Re: Blood and Iron

The war in Italy had barely moved beyond the initial borders. Not because Bruno and his men were sustaining losses, rather they were waiting for their allies to catch up to them. And because of this, Bruno was currently watching through the trenches dressed in his greatcoat, while having one of the new infantry rifles slung across his back.

By now, the bodies of the deceased had been cleared, and the engineers had begun restoring the border fortifications as they should have been. Despite being given the advantage, Bruno did not press the attack.

He needed his allies to continue their advance from their own sides, and because of this, he did not move beyond them, for to do so would most certainly risk encirclement and defeat. As a result, Bruno had watched as his men spent their time waiting for the orders to move.

Rain poured down from the sky, and yet the soldiers of the 8th Army, consisting by now entirely of the most battle-hardened veterans of its previous organization stood still. Artillery echoed in the distance from other battles taking place nearby, and machine guns fired off at every given moment of the day and night.

Yet the men beneath Bruno's command did not twitch in the slightest. Two years of war in the Balkans for all the enlisted men had made them hard. Hard enough to endure what needed to be done. While the NCOs and officers above them had been by Bruno's side since the Russian Civil War.

It was an organization as well established as an armed fighting force could be. And the 8th Army had even unofficially adopted their own unit insignia as a way to distinguish themselves from their peers. The uniforms which these soldiers wore were as a result altered by adding the new emblem of the German 8th Army onto the left biceps of its tunic and greatcoat.

This insignia was a shield that contained a black corner and a red corner separated by a white diagonal stripe. It was the same decal used by the Wehrmacht during the Second World War of Bruno's past life.

However, there was one change to this symbol, and that was the addition of the Iron Division's infamous totenkopf, which was emblazoned within the center of the logo. A striking addition to any German uniform, which struck fear into the hearts of those who saw them.

As a result, even Bruno's uniform contained this slight modification despite the fact that it was not an approved addition to a soldier's field attire. Yet, even so, if he were to be interrogated over the matter he would argue that this new symbol was a sign of comradery and heritage within the unit he commanded, one that increased morale on the battlefield
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Thus, when Bruno walked in the trenches, he did so in a uniform without any form of embellishment and a helmet that matched the others. His greatcoat was the same as every other soldier in the army. No medals, nor embroidery to speak of. And he walked alone among his men with his rifle slung like the rest of them.

To any sniper who was not already intimately aware of his appearance, he was just another soldier. As such, Bruno liked to personally inspect the troops and what they were doing when he had the time to do so.

And currently he was doing just that, as a group of soldiers laid their backs against the trench wall, smoking while their machine gunner was on his weapon, whose bipod was deployed at the edge of the barrier.

He was as vigil as could be. But at times like this, when nothing was happening, the rest of the men in his squad were more or less on standby. Because of this, the machine gunner did not react to Bruno approaching him.

Especially after Bruno put his finger to his lips and silently made sure the rest of the men did not mention his presence. After doing so, he approached the machine gunner and asked one simple question. Not even trying to conceal his voice as he did so.

"So, how does it look out there?"

The machine gunner, maintaining his focus on the front, as his experience by now had given him perfect discipline, did not even look at Bruno as he answered the question honestly, not knowing that the man in charge of the entire 8th Army had been the one to pose it.

"Honestly? Fucking nothing, not a single sign of hostiles, and I mean nothing, no snipers, no forward observers, there has been no movement for the last five fucking hours, and I tell you one thing, my vision is hard wired for that shit. Trust me, if even a fucking squirrel moves in a bush, I would instantly notice it. And there is nothing out there…"

Bruno chuckled as he heard the man say this, before giving him a command that nobody who was watching the scene unfold was expecting.

"You're relieved, I'll take over from here…"

The man sighed, his shoulders relaxing as he carefully placed the machine gun's safety into a position that would prevent the weapon from firing before stretching his arms and back, all while griping about the job he had.

"Thank fucking God, if I was forced to keep watch for another hour or two I swear to God I would have -"

The man turned suddenly silent and went pale as he shifted around to see who exactly he was complaining to. Bruno was as stoic as could be as he hunkered down into a position that prevented his head from being exposed to potential sniper fire as much as possible while he mounted the machine gun, taking over the soldiers position on watch, giving only a single statement of assurance as he did so.

"Enjoy your rest… I'll see you in the morning…"

The soldiers near Bruno's side did not even complain about their machine gunner being granted a sudden reprieve only for his position to be taken over by their general. Instead, they were more alert than ever.

All the while the machine gunner was baffled but ended up stumbling out of the area and towards the bunkers were the cots were laid out as if he had just had a conversation with Jesus Christ himself.

Once he was gone, the soldiers in the machine gunner's squad were silently motioning towards one another. They had so many questions for the man, the myth, the legend who was in charge of their army. A man none of them had ever actually spoken to before now.

And yet they were also aware that they were currently in charge of his safety. Silently debating what to say, how to say it, or if they should say it at all, Bruno finally sighed and chastised the men for their hesitancy.

"If you have something to say, just say it. You're acting like a bunch of timid school girls…. You are men, aren't you? You've spilled blood on my orders, yes? Then say what needs to be said with conviction like you have a pair of balls… Or are you all women in disguise as soldiers?"

Seeing how the General of their army had not chastised the machine gunner for his crass and casual language, and was even willing to bust their balls as if he was one of them. The men suddenly became both jovial and alert as they began taking up their rifles to stand next to Bruno as they began to converse with him.

Throughout the night, Bruno would stand on watch with the men beneath his command and chat about all sorts of things with the squad. Time and again, they tried to get him to go back and get some sleep whenever they felt worried about him.

To which Bruno would assert that would not happen until he had fulfilled his promise to the machine gunner. By the end of the night, they felt as if the near superhuman mystique that surrounded their commander had faded, and that in reality, he was not some Greek legend manifested in the flesh, but rather was a simple man, just like the rest of them.

Almost like a father figure who was doing everything he could both to keep them alive, and crush the enemy at the same time. Word would spread of Bruno's actions and further humanize him among his own army. Something that other generals of the era would have a hard time understanding.

It was not until dawn that the squad's full relief came, and Bruno returned to his personal quarters. Where he was awoken at noon of the next day by Heinrich. Who asked him a question that Bruno couldn't help but scoff at.

"You spent the night on watch again, didn't you?"

Bruno's response was one of denial as he began to dress in his uniform as preparation for the work that would need to be done on this day.

"Me? I'm a Generalfeldmarschall. Why on earth would I do such a thing? Don't I have men to do that for me?"

Even though Bruno denied it, his smug smirk and the tone of his voice were all the admission that Heinrich needed to understand the truth of the matter. Prompting him to holler off to Bruno who was headed towards the mess area of the trench complex.

"I get that the men need their rest, but you do too, sir! You should seriously rethink this habit of yours!"

Bruno, of course waved Heinrich off. He knew exactly what he was doing… His legend had grown so great that it was beginning to overshadow the man he really was, even among his own soldiers.

And if he wanted their loyalty and respect, they needed reminders every now and then that Bruno was not some God-like figure who could not be bothered to care for the lives mere mortals like them.

No, he was in the shit, just like the rest of them, and their survival was a major concern of his, as was his own. And when they remembered that, they would also remember why they would follow this man to hell and back. Even if he never asked them to....