The Western Front

The Western Front -1914-1918


During the course of the war, the Western Front went down in history as the bloodiest. Gas was used for the first time on the Western Front; it was on the Western Front the deadliest battles in history happened. Ypres and the Somme. It was on this front, the Germans, French, British, Americans, Canadians and assorted others charged machine guns and barbed wire with nothing but their rifles. Welcome, to the Western Front.


On the 1st of August 1914, Germany declared war on Russia. Germany put the Schlieffen Plan into action. On the 2nd of August, the Germans invaded Luxembourg. In the afternoon of the 2nd August, after giving the word for the army not to engage the tens of thousands of Germans attacking, Grand Duchess Marie-Adélaïde met with the German commander, and signed an official surrender.


I am a private in the Kaisers army. I marched with my German comrades from Berlin, to Luxembourg. A grin on my face, a spring in my step. Everyone else is the same. Happy, assured of German victory. It’ll be over by Christmas. It can’t last long. The French cannot stand against Germany. Especially not with the German army flanking them through Belgium. Victory is certain. I sit on a low brick wall, enjoying a cigarette with the others. My name is Erich Carius. I only joined the army a week ago, lied about my age. But I love this.

The sun beams down on our glorious uniforms, our rifles are leaning on walls, as we converse under the cool shade. The atmosphere is undeniably cheerful. My friend who joined up with me, Klaus Zimmerman, is sitting underneath a large oak tree, penning a letter home. To his sister or his mother, I don’t know which. I sit next to him. “Who you writing to, Klaus?” I reach into my deep pockets, and pull out an apple. I take a deep bite, while he finishes the sentence.

“Mother. I’ve only been gone a week really, and I already miss her.” I smile sadly at him.

“It’s okay. Come Christmas, France will be ours, and the others will surrender. And we’ll all be back home, toasting mighty Germany. You just wait, Klaus.” I bite into the apple again, and chew thoughtfully. “You think the French can hold us back? Coming through Belgium, I mean?” Klaus chuckles softly, takes a last, long look at the paper, and lowers it. His eyes focus on me.

“I’m never going to get any peace with you around, am I?”

“Not a chance.” I bite the sweet tasting pulp of the apple again.

“Well, if you really see my opinion as valid, the French will crumble. We number in the tens of thousands, and we will sweep on them like a wave. The last thing we’ll see before this is all over, are the backs of them.” I nod in agreement. It’s how everyone feels. Try and find someone not overcome with the immediate success of the invasion.


We’re only in Luxembourg a day. Our company is, anyway. We’re moving again at Dawn on the 3rd. Word is whispered down the line, war is officially declared on Belgium. That’s the rumour. A tense excitement grips me. Within the next couple of days, we will be in sight of Liege. A heavily fortified city, surrounded by forts. I suddenly realise, I will use my rifle on a real target in the next few days. I do not know if I should be elated, or dread the moment…

We stop to rest near a farm in the evening. The men spread out and enjoy fruit, bread, biscuits and in some cases, chocolate. I have an apple, and some bread and butter. Can never have enough apples. The sun beats down now, and marching is harder. It’s hot under the helmets, and the uniform, and the kit bags. By the next break at mid-day, I’m panting for breath; I take my helmet off and wipe a fair amount of sweat from by brow.

On this break, we rest longer. Klaus manages to catch up with me from further down the column. He all but collapses to the ground, his chest heaving in and out in quick succession. He takes his helmet off and runs his hand through his soaking wet hair. At least I wasn’t alone in thinking this march is murder. The rest doesn’t last long.

Soon enough, we’re back on the move. We put up with the discomfort. We are the Kaisers chosen; it would be unseemly to show anything less than total devotion. Night finally falls. But instead of stopping early, we keep marching. It isn’t until 11 that we stop. Exhausted, fatigued, shattered, we all sleep like logs. Even our dreams are plagued by exhausting marches under the harsh sun.

Chapter One

On the 4th of August 1914, the German Army pressed into Belgium. Within hours, they reached the Meuse River and had found that the Begium Forces had destroyed the bridges in order to buy more time for preparation. Given the order that he had to cross the river, General Otto von Emmich had the troops began building pontoon bridges. After gunfire started to hammer the troops building the pontoon bridges, Emmich, due to obligation of orders, was now forced to take the city of Liege from the Belgium Armed Forces and then focus his attention on the great forts surrounding the city.

After the troops constructing the bridges to cross came under fire, we had been given the order to move across the Meuse by using the bridges. Klaus and I accompanied the lead elements as we pushed across under fire, but the heaviness had faded sometime ago. When we arrived, I could see some of the dead in the water, the river's current taking them down. I felt depressed for the first time in the past days. All of those were germans; Soldiers of the Kaiser like myself. And I told myself at the time that anyone of those bodies could have been me. But Klaus reassured me, and perhaps himself as well.

"Don't worry Erich. Those were the men who had no chance. We, on the other hand, can fire back." Klaus marched alongside me for awhile. Then we were ordered to stop and that we would rest where we stood for the morning. I laid down, the soft earth on my back, the stars in my eyes, and Klaus to my side. I spoke to Klaus finally.

"Why do they stay and fight? We should have marched right past them with their flags of white in the air." It remained silent a few seconds. But then he replied. "Perhaps they thought they could hold us Germans back. A silly thing, like you said." A rolled over and closed my eyes. I fell asleep almost immediately. The Sun's light broke my slumber a few hours too early then I wished. I was awake, but my friend Klaus was not. I envied his heavy sleep. A few minutes of stretching later, I found myself in line for morning meal. It was not a particulary good one.

The soup, whatever it was, tasted like liquid bread. I asked if I could have a second heloing, one for Klaus, but it was not allowed. Instead, I gave a spare apple of mine to him. We both ate and spoke of the coming day, how we would overcome the enemy with our own bear hands and of girls in Germany that would, well, reward us for our victory.

The afternoon passed and still no order came. Some echoes of sporadic, unordered fire came from the north. The sergeant said not to worry about it and to rest more. I found a tree and sat underneath it. The shadow felt good. Klaus walked up and said nothing. He just pulled his letter out and continued to write away to his mother. Mother. Berlin my home, her's and my sister's. She was probably washing dishes as of now; Something I did before I had left. Sister was probably at school. I had been a good student before I joined, history was my favorite. I found myself wondering if the germans would go down in history for what they were doing. I found myself enthralled that I could go down. Erich Carius, the vigilent german who won the war for Germany! I chuckled to myself.

Night came soon. We finally had been told to get ready. I grabbed my rifle, my rucksack, and my helmet and proceeded to join with Klaus in formation. A soldier near me shouted, "Paris in two weeks! London in three!" We all shouted along as we moved forward in the darkness. The company commander ordered us to keep quiet. We moved in silence the rest of the way. We moved to the foot of a hill and stopped. Our sergeant adressed the squad.

"Today on the fifth of August, we are about to assault Fort Barchon. If we can take this tonight, tomorrow we can get Liege and then were into France. Let's do this well and efficent, boys." And with that, he blew a whistle. The men around me shouted and screamed as they raced forward. A flare was fired and rocketed into the night sky. I stood there, unmoved and in a trance by the scene. Klaus finally grabbed me and pulled me out of it. I began to run forward. I shouted and screamed like the rest. Machine gun fire erupted into the front ranks. I was scared for the first time in my life.

I continued forward. Why? I don't know. I was caught in the moment. As the men in front of me were cut down by machine gun fire, a huge geyser erupted.

Men around it went flying past me, limbs torn to shreds. I paniced even more. Mines? How can I escape mines? But then I realised what it was. "Mortars! Fall back! Fall back! Retreat, boys!" The old sergeant screamed. He was ahead of me a little ways, but I could still see him. The amount of troops were depleting fast from the artillery and gunfire. That, and the fact everybody was scattering. Another mortar hit nearby, sending two of the men spiraling. A severed limb passed me as I ran. I hopped over a pile of three bodies. I ducked as shrapnel flew by. Death was closing in and I finally knew what the feeling was at this moment. What the others had felt in the other wars. The fear of death. We finally made it out of range of Belgium's gunfire. Klaus was still exited. I didn't understand.

"Klaus, we almost died! How can you be smiling?" I looked around at soldiers marching past. They were frightened and dirted. Klaus just kept smiling and walked past. He spoke without looking. "That was the greatest thrill in my life. When your life being on the line makes you feel like your in the clouds and that's how I felt. I'm surprised you don't feel the same. I can't wait to tell mother!" And with that, he walked off. I stood there and pondered the thought if my best friend had gone insane, but found no answer. We continued the march back to camp and when we arrived, the sergeants took roll call. We were hurried to bed and I fell asleep in the tent Klaus had set up before I had arrived.

On August 6th 1914, rather then repeat the defeat of the night before, General Emmich ordered his subordinate, Erich Ludendorff, called apon the help of a zeppelin to bomb the city and forts surrounding the area. Using this unheard of tactic and the momentary surprise, Ludendorff led the men of the 14th Brigade through a gap in the Belgium defense and attacked the city itself.

I had not seen Klaus at all this morning. Before we left to follow the 14th Brigade, I had asked for him to many people. They all said they had niether heard of him or seen him. I wondered where he was. My best friend was missing. As we marched, I withdrew an apple and ate it to calm myself. I now stood alone, without my friend for God knows how long it might last. The sergeants informed the men that we were about to pass between two of the forts. Although they couldn't see us, they told us to be ready and expect anything. Nothing came.

We kept moving until we saw Liege. The city bled smoke and spouted sounds of gunfire as I watched it from where I was. It was, as was the hill the night before, an entrancing scene. We arrived at a command post set up by the 14th, and rested for an hour. I asked around for Klaus and found someone who knew where he was. "Klaus? Klaus Zimmerman? Yeah, I know him. He walked into our platoon when he heard we were to be the first to advance on the city. He said he didn't want to miss the action, so we took him in. He's in one of the forward sentry buildings in the Northern sector." I thanked him and gave him my last apple as kind of a reward. I walked around and follwed directions to the sentry building. I walked in and had four guns pointed at me. I froze until laughter erupted from one of them. His face was very dirty and showed of combat earlier.

"Erich! I knew you would come looking for me. Come, lets count how many we killed today and think of the rewards, shall we?"

I like it so far.

The first person historical style reminds me of a few Walter Dean Myers books I read in middle school. Fake journals about young men at various points in history, one of which was WWII.

Also, have you ever read, All Quiet on the Western Front?

Good story. But the bloodiest fighting was on the eastern front. Oh well.

...

Indecisive One. wrote:Good story. But the bloodiest fighting was on the eastern front. Oh well.

I remember the Battle of Somme as having some of the bloodiest fighting, and that was on the Western Front.

Sh@t. Wrong war. Sorry. That was at 8 in the morning. I just realized it said kaiser, not fuhrer.

kasrkin seath wrote:

Indecisive One. wrote:Good story. But the bloodiest fighting was on the eastern front. Oh well.

I remember the Battle of Somme as having some of the bloodiest fighting, and that was on the Western Front.

If I can remember correctly, Great Britain suffered 20,000+ casualties in the first few days of fighting. I could be wrong though, and it might be the entire battle.

I've never read that book, PiE.

Ruski wrote:

kasrkin seath wrote:

Indecisive One. wrote:Good story. But the bloodiest fighting was on the eastern front. Oh well.

I remember the Battle of Somme as having some of the bloodiest fighting, and that was on the Western Front.

If I can remember correctly, Great Britain suffered 20,000+ casualties in the first few days of fighting. I could be wrong though, and it might be the entire battle.

No, I think that was just the first few days

Chapter one up! Courtesy of Ruski.

OB

On August 6th 1914, rather then repeat the defeat of the night before, General Emmich ordered his subordinate, Erich Ludendorff, called apon the help of a zeppelin to bomb the city and forts surrounding the area. Using this unheard of tactic and the momentary surprise, Ludendorff led the men of the 14th Brigade through a gap in the Belgium defense and attacked the city itself.

^ That part needs to be like that

Bump.