Pegasus Bridge
November 12th, 3405
Sky. There was nothing but sky, and clouds. For an earth pony, the prospect of falling from a considerable height was one that haunted their darkest nightmares. Without ground underneath them, they were like a fish out of water, out of their element. Yet here she was, Falling. At night no less, the darkness enveloping her, and she was somehow completely calm.
A loud high-pitched metallic screech filled her ears. A flaming C-47 spiraled past, half the aircraft on fire, parachutes streaming out the back. It hit the ground and exploded in a mighty fireball, briefly illuminating the ground below her. She was coming down in a forest. That wasn’t good.
Three...Two...One... Now!
Grabbing the cord with her mouth, she yanked it forward, and she felt her velocity start to slow as the parachute unfurled, leaving her seemingly dangling in the air as slowly descended toward the Griffonstone countryside.
In the distance, another Skytrain fell from the sky, trailing flame. The sounds of bursting flack and radial engines faded away, leaving just the rushing of wind through her chute and the chirping of early morning birds.
She rolled as she hit the ground, immediately removing the chute, burying it in the dirt so the white fabric wouldn't attract attention. Rummaging through her pack, she pulled out her signature Stetson, placing it on her head, and made a dash for a nearby treeline. She never liked the metal helmets.
Under the cover of a nearby tree, she started pulling things out of her pack, the first being her trusty M1 Garand. She popped a clip into the chamber and strapped her two grenades to her belt. She coamed over a small map that had been provided, taking a swig of water from her canteen. There was two roads running parallel to her position, and a farmhouse situated at the end of the field. A forest covered her rear, and large hedgerows covered her flanks. She stood there silently for awhile, listening for sounds of movement. The Griffon soldiers would all have been alerted to the drop, and they would be out searching the area for allied soldiers. It would only be a matter of time before she was found if she didn’t move. She dashed across the field towards the house, attempting to make as little noise as possible with the heavy gear strapped to her back. Pressing herself against a wall, she peeked in through a window.
The interior was dark, but she could just make out the shape of a table and fireplace, identifying it as a kitchen. Creeping around to the side of the house that was facing a road, she quickly ducked back as a car turned onto the road, its headlights momentarily blinding her. It drove past, but stopped only a few feet away at an intersection. It was a Kubelwagen, the standard light transportation vehicle for the Griffon army.
“You sure you saw parachutes come down over here Oberleutnant?” She heard one of the occupants say, the engine shutting down.
“I am positive.” An older sounding voice said, likely the commander.
“Oberleutnant... “ A third voice spoke up, the youngest of the three. “If they’re dropping paratroopers… what do you think that means?”
They were silent for a moment. “Invasion.” The Oberleutnant said finally. “Most likely this is the start of their invasion, and of our downfall.”
“I-Invasion? We’ll be able to hold them back r-right?”
“A year ago, I would have said yes. Now, with the state our military is in… It will be half a year before they reach the capital, if that.”
They stood there in morbid silence for what seemed like ages, listening to the distant explosions and anti-aircraft fire. “Let us return to base. There is nothing much we can do out here. We must organize the defense of the town.”
“Aye.” The sound of the engine starting up could be heard.
Three gunshots echoed across the field.
The engine stalled and died. She lowered the rifle, releasing the breath she had been holding. Waiting a few moments to make sure there were no nearby Griffons who would respond to the death of their friends, she crept out from behind the house and made her way over to the car.
One Griffon was slumped over the steering wheel, his talons gripping the key. Another, wearing the uniform of an officer, likely the Oberleutnant, was hanging off the side of the car, half his head missing.
A search of his body revealed a large, complete map, and a Luger pistol. Momento.
Passing around to the other side of the vehicle, she found the third Griffon, laying on the ground, clutching his leg, blood flowing down his body, and his face covered in the red liquid, most likely from the soldier who was sitting next to him. He trembled as he desperately tried to wrap a bandage around his bleeding leg, but froze when he noticed her.
“D… D-Don’t k-kill me.” He managed to sputter out, his eyes filling with tears. From the looks of him, he couldn’t have been more than a teenager, much too young to be fighting in a war.
“Ah won’t.” She said finally, bringing out her map. “Unless yah can tell me my location and how to get to Le Hapville.”
“J-Just follow the road that way.” He pointed. “Then turn right. Y-You can’t miss it.”
She nodded and left the Griffon where he was. He wasn’t going anywhere.
She kept to the hedgerows on the side of the road, following the dirt path past a few more houses, before she reached a split, and followed it right.
“Halt! Who goes there?” A figure leaped out of the forest, pointing a rifle at her.
“Quarter! Quarter!” She tossed down her weapon and said the password allied soldiers used to identify themselves, backing away slightly from her assaulter.
“She’s friendly guys, come on out.” The stallion lowered his weapon, three more ponies emerging from behind him. “Staff Sergeant Payday of the 25th Airborne, who are you?”
“Colonel Applejack, 15th Airborne. Who’s in charge here?”
They glanced between themselves. “You are.”
“Is this all your men?”
“Flack drove us off course and scattered our unit all across the countryside. These are all the people I could round up before we found you. We were assigned to take the Hapville bridge, but I don’t see how we can with so few ponies…”
“We must, or this entire invasion will fail because our troops will have no way of getting out of the beachhead.”
“How should we proceed?” One of the other soldiers spoke up.
She frowned. “I have a plan, and while our numbers are not ideal, we will have to make do. Just follow me.”
“Who here is the best shot?” She asked, her voice low. They had arrived at the bridge a few moments ago, to find it guarded by about ten griffons, all protected by a ring of sandbags and barbed wire, a mounted MG42 covering the road. A gate was strung across the road, with the drawbridge lowered, providing access across the river.
“I am, Ma’am.” A stallion walked forward and saluted, one of a group of two who they had picked up en route to the bridge who were also heading in the same direction, bringing their force up to seven. “Private Corn Harvest of the 25th Ma’am, I was almost held back at basic training because they wanted me to become a shooting instructor.”
“I can confirm that.” Someone said in the back, raising their hoof.
“Alright, take your rifle and get up that tree, don’t start shooting till the signal, and try not to be seen.” She pointed to a large Oak behind her.
“Group A, you're with me, group B, cross the road and try and flank them, wait for my signal, don’t be seen.” The leaders of each group nodded, and the assigned ponies left for their positions.
She waited a full ten minutes, then, with a loud whistle, she leaped from the bushes and charged at the position. One of the Griffons went limp, Harvest doing his job. The Griffons were caught completely off guard, a few just up and running, possibly believing they were under attack by a larger force.
The few that remained, however, quickly reacted, bolt-action and automatic fire striking the ground and a few of her comrades, sending them tumbling. Pulling the pin and shouting “Grenade!”, she tossed it into the sandbags.
A plume of dirt shot into the air, the explosion seeming to only anger the defenders, and the MG42 swung to face her direction.
“Uh oh…” She gulped.
She dived into a small ditch on the side of the road as bullets ripped into the spot she had occupied only moments before. There was more shouting and gunfire, before everything went quiet as she lifted her head out of the foxhole. The assault was over.
It had lasted only a minute.
“Commander, bridge secured!” Payday reported, standing over her. After lending a hoof to help her up, he gave his report. “We managed to get most of them, but a few managed to get free and retreat across the bridge. They will likely be planning a counterattack, we need to dig in.”
Brushing herself off, she looked over the troops who were now dragging the Griffons bodies into a pile away from the sandbags, and the medics were treating the wounds of those injured.
“How many casualties?”
“Two,” He sighed. “Other than that, a few major and minor wounds, but other than that, everyone else survived.”
She nodded in recognition, walking over to the MG42.
A loud burst of automatic fire caused them all to jump, but they relaxed slightly when nothing more followed it.
“Everyone!” She called, grabbing everyone’s attention, a few trotting over. Grabbing her shovel from inside her pack and lifting it in the air, she made an announcement. “Everyone grab your entrenching tools and start digging. Those Griffons might attack at any minute, we need to be protected. Rearrange those sandbags and move that MG to another position. Get moving people!”
It was going to be a long night.
Author's Note
Honestly, I'm not really happy with this one. I feel it's not my best work, maybe I'll go back and rewrite it later. Anyway, tell me what you think in the comments. Feedback is greatly appreciated, and maybe go read some of my other works as well if you enjoyed this one.
Now, this may be a work of fiction, but this story was written to mimic actual events that happened on D-Day, June 6th, 1944 during the invasion of France, 73 years ago this month.
May their sacrifice never be forgotten.
--HISTORY--
Pegasus Bridge: The code name given to a bridge in France that was seized by British Commandos on the morning of June 6th to provide easy access off the beachhead for the Allied forces. However, in real life, the Commandos were landed by Glider, not dropped by Parachute as I wrote in this story.
C-47 Skytrain: A twin-engined transportation aircraft used by the US and British, it was used for carrying the Horsa gliders used in the real-life assault on Pegasus Bridge, as well as dropping paratroopers during D-Day.
M1 Garand: The standard-issue rifle used by the US forces.
Kubelwagen: A light scout/transportation vehicle used by the German army.
Oberleutnant: A rank in the German military, equivalent to X in the US military.
Luger pistol: A semi-automatic pistol used by the Germans during both world wars.
MG42: A German heavy machine gun.
Entrenching Tool: Army lingo for shovel.
