Feliz dia del completo...Mmm...completo que wea mah rica.
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1917-March-2-8
I was sleeping peacefully inside my tent. Temperatures were beginning to rise now that winter was ending and the place was slowly turning into the dry hell I hated so much.
The noise the soldiers were making throughout the camp woke me up, forcing me to get off my cot.
My mouth felt dry, so I reached for my canteen and drank until the last drop fell into my mouth. Then I stood up, scratching my back while putting on my uniform.
Since our last daring attack we had managed to temporarily shut down the Suez Canal for several days, especially whenever we made our presence known in the area, although these were no longer the large sniper troop movements from before that could harass the British constantly thanks to our numbers and equipment.
But something must have delayed the clearing of the wreckage because many British ships remained waiting for the canal to be reopened while British forces took advantage of the pause to fortify their positions, believing we were preparing another offensive.
Instead we dedicated ourselves to exploiting British POW labor in order to construct multiple water pipelines, water depots and new railways running through the interior of the Sinai since British naval presence had increased considerably after our attack and they had probably realized by now that allowing us to threaten the Suez was far too dangerous considering we showed no hesitation in bombarding the canal and destroying British merchant ships.
The naval blockade policy against the British was already underway. With most of the Sinai reclaimed, we now had more control over the Red Sea and were trying to build a major coastal battery. Although that would take a great deal of time, discussions had already begun about bringing naval artillery pieces from warships in order to destroy any vessel attempting to enter through the Red Sea. A request had even been sent to one of the German shipyards asking for battleship gun components so we could attempt to permanently shut the Suez.
Although by March we had already managed to stabilize things thanks to the arrival of new equipment. Dozens of artillery pieces, machine guns, ammunition and canned food supplies had arrived, so our preparations for the next Sinai offensive were fully underway.
Even so, there had been few missions and little to do because the first real offensive would soon begin, the one intended to fully reclaim the Sinai frontier and prevent any ship from crossing.
After putting on my uniform and feeling the sun strike harder with each passing day, I walked toward the general's tent, which had been relocated several kilometers behind the front line to move it outside the effective range of British artillery since too many British aircraft had begun flying overhead, sometimes dropping bombs or scouting our camp positions to direct artillery fire against them.
But now the final preparations for the offensive were nearing completion, preparations meant to force the British back into Egypt.
''General'' I said while saluting and entering the tent.
''Ah, Oberst Karl... we have everything prepared. Look'' the general said while showing me the battle plan along with the multiple German and Ottoman subordinate officers seated around the table studying it.
''Now that we finally have the equipment and the numbers, especially after Ottoman reinforcements from the Caucasus arrived, we have more than enough reserves for the next phase. We will launch multiple attacks, although the preliminary bombardment to soften their defenses will begin soon'' the general explained while tracing lines across the map and pointing at the various forward camps where ammunition was being stockpiled.
''Excellent. That means we'll soon find out whether we can seize the Suez and force the British to burn who knows how much more fuel transporting supplies back to their islands for processing'' I said with a smile.
''And so our blockade can intercept them'' one of the German officers added while raising a finger with a grin.
''Yes... one more thing... Cemal Pasha wanted to speak with you'' the general said while motioning toward the highest ranking Ottoman officer present.
The pasha remained silent for several seconds before looking toward one of his officers and speaking to me in Turkish.
''The pasha requests that your men participate in defending the Hejaz railway. Lately it has been sabotaged repeatedly and keeping repairs up to date has become extremely difficult. Fahreddin Pasha still maintains the defense of Medina, but we need the harassment against the railway stopped as soon as possible and the Arabs responsible eliminated'' the translator said.
''But my presence here is still necessary, isn't it?'' I asked while looking toward General Friedrich Kress von Kressenstein, who made a slight expression while spinning the pencil between his fingers before adding more lines to the map.
''Well, you are no longer completely vital here. Unless you personally want to lead the charge after the artillery barrage, I don't think you're necessary anymore since the British are now too heavily entrenched for your snipers to achieve much. Your kill rate has dropped considerably, so helping on the other front would be a better use of your abilities'' the general replied with a nod.
''So I have to make sure nobody places explosives on the railway?'' I asked while raising an eyebrow.
The pasha began speaking again and the translator immediately followed.
''Exactly. The holy cities must be defended. By law nobody is allowed near the railway, meaning any person approaching the tracks may be shot on sight, and any community suspected of hiding saboteurs may be detained for interrogation without requiring authorization'' the pasha said while staring directly at me.
''We have enough reserves now that your men will not be missed beyond their skills. The numbers can be replaced by fresh Ottoman troops from the Caucasus front'' the general added.
''Fine, I suppose... but remember that my time here is temporary. I have to return to Ukraine by mid April, so don't expect my permanent presence in the region'' I said while stretching my neck.
''Then you have one month to break the rebels as much as possible'' the general said after looking toward the pasha.
Without saying much more, and after the attack plan had been explained in detail to the other officers, I withdrew to organize my men and move toward the area they had assigned us. We had to move along the Hejaz railway and see what could be done in the region since sabotage had apparently spiraled out of control and was causing far too many problems for the already weak Ottoman logistics.
So, moving around 2,800 men by train, we began traveling south, passing through several cities in the region while the wind struck our faces through the moving train, cooling us down as the climate slowly became more arid and suffocating the farther south we traveled.
We passed through Ma'an and several other towns in the area until we stopped in Tabuk because the railway had been cut, forcing us to continue by horse and camel while we watched repair crews already working on multiple sections of damaged track.
It reminded me of what we had done in Russia, only with far more steroids involved because the Arabs were not satisfied with simply cutting the railway in four or five places. They were doing it across dozens of sections, making repairs slow and exhausting.
I understood why the Ottoman repair crews worked so quickly. It only took them a few hours to repair the damaged tracks, to the point that while we continued moving south on horseback the train passed right beside us.
It would literally have been more efficient to stay behind and wait for the repairs than to move on horseback.
Given the region, we began organizing patrols to guard the railway lines, joining the Ottoman camps established to protect the vital supply route sustaining the defense of Medina.
After distributing information regarding our objectives, I tried to place my best men across several sectors so they could report anything that happened, while also ordering our communications linked into the local telegraph network so we could communicate more quickly.
And so my days guarding the railway began, watching the train pass several times a day back and forth carrying supplies.
''What do you think?'' I asked while observing a group of twelve men approaching the railway line on horseback.
''They're rebels, obviously, but what do we do with them? We've had plenty of encounters with them already, but aside from killing them we haven't gotten anything useful. Either they're dead, badly wounded, or they simply refuse to cooperate, and they aren't afraid of the executions the Ottoman officers give rebels'' one of my men said while slowly tracking the saboteurs through his rifle scope.
I thought for a second.
''I have an idea... but it's a little... dirty'' I said with a smile.
''So what do we do?'' another of my men asked while continuing to carefully watch the saboteurs.
''We kill all but one... but we beat him badly... kill almost all the horses and leave with the explosives. Then we move away and, if we're lucky, the bastard becomes our Judas and leads us back to the others'' I said while aiming my rifle at the group.
''That could work better than simply handing them over to an Ottoman garrison so they can beat them to death for information'' one of my men replied.
We all aimed our rifles and watched the men dismount from their horses and begin preparing explosives. That was when we fired.
One by one the saboteurs dropped bleeding into the desert sand while trying to run back toward their horses. After killing ten of them, I shot one man's horse. The hit was good enough to make the animal stumble and collapse, throwing the rider through the air, while the second survivor had been hit somewhere as well, so we immediately began riding toward the saboteurs.
Galloping up to the scene, we quickly found the bodies along with the TNT they had been carrying. One man was wounded while another had his leg trapped beneath his horse.
''Look what we have here. Two rats...'' I said while approaching them and drawing my pistol toward the Arabs. The wounded one tried dragging himself toward a rifle while the one pinned beneath the horse struggled to push the animal away.
My men wasted no time grabbing both of them by the shoulders, though not before smashing them in the face several times and kicking them hard in the torso to stop them from resisting.
I forced both of them onto their knees, although the man wounded by the bullet was bleeding badly from the arm and already turning pale, clearly fading from blood loss.
''Well then, according to Ottoman law and blah blah, you are sentenced to death for treason'' I said while walking behind them. I pressed my pistol against the back of the wounded saboteur's skull and fired, dropping him dead into the sand.
The one with the injured leg watched his companion die. I repeated the motion, aiming for his head, although this time I deliberately moved the shot so the bullet only grazed his skull.
It must have hurt like hell because he audibly growled in pain, but I didn't care since the only thing that mattered was making him think he had survived through pure luck.
So I shoved him down with my boot until his face slammed into the sand while blood streamed from the place where the bullet had grazed him. We quickly took the horses and all the TNT the saboteurs had carried and rode away, intentionally leaving behind the wounded horses and one healthy one.
After returning to our observation point and moving away from the scene, we watched as the man finally lifted his head after a long while. It didn't take long before we saw him repeatedly punching the sand in anger.
After throwing his little tantrum, he began checking his dead companions and tied something around his head to stop the bleeding.
After repeatedly looking around in every direction, the man climbed onto one of the horses and began riding back the way they had come from.
''Good. We have our Judas now'' I said with a smile.
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