Charlie looked out through the windows at the French scenery below. He’d become well accustomed to recognising it from the air. He could see enemy Mechs and tanks rolling down the roads. They were approaching the base at Rennes, though they were not slowing or dropping altitude. He watched as the base came into sight. It was nearly empty, with the last few vehicles rolling out and heading east.
Getting up out of his seat the Captain strode forward to the pilot’s cockpit, as much to talk to them as to see easterly.
“Thought we were heading for Rennes?”
“No, Sir! The enemy are closing in fast. They are closing in on Le Mans from the south as well. All forces are being directed to Paris!”
“My, God, it’s come to this already?”
“Yes, Sir.”
Jones staggered back to his seat, he could not believe what he was hearing. Now he was beginning to understand why they had been left to defend Brest. The situation had been far worse than they had realised. Their defence likely delayed the enemy by many hours, perhaps even a day.
The transports that had made it out of Brest finally put down in a public park not far from the centre of Paris. They were not greeted by a crowd or even ground crews. As Jones jumped out he saw that Brigadier Dupont and Commander Phillips were waiting for them with no more than a dozen soldiers. Buses were waiting to take the wounded to a nearby hospital. The survivors of Brest left the craft but had little idea what to do with themselves until finally the Brigadier climbed onto the back of a small truck and got onto a loudhailer.
“Welcome back, all of you! I would like to personally extend my gratitude to all of you that have made it, as well as the many more who were not so lucky. A lot was asked of you over the last few days, and I am sorry for your losses. However, I cannot be sorry for the task you did. You have saved the lives of hundreds of thousands of people!”
No one responded to the Brigadier, they were too stunned and traumatised from their experiences.
“As much as I would wish you all to have adequate rest and leave, we are in a state of war. The enemy approaches Paris in vast numbers. We will need your courage and strength once again in the coming days. For now I ask that you rest easy here. I will see to it that everything you need is brought to you. Please rest and await further orders, that’s all.”
Saunders turned to his Captain, angry at the speech they had just heard.
“Wow, we go through hell and that’s the thanks we get!”
“If you wanted thanks you shouldn’t have joined the army, we did what we had to.”
Jones was relieved to see trucks arrive with food and water. There was little that could help them feel better at that moment, but that was it.
“Captain! Come with me!” shouted Chandra.
The Captain sighed, he was just about to sit down. He stretched his body as he walked, aching from the days of fighting. He walked up to a meeting of the surviving officers with Commander Phillips, the Brigadier was already leaving the scene on his personal truck.
“Any ideas on numbers?” asked Phillips.
“Not exactly. However, I estimate about three thousand troops entered Brest, I think little more than three hundred made it out.”
“Christ, we can’t afford those losses!”
“Yes, Sir. How is the rest of the division doing?”
Most fell back after the defeat at the coast. We fought running battles all the way to Rennes where we finally made some headway. Casualties average maybe thirty percent of the division, a damn sight better off than your para boys.”
“Sir, I think we have enough to amalgamate into a single company.”
The Commander shook his head.
“Do it! Paris is becoming the number one priority. Infantry and Armoured Divisions are setting up on the west and southern perimeter. We’ve got maybe a day until they hit us. Emergency shelters are en route, I suggest you all get some kip.”
“Major?” asked the Doc.
Taylor was hunched in a chair outside the medical room with his head in his hands. He shot up in hope of hearing some good news.
“She’s alive and stable for now.”
“But?”
“But she needs surgery, work I cannot do here. We’re en route to Portsmouth right now, she can get the care she needs there.”
“Will she last that long?”
“We’re on emergency conditions right now and therefore travelling at maximum velocity to our destination to assist the rest of the Fleet, her condition should remain stable until we reach the port.”
Taylor nodded and sighed in relief.
“I am not promising anything, Major. She’d sustained massive injuries, but she has a chance.”
“Thank you.”
He stood up and continued up through the decks until he reached the open air. Many of his marines sat about the deck with their kit strewn about. The Navy crew had never seen the deck in such a state of disarray, but nobody had the heart to tell them to sort it out. Taylor walked up to a railing overlooking the waves as they crashed below. They were indeed travelling at an immense speed for the size of vessel.
“How is she?” asked Friday.
Taylor turned to see the Captain stroll up to him and rest against the railing bulkhead.
“She’s got a chance once we get to Portsmouth.”
The General’s gonna have your ass for this, you know that don’t you?”
“Under normal conditions, yes. Look around us. The rules have gone out the window. White needs me and needs us, he’ll just have to accept it.”
“What about the assault on Tartaros? It wasn’t exactly all we hoped for.”
“No, but it was something. We had to take action no matter what.”
“What do you think the brass will do next?”
Taylor lowered his head and stared out at the waves. He’d been so focused and single minded after Parker had fallen that he’d given no further thought to the situation.
“They’ve accepted that we have to keep up the fight. If attacking Tartaros directly isn’t realistic, they’ll look to fighting on the ground. My guess is they’ll be organising combat in North Africa and Spain as we speak.”
“And us?”
“I have nothing left to help the brass with. We are no more experienced than thousands of others now. We’ll fight wherever we are needed. Once we reach Portsmouth I intend to request that we join the EUA forces in France.”
Friday nodded. He knew what the Major was saying was that he wanted to help their friends, just as he had saved Parker. He was aware that there was far more than a professional relationship between Parker and the Major, but also it was best not to interfere. The Major was letting his emotions drive him. Many would say it made him unpredictable, but Friday knew it made him a good leader.
“Major! I have General White on the line for you!” shouted the ship’s Captain.
“Looks like the devil has found you.”
Taylor smiled at Friday’s sharp wit. On any other occasion he would dread the call from the General after disobeying orders. However, after everything he had given, he feared nothing. He stepped up to the bridge and pulled on the headset as he sat down.
“Taylor here.”
“Major, I know why you did what you did. I have also been informed of what you and your men sacrificed today. You care about those under your command like family. I can respect that. How is your company?”
“Down, but not out, Sir.”
“Good to hear, because I have a new task for you.”
“Sir?”
“The EUA are rallying around Paris and making a stand there. They’re calling in all the help they can get. We are working on a new strategy for a ground attack. However, seeing as you’re already there, I want you to rally with British para battalion under Major Chandra.”
“Chandra? What happened to the senior officers there?”
“Dead, as are most of the battalion as I understand it. You are to join them under her command.”
“Sir, I have a marine in critical condition here in need of urgent attention.”
“I am aware of the situation, Major. I have already dispatched transports from our UK bases to get her to the facilities she needs and to get you to Paris. They’ll arrive within the hour.”
“Sir, I fully apologise for breaching orders.”
“Understood, Major. We all do what we have to do. The attack on Tartaros was brutal, but we gave as good as we got, it has to have hit them where it hurts. You have your orders, good luck and give them hell.”
“Yes, Sir.”
Taylor pulled off the headset with a wide grin on his face. He was glad to be wrong about the General. White had given him hope and a chance to be exactly where he needed to be. The Captain tried to speak to him but the words fell on deaf ears as he dashed off the bridge. He leapt down the ladders to the deck where his marines were waiting. There morale was as much affected by his mood as anything else. He could already see the fire in their eyes grow as he approached them with his shoulders held high once more.
“D Company! Gather round!”
The troops eagerly assembled to hear the news. Combat deployment was a given, it was no longer to be feared. More than anything, they wanted payback against the brutal enemy that had mauled them so heavily just hours before.
“Today we struck at the enemy on their own turf for the first time! We never expected to hold ground. Yes, we hit heavier resistance than expected, but we did it. The brass is already planning their next attack. Right now our biggest concern is that our allies in Europe are taking a beating!”
“Was it worth it, Sir?” asked Price.
Taylor looked up at the faces of his marines, still shocked at the losses of their friends.
“As marines we chose to put ourselves in harm’s way. In Europe the alien bastards are gunning down civilians and the EUA forces are doing everything they can do to fight back. We fight and die so civilians don’t have to. There are people’s families being murdered every minute.”
“What are we going to do about it, Sir?” asked Silva.
“Paris is has become the stronghold of France. General White has ordered us to head there and lend a hand. We are to rendezvous with the 2 ^ nd Parachute Battalion and do what we can.”
“What is their status?” asked Friday.
“From what I hear they have had it a lot worse than us. We are to combine with them under the command of Major Chandra, who I suspect will be a Colonel by the time we arrive.”
Sighs rang out across the marines at the idea of anyone having a worse time of it than their experiences.
“That’ll be all, gentleman. Wheels up in under an hour, be ready!”
It was late at night when Taylor’s company set foot in the public park where they had been deployed. Pop-up tents had already been erected ready for them to rest out the night. In the distance they could hear the rumble of tanks and the construction of defences as fresh troops continued to toil away.
There was no sign of the British parachute battalion, though he imagined that after the mauling they’d received they were catching up on some much needed rest. The camp guards showed them to their tents and they gratefully lay to rest for the night.
Taylor woke naturally as the sun beat down on his tent. The light and heat were enough to awake him from even the deepest sleep. Having no further equipment and clothing he went out of his tent with stubble on his face and the previous day’s blood and grime. He was surprised to see that the British troops were already formed up for inspection as his marines were scrambling out of bed. Their discipline never ceased to amaze him.
“Stand easy!”
Taylor recognised the voice of Charlie Jones as he strode along the line of his troops. The Major ambled over to the Captain, still feeling the weariness of the previous day. The Captain turned to face the Major with a grin.
“I see the yanks have finally decided to join us!”
Taylor smiled as he shook hands with the Captain. Jones’ face was rough with cuts and bruising. They looked at their distressed and dirty uniforms, realising that they must look as bad as each other.
“Glad to see you made it, Captain, I hear you had a rough time of it.”
“And yet here we are, still on our feet!”
He looked back to his men and shouted for them to fall out. He beckoned for the Major to follow him a few steps out of the hearing of his troops.
“Mitch. I put on a brave face for them, but it’s been frightful. I was made acting company commander in Brest, my company can now only amass one platoon, which is what I have had to amalgamate them into.”
“Christ, how about the rest of the battalion?”
“It’s now at company strength. How many marines did you bring with you?”
“I have one hundred and one, all that is still fit for duty in my company.”
“Glad to have you with us, but we could do with a hell of a lot more.”
“Agreed.”
Major Chandra approached with a smile. They had always had a good working relationship with Taylor’s unit.
“Major, glad to have you here. However, there is no time for pleasantries. The enemy’s an hour or two from our perimeter. I am merging your company with ours. Henceforth we shall be known as the 2 ^ nd Inter-Allied Battalion. Full gear and ready to march in ten.”
Taylor nodded and gave a quick salute before running back to his marines who were still rising from their beds.
“Everyone up! Fall in! Full gear!”
He rushed back into his tent and pulled on his body armour that was still covered in dust and debris. Starting the day in filthy clothing and without a wash was never something the Major would wish on anybody, but needs must. He stepped out from his tent to find the platoon assembling.
“Where’s Baker?” he asked.
Suarez looked at him with a gaunt expression, conveying everything in his eyes.
“He was killed shortly after we thought we had lost you, Sir,” answered Friday.
In his frenzy to save Parker, Mitch had failed to investigate the survivors to see who was left. As he looked down the lines of his company he began to notice the many gaps. Dozens of men that he’d known, each by name, most for several years.
“Very well.”
He looked out to the troops who went silent and waited. He didn’t call them to attention not seeing the necessity for formality. He looked to Captain Friday.
“Are we ready for action, Captain?”
“Sir, we could use some ammo, otherwise we’re good to go.”
“It’s already in hand!” shouted Chandra.
Mitch turned to see the woman striding towards them.
“Major.”
“It’s Colonel today, I have been given a field promotion in order to take official command of our battalion, even if it is at less than half strength. Your report on urgent weapon requirements made quite an impact Major. The EUA has already been distributed its stocks. We can’t spare any weapons for you, but we can give you ammo for what you have.”
“Much appreciated, Colonel.”
“When you are assembled, you will find the ammunition stores near our camp.”
Thirty minutes later the combined Marine and Para battalion was on the march with a full load. There was not a single vehicle spare to ferry them to the front line. Every transport vehicle that could be mustered in France was either taking troops to Paris or civilians away from it. However it was only thirty minutes on foot to the defensive lines.
The troops looked in horror at the largest deployment they had seen in their lives. Divisions of armour lined the perimeter, many having been put into hull down position. Lines of self-propelled artillery and batteries were assembled along their route. ABD, Automatic Barrier Defence structures, had been set up in almost continuous lines in the streets and crossroads. Paris had become a fortress.
The 2 ^ nd Inter-Allied Battalion took up position in a well-prepared defensive position that the fresh infantry units had prepared for them in the night. Deep trenches with tank traps a hundred metres ahead. There were so many troops deployed to the city that their space allocation was so small they were shoulder to shoulder. Clambering into the trenches they could not help but think of the photos of the gruesome combat of the First World War.
“Back into the fire,” said Friday.
Taylor grinned. “True, but at least this time we have some real numbers.”
“Incoming!”
They didn’t know where the call came from but it was enough to make all the troops duck down into the trenches. A huge energy pulse soared overhead and crashed into a building behind them. Glass and concrete burst out onto the street below. They looked up at the damage but another five similar devices landed in quick succession around their position. Dirt and tarmac fragments were thrown up and over them as they hunkered down.
“What the fuck is that!” shouted Kwori.
“I’d say their artillery has arrived!” Jones shouted.
The soldier looked at him with a grim expression.
“You thought we’d seen everything?”
“I’d hoped so, Sir!”
Alien craft zoomed over their heads as further fire rained down all around them. Their dug in positions gave them cover from the worst of it, but the outer limits of the city where they were positioned were quickly being reduced to rubble.
“Where’s the fucking Air Force when you need them!” Suarez called out.
Taylor looked over to Chandra who was already barking orders into a handset. Anticipating the radio jamming which always accompanied the enemy, spindles of hard lines had been run out to all positions. It was a stone age way of operating for the troops, but a vast improvement over the blackout they’d previously experienced.
Lifting himself slightly above the trench, the Major looked out west from where the main enemy forces were advancing. The sky was filled with hundreds of the enemy craft using their familiar chameleon camouflage technology. In the skies above he heard the rattling of cannons and snapped his head around to see wedge formations of friendly fighters soaring towards the enemy gunning down the first of their targets.
The men in the trenches let out a cry of excitement as they saw the aerial combat unfold. Artillery fire continued to rain down on their position, but the ground attack from the aircraft had all but stopped. The lines of artillery behind their defences began to fire in a deafening barrage against the enemy targets.
Looking over the edge of the trench, Taylor could not yet make out the enemy positions, though their artillery had certainly received enough information to begin their attack. He glanced over to Captain Jones who looked confident and ready for everything they were about to face. Taylor had heard of the British troops flirt with death, he wondered if anything could wither their resolve.
The sound of a plane dropping towards the earth at high speed caused both of the men to look quickly to see a friendly fighter plunge into the road just twenty metres from them. They ducked down at the last moment as the plane erupted on impact and rumbled the ground beneath them. The battle in the skies raged for another thirty minutes as the artillery continued to rage thunder down upon either side.
Finally the enemy bombardment ceased. Far from the relief which some might expect, the troops knew it was the signal for a ground assault to begin. In the war torn skies above the fighters continued to battle it out. The humans were losing four fighters for every one of the enemy’s, but they continued to slug it out.
An immense sound of tracks could be heard in the distance even over the drone of the battle overhead. Jones imagined the alien invaders had underestimated the resistance that the inhabitants of Earth would put up, but they were quickly upping their game. Up ahead they could see nothing but shops and housing blocks. The broad roads were completely empty. In the distance they could see the very first of the alien vehicles rolling towards them.
The artillery at their backs continued to roar. Taylor only hoped they’d brought enough ammunition to keep up the fight. Explosions littered the roadway leading to their position. They could just make out the sound of the enemy tanks as they came nearer to their defences.
“Nobody fires until they reach three hundred metres! Choose your targets carefully!” shouted Chandra.
Either side of their position were heavy tanks dug in and adjusting their elevation in readiness. Seconds later the ground shook as the vehicles recoiled at the firing of their main guns. Of the first two shells, one landed short of the enemy column, the second hit but did not slow them down. An apartment block in the distance collapsed as a vast enemy tank ploughed through it, shortly followed by more at its flanks.
Now at only a thousand metres the enemy forces were expanding into a broad front. The guns of their tanks opened up and began pounding the human positions. An artillery battery behind the lines was vaporised by the first volley. Several men were hit in a nearby infantry trench, though most of the fire had little effect. The defensive positions were so far providing excellent cover.
The intensity of the fire increased as all guns came into range and the EUA armour opened up with everything it had. Ahead of their position were five tanks and a hundred Mechs approaching in a fearless fashion. The first bombardment smashed an enemy vehicle and it burst into flames and thick black smoke.
Three of the Mechs were tossed aside like ragdolls by a shell from the heavy tanks. One scrambled back to its feet but the other two were done for. The return fire smashed into their positions and badly damaged one of the tanks at their flank. Screams of pain rang out from the trench the other side of the crippled vehicle.
“Six hundred metres! Be ready!” shouted Taylor.
The Mechs opened fire with their huge handheld energy weapons. Light pulses soared above their heads as the troops peered over the positions at their unrelenting enemy. One of the rounds slammed into the helmet of one of Green’s platoon, taking his head clean off.
“Four hundred! Ready!” barked Chandra.
The half strength battalion rested its weapons along the embankment of the trench that was dug into the tarmac and concrete of the road. Three of their troopers lay dead from the artillery and gunfire before they had yet managed to fire a round. The Aardvark launchers and anti-materiel rifles were carefully aimed and waiting for the go ahead. Every one of the troops was eager to rain down hell on their attackers.
“Fire!”
The trench erupted into a continuous volley of fire. Two rockets from the Aardvarks knocked one of the tanks out. The rifles and BRUNs were slowing the Mechs’ progress but rarely finding the weak points they needed to cause injury. M97 launchers fired off high explosive rounds with relative inaccuracy igniting all around the alien positions. A few ignited near the feet of some of the Mechs, blowing their legs off and rendering them useless as they fell to the ground.
Taylor laid his rifle down, pulling the grenade launcher from his back that he’d taken from one of the wounded on the British destroyer the day before. He fired off the high explosive rounds at the advancing Mechs. The first two hit the ground showering them with debris. The third struck one of the metal monsters dead in the chest and it exploded on impact. The beast was lifted off its feet and tumbled back in a twisted wreck.
Smiling at his efforts, Taylor was reminded of the grim reality of quite how little ammunition he had for the weapon compared to the growing number of enemy. Half of the enemy tanks in their sector had been knocked out, but their own armour was doing little better. The Mechs and surviving tanks continued to advance through the eternal rain of bullets and explosions.
“Get the ARMALs!” Jones ordered.
The men pulled the handheld devices off their backs and readied them. They knew how effective they could be at close range. The enemy were now just two hundred metres away. A pulse of energy smashed into the trench beside the Captain and Saunders, and another two of his platoon were killed instantly. For a second he looked in despair at their bodies, but quickly took up the ARMAL launcher they had been preparing.
The Captain didn’t have to give out any further commands. The men around him had already begun firing with the devices and everything else that they had to hand. As he armed the device he could see Major Taylor loading the AP rounds into his launcher. He nodded at his friend before taking aim. The ground the enemy had covered surprised him, it was far closer than he had anticipated.
Hoping to fire at one of the approaching tanks, Jones caught sight of a Mech turning quickly to fire at him. He snapped the weapon around and fired right at the beast. The round landed lower than expected, at the hips of the metal suit. The explosion caused the suit to scissor as if it was hinged, crumpling into a twisted mess.
The enemy tanks had reached the traps the EUA forces had hoped would stop them. However as they drew near, huge curved blades as broad as the vehicles themselves and slung low on the hulls began to spin. They met the traps with a deafening grinding as sparks flew in every direction. The vehicles were slowed, but were cutting their way quickly through the devices.
“Hit them now!” shouted Chandra.
Every soldier in the company with an ARMAL or Aardvark stood up and took aim with no regard for their own lives. They could only imagine the horrors they would face if the enemy armour got among them. The surviving crew of the crippled tank beside them continued to fire despite the smoke bellowing from its turret.
The company fired in a frenzy with everything they had. The tanks erupted with such heat that they could feel it inside the trenches. They watched as the Mechs began to step back. They continued firing but were in withdrawal. The troops continued to fire and the snipers took down another two as they clambered out of range.
Jones climbed up on top of the tank with the least damage on their flank. He stood with no fear for his life. Taylor leapt up beside him with his launcher. He reloaded as he stepped up top, not wanting to be caught with it empty.
The two officers looked out across the width of the battlefront. Burning wrecks littered the battlefield along with hundreds of lifeless Mechs.
“Have you ever seen anything so pretty in your life?” asked Jones.
Taylor smiled. It was the first time in the war that they had seen the enemy retreat or be defeated in any number. The continuous losses they had faced made them all wonder if they would ever stop the alien hordes in their tracks. Taylor turned to see Chandra standing at the vehicle next to him.
“How does it look, Major?”
“Come and see for yourself, Colonel!”
He offered out his hand to hoist her up. She initially looked insulted at the sentiment. It was never made easy for a woman in the military, even less so for Chandra who operated in an elite unit. Taylor smiled in a way she could see was both being friendly as well as larking about. She smiled back and took his arm. Taylor hauled her up onto the vehicle where she could see the wonders before them.
For a moment she let herself revel in the victory they had achieved. Seeing the enemy crushed was the most heart warming experience since the war began. Then, as Jones and Taylor continued to gaze at the fruits of their labour, Chandra turned back to look at their own lines and felt a sickness in her stomach.
Tanks and artillery were in ruin and hundreds of soldiers lay dead or wounded across the lines. She could see similar devastation in the distance. The alien forces had attacked across a several kilometre-wide front. She estimated that thirty percent of the troops of the units she could see had been decimated. It was a brutal reminder of the losses in Brest, and a horrific insight in what was to come.
“We paid a high price for this small victory,” she said.
Taylor and Jones turned to look at the grim sight. Their smiling faces were quickly muted as they looked at the carnage on their own side.
“I hope they are losing as much as us, because we can’t keep this up forever.”
“We have no choice, Colonel. This isn’t a war of our choosing. They want our homes and we have nowhere to go, we fight or we die as a race,” said Taylor.
“Our American friend if right, Colonel. No price is too high, for extinction is the only other option.”
She nodded and turned to look back out towards the battlefield. She could just make out the last of the Mechs and vehicles retreating.
“They’ll be back soon enough, and in greater number. No one likes taking a beating and they’ll be eager to set the record straight.”
“We’ll be ready for them!”
“Captain, get on the line, we need ammunition and re-enforcements brought up immediately. I am guessing their next assault will be twice as strong as this one was. Also make sure we get plenty of water, and organise the wounded to be moved back!”
“Yes, Sir.”
He leapt from the tank to carry out his tasks. They had made the city of Paris a fortress, and in doing so they all realised what a siege it was about to become. The first of the re-enforcement detachments were already clambering over the rubble on the road from the centre of the city. They poured into the trenches as the wounded and dead were pulled out, more lambs to the slaughter.
“Colonel!” shouted Lieutenant Green.
She turned to see the man pointing at a fresh wing of enemy aircraft heading for their position.
“Into the trenches! Take cover!” she screamed.
She leapt with Mitch from the tank landing hard in the trench below, crumpling to the floor. Seconds later the first of the strafing runs began and bricks and mortar peppered their positions. They watched as half a section of re-enforcements were annihilated on the road east before they could reach any solid cover.
The strafing run was just the beginning. Moments later they were overhead and bomb-like objects dropped all around them. The defences burst into light as continual explosions erupted. The troops could do nothing but huddle in their trenches and hope for the best. The remaining tanks tried to counter the aircraft with their secondary mounted anti-aircraft weapons. They knocked out a couple of the alien vessels, but it had little effect.
Taylor could see Chandra shouting orders, but couldn’t hear a single word despite her being only a metre away. The ground shook and rumbled continuously as if hit by an earthquake. A nearby bomb struck Price, blinding him instantly and leaving his face cut and mangled, he was alive but no good to anyone. Taylor saw him moving and wailing but couldn’t hear his screams over the deafening noise.
The bombing run raged for fifteen minutes until friendly aircraft arrived to once more do battle. However it was too late, the alien planes were already returning west and the EUA fighters were forced to turn back in fear of being over hostile lands.
Taylor and Chandra stood up to survey the damage. Both tanks were now utterly destroyed and another eight men were dead in their trench, as well as many more wounded. The Colonel remembered dispatching Captain Jones just moments before the attack had begun, she could only pray she hadn’t sent him to his death. Seconds after the distressing thought the Captain appeared from behind one of the burning wrecks to report in.
He stopped and looked around at their trench for a moment. Blood trailed up his armour but it seemed it wasn’t his. He looked back to the Colonel dumbfounded.
“Sir, you had it light here, I suggest you take a look.”
Chandra clambered back onto the tank she’d been on before the bombing began. The vehicle was smouldering and she could feel the heat through her boots. Looking along the line of defences she gasped at the carnage. There were gaping holes in their defences where entire trenches had been left as ragged craters. Most of the armour on the front line was blown apart or still burning.
In the distance came the frightful sound she had been dreading. Tank tracks in vast numbers were rolling towards their positions. Still a couple of kilometres off but in great numbers, she doubted they had more than fifteen minutes before all hell broke loose. Jumping off the vehicle once more she strode to the wired phone in their trench and ripped the handset from its cradle.
“This is Colonel Chandra, get me Commander Phillips!”
“This is Phillips.”
“Sir, we’re in deep shit here! We’ve got heavy casualties. Our armour is mostly gone. Enemy is approaching in substantial numbers, I do not believe we can survive another assault!”
“Understood, Colonel. Brigadier Dupont is receiving the same reports across the line. I am ordering you to withdraw immediately! A defensive line is being setup along the banks of the Seine. Fall back and take up positions there. Good luck, Colonel.”
The Commander cut off the transmission, but Chandra had already heard everything she needed to know. She turned to look at the troops in the trench. A few were helping others to patch over minor wounds, though most were awaiting her orders.
“Immediate fall back to the Seine! Carry all wounded! Leave the dead! Let’s move!”
The troops hated leaving their fallen comrades, but were also relieved to be leaving the site of such slaughter. Their previous victory had been bittersweet after the mauling they had just received. As they got to their feet they could see that the other infantry regiments and surviving vehicle crews were already pouring down the main roads.
Seeing the front line armies in full retreat was a morale destroying experience. It was half an hour before they reached the river bridges and streamed over them. Two fresh EUA divisions had deployed along the banks of the Seine and erected even greater defences than they previously had.
The clean and fresh soldiers stared in silence at the battle fatigued and battered combat troops as they rushed back behind the new line of defences. Not even the best-trained and equipped armies of the world had faced such a voracious foe. The new line of defences had thick concrete barriers inset either side of the trenches creating blast defences. Heavy armour was lined up all along the roads facing across the river.
Officers from the signals units directed the combined company to their new area just twenty metres off from the entrance to a wide road bridge. They had been allocated a line of four-storey buildings built as defences for the bridges a hundred years before. The thick walls and strong structures were a welcome sight to the troops defending the vital area of the river.
Taylor and Jones were quick to deploy their troops to every defensive position that they could. Even the wounded no longer able to carry their own bodyweight were propped up with plenty of ammunition. Within five minutes the troops were ready and taking a much needed rest.
The two officers found their Colonel on a roof looking out west from where the enemy was approaching. Charlie and Mitch walked up to her as she panned across the city. Smoke plumes still rose from the battleground they had fought on that morning.
“They’ve stopped,” said Chandra.
“You sure?” asked Taylor.
“Listen.”
The three officers stared into the distance just listening for anything. Troops continued to march on the roads behind them, but the front was quiet.
“Do you think they’ve had enough?” she asked.
“Not a chance. Think what we would do if the enemy had retreated to greater defences. They are pausing to amass their forces before a grand assault. This could be it, this next battle could decide the fate of one of the greatest cities in the world,” said Taylor.