Australia

by GalaxyWolf2.0

The life of a nation has never been easy. Especially for Australia, from being discovered by England, to his first rebellion at the Gold Rush, to his baptism into fire at Gallipoli or during his most darkest times in the Second World War. Australia has faced the trials and has become a strong and courageous nation that we all know and love. This is his story. The story of Australia

25. Western Front

Disclaimer: I don't own Hetalia

Warning: This chapter will contain war themes, mentions of death, blood etc. So if you aren't comfortable with this kind of stuff then I would recommend skipping this chapter.

Bullets and shells broke the eerie silence on the western front. The smoke from the guns had made the sky grey with the haze, it carried the taste of gunpower in the air. Australia couldn't tell if it was thunder that shattered the surroundings, or the sound of the cannons being fired over the lines. Australia and New Zealand had just left the training camp in France, they had arrived at the western front, but they were unsure if this was even France they were in. The scenery at the training camps had been starkly different to the view now. They were apparently supposed to be where a forest and a village once stood proudly, but now all that was left was mud, trenches that stretched for miles and the ruins of the destroyed village.

It was also a stark contrast to the beaches of Gallipoli.

With every step Australia's feet sank deeper into the mud that infested the trenches. The trenches were small, there was barely enough room to fit two men standing shoulder to shoulder. Which is why he and New Zealand's division had to walk in a single file, one after another. There was another line of soldiers walking next to them, but they were walking the opposite way, they were headed for the direction in where Australia and New Zealand had come from. Men were carrying the wounded and dead on the stretchers, their expressions were solemn and some were completely blank. For men so young, it looked as if their innocence had been ripped from their souls.

Some didn't acknowledge them, instead they just set their minds to stare in front of them, like they were in some kind of nightmare they couldn't wake up from. But the ones that did acknowledge the Anzac division next to them, they sent sympathetic glances to the new soldiers. A noise tore through the trench. New Zealand, who was walking behind Australia at the back of the line, touched his brother's shoulder to silently gain his attention. Australia saw his brother nod towards the soldier that had made the noise. A young soldier was being carried on a stretcher, he was screaming through raspy sobs. Shell shock. It was a horrible thing to witness up front. And Australia had a feeling that it wouldn't be their last time.

"Get down!" came the order from the front of the line.

Australia and New Zealand instinctively crouched to the ground covering their heads as a shell impacted with the ground right near their trench, only a metre or two from where the two Oceanic nations were. A shower of dirt rained down on top of them, which only filled the trench even deeper with the soon to be soggy ground.

The small and tight-fitting space of the trench proved to be uncomfortable to Australia, he was used to large open land like his own, not the small trenches where it was hard to get any breathing space. Then the constant showering of dirt filling up the trenches didn't make the feeling any better, he hated small and constricting spaces. It was so different to the open cliffs of Gallipoli or anywhere else he had been for that matter.

"Well the enemy knows we're here now," Australia commented as he tried to clear the dirt from his eyes as he stood back up, "That was too close to be a coincidence."

Germany had the whole trench to fire at, and yet he picked the spot where the two nations were, but they thought that it was better them than the rest of their people, at least they wouldn't be killed.

"Can you feel it? The other nations I mean," New Zealand asked. "We're definitely on the western front."

Australia could feel it, he could feel the presence of several nations. Some they knew quite well, and it was easier to distinguish who they were by their presence, but some were new and weren't as easy to recognise. If there was any doubt that they were on the western front before, the presence of the more powerful nations made it apparent on where they were.

"It's nothing like Gallipoli mate," Australia spoke what the two nations where both thinking.

But sensing the fear that his younger brother felt, and the same that he too felt but would never admit. Australia tried his best for a reassuring smile.

"Let's give 'em hell," Australia stated. He had repeated the same phrase that New Zealand had said before Gallipoli, but he added something else, "Together, as brothers and the Anzacs."

And it was nothing like Gallipoli. They feared about what they were about to walk into.

XxxxXxxx

It had been a year on the western front, yet it felt as if it had been a century. One whole year filled with plenty of pain, injuries, death and constant fighting. It was also a year filled with constant more resurrections on Australia's part. Each one just as painful as his first, but he had become used the whole process, so he was getting better at dealing with them. New Zealand helped, his younger brother was always beside him until he opened his eyes. New Zealand could never really stay for long, there was still a war to go back to, but it was a comforting feeling to awake to someone familiar.

The pain that Australia felt every day in that year, was unbearable. It was like a crippling numbness that was constantly weighing down on his chest. He felt the deaths of his people every minute of every day, the ache was almost maddening. It came in unmeasurable waves, and the horrifying realisation is that it wasn't slowing down. It was like a knife was being stabbed in his chest repeatedly. He had never felt so much pain before, not even at Gallipoli. Sometimes his body would be in so much pain that he found it difficult to move. And that was all without the added injuries that he would sustain on the battlefield. Once, a bullet had grazed the scar on his nose and it was pure agony, while the injuries he sustained would take a little longer to heal during wartimes it seemed that the injuries sustained to his nose would take longer, but it always healed while the original scar remained. He really needed to cover that with something. But no matter the pain that Australia felt, he continued to push on.

The mud however, was the thing that Australia hated the most, while at first he thought it was the trench raids, but on the western front they were practically surrounded with the disease carrying mud. It was the very worst! Every time it rained the trenches were constantly filled with water that would be absorbed into the dirt, which made the ground soggy and unlevel. If someone had gotten a leg stuck it would surely break if you weren't careful. Then when it would rain it would also wash the dirt and mud into the trenches, and the constant shelling didn't help matters. So being buried alive was a real concern, which made shovels a necessity in the trenches. Being buried alive in the small space was what Australia found himself fearing more than the battles waging outside the trenches.

Australia and New Zealand were currently looking over the top of the trench, the dirt smeared on their faces seemed to not bother them. A large group of their people waited anxiously with them. They were given the orders to secure a village, apparently it was considered vital ground to Germany for strategic positions. So naturally, the allies needed to get to it first.

Australia was just thrilled that he'd be leaving the small and cramped living environment he was currently standing in.

They waited silently for the order from their officers to go over the top. The tension in the air was thick, even the sharpest blade would have difficulty cutting through it. The two nations were just watching the battle above, it was early morning, the sky above was still an ominous and grey haze. New Zealand was searching off into the distance, trying to spot their objective.

"There's the village," He finally broke the silence and indicated to Australia where he was looking, "That's where we're headed."

"Village? What bloody village?" Australia commented as he squinted to peer through the haze to get a better look at it.

It was a long distance, but Australia could undoubtedly make out the image of the remains of the village. The buildings were unrecognisable, some of them only had half a wall standing. The village had seemingly been destroyed beyond repair.

"What's the point of trying to hold it? It's more destroyed then a bushfire tearing through the place," Australia stated, "Germany must have a few kangaroos loose in the top paddock if he thinks that's vital ground."

"well apparently he wants it," New Zealand replied with a huff, clearly he was also annoyed by the circumstances, "Apparently he wants it bad enough that he's placed machine guns in the shell holes."

Australia's eyes widened, "Strewth! There's got to be at least fifty holes from those shells! So that means-"

"Heavy artillery," New Zealand finished, "He's focusing all of his artillery on that village."

The unspoken words of, 'and soon to be us' hung in the air, like a grey cloud.

"Well you can't get this kind of excitement wrestling crocs back home," Australia grinned in an attempt to diffuse the situation, but his attempts at humour didn't reach his eyes.

That was something else that became apparent to New Zealand. While he would usually voice his fears openly and often break down on his brother's shoulder because of the horrors experienced by the two. But instead Australia was always the opposite. He never openly expressed his fear and he very rarely cried. Australia always tried to make him feel better in dire situations with his attempts at humour, even if the outlook seams bleak, just a little smile was enough for Australia. But New Zealand knew his brother well enough to take a swing at the hidden agenda. Australia's attempts to lighten the mood were a ploy for hiding his own uncertainty and fear.

A yell rang loudly from the trench, dimming any deep thoughts that New Zealand had. The yell was their signal, their impending doom. They were going over the top.

"You ready?" Australia asked. He picked up his rifle and attached the bayonet at the front.

"Not really," New Zealand replied and doing the same with his own weapon.

"Good," Australia said and then turned to his brother with a tight smile, "Neither am I."

Australia gripped the dirt as best as he could while he hauled himself up over the top of the trench, exposed as a mouse to a taipan. He scrambled to stand on his two feet, New Zealand wasn't far behind him as they followed the rest of their people. They set off running towards the desolated remains of the village.

It was an onslaught of gunfire and shell explosions. Shrapnel flew through the air with great speed and ferocity as some of the edges grazed Australia's arms, they only scratched and broke the surface of the skin just enough to start bleeding, but it was nothing compared to other injuries. Australia glanced over his shoulder to check on his brother, he was faring no better. While it was the early hours of the morning, the sun had yet to rise making it hard to navigate the terrain. The battle field rang out with the loud echoes of anguished screams and cries of their people dying.

The two nations would stumble every so often as more waves of pain would hit them like a tonne of bricks. They would have long collapsed from exhaustion and pain but their adrenaline was the only thing to keep them going. They had to make it to the village to try to secure some sort of win for the allies in a bittersweet hope to get the war over with.

They neared the location of the village, but they only had half of the people they had started with, the others fell to the cruelties of war. The rare tree that stood dead in the field were burning from the small fires. The smell of smoke in the air was enough to give Australia a pang of homesickness, as it reminded him of the campfires he would light as a child.

Unfortunately, the fires released plumes of thick black smoke in the air. Australia already had a hard time trying to breathe through his excessive running, the smoke didn't help matters. The air tasted foul, like gunpowder and dust.

They didn't see or couldn't hear the shell making impact with the ground near where they were. The impact made the ground shake and rumble beneath them, it sent them tumbling to the ground and they slid down into an abandoned German dug out. Their landing was anything but soft. In the dugout lay the discarded barbed wire used in the old front lines.

Australia and New Zealand along with three other of their men found themselves caught up in the tangled mess. The barbed wire was rusted yet the barbs were still sharp and had no trouble inflicting tiny cuts all over them.

Australia coughed as the dust began to settle around them. He had felt something wrapped around his arms and legs so he reached down to tug at it. A big mistake as he winced once his hand had touched a rusted barb.

"You okay?" Australia asked his brother who was trying to untangle himself with no luck.

"I've been better, but I'll be fine." New Zealand replied. He looked over to the other three soldiers who hadn't moved since the impact with the shell, "Are they?"

Australia looked over and let out a grieving sigh, "No, they must have been the closest to the shell when it exploded."

New Zealand's eyes brimmed with tears once more, but he refused to let them fall just yet, they had to get out of their current predicament. Their weapons lay discarded to the side, they wouldn't really be needed in this situation.

"Whose bright idea was it to bring barbed wire to a war?" Australia muttered disdainfully. Mentally adding the object to the list of things he hated about this war. "Training never covered this."

They both tried to free themselves but found that it was hopeless. The wires were connected with each other so if one side moved so did the other.

"Aus there's no way we're both going to be able to get out at the same time. One of us will have to get untangled first before the other can," New Zealand explained. He had to speak loudly to be heard over the gunfire. Australia seemed to be digesting the information.

"Yeah okay, I'll get untangled first then I'll come and help you out," Australia said, and New Zealand nodded signalling that he understood. New Zealand remained as the look out while Australia tried to get untangled.

Australia set to work with the difficult task of getting untangled from the barbed wire. The barbs would cut into his hands and make them bleed. But he tried to work quickly, every second that they stayed there meant danger, especially if a German solider or Germany himself happened to stumble upon them, and they were unable to defend themselves.

Finally, Australia was free. He wiped his bloodied hands on his uniform, the cuts would heal eventually and at the moment they only gave him mild discomfort. Australia then crawled over to New Zealand's side to help him get free.

Australia had managed to get most of his brother free, except for his leg. The leg was bound tightly with the barbed wire, so much so that when he shifted his leg the barbs would only cut into his skin deeper, making the younger flinch in pain.

The only way Australia would be able to get it off is if he cut it with something. An idea formed in his mind as he reached over to retrieve the bayonet from his rifle. Normally the blade wouldn't work against metal, but the wires were severely rusted so it should hopefully just snap off with the added pressure.

"I swear if you cut me with that thing, it'll be the last thing you ever do." New Zealand warned eyeing the sharp object wearily. Australia and sharp objects were never a good combination.

Australia just laughed at his brother's worry, "Relax, if you hold still you should be fine."

Australia carefully slid the blade under the wire. Sure enough, the corroded wire snapped against the added pressure, it still caused New Zealand some discomfort, but it was better than trying to just pull the wires off.

While Australia was busy trying to free his younger brother, something moving in the corner of his eye caught New Zealand's attention.

He paled, yet he didn't have time to warn Australia about the threat. With his quick reflexes he managed to throw himself in front of Australia,

Bang.

New Zealand had shielded Australia from the bullets that landed in his back. He didn't care if the sudden movement only made the barbed wire cut deeper into his leg. The person who had shot him had too fallen, but from another bullet above the dugout.

Australia felt as if everything was ins slow motion. He had no idea what was happening until it was too late to do anything. He dropped the bayonet from his hand as he caught his brother's falling figure. New Zealand had fallen against Australia's chest, unable to project his weight to support his body from sitting upright.

Australia, with trembling hands applied pressure to the bullet wound in New Zealand, making the younger nation grunt and moan in pain.

"I'm so-sorry. I couldn't watch you die for me again." New Zealand whispered. Tears spilled from his frightened and pained green eyes, he couldn't hold them back anymore, they fell just like they always did when he entered the war.

"Hey Zea, no come on mate, you need to stay awake." Australia's eyes darted frantically between his brother's face and his wound.

Everything seemed to just stop in place, Australia couldn't focus on anything except his dying brother. This couldn't be happening.

"You're gonna be okay, I'll get you to a medical tent." Australia promised. New Zealand gave a weak smile before his eyes closed and he let out his final breath.

While Australia knew that New Zealand would be fine and resurrect, that thought went out the window at the sight of New Zealand bleeding and dead. It was a sight he never wanted to see from his little brother. Dying was horrible but something Australia can live with, but having to witness another nation die was something that he'd never be able to forget.

Removing his hand from his brother's injury he picked up the bayonet once more. He managed to cut away the rest of the barbed wire, not caring how much they cut into his own hands, the pain he felt was numbing except for the heavy feeling of grief weighing down his heart.

Australia knew he needed to get New Zealand out of there, if the rest of their people had managed to start digging the trenches in the village it wouldn't be long until some of the German soldiers would try to attempt a trench raid. Unfortunately there were no stretcher bearers in sight, which meant the only medical help close enough was at their main trench, the way they had just came from.

Australia sighed and adjusted New Zealand in his arms so his injuries wouldn't be aggravated further. He would have to leave both of their weapons in the dugout because he couldn't carry them and his brother, but they could always get new ones later on. Right now, his only focus was getting New Zealand back safely to the trenches and then he'd be able to get to a medical tent.

Australia stood up and walked as quick as he could back to the trench lines, he couldn't risk running in case of falling into another hole rigged with barbed wire. So he took on the burden of carrying his little brother back, no matter if he was awkward and heavy to hold. New Zealand's blood had stained Australia's uniform as Australia let a few stray tears fall from his eyes, the first time he had cried since receiving his scar.

XxxxXxxxx

Australia sat in the chair right beside New Zealand's bedside, the older nation remained unmoving as he could do nothing more but wait for his brother to wake up. Once he had brought him to the medical tent most of the nurses and doctors had taken one look at New Zealand and told Australia that even if they did perform the risky surgery to get the bullet out of his back they doubted he would wake up. But Australia just told them to do it anyway, he must have sounded intimidating as they performed the surgery and now was just waking for the kiwi to open his eyes once more.

Australia had sent word to England about New Zealand and he had yet to receive a reply, but he knew that their father was coming he could sense the presence grow slightly closer. Australia wiped the rest of the tears from his eyes away, his eyes were red and stung from the emotional two days that plagued his mind constantly with the image of his brother dead in his arms.

"So this is what we were hoping for, hoping for a war so we could prove ourselves," Australia whispered out loud as he reflected on everything. Australia hated war, he hated the constant fight and he hated the deaths. If he knew what war truly war then he never would have been so excited to join.

Australia then heard the familiar gasps for air and he turned his gaze to see New Zealand looking dazed as he tried to work out where he was.

"G'day mate, you gave me a pretty nasty scare there," Australia greeted with a relieved smile, but the smile was forced, "You doing okay?"

"Does it always hurt this bad?" New Zealand asked. Australia summed up that the was talking about the resurrection process.

"Afraid so. I called dad and he's on his way to see you," Australia admitted, and the smile fell off his face.

He just had to know why New Zealand took the bullet for him, the guilt weighed heavily on him. If only he was a little more observant and took notice of his surroundings, then maybe the whole thing could have been avoided and New Zealand wouldn't have to die. He was bursting with all these emotions that he had tried to keep quelled; the anger and frustration with the whole war and the fear that he had felt when he saw his little brother dead, that's the thing that had truly scared him the most about the whole war. It was all too much and he just couldn't suppress them anymore.

"Why did you take the hits for me? I saw the placement of your injuries and he was aiming for me at first, until you jumped in the way."

"Do you know what it felt like to watch you die the first time? And then how you died for me over and over again?" New Zealand asked with an edge to his voice. The years of fighting and bottled up emotions were bubbling up inside of him, "It made me feel so helpless, knowing that I was too weak so you had to step in and die so I didn't have to."

"You're not weak Zea! I have no idea where you got that idea, but it's wrong!" Australia denied fiercely, "You can fight just as well as any of the others. And I know that better than anyone because I have been beside you the whole time."

"That's the thing! We made a promise to each other in Gallipoli to have each other's backs. How can I have your back when you sacrifice yourself all the time for me?" New Zealand incredulously asked

The two nations were silent for a good minute, forcing themselves to calm down after their little outburst. They were both just so stressed and with all the pain they felt, they were bound to lash out sooner or later.

Australia sighed and was the first to speak once more, "You have had my back, even if you don't know it. I don't freeze anymore in gunfire anymore, saving you helped me to overcome it. You're more observant than I am, and you are always the one to recognise things first. So while you think that you feel helpless, you really aren't. You've probably saved my life more times than I can count."

New Zealand considered Australia's sincere words and smiles softly. An emotion of happiness, one he hadn't felt in a while, filled him at hearing how much he was appreciated by his brother.

"I'm sorry for lashing out," New Zealand sighed, "I-It's just that I couldn't watch you die, not again. I couldn't handle having to carry you back to the medical tent, sometimes I could barely lift you. I'd be covered in your blood and wait in the chair next to you, knowing the only thing I could do was cry and wait for you to wake up."

"I know where you're coming from now." Australia admitted, having did exactly what New Zealand had to do for him. And he understood what New Zealand felt, he never wanted to do that every again.

Kangaroos loose in the top paddock- crazy, insane, mental etc.

I am so sorry this is late, I've been dealing with end of year exams and assignments from uni. So to make up for my absence a really long chapter for today's update, a double update tomorrow and of course a update on Remembrance day this Sunday.

I'm not really happy with how the little outburst was written, but it could just be me. I wanted the outburst to start over all of their bottled feelings and just have a little fluffy brotherly moment. I always felt that New Zealand would feel very insecure about perceiving himself not as good as Australia (sort of like Canada and America) is in some things. So I wanted to try and convey that but I'm not sure how it turned out XD.

With the first part of this chapter I really just wanted to describe the horror that Australia and New Zealand were walking into. The reason why Australia keeps referring back to Gallipoli is that, it was their first battle and the place they were baptised into enemy fire, and I guess (since they didn't know what to expect on the western front) Australia and New Zealand had assumed that it would be similar to Gallipoli, because they had grown used to the fighting and what to expect against Turkey, then they enter an unknown territory against Germany, who they've never faced before. And that brings out a lot of insecurity of not knowing what to expect, the new weaponry and fighting tactics, compared to the other nations that have been there before them. So, it feels like they are fighting for the first time again.

The village that Australia and New Zealand fought at, is also known as the battle of the Pozieres (a objective apart of the larger Somme battle). For those of you that are unfamiliar with the Pozieres battle, I will give a brief description. Pozieres is mainly considered an Australian battle against the Germans, but I checked and they did have an Anzac division amongst the Australian ones, so New Zealand was there. Pozieres was considered an importance to the allies, but the Germans also considered it vital ground. So the Anzac Corps entered the fighting stage, because of it's importance to the German's they focused all of their artillery on that small village. An historian called Charles Bean once wrote that the Pozieres, "is more densely sown with Australian sacrifice than any other place on earth. At its peak, the German bombardment of Pozières was the equal of anything yet experienced on the Western Front and far surpassed the worst shelling". The objective was a success for the allies, but at a deadly cost approximately (according to wikipedia) 23,000 Australian and New Zealander's were killed and injured in that battle

I also have a headcannon that I was talking to a CaraIsTrash about (You're the best with headcannons!) , is that Australia doesn't like small or enclosed spaces, because he is used to wide open plains from his home and he just finds small spaces constricting and uncomfortable, and in extreme cases when he is in them for a long period of time, he will become more feared of them. Keep this in mind for WW2 ;)