It had been days since the disastrous assault on the French trenches. Words had been spread that the 7th Army Division had broken through enemy lines with reinforcements and supplies needed from the west. Men from the bloodbath siege were still rolling in, increasing by the hour. The siege from the east was worse than they were in; he had heard only a little less than a few thousand had survived, and command and orders were to be restored there.
Reinhard hadn't heard any news that his division was still intact; he only knew a few had survived the escape, but he wasn't sure of Ernst. The thought of Ernst not making it through was unbearable, but again, he could be in a whole different trench by a different division of men.
He had heard injured and wounded men in the field hospital were chattering and sharing rumors that the French were planning a counterattack, which didn't matter to Reinhard. The reality of him making it through the war was ridiculous; sooner or later he would be a goner.
Weekly newspapers of the war were handed out around the western front trenches, stating that the Ottoman Empire had been discussing going into war with the Central Powers. All of the frontlines at Metz had been a disaster, and men from all groups and divisions were scattered along the trenches. Furthermore, Kaiser Wilhelm had made a speech about the disastrous massacre siege in Metz; unfortunately, the paper did not show what he had said.
Even worse, half of Germany's runner division and company in Metz, which was around ten to fifteen thousand, had been killed or wounded in action during the siege. This caused confusion and chaos all around the frontlines, and it was stated that the 'Triple Entente,' the name for Britain, France, and Russia, had been working on a new war machine, which is said to be able to change the course of war.
Taking his mind off that, he thought about his usual medic—Karl—who didn't seem to be around the tent nowadays. When he had asked a nearby field medic rushing in, he had just simply shrugged and replied, 'A lucky break, I guess.'
The doctors in the field hospitals had told him his leg had been fractured, he had a cracked shoulder, and he had a couple of bruises around his body and was ordered to stay for at least a couple of days before being let free. Reinhard took this as fortunate, because he didn't have to be in the parapets on the front without worrying about anything besides his comrades, of course.
It wasn't until the next day when a group of medics rushed inside the field hospital and lifted the wounded onto a stretcher. When it was his turn, he asked, "What is going on?"
As the medics moved him outside the tent, he replied, "We are ordered to retreat into Ypres; the whole front line in Metz is retreating there. The French had bombed the city several days ago, and supplies had been put to a halt." The medic paused as he made a turn to the back trenches; several yards away Reinhard could spot hundreds of trucks lined up in rows as men climbed into them. "Unfortunately the French heard about this, and the word was the French will be doing a huge siege on us anytime soon."
It took a moment before he understood what the medic was saying: "Metz is being surrendered?"
"I'm afraid so." The medic gave out a huge sigh. "Sooner or later this place will be back in French hands."
Before Reinhard could ask any more questions, he was lifted into a field ambulance for the wounded. The medics in the ambulance took him to a small area where wounded men were laid. Somewhere around, he could spot dead, unnoticed men lying down, and it would sicken him.
It was about mid-afternoon, from what Reinhard assumed, as their vehicle started. He dragged himself to one of the seats next to the window and peeked outside. The city of Metz was now in full destruction; buildings had collapsed from the bombings, and women, children, and men were taking whatever belongings they had as they walked on the dense muddy road, gazing at them sorrowfully. In the distance, he could see where once the Imperial German flag proudly waved had now been replaced with a white flag.
As they rolled on, he could see unfortunate civilians and men scattered across the ground motionlessly. Reinhard couldn't help but feel pity for those; it made him question why they were fighting a pointless war.
Suddenly, loud whistles came from the sky, and within seconds, everything around Reinhard erupted. He could hear men shouting and scattering around, unsure where to take cover. In the sky, he could see French aeroplanes heading closer to them, and soon they would open fire. Reinhard realized the French had heard of their retreat and wanted to intercept it.
In the front of the ambulance, he could hear the soldiers yelling at the driver, and the ambulance roared back to life and drove past the damaged or abandoned trucks. Men who were caught in front of the ambulance would be mowed down, and every time it did, Reinhard would shut his eyes.
The injured men in the truck were now fully aware of what was going on and yelled and screamed in panic. A few who could walk quickly rushed over to the entrance where the German soldiers tried to restrain them unsuccessfully. As soon as they leaped out of the ambulance, they were either bombed or shot at.
At one point, an explosion had blasted so close to them that the ambulance had nearly toppled over the hill. Reinhard curled up into a ball and lay next to the walls, praying for it to stop. It wasn't until a few minutes later that the bombings and shootings had ceased and everything went dead silent. There were still faint bombings on Metz, but for now they were out of reach. The remaining trucks and ambulances went back to following the road to Ypres; some of the wounded men chattered amongst themselves about how long the ride would be. Reinhard even overheard some say Ypres was in northern Belgium at the border of France; some argued they were going south of France; no one knew for sure.
The door to the front slid open, and a German officer walked through the door with another man. He gave out a loud cough; once everyone's attention was turned to him, he started, "I know you people saw what had happened to us. Unfortunately, the French seemed to have...known about our retreat. But do not worry, we are entering the Belgian borders soon, and aid will be sent. Pleasant day, chaps." Then he exited the room along with the man.
It didn't occur to Reinhard until now that he realized there were two rooms in the ambulance—one for the wounded and one for the uninjured. He crawled back to his stretcher and took one last glance at the window before he dozed off.
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A sudden shake shook him awake; Reinhard opened his eyes with a gasp, thinking of the bombardment from earlier. Then he realized he was in Ypres, Belgium, or at least Belgium.
"Whoa there!" A familiar voice chuckled. "You are safe. How are you doing, Reinhard?"
Reinhard rubbed his eyes and realized it was Ernst. Ernst! A joy of relief flushed through Reinhard as he knew Ernst had made it and survived.
He sat up and shook hands with Ernst. "Where are we?" Reinhard asked as he looked around. He was still in the ambulance compartment along with a few other men. Yelling and shouting orders were heard outside; Reinhard stood up with the help of Ernst and looked out the window. Trenches were being dug with engineers setting up defenses in all areas; men were doing anything they could, from bringing supplies to building trench walls. Reinhard noticed how his legs were able to move more freely without any pain and gestured for Ernst to let go.
As soon as Ernst did, he walked around without any pain. Reinhard turned and asked him, "How long has it been since we got here?"
Ernst cringed tightly before replying, "Uh, three days?"
The news gave a shock to Reinhard; how had he been out for three days? What had happened during his time gone?
Ernst read the expression on him and said, "Metz is fully under French control now, but I've heard officials say we are probably going to do another siege soon here in Ypres. We aren't fighting with the French anymore; we're fighting the British now."
"Didn't the high command learn anything? Every raid we did had been an onslaught; hell knows how many men we even have in the nineteenth division now!"
Ernst ignored that and said, "And congratulations, Reinhard. Captain Brener has promoted you to Koporal; guess you are higher than me now. They've heard how you had rescued and saved a bunch of men back there; good job." He looked outside and said, "The rest of our division is around the right flank; try not to gawk when you see how many we are. Your uniform is in the front; I'll wait for you outside." Then he exited the compartment.
Reinhard gave out a sigh and found his uniform, helmet, and rifle all neatly stacked on a chair near the door. He noticed a change in his uniform, with a goldenish collar and a badge attached to both shoulders representing koporal.
He quickly got suited and greeted Ernst outside the ambulance. He gestured for Reinhard to follow him and led him into the trenches. The trenches had new designs; there were more artillery bunkers, more machine guns and defenses, better directions, and planks set across the trenches. When Ernst stopped, Reinhard had thought he was simply hallucinating.
"Y-you can't be kidding, right?" Reinhard stuttered; there was only a classroom of men standing guard or sitting down on the parapets. Their only officer was Oberleutnant Maximilian, who was around his mid-ages and had a stylish mustache; it made Reinhard wonder what happened to their original commander.
"I'm afraid not." Maximilian stood up. "I've heard they're sending in some fresh new meat here soon to the nineteenth, but don't keep your hopes up—half the time they don't make it." Then he went back to smoking his cigarette.
Ernst tried to give a cheerful grin and shrugged; apparently almost a quarter of Germany's divisions had been wiped out from all across the front. As he looked for a spot to settle, he could hear some men chatter that the nineteenth division had been disbanded, while other divisions, such as the 29th and 103rd infantry divisions, had been completely wiped out.
As soon as Reinhard settled down in a corner next to Ernst, Maximilian stood up, giving out a loud cough before announcing, "The German supreme command had ordered the nineteenth division to be disbanded until the new recruits arrive, which is a couple of days, so hold tight, boys." He looked over at a sheet of paper and continued, "They also, surprisingly, had awarded all of us the Iron Cross for 'Personnel demonstrated profound integrity and personal courage, upholding the highest standards of their duty, and are hereby awarded the Iron Cross.'"
Few of the men gave out a small cheer and slumbered back to whatever they were doing. Then Maximilian gave out another announcement: "That is not yet, Reinhard; you here have been awarded the Iron Cross first class, which is the highest cross you can achieve. It says here many of the men that survived the Battle of Metz reported you saving a whole hell lot of them, including an officer from a different division for 'demonstrating resourcefulness under fire' and 'bravery'..." Then he continued with the other men.
Reinhard was stunned for a moment; he couldn't believe he just received one of the highest medals in the German army. He had only been here for a few months and had faced many raids from both sides. Ernst patted him on the back and congratulated him, to which Reinhard returned a quick 'thanks.'
A few hours went by; the men celebrated all day for their accomplishments, but deep below them, they knew the dread and horror of what they had to go through.
Maximilian had refused multiple times when asked to celebrate and insisted on reading his book. Reinhard and all the other men would drink beers and wines that they had stolen while playing cards and telling jokes and stories to each other. It felt as if it was the first time Reinhard had ever been relieved of the thoughts of raiding or bombardments and was doing something normal for the first time.
"So," a private named Jośhe said to Reinhard, "How does it feel to be a Koporal? You are technically third in command besides Kayle! "Oh, I can't wait to mess with the new recruits when they get here." Then he went back chattering with the other men.
"Well!" Kayle spoke up, "Cheers to us and the Kaiser!" As he raised his glass.
"Us and the Kaiser!" Everyone else followed.
They would celebrate all the way until midnight, when the men would become drunk and dozy and head to their underground barracks.
Strangely, as Reinhard was about to follow the others down, he noticed Maximilian still sitting under the moonlight as he read his book.
He noticed Reinhard staring at him and gestured to him to sit next to him.
"Reinhard," he started right away, "I have not told you this yet; however... I want you to brief the men tomorrow morning for a possible attack. I do not trust Kayle to do so; he has often messed up the news, and multiple times lives would be lost because of him."
"Why is he a Feldwebel then?" Reinhard asked.
"His family has a well-known history of serving in the German army for generations since before Prussia existed; the Kaiser had recognized their family's honor and had made them automatically above Feldwebel if they had ever decided to join the army.""Even if they are...?"
"Slow? Unsure?" He finished the sentence and nodded, "Yes indeed, Reinhard; however, back to the briefing. The British seemed to have developed a new war machine, a tank they called it. Do you recall when you had found a blueprint to a machine back in Metz?"
Reinhard nodded; the thought forced him to think about when he had shot the Frenchman, making him guilty for it. He was unsure why he had felt that way even until now.
"I was there when you rushed in to report this; we had sent this to the Kaiser. Apparently he assumed it was a trap or something and denied this was ever serious. Until a few days ago, a spy had sent in pictures of something we had never seen before—a huge machine with cannons at both sides and machine guns at all corners. It seems they will be using it here in Ypres within a matter of time. Our intelligence guessed it would be tomorrow; it might be another day, however."
"But the new recruits aren't due for a few days, and we had just gotten here, so why so soon for the raid?" Reinhard whimpered.
"The 'Ententes' want to lock us down wherever we go; they seem to want us to decrease little by little until there is nobody left to defend Germany. They are willing to take the chance when we are still old and rusty."
Reinhard nodded once again, trying not to say anything.
"That's it for now, Corporal; you may return to your barracks." And with that, Maximilian went back to his book with a lamp on his side. Reinhard stood up and headed to the barracks; he couldn't stop thinking about what he just had heard.
Tomorrow, everybody around him might be gone forever.