on?" Yoshika asked as she looked around. She looked towards the sea and saw the flash of a gun on one of the destroyer, she was surprised to see the flash not expanding like it usually does but still like a photograph. The water was still and the boats were not moving. She looked up and saw a witch just floating still in the air above her.
"Why is everything still?" Yoshika said
"Do you really want to save this girl?" A voice said. Yoshika immediately looked around to see who said that.
"Who's that" Yoshika asked.
"Calm down Yoshika, it is me Kuji, your familiar" The voice said now known as Kuji said.
"So you were the one that gave me my magic power?" Yoshika asked.
"Yes that is correct" Kuji answered.
"Can you show yourself, it feels awkward talking to someone I can see unless it on the telephone" Yoshika somehow not to make herself a fool.
"Alright then but be ready" Kuji said.
"Be ready for whoa…" Yoshika said when Kuji materialized in front of her; he was a big Shiba Inu that looked intimidating but Yoshika didn't feel any fear for she sensed no evil from the dog.
"You are surprising calm" Kuji said as he approached Yoshika.
"So why you suddenly decided to speak with me?" Yoshika asked.
"It is because of your magic, Yoshika" Kuji answered.
"My magic?" Yoshika asked.
"Yes Yoshika, your magic ability are special as unlike normal witches where their magic depletes at the age of 20, your magic abilities will be with you until you pass away, however that can't happen at your current magic ability" Kuji answered.
"What do you mean by that?" Yoshika asked.
"I will explain in more simply or not you will be lost in words" Kuji said.
"Okay but what does it still means?" Yoshika asked.
"You are not at your full potential; at most you are using 45 per cent of your magic" Kuji said
"I wasn't at my full potential and I was still be able to do what I have done" Yoshika said surprised at this revelation.
"Yes, you can become better but you need to get pass a limiter" Kuji asked.
"What is the limiter?" Yoshika asked.
"You" Kuji answered.
"What? I am my own limiter" Yoshika exclaimed.
"Yes, now you need to show me that you are committed in your ideals of protecting everyone" Kuji said as he looked down.
"I am committed in protecting everyone" Yoshika said.
"Are you sure?" Kuji asked.
"Yes I am!" Yoshika raised her voice.
"Are you sure" Kuji said.
"Yes" Yoshika said and this went for at least seven times at Yoshika's patience was almost none existent.
"Are you…" Kuji asked before being rudely interrupted by Yoshika, whose patience which was whatever left has just been thrown out of the window.
"Can we cut the crap already? I have a wounded witch here that can die if I don't help, so can we just get on with it because I think I better with my current magic level that endure this annoying crap" Yoshika growled as her anger began to rise. Kuji just started at her as she growled at him. He then began to laugh.
"What's so funny, Kuji?" Yoshika snapped. Kuji was taken back at the anger this young girl was emitting and he quickly stopped laughing. He could also see that a slight red aura was around her.
"You had done it Yoshika, you broke your limitations!" Kuji said.
"So that annoying part with you repeating the same damn question was the test?" Yoshika asked angrily. Kuji was about to say something but Yoshika launched herself at Kuji knocking him over. Kuji could see a red angry aura enveloping Yoshika. Kuji also noticed her eyes were like that of a wolf's eyes only scarier. Her fangs were sharp like that of a wolf. She was acting like a wolf as she snarling a wolf.
"Calm down Yoshika" Kuji said. Yoshika just snarled.
"Damn it, she lost it, looks like I need to use option B" Kuji uttered. Kuji moved her head closer to Yoshika's head. He then licked Yoshika's face. Yoshika instantly calmed down. The red aura died down but Yoshika's teeth were still like that of a dog's.
"What? What the hell happened? And why am I on top of you?" Yoshika asked as her rage died down. She immediately got off of Kuji and brushed herself off.
"You got angry at the little test to see if you were up for getting past your limiter" Kuji said as he got back up. He noticed that Yoshika's hair was slightly longer and was darker in colour. Also noticeable was that Yoshika's bust was slightly more noticeable.
"Does that mean I can help this witch?" Yoshika asked.
"Her? You can heal a thousand critically wounded before getting tired" Kuji laughed. Yoshika then looked around and saw her chest was bigger than she remembered and she felt her teeth were sharper and her hair was longer.
"Um Kuji, why is that my body has changed?" Yoshika asked.
"It is a side effect from when you remove the limit from your magic abilities" Kuji answered.
"Okay, are they temporary?" Yoshika asked as she checked her body for anything else that was different.
"Sorry they are permanent" Kuji said.
"Okay then, can you unfreeze everything?" Yoshika asked.
"Sure but first, listen I want to do something" Kuji said.
"What is it?" Yoshika asked.
"Okay listen carefully" Kuji said before explaining his plan to Yoshika.
"Alright, just be quick about it" Yoshika said.
"Done" Kuji said as he disappeared. Time began to move again, the witch that was above began to fly again; the flash of the guns of the destroyers grew before disappearing. Yoshika looked at herself saw she was in her old self by that was about to change.
"Hey, why am I lying on the ground?" The soldier Yoshika pushed said as he reanimated and pushed himself back up.
"Oops, I forgot to straighten him up" Yoshika giggled to herself.
"Yoshika, are you okay?" Lynette asked concern about her friend.
"I am fine Lynne, now let me try again" Yoshika said as she moved closer to the wounded soldier. She was still pale and the soldier whose Yoshika placed his hand on the wound was still applying pressure.
"Alright here goes nothing" Yoshika said as she tried again. Kuji was deliberately holding back most of Yoshika's magic to make it look like she is running on fumes.
"You ready?" Kuji asked.
"Do it" Yoshika said.
"Okay, now say something and I will do the transformation" Kuji said.
"COME ON! LET ME HEAL ONE MORE!" Yoshika shouted. Then Kuji released all of the magic and that caused a ripple of magic to radiate outwards for at least 500 m. Troops were surprised to see this, some ran while others froze. Witches in the radius of the ripple felt a surge of magic flowing pass them
USS Augusta
"Holy shit, do you see what I see, Bradley?" Patton exclaimed pointing towards the glowing from Omaha.
"If I wasn't here I would you are bullshitting me but I see as well, George" Bradley said.
Skies near St Laurent
Mio, Minna and Perrine were supporting troops enter the Gallian town of St Laurent when suddenly Mio feels something happening, something big on the beaches. She immediately looked behind her and saw a wave of magic radiate from the beaches. Her jaw just dropped and if her face was elastic, it would be scooping up dirt.
"What is wrong, Mio" Minna asked but they too were surprised to see the dome of magic.
Soon the magic dome disappeared and the three witches of the 501st JFW quickly shook off their trance.
"Wait wasn't Yoshika and Lynette on the beach, healing the wounded?" Minna said.
"Oh shit!" Mio said. Perrine just gasped worried about the two other witches.
"This is Minna to Miyafuji and Bishop, are you okay?" Minna radioed.
Back on the beaches
"Yoshika!" Lynette shouted as she was blinded by the glow.
"Damn that is some bright light!" One of the soldiers said.
Soon the glowing stopped after a few seconds and Lynette and the other soldiers readjusted their eyesight. Yoshika was silent so Lynette turned towards her and gasped at what she saw. Yoshika had transformed, she had slightly darker and longer hair. Her chest was slightly bigger something to a size similar to that of Sanya's chest.
"Wow that was intense" Yoshika said.
"Yoshika" Lynette uttered.
"Hm, what is it, Lynne?" Yoshika asked.
"You have transformed" Lynette said as she pointed towards Yoshika.
"Huh? What are you talking about? Whoa! What happened to me?" Yoshika pretended to be surprised from her transformation.
"I don't …It must have been that flash just now" Lynette exclaimed. Just then their transponders came to live.
"This is Minna to Miyafuji and Bishop, are you okay?" Minna radioed.
"This is Miyafuji, I am fine" Yoshika answered.
"Bishop, are you okay?" Minna asked.
"Oh I am fine, commander" Lynette replied.
"Okay then, come to St Laurent, we need more fire power" Minna said.
"Yes, ma'am" Yoshika and Lynette replied. Just then the wounded soldier stirred and woke up.
"Wow, I feel so much better, in fact I feel I can go for a 20 km marathon" the soldier said as she stretched.
"You better well thank this witch here then because she was the one who saved you" One of the male soldiers said.
"Thank you…" The female soldier said.
"I am Yoshika Miyafuji" Yoshika answered.
"And I am Sergeant Lynette Bishop, same rank with Yoshika here" Lynette said
"Oh where are my manners, I am Edytha Barkhorn, a major of the 716th Infantry Division and I am grateful that you saved my life" Edytha thanked. Yoshika and Lynette were surprised that this witch had the same name as Gertrude. Edytha noticed their surprised faces.
"Um, what's wrong? Is there something I said that was wrong?" Edytha asked puzzled at their faces.
"No, it is not what you said, it is just we know a witch called Gertrude Barkhorn" Yoshika giggled slightly.
"You know Trude? Are you in the 501st?" Edytha asked.
"Yes we know Gertrude and yes we are in the 501st" Yoshika answered.
"So how is my older sister, still a captain is she?" Edytha asked.
"Yeah she is still a captain and she is doing just fine" Lynette answered.
"Well I best be getting back to my battalion, I hope we meet again" Edytha smiled as she got up and picked her 75 mm cannon. Major Edytha Barkhorn is a very good ambush commander as she favours sneaky tactics. She has the magic ability, Illusion magic which she uses to mask the movement of her troops. She has been awarded the Iron Cross 1st Class. She uses the Panzer IV Ausf. H with the long barrel 75 mm KwK L/48 cannon. She is looked like Barkhorn but she is more like Erica Hartmann only she is doesn't leave a mess.
"Well we need to be going as well" Yoshika said as she got up and went to her striker.
"Oh yeah, wait for me Yoshika!" Lynette said as she chased after Yoshika.
"Alright boys, what are we doing sitting here? We got a war to win" Edytha said as she moved out with the soldiers that brought her in right behind her.
Yoshika and Lynette soon arrived at their strikers and began to take off. Lynette wanted to ask why Yoshika is so calm even after the changes she just went through. She decided to ask her once they were in the air.
0905hrs
Enroute to St Laurent
The Allied Forces on Omaha Beach were finally began to push inland but it was for a bloody cost.
"Yoshika, can I ask you something?" Lynette asked as they were flying towards St Laurent.
"Sure, what on you mind, Lynne?" Yoshika asked.
"How are you so calm when you changed" Lynette asked.
"Okay, I think I should tell you this" Yoshika said before she told Lynette about what happened but Yoshika doubted Lynette would believe that.
"Okay that would explain why the soldier was on the ground" Lynette said.
"She actually believes it" Kuji said in Yoshika's mind.
"That was unexpected" Yoshika thought.
"This is Mio to Miyafuji and Bishop, are you near St Laurent?" Mio radioed.
"We are nearly there" Yoshika replied.
"Pick up the pace then, we need to support these troops" Mio radioed back.
"Roger" Yoshika and Lynette replied. They began to speed up.
Skies above Gebourg
Gertrude and Erica were supporting the ground troops getting into the town which had a number of tank neuroi. Then an unexpected radio call came in.
"This is Captain Irina Hartmann to all air witches in the area of Gebourg; can you destroy that neuroi bunker just outside of town?" Irina radioed. Erica and Gertrude were surprised well especially Erica to hear that her sister was down there. Before they did anything, another radio call was heard.
"This is Flight Captain Sophia Anneliese to ground forces; I have some 50 mm shells just itching to destroy some neuroi" A witch radioed as Gertrude and Erica heard a familiar engine noise. They turned to their north and saw a witch race in and she was in the Me-262 and she had the 50 mm cannon with her. She flew past and fired her 50 mm into a neuroi ST-I and there was nothing left of it after that barrage. Gertrude and Erica on the other hand were busy shooting at the neuroi bunker. After a while the bunker was destroyed. Then the jet striker witch flew to Gertrude who had flown up to 125 m in altitude to see if any aerial neuroi decided to pop up.
"Well, hello there, Captain Barkhorn, it is a pleasure to meet you in person" Sophia said.
"Nice to see you as well, hey, are those, the Me-262?" Gertrude asked.
"Yes, they are and thanks to you testing it, the researchers in Neue Karlsland were able to fix the bugs in the version you were using and it now should work perfectly without draining too much of magic" Sophia said. Flight Captain Sophia Anneliese is one of the few witches to receive the new Me-262 jet strikers. She immediately became an ace almost overnight by became an ace twice in a day. She has the magic ability of Super Strength like Gertrude only weaker. She loves to write and it is common to see her carry a book and pencil.
"Well I better go now; Erica is now tackling her sister into the ground" Gertrude said as she flew down toward Erica and Irina.
Northern Outskirts of Gebourg
Irina watched as the witches destroyed the bunker and the heavy tank neuroi that were blocking their path. She felt it was lucky that she detected that neuroi bunker and the heavy tank. She noticed that one of the witches looked familiar. Captain Irina Hartmann is a veteran of the Eastern Front who also took part in the Battle for Kursk earning 142 kills. She uses the Panzer V "Panther" with the 75 mm KwK 42 L/70 cannon. She has the magic ability Foresight but sometimes it just doesn't work for her like she will find out soon enough.
"Thanks for the support…oomph!" Irina said before something tackled her. She was unprepared for the tackle so she fell over. Her peaked cap fell onto her face so she couldn't see who it was.
"Okay, who's the smartass that tackled me?" Irina scolded.
"It is me and who else would tackle you like that" the tackler said.
"Erica?" Irina said as she removed her cap from her face and sure enough, there was Erica's smiling face over her face.
"Well who else?" Erica smiled. Erica then got off of Irina and Irina sat straight and brushed her uniform.
"Nice to see you, sis" Irina said as she got up and checked her equipment.
"I thought you were in Orussia?" Erica asked as she got up as well.
"Well I got transferred here so I could train the new witches for the invasion but you know me" Irina said.
"You always want to be on the front lines" Erica smiled.
"Well I have to go, somebody has to kick the land neuroi asses" Irina said as she motioned his cap.
"Alright see you another time" Irina said as she joined her battalion in the assault. The town of Gebourg was soon liberated. The Gallian towns of Vierville, St Laurent and Colleville were also liberated. Katherine broke her record of neuroi destruction that is 64 neuroi in a half a day.
The troops whom landed in Omaha had the bloodiest part in the whole invasion operation. Over 5000 troops and witches were killed in action however their sacrifice were not in vain as the Allies now have a foothold in Gallia. The 501st JFW were in for a surprise when they returned to base later.
1900hrs
501st JFW Base, Dover
The witches were tired from their 11 hour mission from supporting the ground forces. It was nice to be back in base. Dimitri was surprising a good baker as he made a delicious chocolate cake for everyone. Now most of the 501st is in the common room resting
"Wow that was tiring" Shirley said as she lay on the couch.
"Well you all were out destroying neuroi from 7 in the morning to like 10 minutes ago" Eila said as she sat down to laze around with Sanya.
"It was scary to see all of the dead soldiers and the sea was red" Francesca said before shuddering from the memory.
"Well they died to liberate Europe so we must honour them by fighting hard" Gertrude said. Just then Erica raced in, she was had a face of big news.
"What's wrong with you, Erica, you look like you seen a ghost" Shirley said.
"Hey did you hear about the magic dome of Omaha!" Erica said.
"No, what is it about?" Gertrude asked.
"Well, that a witch used healing magic that was so powerful that it created a dome that was 500 m tall!" Erica exclaimed. The witches were surprised by that a witch had super powerful magic. Then Katherine, Dimitri, Yoshika, Minna, Mio and Lynette came in. Yoshika then began to confess that she was the one who did the magic dome on Omaha Beach and if that was not shocking enough Katherine decided to say something.
"I have an announcement to make" Katherine said. The Strike Witches were silent eager to hear what Katherine had to say.
"As commander of Allied Air Forces, I, Air Marshal Katherine Litvyak here by announce that all members of the 501st Joint Fighter Wing are to be promoted one rank higher for all their efforts in defeating the neuroi which is effective immediately. You all are awarded the Iron Cross or upgrade your cross from Empire of Karlsland, the order of the Red Banner from the Empire of Orussia, the Medal of Liberty, 1st Class from Suomus, the Distinguished Service Cross from the United States of Liberion, the Distinguished Service Order from United Britannia, the Military Order of Savoy from The Duchy of Romagna and finally the Grand Cordon of the Order of the Chrysanthemum from the Empire of Fuso" Katherine said before saluting all the witches. The witches were stunned to hear that they were promoted and were awarded prestige medals from the military they represented. Katherine began to hand out the witches new insignias and patches and then awarded them their medals.
"I hope you all with continue contributing to the war" Katherine smiled as she saluted. The witches had a small party. For now the war seem far away but it is going to be a long haul before the war is truly over.
Short Notes:
That was the longest chapter I have written, second to the Battle of Kursk's Chapter 4
I hope you enjoyed reading as much as I was writing it
Please review
I have decided to do Juno and Gold beaches in one chapter because historically they did link up and merged
Next up are the Brits, Farawaylanders, and the Romagnans' time to shine