Blackfoot had disobeyed Tigerstar's orders and attacked without his permission on the former Riverclan Border. The second attack in the new year was understrength as was the defenses as everything had been used to help plug the bulge made a couple weeks before. Before long, Blackfoot's Operation Nordwind was in full swing but it wasn't going anywhere fast.
One last position that was still held on by Shadowclan from last year was the Colmar pocket. Bluestar had tried to reach Colmar but she failed. Now it is our turn to crack the nut and to pick up where Bluestar had left off. Tigerstar and Blackfoot had run out of steam. Now it was our turn to make them pay the price.
January 31st, 1945, Colmar Pocket, France: 08:46
"Okay clan, we're ordered to take an airfield not too far from here." Firestar began talking to his group. They began to move out while they were followed behind.
"Should Shadowclan's strength be waning?" Bramblepaw asked. He had gotten the rest he had desired only to be thrown back into battle a month later.
"Yeah, I hope you're all rested up as we're tasked to succeed where Bluestar had failed, capturing Colmar and collapsing the pocket." Firestar told the group as they continued to move up. "With the bears launching a massive offensive in the east, Shadowclan is bound to run out of cats to use to fight us with. Kitler is running out of money for this poker game."
"I bet we still have plenty of chips in the pot." Cloudtail responded.
"We do Cloudtail, we do." Firestar told Cloudtail about his words. They continued along the beaten path, coming to a downed plane and a few Thunderclan cats inspecting the wreckage.
"Poor son of a she-cat must have been shot down this morning." Brightheart mewed, she scanned the plane with her one good eye. Firestar looked at the plane as there was smoke still coming out of the fuel tank, this plane must've been shot down recently.
"Fuselage is still smoking… Check for survivors." Firestar instructed. The cats nearby began to scan the plane. They spotted a Thunderclan cat on the plane thinking it was still alive.
"He's all snarled up on something…" One of the Thunderclan cats mewed. He moved the body out of the way unaware it was rigged with grenades, the grenade pin was pulled as the sound was heard nearby. "MOUSE-DUNG! GRENADES!" He shouted. He and two other Thunderclan cats were killed by the grenade's explosions. Then Shadowclan cats came charging out to attack the Thunderclan cats. They hollered as Firestar and his clan began firing away to take them down.
"IT'S A TRAP!" Firestar shouted. Cloudtail raised his BAR and he began firing away. The Shadowclan cats came charging out only to get shot down but even these mass attacks were taking their impact.
"MOUSE-DUNG!" Ashpaw shouted. He knocked a Shadowclan cat over with the butt of his rifle and fired three shots into it.
"AMBUSH! Keep them back!" Whitestorm shouted. He fired his carbine to keep the Shadowclan cats back from charging in.
"It was a trap!" Fernpaw called out. The Shadowclan cat attack fizzled out and the attack was no more. Three cats were killed but Thunderclan pushed on. They needed to take the airfield that was ahead of them.
"I can't believe they'd booby trap our dead…" Tawnypaw sighed as she didn't like where this was going. More Shadowclan cats popped out of the grass and began shooting at them. Firestar instructed his group to get to cover which they did. Cloudtail, Brightheart and Brackenfur firing back to keep them back. "It's another ambush! They're all around!" Tawnypaw called out. She raised her M1 Garand and fired away with Firestar still directing the battle.
"Keep it tight!" Firestar instructed. He continued firing his Carbine with his apprentice firing along with him to keep up the support fire. Once the remaining Shadowclan cats were shot and killed, they began to move forward. Ashpaw heard shouting as more Thunderclan cats entered the area.
"I think we're kinda late. Sounds like the 5th's kicking tail." Ashpaw told the group. Several Thunderclan cats ran ahead while the leader of the 5th began shouting to his group.
"This is it, Thunderclan, let's get them!" He shouted. The group sprinted ahead with Firestar making it to the base of the embankment.
MG's in the bunkers up ahead. Shadowclan artillery sitting right in front of it." Firestar instructed the group. They ran ahead as the artillery was going to be sitting up ahead. They got to the embankment as Firestar turned to Bramblepaw. "Private! Get a grenade up there!" Bramblepaw got out a grenade and pulled the pin with his teeth. He tossed it over and spat out the pin.
"On me!" Bramblepaw called out. He was going to take the lead this time. The grenade exploded which caused the cats to surge forward when Firestar gave the signal;
"Everyone! Move! GO! GO!" Firestar shouted, the two groups of Thunderclan cats surged up the hill, firing their guns as they went. Cloudtail spotted two Shadowclan cats carrying a crate of ammunition with them. Cloudtail sprayed them down with his BAR as he was giving nobody any mercy. The cats then poured their way over as the Shadowclan artillery had been rapidly taken.
"Take that position!" Tallstar called out. Windclan was assisting the operation. Onewhisker was firing away with the Bren gun from another position as Firestar and the others began making their way to a Shadowclan bunker. The machine gunner had Onewhisker and his group pinned.
"Go down both flanks! Carve a path through." Firestar instructed. Cloudtail nodded as he pulled out a grenade, pulled the pin and chucked it inside. The grenade exploded a couple seconds later as Willowpelt got by the bunker. Cloudtail had finished reloading his BAR and went inside, firing from the rear legs while looking for Shadowclan survivors. Willowpelt entered after him while they swept their way through the bunker. Nothing much after that grenade explosion went off and finished them off. Cloudtail and Willowpelt exited the bunker as Firestar and the others ran up to help them out. Another Thunderclan cat with a flamethrower came up and torched its way through, trying to burn more Shadowclan bunkers.
"Flamethrowers moving up." Ashpaw told Firestar that their flamethrower was moving up to suppress a machine gun nest. Firestar nodded.
"Ashpaw! Give them covering fire! Stay on them!" Firestar instructed. Fernpaw joined alongside and began firing her BAR at the two machine guns. The Thunderclan cat with the flamethrower pushed onward as it was trying to reach the machine gun nest. Tallstar looked ahead to see Firestar and his group steadily moving up to the nest.
"Everyone! On me!" Tallstar told Windclan. Now it was their turn to move up. Tallstar began to lead the group with Onewhisker and Ashfoot firing on the move. Tallstar moved to another angle of the nest while Onewhisker continued firing away. "I want suppressing fire on those MG's! The flamethrowers need to reach the bunkers." Tallstar instructed. With what was now three groups suppressing the machine guns. The Thunderclan cat with a flamethrower knew now was the best time to move up. The two clans tried their best to cover the Thunderclan cat while he attempted to do its job but the machine guns turned and began firing at it, killing the Thunderclan cat. The dead body then crumbled to the ground as Firestar watched. Now went their chance of taking the bunker unless he could do something about it. He turned to Bramblepaw.
"Bramblepaw, get the flamethrower and finish the job!" Firestar ordered his apprentice. Bramblepaw nodded, he then came forward to where the dead Thunderclan cat was, he rolled the body over and gagged at the sight of it. He picked up the flamethrower and began spraying the fire all over the bunker. "Get that flamethrower on the bunker! Use that flamethrower! Burn those MG's! Don't let up!" Firestar continued to encourage Bramblepaw to burn it, they continued to fire to give Bramblepaw some support and to keep the machine guns away from them. Then something happened to the machine gun nest and Sandstorm began to call out.
"It's gonna blow! Get outta there!" Sandstorm shouted. Bramblepaw ran back as fast as he could as the machine gun nest then exploded. Bramblepaw wasn't harmed but if he stayed, he would've been injured.
"Dark forest yeah! Burn, ya little mouse-brains!" Ashpaw shouted. The Shadowclan cats screamed as they had been incinerated. The group got up and began moving on. Another strongpoint neutralized and more to go.
"Okay. Move up!" Tallstar told the others. They were now following behind Thunderclan. Firestar was leading his group as they exited through the back of the MG nest. Firestar liked where this mission was going.
"Keep it together. Airfield's about a half a mile north." Firestar told the others. They didn't have too much farther to go. Cloudtail and the others looked up to see several planes flying through the sky to support their attack. They then spotted one that was flying a little too close to the ground. The engines were on fire and the cats were bailing out. This wasn't good.
"Awww mouse dung... the Shadowclan cats just took down another one." Ashpaw told the group. The plane then crashed into the field as Firestar knew they needed to keep going to the airfield.
"All the more reason to keep pushing. Every plane we lose makes our job harder." Firestar mewed. Suddenly Shadowclan cats appeared from the grass and made their attack on the Thunderclan cats.
"Firestar, they're in the grass!" Ashpaw shouted. He began firing the M1 Garand he had as the others joined the firing. These were just moreover delaying tactics to prevent them from reaching the airfield.
"Over there." Firestar called out. He fired the carbine he had and finished off the Shadowclan cats. One of the cats was behaving oddly as it was climbing up the tree.
"There is a sniper climbing up the tree." Ashpaw called out. The Shadowclan cat was still climbing up. Firestar knew he had to take him out before they did any more damage.
"Up there, in the tree!" Firestar instructed. Ashpaw turned the rifle at the climbing Shadowclan cat and shot him down. He fell and landed in the grass which triggered a few more Shadowclan cats to attack. "Mouse-dung! There's more of them!" Firestar shouted. They continued firing at the remaining cats as there were just those few. The firefight didn't last for a minute as all of the Shadowclan cats had been shot down. The others took the time to reload and prepare themselves for another push. They continued onward to the airfield.
"They were just waiting for us…" Ashpaw told Firestar that Shadowclan had those ambushes waiting for them so they could stall them in their advance. Firestar spotted Windclan held up in a building up ahead.
"There is a building ahead. Enemy's holed up in that building." Firestar mewed. Goldenflower began laying down cover fire with the browning machine gun with Longtail feeding her while the others went to go to where Windclan was. They hopped into a trench as the Windclan cats were trying to desperately kill the machine gunners that were holding them up. "What's the skinny?" Firestar asked Tallstar what the situation was.
"The 7th came in from the north! They're trying to get their tanks on to the airfield, but it's a nightmare over there." Tallstar began. Deadfoot gets his helmet shot off, fortunately he wasn't harmed but he ducked back down and picked it back up, inserting the helmet back on his head. "Shadowclan's holding tight! We're pinned down by MG fire from the second floor. Any ideas, Firestar?" Tallstar asked the Thunderclan leader if he had any ideas on how they could push their way through and clear the building. Firestar looked around to find a truck with rifle grenades nearby. He had an idea.
"Yeah…" Firestar began." Supply truck dead ahead. Cloudtail. Ashpaw. Follow me." Firestar instructed. He turned and left first as Cloudtail and Ashpaw followed, they were going to use the rifle grenades to blow Shadowclan out of the building. They arrived at the supply truck as Ashpaw took the rifle grenades and began firing them at the Shadowclan cats. "Ashpaw! Load up with those rifle grenades and blow that bird off his perch." Firestar instructed. Ashpaw fired a rifle grenade and blew up one of the machine gun crews.
"Dark Forest yeah!" Ashpaw shouted. He grabbed another rifle grenade and loaded it on, he then fired it at the second machine gun nest and blew it up. Grabbing another, he fired, sending the grenade at some Shadowclan cats above, blowing them up completely. Firestar knew Ashpaw had enough fun and they needed to keep pushing forward.
"Move! Into the building! Don't give them a chance to regroup! Clear them out!" Firestar ordered. The cats began rushing forward from the trench and into the building, with the machine guns having been silenced, the remaining Shadowclan cats pulled back to the airfield. Thunderclan entered the building with Bramblepaw leading the way, spraying his Thompson at any Shadowclan cats that remained. They turned left and headed up to the second floor where a gaping hole was. Firestar was the first to exit and lead the way. "We're nearly there. Keep it together! One last push and we take the airfield!" Firestar mewed. Ashpaw was feeling tired as he was wondering where this airfield was.
"Starclan! This ain't gonna be easy." Ashpaw screeched as they now needed to fight their way across the airfield.
"It never is... But we can do this, Ashpaw, okay?" Firestar told the apprentice. A truck carrying Shadowclan cats was blown up as Thunderclan tanks came along to support Firestar's attack. Shermans were here and they were up against Shadowclan light tanks that were guarding the airfield. One of the light tanks was blown up by one of the Sherman tanks. About a dozen of these tanks had come along to help out. "Move! Stay with our tanks! Help them move up!" Firestar told the others to support the tanks much like the tanks were supporting them. They had to move together. Cloudtail fired his BAR away as Ashpaw came to his side once again.
"We're on the airfield but I can see something shooting at the sky." Cloudtail told Firestar that someone was shooting at the planes.
"That must be them so we're getting close to our objectives." Firestar responded. Cloudtail and Ashpaw slid into a trench as three light tanks were fighting hard to prevent Thunderclan from advancing.
"Shadowclan AA guns are zeroed on our planes!" Ashpaw shouted. Cloudtail continued firing his BAR to keep the Shadowclan cats at bay.
"We'll get to them! We gotta deal with their tanks first!" Firestar told Ashpaw. "Scavenge supplies from the trenches! Bazookas, rifle grenades! Hit them with whatever you can!" Firestar gave the order. Cloudtail took Ashpaw's Bazooka as he was going to shoot up these light tanks.
"What are you doing with my bazooka Cloudtail?" Ashpaw asked Cloudtail.
"I'm going to shell those tanks." Cloudtail mewed. He focused in on one of the Shadowclan light tanks and fired a rocket. The rocket exploded into the Shadowclan tank, blowing it up. Firestar looked to see Cloudtail had destroyed the first tank. Ashpaw loaded another rocket into the bazooka.
"One down! Keep it up, Cloudtail!" Firestar shouted with encouragement. Cloudtail nodded as he fired the rocket at the second tank, scoring a bullseye on the tank and destroying it too.
"Yeah!" Ashpaw shouted with excitement. He grabbed another rocket and loaded it into the bazooka, only one tank was left. The tank made its appearance and Cloudtail fired the rocket, blowing up the last tank that Shadowclan had in the airfield. Firestar looked on to see the last tank was down.
"Good work, Cloudtail!" Firestar told his nephew. They continued to advance to the AA guns. Shadowclan cats were in the trenches but they were few and far inbetween as there were no reserves. The tanks fired their machine guns at the trenches as Firestar and the others moved in with the others and began to sweep the trenches clean of any defenders. "Clear out the trenches!" He ordered. The few Shadowclan cats inside of the trenches were shot and killed and Thunderclan began their assault on the AA guns. Thundering up the stairs, they attempted to take the position as fast as they could.
"Move up and take out the AA Guns! We are taking this airfield today!" Whitestorm ordered. He fired his Carbine and sent everything in it, down into the enemy. "Cloudtail! Take out that first gun crew!" Whitestorm ordered. Cloudtail nodded as he fired his BAR after reloading it. The first AA crew were taken out in short order. The others poured on in, firing their guns at any other Shadowclan AA guns.
"Taken out!" Cloudtail mewed. He reloaded his BAR while Whitestorm nodded with approval.
"Three more! Keep going!" Whitestorm told Cloudtail. Bramblepaw sprayed his Thompson around like a lunatic at the second Shadowclan AA crew. All the cats were decimated as they continued to push onward.
"Second crew down!" Bramblepaw called out with excitement. Firestar and Whitestorm smiled.
"Stay strong! We're nearly there!" Firestar told the clan to keep their push up. "Two more! MOVE!" Firestar called out. Fernpaw fired her BAR with Brightheart as the third crew were decimated within moments. "Get the last one, before we lose any more birds!" Firestar shouted. Brightheart and Cloudtail moved up while they fired their guns away. The fourth crew were taken out. It was over and the AA guns were theirs.
"They're outta commission! Good night!" Brightheart mewed with excitement. Ashpaw and Tawnypaw finish off any Shadowclan cats that remained. They were exhausted from fighting and this airfield was theirs.
"Nice work, Thunderclan! Let's give Smallear the good news." Firestar told his group. Dustpelt went over and prepared to call Smallear from the radio.
"Sons of She-cats nearly had us…" Ashpaw mewed. He began to look around to make sure their area was secured.
"Yes, sir. The airfield has been held... Repeat, the airfield has been held." Dustpelt told Smallear through the radio. This airfield has been captured and it was held.
"They'll do whatever it takes." Firestar giggled. He patted Ashpaw on the back but Ashpaw didn't flinch. There was a bigger problem that they needed to deal with. Ashpaw spotted Shadowclan cats sneaking nearby, preparing for a counter attack.
"Awwww, mouse-dung... Firestar, we have a problem." Ashpaw told Firestar. Firestar paused as he spotted the Shadowclan cats preparing for the counter attack. Firestar then snatched the field phone out of Dustpelt's paws and began to give the news to Smallear about what was going to happen.
"Sir, Shadowclan reinforcements coming in from the north of the airfield... Request immediate air support. Yes, Sir... understood." Firestar told Smallear as there was help coming. Ashpaw threw a flare to mark the target. "Everyone take a position. Eyes forward. Stay strong. We are holding this airfield! Air support is coming in one minute." Firestar told everyone. Cloudtail got on one of the machine guns. Then the Shadowclan cats mounted their counterattack. They were arriving on trucks as they all wildly fired away. Cloudtail fired the Machine guns as several of them lit up, they were going to be handy if they were going to fend off a Shadowclan counter attack.
"More reinforcements!" Ashpaw called out. He was firing one of the stationary machine guns at the Shadowclan attackers. Bramblepaw was helping him out when more trucks began coming in.
"There's more infantry on their trucks!" Bramblepaw called out. Ashpaw continued firing away as these Shadowclan reinforcements were coming from thin air.
"Where in the Dark Forest did all those reinforcements come from?!" Ashpaw asked. He continued firing away as three Shadowclan tanks began rolling in. They were going to fight Thunderclan for the airfield. "They're bringing up tanks!" Ashpaw called out to Firestar. Firestar nodded, he turned to Cloudtail and Brightheart as he had an important task for them.
"Cloudtail! You and Brightheart get on that AA gun!" Cloudtail stopped firing the machine gun and rushed over to the AA gun. Brightheart grabbed it as Cloudtail began shooting away. The AA shells had the effect of blowing up one of the Shadowclan tanks and some of the trucks. More Shadowclan trucks arrived carrying the troops.
"It's a whole dung convoy!" Ashpaw called out. Cloudtail shot up more of the trucks as well as the second tank. Shadowclan cats were determined to take this position back but it seemed to be that they were too late for that. Cloudtail fired and took out the last tank when the squealing of planes was heard.
"They're taking position on that tower! Keep the fire on them!" Firestar shouted. Within moments the planes dropped their bombs all over the Shadowclan cats, wiping out any survivors from that attack. Once the planes left, nothing stood in their way. They had truly claimed this airfield.
"Starclan mouse-dung." Whitestorm mewed. Dustpelt grabbed the radio as he began speaking to Smallear once again that this time there were no further attacks.
"Yes, sir. The airfield had been held... Repeat, the airfield has been held." Dustpelt told Smallear. Thunderclan had secured another victory once again.
After this attack, Colmar fell on February fourth, four days later. What remained of Shadowclan had retreated out of the pocket and it was the last time Shadowclan was going to threaten us. All we needed now was some rest, reorganization and a plan. The only thing blocking our path into Shadowclan itself was the Rhine River. Even a river like the Rhine wasn't going to stop us.
[A/N]: Thunderclan's getting close to victory. Now the only obstacle that remains is the Rhine River. Next chapter will be the crossing of the Rhine and the capture of Remagen. The next three or so will be the fall of Tigerstar and the collared cats and the final fight between them. The war is bound to be over within another few chapters or so. Sorry if this one was short but the advance is continuing onward.