But some by design.

The French transport helicopters dropped us of near Regensburg, behind the river Naab. Which I found odd as our leapfrog should have gotten us at the Regen by Regensburg again. I suspected there were gaps in my intel briefs, missing information about planned tactical operations between Regen and Regensburg. I could understand why they left us in the dark about those, it is sometimes better not to know too much.

We landed in a potato field surrounded by a forest, five helicopters at the time. After we had our boots again firmly on the ground we started to regroup as all fifty platoons were mixed up during our flight. Platoon number 50 was mine, so it took a while before all members found their way home at the edge of the forest.

It was then that we realized we had two missing in action: Michael and Dieter.

“What happened?” I asked sadly. "I thought I asked those not being in action at the front to stay in the foxholes," looking at Kylie and Kate.

“We were in the foxhole, all together, scared shitless. But Michael kept hammering about not seeing anything. We were happy to stay safe in the hole, but he kept on complaining not seeing anything of the attack. We told him to stay put, and Dieter even grabbed him close when the helicopters passed, telling him not to expose our position. He calmed down, but when they were gone, suddenly he made a run for it. We yelled at him to come back. Then we heard the noise of explosions behind our lines, Dieter must have figured it was safe enough to try to get to Michael to haul him back.”

Kylie continued: “Then all happened at the same time, the explosions in front of us, behind us, we couldn’t move, even if we wanted to, even if we had wanted disobeying your orders.”

“But then the helicopters came back...” I stated: “and they were strafing the forest with bullets, trying to kill everyone not huddled in anti-thermal screen, but they couldn’t have seen many, so they were shooting in random patterns, until they were shot down themselves.”

I started to remember, fiery explosions above my head, raining metal pieces and the crashing down of the wrecks, hiding behind a large pine tree. Just after I so foolishly grabbed one of the straggling snipers and pushed him into the hole. My knees buckled and I fell to the ground on my knees.

“Oh god, I almost died over there.” I lamented.

Kylie yelled at me: “How the fuck did that happen?”

“I was acting foolishly, I saw one of the snipers running away, unaware of the incoming helicopter. I panicked. I ran and pushed him out of the way, then grabbed him and pushed him into the nearest foxhole...”

“That was you?” Tom asked all of a sudden, looking at me with his eyes wide full with wonder.

He dropped before me on his knees, looked at me intensely and all of a sudden he hugged me close while he kept saying ‘thank you’ over and over to me.

“You saved my brother,” Kate said quietly and she too dropped close to hug the two of us, shushing Tom.

I looked up at Kylie standing up, saw her angry, and told her that I was sorry, that I didn’t mean it to happen, that I panicked and I couldn’t help myself.

Her facial expression softened. She murmured something inaudible and dropped herself next to a tree.

I broke the hug after a few minutes and stood up to sit by myself next to Kylie. Naturally, all remaining seven of us formed a circle and I said what had to be said.

“Michael and Dieter are dead. Michael was eh... impulsive, and Dieter a hero for trying to save him. Let’s be silent for a few moments, and let us remember them both in our minds. How me met them, how we interacted with them and what we felt for them.”

After that we were silent for a while. Without giving orders I started to dig a temporary camp, set up the tent and let the others help me doing so. While I was busy, at the back of my mind something kept nagging me, something bugged me but I couldn’t lay my finger on it. I kept going through the sequence of events of this morning, something was amiss.

Then suddenly I gasped brisquely and said I had to talk to someone in command. The others let me go without a word and continued building the camp.

I walked fast to the command tent, where the leader of the Special Forces was to be found. I saw him sitting in front of it, calmly cleaning his gun. Silently I sat in front of him and looked at him.

“You were using the refugees as bait, for the helicopters.” I calmly told him.

He looked up and stared intently at me.

“Yes.”

The US engineer corps built fake fortifications for them to hide behind, so you could lure them towards it, the refugee soldiers and the attack helicopters. It wasn’t meant as a second defense line at all.”

“Yes.”

“We were to be hidden at all cost. So not one of us could greet them. There could have been spies among them, I understand that. But why not shoot the helicopters then and there?”

He didn’t answer, but kept looking at me.

“You didn’t shoot them there, because... you wanted them to return? That means after hell broke loose, they needed to be lured back again... offering them... more bait. Us! But why?”

“I remember you in the preparations. You even went to great lengths to make sure your positions were extremely well hidden behind the anti-thermal screens. You did a very good job of it. So much so, we were starting to doubt our plan.”

“Your plan?”

“The attack helicopters needed a target so we offered them one, yes, you guys, so their attention would be directed at the forest in front of the tanks. We would shoot them only after their attention was directed at it. So they wouldn’t look for us, equipping our mortars at the far side all around the tanks. We had to disclose our location while we set them up. We couldn’t risk being discovered before nor during the time you fired the anti-tank missiles. So for a very short time we let the attack helicopters rain fire on your locations while we started opening fire at the Russian troop carriers. They were in chaos, and our mortar rounds further disorganized them. It was then that we shot the attack helicopters, providing further confusion and a chance for us to kill the whole lot of them. They were crushed between hammer and anvil.”

“But I made sure everyone was hidden...”

“Yes, but seeing doing your job too well was a kink in our plan.”

“So...?”

“So when the helicopters returned one of us fired a few gunshots at them to keep their attention at where we wanted them to look. After letting them strafe bullets for a few moments we shot them and started firing our mortars.”

“That is cold, man, it is like I am talking to a real psychopath, using your own allies as bait. Leaving us to die just to...”

“Just to make sure we reached the objective. Destroying the first wave going to France.”

“Why telling me this?”

“The moment I saw you coming here, I knew you had figured it out. Or at least parts of it. I had to make sure of something.”

“Which is?”

“Tell me, if all of your troops and our other allies knew of this, would they keep their trust in us, letting them feel as pawns to be sacrificed at our will?”

“Well, no.”

“And without our incoming reinforcements, wouldn’t you say, trust is the most valuable good in this war? So much so, nothing can happen without it, no moral without trust in your allies?

“Hmm... yes,” I begrudgingly admitted. “I see where you are going with this. You want me to keep silent about all of this, so I don’t become the cause of distrust and falling moral?”

“Exactly so. Now, will you?”

“I have **** but to remain silent. And you damn well know it too.”

“Good, in exchange, when we can, we will try to keep you safer next time.”

“As if.” I snorted. “But thanks for the gesture.”