7-18-May/1915
The French and British offensives had not stopped for the moment. According to reports, they kept launching attacks frequently, battles that turned into slaughterhouses as they tried to force Germany to move armies from the Eastern Front, or at least that was what the generals claimed to justify the pressure, since long ago it had stopped being just a counteroffensive by Hindenburg in Ukraine with Austro-Hungarian forces.
Clearly this put enormous pressure on the Western Front, as we were shifting from offensive to defensive, although thanks to the use of chemical weapons the Entente advances had been reduced considerably, since whenever large concentrations of troops were detected they would bombard them with chlorine gas, killing thousands in the most agonizing way possible.
That would become a serious problem, since it would not take long for the French and the British to start using their own chemical weapons, and I did not want to be there when that happened, so I wanted to finish sniper training as quickly as possible and return to the Eastern Front where things were calmer, or accept any mission offered by the German high command to support our allies on another front, since I wanted to be as far away as possible from chemical warfare, spending the entire day wearing a gas mask was not for me.
But something happened that brought me both good and bad luck. The good part was that I had reduced the training time from six weeks to only three, so I had to accelerate the program and increase its intensity to make sure it did not result in poorly trained troops, since with proper equipment and two weeks they should already be able to shoot better than British and French troops without specialized training or equipment.
The bad part was that before sending me to another front they asked me to handle some problems on the British sector, since there were British snipers causing serious trouble, so I was sent as a kind of hunter to eliminate those snipers and end their careers as soon as possible before they caused more casualties, especially since during the recent withdrawal they had been targeting officers and machine gun crews, the men who had to expose themselves constantly.
So I was being sent by train to the north to deal with British and some French snipers in the area, and the worst part was that since I had to continue overseeing the training, I could only take five of my best jaegerkommandos with me, leaving everything else running as planned in the training camps, and my mission was mainly to move from sector to sector whenever German commanders reported heavy sniper activity so I could deal with it.
Because of that I had been moving constantly from one place to another. The Entente snipers were not good, they were not even capable of putting me in real danger, in many cases they simply did not have the equipment to fight properly.
While they could barely reach 800 or 900 meters effectively with their optics, I could shoot up to 1.5 kilometers with mine, and I had far more experience and practice. I did not have all the ideal tools for extreme distances like wind meters or a proper rangefinder, but even so I had more than enough to win.
So my time in several sectors was quick, a few days shooting, killing dozens of snipers and moving on before an offensive began somewhere else. It almost felt like a safari. In one case I even saw a French bullet land more than two hundred meters away from me, nowhere near hitting me.
As the days passed, we received news that Italy had joined the Entente, striking Austria-Hungary by surprise while they were finishing off Serbia and supporting the offensive in Ukraine.
But things seemed different from what I remembered. According to the newspaper I received, Italy had been given French territory in exchange for joining the war.
More specifically the colony in Tunisia, had been offered to bring Italy into the war. It seemed that the changes on the Eastern Front had forced Italy to demand guarantees before joining, and now France had been forced to give up colonies Italy claimed along, meaning they were desperate to open another front to keep pressure off the East.
I would not be surprised if that caused Hindenburg's offensive to stall, since Austro-Hungarian troops or even German units might have to be diverted to deal with the Italians now fighting on the side of the Entente.
''Major… we have information about a group of British snipers operating in some urban ruins, by order of General Albrecht, Duke of Württemberg, you are requested to go to the front and deal with those bastards'' said one of the officers who came to wake me while I was sleeping on the train.
''Any estimate of their numbers?'' I asked as I picked up my rifle and Friedrich grabbed the machine gun.
''We don't know exactly, but they are harassing the ruins of our last engagement, using them as firing platforms and shooting at the trenches'' the officer replied.
''Good… I'm going'' I said as I gathered my gear. ''Urban combat, use the vest I gave you and put the steel plate on your chest'' I added while putting on a cotton vest and securing a five kilo steel plate in front of it.
''Understood'' said Friedrich as my other three subordinates began putting on the vest I had commissioned from my father to give us some level of body armor.
With the equipment ready we moved out, two sniper teams and one machine gun to deal with larger groups.
We quickly moved toward the front after getting off the train and began advancing toward the trenches, finding many soldiers working hard to build new fortifications after having withdrawn from the previous ones.
So what was happening was that the British were harassing our forces while they were building defenses, and apparently they did not want to waste artillery ammunition destroying the positions they were firing from, since artillery was more valuable for counter battery fire or for bombarding Entente assaults.
We quickly identified hills from which some positions in the half destroyed city could be observed and took position to watch.
''Remember to cover your scopes, we do not want them spotting us from sunlight reflection'' I said while scanning windows for targets.
''Nothing here'' said Friedrich as he adjusted magnification and clarity, checking several buildings.
''I have something'' said one of my subordinates who was watching the other side of the city.
I quickly aimed in that direction and saw someone observing German positions with binoculars.
''Not our target, just an artillery observer'' I said while analyzing him.
''Permission to fire?'' the jaegerkomando asked as he prepared.
''Granted… we do not want artillery on us, prepare to move after the shot, we will relocate'' I said without taking my eyes off the target.
I watched as the soldier estimated range, calculated drop, aimed, and pulled the trigger.
Through the scope I saw the British soldier collapse inside the building, his binoculars falling several floors down.
''Good… reposition immediately'' I said as I grabbed my gear and we moved.
We shifted to another sector, not as good as the previous one.
''See anything?'' I asked while scanning rooftops and windows in the distance.
''Nothing…'' said Friedrich, and the others confirmed the same.
''What now? Wait until they shoot one of the workers?'' one of my men asked.
''Not optimal to use our own as bait… give it a moment, if we see nothing we go into the ruins and see what we can do.''
We kept watching the surroundings, occasionally hiding our scopes while trying to detect enemy positions, but there was nothing, so we had to take more risks and move into a more dangerous place where it would be easier to find targets.
We began moving toward the ruined city.
''Good, like we trained…'' I said pointing upward while someone covered the streets.
We moved quickly until we had cover, staying alert to every window around us.
''I do not see anyth…'' I started to say, but I noticed movement in one of the destroyed buildings. ''That building'' I pointed while aiming my rifle.
''Two of them'' said Friedrich as he saw two figures looking out from a window where the wall that should have covered them was destroyed.
''A sniper and his spotter'' I said while centering my scope.
''350 meters'' said one of my men measuring the distance.
''Short range then… I take the one with the rifle, you take the other, Friedrich'' I said as I prepared.
''Understood'' he replied.
''On my mark'' I said watching the targets still scanning. ''Now'' I pulled the trigger and heard both rifles fire, without looking away I saw both men drop.
''Still movement, one might be wounded'' I said as I saw someone moving their legs desperately, but no scream followed.
''Hit him in the arm, bullet might be lodged in the bone'' said Friedrich cycling the bolt.
''Does not matter, move, we are easy targets here… that church tower would give us a good view'' I said pointing at the tallest building.
''Could be targets there'' one of the others said.
''Most likely… keep the noise down'' I said as we moved.
At the church entrance we found only ruins, the structure was half collapsed.
We looked up trying to see if anyone was there.
''There is someone up there, Germans are moving through the city'' I said in English without a German accent.
''Yes, we are checking but have not seen anything'' someone answered from above.
''Be careful then, they killed two of ours in the building next door'' I said upward.
''What?... damn… yeah, one is still moving though'' another voice replied.
''Yes, be careful, they are in the city… get down if they have not seen you, they are close'' I shouted again.
There was no reply, but we heard footsteps on the stairs creaking as they came down.
I drew my pistol, and soon a group of British soldiers appeared, going pale when they saw us.
''I suggest you do nothing stupid and raise your hands'' I said aiming my pistol while Friedrich covered them with the machine gun.
''Son of a bitch… the German speaks English'' one said, dropping his rifle.
''How the hell does he speak it so well?'' said another, throwing his weapon aside.
''It is not like I cannot learn your language'' I said stepping forward and taking their rifles.
''Look at this junk they use against us'' I said showing the British rifle to my men, who looked at the scope and laughed.
I pulled out a rope and tied their arms and legs, leaving them secured to the church pillars.
I climbed the stairs to observe and quickly looked out from my position.
I spotted several British patrols moving through the city, along with troops in windows watching the streets.
I quickly aimed at the snipers that could complicate our exit.
I pulled the trigger and dropped one at about 300 meters, then shot his partner who hit the ground and raised his head trying to locate the shot, blowing it apart from my elevated position.
''Cover the entrance with the machine gun, they might come in large numbers'' I shouted down.
''Jawohl'' came the answer from below.
-----------------------------
If there are spelling mistakes, please let me know.
Leave a comment; support is always appreciated.
I remind you to leave your ideas or what you would like to see.
-------------------------------
Hello everyone! If you'd like to read chapters in advance, you can support me on P.a.t.r.e.o.n. Currently, there are 6 chapters available, and soon all tiers of this story will be fully completed.
without spaces
p atreon. com/Chill _ean_GUY
Thank you all for your support!