Chapter 7: MiG Prototype
Zach was returning from another skirmish on the city outskirts. His team had taken on one Soviet pocket after another. The death toils were rising but Berlin was in Alliance hands and that made it worth it. An entire tank division was stationed in the city while two others were holding off Soviet armor trying to retake Berlin. Zach was cut on his hand and was getting a bandage when a nurse ran into him.
"Sorry ma'am," he automatically burst out in English.
"Excuse me?" The nurse said in her accented English. It was obvious that she spoke German better so Zach switched back to it.
"Sorry ma'am," he repeated.
"It's nothing," said the nurse, "Are you hurt?"
"Just a minor cut," said Zach, "I'll take care of it."
"No need," said the nurse, "I'm supposed to help with injuries and I can wrap that up for you."
"Appreciate it ma'am."
The nurse examined the cut as she continued speaking.
"You aren't from around here, are you?"
"No ma'am. I'm with the 34th Mechanized. I'm actually an American."
"Your German is superb."
"I would hope so. My parents taught it to me."
The nurse wrapped the wound tightly and made sure the bandage would stay.
"There."
"Thanks ma'am."
"My name is Angelica," said the nurse, "Ma'am makes me sound old."
"Sorry, Angelica. I have to go now."
Angelica nodded and Zach went to rejoin his squad. He had just received another call-up. It was probably another stubborn pocket.
Angelica turned and put away the things she had used. One of her friends walked up to her.
"Do you know who that was?" Rachel asked her friend.
Angelica shook her head.
"That was the American who actually hit a NKVD officer holding a hostage and kept the hostage unharmed."
"That was him?" said Angelica, "He must be a pretty good shot."
"And good looking too."
"Is that all you look for in a man?" Angelica asked.
"Well, what else do you look for?"
"Understanding, kind, helpful."
"Dream on girl. That's the guy all of us want but none of us will get."
Zach met the others at the barracks.
"General Rommel was just ordered out on another mission," said Fritz, "And he's taking our squad with him."
"So what requires the General's attention this time?" asked Zach.
"Remember that jet fighter that we saw a few days ago? Well, the High Command wants us to capture one."
"How are we supposed to catch a fighter?" Zach asked.
Fritz shrugged. "I assume that General Rommel has a decent plan."
A private ran up to them and handed an order envelope to Fritz. Fritz tore it open and examined the paper.
"He's taking in a small team," said Fritz, "It can't be a large attack. I've been ordered to lead the team."
"Am I coming with you?"
"No. You're to stay behind. Congratulations Sergeant, you just inherited my command for the duration of my abscense."
"Make sure the abscense is only temporary," Zach said and saluted his friend.
Fritz returned it and got his equipment.
"So where the hell am I supposed to go?" Zach asked.
"You're going to Hamburg," replied Fritz, "The Soviets just don't want to leave the city. They want our forces to go in and knock them out. Don't worry. General Rommel will be with you guys."
"So who's commanding your forces?"
"General Charles de Gaulle."
Fritz ran off to his transport. Zach watched his friend leave and went to assemble his squad. After a weapons check, they boarded their transports and were soon on the move."
Fritz was in command of one of three teams. There was a German SA team as well as a French team.
"Gentlemen, this mission is rather important to the high command," said the French colonel, "We are to capture intact a MiG fighter so that our engineers can figure out how the Soviets built it so well and most likely duplicate it so we can use their weapon against them. As you all know, the Soviets have already engaged several of our jet squadrons, and their fighters smashed our formations. It's time we give them bloody hell."
Actually, few of the soldiers knew of the disastrous air battles, but they certainly agreed with the French officer. It was time to fight back hard.
"The Soviet airbase is lightly defended because the Soviets are trying to ensure that Hamburg remains in their hands until they can get armored reinforcements into Germany. But thanks to General Rommel, we've managed to cut the Soviets off and they're having to fight through our armored forces to even get into Germany. Now we need to keep it that way. Once we crush this army, Stalin will have one less to throw at us. Dismissed!"
The soldiers all returned to their APCs and soon the vehicles were rolling along.
"Basically, we're the support team," Fritz informed his squad, "The French team will move in first and take draw their fire. Then we move in and supply cover fire while the SA drops in behind them and basically trap them in a pocket. There are eight MiG fighters and we need at least one intact. That means we have to move in fast."
"Has anyone ever tried to capture an enemy fighter on the ground?"
"No, and I doubt we'll get lucky. But just maybe we might be able to capture one of those fighters."
The rest of the ride was in silence. No matter what, this was going to get nasty. The enemy forces would resist savagely and there was no way they would get through this unhurt. The French had the toughest job. After about fifteen minutes the APCs stopped and they unloaded.
"All right," said the colonel, "Team 1, move into position. Team 2 and 3, prepare to support them. There aren't that many Soviet guards, but there is enough."
Zach and the rest of the team had boarded air freighters and were being moved to near Hamburg. Two armored regiments were already on site and just needed infantry support. There was still some Soviet armor holed up in the city but Soviet soldiers kept up such heavy resistance that the Allied tanks withdrew after losing half of their strength. Now reinforced, they would move in again.
The air freighter landed and Zach and his troops disembarked. Their equipment was unloaded and they now had to get ready to go into the city. Apache Longbow helicopters flew overhead them. They would be able to provide minimal support but at least it would be support.
"All right! Get your equipment and get ready to move out!"
The soldiers nodded and got to work. They would be only one of several dozen squads being sent in but they had to do everything they could. Otherwise Hamburg would take a very long time to surrender.
Fritz waited as the French soldiers crept up to the base. They quickly took down five enemy soldiers but the base was now aware that it was under attack. Alarms activated and started blasting away. Fritz's soldiers ran down and killed several Soviet soldiers running out of the barracks. Two rocket soldiers fired and destroyed the structures. The SA team seemed to appear out of nowhere and blasted away at the enemy positions. Two machinegun posts were destroyed while two others came under fire from them. The French soldiers took on a Soviet grenadier team and killed the group before they could throw any grenades. Fritz's team slowly converged and moped up a few other Soviet soldiers trying to reach the site of the battle. A few minutes later and it was all over.
"Casualties," said the SA commander.
"I lost two," said Fritz.
"Eight," added the French commander.
"I lost one. Let's secure the area. Armored forces will move arrive in about five minutes. Until then, we're on our own. Let's not let the Soviets to blow anything up."
Zach and his soldiers were backed up by three Rangers. The Rangers opened fire with their machineguns and pelted the buildings with bullets. Zach fired another burst from his M-16 and killed a Soviet soldier about to shoot.
"This is fucking ridiculous," he cursed.
His team was pinned down by an entire battalion of Soviet soldiers. Fortunately, none of the enemy soldiers had grenades with them. That was about the only good thing. He could see a tank starting to move towards them. Another gunner was shot and fell off the Ranger.
"Karl, man the machinegun!" he shouted.
The soldier next to him crawled over to the vehicle and got on it. He let loose with the gun and chopped to pieces three soldiers approaching them.
"Herman, get your missiles ready. I see T-66 headed for us!"
The soldier nodded and unslung his bazooka. He loaded a missile and waited for the tank to appear. Ten more enemy soldiers appeared and opened fire on their position. Zach aimed with his sniper rifle and killed three in a matter of seconds. He crouched back down and barely missed getting shot.
"HQ, this is Sergeant Keith. We need reinforcements. My men are pinned down and the Soviets are bringing armor against us."
A cannon blast struck the other side of the slope and rained dust all over them.
"Shit. Does anybody copy?"
"We read you. All forces are currently engaged. Reinforcements are moving into the city. Hang on."
"Hang on! What the fuck advice is that! We are hanging on!"
Karl fired his missile and it blew apart the turret of the tank. He immediately dropped down, the ridge catching lots of bullets.
"This is no fun," said Zach.
He got up and threw one of his grenades. Several Soviet soldiers tried to dive out of the way but were struck and killed. He fired three quick bursts from his sniper rifle and dropped down again, not bothering to see if they hit or not. Three other soldiers a few feet away opened fire as well, killing several exposed Soviet soldiers. Dozens of flashes from rifles erupted. The firefight was a stalemate but it was the German forces that were trapped. The Soviet forces continued to pour more soldiers in.
"Shit. We need reinforcements HQ, or we're going to die."
"Roger that. Reinforcements are en route."
Suddenly an Apache appeared and let loose its machinegun. The Soviet soldiers dropped like flies in its wake of fire. Soon a path was cleared of Soviet soldiers. It then fired its missiles, taking out several enemy positions and then it left.
"All units! Counterattack!"
The German soldiers surged out and caught the Soviets by surprise. Most were killed before they could react. They quickly retreated. Just then, another helicopter appeared and this one wasn't an Apache.
"Fuck! Get under cover!" screamed Zach.
The German soldiers all ran for the buildings when the Hind let loose with its gattling gun. Its casings ran down on the ground, creating a ringing noise. Two German soldiers were completely shot up, their bodies riddled with bullet holes. The Hind then turned its attention to the other soldiers in the buildings. The bullets nearly broke through the stone buildings. All of the German soldiers were keeping low, trying to not get hit by the ferocious gunfire.
End of Chapter 7
Z98
Zach was returning from another skirmish on the city outskirts. His team had taken on one Soviet pocket after another. The death toils were rising but Berlin was in Alliance hands and that made it worth it. An entire tank division was stationed in the city while two others were holding off Soviet armor trying to retake Berlin. Zach was cut on his hand and was getting a bandage when a nurse ran into him.
"Sorry ma'am," he automatically burst out in English.
"Excuse me?" The nurse said in her accented English. It was obvious that she spoke German better so Zach switched back to it.
"Sorry ma'am," he repeated.
"It's nothing," said the nurse, "Are you hurt?"
"Just a minor cut," said Zach, "I'll take care of it."
"No need," said the nurse, "I'm supposed to help with injuries and I can wrap that up for you."
"Appreciate it ma'am."
The nurse examined the cut as she continued speaking.
"You aren't from around here, are you?"
"No ma'am. I'm with the 34th Mechanized. I'm actually an American."
"Your German is superb."
"I would hope so. My parents taught it to me."
The nurse wrapped the wound tightly and made sure the bandage would stay.
"There."
"Thanks ma'am."
"My name is Angelica," said the nurse, "Ma'am makes me sound old."
"Sorry, Angelica. I have to go now."
Angelica nodded and Zach went to rejoin his squad. He had just received another call-up. It was probably another stubborn pocket.
Angelica turned and put away the things she had used. One of her friends walked up to her.
"Do you know who that was?" Rachel asked her friend.
Angelica shook her head.
"That was the American who actually hit a NKVD officer holding a hostage and kept the hostage unharmed."
"That was him?" said Angelica, "He must be a pretty good shot."
"And good looking too."
"Is that all you look for in a man?" Angelica asked.
"Well, what else do you look for?"
"Understanding, kind, helpful."
"Dream on girl. That's the guy all of us want but none of us will get."
Zach met the others at the barracks.
"General Rommel was just ordered out on another mission," said Fritz, "And he's taking our squad with him."
"So what requires the General's attention this time?" asked Zach.
"Remember that jet fighter that we saw a few days ago? Well, the High Command wants us to capture one."
"How are we supposed to catch a fighter?" Zach asked.
Fritz shrugged. "I assume that General Rommel has a decent plan."
A private ran up to them and handed an order envelope to Fritz. Fritz tore it open and examined the paper.
"He's taking in a small team," said Fritz, "It can't be a large attack. I've been ordered to lead the team."
"Am I coming with you?"
"No. You're to stay behind. Congratulations Sergeant, you just inherited my command for the duration of my abscense."
"Make sure the abscense is only temporary," Zach said and saluted his friend.
Fritz returned it and got his equipment.
"So where the hell am I supposed to go?" Zach asked.
"You're going to Hamburg," replied Fritz, "The Soviets just don't want to leave the city. They want our forces to go in and knock them out. Don't worry. General Rommel will be with you guys."
"So who's commanding your forces?"
"General Charles de Gaulle."
Fritz ran off to his transport. Zach watched his friend leave and went to assemble his squad. After a weapons check, they boarded their transports and were soon on the move."
Fritz was in command of one of three teams. There was a German SA team as well as a French team.
"Gentlemen, this mission is rather important to the high command," said the French colonel, "We are to capture intact a MiG fighter so that our engineers can figure out how the Soviets built it so well and most likely duplicate it so we can use their weapon against them. As you all know, the Soviets have already engaged several of our jet squadrons, and their fighters smashed our formations. It's time we give them bloody hell."
Actually, few of the soldiers knew of the disastrous air battles, but they certainly agreed with the French officer. It was time to fight back hard.
"The Soviet airbase is lightly defended because the Soviets are trying to ensure that Hamburg remains in their hands until they can get armored reinforcements into Germany. But thanks to General Rommel, we've managed to cut the Soviets off and they're having to fight through our armored forces to even get into Germany. Now we need to keep it that way. Once we crush this army, Stalin will have one less to throw at us. Dismissed!"
The soldiers all returned to their APCs and soon the vehicles were rolling along.
"Basically, we're the support team," Fritz informed his squad, "The French team will move in first and take draw their fire. Then we move in and supply cover fire while the SA drops in behind them and basically trap them in a pocket. There are eight MiG fighters and we need at least one intact. That means we have to move in fast."
"Has anyone ever tried to capture an enemy fighter on the ground?"
"No, and I doubt we'll get lucky. But just maybe we might be able to capture one of those fighters."
The rest of the ride was in silence. No matter what, this was going to get nasty. The enemy forces would resist savagely and there was no way they would get through this unhurt. The French had the toughest job. After about fifteen minutes the APCs stopped and they unloaded.
"All right," said the colonel, "Team 1, move into position. Team 2 and 3, prepare to support them. There aren't that many Soviet guards, but there is enough."
Zach and the rest of the team had boarded air freighters and were being moved to near Hamburg. Two armored regiments were already on site and just needed infantry support. There was still some Soviet armor holed up in the city but Soviet soldiers kept up such heavy resistance that the Allied tanks withdrew after losing half of their strength. Now reinforced, they would move in again.
The air freighter landed and Zach and his troops disembarked. Their equipment was unloaded and they now had to get ready to go into the city. Apache Longbow helicopters flew overhead them. They would be able to provide minimal support but at least it would be support.
"All right! Get your equipment and get ready to move out!"
The soldiers nodded and got to work. They would be only one of several dozen squads being sent in but they had to do everything they could. Otherwise Hamburg would take a very long time to surrender.
Fritz waited as the French soldiers crept up to the base. They quickly took down five enemy soldiers but the base was now aware that it was under attack. Alarms activated and started blasting away. Fritz's soldiers ran down and killed several Soviet soldiers running out of the barracks. Two rocket soldiers fired and destroyed the structures. The SA team seemed to appear out of nowhere and blasted away at the enemy positions. Two machinegun posts were destroyed while two others came under fire from them. The French soldiers took on a Soviet grenadier team and killed the group before they could throw any grenades. Fritz's team slowly converged and moped up a few other Soviet soldiers trying to reach the site of the battle. A few minutes later and it was all over.
"Casualties," said the SA commander.
"I lost two," said Fritz.
"Eight," added the French commander.
"I lost one. Let's secure the area. Armored forces will move arrive in about five minutes. Until then, we're on our own. Let's not let the Soviets to blow anything up."
Zach and his soldiers were backed up by three Rangers. The Rangers opened fire with their machineguns and pelted the buildings with bullets. Zach fired another burst from his M-16 and killed a Soviet soldier about to shoot.
"This is fucking ridiculous," he cursed.
His team was pinned down by an entire battalion of Soviet soldiers. Fortunately, none of the enemy soldiers had grenades with them. That was about the only good thing. He could see a tank starting to move towards them. Another gunner was shot and fell off the Ranger.
"Karl, man the machinegun!" he shouted.
The soldier next to him crawled over to the vehicle and got on it. He let loose with the gun and chopped to pieces three soldiers approaching them.
"Herman, get your missiles ready. I see T-66 headed for us!"
The soldier nodded and unslung his bazooka. He loaded a missile and waited for the tank to appear. Ten more enemy soldiers appeared and opened fire on their position. Zach aimed with his sniper rifle and killed three in a matter of seconds. He crouched back down and barely missed getting shot.
"HQ, this is Sergeant Keith. We need reinforcements. My men are pinned down and the Soviets are bringing armor against us."
A cannon blast struck the other side of the slope and rained dust all over them.
"Shit. Does anybody copy?"
"We read you. All forces are currently engaged. Reinforcements are moving into the city. Hang on."
"Hang on! What the fuck advice is that! We are hanging on!"
Karl fired his missile and it blew apart the turret of the tank. He immediately dropped down, the ridge catching lots of bullets.
"This is no fun," said Zach.
He got up and threw one of his grenades. Several Soviet soldiers tried to dive out of the way but were struck and killed. He fired three quick bursts from his sniper rifle and dropped down again, not bothering to see if they hit or not. Three other soldiers a few feet away opened fire as well, killing several exposed Soviet soldiers. Dozens of flashes from rifles erupted. The firefight was a stalemate but it was the German forces that were trapped. The Soviet forces continued to pour more soldiers in.
"Shit. We need reinforcements HQ, or we're going to die."
"Roger that. Reinforcements are en route."
Suddenly an Apache appeared and let loose its machinegun. The Soviet soldiers dropped like flies in its wake of fire. Soon a path was cleared of Soviet soldiers. It then fired its missiles, taking out several enemy positions and then it left.
"All units! Counterattack!"
The German soldiers surged out and caught the Soviets by surprise. Most were killed before they could react. They quickly retreated. Just then, another helicopter appeared and this one wasn't an Apache.
"Fuck! Get under cover!" screamed Zach.
The German soldiers all ran for the buildings when the Hind let loose with its gattling gun. Its casings ran down on the ground, creating a ringing noise. Two German soldiers were completely shot up, their bodies riddled with bullet holes. The Hind then turned its attention to the other soldiers in the buildings. The bullets nearly broke through the stone buildings. All of the German soldiers were keeping low, trying to not get hit by the ferocious gunfire.
End of Chapter 7
Z98