The walls of the room shook as an explosion went off nearby followed by several gunshots that echoed from the hallway outside. Tristan braced against the wall as a mortar shell hit the building next to them. Once he regained his composure, he ran back down the hallway and into a room that they made into a small communication post.
"They really want their bridge back, huh?" Tristan states as he places a canteen of rations on the table.
"They've been bombarding us for 3 days now, will they ever run out of shells?" Edward asks as he took a sip of coffee.
"I heard Roger and his unit are in a standoff with an enemy tank unit as well." Jacques commented as he took off his headphones.
"Yeah, two clicks east of here. They've been at it for two days as well." Tristan replied.
Hilbert arrived in the middle of their conversation, covered in dust and wearing a large grey coat. He placed his rifle against the wall and removed his mask before drinking water from his canteen.
"They're putting a lot of pressure in the market, I've already killed six of their snipers." Hilbert says as he pulled out dog tags out of his pocket and threw it onto the floor.
"We need to hold for now, the main bulk of our forces are currently scattered and high command is still organizing everything." Jacques added as he handed the headphones to Edward.
"Those big shots at high command will never fully be able to device a good plan since they don't know what it's like to be in the battlefield." Tristan comments.
A growing problem within the military, men being awarded titles of generals but never really knowing what the battlefield's like. It's a different battle from within their chain of command between those orchestrating from luxurious offices and those fighting the battles. Two types of leaders to put simply, those that lead in a more practical and systematic manner and those that lead according to how the situation changes and adapts to the unpredictability of combat.
"We can't do anything about it, we're the pawns so we better do one hell of a job at being pawns." Edward states.
"I'll go back to the market. Major, do you want to come with me and see the situation?" Hilbert asks as he grabbed his rifle.
"Sure, I think the men needs some morale anyway." Jacques wore his cap and headed out of the door.
"We'll take over the radios here. I'll just send Tristan as a runner to inform you if anything urgent comes up." Edward added as he sat down.
Hilbert nodded and headed out, following behind Jacques outside the building and into the street. They would run from one building to the next one to reduce the chance of getting hit by a mortar shell. Gunshots could be heard and it echoed through the streets, explosions shook the buildings and the ground they stood on. They passed through a tin can factory and as they walked by the large windows, a bullet whizzes a few inches in front and hit the steel beam to their right. Jacques dove down and covered his head as broken glass fell down from another bullet hitting the window.
"Go, I'll take care of this!" Hilbert shouted to Jacques.
Jacques nodded and crawled towards the lift while Hilbert stayed behind to distract the enemy sniper. Hilbert didn't have a clue where the enemy was shooting from so he had to bait another shot to determine the position and be able to fire back.
"He's a little sloppy, couldn't even hit a walking target." Hilbert mumbles as he took his helmet off.
Hilbert exposed the top of his helmet and waited for the enemy to take the bait and shoot. No shots followed so Hilbert took the risk and peeked out of cover.
"He left? What a letdown." Hilbert shook his head in disappointment.
Hilbert wore his helmet and caught up with Jacques near the church. On their way to the market, they passed by soldiers sitting by the rubble on the sidewalks, covered in bloody bandages and shaken up with fear.
"The 31st are getting hit with so much. Are you sure they can keep up with you and the others?" Jacques asks.
"They've proven to be useful a bunch. Even after most of them are injured, they still fight." Hilbert replies as he pull his mask up.
"Major! Where have you been? You've missed quite a lot." Henry shouts from the second floor of a building.
"High command kept me busy! I'll make up for my losses, want some coffee?" Jacques jokingly asked.
"I could use one right about now! No creamer please!" Henry shouted back before bursting to laughter.
"I'd like one as well, Major." Hilbert coldly added as he scaled the wall of a building.
Jacques watched as Hilbert climbed through a window and inside the building. He tried to think for a moment and determine if Hilbert was serious or was also going along with the joke. He didn't continue and just thought it was the latter before joining Henry on the observation post upstairs.
"What's the situation out here?" Jacques asks.
"It's a stalemate, both sides are exhausted but we have orders and they do too." Henry replied.
"Can't we device a plan to push them out of the city?" Jacques asks once more.
"If we have a suicide squad, we could use the sewers here and hit their flank when they don't expect it." Henry points to the map.
"I have men willing to volunteer, just give me the layout of the sewers and I'll take care of the rest." Jacques replied.
Henry agreed and gave Jacques a copy of the sewage system underneath the city. Jacques thanked Henry and went over to where his troops were. By this time he already picked out the members who are going with Hilbert to flank the enemy encampment at the other side of the market.