The heavy harmony of a war-soon-to-be filled the vast landscape, the pleasant sounds of nature overthrown in a coup of noise. The small buzzing of a warplane's propeller flying above, engines rattling the vehicle at which they worked in, the iconic sound of marching feet which coincided with marching songs like Erika. These came out over the average, common sounds of nature: birds chirping, small animals barking, water flowing, wind blowing.
One single soldier who took part in this grand chorus marched his heavy feet through the grasses and dirt of Eastern Germany. Around him, vast fields of which the green stretched for miles, interrupted by the dull gray of the machines and men. A few small patches of trees and hills stuck out, but not more so than the encampments or vehicles or other soldiers. Everyone was doing something as well. No one was taking a break, instead they marched or cleaned or did anything else. Perhaps it was a wish to do the call of duty, perhaps it was to pass time which went at a snails pace. They had been marching for over 2 hours with only a few brakes in between each hour to prevent any damage to their feet. Luckily, most would meet with some sort of mechanized unit after a while and they distance would pass far faster.
As the soldier sort of admired the area as he marched, he felt a push on his shoulder. A gentle nudge.
"Jakub," The nudge-er said in an exhausted tone, "How much longer do we have?"
The soldier, who was named Jakub, turned to the man. "I dunno Rudolf. A half kilometer, maybe?" Jakub replied, questioning himself if his answer was right.
The other man, Rudolf, groaned. If there was an exception to the 'always-working' rule, it was Rudolf. He was known for pseudo-laziness. He worked when he needed to and never ignored his duties, but he rather he didn't have anything to do in the first place. He never did any extra credit in school despite getting straight As, and did the same for his job in the military. He never went above what was required if him. Anything more was work that would be done by the next guy, so why bother?
That was Rudolf's philosophy.
Rudolf was five-foot-seven and one-hundred-forty pounds. Despite being lazy, he had a good build which would have beamed with energy if he cared to have it. Rudolf had thin blonde hair which he never did anything with, leaving it flat on his head. Girls often considered Rudolf 'cute', as his laziness didn't help with baby face that he had. He had a bit of acne near his nose and cheeks, but these were small blemishes.
Jakub, on the other hand, was a bit of an opposite. He was six-foot-two and weighed two-hundred pounds. He had black hair which combed to the side nicely, and brown eyes. He was fairly muscular and handsome, with very little to get in the way of his define facial features. He wasn't a complete bull, but he wasn't a sheep. Jakub also differed as he wasn't lazy, far from it. He did his work above and beyond what was asked, as he believed that a great job keeps you from doing that job again later.
"How's Eva?" Rudolf asked, eyes forward to the man in front in of him as they marched in formation.
"Fine, really. We'll be back around Christmas, so I hope she won't miss me for too long."
"Ah."
Jakub turned his head over other heads and helmets, scanning the area as they marched. Since Jakub was over six foot, he towered over the people in front of him, so he easily saw what was over them. Other than what was expected, war equipment and soldiers and such, he noticed something which put him off-key. Something very familiar, just ahead. Near that area men in black and gray uniforms, Waffen SS and various generals, crowded. His eyes narrowed, wondering what it was. The men were at an elevated position just in front of them. Between the other taller men and horses which blocked his vision, he couldn't tell why they were there.
Then, he saw the men straighten up, and salute. Another person, short in stature and making his way down the isle the uniformed men made with defined posture. He slowly came into view. He had an iconic yet simplistic uniform in, fully buttoned up. His cap sat on his head firmly and the uniformed men congregated around him. Well, it was obvious who it was. His where mustache under his nose really gave it away.
Der Führer, Adolf Hitler.
"Rudolf!" He yelled, shaking his friends shoulder, "Look!"
"Wha-?!" Rudolf turned to Jakub with an annoyed look in his face. Jakub pointed to Der Führer and those around him.
"Rudolf, it's the Führer!" He yelled. Rudolf used his hands to signal for Jakub to shut the hell up.
"Jakub, I see," He replied, "No need to yell. It's rude."
Eventually the line got closer and closer to Der Führer. Up on his position he did his classic wave to the men under him. A smile on his face, he surveyed his troops. Not a single one seemed off, and none dared look at him in the eye. Of coarse, people caught glances. That was natural when they encountered their idol. Nonetheless, it was still rude to gaze at him, so not wanting to anger Der Führer, they didn't. No one did.
As Jakub and Rudolf's position in the line slowly moved passed Der Führer, they could relax and talk a bit. But, neither were really interested. No one else was, after all, so they'd stick out. Jakub did as he always did and simply watched and listen to what surrounded him.
The Movie and Music of Mobilization
Eventually, the Grand Marching line stopped for a break. The line disbanded upon the fields and the men went off to various locations do do various activities. Some smoked, others played sports, most simply talks and ate. Jakub and Rudolf were in the upper majority.
Jakub sat on a bench which was situated near a gray barracks. It was more a large tent, but barracks when speaking practically. Rudolf sat next to him on a crate he found in said barracks-tent. Around them soldiers discussed topics they had no interest in, vehicles drove around, generals overlooked the area.
"God." Rudolf said as he cracked open a can. "I'm so damn exhausted."
"I am as well. Anyhow... Gum" Jakub stretched his hand out towards Rudolf. Rudolf looked at him, then his hand, and sighed. He grabbed some gum from his pocket and chucked it to Jakub, who barely caught it. The packet of gum fumbled in his hands before he finally secured it in a good grip.
"Thanks."
"Yeah, no problem." Rudolf sighed.
The grass around them began to crumple and Jakub looked behind Rudolf to the source of the noise. Another soldier approached them, a familiar face to Jakub. He was short at five-foot-three and weighed only one-hundred-twenty pounds. He had a slight stubble and wore circular glasses. His face was round and his hair was light brown hair which was cut quite short. In the man's hands was an MG-36 with a ammo belt draped over the barrel.
"Ah, Ralf. How are you?" Jakub asked, two finger saluting him.
"Pretty alright, if I do say so myself~" As he approached them, Ralf's eyes gravitated towards Rudolf. Rudolf was unfamiliar to Ralf, so his hand outstretched for a handshake. Rudolf looked at it and, as anyone would, shook it.
"I'm Rudolf. I'm guessing you're Ralf."
Ralf nodded and sat on the grass, laying his MG-36 by his side.
"Did you guys see the Führer down there? Pretty cool, eh?" Ralf announced. Jakub nodded.
"Of coarse," Rudolf responded, "How couldn't we?"
Ralf acknowledged his fair point and went to lay down. His gray uniform wrinkled against the grass a bit and his steel helmet slowly slid off his head. Ralf let out a hard, satisfied grunt.
"Ah, this sure is nice." Ralf's eyes squinted, the sun glaring several colors against his vision. "But this damn sun..."
"Yeah, its fucking hot as hell." Jakub commented.
"I don't understand why we are here anyway." Ralf looked up at Jakub and Rudolf. "I mean, war with Poland is war with England and France. I doubt the Reich can hold against such superpowers."
"Nonsense." Rudolf retorted.
"How so?" Ralf questioned. Rudolf happily obliged.
"The Reich is a military power now, and far greater than the Kaiser. Also, the Allies are wusses. We've already invaded Czechoslovakia and rearmed the Rhineland. Even if they do declare war, they won't take it seriously. Not at first, anyway."
"But the Reich doesn't have an economy to match either power. The British can just blockade us, too, with their vast Navy that the Kriegsmarine simply can't compare to."
"Both France and the British are in such debt I doubt they can even keep a blockade going for any extended amount of time. From the looks of it, we have a far better economy. We can actually support our military endeavours. And U-Boats are more than capable of taking down even the biggest battleships with large enough numbers."
"Well, Rudolf, about the economy thing: Germany won't be able to support its trading economy."
"Pfft. We don't need trade."
"...And how about the US?" Ralf sat up and looked at Rudolf. "What if they get in the war?"
"They won't." Rudolf shrugged it off. "Japan will keep them busy."
Ralf pinched his nose and let a disappointed sigh out. "Japan depends on US oil. It's a matter of time before that's cut off. Then the US can focus on Europe and their allies."
"Those amerimutts don't even have any sort of substantial military and I doubt they can get it up in time with that stupid ass popularity contest of a democracy they have. And the French and British are not the it 's allies. They don't like each other, not at all."
"What about the Great War?"
"Mm. That was only done because Germany propositioned Mexico with a plan of Invasion, making Germany a threat."
"Will you two shush?" Jakuv butted in, "The War is going to start and theirs nothing to stop that. Only time will tell if the Reich can win a victory."
Ralf and Rudolf looked at Jakub. They agreed to disagree soon after, both understanding that neither could predict the future. Suddenly a whistle blew from far away, which caused a chain reaction of whistle blows to go off throughout the rows of barracks. This was the call that the break was over, with motorized infantry starting to come down a dirt path which cut directly in the middle. The Soldier's cheered that their feet were spared for another day.
Ralf, Rudolf, and Jakub all nodded to each other and got up. Ralf grabbed his helmet and MG-36, Rudolf stretched a bit and grabbed his gun and Jakub was already walking to their squad's assigned truck. If he remembered correctly, G-9.
Jakub, with the other two following close behind, scanned the sides of the trucks which were in a long line with other armored vehicles placed in every so often. All the vehicles had men boarding, or crowding, them and most were of a gray or dark green color. They had various insignia of various squads, especially for the Panzers.
Eventually Jakub got got to the G row.
G-1, G-2... G-9.
When he found it he yelled to the other two about the discovery. Jakub reached the back door of the heavy truck. It had an open top and other soldiers were already inside of it, the exact number being eight.
Jakub unlatched the door and it fell open with a bang. He climbed in and sat at the most inward seat, next to a man of modest height and build. Ralf and Rudolf sat after Jakub, with Rudolf next to Jakub and Ralf across.
Jakub sighed and let himself slouch a bit.
"Wake me up when we get there." Jakub said as he closed his eyes
"Same." Rudolf added.
Ralf nodded and looked out the side of the truck as it finally began to move