Jump to content

KSP - Iron Horses - Volume I - Afrika


KenjiKrafts

Recommended Posts

The first of three installments of the Iron Horses series, and also my first story here anyway :D 

Enjoy, Kenji :D 

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

We wake up to the same sound every morning. Constant gunfire. The axis have pushed us back and we were the last ones, the last five left from our squad. We peer from the trenches to see the dust settle, the carnage that lay before me is nullifying. I couldn’t breath, freinds lay before me soaked in their own blood, I fell to the floor. Sarge pulled me up and we got back in the tank. We moved on as if nothing happened, it felt wrong, I stared at the floor in despair.

“It’s not your fault” spoke a whisper, I look up to see Karl loading the next shell ready just in case, he repeated harsher this time, “It’s not your fault, look alive then” I started with a look of desperation at him, and simply said “How can I know on that we could have saved them?”

He proceeded to ignore my question, maybe he thought it was rhetorical, but who cares anyway. He began to tell me a story about a mission in that he was the sole survivor due to a local taking him in and helping him recover, suddenly Ernst, The commander of the tank, turned and screamed “BRACE!” slamming the roof shut. It was then we were hit, a lone Panzer of in the distance had shot out the track, we fired back but to no success, we were out of Armour Penetration Rounds and only had High Explosive left, the second shell hit us and Ernst was flung from his seat into the tanks underlay, we were in grave danger. Our radio operator James was already on the lines calling for assistance, he flicked through the channels all to be dead, just plain silence. It all fell away in the blink of an eye. I knew, I knew what was to happen next, I was going to die here. I think we all knew it was our time. Time ceased as the third shot was fired, the tank was ablaze. Now I am the only one left, some time has passed but these scars may never heal.

 

As I was dragged to the bomber I felt nothing, it was all a blur, where were they? Where was James? Where was Ernst and the other crew?

 

The machinegun fire faded away and the humble whir of the bombers engines was all there was as I was flooded by medics and emergency personnel, I was loosing blood fast, as the plane dived to perform a landing I blacked out. We had landed in US soil and I was at last safe from harm, nothing could hide the nightmares I keep having as I see the massacre over and over, men cut down like butter to a hot knife, they fell to the MG fire of the Germans.

I needed to go back. I needed to fight again.

I was given the privilege much sooner than hoped and was back to the hangar within a week, as the new commander of my squadron I was the oldest and most experienced commander of the squad, and the only one to see combat. I felt a despair in my heart to see so many young men, I knew what lay ahead. We marched on and waited at the mouth of the Gulf and marched on to the desert, we were immediately met with enemy Panzer fire, we took cover to identify the primary targets, sure enough there it was! The prized Wüstenfuchs in his Tiger I tank, we crawled forwards slowly, a thunderous sound rang through the desert valley we had been spotted “M3 DOWN!” screamed Jacobs the Tiger had begun its assault, followed by its ensemble of Panzer VI’s. We fell like flies. We returned fire, “600 meters and counting commander!” I gave the order and we destroyed two of the six Panzer VI’s it was not met without consequence as the Tiger was beginning to flank the right as the other three Panzer VI’s flanked the right, the coms were wild, I begun to fade out and imagine back in France when I lost everyone “ORDERS COMMANDER!” exclaimed Jacobs, “Never back down advance and push forwards” I commanded the remaining tanks. We began our assault on the Tiger and managed to cripple its left track and before I could react the Tiger fired dead at the center of our right armour and dazed the crew, I couldn’t see anything just a blur of sand and steel, a sharp ringing in my ears, our gunner Reynolds was dead, I took his duty and unloaded a shell into a hull of a Panzer VI sending a flurry of shrapnel everywhere, we had the upper hand at last! I heard a ringing again getting louder and louder, the commander of the Churchill next to me screamed at me with the full force of his lungs “Stuka!” I look to the sky in horror, a haze of yellow and white screaming at me with the full power of its engine, they began their strafe of our light tanks, dropping bombs and firing their cannons, it looked grim. I saw the Tiger behind the rocks slipping away, “Load the damn gun Jacobs” and sure enough he loaded the cannon, I took a breath and time slowed, I squeezed the trigger releasing the shell full force into the ammo racks of the Tiger, it was no more. I had won. I clambered out of my tank and looked around, I was copied by the remaining tank crews. We rejoiced for now as we had won!

Edited by KenjiKrafts
Link to comment
Share on other sites

This thread is quite old. Please consider starting a new thread rather than reviving this one.

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...