August 5, 1915.
Warsaw.
Colonel Eden Talos.
The anticipation of the battle was unnerving for all of us. Despite our ancestors fighting in wars, we had no experience outside of bootcamp.
We all knew the likelihood of all of us surviving was highly unlikely, but we couldn't back down. If we did, the civilians behind us would have to deal with the Austro-Hungarian Army after us.
A Sergeant by the name of Fleming joined up on my post, passing me a canteen. "Concrete hasn't completely set for the bunker, but it'll hold. I got the civilians into it," he informed me as I took a drink. "Cranberry juice?" I asked as the tart taste remained on my tongue.
"Helps me pee," he quickly responded, before I handed him back his canteen.
He took a swig of it, before shaking his head. "That's good shit right there," he said, as if he was drinking alcohol. "Jesus, Fleming. You're sound like a fucking drunkard. Shut up and man your post properly."
He looked towards me, before flipping me off. "Not my fault you told me I couldn't bring my cannabis. It's this, or grabbing me my god damn weed." I simply sighed. "Go back to drinking." If it was any other person, I would've made them PT like hell, but with Fleming, I couldn't exactly do that, considering how much the lower enlisted liked him.
Not to mention the fact that we were technically on a battlefield. "See anything yet?" I decided to ask, seeing Fleming using his binoculars to get a view.
"Nothing much... Actually, there looks like a new tree. That's not right," he replied, quickly handing me the binoculars. "Northeast, about three thousand meters out. Look towards the edge of the forest," he told me as I quickly did as he instructed.
The forest itself wasn't much to note, which was why it was so easy to spot any differences to it. There was indeed a new tree there, actually, several new trees there. "Yeah, that's not right. You stay here. Tell me if anything else changes. I'm gonna grab a squad or two and check it out," I told him, receiving a thumbs up in response. I wasted no time, leaving my post before heading towards the pseudo headquarters we had set up. I grabbed the sleeping radio operator, dragging him towards the radio. "Get on comms, and call for Red team and blue team. I've got a task for them."
The radio operator yawned, but did as he was told, quickly passing the word along. It was a relatively short period of waiting. two four man squadrons arrived, their uniforms slightly different from mine and the regular army. Instead of Olive Drab trousers, and blouses, they had black uniforms with grey vests and helmets. Their faces concealed by black balaclavas, and their weapons were ones I had never seen before. Red Team and Blue team were trained specifically for... Well, I didn't actually know.
The hardened looks on their faces, alongside their height and brawn reminded me a bit of the Royal Guards. Perhaps they were them, but that wasn't for me to know or to try and figure it out.
Both squad leaders stepped up, saluting briefly, before standing at attention. "Sir, Blue Team reporting for duty."
"Red Blue reporting for duty, Sir."
"I'll keep it brief. There is something suspicious about the tree line six hundred meters northeast of checkpoint foxtrot. I want both your squadrons to go in there and deal with the threat."
I waited for any confirmation of understanding, only for one of the more bulky men of Grey Squad to raise his hand. "What is it?" I asked.
"Wouldn't it be easier if we just bombarded it with mortars?" He asked.
"The fuck is a mortar?"
The look they gave me made me feel as though I was insignificant to the battlefield, which only made me sort of crack. "What's a mortar?" I asked, only earning a sigh. "Mortars have been around for centuries, Colonel Talos," a member of black squad replied, before continuing. "It is a lightweight artillery our teams carry with us. They are capable of reaching a few thousand meters away, perhaps five thousand with the recent changes in our powder. It would save much more time, and prevent potential losses from occurring."
Well, when those under you had ideas, it was best to hear em out. This idea in particular would be stupid to not go with what the squad leader of a special forces united suggested. Still didn't know why I was left in control of them, but I guess I had to make use of them somehow.
"Let's go with that then. I assume it won't take that long to set up?" I asked, earning a nod. "We already had them set up. We just need to grab the mortars," He confirmed, waving to two of his men, who stepped out of formation to grab said ammunition. "You all are dismissed, though, if you see any of our recon, specifically our snipers, can you inform them to get their asses back on watch. There should have never been that much time for them to set up."
They all simply nodded, before I moved on, going back towards the Headquarters we had established.
(Apologies for such a long hiatus. Chapters will be uploaded once every three days.)