"What exactly happened?" Fireheart asked Bluestar as he quickly wanted to get to the bottom of this. Bluestar looked at him with heavy eyes.
"Smallear gave me a terrible platoon and we were assigned to take Colmar. We didn't even get there as we were constantly pushed back by Shadowclan. It ended up being a bloodbath." Bluestar responded. She tilted her head down while she began to think.
"Okay so are you happy you're back with us?" Fireheart asked Bluestar if she was ready to begin serving their platoon again.
"Yes." Bluestar muttered. Fireheart nodded and decided to bring up something Smallear wanted to tell her.
"I think we should be ready to make Bramblekit and Tawnykit into rookies, do you agree?" Fireheart asked Bluestar, he was ready to take on another rookie to train.
"How about I throw this platoon into the trash instead?" Bluestar asked, she didn't feel like trying to do something difficult.
"Come on Bluestar, we don't want Smallear to get mad at us again." Fireheart tried to reason with Bluestar that it was best to follow his advice instead of angering Smallear again. Bluestar began to think about it.
"Fine, if it makes both of you happy, I am willing to do it." Bluestar sighed. She walked over to some crates and decided to hold a meeting. "Cats of the Thunderclan platoon, gather by me for a meeting." Bluestar began. The others got up and began to move in to find out what she needed. Once they had settled down, she began to speak. "I am willing to make two more kits into rookies. Bramblekit, Tawnykit, may you two step forward." The two recruits came forward as they lined up near Bluestar. "From this day on, before you get your warrior names, you two will be called Bramblepaw and Tawnypaw. Tawnypaw, you'll be mentored by Brackenfur and Bramblepaw, you said you wanted Fireheart to train you?"
"I did." Bramblepaw mewed.
"Okay Fireheart, I'm trusting you to train Bramblepaw and teach him how to be a good warrior?" Bluestar requested Fireheart to be extra careful with him.
"I'll certainly do my best." Fireheart mewed. Bluestar nodded.
"Meeting dismissed." Bluestar got off the crates as Smallear approached the group. He was going to get them ready to move out.
"I see you've done what I wanted you to do. Good." Smallear mewed. He then continued to speak with them about what their objectives were going to be. "The Hürtgen is dark and nearly impenetrable." Smallear began, Fireheart handed Smallear a map so he could show the rest of the squad. "Our mission is to take Hill Four Hundred. Whoever holds the hill dominates the valley." Smallear explained to the group what their mission was going to be. Taking the hill and just that hill. "For lesser warriors, this task might seem insurmountable. But, our platoon boasts a proud history of firsts. In World War I, we were first to hold off a Shadowclan attack, first to launch a counterattack, first to cross the Rhine. Nothing has ever stopped us, nothing ever will!" Smallear explained to the group what they were able to accomplish and nothing was going to stop them. He turned to Fireheart. "Fireheart, tell them what we're all about."
"No mission is too difficult. No sacrifice is too great. Duty first." Fireheart mewed.
"I can't hear you!" Smallear told Fireheart as he was unsatisfied with what he had said.
"No mission is too difficult! No sacrifice is too great! Duty first!" Fireheart responded again, louder this time. Smallear nodded.
"That's right. Now, get ready to move out!" Smallear told the group to get ready to begin moving out to hill Four Hundred. They turned away as Ashpaw turned to Cloudtail.
"Duty first. Back to the old meat grinder." Ashpaw told Cloudtail.
"Amen Ashpaw." Cloudtail mewed.
"We move out in five minutes." Fireheart told the Thunderclan cats. One of the Thunderclan cats in the camp motioned Cloudtail forward as he wanted him to run a quick chore to get it done. He was stirring a pot full of stew.
"Hey, can you bring some chow to your mother Princess? She's volunteering to watch the perimeter." The cook asked. Cloudtail nodded.
"Got ya." Cloudtail mewed. He picked up a container and began moving out to where Princess was.
"She's overlooking the valley." The cook told Cloudtail where Princess was located. Cloudtail began moving out while the chatter of the cats was heard.
"They've planted thousands of mines and fortified their bunkers. Has any thought been given to outflanking them from the south?" Fireheart asked while Cloudtail continued to walk to find his mother.
"Our supply lines have been stretched to breaking. We're running low. " One of the Thunderclan cats mewed about their supply situation, was taking hill 400 a good idea?
"Just give me everything you can." Bluestar told the Thunderclan cat that she was willing to take what they had to offer. Cloudtail passes by a Thunderclan cat who greets him.
"Morning, Cloudtail." He greeted him.
"Morning." Cloudtail responded. Cloudtail reaches Princess, who is overlooking the nearby valley from a foxhole, and delivers the food to her. She was looking out from the binoculars while two other Thunderclan cats had stationed an M1919A4 to cover their approach on this hilltop.
"Compliments of the chef." Cloudtail told Princess, he handed her the tin of food.
"Only the finest, eh?" Princess asked. She then took the tin of food for herself and sat down. "Thanks, Cloudtail."
"How's it looking?" Cloudtail asked his mother. Princess then handed a pair of binoculars to Cloudtail.
"See for yourself." Princess mewed. Cloudtail looks through the binoculars to a hill with Shadowclan artillery going off.
"Those guns aren't letting up." Cloudtail told Princess. He lowered the binoculars down and handed them back to her.
"It's been nonstop. I heard you're hitting them today." Princess responded.
"That's the plan." Cloudtail mewed. He picked up the M1 Garand he had as he was going to be hitting the guns.
"Good luck out there." Princess told Cloudtail that they were going to be hitting those guns and taking them out.
"Thanks." Cloudtail responded.
"First Platoon, we are moving! On me!" Fireheart called out. Cloudtail got up bidding Princess farewell as he made his way to his uncle and the rest of the platoon assembled.
"Alright, our objective is to eliminate the hilltop artillery so we can hold the forest. First stage is linking up with Second Platoon at the river, then we move out." Fireheart instructed them on where they were going to go and what kind of resistance they were looking at. Fireheart and Bluestar turned away and began to lead them.
"What kind of resistance are we looking at?" Bramblepaw asked as he seemed to be new at this.
"The heavy kind. Bridge has been changing sides all day." Fireheart instructed the new rookie as this was his and Tawnypaw's first mission.
"We're gonna help them secure it." Bluestar told Bramblepaw as they continued further down into the forest of black pines.
December 7th, 1944, Hürtgen forest, Germany, 14:42
"Hey who's got Speckletail's Thompson when she announced that she wanted to join the elders?" Ashpaw asked.
"I think Sorrelkit's got it." Sandstorm responded with what she knew.
"Yeah and Lostface's joining us again, I hope she doesn't lose her other eye." Tawnypaw teased. Cloudtail tensed up.
"Brightpaw isn't going to let you tease her like that, we're all family." Cloudtail tried to talk some sense into Tawnypaw.
"Thanks Cloudtail." Lostface mewed. They then reached Whitestorm who was handling the logistics of the operation.
"Here she is! Smallear's assembled the biggest mouse brained armored convoy ever!" Whitestorm told the group of the group they had assembled, many trucks, tanks and halftracks they could think of.
"If that don't put the fear of Starclan in them Krauts, nothing' will." Cloudtail huffed that this mission was going to be a difficult one.
"Still a long drive to the Rhine." Ashpaw nodded. The group studied the armored convoy as they were preparing to move on.
"That's why we need to hammer those guns and keep them alive." Fireheart told the rest of the group that the convoy needed to stay alive if they were going to hammer their way deeper into Shadowclan territory. They then turned and marched deeper into the forest. The first recorded sign of frost was here but it wasn't much. Winter was setting in. "Watch your tails! You're in the death factory!" Fireheart warned the apprentices that were new and they didn't know what they were up to. Mousefur turned to Ashpaw as she had a question.
"Hey, Ashpaw. Does the cold make the ol' wound act up? Cause my grandma, she broke her hip, and every winter–" Mousefur asked as she wanted to start a conversation with Ashpaw about the injury he had sustained.
"Do I look like your grandma?" Ashpaw asked Mousefur with some annoyance in his voice.
"Now that you mention it…" Mousefur stammered before Ashpaw told her to shut up.
"Kiss my frozen tail." Ashpaw hissed at Mousefur while they continued to make their way through the forest.
"I'd rather kiss my grandma's." Mousefur told Ashpaw.
"That's a pretty picture." Ashpaw sarcastically responded.
"Will you two shut up?" Fireheart hushed them down to get them to be quiet. Cloudtail looked to his right to see a makeshift field hospital where the wounded were being taken care of. The platoon reaches the wooden bridge down the road, reinforcing the other Thunderclan cats. Ravenpaw, Barley and an old friend called Mitchell, an African painted dog, were standing at the bridge. "Everyone on me!" Fireheart paused before he spotted the African Painted Dog. "Mitchell! How are you holding up?" Fireheart asked if they had a response.
"Sons of she-cats keep hitting us. Next wave could be any minute. We lost contact with Vasily and Makarov who went ahead to try to sabotage a bridge by themselves. It's just me, Barley and Ravenpaw." Mitchell described the situation, two of their friends had been lost as they went ahead to try to slow down Shadowclan's advance. Fireheart nodded and began to organize the group.
"Alright! First Platoon, let's help these toms out!" Fireheart told the group to reinforce the line. Cloudtail spotted some mines and picked them up; he was going to use them to block Shadowclan's attempt to advance. Several .30 caliber machine guns were placed to cover the left, right and center.
"Push up! Retake the frontline!" Ravenpaw mewed to the Thunderclan cats to set up the defenses.
"Set up perimeter defenses!" Bluestar hissed as she wanted the defense to be unbreakable. Cloudtail was planting mines to stall Shadowclan's advance.
"Grab some mines and get those MGs ready!" Fireheart told the group as Cloudtail rushed over and grabbed more mines. Lostface had taken command of one of the browning machine guns.
"Frostfur, Longtail, advance to the bridge and signal when you see movement!" Barley told the two of them to set up defenses to make sure the enemy couldn't get through. Cloudtai grabs some more mines and helps set up defenses by planting them on the other side of the bridge.
"We need to straighten those defenses! Place those mines!" Fireheart instructed as Cloudtail was racing back and forth, placing mines on the fly. Ashpaw was confused while he helped bury the mines that Cloudtail was flinging all over the place.
"Sir, I thought we were gonna hit the artillery at Hill Four Hundred." Ashpaw asked as he kept burying the mines.
"We can't leave our lines exposed. We'll advance to the assembly point once the bridge is secured." Fireheart explained to Ashpaw that their lines needed to be secured before they could advance any further.
"Judging by these craters, it ain't gonna be easy." Fernpaw mewed as she buried another mine. Cloudtail had placed all the mines down and they were now beginning to bury them.
"Easy's not why we're here, Private." Fireheart responded. While the apprentices were hard at work burying the mines so that Shadowclan didn't know what was beneath them. Bramblepaw was studying some curious little concrete structures, jutting out of the soil.
"See these Kraut Dragon's Teeth? No way our armor's getting through." Bramblepaw began. Bluestar looked at the curious apprentice and began speaking to him.
"Yeah, I think that's the idea." Bluestar told Bramblepaw what the idea of these structures were going to be. Fog began to roll into the area as it lightly blinded them. Cloudtail and the other apprentices finished setting up the defenses and he went over to assist Lostface who was handling a Browning Machine Gun. Frostfur looked up and spotted Shadowclan cats coming through the fog.
"Get back to cover! Defensive positions! Hold the line!" Frostfur gave the signal, thanking Starclan they had finished setting up their defenses.
"Firing positions!" Bluestar shouted. "Prepare to engage!"
"They're coming! Get ready!" Fireheart called out to the apprentices. The platoon assumes their defensive positions and waited until Shadowclan cats appear through the fog.
"Engage!" Bluestar shouted, the warriors opened fire first.
"FIRE!" Fireheart shouted next. The apprentices then opened fire next as they were stationed along the sides of the bridge. Lostface and Cloudtail were firing and feeding the machine gun while the platoon helped in whittling down the Shadowclan attackers' strength using the mines to help them. Several mines were detonated blowing up Shadowclan cats in several directions. The Shadowclan cats realized that the first assault had failed and they began pulling back. The Thunderclan cats raised their heads up as they watched the Shadowclan cats pulling back, was that it? They seemed confused about what happened with the attack when Cloudtail looked up to hear the withering sound of incoming artillery fire.
"INCOMING!" Cloudtail shouted. He and Lostface ducked down to avoid what was coming to them. Shadowclan artillery rounds go off, hitting the area around the Thunderclan cats.
"GET TO COVER!" Bluestar shouted. The artillery rounds blew up as much of the dragon's teeth were blown to pieces. The platoon hides in cover as the artillery explosions go off around them. Then another wave of artillery shells land around them but smoke begins to blanket the area.
"SMOKE!" Fernpaw shouted.
"Smokescreen!" Bluestar told them as she reloaded her Thompson.
"Get ready! Enemy's concealing their movement!" Whitestorm instructed them, the Thunderclan cats held their fire as the Second wave of cats appeared from the smoke screen, this time they had teeth around their collars.
"FIRE!" Bluestar shouted, the Thunderclan cats opened fire yet again in an attempt to mow down the incoming attackers.
"I don't know who these cats are!" Lostface told Cloudtail as he continued feeding bullets into the machine gun.
"Keep firing! More coming in!" Fireheart instructed them. Thunderclan resumed firing on the unknown Shadowclan cats, although Shadowclan outnumbered Thunderclan this time.
"They're moving in!" Lostface called out. This position of the bridge couldn't be held for much longer as the last of the mines detonated. Fireheart knew he had to get everyone back.
"Fallback position! Western Bridgehead!" Fireheart shouted as he called the fallback position. The Thunderclan cats began to retreat as Lostface and Cloudtail used up the last of the machine gun's ammunition to cover the withdrawal.
"Pulling back!" Cloudtail called out as he unslung the M1 Garand and continued firing away. Cloudtail and the platoon fall back to the Western side of the bridge under enemy fire. They return fire at the unknown cats. Just when it couldn't get worse, Panzer tanks appear. "Enemy armor! Panzer inbound!" Cloudtail gave the signal.
"PANZER!" Ashpaw shouted. He got out the Bazooka and fired one of the rockets, tracking one of the tanks while Thornpaw stuffed another rocket into the tube so he could finish off the tank.
"Check for mines, grenades, whatever you can find!" Fireheart instructed everyone to use anything they had on them so they could destroy the remaining enemy tank fired at them and took down one of the black pine trees.
"Yes sir!" Cloudtail mewed. Cloudtail began to rush across the creek, firing the M1 Garand as he went, he was going to destroy that tank himself. He raised the rifle again and fired two shots at a Shadowclan cat wielding a Panzerschreck, it fell without firing back. Cloudtail then retrieves the Panzerschreck and readies it for use. "Found a Shadowclan rocket launcher!"
"Good, now hit that Panzer!" Fireheart instructed Cloudtail. Cloudtail raised himself up and fired at the tank, the Shadowclan tank was hit once with the rocket but even then it still had some life in it. Fireheart was observing Cloudtail as he was hastily loading another rocket into the launcher.
"Great job, Cloudtail! It's almost dead! Hit it again!" Fireheart told his nephew to fire again to destroy the tank. Cloudtail fires the rocket launcher this time, destroying the Panzer tank for good.
"The panzer is down!" Cloudtail mewed as he ran back to the rear with the news. Fireheart nodded as the unknown cats began to retreat deeper into the woods. Now was the perfect time to take count.
"They're falling back!" Bluestar mewed to the others about what was happening.
"They're retreating!" Frostfur called out with excitement. Fireheart watched as the last of the unknown cats slipped beneath the underbrush.
"Good work, Cloudtail. First Platoon, rally on me!" Fireheart called out. Cloudtail made sure the last of the Shadowclan cats had melted away before he went over to Fireheart. "Cloudtail, get over here!" Fireheart whispered, all the cats gathered around Fireheart as he began laying out the plan. "We're gonna split into two , you'll head north over the bridge to reach the hill. I'll follow the river with a squad to guard your advance. Assembly point will be the base of Hill Four Hundred." Fireheart instructed Bluestar what exactly was going to happen. Ashpaw turns to Cloudtail before he and Lostface leave with Bluestar.
"I'll see you in a few." Ashpaw told Cloudtail that he'll be heading off with Bluestar and will meet up with him in an hour or two.
"Yeah, you should be careful out there." Cloudtail told Ashpaw that he wanted to have him and Lostface back in one piece.
"You too." Ashpaw responded. Bluestar grabs Ashpaw and Lostface and heads over the bridge, while Cloudtail follows Fireheart's team down the river. Fireheart's team consisted of himself, Cloudtail, Bramblepaw, Fernpaw, Sandstorm, Brindleface, Frostfur, Graystripe, Ravenpaw, Barley and Mitchell.
"I hope splitting up was the right move." Bramblepaw began as he wasn't too sure about splitting up.
"If we let the Krauts cross this river, they could endanger the whole mission. That's why we're guarding Bluestar's flank." Fireheart instructed them to stay close. They continued down the river as Fernpaw had a question.
"How far until the assembly point, sir?" Fernpaw asked, hoping that it wasn't far away.
"We'll get to the base of Hill Four Hundred when the next hour ticks by. We just need to follow the river." Fireheart instructed Fernpaw where the location of the hill base was going to be. As Fireheart's team moves further down the river, they hear gunshots and see a Shadowclan squad guarding the area. It had mortars and were firing them onto anyone trying to assault Hill Four Hundred. "Stay low! We have to take them down, but we're outgunned. Gotta probe their flanks. Don't let them see you." Fireheart instructed, all the cats got down as another squad had joined up with Fireheart, they got down as well. Cloudtail sneaks his way over to a Shadowclan halftrack, hopped right and got on the machine gun at the top. "Alright, Cloudtail. On your signal." Fireheart whispered. Cloudtail nodded as he opened fire with the machine gun. On the Shadowclan cats.
"That's the signal. First Platoon, advance!" Fernpaw called out. Fireheart nodded as Cloudtail continued to spray the machine gun. The Shadowclan cats were taken by surprise as the two Thunderclan groups fell in on them, they stopped firing their mortars to deal with this new threat but they were quickly shot up before they had time to react. Cloudtail hopped out of the halftrack as they continued to press the attack. Fireheart was firing away when a grenade was thrown at them.
"Heads up, First Platoon!" Fireheart instructed. He picked up the grenade and threw it back while he kept firing at the Shadowclan cats. The Shadowclan cats started to fall back as their numbers were getting ground down.
"They're getting away." Bramblepaw called out. Fireheart nodded as he decided to instruct the others on what to do.
"We got them on the run. Chase them down and finish them off!" Fireheart called out to the others to trap these cats somewhere. The platoon pursues the Shadowclan cats through the forest, firing away with their guns, pushing them into another clearing, but then Cloudtail and the others become blinded by a flare being fired up in the air.
"Mouse-dung!" Cloudtail shouted. The flash cleared from his eyes as the flare flew further upward.
"It's a trap!" Sandstorm shouted, then the artillery shells began landing all around them.
"We've been spotted! Come on!" Fireheart called out while the group ran through the forest.
"Artillery! It's a trap!" Fernpaw called out. Artillery explosions go off around Cloudtail and his team as they run through the forest dodging and evading the incoming artillery as best as they could.
"KEEP MOVING!" Fireheart shouted as they ran through the forest. Great black pine trees fell all around as many were torn by the artillery.
"My leg!" One of the Thunderclan cats shouted as his leg was sliced by shrapnel.
"Artillery's got us zeroed! Run!" Brindleface shouted as they continued to run.
"Run!" Mitchell called out as they kept running. More black pine trees were obliterated by the artillery as they kept running through the woods.
"I'm hit!" Another Thunderclan shouted. The artillery explosions weren't letting up.
"MOVE UP!" Fireheart shouted. They were running further and further away from the river looking for a way out from the artillery. Cloudtail spotted something and decided to head up that way.
"Go left! Get up that hill! LEFT! LEFT!" Cloudtail shouted. The Thunderclan cats followed Cloudtail up the hill as they were going to hide behind it and use it as cover.
"Hurry!" Sandstorm called out, she didn't want to be blown to pieces when the guns fell silent.
"Get up that hill!" Fireheart shouted. They continued to race up the hill as more great black pine trees were obliterated.
"I'm hit!" Another Thunderclan cat screamed. As First Platoon reaches the top of the hill, an artillery explosion goes off near Cloudtail, knocking him off his paws and sending him tumbling down the other side until he comes to a complete stop. He lies there for a moment, dazed until he hears a voice.
"Get up, Cloudpaw." The voice belonged to Dart as she slowly walked over to him, carrying a Carcano rifle Cloudtail looked over to see Dart's silhouette walking calmly towards him. "I know you're better than anyone, so I know you still have a fight in you. You can't give up. Not now, not ever." Dart calmly told Cloudtail that he still had a war to finish before he could get home to her. Dart kneels down before Cloudtail.
"Dart?" Cloudtail asked. Dart looked behind her as she knew the enemy was approaching.
"Krauts could be here any second. So, show me what you're made of and get on your paws." Dart told Cloudtail that he needed to get up and keep fighting until there was no more fight left in him.
"I'm afraid...I won't make it back home Dart." Cloudtail mewed as he was having doubts about making it back to seeing her.
"You got to, Cloudpaw. Brightpaw needs you and so does your mother. Now, get up." Dart told Cloudtail that everyone with their smiling faces was waiting for him. He needed to get up and keep fighting.
"I will." Cloudtail mewed as he was ready to keep going.
"Of course you will, because you don't know the meaning of a quit." Dart told him. She got up and began walking away. "I have faith in you, my friend." Dart continued to walk away. Cloudtail staggered up to his knees as Dart began to fade.
"Dart...Dart!" Cloudtail called out for her. Dart ignored him as she kept walking away.
"Meet me at home,my friend." Dart told Cloudtail. Dart finally faded away into the smoke as Cloudtail got to his paws. He turns the dead Thunderclan cat on his back and sees his face and several wood shrapnels embedded in his body.
"Fireheart...Starclan…" Cloudtail finally got up, he took out his Webley Mark VI revolver and started walking out of the shelled area. "Gotta find the assembly point." Cloudtail muttered to himself. He was wandering aimlessly and all alone. Hopefully he could find some Shadowclan cats to kill and take their weapons as he just had six rounds in the Webley and reloading was going to take time.
Cloudtail continued to wander through the area as he was looking for friendly cats to bunch up with; they had gotten themselves lost in the forest of black pines. Cloudtail comes across a dead Thunderclan cat hanging from a deployed parachute.
"Starclan…" Cloudtail muttered to himself. He looked to see if the dead Thunderclan had any weapons or ammo he could use. Nothing. Cloudtail moved further to see if there was anything he could find. Cloudtail keeps walking until a Shadowclan cat appears with a luger and runs towards him. "Oh,mouse dung!" Cloudtail pointed the Webley at the charging cat and fired two rounds into it, the Shadowclan cat fell to the ground with a thud. Cloudtail picked up the P08 Luger and checked the magazine, it was full so he loaded the magazine back in and primed the action. Cloudtail continued to sneak his way through the forest as he knew there were more Shadowclan cats like him. Cloudtail stumbled around, looking for any sign of friendly forces when he stumbled on two Thunderclan cats that had been caught by the Shadowclan group.
"We surrender!" One of them cried out, the Shadowclan cats didn't listen and they decided to instead prepare to cook them alive. One of them walked forward with a flamethrower
"Wait! Stop!" The second one pleaded to the Shadowclan cat with the flamethrower to consider what he was doing. He didn't listen. The Shadowclan flamethrower incinerates the Thunderclan captives on the spot.
"No!" Cloudtail shouted, he popped out of cover and shot up the Shadowclan cat with the flamethrower. The Shadowclan cats in the area fired back as Cloudtail was all alone against a dozen or so Shadowclan cats. He leaned out and kept firing briefly, emptying both hand guns and placing the webley into the pocket while he ditched the luger. He tumbled around, he had no grenades on him so he knew he had to run for his life. The other shadowclan cats tried to chase him down but the large mass of what seemed to be cotton balls ducked behind cover again. He looked beside him to find a dead Shadowclan cat he had shot up moments earlier. He looked beside him and a Gewehr 43 laid on his corpse. Cloudtail picked up the Gewehr 43 and began firing the rifle. Two more Shadowclan cats had been shot up before Fireheart burst out of the bunker and started shooting the Shadowclan cats. "Fireheart!" Cloudtail called out with excitement. Fireheart and Cloudtail continued firing, killing the remaining Shadowclan cats in the area. Once they were all down, Fireheart began speaking to Cloudtail.
"I've been looking all over for you, Bramblepaw has been separated from us and we don't know if the rest of the group has found cover." Fireheart told Cloudtail.
"Good thing you came to my rescue, I would've been slaughtered out there." Cloudtail mewed. He looked around to see what else he could use alongside his Gewehr 43. Fireheart looked around as well. Fireheart spotted an M3A1 Grease gun and several magazines of ammo.
"Will this work?" Fireheart asked, and he passed the Grease gun to Cloudtail.
"I'll take anything I can get my paws on." Cloudtail replied. He picked up some stripper clips of ammo for the G43 rifle and some spare magazines.
"Let's move. Assembly point isn't far. Our clan is gonna need support." Fireheart told Cloudtail that they needed to move on from the area if they were going to link up with the others.
"You got it, sir!" Cloudtail responded. Fireheart and Cloudtail went into the next bunker and came upon a closed door.
"Get the door. I'll cover you." Fireheart mewed. Cloudtail nodded as he placed his paws on the door and began to lift the lever up, the door then opened as the two cats pushed their way outside and continued to walk through the forest of black pines. They come upon another Shadowclan bunker that was recently bombarded by artillery strikes.
"It Looks too run down to provide much defense." Cloudtail began. Fireheart nodded as he inspected it with his eyes.
"Krauts probably abandoned it." Fireheart told Cloudtail.
"Do you think they'll be back?" Cloudtail asked, he seemed nervous and on the edge.
"Hopefully not anytime." Fireheart responded. Cloudtail nodded as he began to approach the bunker. He peeked inside to find it completely deserted. Thank Starclan for that, if Fireheart was wrong, they were in big trouble.
"I'll check for supplies." Cloudtail told Fireheart. Fireheart nodded while Cloudtail went to scour the bunker. Cloudtail creeped along the inside of the bunker as he was looking for these supplies. So far nothing, Cloudtail entered another room to find a medical kit, He took that as he carried it along with him, he also spotted a small box full of grenades, he took a few of those along with the medical kit. Fireheart spotted Cloudtail as he came out of the bunker stocked with meager supplies he was able to find.
"See any of our cats out there?" Fireheart asked Cloudtail. Cloudtail handed Fireheart the medical kit for him to hold onto, if they found Cinderpelt, they could use it to help the wounded.
"No, sir." Cloudtail muttered. Fireheart had two options on what happened to them. They could either be alive or worse, dead.
"I hope they made it to the assembly point." Fireheart told Cloudtail as they crept along the forest. Cloudtail and Fireheart pass by the bunker and continue through the forest. The noise of flowing water brought some relief to them.
"Listen, it's water. The river must be close." Fireheart told Cloudtail as they continued to creep along the forest.
"I'm praying our clan found cover from that artillery." Cloudtail was hoping that the clan managed to find cover and got out of the way.
"We'll back them up. Don't you worry." Fireheart told Cloudtail that they will provide support for whoever was still out there. Cloudtail and Fireheart finally reached the river.
"Here's the river. Just gotta follow it to reach the assembly point." Fireheart began. He was the first to follow the river with Cloudtail following closely behind.
"And then silence those guns." Cloudtail added. They continued to follow the river, walking with the current. Suddenly, a shot rings out from a bunker, just missing them. Cloudtail and Fireheart duck down and crawl through the nearby trenches to reach the bunker.
"SNIPER! He's up in that bunker! We're gonna snipe him out. Stay low. On me! Head down!" Fireheart instructed, Fireheart took the lead with Cloudtail following behind him, they were going to make their dash to the bunker if they were going to silence the sniper. Bramblepaw appeared but he was by himself and inexperienced. Fireheart and Cloudtail were trying their best to move stealthy through the trenches while Bramblepaw exposed himself and fired two shots off from his M1 Garand. The sniper turned and fired a shot, the bullet skimmed past Bramblepaw's side but it ripped his uniform and some skin open. Bramblepaw's side was bleeding and he fell to the ground.
"Somebody help!" Bramblepaw cried. Fireheart and Cloudtail peeked their heads out to see that Bramblepaw had been shot by the sniper.
"He got one of ours!" Cloudtail called out. Fireheart began looking to see if there was a way to reach Bramblepaw before the apprentice was to bleed out.
"Check the flanks. See if we can reach him." Fireheart suggested. Fireheart got out a smoke grenade, pulled the pin and threw it. Within moments, smoke had filled the area. Cloudtail made his move and dashed his way out of cover. He was going to reach Bramblepaw and pull him into cover. Fireheart also made his move but he was heading to the bunker where the sniper was. Cloudtail reaches Bramblepaw who was crying out for help. Fireheart spots a door leading into the bunker
"We're gonna pull you into cover!" Cloudtail instructed Bramblepaw. Bramblepaw was holding the wound he had sustained as Cloudtail dragged him behind some cover. He then began applying pressure to Bramblepaw's graze wound. "Sit tight. We'll get him!" Cloudtail instructed the apprentice to hold until they got help. Suddenly a shot came from behind them. The shot landed on the bunker. Cloudtail turned behind to see two bears working their way to the bunker.
"Yeah we need to get closer." One of the bears told his friend, he was holding a sniper rifle much like the sniper that was trying to hunt the Thunderclan cats down. "Makarov, see if you can get yourself closer so we can flush out the sniper."
"You got it, Vasily." Makarov responded. The second bear with his burp gun began to make his way to the bunker while Vasily was to duel it out with the Shadowclan sniper. Fireheart knew this was his chance to help Bramblepaw out as he had the medical kit. He pulled out a second smoke grenade, pulled the pin and threw it. He was going to mask their cover so they could get closer. Fireheart used the smoke to dash to Cloudtail who was still trying to help Bramblepaw. Fireheart got to the position and got out the medical kit.
"I'll take over for you, get yourself to the bunker." Fireheart instructed Cloudtail. Cloudtail nodded and picked up the grease gun he had and made his way to the bunker through the smoke. Fireheart opened up the medical kit to patch Bramblepaw up.
Cloudtail got to the bunker door as the bear joined him. Makarov looked at Cloudtail as he didn't recognize the fluffy white tom.
"You one of Thunderclan?" Makarov asked.
"Yeah I am, we need to breach the bunker." Cloudtail mewed. He grabbed the door and opened it. Several Shadowclan cats were in the bunker. "Mouse dung, he's not alone." Cloudtail told Makarov. Cloudtail decided to head right while Makarov went straight. Cloudtail rounded the corner to find a Shadowclan cat waiting for him. Cloudtail tumbled out and fired the grease gun into him. That was one down, gunshots were heard in the bunker as Makarov was doing his work. Cloudtail made his way to the next door and opened it. Another Shadowclan cat was waiting for him and bashed Cloudtail with the rifle. Cloudtail was knocked back but began firing the moment he recovered his footing. The next Shadowclan cat was taken out. Makarov came up alongside him.
"Up the stairs, I got this floor covered." Makarov instructed. Cloudtail nodded as he began making his way up the stairs. When Cloudtail got to the top, the door opened as the sniper tried to flee but Cloudtail sprayed him down with what remained of his grease gun ammo in that magazine, Cloudtail reloaded before he waved to Fireheart. The sniper had been taken out. Cloudtail headed down the stairs to where Fireheart and Makarov had met up. Once he reached them, Fireheart turned to Cloudtail.
"Good work. Let's move on." Fireheart told Cloudtail. The two cats and the bear exited the bunker as they were going to make their way through the forest once again. Vasily was helping Bramblepaw by offering him some of his water.
"You saved my life out there. I owe you, thanks Cloudtail." Bramblepaw mewed to Cloudtail. Cloudtail nodded back. Vasily and Bramblepaw then joined up to see if they could link up with the rest of the group.
"Let's move. Assembly point isn't far. Hope our clan got there okay." Fireheart told the group as they moved out. A noise caught Cloudtail's attention, he heard gunfire going off in the distance.
"Gunfire!" Cloudtail called out. Fireheart heard it too as it was coming from the nearby sawmill.
"We must be near our clan! Let's move!" Fireheart told the group as they began to run to the Sawmill. Fireheart threw Cloudtail back the Gewehr 43 he had left behind earlier as Cloudtail slung the grease gun over and began firing away at the Shadowclan cats. Vasily held back to begin picking Shadowclan cats off at a distance. The rest of the group was engaged in a firefight with Shadowclan.
"We gotta take that MG." Fireheart began. Vasily nodded as he fired a shot at the machine gunner and took it out with ease. Fireheart looked around to see one of the apprentices with her BAR, firing away with the rest of the group. "Fernpaw, is that you?" Fireheart asked. He then slid down while the others provided cover.
"Fireheart! They got us pinned!" Fernpaw told Fireheart. Fireheart began thinking of a plan on how they were going to take the sawmill.
"Cloudtail, we need to help our platoon clear the area!" Fireheart shouted to his nephew that he was going to need his help.
"You got it, sir!" Cloudtail told Fireheart. He then slid on down to help Fireheart out in the chaotic fighting. Cloudtail entered the Sawmill and began firing the Gewehr 43. The Shadowclan cats were huddled around the blades as Cloudtail shot through any openings. Cloudtail pulled out one of his grenades and threw it. The grenade exploded shortly afterward while Cloudtail was reloading. Once finished. He, Sandstorm and Fernpaw pushed their way through, clearing out the Sawmill. Cloudtail bursts through the other side while Shadowclan cats were running for the house.
"They're falling back to the house! Push up! Gotta clear the area!" Fireheart instructed. Fireheart, Graystripe and Ravenpaw entered the house. Ravenpaw turned and began spraying the lower floor with the Mp-40 he had and began taking out the Shadowclan cats. Fireheart and Graystripe made their way to the upper floor and began firing to clear out the Shadowclan cats up there. Graystripe was spraying away while Fireheart went to flush out any last cats that remained up there. Fireheart spotted a Shadowclan cat behind some cover and rapidly fired away, killing it.
"That's the last of them!" Frostfur gave the signal that the last Shadowclan cat in the area had been killed. Fireheart and Graystripe made their way down the stairs and outside to another wooden bridge.
"Good job. Squad, fall in at the bridge! We'll hold the Mill as a staging ground. When Bluestar gets here, we'll advance to the assembly point." Fireheart instructed the group to fall in at the bridge and hold it, they were going to wait for Bluestar to come help them.
"On my way, sir." Cloudtail replied.
"Not another bridge." Fernpaw grumbled. The cats and Barley's group huddled around the bridge and were waiting for Shadowclan to come into their reach.
"Hey Shadowclan cats have been spotted." Brindleface began. Fireheart turned to look and Brindleface was right. Shadowclan cats had been spotted.
"I see them but… they're leaving." Fireheart told Brindleface that these cats were in full retreat and not heading straight at them.
"Yes but why?" Sandstorm asked. The last of the Shadowclan cats had melted off into the forest of the black pines. "Something's off and I have a gut feeling that Bluestar isn't going here."
"We hold this position until Bluestar gets here." Fireheart instructed. Fernpaw decided to interrupt as she wanted to add onto what Sandstorm had said.
"What if Sandstorm's right, what if Bluestar did bypass this area, she's probably already at Hill Four Hundred?" Fernpaw asked. Fireheart was erecting barbed wire defenses while Graystripe and Frostfur got the Mg42 machine gun from the house that was firing upon them earlier.
"With the other half of the platoon, that's suicidal." Fireheart mewed to Fernpaw.
"She's done before and she'll probably do it again." Fernpaw told Fireheart. Fireheart knew something was wrong and he didn't know about it.
"If Sandstorm's gut feeling is right, we'll all still be on the boat in Normandy." Fireheart mewed, they needed to get radio contact with Bluestar to find out what was going on. Fernpaw turned to Cloudtail as she wanted to speak to him about something.
"You heard how Tigerstar nearly got the platoon wiped out at Kasserine Pass? Looks like history is repeating itself." Fernpaw began. Cloudtail felt nervous. Fernpaw went up to the Mg42 as she was taking over as the gunner.
"It better not. I want to know what really happened there." Cloudtail mewed to Fernpaw. If history was going to repeat itself. Fireheart's group would be the only ones still alive. No Ashpaw, no Lostface, no Bluestar.
"Well, I don't have the guts to ask Fireheart. But I know someone who does." Fernpaw mewed, she turned her head to Cloudtail as he was the only one who seemed to be paying attention to this kind of news.
[A/N]: This chapter is getting long so I'm splitting up the Hürtgen Forest campaign into two chapters. Next chapter will center around the assault on Hill 400. Strap in tight and I hope being away for a week would make up for this chapter's length. So See you with the next chapter.