war sage thank you for the review greatly appreciated as always :-D
I really struggled writing this as you can probably tell when you read it, I may in the future when I have finished this story, go back and rewrite and edit the chapters better.
Anyway happy reading, thanks for stopping by on my page and as always enjoy…or don't whatever :D
Chapter Eleven: "Flies spread disease so keep yours closed"
D-Day + 2 1944 near the town of Carentan France
The cold hard cobble floor digs into my back I can feel the warm rays of sunshine illuminating my body. If that god awful stench of bodies and the sounds of gunfire die down then today could be described as pleasant. This little village we have been staying at could be a decent place for a vacation, when a fucking war isn't on. I attempt to block the smell and noise of guns and soldiers, I haven't slept well for days and a nap in this pleasant summer sun would be good. Keeping my eyes shut I can feel my body begin to close down however suddenly the pleasant warmth disappears and the light beyond my closed eyelids becomes dimmer.
"Hey Sarge I don't think the sidewalk is the best place to hit the hay" Hoob's voice exclaims from above me. Great so much for a fucking nap Hoob will never leave until I answer him. I sigh as my eyes pop open to see Hoob looking down at me a huge grin on his boyish face.
"Gee thanks for the advice Hoob" I say as I haul myself off the ground into a standing position. I quickly look around and see that we are alone. I purposely picked this street because of the fact no other guys were around, which in such a small village is a fucking miracle. "What's up Hoob?" I ask seeing as he must need something if he has bothered to go out of his way to find me when I specifically said only to find me if it was important. He looks at me for second as if he has forgotten what he came for.
"Some more fellas have been arriving in the last half hour, think some of them might be Easy guys, wondered if you wanted to see" he says as he scratches his head through the mop of brown hair.
"Thanks for letting me know Hoob" I flash him a small smile as I begin to walk towards the village centre and the war memorial where most of the guys gather. Though I said not to bother me only if it was an emergency I'm glad Hoob has come to get me, I'd like to see how many of our guys have made it. Since D-day small numbers of the men have been arriving periodically which is good however Meehan and his plane are still MIA, each arrival stating that they haven't seen Meehan or any of the others for that matter. Each group that arrives have different stories of their jumps and how they finally hooked up with the Company. It's been interesting hearing them and they've been interested in hearing about how we conducted the assault and how Popeye got pinked in the ass. I was relieved when Tip showed up, I managed to speak to him about the Danny incident, he agreed with Lieb, I wasn't crazy and I should just forget about it.
As I reach most of the fellas from Easy I see that they are all sitting or standing in their little groups. Since Toccoa each guys has friends and then has a circle of close friends. Normally they sit around in groups of four or five. Perco, Dukeman and a couple of other guys are sat leaning against the war memorial drinking bottles of cognac, wine and liquors they've found in burnt out buildings. Some of the booze they've acquired is strong; it's surprising that they can still hold their gun after drinking practically the whole bottle to themselves like some of them have. The officers drink too though, well Welsh does anyway; he has some in a flask.
Luz, Lieb and a few others were stood near the main road leading into the village. Hoob walks towards some of his friends as I stride towards Luz. Lieb who is showing off his flag to one of the fellas from 3rd platoon, he gives me nod before turning back to the awestruck private. Luz notices me approaching and his face erupts into his signature grin.
"Hey Jimmie you look like shit, thought you were getting some sack time?" He slaps his arm around my shoulder.
"Yeah I tried but Hoob woke me up" I reply as he nods still smiling "and fuck off I don't look like shit" he burst out in to laughter, tightens his grip on my arm. To be honest I probably do look like shit. The grease we used to paint our faces hasn't fully washed off, we haven't had the luxury of a shower and probably won't for a while, this combined with lack of sleep I probably do look like death.
"Oh Jimmie I love you so much. And I hate this war so much." Luz say's dramatically to me his face serious whilst he says it but he quickly loses his composure and laughs once more. It's always more comical when Luz impersonates dames. George removes his arm from my shoulders. Just as he does this a large group of soldiers come walking towards us. My eyes quickly sweep the area, hoping to find more Easy men. Four familiar faces are among the newcomers.
"Hey fellas" Tabs voice bellows as he approaches us, a huge grin on his face, boy it's good to see him. Luz next to me broadens his grin at the sight. Blithe is following Tab quietly, I lock eyes with him and give a small nod, and he reciprocates the action. Blithe is a good trooper, quiet but good. Shifty and Skinny also approach the group and head towards their pals.
"Well look who decided to show up Floyd" Luz happily jokes as he extends his hand out.
"Hey Luz" he accepts the outstretched hand and smiles back. Lord knows what he's been up too whilst trying to regroup with us. Luz slings his arm around Tab the same way he did with me as Lieb turns round from showing off his stuff and grins at the sight of his buddy,
"Good to see you Tab" I voice earnestly; a small group of men have gathered and turned their attention to the small reunion. His relieved and happy expression remains on his face as he looks between us.
"We thought we'd never find you" he announces. Blithe moves from behind Tab and starts off towards the memorial, I glance to see where he goes. He sits down next to Perco and Dukeman, figures they are from our platoon. I turn my vision back to the scene directly in front of me.
"You ok?" Luz questions at the same time that Lieb decides to speak.
"Get a load of this huh, you like it?" He thrusts the now extremely dirty Kraut flag, into his line of sight.
"Yeah it's the real stuff man" Tab agrees as he begins to rifle through his pack, Lieb looks smug at the appreciation of his souvenir.
"Of course" Lieb says proudly as he continues to stare at his flag. Tab continues to search for something in his bag before he stops. He must have found what he was looking for.
"You like this?" He whips a Kraut poncho out and his face turning smug like Lieb's before. Lieb looks at the poncho in admiration. It is good.
"Oh nice that's a beauty Sarge" Luz chimes in equally as impressed as the others. "It's a hell of a poncho"
"It is a hell of a poncho Tab" I say just as Lieb and a couple of the others say some kind of compliments at the same time making it hard to distinguish who said what. Tab walks off towards the other guys from his platoon holding his poncho closely and rightly so.
"My Luger's gonna put you all to shame when I get it" Hoob mutters as Tab disappears.
Lieb folds his flag back up and stuffs it away. Various items are being collected by the guys; Perco who turned up the other day has a number of working watches looted from dead bodies. Guns are popular too.
"Show Luz your Knife" Lieb's voice interrupts my thoughts. Oh yeah I haven't shown him yet. Luz only just arrived here last night and I haven't really had a chance to show him it. Opening my bag and fishing around for it I produced the extravagant weapon. Luz takes it and examines it his face breaking out into a grin once more.
"It's a beauty, you gonna use it?" He asks as he turns it over a few times before reluctantly handing it back to me.
"Probably but I don't know if I want to ruin it with blood and I think…"
"Easy Company on the road!" I was about to finish my sentence when a random voice from further in the village shouts.
"Let's go 1st Platoon!" Welsh yells drawing everyone's attention to him. We must be moving out or going on a mission.
"1st Platoon let's go!"
"Platoon move out!"
"1st Platoon let's go! Up on your feet platoon" I add to the number of fellas yelling to the scattered group, slowly the men stop what they were doing and drag themselves towards the voice of 1st Platoons leader.
"Easy's moving on your feet" Me, Luz and Hoob make our way to Welsh, the other fellas following behind us slowly. When we reach him he waits until we are all there.
"Listen up! It'll be dark soon. Light and noise discipline from here on, no talking, no smoking and no playing grab fanny with the man in front of you Luz" Welsh adds the last bit with a small smile. Luz has had an obsession with grabbing ass whenever we marched, jumped or minding our own business since about three weeks into training. We are all use to having our ass grabbed by him and a number of other guys.
"We're taking Carentan, it's the only place where armor from Omaha and Utah Beach can link up and head inland" he explains as he slings his musette bag over his right shoulder. I shift the strap of my pack slightly as I continue to listen to the plan of action. "Until we take Carentan, they're stuck on the sand, General Taylor's sending the whole division" he finishes, a few of the fellas let out scoffs and sighs. Luz being the loudest scoff.
"Remember, boys, give me three days and three nights of hard fighting" Luz pauses his brilliant impression of the General, giving emphasis on the word fighting after a brief pause he continues on "and you will be relieved" I attempt to hid my smile but fail. A chorus of "Yeah Luz" and "Yeah's" are the group's response. Welsh also looks amused but hides it better than I can. Hoob who is stood a few guys away from me looks towards the platoon leader, raising his hand in the air.
"Lieutenant, I'll take point" he exclaims doubtlessly as he steps towards the front of the group and the road out of the village.
"Corporal Hoobler will be lead scout" Welsh orders as he bends down and retrieves his gun off the ground. He looks up and scans the crowed before stopping. "Blithe, glad you could join us"
"Thank you sir"
"1st Platoon fall in behind Fox company" With that I begin to creep slowly towards the road as Welsh continues to order the others "you people from 2nd and 3rd Platoon follow us. Shake a leg" He picks up his helmet and puts it on his head.
I walk slowly with Luz stood next to me.
"Another thing to remember boys: flies spread disease so keep yours closed" Luz jokes loudly despite the order not to talk.
"Keep it down Luz" Welsh orders as we pass him by on our way out of the small village Trying to keep this man quiet was near impossible I swear. I can't help but smile at his antics though he is the comic relief we need in this shit hole of a war.
With the dick Sobel leading us for a long time we had grown accustomed to marching in the dark. His notion of learning to see in the dark back in training amused me and angered me at the time but now I can fully appreciate what he did. Strangely I prefer to work at night and I'm sure a couple of the others would disagree with that. It requires the use of all your senses, a lot of skill and observations. These skills are apparently lacking in those from Fox Company, we've already lost them several times. It's fucking frustrating. Letting out a frustrated sigh I trudge on through the wet boggy marsh. Bright red flames dance across the horizon. The air thick with smoke from the burning trucks. Fly's and mosquitos buzz around our faces and the stench of dead bodies is overwhelming. Nearly everywhere you look a dead Kraut or animal is lying around. The sloshy mud splashes with each step, the mud so thick that your boots get stuck and you have to pull them to free them. I quickly glance at the few fellas ahead of me to check that we are still moving, we are but lord knows how long for. We are so strung out of formation that I fear if any of the Germans they expect are coming to attack us will defeat us because we are practically defenseless.
A silhouette of a body holding its right arm out lies in the path. As we get closer Perco who is a few men in front of me bends down and takes his watch then steps over. Blithe passes him then Skinny who is in front of me steps onto of it. The bloated corpse makes the awful squishing noise letting out the nasty stink. Skinny grabs the outstretched hand and shakes it.
"Sorry buddy" he whispers as he walks off following Blithe. I step over the now deflated Kraut and continue walking. After barely walking a few more steps the fellas in front stop. Fuck F Company can't be lost again can they?
Around 0600 D-Day + 6 1944 Carentan France
Glancing at my watch as I crouch down on the ditch and impossibly thick impenetrable bush lined road leading to the T intersection of Carentan I read the time, 0557. We have 2 minutes until we attack. All the stop start slow progress of the last three days has been leading to this, the attack of Carentan. Winters explained the plan a when we arrived into positon at 0530. Welsh will lead us down the middle, with 2nd platoon and 3rd platoon following behind. Not much information on the Krauts in the town is known, not much recognisance has been done, and all I know is that they have a clear advantage on us. They have high ground, there is no doubt about it, thy are in the buildings and we have to fight them from down below. Giving my watch another glance, I grow impatient. 0559. Not long now. Winters who is crouched next to Welsh five men in front of me stares at his timepiece. He says something to Welsh. It's time.
"Let's, 1st Platoon let's go" Welsh orders in a whisper as he starts to swiftly make his way into the town. Luz who is directly behind him shadows our platoon leader his bulky radio strapped to his back. I quickly follow the fella in front of me. A large building with Café de Normandy written in large letter gets closer to me. It's eerily quiet. Where are the Krauts?
"Fire" A heavily German accented voice booms as if on cue. Fuck. A barrage of bullets come hurtling towards us. Shit. I need to find cover now. Frantically I search for a place to use as the bullets can only miss me so many times and judging by the number of shells in the ground and the amount of dust spewing up they will hit me soon. Ping. One of the fellas stood running near me is shot and crumples to the ground. Ping and another man falls. I see Luz and Welsh. They have found cover behind a bombed out building. Thank fuck. Trying to avoid being hit I sprint towards them. Luz now peeking round the corner and shooting a couple times them moving back. As my back slams against the wall in between Welsh and Luz I notice that the others aren't following behind like they should. Where the fuck are they?
"God dammit" Luz exclaims after shooting at the machine gunning Krauts situated in the cafés open shutter clad windows.
"Where the fuck is everybody?" Welsh yells just as confused and pissed as I am. I shrug in response as I step around Luz and fire a few times at the guy in the bottom right window. Got him. Shots fly swiftly next to me closely, much too close for my liking. I jump back against the wall.
"Where'd everybody go?" Welsh asks again.
"I have no idea!" Luz screams exasperated.
"They've fucking left us" I yell annoyed. There is no way the three of us can take on these Krauts alone. I step around Luz once more and let out a few shots. The characteristic whoosh of bullets flying close to me fills my ears. I step back behind cover as Luz starts firing again. As far as I can gather we are the only three firing at the krauts whilst the rest of the Krauts fire at us. My eyes watch the road that the rest of 1st platoon should be coming down still no one. Jesus fucking Christ, Luz leans back against the wall. I step out take a few shots at the krauts then jump back. We need back up now. Welsh next to me is looking angrily towards the road. Suddenly the sounds of gunfire intensify and a mix of guns can be heard. I snap my face towards the road once more as Luz leans back into cover. The faces of Easy come into view, each men frantically running and firing trying to find sufficient cover, fan-fucking-tastic. Some fall down after being struck I recognise a couple of them; I don't know them personally but have played craps with them once or twice. It's heart-breaking to see men get hurt or killed but now is the time to focus, so I push all emotion back, concentrate on shooting, killing and surviving. We need to take the objective.
Luz continues to shoot at krauts, the job slightly easier now that the others are involved. Just as I bend around Luz to have another go of killing the krauts a grenade detonates near the bottom windows of the café.
"Ah shit!" Luz swears as the three of us duck behind the concrete wall as plumes of debris fall upon us. When the shit finally stops falling I look up to see Welsh looking down the road at the town then at the road where some of the fellas are firing from. He quickly signals to our troops to cease fire. A few distant yells of the command can be heard and the volume of bullets decreases.
"I need some covering fire, ready Luz, Larsen?" with that he reaches for a grenade and pulls the pin. "Okay I'm out" Luz shoots a few times as Welsh sprints across the road. As Luz stops firing I start. Welsh reaches the open window where some of the enemy are shooting from. He ducks as he launches the live grenade through the opening. It explodes spewing clouds of dust everywhere, Welsh stands up from crouching underneath the windowsill. He managed to kill the main MG-42 that was firing up the road. Now's the time for me and Luz to move forward the krauts in the café are gone and we need to clear the other buildings. Luz goes first dashing towards the café door jumping over a mound of rubble on the way. I follow suit. We stand inside the darkened entry way, clutching my gun to my chest. I scan the area to see if an officer is around to give us any orders. The sound of gunfire continues to ring through my ears.
The noise levels have increased tenfold, with both sides shooting various guns and men yelling in pain, shouts for medics and orders from the officers it's a wonder any of us can think straight. Well we are trained for this; close combat is the nature of the beast that is paratrooping, I never thought I'd say this but thanks Sobel your hard ass training has paid off.
Welsh joins us from the street stepping into the threshold of the door, just as he does this my two buddies Lieb and Tip come sprinting down the road in front of us, Tip clinging on to the bazooka slung over his right arm, Lieb clutching his carbine for dear life. Boy I'm glad to see they haven't been shot or killed so far. The number of wounded seems to be increasing.
When the two fellas reach us Welsh looks at them "Tipper take Liebgott start clearing these buildings two at a house" he orders as he signals to our left and raises his fingers to show the number 2.
The three of us left in the door way run towards the other buildings still dodging enemy fire. Lieb and Tipper head further down the road as Luz spots Hoobler. They pick a house and throw a grenade in before entering. I stick with Welsh. We reach a battered building, with the downstairs window open. I crouch down in front of it as Welsh crouches near the door. On the count of three I throw a grenade through the window. German shouts are heard then a bang. The shouting stops. Welsh kicks in the door and signals for me to search the upper floor. I cautiously open the first door. No one is in here. I open the second door. Again no one here. As I open the last door gunshots ring out from downstairs. There must have been someone still in the house. You only shoot when someone is there. I quickly slam open the last door and see that no one is in the bedroom. Hurtling down the stairs rifle poised my feet slam to a stop. Welsh is fine.
"Come on let's move to the next one" he says as we step out of the building and move onto what appears to be a shop.
I slam the door open this time as Welsh throws a grenade through the door, once again a few moments after it detonates we enter. I step through first a German fumbling with his gun greets me. My finger already sitting on the trigger pushes down, bang! And the kraut collapses in a pool of blood. We repeat the process of checking rooms and killing krauts. Once done we step out as we do a loud explosion a few buildings away rocks us. What the fuck? Boom another explosion, clouds of smoke and dust billow up. Men are sprinting everywhere, trying to escape the carnage the unfortunate ones that get hit are flung in the air like bowling pins. 88s are effective.
"They got us zeroed! Spread it out! Spread it out!" you can say that again. Me and Welsh start running away from the mortar fire with many other troopers around us doing the same. A familiar figure runs out from one of the houses followed by another familiar face. A bout of gunfire comes from a building in front of us.
"Tipper use your bazooka and clear those buildings straight ahead, take Liebgott" Welsh orders to the men in front of us, they nod and run towards the shops. Welsh turns to me "Larsen help me clear this building here" Welsh orders. I go into the same trance like state I was in when we were at Brécourt. Knocking through doors and shooting on instinct. The loud explosions from the mortars are still booming, whilst the gunfire rages on. An explosion close by rocks the structure we are in slightly. Heavy footsteps coming from downstairs alert me to our platoon leader's presence.
"Come on let's go" he yells over the noise. We go left out of the building. Now the damage of the mortar that hit seconds ago becomes clear. The front of one of the shops is completely blown out. Piles of rubble everywhere, broken glass, concrete and wood, there is no way anyone would have survived that hit if they were inside. As we round the corner the doorway comes into view. That's when time seems to stand still. On the ground are two men. Two Easy Company men. Two very familiar easy company men and one no longer looked like a man. Oh Jesus! Oh fuck Tipper. Welsh sprints towards Lieb and Tip, when he reaches Tip he opens up his first aid kit and sticks him with morphine, I freeze for a second. How? Why? What happened? Thoughts swim through my head. I knew this could happen of course it's a war, but I never wanted to think that my best friend, the first man I spoke to when I joined was going to be the first casualty amongst my close pals. Shaking my head I snap out of it. Tipper needs me, Lieb needs me.
Blood oozes out of the left side of his face, his eye welded shut. Burnt flesh and gushing blood. Both legs badly mangled a grizzly sight of muscle and bone. Smoking holes in his boots. How the fuck is he alive? He is barely alive though. Welsh and Lieb support his shoulders as I attempt to hold his legs steady as we head towards the aid station that's been set up in a barn. I don't want to cause any more damage to his broken body so my movements are cautious.
"Nearly there Tip, you're gonna be ok buddy" I say reassuringly. A quiet groan is all I get in response. When we finally reach the station after what feels like hours but is actually minutes medics quickly snatch his body out of our arms and begin to work on his many injuries. Welsh runs off again into the fight. I am left standing outside the door looking down at my bloodstained hands.
"Do you think he'll be ok?" Lieb's voice breaks though the now dying noise of the battlefield. Looking up at Lieb's blood covered face and body I don't know what to say. He probably will die. Both legs are badly broken, he's lost vast amounts of blood and his left side of his face is completely destroyed. No stop thinking like that Jimmie, he is strong, he has fought well against the Krauts he will fight to survive this. Shaking away my inner argument I try to focus my thoughts. I have done everything I can do to help my fallen friend, he is in the hands of the medics and god now, I need to focus on my job and the men that still out there need the help of their sergeant.
"I don't know Lieb but we need to get back" I finally answer his question. He looks at me a moment a swirl of emotions in his eyes, anger, sorrow pain but mainly determination. He nods before wiping his hands on his pants then grabbing his rifle that was slung over his shoulder.
"Let's go kill some fucking krauts"