The Squad and the barn part two

France 1918

Corporal Blackwood ate his corned beef and crunched on the over dry biscuits. He stood up slowly and grabbed his Lee Enfield Rifle and looked out of the window. The mist was rolling in surprisingly early its was 16.00 hrs. Blackwood felt his head wound and mused ‘At least its stopped bleeding for now, bloody German sniper’ One by one the 4 other Middlesex infantry men stood up and took positions where they could see the hill below. Blackwood spoke,

“Banks you take position where you can see behind us I don’t want to get stabbed in the back, take a grenade with you as well if we hear that go off we know you’re in trouble”

he chubby private picked up a grenade from the pile on the floor and meandered out of the side door and took up a position looking out from the rear of the barn. Private Smith looked at his leg and the grey metal fragment that protruded from his shin bone and said out loud,

“My leg its stopped bleeding hooray! About time”

Coulson bent down and looked at Smith’s wound and said,

“You’re a lucky git for sure I though you would bleed out! I’ve lost many friends through leg wounds. You be sure and get to hospital if we get out of this barn”

Smith nodded and replied,

“What about you Coulson you stopped two in your right arm I saw it happen?”

Private Coulson lifted up his arm and revealed two blooded holes in his forearm he said,

“Always been lucky me they went straight through and I cant hardly feel the pain now”

Corporal Blackwood waved his right hand in a cutting motion to silence his men. On the tree line he could see a movement of blue uniforms. The German’s were advancing into the fields down below! Blackwood whispered to his squad,

“Right their coming as expected the shelling has stopped. Wait until your sure you can hit em aim for the chest don’t get fancy no head shots. They will take cover and probably bring up a bloody machine gun so make your first shots count they wont see us until we fire, wait for my signal”