Army: The Return to the Hell of Warfare

Chapter 3: Deployment

A few weeks after my training in the army barracks, I was deployed near the border of the Empire and the Northern Entente Alliance.

For context of where I am, The Empire is a new power that was established after several wars of unification in the center of the continent. This new power emerging in the center of the continent has the old powers in the continent scrambling as it might topple the centuries old balance of power they have created.
To the west, the Republic which has an old grudge against the empire due to several territorial disputes and the province of Alsace-Lorraine which was taken in the previous war.
The Commonwealth, an island north of the Republic holds a powerful colonial empire and currently has the biggest navy in the continent, it’s also a close ally of the Republic and are, according to reports from the Imperial Intelligence Bureau, sending supplies and aid to the Northern Entente Alliance despite their official stance of neutrality.
To the north of the Empire is the Northern Entente Alliance which is the nation we are currently at war with. It’s a very cold region of the continent which makes an invasion difficult and a naval landing costly as the area is filled with fjords that the Alliance have converted into coastal batteries making it an impregnable series of forts and the perfect defense for the Alliance.
To the east is the Soyuz Federation, the biggest country in the continent but also one which is currently embroiled in a massive civil war. Because of this, the Soyuz Federation has signed a non-aggression pact and surrendering a small portion of their territory, a deeply unpopular move with its people but one which is necessary for its continued survival. Additionally, the Soyuz Federation is also in somewhat friendly ties with both the Republic and an especially close relationship with the Commonwealth as the Kings of the Commonwealth and Soyuz are cousins.
To the South-east is the Grand Duchy of Arstotzka, a minor power in the country that is currently struggling and decaying internally because of its leadership. One might think that this country would be easy pickings for the Empire, that was what I thought at first as well before I found out that Arstotzka is backed by the Federation and guarantees its security and existence through a mutual defense treaty between them.
To the south of the Empire is its only ally, the Kingdom of Italica. It was also a recently established Kingdom that was unified with several wars of unification. Several years ago, it established an alliance called the ‘Pact of Steel’, a mutual defense treaty that served to secure the southern flank of the Empire and the North Western parts of the Italica. This isn’t what I would call a genuine alliance but more of an alliance made out of necessity as to avoid being surrounded on all fronts as previously, both the Commonwealth and the Republic has been trying to hold talks with the Italica to have them join their alliance instead of allying with the Empire.

After a 13-hour journey by train, I arrived at the location of my deployment, Norden outpost.
When I arrived, me and the other soldiers that arrived with me were greeted by the Commander of the outpost. Once the formalities of the arrival were over, we immediately went to our resting quarters to unpack our belongings and prepare for frontline duty. Though I say frontline duty, it’s more like just guarding the outpost and inspecting the people crossing the border. However, due to the tense situation between the Empire and the Northern Entente Alliance, one can never be too lax or risk dying in an encounter.

It’s been a few days since I’ve been stationed here and nothing much has happened. I met and befriended a fellow soldier, Lance Corporal William Reinhardt. Although he’s a senior in terms of military rank as I’m currently just a Private, he’s a good man that knows his limitations when fraternizing with his men and serves his country wholeheartedly.
“Just a couple more hours and my shift is finally over and I can finally go back and drink my precious stash of cocoa” I said and as if foreshadowing something unfortunate to happen, we heard the roaring sound of artillery and I'm more than sure that it’s not a friendly one.
“ARTILLERY INCOMING! TAKE COVER EVERYONE!” the Commanding Officer shouted.

*BOOM* *BAM* The sounds of the shells made as it hit the ground rang through my ears. It looked as though the Entente had no intention of ending the artillery bombardment to our positions and are trying to just entirely wipe out our outpost off the map.
Luckily, after 5 hours of constant bombardment, the artilleries fell silent and just when we thought we could finally breathe a sigh of relief, we heard the marching of the troops of the Northern Entente Alliance.

I clicked my tongue and said to myself in annoyance, “Awwww f*ck my life.”
“Heh! This is probably one of those challenges that ‘God’ said to me, know this you piece of sh*t being, I’ll survive this era and prove it to you” I said to myself as I accompanied my squad into the attack.