The strafing run was just the beginning. Moments later they were overhead and bomb-like objects dropped all around them. The defences burst into light as continual explosions erupted. The troops could do nothing but huddle in their trenches and hope for the best. The remaining tanks tried to counter the aircraft with their secondary mounted anti-aircraft weapons. They knocked out a couple of the alien vessels, but it had little effect.
Taylor could see Chandra shouting orders, but couldn’t hear a single word despite her being only a metre away. The ground shook and rumbled continuously as if hit by an earthquake. A nearby bomb struck Price, blinding him instantly and leaving his face cut and mangled, he was alive but no good to anyone. Taylor saw him moving and wailing but couldn’t hear his screams over the deafening noise.
The bombing run raged for fifteen minutes until friendly aircraft arrived to once more do battle. However it was too late, the alien planes were already returning west and the EUA fighters were forced to turn back in fear of being over hostile lands.
Taylor and Chandra stood up to survey the damage. Both tanks were now utterly destroyed and another eight men were dead in their trench, as well as many more wounded. The Colonel remembered dispatching Captain Jones just moments before the attack had begun, she could only pray she hadn’t sent him to his death. Seconds after the distressing thought the Captain appeared from behind one of the burning wrecks to report in.
He stopped and looked around at their trench for a moment. Blood trailed up his armour but it seemed it wasn’t his. He looked back to the Colonel dumbfounded.
“Sir, you had it light here, I suggest you take a look.”
Chandra clambered back onto the tank she’d been on before the bombing began. The vehicle was smouldering and she could feel the heat through her boots. Looking along the line of defences she gasped at the carnage. There were gaping holes in their defences where entire trenches had been left as ragged craters. Most of the armour on the front line was blown apart or still burning.
In the distance came the frightful sound she had been dreading. Tank tracks in vast numbers were rolling towards their positions. Still a couple of kilometres off but in great numbers, she doubted they had more than fifteen minutes before all hell broke loose. Jumping off the vehicle once more she strode to the wired phone in their trench and ripped the handset from its cradle.
“This is Colonel Chandra, get me Commander Phillips!”
“This is Phillips.”
“Sir, we’re in deep shit here! We’ve got heavy casualties. Our armour is mostly gone. Enemy is approaching in substantial numbers, I do not believe we can survive another assault!”
“Understood, Colonel. Brigadier Dupont is receiving the same reports across the line. I am ordering you to withdraw immediately! A defensive line is being setup along the banks of the Seine. Fall back and take up positions there. Good luck, Colonel.”
The Commander cut off the transmission, but Chandra had already heard everything she needed to know. She turned to look at the troops in the trench. A few were helping others to patch over minor wounds, though most were awaiting her orders.
“Immediate fall back to the Seine! Carry all wounded! Leave the dead! Let’s move!”
The troops hated leaving their fallen comrades, but were also relieved to be leaving the site of such slaughter. Their previous victory had been bittersweet after the mauling they had just received. As they got to their feet they could see that the other infantry regiments and surviving vehicle crews were already pouring down the main roads.
Seeing the front line armies in full retreat was a morale destroying experience. It was half an hour before they reached the river bridges and streamed over them. Two fresh EUA divisions had deployed along the banks of the Seine and erected even greater defences than they previously had.
The clean and fresh soldiers stared in silence at the battle fatigued and battered combat troops as they rushed back behind the new line of defences. Not even the best-trained and equipped armies of the world had faced such a voracious foe. The new line of defences had thick concrete barriers inset either side of the trenches creating blast defences. Heavy armour was lined up all along the roads facing across the river.
Officers from the signals units directed the combined company to their new area just twenty metres off from the entrance to a wide road bridge. They had been allocated a line of four-storey buildings built as defences for the bridges a hundred years before. The thick walls and strong structures were a welcome sight to the troops defending the vital area of the river.
Taylor and Jones were quick to deploy their troops to every defensive position that they could. Even the wounded no longer able to carry their own bodyweight were propped up with plenty of ammunition. Within five minutes the troops were ready and taking a much needed rest.
The two officers found their Colonel on a roof looking out west from where the enemy was approaching. Charlie and Mitch walked up to her as she panned across the city. Smoke plumes still rose from the battleground they had fought on that morning.
“They’ve stopped,” said Chandra.
“You sure?” asked Taylor.
“Listen.”
The three officers stared into the distance just listening for anything. Troops continued to march on the roads behind them, but the front was quiet.
“Do you think they’ve had enough?” she asked.
“Not a chance. Think what we would do if the enemy had retreated to greater defences. They are pausing to amass their forces before a grand assault. This could be it, this next battle could decide the fate of one of the greatest cities in the world,” said Taylor.
Chapter 11
The troops of the 2 ^ nd Inter-Allied Battalion had laid about in their defences for over an hour. Ammunition supplies were brought up and troops continued to pour in from the west. Their communications were working as normal, though the signals staff were still working hard at installing wired connections in readiness.
Taylor, Jones and Chandra sat in a corner of the rooftop defences of their building. It was the calm before the storm which all of them had now experienced more times than they had ever wished. They had re-supplied and were as ready as they could be. Now the only thing to do was wait. Despite the communications lines working, they had received little contact from Headquarters.
“Jones tells me a Sergeant that you’re very close to is in a critical condition in England,” said Chandra.
The Major looked over to Jones with a humbled expression. Both the British officers understood that he had more than a professional relationship with Parker, but didn’t mention it.
“How is she?” she asked.
“Last word the Commander was able to get said she was still in surgery.”
“Then she’s in a better place than us,” said Jones.
“Really?”
“She’s got a solid chance of survival, better than our odds.”
The Major smiled, he appreciated the Captain’s humour in an attempt to settle his grief. The huge advertising display boards on the buildings opposite flickered and caught their attention. The EUA logo appeared on all the screens that had survived the earlier bombing raids. The three officers and the few troops sitting about the rooftop got to their feet and walked to the far side of the building.
They didn’t know what to expect as the huge building-width displays flickered and then faded to a conference room with the EUA logo and lines of the countries’ flags. A podium stood in the centre of the image. It was the familiar set up from which all key speeches and announcements were made by the heads of the EU.
The scene was vacant of any sign of life or movement. Suddenly a woman stepped up behind the podium. She was dressed in a smart suit and looked confident and calm. She turned to the camera looking directly into the lens.
“This message is for all EUA forces and allies thereof. I have with me the representatives of all thirty-one states. We come to you live from London where the President of Franc
e and his Majesty the King of the Great Britain and the Commonwealth have travelled to address you personally. Please welcome President Andre Francois.”
The woman left the podium as all the troops at the defences were fixated on the screens. None were ever particularly interested in what politicians had to say, but in this time of need, they clung onto any news they could get.
“Greetings to all of you. To the men and women of the European Union Army, and the many troops who have joined the fight. I want to extend my gratitude to every one of you that is fighting for the freedom and survival of not just our country, but the entire world. I am well aware that time is not on our side and will therefore be brief. You honour us all with your courage. Thank you, and good luck. Now may I present to you, his Majesty King Richard, the Twelfth.”
The French President moved aside and the King stepped up to the podium. In his fifties, and a former soldier himself, the graceful and confident royal wore his blazing red tunic and full regalia.
“Ladies and Gentleman. We have lost the west of France. We have lost Spain. North Africa has also fallen. We cannot lose Paris! I have just received word that four divisions are en route from Russia and its allies. Troops from the Middle East are already arriving in Italy and Yugoslavia. Help is on the way, you have my word! All that matters now is that we all accept that failure is not an option. To fail is to condemn our families, friends, comrades and children to death. The world is looking to you, and you will have our eternal gratitude for the sacrifices you make. Good luck to all of you.”
The King lifted his arm in a salute that was returned by all who were watching the screens, before they cut off and went to black.
“Guess there wasn’t much else to say,” said Taylor.
“What else do you say when faced with global destruction?” asked Jones.
Chandra stopped and listened as a signal came in through her commlink.
“Enemy’s on the move, all troops take up positions and…”
The signal cut off in the same way that they had become familiar with. Chandra turned to notify the others in her command but was beaten to it by the opening barrage from the gun batteries positioned behind the lines.
“I guess they’re on the way then!” shouted Taylor.
“Affirmative, Major. Enemy forces are incoming! Captain, get on the hard line and find out what commands were being given before we were jammed!”
She glanced at the other troops on the rooftop who were looking around as if not sure what to do.
“Everybody get downstairs and into position!”
As the Colonel turned to make her way off the roof the first of the enemy artillery fire smashed into their building. The second energy burst landed close to her tossing her off her feet and across the floor. She crashed into the opposite wall.
Taylor regained composure a few seconds later and found himself resting face first on the hard floor. He clambered to his feet and could see Jones already attending to the Colonel. One of his men lay dead, his body almost torn in two. Taylor staggered over to the officers. Chandra was breathing but roughly, her leg was mangled and bleeding.
“We have to get off this rooftop!” he shouted.
Jones looked to the Major and quickly back to his superior. She was badly wounded, but he knew that she would likely not survive if they stayed up there any longer. She winced in pain as he took hold of her, her body was badly battered. Throwing her left arm over his shoulder he lifted her with both arms.
Another energy pulse crashed at the opposite end of their position and sent fragments of the structure bursting into the air. The only relief was in seeing that the bunker itself remained structurally solid against the onslaught of the enemy’s barrage. Jones carried her quickly down the stairs, leaving Taylor to slam the thick old doors shut behind them.
Taylor rushed to where Chandra had been put down, the lights flickering all around them as each blast that landed nearby rumbled through the structure. Jones had already run down to the next floor to find their field medic.
“Great timing, hey, Major?”
“You’re still breathing, Colonel, there’s a lot to be said for that these days.”
She grinned, gritting her teeth as the pain wracked through her body. “I’ll make it this time, but I am in no state to command.”
“Colonel!”
“Once the blood flow is stopped I’ll be at a window with a rifle, but the battalion is now yours, Major.”
He nodded in acceptance. He had become accustomed to the responsibility of important missions, but none quite as vital as what they were now experiencing.
“This isn’t the kind of promotion I ever planned for, Colonel.”
“Nor here. All I ever wanted was promotion, now all I want is to see us survive this shit.”
“Damn right!”
Jones rushed back into the room with the medic.
“The doc can handle it from here, you two need to get to your positions. Taylor now has command, give them hell!”
The two men stood up, saluting her with grim expressions on their faces. The battle had barely begun and they were off to a bad start. They went to to the nearest window. The narrow firing slots ran along every wall of the structure and were protected by a wall that was over a metre thick. They couldn’t yet see the enemy forces that were approaching, but the artillery and air combat raged all around.
There were no more orders to be given. They knew they had to hold their position at all costs. Taylor and Jones stood side by side, fixated on the view of the broad road up ahead that led to the bridge they were defending.
“Guess this isn’t the way you imagined going out?” asked Taylor.
“No, but our ancestors have a long history of dying for their country in this land, we can at least keep with tradition,” replied Jones.
Moments later they saw a rocket trail soar down the street as the infantry forces to their flank opened fire on the enemy that were still out of their line of sight. Taylor could feel the grimy sweat between his palm and the grip of the launcher in his hands. He looked back to see the crates of ammunition stacked up behind them. At least they could stay in the fight if they could just survive.
“Target!” shouted Jones.
Before they could even take aim the men on the floors below them had opened fire. The two enemy tanks which first came into sight were hit with a hail of crossfire from troops occupying both the river edge and the buildings behind. The tanks erupted into flames, but only came to a halt for a few seconds as the next vehicles shunted them aside and continued onwards. Mechs appeared at their flanks and were already laying down fire.
High explosive shells landed among the tightly compacted formations of the enemy and they were blown apart, many plunging into the river either side of the bridge. They could see a number of the armoured infantry scattering into the buildings opposite them.
“Keep an eye on those windows!” Taylor ordered.
He caught sight of the first Mech in a window just inside a tall old building. Firing instantly with his high explosive grenades the old windows shattered and the wall blasted through. Further Mechs poured into the hole in the cover of the building.
The gunfire was so voluminous that not a trooper among them could distinguish the sound of individual weapons firing. Light pulses smashed into the re-enforced building taking chunks out of its armour. A lucky shot burst through the firing slot down the line from Jones and took the head of one of his men clean off. He stopped for just a second staring at the scene before turning back and fighting on.
The windows through the building the other side of the river lit up as the enemy took up more positions and began laying down fire on their bunker. Taylor ducked down to reload his launcher as Jones kept up the fight. Gunfire poured from all floors of their structure. They could hear mass footsteps on the stairways leading up to their floor and those below. Taylor locked his launcher shut and held it in readiness.
Taylor was suddenly elated by the
sight of EUA forces bursting into the room.
“Colonel Chandra!”
An officer barked in a course Scottish accent.
She gestured over to Taylor as the Major stood up and went to greet the troops. The battle raged in the background as Mitch shook hands with the man.
“Major Douglas at your service, we’re here to help.”
“Major Taylor, I have taken command of the 2 ^ nd Inter-allied. The enemy have taken up positions in the buildings along the river and their tanks continue to try and get through on the bridges.”
“Let’s see if we can give you a hand, Major.”
Douglas lifted his rifle and walked straight to the firing positions with Taylor and a number of his men. They opened up with a volley of fire from every weapon in their arsenal. Explosions erupted all along the building but they quickly recoiled at the deafening sound of a tank exploding on the bridge.
Quickly recovering they concentrated their fire on the lower building sections and the troops in the floors below quickly followed suit. Glass and brickwork smashed across the road in front of the building as it was hammered by rockets, grenades and machinegun fire. They could just hear the aged creak of the building as its foundations began to crumble. They watched in awe as the lower floor gave way and the five storeys above it came tumbling down, crushing the Mechs defending it.
Cheers rang out among the combined troops of the bunker and the infantry lines outside in the trenches. Taylor rushed along the line to look out at the gun ports looking down their side of the bridge. Medics were dragging away dozens of wounded from the trenches and many more lay dead. Looking up the river he could see that similar battles raged on every bridge as far as he could see.
The gun batteries of the enemy opened up once more, pounding the buildings behind them and the friendly artillery positions behind those. The bunker rocked on its foundations as several huge impacts struck the floor below them. Screams of the wounded echoed up the stairwells.
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