Band of Brothers: 1914 [Open/WWI/IC/]

[New Roman Empire]

The OOC Thread

Captain John Liam
CO of Abrams Company
22 August 1914
Mons, Belgium
1 day before the battle

Abrams Company was a fresh company that was just reaching the front lines. They had been shipped all the way from England to Mons. They were being brought into Mons by a carriage, John had only been told about this several months back. He had seen the company while they were training. But he had been in the military since he was 18 and thanks to his father and his favors reached the rank of captain after only two years. In his traveling companions were several privates and 1st Lieutenant Cook, though he had been assigned at the last minute of the company being shipped out. John looked up at the sky, there wasn't a bloody cloud in the sky. Plus it was at noon so the sun was directly overhead and that didn't suit well for him at all. They were now entering Mons and saw people going about their lives. Dont these people know the Jerries will be kicking their door in shortly. John looked over to his 1st Lieutenant, "Lieutenant Cook I heard you spent some time with a French Company. They seemed to stick around more than they did for us, I heard their armies fell back and we are changing our strategy for the coming battle. I figured they would put up much more of a fight than what we have heard about back home." Informed John as the cart came to a stop and the driver looked back.

"Captain Liam, this is the command post I am sure the higher ups will want to know that your company has arrived not to mention where you will be set up for the battle and where your men will be at stationed in the city till everyone goes to their posts." Informed the Driver as he looked back at John and pointed to the building they had stopped in front of.

John stood up and walked towards the edge of the cart and dropped down. "Well lads, I will see you all shortly. Lieutenant Cook, I will send a runner your way once my business here has been concluded. Until then you are to oversee the company, make sure they are ready at a moments notice. I don't want the boys to miss the party when it starts, after all, we will be home by Christmas." Chuckled John as he walked up the steps and into the Command building, where all the planning for the coming fight would be given and orders would be sent to and from with constant updates from reports.

[Virshia]

Tag, post WIP

[Socialist Republic of Andrew]

Sgt. Andrew Hall
Platoon Sergeant(temp) for 2nd Platoon, Abrams Company
August 22, 1914
Mons, Belgium

Sgt. Andrew, the newly appointed temporary platoon sergeant of the 2nd platoon of Abrams company...the platoon he was in that just got out of bootcamp. He and his platoon were moving through in wagons to their new base of operations where they were going to be setting up shop for the time being and getting everything into order before they were seeing any action. Andrew found Belgium to be a beautiful country, loving the new sights that he couldn't get at home...at least not in the countryside that was. This was actually the first time he has ever stepped foot into another country, truly a sight to behold.
"There will be plenty of time to admire the scenery later, Sergeant, but you must remain focused, even here in the city, unless you wanna get your head shot off by a sharpshooter! Haha!" His platoon commander, Lt. George Seemore stated to his sergeant in a bit of a teasing manner.
"Ahh r-right sir, i...apologize..." Andrew said, not quite understanding it was a joke. Head shot off?? Are the Germans really that good? I've never shot at another man before... Andrew thought to himself, a million things rushing through his mind. Yes he did do well in boot camp and exceeded expectations...but boot camp and the battlefield were two completely different fields of action and not even close to being on the same level.
"Oh buck up ol' chap, you'll make it through this war just fine. Shouldn't be but a few months we see ourselves out here, griming about i assure you. I've met many young soldiers such as yourself in my days, so i can tell when one is nervous, and you are without a doubt. But you must remember my dear boy, you are a sergeant, and whether this lasts for a few days or years, i must have my right hand on his best and not terrified like some of the underlings here." Lt. Seemore stated with a supporting pat on Andrew's shoulder. He was right...Andrew couldn't let this get the best of him, especially for his fellow platoon mates to see him as a nervous wreck, hell the fighting hasn't even started yet! Andrew attempted his best to ignore the uneasy feelings he got, after all, they were the British Army, the military that conquered the world from sea to sea centuries back, plus the lieutenant was confident it would only be but a few months...so he was taking his word on it. Andrew pulled out his journal, one that was given to him at boot camp so that he could keep down personal notes....but he was actually writing about his experiences, starting this day, to tell his true story and experience of the war to his family when he returns:

JOURNAL ENTRY 1: August 22nd, 1914: We have just reached the town of Mons, Belgium...the place is truly a sight to see, i will recommend this as a visit for my family for when i return to my beloved home. We were attached to this newly assembled company, known as Abrams Company...made up of entirely soldiers fresh from boot camp, including myself, aside from the few officers and sergeants whom i can only hope have some experience in war so that we know how to deal with it come time for the battling to commence. We have been put under the command of a Captain John Liam, a man who made quite the record of achieving the rank of captain within just a few years time...either his family had ties or he must've been one bloody 'ell of a soldier! Either way, i just hope that for both the safety of myself and my fellow soldiers, that he knows what he is doing. Another man whom i am under the command of Lt. George Seemore, a respectable man. One who speaks with such confidence as if he already knows what is going to happen before it even does! I am personally glad to be under his command...but that also came to a surprise when i was made into my platoon's platoon sergeant shortly after being shipped out, due to the previous one got reassigned to the frontlines...they say i was a good leader in boot camp, however from the books i've read...war and training are two completely different environments and far from each other...i can only hope that come the hour when i must fire my rifle at another man...i can come out to see the light of day once more...

Andrew soon put up his journal and writing utensil back into his service pouch just as the wagons carrying supplies and soldiers came to a halt and the troops began getting off the wagons and hauling off supplies.
"Well ol' chap, this is our stop, our home away from home for the time being!" Lt. Seemore stated in his chipper like tone, trying to keep the moral of his second in command up, which Andrew could tell and appreciated and would let out a slight chuckle at the older man's behavior. As they disembarked from their wagon, Andrew adjusted his rifle over his shoulder, along with the rest of his equipment making sure it was a comfortable fit, as they've been sitting for sometime now. Finally after quickly adjusting his hat, would walk alongside his lieutenant, out of the way of the lower soldiers who were carrying the supplies off the wagons and to his surprise, Lt. Seemore would pick up a box labeled "food" and signaled for Andrew to get the box labeled "uniforms". Andrew did as instructed and picked up the box and him and his commander began walking with the flow of traffic to the drop off points. "You a little hungry there, sir?" Andrew said with a slight chuckle, pointing out the food crate Lt. Seemore was carrying, "Oh very funny you bloody wanker!" Seemore said with a hardy chuckle, joyed to see the young lad finally lifting his spirits up. "But in all seriousness, something you probably already know of me, unlike other officers, i was in your position once, a simple grunt being ordered around, while the officers lounged around and left us to the wet work, so once i became an officer myself, i promised to never make my own men do, what i would not." Seemore stated with such conviction as they both put their boxes down onto a large pile of the supplies. "Just remember my friend, never take advantage of your fellow soldier, and never make them do something that you yourself would never do. That's how i got to where i am. Now let's finish unloading this bloody crates. Im starving!" He said patting Andrew on the shoulder, earning a smile and chuckle from the young sergeant, as they proceeded back to get more of the crates along with the rest of the soldiers in the company.

[Virshia]

Private Liam Devlin was also getting some of the crates. He noticed the Sergeant and Lieutenant smiling and chatting and mumbled to himself. The 35-year-old Dubliner didn't really spak much, letting his actions speak louder than his words. He had wound up here by conscription, which he had been unhappy about. Ireland was crying for freedom from Britain, and here he was, Fighting for the British Empire. This angered his Nationalist side, but he also realised that Ireland would not be helped by his landing himself in the detention barracks. He decided to keep doing what he was doing, and not do what was going through his mind. That being decking the Lieutenant.

[Nations United for Conquest]

Lieutenant William Cook
Abrams Company
22/8/14
Mons, Belgium

Only a few days ago William was in Belgium, fighting agianst the Germans in a French Company. He was then ordered back to England and reassigned to Abrams Company, only to be shipped back to the same place. What a bloody waste. I should have just stayed here he thought as the carrige bumbed along the un even dirt road. It was nearly noon and the rocky dirt road combined with the summers sun above made the ride most uncomfortable, but hell it beat walking. The Belgian country side was a marvel to behold,yet it looked different from his last visit. The once long and exspansive fields had now began to shrink and die, do doubt from a shortage of water, and many of the once proud trees had fallen. Finally the carrige rolled into a small town, William could see people hurring from house to house, people talking in the streets, it seemed almost peaceful. It saddened him to think would only be like this for another day. The carrige now slowed as it approached what William could only think would be the command post. It was then that a man about Williams height began talking to him. He was asking about his serving time with the French. He looked up to the man he now recognized as the Captian. He had to shield his eyes as the sunlight was becoming quite strong as the hour approached noon. "Yes I served with the French, not ro far from where we are now." He thought about his time with the French, and instictively moved his hand to his left arm where he had been shot. "They're good men, hairy, but still good. EAsy to work with too, I think they understand more english than I do French." He chuckled a bit with captian, as he followed him off the wagon and towards the command building. After receiving orders to watch over the company, he found a shady spor under a tree. He now retreived a peice of paper from his bag, and began writing out a letter:

August 22nd 1914
Mons, Belgium

Dear Brother,

How are you enjoying Belgium? I told you it was beautiful, and now you can see for yourself I was not lying.

My new Company has just arrived in Mons, which I believe is south of where you currently are. I am happy to be fighting along side you once

again, and I'm looking forwards to a swift victory here. Those damm Jerries will never know what hit them. I wish you good luck in the coming

battle, stay safe James.

Your Brother,
William

William read over his work careful, before finally neatly folding up the letetr and placing it carefully in his bag. He would have to find the post master before he shipped out if he had any hope of his brother reading the letter. He now began to stroll through the Belgium town, listening to the people speak, even though he could barely understand them over their think accents. Eventually he found his way back at the command center, where he noticed several soldiers from the Company taking large crates off the back of a carrige. No doubt rations, and more wine for the damm Poilus. He now made his way over to the small group of soldiers who had assembled and began assisting them in moving the crates.

[New Roman Empire]

Captain John Liam
CO of Abrams Company
22 August 1914
Mons, Belgium

John walked into the Command post and saluted his higher-ups as he joined them around a table. "We will be placing companies here and here. Then I want to place-" Informed General Sir John French. "Ah Captain Liam, I see that your company is here at this bridge. We already have royal engineers planting explosives on the bridges in the area as we speak. If we lose this ground, were not going to give the Jerries a chance to cross the river or at least we will have a harder time to cross the river. Captain, you know here your men will be posted, the rest of the meeting is for the higher ups at the moment. Major Loins will give you any other important information once the meeting has concluded, for now, I want you and your company to get to the bridge and dig in. Your men will be relieved of guard duty later tonight and by that point, your men will have some form of sleeping quarters." John saluted the General and walked outside the Command Post and saw his company moving crates around.

"Men load back up! I have where we are going to be and I have a feeling we are going to have to dig in and start from scratch. So we best get moving boys!" Barked John as he got into the cart and pulled out a journal and started to write.

Journal Entry: August 22, 1914
We had just arrived in Mons, rumor has it the Germans were going to run into us at some point. Though I have to admit the country here is beautiful, though I guess we will see how long that lasts. You never know the war might be over when they say it will. But regardless, we had been given our orders. We were to dig in at the bridge and ensure the germans didn't get across it and if they were going to. We were going to blow the bridge to ensure that they were going to be slowed down. Maybe this will be the last war like everyone is saying. In that case, I will be out of a job sooner or later and so will the company, but I dont have time to ponder on that right now. I have Jerries to prepare for and that will be busy enough, but I dont know I just have a feeling that this is going to be more than we bargained for. Plus, I dont trust the french to cover the flanks, never have trusted the french. But from what I have seen of the lads, they seem to be a good and hard working bunch. Its going to be difficult to see who will survive the coming day or even the war. Who knows even I might end up in a casket or never found after tomorrow.

He put the journal back in his bag and stood up to go grabbed a rifle from a nearby crate. As he felt the rifle, he remembered the days when he was just a grunt, though that have only been for two years and he soared through the ranks. But the feel of a rifle was something indescribable, something that couldn't be put into words. He looked up again, "Come on lads, the Jerries wont wait for us all day!" Chuckled John as he once again took his seat on the cart.

[Socialist Republic of Andrew]

Mons, Belgium
Sgt. Andrew Hall(temp plt sgt for 2nd Platoon)
August 22nd, 1914

Andrew and Lt. Seemore just finished unloading supply crates, alongside the rest of the company in their designated drop off points, both earning weird glances from the nearby soldiers, none of disgust or anger, just...weird. "Uhh...sir, what gives to the soldiers giving us those weird looks?" Andrew asked a bit cautious, trying to make sure they weren't doing anything out of the ordinary or such.
"Oh relax Sergeant, they just aren't used to seeing leadership such as ourselves helping out with simple grunt work. As i told you before, i will never make my men do what i wouldn't, so if they unload crates, then so shall i, and that goes for you too, understood?" Lt. Seemore stated, stretching his limbs a bit. "Yes sir, understood!" Andrew stated in his confident voice, something Seemore liked hearing.
"Oh no need for all the formal "yes sir, no sir" pish posh. Again, im not one of those officers who have superiority complex! A simple yes and no will do...unless we're on the battlefield or in a formal setting, in which case i would prefer it, simply for appearances so that the underlings remember to maintain their discipline and do not become too lacked. I've seen it far too many times when a young soldier gets too lack and come time for action, they forget how to put on their pants, let alone fire a rifle!" Seemore said with his amused chuckle, earning a shake of the head and a grin from the young sergeant. Just as Andrew was about to respond, the man who they knew as Cpt. Liam stepped out in the open and firmly stated the orders that the entire company had to load up onto their wagons and prepare to move out to their supposed objective.
"Ah, it seems that the time to move is upon us ol chap! I say, lets load up onto this cart before it gets crowed to the brim, wouldn't you agree?" Seemore said as he was already climbing onto the empty cart, aside from the drivers. "Hehe, i suppose so!" Andrew said in agreement, following suit with his lieutenant's actions and climbing up the back of the cart, with a helping hand from his lieutenant as they both sat adjacent from one another, facing each other.
Andrew would adjust his rifle over his shoulder and other equipment on himself to make his seating more comfortable, as did Seemore, adjust his own rifle and gear to his preferred positioning. Soon the rest of the spots on the cart, along with the other carts would begin filling up with the company of troops and a few crates being loaded onto them, which Andrew could only assume to either be rations, ammo and possibly one of those new Vicker Machine guns, a gun that can supposedly shoot multiple bullets at a rapid pace, without need of a bolt or lever assistance. "Truly a remarkable break through!" Andrew stated earning the attention of Seemore. "What are you babbling about Sergeant?" Seemore asked curious to the young man's sudden interest. "Oh it's nothing much Lieutenant...it's just that....well those weapons, the machine...guns i believe they're called. I just remember getting my hands on them for a short while during training and watched them...and just never thought i'd see the day that a weapon could tear through a group of men within just mere seconds...weapons have come quite the way..." Andrew said resting his arm on the side of the cart, looking back at the other carts, before turning back to Seemore. "Well as much as i myself do appreciate the wonders of a simple session of having my head deep in thought of such wonders created by man and the future, remember what i said; keep your head to earth and stay focused. No matter what weapons you or the enemy are armed with, the deadliest and most efficient one, is right up here lad!" Seemore states, tapping on his head. "So just remember to use it when out there, before you lose it to a German sharpshooter." He said as a bit of humor, but with a hint of seriousness in the comment, earning a assured nod and smile from his sergeant...this was going to be quite the experience for Andrew and his fellow soldiers.

[Eclixia]

Should've signed up for the Navy...
James Swinburn, the scrawny Portsmouth shipbuilder, had never left his home town before. He'd never seen so much green.. so much countryside, so many rolling hills and trees. In industrial, smoggy Portsmouth where he lived, any patch of stale, blotchy grass was rare and devoid in many areas of the city, especially where he lived. However, out here in Belgium, everything was green. When he climbed out of the ferry across the channel and into the European mainland, he couldn't believe his eyes. Perhaps mainland Europe wasn't too different to his home country. Perhaps he could get through this alive, it'll be over by Christmas, right?

On the way here, James was trying to get to know his seniors and the soldiers around him. Captain Liam seemed to be a pretty nice guy, I suppose, for a rich aristocrat like he was, and his fellow privates and corporals seemed to be friendly enough. He had helped load the cart up with supplies, and throwing his sack in the cart, he climbed up and shuffled along towards the front, towards the other soldiers. He hadn't even bothered to learn their names, but as he settled down, he caught eye contact with one of them, and grinned warmly. He grinned back. James had a hundred and one thoughts about what the war would be like. He heard a few men talking about sharpshooters and machine guns... let's just hope they're on our side when we encounter them.

However, James was overcome with exhaustion, and tilted his cap so it was obscuring his eyes, and fell asleep.

[Nations United for Conquest]

Lieutenant William Cook
Abrams Company
22/8/16
Mons, Belgium

William had just finished unloading another wood crate, when suddenly the Captian he met earlier appeared and called out to the company. Orders had been recived, and they were to begin shipping out immedaitly. William just shook his head as he lugged several of the wooden crates back onto the wagon. All that work for nothing. He was happy to hear however, that they would be defending, making his job just that much easier. When under enemy fire in the open it is difficult to keep track of soldiers, as he very well knew from past experiences. The sun had moved into a lower position in the sky, and was no longer bearing down on his back, making the job of loading the wagon much easier. Finally after several minutes the wagon was fully loaded. William now moved back towards where he had left his bag, grabbed it and his rifle, and moved over to the wagon that would take them to the area near the bridge that would be their new home, atleast for now. As william moved towards the wagon he noticed a box full of entrenching tools, making sure to grab one before hoping on the cart. As he sat down he noticed another lieutenant and a Seargent discussing something. As he moved closer to them men to take a seat he heard them mention the machine gun that had been loaded into the wagon. "Hell of machine they are" He said slinging his rifle over his shoulder, allowin him to take a seat next to the other Lieutenant "I ran into-or rather away from one, while I was serving with the French. They'll make quick work of a large group. So as long as you spread out and keep your head down you should be fine."

William now turned to look back out at the Belgian country side. He could see the smoke rising from a position in the distance Probably a camp for the Damm Jerries he thought. But he didn't care for thinking about that at the moment. He just thought of home and his mother probably worried sick about him and his brother. Damm it! he thought I forgot to look for the postmaster. William had hoped ot get the letter out to his brother. It would be nice to hear from someone, he was still new to this company, and had not been given the time to get to know his men and fellow officers. He thought about striking up conversation, but most of the men seemed to be thinking about other things. And he couldn't blame them, A lot of things to think about going into battle. So William just stared off into the Belgian country side, wondering what the coming days would bring.

[Socialist Republic of Andrew]

Lieutenant William Cook
Abrams Company
22/8/16
Mons, Belgium

William had just finished unloading another wood crate, when suddenly the Captian he met earlier appeared and called out to the company. Orders had been recived, and they were to begin shipping out immedaitly. William just shook his head as he lugged several of the wooden crates back onto the wagon. All that work for nothing. He was happy to hear however, that they would be defending, making his job just that much easier. When under enemy fire in the open it is difficult to keep track of soldiers, as he very well knew from past experiences. The sun had moved into a lower position in the sky, and was no longer bearing down on his back, making the job of loading the wagon much easier. Finally after several minutes the wagon was fully loaded. William now moved back towards where he had left his bag, grabbed it and his rifle, and moved over to the wagon that would take them to the area near the bridge that would be their new home, atleast for now. As william moved towards the wagon he noticed a box full of entrenching tools, making sure to grab one before hoping on the cart. As he sat down he noticed another lieutenant and a Seargent discussing something. As he moved closer to them men to take a seat he heard them mention the machine gun that had been loaded into the wagon. "Hell of machine they are" He said slinging his rifle over his shoulder, allowin him to take a seat next to the other Lieutenant "I ran into-or rather away from one, while I was serving with the French. They'll make quick work of a large group. So as long as you spread out and keep your head down you should be fine."

William now turned to look back out at the Belgian country side. He could see the smoke rising from a position in the distance Probably a camp for the Damm Jerries he thought. But he didn't care for thinking about that at the moment. He just thought of home and his mother probably worried sick about him and his brother. Damm it! he thought I forgot to look for the postmaster. William had hoped ot get the letter out to his brother. It would be nice to hear from someone, he was still new to this company, and had not been given the time to get to know his men and fellow officers. He thought about striking up conversation, but most of the men seemed to be thinking about other things. And he couldn't blame them, A lot of things to think about going into battle. So William just stared off into the Belgian country side, wondering what the coming days would bring.

Sgt. Andrew and Lt. Seemore carried on their conversation, not paying too much mind to the soldiers gathering up onto the wagons, but when the other soldier that sat right next to Seemore spoke up, Andrew looked and recognized the same rank on him that was on Seemore, "Ahhh you're a lieutenant too, sir?" Andrew asked, curious at the man sitting beside his commanding officer.
"Oh Sergeant, forget the formalities for one bloody second! He's just a man like you and I" Seemore said to Andrew as he patted William on the back and spoke up. "That you are correct my friend, those machine guns for all we know be what turns the tide of this war and warfare for all eternity to come! Anywho, pleasure to make your acquaintance there lad, Lt. George Seemore of 2nd Platoon at your service, and this here is my young recently appointed platoon sergeant right out of boot camp, Sgt. Andrew Hall, same platoon of course! He too is at your service." Andrew would smile and nod in a friendly manner towards the lieutenant and then Andrew would speak up, "So wait...you were with the French?...How is that possible?" Andrew asked curiously. Interesting, an English soldier who served with the French already on the battlefield...well at least there is an officer here who HAS seen combat in this war, so we have someone with first hand experience... Andrew thought to himself, awaiting for the lieutenant to speak up, but noticed that he was staring off to the countryside. Quite the sight, Andrew himself knew that stare as he gave the same once he arrived...however being born, raised and living in the English countryside for his entire life, other countrysides just seem to look the same all together, but certainly still enjoyed the chance to see newer landscapes in a new country. Andrew also looked down the wagon and noticed a new face...or half of one, since the upper half was covered by his hat, most likely trying to doze off into whatever time he could possibly get before having to get off. Hehe, poor boy must be exhausted...can't say i blame em, long distance travel and unloaded and loading the same crates onto the carts yet again could prove to be quite tiresome...Andrew thought to himself, seeing that a good number of soldiers were either slouched over with hats pulled down in a similar fashion or socializing among themselves, simply getting to know each other or just to kill time. Either way, Andrew felt a little more easy now that the horror of a possible death was looming over them and still seeing that a sense of civility remained in the spirits of his fellow soldiers.

[Cainesland]

Calvin Reid
Pioneer Sergeant of Abrahms Company
Mons, Belgium

Calvin looked around. It had been about 3 or 4 weeks since he had met the men around him and joined them as their pioneering sergeant. Chopping their firewood, and helping erect bridges that were no longer fit because of damages caused by the Belgian army. He looked at the medium sized hut that was not providing any shade because the sun was directly overhead. He could hear the 2IC of the second platoon and the 1st lieutenant who was in charge of it, chatting and switching topics between serious, inspirational, and comedic. The 1st lieutenant didn't seem like one for formalities by what he heard, but that didn't seem like to much of a weakness.

Standing alone, Calvin towered over his rucksack. His Haversack had a side pocket for water and he took off the flask. It had a fur lining that helped the water remain temperate regulated. He took a swig, fairly hot from the noon day sun and tired from the 10 day journey to Mons. His job didn't allow him to stop long however, so after his drink he took out the notebook and joted down a few notes.

Abrahms Company
Pioneer Sergeant Reid
Day 10
Noon: Hot, no clouds.
Few resources to lose
Civilians present
Officers planning; Others relaxing after exhausting trip.
Germans Camped in the West

Calvin put away his notebook and packed everything up. Soon his rucksack had returned to his back, as with his tools. He saw Cook near some crates. With the smoke in the distance he needed to know if they were to defend where they were, or if they were to be on the offensive. The information would tell him the needs of the company and thus his role. He walked over and the lieutenant had begun with the unloading of boxes. "Let me help you with that, Sir" Calvin offered to the Lieutenant. The unloading helped answer his question. They would be staying awhile. That thought didn't last long as after helping with the seventh crate off supplies, the Captain had come over telling them to ship out. He helped with the loading of the crates. Once that was done, while others were getting onto the carts, he lacked that privilege without express permission from an officer. His task was to keep the path clear for the company and took his spot at the front of the unit.

[New Roman Empire]

Captain John Liam
CO of Abrams Company
22 August 1914
Mons, Belgium

John sat there in silence listening to his men talk about the new Vicker Machine guns was going to be used, many of the higher ups were saying that it was going make the germans turn tail and run. It was standard practice or well a new practice that each company was given two of the Vicker Machine gunners. Though he wasn't sure how that was going to do in this situation, the ground wasn't going to be the best, not to mention trees would get in the way. But he assumed the gun would cut clean through the tree sooner or later. As they drew closer to their assigned position, John noticed the Pioneer Sergeant walking in front of the carts. Why is he walking in front of us now? I don't think we will run into issues along the road yet, but I guess you never know. I am going to have to make note of that to next time we are in friendly territory to tell him to get in the damn cart. OH hell, I'll just tell the carts to stop now. Then the cart suddenly stopped and a bridge that spanned a river.

"Alright boys, we are here! As you can see we are going to have to dig in ourselves, I want two trenches on both sides of the bridge. I want one Vicker in each trench. Gunners you are in charge of establishing your firing platforms, everyone else let's start digging! Also, Pioneer Sergeant Reid, if we are traveling through allied controlled territory and we have carts. You are to load into the cart, there is no need to tire yourself out on the march if we have transportation. Set your sacks and weapons by the tree over there. Oh, and I want logs placed along the front of the trench to give a little more protection. Who wants to come with me to cut down some trees?" Commanded John as he grabbed the rifle he picked up and put it down next to the tree along with his sack, but he kept his revolver on him.

[Socialist Republic of Andrew]

Sgt. Andrew Hall
Platoon Sgt of 2nd Platoon
August 22nd, 1914
Mons, Belgium

As Andrew, Seemore and their new friend, Lt. Cook who sat next to them continued their conversations, they suddenly reached a bridge that was over a river. "Mighty fine structure, that one is." Andrew said, not seeing any sort of bridges like it. "Back at home, the only bridges i saw were either wooden boards stretched across a gully, nothing too big however." Seemore would tap the shoulder of his Sergeant, snapping him back to reality as he hoisted his rifle over his shoulder. "Alright men! You heard the captain! We need to dig in our trenches, cut down lumber for extra coverage and setup firing platforms! In other words....get off your rears and get to where you'll be of most use! The stronger more muscle bound men in my platoon, i want cutting down and hauling the lumber, the smaller fellows, i want in the trenches digging!" He said to his platoon as they all replied with a hardy, "Yes sir!" and ran off to their assigned positions. "Sgt. Andrew, follow me there ol boy. Pardon us Lt. Cook, but we must scurry off to our assigned duties i am afraid, perhaps we shall run into each other later into the evening?" Lt. Seemore said with confidence as he patted Cook on the back and him and his 2nd in command/prodigy of sorts, Sgt. Andrew, followed close behind.
"Yes Lt. Seemore, where are we going?" Andrew asked as he held tightly onto the sling of his rifle over his shoulder as he walked alongside his lieutenant. "I know you are of average height, but due to your country upbringings, could possibly handle lumber duty, but since you are my right hand and i cannot handle those heavy weights, at least not anymore, then you and i are on shoveling duty!" He threw Andrew a small trench shovel(their e-tool back in the day) and picked one up himself and went over to one of the areas where a trench was being designated, and along with the other men of the company, took off their jackets and began to dig. For Andrew, who sometimes had to dig deep flood trenches or irrigation ditches back on the farm in Yorkshire, this was a pretty similar task, and was having ease with it, especially for his build and youth, aside from some of the other soldiers who weren't from country upbringing such as himself.
"Ahhh, i never thought i'd see the day that i was shoveling up dirt on the battlefield again with my men! Last time i thought i was going to be doing this was digging my own grave at an older age, wouldn't you agree ol' boy?" Seemore asked Andrew as he flung a pile of dirt out of the ground and to the side. "I understand whatcha mean sir, but back on the farms, we had to dig trenches, though not as big, for when rain occurred, it could get to the crops and we could have some extra fresh waters. Sometimes we had to dig even bigger ones to avoid flood waters. The only difference is that these will have to be big enough to live in....AGH!" Andrew grunted as he flung a huge pile of dirty, along with what seemed to be a rock out of the soon to be trench, earning him a firm, "Watch where you're throwin' that dirt!!" making both him and Seemore let out a bit of a laugh and giving a quick apology and would resume with their digging.

[Cainesland]

Captain John Liam
CO of Abrams Company
22 August 1914
Mons, Belgium

John sat there in silence listening to his men talk about the new Vicker Machine guns was going to be used, many of the higher ups were saying that it was going make the germans turn tail and run. It was standard practice or well a new practice that each company was given two of the Vicker Machine gunners. Though he wasn't sure how that was going to do in this situation, the ground wasn't going to be the best, not to mention trees would get in the way. But he assumed the gun would cut clean through the tree sooner or later. As they drew closer to their assigned position, John noticed the Pioneer Sergeant walking in front of the carts. Why is he walking in front of us now? I don't think we will run into issues along the road yet, but I guess you never know. I am going to have to make note of that to next time we are in friendly territory to tell him to get in the damn cart. OH hell, I'll just tell the carts to stop now. Then the cart suddenly stopped and a bridge that spanned a river.

"Alright boys, we are here! As you can see we are going to have to dig in ourselves, I want two trenches on both sides of the bridge. I want one Vicker in each trench. Gunners you are in charge of establishing your firing platforms, everyone else let's start digging! Also, Pioneer Sergeant Reid, if we are traveling through allied controlled territory and we have carts. You are to load into the cart, there is no need to tire yourself out on the march if we have transportation. Set your sacks and weapons by the tree over there. Oh, and I want logs placed along the front of the trench to give a little more protection. Who wants to come with me to cut down some trees?" Commanded John as he grabbed the rifle he picked up and put it down next to the tree along with his sack, but he kept his revolver on him.

Pioneer Sergeant Reid stopped at the bridge when the order came. He looked at the bridge for a few moments. It was stone and had 2 arches beneath it. Soon he turned around and heard the Captain tell him that he had permission to be in the cart during transport through allied territory. "That you Sir" he heartily responded. The captain also told him to put his gear by a tree. He nodded and walked over to a tree where he put down his rucksack, haversack, and most of his Pioneering equipment. The equipment laid down carefully on top of his rucksack and haversack to avoid them being dulled. He had no doubt that the pioneer tools would be dulled eventually but not too soon he hoped. As he did that, the Captain asked for volunteers to cut down some trees with him and he raised his right hand. "I will go sir". It was part of his job after all to cut down the wood and build fortifications. Grabbing his axe he started for the woods. Turning his head back once as he heard the others being barked at to get to work on the trenches and logging. "May I get right to it sir?" He asked in case the Captain needed him to assist the other soldiers, or if the Captain felt confident enough for him to get right to work.

[Aquesta]

Private Darragh Ryan

Darragh gazed out on the flat green lands of Belgium as the cart rolled along. As a man from the fertile pasture lands of the golden vale the sight was not foreign. Still he had no desire to make idle talk with his fellow soldiers most of which were English protestants and he doubted they would see eye-to-eye. Not for the first he bemoaned the lack of a Irish division and remembered in anger that the Unionists had got themselves an Ulster division even though they had been preaching rebellion and building up tensions for a civil war just prior to the outbreak of the war. Suppose some Irishmen are more equal than others Darragh thought to himself.

The cart pulling to a stop broke the private from his musings. He listened to the captain as he gave the orders and opted to go dig trenches instead of chopping down tress as he had experience with the former and none with the latter. As ordered he set his sacks and equipment by the tree designated bar the trench shovel which he kept for obvious reasons.

Darragh was no stranger to muck or digging so he quickly set to work. The physical exertion was no problem to him whatsoever even though he was not the most impressive male specimen in height or weight he was very fit due to his farming upbringing and his involvement in the Irish volunteers. He tried to tune out the two idiots working near him who were chatting loudly and flinging dirt everywhichway Must be some young ginits who enlisted for the adventure. As he worked Darragh mentally prepared himself to fight in a war in which he had no love for either side.

[Nations United for Conquest]

Lieutenant Henry Cook
Abrams Company
East of Mons, Belgium
22/8/16

William had not noticed how long he had been staring at the fields which lined the Belgian country side. The were grean and perfectly cut, and seemed to stretch on forever. It was almost entracing to stare at them. He was suddenly jared back into reality as the Sergeant who sat across from him began to speak. He had asked about his time serving with the French, He turned to face the man who was near his height. "Well you see earlier in the month, just before war broke out, I was sent over to France to help them fill in some missing links, I was just a second lietenant at the time, fresh out of the Royal Military Academy. Anyways, they sent me down to command a platoon in a French Company, where I trained and worked helping them to prepare for war. Finally the war broke out and we began to mobilize. We were sent up into Belgium, not to far from here actually, to help reinforce what was left of the of the Belgium amry. Long story short my Company was charging German lines when the damm Jerries opened up on us with Machine guns. Took down three men and wounded my commanding officer. I took charge of the company, telling some of the men to retreat and carry back the Captian. I was going to lead a counter attack and asked for volunteers, only two stood up. We then crawled for 50 meters under heavy fire, I was hit in the arm" He paused for a moment, again feeling his left arm "until we managed to make it to the German positions. A few grenades and rifle shots put them out of comission and allowed our forces to advance. We managed to capture 1 of the 3 machine guns and bring it back to friendly lines before German Reinforcements arrived a pushed us back. I was promoted to 1st Lieutenant shortly after and shipped back to England where I joined up with this Comapny." William now turned back to the Belgian country side and tried to get some rest, he would need it for the coming battle.

William was awaked again by the other Lieutenant. As he looked out he could see a river a short bit away. Stretching over it was a large stone bridge, very well constructed. What a waste he thought knowing they very well might have to blow it up. As he watched the Lieutenant and Sergeant walk away to begin digging William stretched out before hoping off the wagon. He had notice the small forest that lay in front of where the captian had ordered Trenches to be constructed, it could provide good cover, both for them and the enemy. He now noticed the soldier who had been helping with crates earlier. He was off near some trees, working very hard trying to cut them down. He now began walking towards the bridge trying to get a survay of the surrounding land, seeing places that could be helpful for machine guns, or where sharpshooters like himself, could find positions. The land looked realatively flat, with some small knolls here and there, creating could conditions for digging. As he looked down amoung the men digging he spotted soldiers digging in straight lines. He immediatly turned and started yelling at them. "Stop! What the bloody hell are you doing? You don't dig trenches straight, you make them staggered so the damm Jerries can't shoot from one end to the other! Dig like this" He now removed the entrenching tool from his pack and began drawing a pattern for the men to dig. Every 5 meters the trench would move in 2 meters and then another 5 meters it would move back 2 meters. After finally sorting out the problem with the soldiers he now returned to scouting out positions for the machine guns and sharpshooters.

[New Roman Empire]

Captain John Liam
CO of Abrams Company
22 August 1914
Mons, Belgium

John motioned for the Pioneer Sergeant to assist with cutting down trees. More of the broader built men in the company were at work cutting down trees when Major Loins rode towards John on horseback. John wiped the sweat with his right forearm and put down his axe and walked over to the major. He saluted, "Major Loins, its great to see you sir. I hope these defences are to your liking, cause this is how we will be holding our section of the line. A position behind the bridge with as much cover as we can get, those Jerries are going to run into a fire from the Vickers once they get close enough on top of the boys here firing at them. All in all, I don't think we will lose this bridge to those Jerries Major."

Major Loins looked around for a moment, "Captain I appreciate your optimism, but do not underestimate the Jerries. They are more likely to put a knife in your back than the french are at sleeping with another man's wife. But that is not why I am here, you have new orders and I dont think you are going to like them." As he handed John a piece of paper with the new updated orders on it. The Major saluted and John returned then he walked away.

New orders:

Captain Liam, you and your men are to hold your position for as long as you can. While we are working on putting charges on the bridges, not all of them in place yet. Abrams' Company is to hold the line till a runner tells you to fall back or til you need to blow up the bridge. But if you blow it too soon, then the flanks of other companies will be open if the German's find a way across the river.

John crushed the paper and pulled out a match and burnt the paper. "Ok lads, we have new order we are to hold this position until a runner or until we absolutely have to blow the bridge. So we better ensure the defenses are prepared for the Jerries, Pioneer Sergeant Reid I want you to scout the other side of the bridge and come up with a way to slow the Germans down if we can. The longer it takes for them to get to us, the longer we will be able to hold. You have your order boys, lets get back to work." Barked John as he went back to cutting down the tree he was at before the major arrived. Some of the boys were already placing some of the logs in front of the trench.

[Socialist Republic of Andrew]

Sgt. Andrew Hall
Plt Sgt. 2nd Platoon, Abrams Comp.
August 22nd, 1914
Mons, Belgium

For hours, as soon as they arrived, the entire company has been hard at work, from the lowly privates to even the commander himself and everyone else in between were working to get the position ready for battle, from digging the trenches to chopping down trees and setting up other positions, such as machine gun nests and firing platforms. Andrew and Seemore were too, hard at work, digging almost non-stop, aside from a few breaks here and there to sip on some water and wipe the sweat from their brows, but still working relentlessly. After the left just as soon as he arrived, Cpt. Liam gave them their new orders; they were going to hold this position until either they must fall back or, if worst came to worst, blow the bridge. And to ensure this, then the position defenses HAVE to be top notch, or it could mean playing the ultimate price.
"Come ol' boy, keep up!" Seemore said, as he was shoveling away at mounds of dirt, surprisingly, the older man, who had been doing this the same amount as Andrew, was actually ahead of him! "How...are you...not tired yet?!" Andrew asked the man, still shoveling himself and throwing a mound of dirt and gravel out of the way. "Hehe, well you see ol' chap...i am tired! But when you yourself get married and have two young daughters some day...you understand that something as simple as this is nothing compared to that!" Seemore said as he threw one last mighty glob of dirty out of the way, nearly throwing him back, making Andrew catch the man. "Well sir, i know you liked me, but i didn't expect you to fall for me so soon!" Andrew said laughing as Seemore pushed himself off of Andrew and shoved his shoulder lightly.
"Oh shut it you bloody wanker!" Seemore said chuckling a bit and letting out a breath of sudden realization...the trenches were coming along nicely...and a majority of the company were working on them. "Hmm...perhaps we should leave the shoveling to the rest of the boys. Sgt, follow me, i want to setup some defenses of a personal touch..." Andrew followed the man out of the trenches, throwing both of their trench shovels onto their equipment by the tree like everyone else, but Seemore went and retrieved both his and Andrew's trench knives. Andrew looked in confusion, but still followed the man as they arrived where a pile of decent sized sticks laid, most likely thrown out from the forest by the lumber crews.
"Ok ill bite...what are ya planning Seemore?" Andrew asked, as they both sat on the ground and he threw Andrew one of the sticks and picked one up for himself. "We are going to be making sharp wooden stakes and planting them on the outsides of the trenches, so that if the enemy attempts to rush us with cavalry, their horses or perhaps even themselves could be impaled! I myself wouldn't recommend this at first...but since we have to hold down this position, then we must post what we can, even if it is somewhat barbaric..." Seemore said as he began carving at the tip of the stick, making it as sharp as a spear and so Andrew began following his lieutenant's actions and carving the tips of the sticks, making trench spikes. Surprisingly with the sharp knives, the carving was quicker then they expected and soon had themselves a good amount of wooden trench spikes.

"Alright then ol' boy, let's start planting these suckers down!" Seemore said as he jammed the first one into the ground, sticking outwards. Andrew mimiced the action, but a couple yards away and planted another. The both of these men would plant their stakes down, facing outward from the trench, leaving enough room in between for the soldiers to pop out and fire, but close enough to where it would be a tight squeeze for the enemy, plus with the increased chance that they could be impaled. Unfortunately, there wasn't enough to cover ALL the way down the trenches, but enough to cover most of the trenches dug. "Well ill say Sergeant, good show. If this doesn't make those poor Jerries soil themselves just by sheer sight, then i don't know what will!" Lt. Seemore said as he put a friendly arm over Andrew's shoulders in a sign of a job well done. "Ha! I couldn't agree more si-...ol' man! Haha!" Andrew said, as he took Seemore's advice and was cutting down the formalities and earning the scowl of his superior. "Ol' man? If i didn't like ya so much, i would tie you to a rotisserie and serve ya to the wolves i would!" He said, obviously joking, but lightly pushing his young sergeant. "Ahh, you're a good lad, ol' boy. Let's go on and see what else needs to be done before chow!" He instructed as both he and Andrew placed their trench knives into their knife holsters and putting them in their boots, helping out with what they could around their post.

[United Human Planets]

Pvt. Billy Younger
Rifleman, 2nd Platoon, Abrams Comp.
August 22nd, 1914
Mons, Belgium

"Hey!" Billy yelled down the trench, filled with soldiers stacking crates, squaring out the walls, and digging dugouts. He was laden down with a bag of his gear, a rifle, and two ammo bandoleers. He wore a field cap, cocked backwards on his head. "This Abrams Company? Im s'posed to report to Abrams."

Two soldiers looked up at him. One was especially tall and thin, and his friend was short and stocky. They reminded Billy of children's book characters. "This is Abrams Company, yeah," said the shorter man. He seemed a bit older than most, probably around his 30s. "What platoon you supposed to be in?"

"Uh," said Billy, lifting his hat off of his head and rubbing his hand through his hair. "I think I was told to go to 2nd." He let his bag fall from his shoulder, and began to rummage around in it. "I got a paper in here somewhere, told me where to go to." The two soldiers watched as Billy fumbled about in all of his gear.

"Say, how'd you not get here with the rest of us?" asked the taller soldier. "The rest of Abrams, we all got here together."

"I got separated from everyone a ways back. I came here with some artillery guys, they told me where you guys were." He pulled a crumpled, stained paper from his bag, and raised it in the air above his head, a triumphant smile on his face. "Ah ha! Here it is," he said. Billy brought the paper down to eye level, and began to scan it for his platoon. "Here," he said, "It says Im supposed to report to 2nd." He looked up at the two soldiers, "Wheres 2nd."

The shorter of the two pointed behind him and said, "Just keep heading that way. Ask around, youll find them."

Billy folded the paper, and put it into his pocket so he wouldn't lose it again, and picked his bag up from the ground. "Thanks mate," he said, and set off down the trench to find his platoon. It was cramped, and every few meters the trench would swing backwards on itself, creating a notched teeth pattern in the earth. Many men were crouched on parapets, peering over the top of the trench over the long green fields down towards the German lines.

As he walked, he occasionally yelled out, "Hey, this 2nd Platoon?" And each time he was pointed further on down the trench. Eventually though, he came to his destination. He asked if it was 2nd Platoon, and a man stacking sandbags confirmed. "Who should I report to?" he asked the man.

"Try and find Sgt Hall. He's in charge around here. Last I saw he was down aways planting trench spikes."

"Thanks," said Billy. He continued weaving through the other soldiers, until he came apon two men atop the the trench, climbing down from where they had been planting large wooden spikes into the earth.

"Excuse me," he said, "are either of you Sgt Hall?" Ive bee told to report to him."

[Socialist Republic of Andrew]

Sgt. Andrew Hall
Plt. Sgt, 2nd Platoon, Abrams Comp.
August 22nd, 1914
Mons, Belgium

Andrew and Seemore, after planting the trench spikes they crafted, attempted to find more tasks to complete, but aside from menial things, such as helping move some lumber in place as extra cover to giving a little help in moving larger clumps of mud and dirt in the trenches away, they couldn't find too many more tasks to assist with, since most were either completed or already had more than enough doing to help with it, so Andrew and Seemore decided to take a bit of a break and would let work find them. "Well, when you have an entire company of men assisting with your work, you find that there isn't much to do..." Andrew said, sounding a little disappointed by the fact. Andrew, being raised in a hard working household and farm that had around the clock work to do, he wasn't used to having nothing to do. "Well i wouldn't complain about that far too much my boy, in a war, especially in one in this scale, you do best not to disregard you moments of rest, no matter how short or uneventful they maybe." Seemore said, sneaking a sip of water from Andrew's canteen as Andrew swiped the canteen from his friend's hand and wiped it down with his sleeve. "You have your own canteen you ol' man! Drink from that!" Just as Andrew and Seemore were about to exchange their typical friendly banter, a young soldier, a couple years younger than Andrew approached them, asking if either one was Sgt. Hall. So the man in question would speak up, "That would be me, Sgt. Andrew Hall, at your service, what may i help you with private?" Andrew asked, acknowledging the man's rank. "Ahem! You forgetting someone..." Seemore said a bit irritated. "Oh my apologizes! This here is a true hero of the people! The man the Royal family calls upon to battle their warriors and face their enemies! None other than Lieutenant George Seemore himself!" Andrew introduced in a intentionally over-exaggerated manner, earning a slight smack to his head by his superior. "Yes, well i am Lt. Seemore, platoon commander of 2nd Platoon and this buffoon is 2nd platoon's platoon sergeant, Sgt. Hall. With all due respect young private, what may we ask your business for this meeting?" Seemore asked in a polite, professional manner.

[United Human Planets]

Sgt. Andrew Hall
Plt. Sgt, 2nd Platoon, Abrams Comp.
August 22nd, 1914
Mons, Belgium

Andrew and Seemore, after planting the trench spikes they crafted, attempted to find more tasks to complete, but aside from menial things, such as helping move some lumber in place as extra cover to giving a little help in moving larger clumps of mud and dirt in the trenches away, they couldn't find too many more tasks to assist with, since most were either completed or already had more than enough doing to help with it, so Andrew and Seemore decided to take a bit of a break and would let work find them. "Well, when you have an entire company of men assisting with your work, you find that there isn't much to do..." Andrew said, sounding a little disappointed by the fact. Andrew, being raised in a hard working household and farm that had around the clock work to do, he wasn't used to having nothing to do. "Well i wouldn't complain about that far too much my boy, in a war, especially in one in this scale, you do best not to disregard you moments of rest, no matter how short or uneventful they maybe." Seemore said, sneaking a sip of water from Andrew's canteen as Andrew swiped the canteen from his friend's hand and wiped it down with his sleeve. "You have your own canteen you ol' man! Drink from that!" Just as Andrew and Seemore were about to exchange their typical friendly banter, a young soldier, a couple years younger than Andrew approached them, asking if either one was Sgt. Hall. So the man in question would speak up, "That would be me, Sgt. Andrew Hall, at your service, what may i help you with private?" Andrew asked, acknowledging the man's rank. "Ahem! You forgetting someone..." Seemore said a bit irritated. "Oh my apologizes! This here is a true hero of the people! The man the Royal family calls upon to battle their warriors and face their enemies! None other than Lieutenant George Seemore himself!" Andrew introduced in a intentionally over-exaggerated manner, earning a slight smack to his head by his superior. "Yes, well i am Lt. Seemore, platoon commander of 2nd Platoon and this buffoon is 2nd platoon's platoon sergeant, Sgt. Hall. With all due respect young private, what may we ask your business for this meeting?" Seemore asked in a polite, professional manner.

Billy's eyes switched between the two officers as they traded banter. They seemed pleasant, and talked like they were old friends. Sgt Hall was the first to introduce himself, before stumbling a little over his own words and introducing Lt Seemore as well. They spoke back and forth for a little as Billy watched, his mouth open a little. Soon though, Lt Seemore spoke up, asking what it was that Billy wanted.

"Well sir," he said, taking the paper with his platoon and information on it out of his pocket. "I got separated from the company, didnt make it to the wagons in time and got left behind. I hitched a ride with some artillery blokes, and they told me to come here. Im supposed to report to whoever is in charge." He looked up at his superiors and handed Lt Seemore the paper, and paused a moment before continuing. "And, well, I guess that would be you. Private Billy Younger, reporting for duty." Billy smiled awkwardly, feeling stupid. But, he figured it was better to say something that sounded to him like a phrase from a pulp novel than to get stabbed to death over a pillow.

[Socialist Republic of Andrew]

Sgt. Andrew Hall
Plt. Sgt, 2nd Platoon, Abrams Comp.
August 22nd, 1914
Mons, Belgium

Andrew and Seemore, after planting the trench spikes they crafted, attempted to find more tasks to complete, but aside from menial things, such as helping move some lumber in place as extra cover to giving a little help in moving larger clumps of mud and dirt in the trenches away, they couldn't find too many more tasks to assist with, since most were either completed or already had more than enough doing to help with it, so Andrew and Seemore decided to take a bit of a break and would let work find them. "Well, when you have an entire company of men assisting with your work, you find that there isn't much to do..." Andrew said, sounding a little disappointed by the fact. Andrew, being raised in a hard working household and farm that had around the clock work to do, he wasn't used to having nothing to do. "Well i wouldn't complain about that far too much my boy, in a war, especially in one in this scale, you do best not to disregard you moments of rest, no matter how short or uneventful they maybe." Seemore said, sneaking a sip of water from Andrew's canteen as Andrew swiped the canteen from his friend's hand and wiped it down with his sleeve. "You have your own canteen you ol' man! Drink from that!" Just as Andrew and Seemore were about to exchange their typical friendly banter, a young soldier, a couple years younger than Andrew approached them, asking if either one was Sgt. Hall. So the man in question would speak up, "That would be me, Sgt. Andrew Hall, at your service, what may i help you with private?" Andrew asked, acknowledging the man's rank. "Ahem! You forgetting someone..." Seemore said a bit irritated. "Oh my apologizes! This here is a true hero of the people! The man the Royal family calls upon to battle their warriors and face their enemies! None other than Lieutenant George Seemore himself!" Andrew introduced in a intentionally over-exaggerated manner, earning a slight smack to his head by his superior. "Yes, well i am Lt. Seemore, platoon commander of 2nd Platoon and this buffoon is 2nd platoon's platoon sergeant, Sgt. Hall. With all due respect young private, what may we ask your business for this meeting?" Seemore asked in a polite, professional manner.

Billy's eyes switched between the two officers as they traded banter. They seemed pleasant, and talked like they were old friends. Sgt Hall was the first to introduce himself, before stumbling a little over his own words and introducing Lt Seemore as well. They spoke back and forth for a little as Billy watched, his mouth open a little. Soon though, Lt Seemore spoke up, asking what it was that Billy wanted.

"Well sir," he said, taking the paper with his platoon and information on it out of his pocket. "I got separated from the company, didnt make it to the wagons in time and got left behind. I hitched a ride with some artillery blokes, and they told me to come here. Im supposed to report to whoever is in charge." He looked up at his superiors, and paused a moment before continuing. "And, well, I guess that would be you. Private Billy Younger, reporting for duty." Billy smiled awkwardly, feeling stupid. But, he figured it was better to say something that sounded to him like a phrase from a pulp novel than to get stabbed to death over a pillow.

Both Andrew and Seemore listened to the man and understood where he came from. "Well i'm terribly sorry to hear of the inconvenience there private. I understand that we left as soon as we got there, so you don't need to down yourself over that, however word to the wise, i would recommend not missing you ride next time, after all, you may not get so lucky next time..." Andrew said in a serious tone and suddenly his serious demeanor was broken with a light push from Seemore, "Ahh don't go spooking the young lad! Anyways, don't worry about it Private, but Sgt. Hall is right, next time you may not be lucky to hitch a ride, so make sure you stay with the unit. I assume since you came seeking us, that means you are apart of 2nd platoon. So i suppose i should give you the whole run down of what is currently going on...but i shall leave it to my sergeant to get him used to such tasks!"
Andrew sighed at his lieutenant's actions and would speak, "Well yes then. As you may be aware, we WERE supposed to build a temporary position here to hold back the Jerries if they attempted to push into this area for the bridge, however we recently received orders from the higher ups saying that we are going to be here a little longer than expected, so we are having to setup our defenses and hunker down a lot more than we were originally supposed to. So just throw your equipment over with the rest at that tree," Andrew pointed to the tree, piled with organized piles of soldier's equipment, "and then depending on you, can either grab an axe and start chopping down trees and hauling it over to the trenches for extra cover or grab a shovel and start digging up the trenches. Pretty simple stuff, nothing too complex." Andrew finished off his instructions to the young private before him.
"However lad, don't worry too much, since we have been working for sometime, a lot of the work is completed, so just hop onto whatever you wanted to join and just act as though you were always here. No one will ask any questions and won't be any trouble, just promise me you won't miss your ride the next time we ship on out! You'll find out both Sgt. Hall and i are easy going fellows, just do as you're told and don't cause any trouble and you'll be just fine!" Seemore stated in a assuring, patting Billy on the back and giving him a friendly nod.

[Cainesland]

Captain John Liam
CO of Abrams Company
22 August 1914
Mons, Belgium

John motioned for the Pioneer Sergeant to assist with cutting down trees. More of the broader built men in the company were at work cutting down trees when Major Loins rode towards John on horseback. John wiped the sweat with his right forearm and put down his axe and walked over to the major. He saluted, "Major Loins, its great to see you sir. I hope these defences are to your liking, cause this is how we will be holding our section of the line. A position behind the bridge with as much cover as we can get, those Jerries are going to run into a fire from the Vickers once they get close enough on top of the boys here firing at them. All in all, I don't think we will lose this bridge to those Jerries Major."

Major Loins looked around for a moment, "Captain I appreciate your optimism, but do not underestimate the Jerries. They are more likely to put a knife in your back than the french are at sleeping with another man's wife. But that is not why I am here, you have new orders and I dont think you are going to like them." As he handed John a piece of paper with the new updated orders on it. The Major saluted and John returned then he walked away.

New orders:

Captain Liam, you and your men are to hold your position for as long as you can. While we are working on putting charges on the bridges, not all of them in place yet. Abrams' Company is to hold the line till a runner tells you to fall back or til you need to blow up the bridge. But if you blow it too soon, then the flanks of other companies will be open if the German's find a way across the river.

John crushed the paper and pulled out a match and burnt the paper. "Ok lads, we have new order we are to hold this position until a runner or until we absolutely have to blow the bridge. So we better ensure the defenses are prepared for the Jerries, Pioneer Sergeant Reid I want you to scout the other side of the bridge and come up with a way to slow the Germans down if we can. The longer it takes for them to get to us, the longer we will be able to hold. You have your order boys, lets get back to work." Barked John as he went back to cutting down the tree he was at before the major arrived. Some of the boys were already placing some of the logs in front of the trench.

"Yes Sir" Reid said to the Captain. Immediately he ceased any plans of logging and moved direction to the bridge. The city lay on the other side. Many buildings that looked to be made of brick, mortar, and timber lined a cobblestone road that was also visible on this side. No doubt used before the war for commercial use and for getting to and from town for the residents. Shame that the bridge wouldn't be there long. He considered making a note but realized there was no time to spare and promptly set to work. Step one would be to collect his stuff, thankfully a kit explosion was not present so he merely hooked on his webbing to his person, attached his equipment to his rucksack before donning it and putting his haversack on. His rifle was dropped across his shoulder and his sword was sheathed in its scabbard hanging at his waist. Unlike most his had a saw like edge on its sword. With his gear on firmly he took off out to the bridge.

The bridge was firm, for now, and old looking. Made from stone of an origin he wasn't sure of nor had the time to decipher. The bridge had 2 arches beneath it though. Of course by now a ditch had been constructed close to the bridge on his side of the river and was being lined with wood from the forest in preparation for the Germans. He quickly moved to get to work, having just got his gear. He began to cross the bridge. As he approached he saw more of the river. It was wide, as expected from a 2 arch bridge, but the river looked deep enough to stop a horse. Before him was a few feet of grassland before becoming a forest. The forest didn't look to have much to slow the Germans down with. Beyond the trees, and the soil. The fur trappers had used traps. Some hunters had used pits to trap animals in far off colonies. The wood of trees could be used to build barriers, and he assumed that the soldiers at the trench line were doing that as he looked. He assumed that the blowing of the bridge would also be a good way of slowing the Germans. He took out his journal and jotted down the list.

Slowing the Germans
- Traps
- Pits
- Barriers
- Blow the Bridge

As he wrote it occurred to him that the city was still filled with civilians. Or at least a few were left. He considered that they may be persuaded to join them, but of course it was morally wrong to engage civilians in military conflicts. None the less he added it to the list as an option but was sure to bracket it with not desirable. He noted a cobblestone path branching from the bridge into the woods. He continued on walking through the forest and took note of a few small shacks, cabins, and stores around, mostly congregated like an unofficial township, but seemed to be near the main roadway. It looked abandoned, and upon closer inspection one of them looked to be a hunters residence while another looked to be a tool shed and traps were in an area. It appeared to be something the company could use to their advantage. Perhaps. He grabbed some of the traps just in case, and made note of the geographical region of the town in case he was given the go ahead to come back. One thing was still a factor of course though. How much time they had to prep defences and that depended on when the Germans would arrive. The lunchtime fire smoke was gone so he had to assume that they had started their march and finished lunch. Given the time it took them to come by cart and the smokes distance from them he imagined they'd arrive within the day. Maybe 4-6 hours from now. 4 hours if nothing impeded them. 6 hours if they hit a wild animal and stopped for dinner. Of course given the defences the company needed to make that wasn't much time. He made note of that as well. The good news though, was that the Sun would not likely be down by then so they could see the enemy. The bad news was that the sun wouldn't be down by then so the enemy could see them. He turned around and saw the peaks of the buildings and it hit him that the buildings could hold soldiers. But an impairment was the number of soldiers they had in the company, how spread out they needed to be, and the length of time they would need to be entrenched. Now, having been with the company for 4 weeks he knew a rough estimate of the first question. Having seen some of the trenches and explored some of the woods he had an idea of what the length of entrenchment would need to be. And without knowing how many soldiers the Germans had he had to assume they would be dug in for a while. So he couldn't expect many to be in the buildings near the shore as it would provide minimal protection for them through the window. Ultimately though that decision rested with the Captain and his job here was to look around for ways to slow the German advance. He doubled up his notes just in case and realized that he had been out for maybe 30 minutes, including the 10 minutes to get out as far as he was and the 20 minutes spent looking around. He now made his way back. Noticing a smaller bridge upstream and what looked to be some more BEF soldiers there. After another 10 minutes walk from the cabin in the woods he arrived back at the bridge and looked for the captain. Once found he approached the Captain. Mud baked onto his boots and dirt on his white apron. "Hello. Captain. I have looked around the surrounding regions to the west as ordered. I have a few suggestions about slowing the Germans. May I share them with you sir?"

Slowing the Germans
- Set traps
- Dig and cover Pits
- Use felled timber from the forest to build barriers along the roadway and forest.
- Place rolling logs on the bridge.
- Blow the bridge to prevent crossing.
- Buildings in Mons by the river are possible shooting positions. Possible exposure to German fire here.
- A small town. Possibly farming and hunting based. 10 minutes walk away. West. Traps found there.
- Germans are expected to arrive within 4-6 hours.
- Townspeople may be able to help keep the Germans out (Not recommended due to being a potential violation of the rules of warfare).

[Eclixia]

4-6 hours until the Germans were meant to turn up? James wasn't sure whether he was ready to in such short notice. However, he had the tools, and he had obediently paid attention to what he had been taught in his training, how to reload, how to clear a jam, how to fix a bayonet. Let's hope he'd never actually have to plunge a spike into another man's heart, like the knights of old. Then, James took out his flare gun and inspected it. He had been told never to point it at another human and only use it as a distress flare, but perhaps a flying flare could take out someone when he really needed it to. He really wasn't ready, wasn't he?

Liam gave him orders that we were to hold the line at this bridge until a message comes in that we can advance, or until we have to destroy the bridge with explosives. James settled himself down in a dugout in the front trench, excavating out a chamber in the dirt, hoping that it would hold. However, just to be sure, he took some wooden sticks and drove them into the mud above and below the entrance, hoping that would be enough to keep it upright. He had taken care of himself so far, sleeping in the dirt in his uniform, using a greatcoat he brought with him as a cover, and getting just enough sleep to do what he was told the following morning. It was far from comfortable. Oh yeah, and the rations. Food in dirty tin cans. It was different to home, but he could get used to it. That couldn't be said for the aristocrats who tagged along with the workers in this war.

James looked and inspected the staggered network of trenches in front of him, where a channel of German soldiers would be rushing down four hours from now. He looked through the main trench at the front, where two new Vickers machine guns, firing 500 rounds per minute, were laid out, pointing forward towards the choke point that was the bridge itself. Using it looked simple enough - point and shoot, and James briefly wondered why he hadn't been selected to be a gunner and not allowed to operate such a formidable weapon. However, now James needed to decide where he was going to be when the time came, having been around here quite a while now and not having received any direct orders from the Captain or his deputies. He first thought about shooting from a position near to the machine gun, but reconsidered that point by remembering that such a powerful weapon would be receiving the most attention and firepower than the rifleman. This also brought up the question of why anyone would be a gunner if his theory was true, but the tactical theories could wait. He had a job to do.

So, James took a box of ammunition for his rifle, took around thirty rounds from it, leaving it three-quarters full, slipped the bullets in the pouch in his coat, and settled himself down, sitting on the fire step of the trench, completely covered from enemy fire. He saw the other soldiers milling about like it was a Sunday morning, chatting about their lives, completely ignorant of the fact that in 4 hours they would be killing or killed. James stayed down there, inspecting his weapon and thinking to himself, deciding to retreat to his dugout and write out a letter to his family back home. They would be anxious for news by now.

[Great Confederacy of Commonwealth States]

‘Pew. Pew pew. Pew pew pew’

James sat behind his Vickers, holding the handles with both hands. He had positioned himself in a battle stance, overlooking the bridge of Mons. Everything was as quiet as it could ever be. Townsfolk moved about the little village with eggs, milk, meats, produce… Meanwhile, the soldiers were marching about with all manner of kit and equipment. Barbed wire was being stretched to and fro, sandbags were piled up one on top of the other. James himself sat nicely protected, sheltered from whatever the Germans could throw at him by his gunner hole. It was little more than a semi-finished sandbag igloo, with only the barrel of his Vickers sticking out. Being incredibly bored as he was, James just looked over the barrel of his gun, pointing it at the bridge and making shooting noises with his mouth. Really, there was little else to be done.

And what was there to prepare for? James had heard the stories from the Boer War, the old colonial conflicts. War was quite the rustic business. One fired at the enemy until he moved away, or until enemy fire was so intense that you had to move. Sure, people died, but those were the people that didn’t pay attention. No, James was quite convinced. It he kept his wits about him, all would go well. He pretended to reload the Vickers, opening another volley of ‘fire’ on the bridge. ‘Pew pew, pew’ he thought, as in his mind, droves of Germans were pinned down by his machine gun fire. Yes, that was how it was going to be. He could already imagine it. The Hun would approach the bridge, seek cover behind her steel bars and supports, and be forced to sit idly by as his machine gun rattled away at them. It was almost going to be boring, but still, James couldn’t wait for it to actually happen. He was sick of sitting about, keeping watch over his gun. He wanted some quick action. Before they knew it, the war would be over, and James wanted to make sure he had his share of combat before Christmas.

The sun shone brightly overhead. Really, Mons was quite the idyllic place to be. It felt a bit like vacation. The fields of northern France were different from those of Scotland. The people were different, too. All minding their own business, going about their day… James took a piece of grass, and put it between his lips. From his bag, which he’d strategically placed next to the gun emplacement, he took a book. ‘The History of colonial New Zealand’ it read. It was a departing gift from his father, who knew about his love for colonial history. James would need quite a few books to get through the boredom of soldiery, but this was a good start. He opened the book, flipped to the introduction, and began reading. Slouched against the sandbags, he thought himself a rich man on vacation. The sun, a good book, comfortable seating in his back… He almost forgot about the whole war business, instead envisioning himself like the brave Red Coats that had claimed a quarter of the world for Britannia. Ow, those days, those days… He was half-awake, half-dreaming, thinking about himself in the heroic red of the Grenadier Guard…