5.
The destruction of the Maubeuge Fort.
Peter
Weiner, Hauptmann
It was the morning of 6th
September 1914, when we got the orders to end the siege. I got the company to
be readied for an onslaught on the crumbling fort which was under bombardment
for over a week. I have briefed the platoon leaders and their specific orders.
The bulge had sounded and we are moving forth to the Fort with the supporting
fire by the Howitzers. It had crumbled sections of the wall then. Scores of men
rushed the walls and into the crumbled gaps in between to hit the French
soldiers. We were told that we are facing a depleted army but we came on strong
resistance.
Out target was Fort Boussois, another fort
near Maubeuge. It was a smaller fort but well-guarded by French soldiers. The
fort was built into the hill like a massive dugout with earthworks on top and
around it. It was to cushion from the barrage of our guns while the French guns
were in their dugouts. There were rounded bunkers on the top of the fort with
manned machine guns inside it.
"Sergeant Bern, move the platoon into
position. I want the gate cleared for the main invasion." It was a narrow
bridge that lined up to the gate. On the sides of the gates were the walls with
openings for French positions machine guns to repel any invaders. The Skoda had
damaged the section of the walls but it had not crumbled it. The 2nd
The platoon was given the task to open the gate. I moved into position with the
The squad under enemy fire and approached the main gate of the Fort. We made three
attempts on the gates but we ended up losing four men.
Then some other squad brought a mortar and
ammo. That gave us some firing power. While the mortars engaged the machine
guns, we reached the gate and placed the set explosives on the gates. Then the
hard part was to pull the wires back but we did it under some heavy fire.
“Who taught them how to build a fortress?”
Otto cursed when he sought shelter after a log run from the gate. He had the
wires attached to the plunger.
“Cleared the area!” I called out and handed
it to the plunger to Sergeant.
"Fire in the Hole!" That was the
loud voice of Sergeant Bern when he pushed the plunger. The gates blew open and
as soon as the explosion sound cleared, the men were swarming in like their
forefathers then attacking Roman’s forts... I was in with the first wave when
we came under heavy fire from machine guns’ positions inside the fort.
"Give them some of our 'Boche'
gifts." I was shouting the men for the slang they gave us. My men threw
stick grenades at the machine gun nest until our own machine guns arrive. Soon
we cleared the gate area and we proceeded into the fort's interior.
"Move the squad down to the guns and
removed the gunners. But tried to save the guns and ammo. We may need
them." I instructed the squads to go and search the corridors. I caught
hold of a runner; 'Tell the artillery to stop. We are already in."
I drew out my Luger to shoot at the French
soldier who was about to shoot the men at the gates. That felt good after the
lull of the siege; it was a release of desperation on these opponents. It was
not only the siege but the seeing of our friends died attacking the fortress
made us angry. The Oberst was also harassing us on the progress.
“Erich Kroner; you are a bastard when you
are not gathering glory for your pips.” I cursed at the Senior officer. He had
been finding faults with the platoons' and their leaders. Morale has been
affected by Oberst's behavior and there were some increased in desertion.
The new order that today was a relieved to the men when they took up their
Mauser while they awaited the whistle. It paid off for we were in the fortress
that day. I ran into the gun blocks and saw my men exchanging fire with the
French soldiers.
“The French are in there,” Otto muttered at
my ears. “Can I have them for my next meal?” We were gaining ground but at a
loss of more men. A ricochet bullet almost hit me on my right shoulder when I
advanced in the corridor. I stopped to reload my Luger to shoot at more French
soldiers.
Dieter Luther, Gefreiter
The squad was pinned down by the French
soldiers at this turning of the corridor. I looked at the options available to
me; they outnumbered us by two to one. They were in the well-covered position
and hid behind covers when we threw in the stick grenades.
"Benny, help me here. What is behind
your doorway?" Benny was leaning onto a doorway. He was trying to blend
his body to the doorway to avoid the French bullets. Benny heard my order and
examined the doorway. He saw the larch and unlatched the door. It opened into a
chamber there. I followed suit to bump into Benny's back.
"What the frag...."
It was an ammunition storage area with all
the bombs that fed the French guns. Those guns, in turn, had taken some of our
friends. Then it was payback time. We decided to destroy the arsenal. More to
it, we could take a few more French soldiers.
"Frag the
room and get out fast." I told Benny and he held me back.
"If we drop
the grenade here, we would blow ourselves up even before we can make it out of
this corridor." I looked at the man and nodded.
"Is there a
the way we can slow this down or even if the French soldiers come in, they can't
stop it?" But Benny is fast to react. He has taken out his box of matches
and cigarettes. He uncapped a cannon projectile and poured out the contents on
the floor. He lighted a cigarette and up and placed it at the edge of the
spilled over gunfighter.
"We got
maybe half a minute. So let’s move but someone has to prevent them from
stopping this fire in the initial seconds." But Benny had another idea. He
pushed out some projectiles and rolled them out. He rolled it towards the
French soldiers and fire at them. They did not explode but the French soldiers
are hiding behind their cover with some retreated down the corridor. I ran out
and back to the man. I had to move the men down the corridor but we maintained
fire on the French soldiers from the end of the corridor. I count the seconds
and hope I made the correct decision.
"Move the
squad out, I will follow suit." But Benny stayed behind. He nodded at me
that he is staying and firing his Mauser. The French soldiers tried to access
the ammo storage room but we prevented them. Then we saw the smoke and I ran
for the stairs to get out of the place. I did not turn to see if Benny had
followed and the bastard did not. He was still there when the explosion happened.
I was thrown out the entrance to the block by the explosion. I suffered some
bruises and minor burns but the building block was a big hole where the
explosion happened. The squad and others are rushing in now to mopped the
surviving French soldiers.
"Benny..."
but I blacked out.
Peter
Weiner Hauptmann
I saw the
the explosion from the other block. I know it was connected and would foresee the
explosion changing the tide of the battle. I shouted the men to take advantage
of the explosion and moved in fast.
"Use your
grenades. Don't let them recover." The squads ran in and more explosions
came from the men. We were winning. I checked my Luger and made sure it was
loaded before I joined the men.
"Herr
Hauptmann." I stopped to see who has addressed me.
"Herr
Oberst. I am surprised to see you here. We are trying to get in and cleared the
block of the French soldiers." The Oberst was accompanied by a squad of
men around him. I trust he has taken them as bodyguards. I was surprised the
Oberst will show up then and was carrying a Mauser himself like an Infantry
soldier.
"I am here
to check on the progress. I see you done well. Good, now please move your
Platoons out. I am moving Lieutenant Muller's platoon to take over. Your new
orders are to take on Fort Cerfontaine on the other side. It’s a stalemate
there now."
I wanted to
protest but the Oberst is still the Commanding Officer. He would be taking over
the glory soon after they cleared the Fort. I tucked back my Luger and turned
my back on the Fort. I lost men there and now someone is coming over to take
over the works. I pulled my men to rest that evening and told we will be relieving
the others at Cerfontaine. They grumbled but they followed my orders.
Erich
Kroner, Oberst
I saw the
Hauptmann walking back to the lines with a dejected look but he would take
orders as expected of him. I would have to clear the mess here and hunt the
General Fournier who was reported to be here. I would be his opposite number to
accept his surrender or death.
"Sergeant,
move the men up into the building. I want to see them occupying every corner
and we would hold any officers who choose to surrender." I send the men up
the stairs and into the corridors while more shots and explosions were heard. Lieutenant
Marcel was laying on his side at the stairs; dead by gunshots and he won't be
joining me on the rostrum when they announced the surrender.
Dieter Luther, Gefreiter
I woke up in a
living room with ten others who were wounded; some of them were bandaged while
some were just lying there with their hands on the wounds. There were bloodstains everywhere form the flooring to the walls. The orderlies were moving about with the stretchers carrying the wounded and the dead should they
failed to save the person. We were awaiting our turns for the doctors or medic
orderlies to tend to us. I pulled my body up and noticed my burns on my exposed
hands but they will heal. I got worse than this in the bakery and all you need
is some soothing balm and some strips of cloths. I remembered in my kit there
was some cream I can use. It was my face cream and I applied it on the burns.
I wrapped it up with some torn strips of cloth and held myself up with the
Mauser. I limped out and found my squad sitting outside the house. Rudy saw me
first and ran over to assist me.
"Benny?"
I called out and saw Rudy shook his head. He later pointed to Dietrich. I
looked at the other man and saw him shaking his head.
"The bastard...
He is one stupid bastard. Why did he do it?" I cried out loud and sank to
my knees. Benny is my closest friend here. Now he is dead.
"Dieter"
We are on the first name during the breaks and this was one of those breaks.
"He wanted to get out. He had enough of this war. He told me but he hung
back because of two things; you and the fear of being shot at by his own
friends. He chose the former I think because he reckons by saving you, he has
done his duty."
I grabbed
Dietrich coat and pulled him to me.
"You lied.
He did it because he wants to save the whole squad. He loves all of you and not
me alone. Above all, he is doing not want to see any of you die here today. He
is a stupid bastard. He always was." I let go of the man's coat and walked
to a corner of my own. I sat down and cried. I saw the bottle handed to me and
took it. I took a long swing at it and poured the rest on my hands. It hurts
like hell but I am now able to cry in the true pain of losing my friend. I was
not ashamed of my tears for him. It was from my friend.
Peter
Weiner, Hauptmann
We are in the
suburbs of Le Pont-Allant
where I checked on my men resting after the battle this afternoon. It was then
I stumbled on the 2nd Platoon and saw the emotional scene. I stood
for a while to see the whole scene played out it acts before I walked in. I
tapped the Sergeant's shoulder and passed him some bottles of wine I acquired
from a farmer. I was given a crate in exchange for some food rations. I took out
one bottle and walked to Gefreiter who
was sitting in the corner. I passed him the bottle and he took it without
looking at me. I would let him cry his pain out with the bottle of wine from
the French cellar. Later I pulled up the Sergeants and brief them on
tomorrow's battle. I want them all rested today so we can be a team tomorrow
again.
I approached a
small farmer’s home nearby. It was empty but the bare furnishings were there. I
sought out a small room on the back and sat in the corner by myself. The room was
empty except for a small chair. And it was getting dark. It must have been a
boy's room, as I could see many drawings on the wall in the room. It was about
a boy’s adventure with the role game they played. The chasing and then the
holding of the weapons. It was a child’s fantasy to be in a battle.
I spied a leather
ball in the darker corner and picked it. I bounced it on my hands. It was
almost six months since I kicked a ball in the game. We used to play
against the other companies and the wager was the beer served at the end of the
game. We lost most of our games but we enjoyed the during game fights with
fists. It never lasted long but it bonds us as one regiment.
The bastard Erich
never played team games. He was more of a long-distance runner and his usual
game of marksmanship. He was a single-player and when he wins, he does it for
himself. Among all the officers, he was one of those few who are left out in
our leisure activities. The aristocrats are another group who mixed among
themselves, but we do challenge them to some games like fencing. Naturally, we
lost most of the games but when it’s come to physical fights, they are hardly a
match for us brawlers.
I heard than some
footsteps and as a precaution, I pulled out my Luger. It was Sergeant Bern
walked into my personal space carrying a bottle.
"Herr
Hauptmann, can I share this with you? I found it in the kitchen."
I nodded and both
of us shared the bottle in silence that night. We lost some good friends in the
last few days. More so, on that day's assault.
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