Where the Young Sleep
Chapter VII
"Listen up. My name is Lieutenant Becker. This is Sergeant Steiner from the Imperial Guard. We will be instructing you." Becker stood in front of close to 200 civilians that were recruited. "First I want to thank you all for volunteering. In defence of Kastirden, we are all loyal citizens! Those you see in our uniforms, we are all your instructors. This will be quick because it must be. The enemy wishes to come from Dants and push us into destruction. We cannot allow such a thing to happen, because our children and our loved ones rely on us, and are counting on us. This is a planet of the God Emperor and we cannot allow for Him to be disappointed!" Armin listened to the Sergeants speech and for once, wished he had a Commissar around that could turn out a much better phrase. Of course, this was rather difficult. They could barely find enough gunners, not to mention a Commissar.
The civilians who stood in front of them had all been given a dark olive drab jacket. They were mandated to wear boots and wear whatever pants they had. "When I give the order, I want you to all turn left and go to your pre-assigned side." Previous to the civilians lumped together, they had each given them a piece of paper with either North, East, West or South written on it. For 200 civilians, it would be a total of 4 platoons. "That will be your training and fighting platoon. You will meet your new platoon commanders there. Now, face the left and march!" It was a sloppy left turn followed by sloppy marching. A lot of people had already served in the PDF, there was a mandated draft at the age of 18 until age 21 so the basic military orders were already realised. However, for many of those that were already 30 or were still 16, it was either forgotten or never learned. Steiner looked at them march off and grimaced slightly underneath his mask. He could see the Lieutenant look doubtful but this was nevertheless an important and necessary thing to do. On Konig, everyone was drafted and trained, with drilling occurring at least once a month. Of course on Konig, they had taken the idea that Cadia had given the Emperor's worlds, and the standing PDF units of Konig were by all accounts, excellent military units. It was only those units that were certified at a higher level were they then allowed to be given the honour of becoming Imperial Guard.
Each platoon had a Sergeant assigned to them. Some of these Sergeants were Corporals yesterday but out of necessity, at least a Sergeant had to be the platoon commander. At this point, basic military drill was given. He looked to find his Grenadiers and saw them a bit further off so he would waltz up to them to see what they were doing. In short, they were brutalizing the PDF troops.
"Again! Load it like your life depends on it because it fucking does." Carsten the volleygunner was holding his hellpistol to the head of a PDF soldier who was scrambling to load the field gun. "Faster faster faster! 3, 2, 1!" The PDF soldier managed to get the deactivated shell in just as Carsten squeezed the trigger. There was the sound of a dead click as the Grenadier holstered his pistol. "Now you understand what it is to load a field gun under pressure?" He said, this time much gentler than the yelling before. The PDF soldier wiped his brows and nodded, his hand shaking a bit. "NEXT."
Rinder was standing by the fieldgun that had already been mounted onto the back of a truck, going down the list. "Sergeant! We are doing remedial drills." Armin raised an eyebrow at this. "Do I need to apologize to the Lieutenant again Rinder?" Rinder shrugged as he gestured at the gun. "Sergeant, you and I both know that on Konig, the gun is really loaded." Of course what Rinder left out is that the laspistol was set at stun. Armin however simply shook his head. "The reason the Guardsmen are tough on you, is because what sets the field gun apart is that if you hesitate, if you slow down, the person dying will be your comrade. Your incompetencies or your slow movements will get not just one but maybe 10, 20, people killed. Corporal Rinder, please demonstrate to them how fast a Konig guncrew operates a field gun."
Rinder nodded and gestured for Carsten, Kapp, Hansche and Paasche to come forward. The five of them took positions around the gun after Rinder checked to ensure the gun was unloaded. "Guncrew, make ready!" Rinder called out. At this, Carsten instantly yanked the breach lock open, the breach opening up while Kapp shoved a shell in and then Hansche handed him another one instantly. Carsten slammed the breach lock shut and Paasche checked behind them and in front. "Gun ready for fire."
"Firing!" Rinder slammed the firing lever, the deactivated shell making only a click. "Load!" Rinder called out. At this, Carsten once again yanked the breach lock. This time, Hansche stepped in and pulled out the shell as Kapp loaded in another deactivated shell. Carsten locked the breach and Paasche checked the back blast and then the front sight. "Ready." Rinder yelled out "Firing" as he yanked the firing lever. The process to load and fire two shells had been just under 6 seconds. Actually, it was the first time that Armin had seen a Konigs guncrew at work directly. The PDF soldiers around them just stared in amazement. "Before they came to my squad, this lot were anti-tank gunners." Armin explained. Rinder checked and then looked at the breach before gesturing for the crew to unload the gun. The second de-activated shell was removed smoothly and expertly before Rinder stood in front of them.
"I can truly tell you that when a fire mission is requested, it is because one of your comrades is about to die. Especially a gun like this, this is a direct fire model. When you crew this and receive a fire order, it will be because one of your friends needs a shell to land in a hurry. If you let them down, they're going to fucking die." Rinder explained to them. "Now, again, I want you all to practice loading. That is the most important part. Two man loading team. One loads the shell in, the other picks up the next one to load." The PDF soldiers were thrown in, five of them to compensate for the lack of experience and skill in firing a field gun.
"We have enemy armour!" Gerson called out. Armin looked at him and Gerson handed him the earphone. "-looks like, incoming, four enemy armoured vehicles. Looks to be four SteG 4 tanks! Command, we need instructions!" Armin looked at the PDF crew. "You will have to do. Sit on the guns. Get the driver moving!" He ordered. Rinder hopped into the cab of the truck they were on. "Rest of you Grenadiers, krak loads!" Those who carried hellguns quickly loaded their under barrel launchers with krak grenades as the truck began to move. "Enemy armour is approaching from the north side, from the plains. They also have infantry supporting them." The truck was moving closer to the front lines now. Anti-armour meant direct fire. "Hey get us behind that berm, that way the truck won't get blown up ja?" Rinder yelled to the driver. The driver nodded, sweating already even though the heat was off inside the cabin.
"Steiner, are you able to get there and stop them?" The voice of Lieutenant Becker sounded over the vox earphone. "Ja Lieutenant, we are already on the way with the field gun." He didn't wait for Becker to say anything else, because he had to see if they can take out the armour first. The SteG 4 tanks had 40mm cannons that were now shredding through the sandbag defenses. Behind them, the infantry followed closely behind. "Rinder, we need the heavy weapons platoon." Rinder nodded and jumped out of the cab, running off to find the Sergeant in command of the weapon platoon. Carsten took command over the gun and gave the orders. "Black tip, load!" The PDF gun crew scrambled to load the shell as Carsten grabbed one of them. "You, Corporal Lentz, you're the senior ranked man, you're the gun commander." Corporal Lentz nodded and grabbed one of the others. "Check the sights, check the back blast. Loaders, ready two more black tips."
The observer looked through the sights and nodded before checking the back. "Gun ready, back blast clear. Lentz looked over at Carsten who pointed out the lever to him again. "Let them know you're firing and then fire it." Lentz nodded. "Gun firing!" He yelled out before grabbing the firing lever and yanked it down. The field gun recoiled hard, but sent the armour piercing shell flying out. "Load load load!" He yelled out after he fired it. The observer watched the shell soar and then kick up a mound of snow. "Too low, have to re-adjust!" Carsten looked down the sight quickly and shook his head. "Distance, you have to set the sight for distance. Distance is around 700 meters. Set the distance, call it out." The observer nodded and made adjustments to the sight. "Distance 700, load!" The loaders quickly popped the breach open and the empty casing was flung out before another shell was pushed in and the breach was locked. The observer checked the rear again and checked the sight. "Ready to fire!" Lentz grabbed the handle and yanked it down, yelling out "Firing" as he did so. This time it was a direct hit, the armour piercing shell hit the SteG 4 in the lead, a large black smoke now hissing out of the hole in the turret.
Of course, this also meant that the SteGs realised there was something larger there and began prowling forward. "Load!" Lentz screamed, as a few 40mm rounds zipped past them. Without advanced augers, the gunner of the SteG had to manually aim the turret. Another black shell was loaded and this time the observer made corrections. "Gun adjust left." The two loaders turned the gyroscope handle and made the adjustments. The observer checked the back blast and then looked down the sight again. "Gun ready, 700 meters!" Carsten stopped Lentz from firing. "Wait, target has moved closer. Observer aim a touch lower." The observer made the adjustments before nodding. "Gun ready!" "Firing" Lentz called out as he fired the gun, the armour piercing shell hitting the second SteG right in the frontal armour, penetrating but the light tank seemed to die slower. Lentz looked at Carsten for further instructions. "Load and fire again, turret might be live. It doesn't matter if a tank's engine is cooked, if the turret can still fire we're still fucked." Lentz nodded and looked at the two loaders. "Load!" The loaders were a bit faster now, their adrenaline kicking in as they could hear the zips of the 40mm cannon. A new shell was loaded in and fired, this time the light tank exploding from the second shell. The SteGs having lost half their numbers began to pull back. Armin looked over at Carsten. "See if we can kill one more."
The PDF gun crew, literally baptized at this point was just about to load another round when a stray 40mm shell flew through the chest of one of the loaders. The other loader stared at him stunned before Armin stepped in and smacked the man. "Load damn you, if you don't load you're going to end up like him." The loader scrambled with the shell, his friends blood on his shaking hands making it slick but managed to dump the next shell in. The observer checked again. "Gun ready." Lentz was busy staring at where the PDF soldier had died and Carsten shoved him into the gun. "Fire the fucking gun Corporal!" Lentz quickly grabbed the firing lever and yanked it down. "Firing!" The shell ripped through the frontal armour of one of the retreating SteGs, blowing it apart. "Load!" He called out, his voice shaking. Armin pushed another of the PDF soldiers forward to act as loader. "Help him load, pull the lever open like this." Carsten showed him as the PDF soldier was able to load another shell in. "Sight this one in carefully, the tank is moving." He would instruct the observer. The observer knelt behind the sight and looked carefully before making a few adjustments. "Gun ready." Lentz yanked the lever down and fired the shell, the last SteG exploding in a brilliant ball of fire this time. The infantry however didn't retreat and kept pressing on.
"Rinder, hurry up!" Armin called over the squad vox. "Ja Ja Sergeant, we're moving as fast as we can." Rinder at this point had gotten Sergeant Krier and his soldiers forward onto the roof of a building facing the north side where the other PDF soldiers had fortified as a semi-bunker of sorts. "Ok look at how cool your comrades look killing tanks, so now we have to kill some people Ja?" Rinder grinned at the Sergeant who was doing his best to keep his head down. "Ok you with the heavy bolters, set up them and load. Hey Sergeant pay attention ok? I might not live through this to teach you more." The Sergeant nodded and looked at the stubbers. "Stubbers, set up and load as well." Rinder grinned and gestured towards where the enemy was attacking from. "Ok, you have to control the fire of the whooole platoon now ok? Two heavy bolters, six stubbers, that's a lot of firepower Ja? But it's useless if you don't direct it. It's like the world's biggest dick but can't find the hole Ja?" Rinder cackled as the Sergeant and the rest of the platoon looked just bewildered at his analogy. "Hey gunners, once your weapon is loaded, tell the Sergeant here that it is so he knows who can fire!" A chorus of "Loaded" came back after a few more seconds. "OK Sergeant, direct their fire!" Rinder was enjoying himself as he looked out through a pair of binos. "Uh. Alright weapons platoon, target, 300 meters, all gunners open fire!" The clattering of large caliber stub rounds as well as the roaring of the heavy bolters sent a stream of fire towards the enemy. The heavy weapon projectiles tore through flesh or exploded in bodies, sending body parts flying.
Armin was looking through and figured perhaps a few more moments and the enemy would break, but the expected retreat never came. "Sergeant, we got more bad news." Kapp would say to him as he looked through his long las scope. "We got enemy heavy armour coming in." Armin looked through his binos towards the direction that Kapp was pointed and sighed. There was a trio of enemy Brigands coming through towards them. The only good news is that they were still a kilometer out. He looked over at Corporal Lentz who judging by the Grenadier Sergeants expression, quickly gave the load order. "Kapp what's the distance?" Kapp adjusted his optic a bit before responding. "They're just past the 1 kilometer mark." Carsten gave the orders to the gun crew quickly. "Mark for 900 meters, observer aim the gun." The observer quickly adjusted the sight and made correction orders. "Gun, far left, keep going. Full stop." He then adjusted the elevation of the gun before looking at Carsten. "Ok now fire the gun and we'll get a better feel."
Lentz yanked on the firing handle, and sent the shell flying while the observer watched intently. "They aren't moving fast enough, we're still short." Lentz quickly gave the command to load again. Once the observer gave him a thumbs up, he quickly fired again. This time, the AT83 Brigand was directly hit. 'It's a hit but nothing happened." The observer reported. The tanks however did stop and began returning fire. "Hit it again!" The shells of the Brigand weren't accurate but it was only a matter of time before the tank shells would land directly on them. The PDF gun crew, looking at least like a gun crew now, quickly loaded another shell in. "Firing!" Lentz yelled out as he fired the gun again. This time the shell hit the turret directly but there was no signs of enemy damage. "I think the gun is not powerful enough, the enemy is too far away." Carsten said as he looked over at Armin. Armin swore, if the field gun couldn't penetrate then their krak grenades wouldn't do much. "Load again" Lentz ordered, as another shell was loaded in and then fired. The front of the tank was hit this time and while the shell exploded, the tank didn't necessarily look worse for wear. It did some damage as the tank that was hit stopped firing and instead the turret began to turn back and forth. "We killed the optics at least." Carsten observed. Armin could only stare at the enemy tanks and think. "We might need to attack the tanks directly." He said. The other Grenadiers look at him with questioning looks. "If we get close enough, we can probably blow off tracks and then kill it with explosives." He explained. The others nodded, knowing that this is what Armin meant earlier about jobs that were ones no one really wanted to do. Before Armin could give them a solid plan, one of the Brigands exploded.
"Who was that?" Armin called out as he looked around. Gerson listened to the vox and shook his head. "Sergeant, the net is going crazy. Noone knows who fired that shot. And with what." Carsten looked at the tank burning and frowned. "Maybe something was damaged and cooked off a shell? It doesn't look like a cook off though." This time, a second tank was hit twice, the chassis rocking back before exploding, the turret flying off. The third Brigand stopped and began to reverse but was hit in the side skirt three times and exploded in a ball of fire. From the western side, Armin finally could see where their salvation had come from. Four tank destroyers in the colours of the Konig 5th with the distinctive striped camouflage pattern of the Konig armoured forces crawled forward, their cannons smoking. The four tank destroyers were Konig Jagwulf pattern assault guns. The four armoured assault guns crawled forward slowly, firing again after a pause. This time, the enemy infantry that had been holding out for the heavy armour was on the receiving end of a fusillade of high explosive shells. Seeing their tanks burning, the enemy retreated. The four Jagwulfs crawled forward, their up armoured Chimera chassis showing side skirt armour and reinforced frontal armour welded on. The guns they carried were 120mm battle cannons mounted in an armoured fixed case mate to control the massive recoil of the guns. Armin had never been more happy to see another Konig vehicle, while his Grenadier squad members stared with envy. "I could have been cool like that too." Rinder muttered, to the confusion of the heavy weapons Sergeant who was in cover beside him.