Lt. Miller looked around the tank trap that was offering him slight cover to only be met with yet another hail of gunfire. It wouldn't be easy to move up the beach with so much firepower directed at the shore party. Miller needed to silence the MG-42s for a few seconds to move up to the next line of defenses.
"Johansen! Malarkey! Get up here!" Miller yelled out to his squad. Two men carrying BARs trotted up next to him. "Smith, you too!" Another man with a sniper rifle in hand joined the group.
"Sir?" they asked in unison.
"We need to get some suppression fire on those guns so that we can move the men up the beach…" An artillery shell blasted the sand a few feat away, sending a helpless soldier flying into the air. "I want Johansen and Malarkey taking up spots on those traps," he pointed to two tank traps flanking their current position, "and Smith right here," he tapped the trap he was up against. "On my command, Johansen and Malarkey will open fire on any of the nests that are still firing. Smith, you pick off any you can see from here. When we're up the beach, I'll give you another signal to open fire again. Once we are up on the shingle, we provide cover so you can reach us. Got it?"
"Yes sir," Malarkey nodded at Miller.
"Roger sir," Johansen said, staring blankly up the beach.
"Will do, sir," Smith said, who was already lining up his first shot.
"Ok then, get ready…" Miller barked at them, relaying the commands to the rest of the squad.
"…NOW!"
The sound of automatic gunfire filled the men's ears as they clambered up and charged across the open sand. The sound of Smith's rifle echoed with each shot. Artillery shells started exploding all around them. All hell was breaking loose.
Miller reached the second trap line first. He looked back to see his squad nearing his position. One of the MG-42s opened fire for a few seconds before Malarkey began shooting at it, but he was too late. Private Simmons dived headfirst onto the beach, a pool of blood forming around him. The squad medic, Pvt. Bueller or "Doc" to the men, bent down for a second at Simmons body before shaking his head and continuing his sprint to the defensive line. When the squad members that had survived made it to the line, Miller looked back towards Malarkey, Johansen, and Smith.
"NOW!"