Chapter 214: Witnessing the End of an Era
The battle cry of the Serbian Royal Army rang throughout the mists, echoing like thunder and accompanied by the bellows of the hooves of their steeds. There was no mistaking it-the cavalry was charging at them in full force. Because of this, Bruno gave the order to his men to unleash hell upon them, even if they could not fully see the enemy.
"Open fire!"
If he hadn't had tinnitus before, Bruno most certainly did now, as did every other soldier standing in the mud and rain as they sprayed lead blindly downrange as quickly as possible. Semi-automatic rifles, combined with the varying rates of fire from the submachine guns wielded by non-commissioned and commissioned officers alike, as well as the relentless machine gun teams, filled the air with a deafening roar.
There was always more ammo and spare barrels awaiting them. In addition to this, mortars of varying sizes fired off into the mist randomly and without direct aim, hoping at the very least that the shrapnel alone would deal some damage to potential enemies.
Evidently, the reckless and wanton violence that the Germans had chosen to unleash upon the voices within the fog had a real effect. Moments after the shots began to ring out, screams of men and horses alike could be overheard-assuming one was not already deafened by the monumental volume of lead they were sending downrange.
Whether by sheer chance or sheer volume, one by one horses emerged from the fog, their riders raising swords and guns alike as they tried desperately to reach the trenches that lay no more than 300 meters in front of them.
It was a plan that might have worked, if not for the preparations the Germans had made in advance. If the barbed wire didn't snare the old nags and trap them like flies in a spiderweb, then the far more sinister surprise lying just beneath the surface would do them and their riders in.
In fact, the steed of the man leading the charge-or who at least appeared to be, due to the extravagance of his old headwear from a long-forgotten era-was the first to step on a hidden S-mine. Without even understanding what had happened, the legs of his horse were blown out from under it as a mine bounced into the air and burst before the cavalry officer even knew it was there.
The man was thrown from his steed, covered in the blood of the brilliant gelding he had been given for this conflict-as well as some of his own, as, much to his dismay, he found his torso leaking profusely with his bodily fluids. One of the many ball bearings from the detonated mine had struck him, delivering what would be a mortal blow.
Assuming he made it out of this place alive, he would need immediate care if he even wanted a chance of survival. But his fate was here and now, as he stared down at the man wearing the greatcoat, cap, and insignia of a German Generalfeldmarschall.
Bruno was no more than a hundred yards away from the old man who had suffered a rather horrific fate due to his preparations.
Precisely how the old Serbian cavalry officer had managed to penetrate so deep into no man's land without getting caught in barbed wire or detonating a land mine sooner? Only God truly knew. But one thing was certain: the German general staring at him ended his life then and there with a sinister smirk and a squeeze of the trigger.