Soldiers of Tomorrow: The Winter War

by Michael G. Thomas

  Two rebels rushed out towards a tank as it rumbled past. One was hit as she closed the open ground, but the other went on, carrying a magnetic anti-tank charge. The man got within a metre of the tank, but took a shot to the head that killed him instantly, and their hopes were dashed. Without hesitating, Ray leapt over the wall and rushed out under a hail of bullets. He picked up the charge and tossed it onto the rear of the hull. Gunfire landed all around him, but he ran like hell, flying over the wall when the charge ignited. A sharp ripping sound tore through part of the hull. Moments later the commander’s hatch was blown off. Sparks flew from the open hatch. The fuel and ammunition went up in flames before the crew could escape.

  None of them felt bad for those inside, not after all that they had endured at the hands of the enemy. A recoilless rifle fired from a wall in front of the Capitol Building, and the shell blew the track off another tank, but its turret soon pivoted, and a shell left its barrel. The anti-tank emplacement went up in flames, and all manning it were killed.

  “We’re getting slaughtered out here!” Lisa shouted.

  Ray looked back and forth. They indeed were being cut down all over. A few dozen more Maquis had joined them to keep up the numbers, but it wasn’t enough. They were paying a horrific price to manoeuvre the enemy where they wanted them.

  “Everyone back, back to the Capitol Building!” he cried.

  He laid down some fire before leaping into a run, as fast as his legs would take him. But he was tiring. It felt like they had been fighting for days on end, which in some ways they had. His feet burrowed deep into the thick snow, and the air was ice cold on the back of his throat. It was exhausting. Few fired back as they ran for their lives. Several more were cut down by machine gun fire, but the shelling came to an end.

  Ray slid into a foxhole at the entrance to the ruins where another Panzerfaust and MG3 awaited them. He lifted the machine gun into position and dropped the bipod over the edge of the mound of earth and snow. Dozens of enemy soldiers were pursuing his people to rout them once and for all. He took aim and fired. Several were cut down, but not before three more militia had fallen.

  Will rushed past him, making a break for the shelter of the ruins of the old Capitol Building.

  “Whatever you’re gonna do, you’d better do it fast!”

  Ray kept on firing.

  “Go!’ he yelled to Lisa as she ran past, and he threw the Panzerfaust to her. He looked back to the enemy, and a Stoßtruppen charged towards him. He pulled the trigger and destroyed the German’s weapon, but the MG3 action jammed. The soldier kept coming at him empty-handed. He reached for his rifle, but it was too late, the heavily armoured soldier leapt into the foxhole and landed on top of him, almost crushing him to death.

  Ray was winded, but he soon recovered. The German’s helmet came for his head in a brutal head splitter of a head-butt. He crossed his arms to protect his front. It took most of the power out of the blow, but it still hurt like hell. He reached for his pistol, but the German took his hand, smashed it down into the ground, and pinned it there. He tried to fight, but the SS man’s other hand was on his throat, squeezing the life out of him.

  He punched and kicked, but couldn’t do anything against the thick armour. Unable to reach his knife, it seemed this was the end; the powerful German had size and strength on his side. Ray was fading, but a gunshot rang out, followed by two more. The SS soldier went limp, and Ray cast his body aside. Charlie stood over the foxhole with his rifle in hand. He’d put three rounds point-blank into the Stoßtruppen’s weaker back armour.

  “You okay?”

  Ray could barely believe it. It seemed a surreal situation, where the roles had been reverse. As he coughed and spluttered, he remembered where they were and the danger they were in. He gestured for Charlie to get down into cover, but it was too late. A shot hit the teenager’s back and exited out through his chest. His rifle dropped from his hands, and his body tumbled forward. Ray stood up to take the fall, and he fell into his arms.

  “I’m sorry,” he said, as if ashamed he had been hit.

  “No, I’m sorry. Look, we can’t stay here. We’ve got to move.”

  “I…can’t.” He was in agony, even though he tried to hide it.

  Ray slung his rifle on his shoulder and Charlie’s too. He lifted the body and under the gunfire, leapt out of the hole. He rushed through the ragged entrance of the Capitol Building and into cover. He looked around to see how few had made it. He remembered less than fifty managed to get as far as the foxhole, but Woody was waiting for him, and a medic ran to Charlie’s aid.

  “What the hell was he doing out there? Stupid kid.”

  “That kid just saved my life,” replied Ray sternly.

  Woody nodded in appreciation, both finding a new level of respect for the youngster.

  “Things better be in place, Woody, because we are fucked.”

  “They are in place.”

  The gunfire died down, making them both suspicious. They crept to a window ledge to look out.

  “The guns, they’ve stopped firing,” said Lisa.

  The walkers and tanks had all stopped advancing. The troops outside had gone to ground in what cover they could find. In that moment Ray saw the extent of their losses even in the final retreat. He took no relief that more enemy lay dead than their own. All the guns fell silent, replaced by the howling winds as the snowstorm continued to rage. The scene was a vision of hell. Utter carnage, although the endless snow was already covering the wreckage and bodies.

  A German command car approached, a heavily armoured and lavish vehicle that had to be the preferred transport of the highest Nazi officials. It rode right up to the street outside, as if those inside arrogantly perceived no threat at all.

  “Let’s hit it now.” Lisa gestured towards the anti-tank device in her hands.

  “No, you can see the armour on that thing. Even if we could touch it, look. He pointed to the two landships protecting the vehicle. They strode up beside it as it came to a halt. It felt like the end. Ray pulled out a white cloth from his bag and rummaged around until he found an old curtain pole. He tied the cloth on the top.

  “What are you doing?”

  “Wait here.”

  He strode out with the flag held high and his weapon firmly on his back. Several SS troops advanced from cover, fanning out around the vehicle and its occupants. A Super Tiger tank watched over them, too, an SS Commander with keen eyes sitting atop it. The odds seemed impossible, but Ray stayed put at the foot of the ruins.

  * * *

  Generalleutnant Curt von Kluge waited for the SS men to open the doors for him. The command car was one of the safest places to be in this war zone, and the last thing he wanted was to be surrounded and captured by the rebels. As the doors opened, the chill wind cut inside, making him shudder. He rose up and stepped out into the snow. He looked towards the shattered ruins of the once great city. What had survived the atomic strikes had now been well and truly smashed by tanks, missiles, and long-range ship bombardment.

  SS-Oberführer Sigismund Erwin was there, waiting in his winter gear, and carrying a submachine gun like so many of his men. He wore much the same armour as the Stoßtruppen, and could just as easily have been a private, had it not been for the markings on the shoulders.

  “Generalleutnant. The city, as promised.”

  He signalled towards the scattered line of rebels waiting off to their left. One in particular stood out amongst them all.

  “Is that him, the so-called Viper?”

  SS-Oberführer Erwin shrugged.

  “It would appear so.”

  The Generalleutnant took a few steps from the vehicle and then waited in silence. The cold wind howled down the Mall, picking up more snow and scattering it around the soldiers of both sides. He relaxed as four Super Tigers inched into position to his left, while a pair of landships moved ahead just in front of the ruins of the Capitol Building. Other machines could be heard far away, but the howling storm ma
de it impossible to see them.

  “I bring a message from the democratically elected leader of this fine Union, Reichskommissar Wilson.”

  He paused and pulled out a small, leather notebook. An Information Ministry team were a short distance away, with two cameras following the action. The Generalleutnant looked to the anchorman who was covered from head-to-toe in thick furs.

  “This is live?”

  The man nodded.

  “Jawohl. The entire nation will see this today, on all networks.”

  “Good.”

  He knew the words in the notebook, but the prop was necessary for this particular moment.

  “Your actions against the Union, and against the Reich are treason of the highest order. You have inspired others to commit acts of terror in your name, and are responsible for the deaths of thousands.”

  He paused for effect, almost choking as the icy wind lashed across his face. He lifted a hand to cover himself before carrying on.

  “The Deputy Fuhrer has taken a personal interest in this affair since your betrayal in New York, but even now offers you a way out. I am therefore authorised to accept your surrender on behalf of the Reich. Your leaders will be sent to the Fatherland for interrogation, and the rest of you will live to face your trial. Better than any of you truly deserve. Resist, and all of you will suffer the same fate as those that resisted at Alexandria.”

  To his eternal disappointment, the rebels said nothing, so he moved forward with heavily armoured bodyguards at his flanks. As he stepped ahead, a few rays of sunlight started to break through the clouds. It wasn’t much, but enough to highlight the devastation of the fight. His forces were scattered, but that didn’t worry him too much. The enemy was here, and surrounded in the heart of American democracy. He almost wanted them to resist.

  “Well. What do you say for yourselves?”

  Ray climbed on top of the front of a collapsed car to lift himself above the rest. He was in plain sight for both sides, and all eyes turned to him for his words of surrender. The Generalleutnant gasped with anticipation as Ray placed his weapon on the roof of the vehicle. Instead of speaking, he turned away and waved back towards the ruined buildings.

  “What?” Generalleutnant Curt von Kluge asked.

  There were no words, though, just the grinding collapse of the last remaining fascia of the buildings on Capitol Hill. At first it looked like a fluke until the material pulled away, revealing the giant Kriegsmarine landship. Dozens of groups appeared from in hiding, many behind old-fashioned wheeled artillery.

  “I say one thing you, General. Nuts!”

  The SS opened fire first, and Ray dropped down to cover. The reply from the hidden rebels was deafening. Rifles, machines guns, artillery, and rockets tore into the Reich forces. Then one by one the last few buildings along the Mall fell apart, and Eiserner Gott and the five Militants emerged from hiding to unleash their terrible weapons.

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  Capitol Hill, Washington D.C.

  “Go, go, go! Go you bastards!” Baker roared.

  The machines crashed through the buildings of the Mall, striding out from their hiding places. Rubble and debris slid off buildings collapsing around them. They rushed towards the enemy with all guns blazing. Baker hurriedly followed on after them to assist Ray. The ground shook violently beneath him. It was as though trying to fight his way through an earthquake as the machines stomped across the open ground. Artillery on both sides rained down amongst them.

  Muzzle flashes rang out from every door and window of the Capitol Building and the remaining buildings around it. Rebel troops laid down an immense wall of fire on the SS troops below. They were overwhelmed by the gunfire and desperately sought cover from the brutal salvo. Missile trails soared from the building, rifle grenades and mortar fire hammering down on the enemy. Explosions lit up the scene.

  A salvo of fire from artillery pieces well hidden in dug out emplacements and amongst the ruins rang out. The sound was deafening, and an enemy landship was struck. A shell blew off an arm, and two more struck its chest. It collapsed into a wreck in the snow. It landed hard. Dust and snow was blown out across the scene, further worsening the visibility for all, and making it hard to breathe for anyone not wearing a mask. The smell of sulphur filled the air, as shell after shell rang out, and machine gun fire zipped back and forth.

  Before the wreckage of the enemy landship had even come to a standstill, a heavy shell struck a Militant. It burst into flames, blown apart by the guns of another landship. One arm crashed through a wall of the Capitol Building, crushing several rebels fighting there. The rest of it was scattered in the snow. It lit up like a bonfire, so there were no survivors.

  Another Militant enthusiastically closed with an enemy landship, as if in revenge for its fallen comrade, but was seized by its powerful grasp. The machine picked up the smaller rebel Militant and cast it into the ruins of a nearby building. It vanished into the rubble, as a dust and snow cloud erupted into the sky.

  Flamethrowers lit up ahead as the enemy tried to slow the relentless assault of the rebels. They seemed to be advancing on the German regulars with no fear at all. Five rebels were struck by the lick of the flames, and it stuck like napalm as they ran in terror, soon collapsing dead into the snow. A rifle grenade struck a flamethrower tank. It erupted into a fireball that killed several others who were close, but through the flames the Stoßtruppen advanced.

  Two-dozen rebels rushed across the open ground firing from the hip, as if intending to engage the enemy in hand-to-hand. It was a magnificent sight, which spurred on others to follow. Ten were cut down in a salvo of fire, but a volley of rockets from a Militant landed amongst the armoured troops, killing many instantly and driving several back. The rebels were on them in no time, firing at point-blank range.

  The battle raged all around the Capitol Building for a half kilometre radius. The battle was something Gerry had not seen since London, and even conflagration paled in comparison. He stopped in astonishment and marvelled at it for a moment, a horrific scene, yet a triumph. For the first time ever, he was leading a battle they had a chance to win, and he knew everyone around him felt it, too. Their people were falling all around them, but an iron will would not let them falter, not after all they had sacrificed.

  Lisa rushed out to their flank with a grenade in one hand, already primed. She slid in behind the wreckage of a car and tossed the grenade on a low, fast trajectory towards the enemy. It landed at the foot of an armoured soldier and ignited, killing him and two others. She didn’t give them a moment to recover, leaping around the corner firing on full auto with her grease gun. The .45 slugs ripped into two unarmoured Heer troopers, and they fell instantly.

  She leapt back into cover as fire was returned, but the assault had reached them, and gunfire rang out as the rebels engaged at close-range. That took the attention off of her once again, and she punished them with another burst of fire.

  The other landships were duking it out with heavy weapons. Shells flew overhead, and hundreds of militia fighters rushed out across the snowy ruins. But the SS stood their ground, keeping up the fire as a ruthless battle ignited around the ruins of the former Capitol Building.

  Gerry was about to reach Ray when he noticed his friend dart from cover and sprint out into the open ground. His eyes widened in disbelief.

  Ray fired back at an SS landship with his rifle as if trying to garner even more attention, and he sure got it.

  “What are you doing?”

  He was targeted the moment he stopped, and gunfire whistled past, giving him no choice but to follow Ray in whatever insane endeavour he was pursuing.

  “You trying to get us killed?”

  Gunfire struck the ground at their feet, and they heard the thunderous footsteps as the landship stormed towards them. Ray was aware the enemy knew who he was, and how much they would want him, but they still had to run like the wind. There was an emplacement ahead where several rebels were firing a well dug in AT
gun. A shell rang out over their heads and hit the Landship pursuing them. It exploded on impact. The machine staggered a little as its shoulder snapped back, but it soon recovered.

  “What the hell have you gotten us into, Ray?”

  Machine gun fire once again tracked them, but they heard an enormous creaking sound. Something gave way, and the ground they had just passed over collapsed beneath the heavy feet of the walker. The entire machine vanished into a trap that had been set for it. Neither stopped until they reached the emplacement and leapt into safety. They tumbled over a ruined wall and rolled into the snow. They got back up to look at the hole where the machine had disappeared.

  The gun crew slammed in another shell, as they too watched for movement. The landship’s hand rose up to the edge of the hole, and the creature rose up. It shuddered and collapsed lifelessly back into the trap. They all breathed a sigh of relief, but before they had time to celebrate, a shell landed on the other side of the gun. It tossed it over and landed centimetres from Gerry. It was too close, and all but one of the crew lay dead.

  Gunfire raged on the ground, SS and Heer troops fighting it out with the swarm of rebels. Lisa led a charge against the enemy, tossing grenades as she went, but a landship had finished a Militant and was turning its attention to those on the ground.

  “Come on, help me!” Ray shouted.

  He and Baker got under the wheel of the gun flipped over by the blast. They roared as they put everything they had into it. The last crewmember helped, and finally it landed on its carriage.

  “What’s your name?” Ray asked.

  “Wheeler, Sir.”

  He was in his mid-twenties and blond-haired. He had a bandage wrapping his head and one eye from a recent wound, concealed partly by a woollen hood. He was mortified by what he had seen, but clearly no stranger to combat, and no less able to keep fighting.