"We're heading out! Inform the 116th over the radio!" Roger ordered.
"Leaving so soon Major?" Henry asked as he watched the tanks and armored cars drive past one by one.
"My unit has a new task! We're breaking through the enemy lines!" Roger exclaimed before going inside the tank and closing the hatch.
Henry watched them take off before walking towards where the 116th are. He looked around and found Jacques along with the other officers around the table.
"Major, the 18th armored just left. Have you been informed?" Henry asked.
"They left? Do they have a new assignment?" Jacques asks back.
"The last thing Roger said was they're breaking through the enemy lines." Henry answered.
"They must be crazy if they think a single tank battalion can break through the enemy lines." Edward states before chuckling.
"A single battalion can. Ever heard of Blitzkrieg?" Hilbert asked.
"Well it won't matter, we can't really help them out without approval from high command. We'll most likely be given a different mission as well." Jacques added before taking a bite of the crackers.
Jacques was right, they couldn't do anything wether they liked it or not. They were low on supplies and they can't go on another assignment. Roger and his unit on the other hand can last for months without resupplying.
"We will wait on top of hill 23 before making a spearhead for the predicted enemy position." Roger says over the radio as he peers through the eye port.
"Are we expecting enemy armor?" Timothy looks up and asks.
"According to high command, scout planes only spotted entrenched infantry along with light artillery." Roger replied.
"Soft targets it is. James, load HE rounds." Timothy ordered.
"Aye! Loading HE." James shouted as he loaded the round in the chamber.
"Driver, speed it up we need to get there by sunrise so the sun will be behind us!" Roger demanded.
The driver nodded and made the tank go faster as they drive down the quiet countryside. Only the loud engines of the tanks and armored cars could be heard in the vast open fields of the dessert. It was too quiet for a fact that everyone was on high alert with everything going on in their surroundings. They kept an eye on the side of the road despite it almost being pitch black darkness every time the clouds blocked the moonlight out.
"Anyone see anything? It's too quiet out here." Roger asks over the radio.
"That's a negative sir. We don't see anything at all." A soldier replied.
"They either must be messing with us or they've fell back deeper into their secondary defense line." Roger mumbled.
"Relax boss, we got them running and scared shitless." Timothy said as he looked through the scope of the tank.
"Even if they are fucking around with us, it's too late. We're almost at hill 23." James added.
As James said, they were only a kilometer away from hill 23. A mist rolled up as they approached and under the thick white smoke they formed their ranks. The tanks lined up front and the armored cars followed behind while logistics and other support units followed behind. The Pegasus lead the line of tanks, a large Panther with white wing decals on each side of it's turret.
"Sun's about to rise. Get in position and prepare for one hell of a ride." Roger says over the radio.
"I don't see enemy activity on the field. Are you sure that they're there?" Timothy asks as he looks through the scope.
"They'll come out once they see us charging over the horizon." James replied as he readied the lower racks of ammo.
"This is White 1, we're moving out." Roger informs the others on the radio.
The line of steel behemoths charged down the hill followed by the armored cars and other vehicles. They fired a volley of shells and hit the enemy positions, alerting the enemies in the trenches. The enemy guns turned their attention on Roger's unit and began throwing everything they had. It proved useless when they missed their artillery fire with how fast the charge was.
"Timothy, give it to 'em!" Roger exclaimed.
"Loading HE!" James shouted as he closed the breech of the gun.
"Sending it now!" Timothy yelled as he stepped on the pedal and shot the round out of the tank's cannon.
It was a square shot, it landed directly on one of the enemy artillery pieces and also blew up an ammo depot in the blast. The Pegasus was the tip of the spear that penetrated the enemy defenses in one swift motion. The enemy soldiers ducked in the trenches as the large tanks drove past their trench line. Some tried to run but were either run over by the tanks or riddled by the machine guns on top of the armored cars that followed behind. Troops dismounted from trucks and cleared the trenches as the tanks continued to push deeper into enemy territory. They fought in close combat within the trenches, beating each other with the butts of their rifles or stabbing each other with bayonets.
"Let's create a perimeter while the others clear the trenches. Keep a close eye for enemy reinforcements." Rogered relayed the word to through the radio.
The troops cleared out the trenches and disabled the gun placements and took several enemy soldiers as prisoners. After the smoke cleared, the chaos was unveiled and a mash of body parts filled the fields. Arms, legs and torsos could be found near craters, blown to bits and almost impossible to identify. The prisoners were dragged around and treated poorly, despite there being a treaty against the inhumane acts performed on POWs, they are still deprived of basic human rights.
"Sarge! These prisoners are just going to pull us down, we should just execute them before they try anything." A soldier demanded.
"No, we don't want to stain our records with a war crime. Make them walk the rest of the way." Leo ordered as he lit a cigarette.
"Sarge's right. Let's starve them instead." Will comments as he wipes the blood off his bayonet.