Europe Has Fallen

by Gouriet, Andrew

  They had stayed longer than an hour. The call went up for everyone to return to the trains. The scouts loaded their horses back onto the railway wagons. The steam was built up as the coal fires were stoked. Then slowly the four trains started to move. The drivers had been congratulated on their fine work on getting the soldiers to Presburg. It was predicted they would reach Vienna by nightfall.

  Presburg crept out of sight the same way it had come in. Some of the soldiers watched it disappear into the distance. Their thoughts remained around the bones and the driving force behind such destruction.

  The trains were travelling at full speed, their passengers relaxed and reflecting amongst themselves. Vienna was now only hours away.

  Corporal Heinz passed Captain Hayward. The captain tapped him on the shoulder. He had not spoken to the corporal for a while. With the now increased numbers on the four trains, faces blended into the crowd.

  They spoke about the situation and the corporal’s growing fear for his family and country. A bugle call rang out, then, breaking their conversation. The calmness in all the trains was shattered, worried eyes searching for comfort in others. Both men took a second and nodded in expectation of what was there. They then joined the rush to gather rifles and ammunition.

  Bags were hastily arranged in front of the windows. Firing holes were made on both sides. Major Richmond met the captain as they went outside to one of the armoured cars. At first, neither man could see what the call to arms had been for. The captain took out his binoculars.

  He surveyed the hills and surrounding grasslands. Then dust clouds came into sight. Out of the dust appeared horses with riders. These were no ordinary horses; they were twice the size of a shire horse and their riders looked twice as big as an ordinary human.

  They were massing on one side. The horses were quick, as fast as the trains, when galloping. General Haas studied their movement and worried about whether they had destroyed train tracks further ahead. He had to give an order either way: try and increase speed or slow down in case of derailment. He chose to slow down the trains. They were close enough to the other trains for notes to be thrown across by rope. Soon all the trains were going at a steady speed and not at full pelt.

  Then the attacked started. The riders came in from the right, attacking the two trains on the outer tracks. Whilst they approached at speed, a large group of riders attacked from the rear. The cannons were loaded and the Gatling guns steadied. The British and Austrians got ready with their rifles.

  The major was the highest ranking officer on that side. The men looked for his order to fire. The enemy slowly came into range. They had war paint smeared across their faces. Several priests could be seen riding amongst them.

  “Fire!”

  The noise wave that rolled around the trains was intense. The cannons recoiled as they let off their first volley. The shells landed with deadly accuracy, blowing men and horses to smithereens. The Gatling guns started to open up – this was the first time the British had seen them in full operation. The rattling humming sound was mesmerising and for the enemy the effect was overwhelming. Scores of men and horses fell like dominos. They may have been twice the size of normally humans, but the deadly effect of the machine guns was laid bare for all to see.

  It cut through them like a warm knife through butter. They did not need head shots to kill them, although they did take many hits before falling down. The soldiers opened fire with their rifles, killing even more of these giants.

  The wave of riders was being hit hard and it began to fall back. They had not even fired one shot. The Gatling guns needed to be reloaded. One had overheated during the battle and was left to cool down. The new weapons were appreciated by the young officers around them. It only took one soldier to turn the crank and fire, but they still had a team in case he was killed and someone else needed to take his place.

  General Haas was receiving messages from the other trains. The armoured cars at the back of the trains had seen off the rear attack as well. The general opened his map. He realised they would soon be able to see Vienna, although it was still a good distance away. The track veered towards a passage through a small hill.

  He instantly grabbed some paper and began to write a note. The soldiers reloaded. There was no overexcitement at the casualties they had inflicted on the enemy.

  The general rushed out of his quarters and towards an open area of the train. He then threw his note across on a rope as the train entered the passageway between the hills. The general had foreseen what the riders might do.

  The note landed on the opposite carriage at the same time as bombs were being thrown from above. Explosions started to shake the ground around them. Glass shattered as the devices landed near the tracks. A bomb fell and landed on one of the back armoured cars, destroying the Gatling gun and killing three men.

  The bombs kept on falling, but fortunately nothing was hit directly on the steam engines or within the packed carriages. The hillside passageway was coming to an end, but now fires had broken out around the trains.

  Captain Hayward rushed around helping the men put out the fires and preparing for another attack. The casualties were few, but those injured needed medical attention, which the orderlies set about doing. There was an army doctor on each train, which helped the situation.

  The trains burst into the open land, spilling steam and fire smoke behind them as they shot along. The trail was leaving the rear carriages almost in cloud.

  New orders were thrown across from General Haas’s train to tell everyone to be prepared for another attack. He expected them to come from both sides.

  The ground had levelled out now. On either side of the railway line was a small woodland, consisting of silver birch trees, which had been coppiced back.

  Captain Hayward checked on the soldiers. The British Engineers had no major injuries to report. Some men had been wounded by flying debris, but nothing serious. There was constant movement all around and weapons were loaded and readied for action.

  A bullet smashed through a window and into a soldier’s neck next to the captain. The man fell back due to the impact and held his neck, blood pouring out of the wound. The captain grabbed some cloth that was near to him and tried to stem the flow of blood. The man tried to speak, but his throat was too badly damaged. The call went out for the orderly and doctor. One arrived within seconds and started to help.

  Bullets smacked into the carriages from the surrounding woodlands. The riders appeared again at speed. The general was right about them attacking from both sides. All four trains went under attack at the same time. The Gatling guns opened fire and the cannons began to unleash pandemonium amongst the riders’ ranks.

  The sandbags were standing up well to the intense fire and were preventing the bullets from penetrating the crowed spaces. The soldier who had been hit in the neck died whilst the doctor worked on him. The captain shook his head and closed the man’s eyes. He grabbed his rifle and moved to the middle armoured car to assist the Austrians there.

  Coming from the rear were more riders. They used the smoke as a screen to get close to the back of the trains. One rear train was on fire where the bomb had destroyed the armoured car and Gatling gun. The smoke from that was blowing across and causing visibility problems for the other rear Gatling gun.

  When they did see the riders coming out of the smoke they opened fire. This instantly had a huge impact, sending giant men and horses crashing to the ground. Whilst concentrating hard on the riders, though, they failed to notice two riders boarding from the side.

  These men were carrying new weapons of war. One of them opened fire with a hand-held grenade gun. The grenade fell between the Gatling gun and its crew. They did not see it until it was too late. The explosion killed them and destroyed the Gatling gun and several others were injured in the blast, which now left the back of the train exposed.

  The two riders started to smash their way into the back carriage next to the smouldering armoured end car. These giant men
were a good match for a small army let alone the soldiers who now faced them.

  Whilst the soldiers were firing out of the windows the two Northern riders started to attack them. They were armed with revolvers and swords. An Austrian soldier noticed something out of the corner of his eye and turned to see what it was. As he did so, he felt a sharp pain in his stomach. He then fell to the floor.

  This alerted the other men in the carriage as they tried to fight the riders back. One soldier shot at the two intruders, missing by inches. They came forward, cutting and shooting as they went. The Austrians were being cut to pieces; arms were being hacked off and deep lacerations sliced across their torsos as these man-mountains moved forward.

  A young soldier held his ground. He was out of ammunition, but fought hard with his bayonet attached to his rifle. Colonel Kiesl arrived to witness the carnage that was unfolding. To make matters worse, fresh riders were appearing outside. Two were proving hard to kill. What would ten or more be like?

  Colonel Kiesl was more experienced than the soldiers in there but was taken aback by the sheer size of these foes and the power they wielded. But he was a soldier, and his job was to fight anything that got in his way.

  The young soldier was trying his best to hold them back. He was jabbing and using his rifle butt to lash out when he could. Luck was on his side as he rammed his bayonet into the leg of one of the attackers. The giant let out a roar and his fellow attacker brought his sword down on the rifle, cutting it in two. He then raised it again, but a gunshot filled the air. The bullet looked as if it had missed its target and the young soldier braced himself for the strike. The giant then looked down at his chest and fell to his knees. Colonel Kiesl did not waste any more time and slammed his sword into the neck of the wounded man. He then began to fight with the other rider who still had half the rifle sticking out of his leg.

  He was a big old brute with long dark hair and a scraggy beard. His eyes were bloodshot red and his mouth revealed dark yellow teeth. A pungent odour filled the room as he moved about. He was not like a flesh-eater or a long-limb, but something was not right about his demeanour.

  Colonel Kiesl was thrown into a pile of sandbags. He gingerly got up and saw that five soldiers had arrived on the scene. They had already taken aim at the giant, who turned and grimaced, baring his teeth at them before a volley of bullets ripped into his chest and head. He fell to the floor.

  Heavy steps could be heard coming along the roof. They were now boarding the back of the train and moving along the carriages. Windows were being broken as they fought to gain access. The captain knelt down by the side of one of the dead men. He picked up his grenade launcher. He had seen this type of weapon before, but not this version. He did not have much time to study it more.

  Outside, the battle was raging. Despite their losses the riders kept on attacking. They had already boarded one of the back trains and were now trying their chances on the other rear one.

  Communication was proving a problem as always in battle. The two front trains were being kept occupied by the riders attacking them. Inside the carriages soldiers were shooting at the riders the best they could. Fresh cartridges were being brought by the orderlies. They also assisted any wounded soldiers they came across. The reserve ammunition was being kept spread out throughout the train to minimise the risk of explosions.

  The smell of gun-and cannon fire filled each compartment. The nurses were kept busy helping out where they could. Some had taken up rifles and were firing out of the windows.

  Both rear trains had Northern riders on them now. Captain Hayward took five British Engineers and climbed on the roof of their train. Bullets whizzed by as the riders shot from their horses at them. The captain took out his rifle and opened fire back. He was using an Austrian Kropatschek rifle. It had a different feel to the more familiar Martini-Henry rifle. He knew they all had to adapt since losing most of these rifles in the raid by the Alpine Jaegers.

  One of his five men was hit in the leg, fell down and rolled off the train. There was nothing they could do for him as he hit the ground hard. The riders showed no mercy and speared the fallen soldier as they rode behind the train. The captain shouted at his men to keep low. He took aim and breathed in, slowly squeezing the trigger.

  Boom.

  The shot was accurate and crashed into a rider who was coming forward on the rear train’s roof. It was a neck wound, causing the man to fall to his knees. The other riders did not wait to check on the man. They kept on coming forward and pushed him aside. He fell in between the rear trains.

  Hand-to-hand fighting was raging throughout the end carriages. Corporal Heinz was with the remaining Austrian Engineers. They were stationed with the British, and doing very well with their kill ratio. Fortunately, there were many hunters amongst both groups.

  Flames licked up from various parts of the train with smoke bellowing out from broken windows and cracks in the roof. It was making it difficult to put up a decent defence. On the rear left-hand- train one armoured carriage crew had been wiped out. The riders were trying to turn the cannon on the other compartments. Fortunately, this was proving difficult for them. A Gatling gun was left abandoned due to lack of ammunition. Engineers were still piling bags on the sides of an open carriage and using it as a firing post. Both forward trains’ roofs had soldiers on them, trying to help their fellow countrymen.

  Colonel Kiesl was organising a retreating party from his train. He realised the best option was to get to the forward trains. The general was considering the same thing. It might be time to destroy the two rear steam engines.

  The decision to have the horses in the forward carriages was now proving to be a masterstroke.

  The Northern riders were causing panic as they pushed forward. Their sheer size and brute force was hard to contain. Soldiers had been ordered to help get nurses off the rear left-hand-side train. Their steam engines were now touching the armoured carriages in front of them. This gave them the chance to move from one side to the other.

  All this was happening whilst under heavy fire. John was watching from a distance, concerned that Heidi was on the wrong side. The sergeant reassured him she would be fine. He knew he had to concentrate on shooting at the enemy.

  John waited until Sergeant Butcher had gone off down the carriages and checked on the other men. His close friend William was kneeling down and reloading whilst pressed up against several sandbags.

  “You’ll be okay; I’ll cover for you. Go get her and bring her back. Then come back here.” He looked at William. Actions like that could mean a court marshal. In extreme cases that could mean a death sentence by firing squad.

  “What about you guys? The sergeant will surely see that I’m missing.”

  He made it sound like the only possible option. John was a young soldier, and his heart ruled his head. He loaded his rifle, put it across his back and made his way to an open carriage. The wind was blustery as the trains moved at speed. Bullets whizzed through the air and suddenly the idea became more dangerous. There was a ladder leading to the roof. Letting himself think only of Heidi, he climbed up slowly. Keeping low, he moved along the train. Captain Hayward and several soldiers could be seen in the distance. They were involved in a furious fire-fight.

  A smokescreen was made from various compartments which had been hit in battle and were now quietly smouldering away. The smoke travelled away from the train as it shot forward. This intermittently covered John. He used to his advantage and lay there for a short while, plucking up the courage to jump from his train to the next.

  The smoke faded for a moment and John looked up at a deep blue sky. It was very appealing. The clouds were scarce and amid the action it was a calming sight. He raised himself to his feet and then took a leap of faith.

  He landed just short, but grabbed on to a rail and pulled himself up.

  An Austrian soldier was coming up a ladder to investigate the sudden thud on the roof and saw it was a British Engineer. He wiped his forehead in a sign
of relief and John smiled. The Austrian then disappeared back below and John carried on his way.

  The nurses were no longer being transported from the rear steam engine. John had to climb down and wade through a packed end carriage. His eyes scanned for Heidi but he could not see her anywhere. A friend of hers came into view and he promptly made a beeline in that direction.

  The girl’s name was not known to him, but she seemed to notice his red tunic and blue spiked helmet making its way through the other uniforms. A bullet ripped into the crowded carriage and Private John Brown fell backwards. He looked down to see blood covering his hands. He waited for the pain to kick in, but nothing happened. A doctor and nurse came across and assisted to him on the floor.

  The bullet had hit an Austrian soldier who had been in front of him, causing the man to stumble back onto John and splattering him with blood. He offered to help the wounded soldier, but the doctor said it they could manage.

  Heidi’s friend came over to John and explained she thought Heidi was with a group stranded in the middle carriages, as the riders had taken either side. A young officer saw Private Brown making his way to the rear armoured car. He followed him out onto it. The Gatling gun crew were busy trying to find spare ammunition and preparing grenades.

  The odd soldier was still coming across and the steam engine crew were looking anxious as more and more soldiers left their train. John did not look back as stepped across from one side to the other. The steam crew were talking to him in German, pointing to the rear and shaking their heads.

  There were soldiers guarding them, but they were all getting jumpy.

  John nodded that he understood. He knew it would be dangerous to go back there, but he had made his mind up. He would now rather die than not attempt to find Heidi, even if she had been killed. He had to know.