by C. M. Harald
Gas! Gas! Gas!
(A Royal Zombie Corps story)
By C. M. Harald
Copyright © 2016 C. M. Harald
All Rights Reserved.
All characters appearing in this work are fictitious. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.
The author has asserted the moral right to be identified as the author of this work.
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
A New Ally
Gas, gas, gas!
Volunteer
Evolution
ABOUT THE BOOK
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
COMING SOON
Also available
Also available as individual episodes
A New Ally
'Large numbers of men from Ireland volunteered to fight in the British Army during the Great War. Even when a conscription law was passed in 1918, it was not enforced, adding to the pressure for political separatism. Despite the increasingly tense situation within Ireland, these men fought hard with casualties in line with other nations within the British Empire. It is probable that the brutal experiences of the trenches were not a direct cause of the creation of the Irish Free State, but it may have been one of a great many complicated contributory factors.'
Extract from an A Level revision website, (2009)
'Marsh! Get here.' Lieutenant Simpson shouted.
'Yes Sir.' Marsh entered the tent, saluting while standing to attention. The trip to the stores could wait until later. Simpson would be taking up his time now.
The Experimental Battalion were still in the Arras area, following the failure of the last attack that they had been involved in. The Tigers had been partially effective in their assault, but it had not been enough. Some of the Tigers, specifically those under the control of Marsh, had been key to the advance. Yet, the brave Australians they had been supporting had eventually been forced back to their start lines with heavy casualties. The lack of supporting artillery, and the failure of the follow-on units, were among the deciding factors. The Tigers had been withdrawn from the battle as soon as the advance stalled, being of little use while on the defensive.
'While Lieutenant Scott is off preparing the new advanced positions, I will be in charge of B Company.' Simpson paused to let the news sink in. Simpson was of the opinion that Scott mollycoddled the men, something that would not happen while he was in charge, 'Due to our recent losses, the two companies will be merged and we'll reorganise with four combat groups. You'll continue to run one group, but I will be putting a second handler with you in light of some of the problems we've experienced.'
It was clear that Simpson would have preferred to remove Marsh from any responsibility for a combat group. Clearly the second handler would be some type of stooge. The two men had a long history and Simpson considered Marsh to be something of a shambles. However, he was constrained by the fact that Marsh was demonstrably the most effective handler of the Tigers in the British Army. The reanimated soldiers, that the British had pressed into service with the experimental unit, had first been brought under control by Marsh, and although there were now other handers, none was his equal.
Simpson was officially assigning an extra handler to each combat group due to an incident in his own company when a handler was killed early on during the assault at Bullecourt. The Tigers were usually controlled by voice, although Marsh had discovered that his own control of the zombies operated at a mental level. When Simpson's handler fell, the Tigers had turned on the massed supporting Australians. Normally each combat group was accompanied by a security squad, who were tasked with putting down any out of control zombies. The chief fear was that a zombie outbreak would occur with no handler to take control of the newly created zombies. On this occasion, it had been a close run thing. The German defensive fire had probably helped thin out the assaulting Australians ranks to the point that the zombies were not able to infect many of the soldiers. The security squad had managed to wrestle control of the situation, but there had been no room for error.
'It was close, and we simply cannot have that many Tigers running around out of control. We barely kept the situation under control.' Simpson was still clearly angry about the chaos that had ensued the death of the handler.
'Perhaps if the Tigers had been used as planned, then they wouldn't have been mixed upon among the Australians. The zombies should have been out in front.' Marsh knew he was taking a risk criticising Simpson's alteration of the tactical plan. The Tigers were meant to advance ahead of the supporting infantry to maximise shock to the enemy while minimising the risk of friendly casualties.
'It is essential for good morale that our boys can see our Tigers fighting alongside them.' Simpson dismissed the criticism, certain in his own assessment of modern tactics, 'So from this point onward, each combat group will have a second handler and we will double the size of the security squad to ensure that we have the numbers to control any situation.'
'Has the Colonel agreed this, Sir?' Marsh was surprised that Colonel Hudson would authorise such a change in tactics without discussing it with himself. After all, it was Marsh who had led many of the developments in the tactics the Experimental Battalion had developed.
'He has little choice. We have so few functioning Tigers that we cannot deploy on the scale we did before. The Colonel also cannot risk upsetting our infantry further. So while you may have made lots of new friends among the ANZACs, their commanding officer has complained to the General Staff about how his soldiers were attacked by the Tigers.' Simpson seemed to miss the point that it was his own tactical failings that had led to the failure. He also overlooked that Marsh actually increased the number of Tigers under his control during the combat.
'Tigers need to be used separately from the normal soldiers, Sir.' Marsh said, 'We've established that now and having extra hands to keep them under control is spot on.'
'No, we need to rebuild the confidence of our soldiers in the Tigers, so we need to have them working close by, and alongside, not sneakily creeping into the German trenches. If the Tigers work, it will be as a mass formation.' Simpson was not prepared to go any further in justifying his approach to the tactics, 'I'm not prepared to discuss this with you any further Corporal. If you're not happy with how we will be using the Tigers in future, then that is tough. You will do your duty.'
'Now Marsh, your new handler will be Corporal Mullen. You'll work with him so that the two of you can control your Tigers correctly. And by correctly, I mean en masse. The rest of the security squad will be rearranged later.' Simpson said, 'Be sure you don't slip up.'
Simpson returned to the paperwork on his makeshift desk, the threat crystal clear. Clearly the interview was over and Marsh, still standing at attention, had been dismissed. Marsh saluted and left the tent frustrated at Simpsons' insistence on defunct tactics. Hopefully Lieutenant Scott would return and overrule the foolish man. Marsh also made a mental note to seek out the Colonel on the issue.
Hallo lad.' Mullen said, hand outstretched to shake hands.
Marsh knew Mullen was a decent choice to have alongside him. He could have been saddled with someone far worse. For that matter, Mullen was capable of running a combat group on his own, so perhaps Simpson had a hidden agenda here? Yet on reflection, Marsh thought that it was more likely that Simpson did not have a clue about how good a pairing it was. Marsh had seen that Mullen had a natural instinct with the Tigers, far more than the majority of handlers. Mullen had been recruited from an infantry depot in Belgium, awaiting redeployment after time away from the frontlines. He had recovered from an injury that had separated him from his original unit. Like many o
f the handlers, while in the depot he had shown an aptitude for working with Tigers during the recruitment tour Marsh had led. Mullen had enthusiastically stepped into the role of handler, able to manage fifteen Tigers with ease during his early training sessions. Although he did not outwardly seem to have rare telepathic control of his Tigers that Marsh did, there had been indications of the zombies responding to non-vocal commands. Marsh hoped he would be able to develop Mullen's skills in this area.
'We'll be working together then.' Marsh said taking the offered hand. 'How'd you get on at Bullecourt?' He knew that Mullen had been under Simpson's command.
'T'was awful.' Mullen replied, 'We advanced at the same time as the Aussies, straight into the German fire. There wasn't even any supporting artillery. Heard you did well though.'
'We didn't get the artillery support either, but we advanced as we'd planned and practiced.' Marsh thought before adding,' At least at first.'
'Lieutenant Simpson wouldn't let us move out as planned. He called it cowardly and sneaky, changing the plan at the last minute. The daft git insisted that we advance alongside the Australians.' Mullen paused, Marsh noticing low opinion the man had for Simpson, 'In some places it went horrifically wrong. A couple of handlers were killed and the Tigers went out of control. They then just turned on the Australians. As we were all packed so close together, the protection squads couldn't get a handle on the situation quickly enough. Loads of Aussies and our own lads, were injured or killed. Not all of it done by the Germans either.'
'You did fine though didn't you?' Marsh asked.
'Well there's only so much one bloke can do when you've been ordered to keep the formation together. The Tigers aren't meant to walk across a battlefield towards the enemy. They're meant to fly at the enemy, ripping 'em to shreds. Sure, they'll take quite a bit of damage, but why give the enemy a chance to harm them. I lost most of mine before I said "Stuff it" and sent them forwards. Once the beasts got ahead, they did some damage, but there's only so much they can do in small numbers.'
'Well get used to it. Somehow Simpson has convinced the CO to introduce mass attacks.' Marsh's face made it clear what he thought about the idea. He was glad that Mullen shared his assessment of how best to use the Tigers.
'You knew Simpson before he was commissioned didn't you? Was he always a bastard?' Mullen grinned, happy to abusively describe their ineffective leader.
'Absolutely. Spit and polish Regular.' Marsh replied, quickly glossing over how Simpson, as an instructor had bullied him throughout training for being a misfit.
'I volunteered at the start of the war and there were plenty like him, Regulars that had missed the boat to Belgium. They particularly liked Irishmen like myself.' There was a great deal of sarcasm in his tone, 'Lording it over us like bloody feudal Lords, "Get back to the bog, you Fenian bastard!" they'd shout, forgetting we're just as British as they are. We're not bloody colonials. If it weren't for this damn war, we'd already have Home Rule. We finally got the damn law through the Lords and then this bloody war stops it from happening.'
'Looks like it's on hold for the duration, especially after the Easter Rising.' Marsh did not know an awful lot about the situation in Ireland, but the attempted revolution of 1916 had been significant news and even he knew about it.
'Maybe, but there was a lot of martyrs created when they put it down. Changed the minds of a lot of people you know.' Mullen sounded like his mind might been one of those changed.
'What you think then?' Marsh asked, curious as to Mullen's opinion.
'Let's sort out this war first.' Mullen was emphatic on that, 'Besides, from the rumbles I've heard, the Frenchies are getting even more mutinous and don't forget that the Russians have already overthrown their Tsar and brought in a government.'
'Yes, but even that's not stopped the Russians from losing every time they've taken on the Germans. Still, at least they're tying up the Germans otherwise the French would have lost Verdun last year.' Marsh referred to the brutal attritional battle that had bled both the French and German armies throughout 1916, 'But I'm worried about what I hear about the French. Their latest offensive isn't going well. Our attacks around Arras were meant to support them, but there's still been no breakthrough.'
'Well, the Brass are sure to send us back into the line again. When they do, how do you want to play it?' Mullen asked, his tone indicating that he had no desire to stay in the role Simpson had cast for them.
'Tell me, have you ever had your Tigers respond in ways you've not told them to?'
'What do you mean?'
'Have they ever acted on your thoughts?'
'Ah, Corporal Marsh. What can I do for you?' Colonel Hudson looked up from his desk and waved away the adjutant who had escorted Marsh into the tent.
'Lieutenant Simpson has let us know that we'll be following new tactics, Sir. Well Sir,' Marsh hesitated, worried about going behind the back of an officer, 'I'm concerned that these tactics are moving in the wrong direction considering the work we've already done.' Marsh rigidly stood to attention as he raised the criticism, knowing he would need to make the best possible impression.
'Relax Marsh, take a seat.' The Colonel said.
Marsh took the seat across the desk from the Colonel, not in the least bit relaxing, instead sitting as smartly as he could.
'I know corporals don't usually get to develop tactics, but your contribution has been crucial. I also know that officers do not always know better than experts such as yourself.' The Colonel had met Marsh shortly after the infantryman had encountered his first zombie. Hudson had quickly spotted a potential in Marsh, with circumstance leading them to formulate many of the Tiger tactics between them. 'Now, I know we are severely limited by our shortage of Tigers, just as much as by the fear that they'll cause more damage to our own side than the enemy, as was demonstrated in our last action. We therefore need to make the best use of the resources available to us.'
'But massed attacks Sir?' Marsh asked, 'Having a second handler is excellent and something I can recommend, but the strength of the Tiger is in their speed and shock value. This is best delivered in small and flexible groups.'
'It seems that the enemy are already adapting their tactics in light of the use of Tigers. In the last attack, they used a tactics that has been called "Elastic Defence". Did you notice how the front line was more lightly manned that was expected?' Hudson waited for Marsh to nod his agreement, 'While the second and third lines were better manned, the majority of the German forces were behind the initial trenches, ready to assault our gains while we were still in the process of consolidating them. They even had their artillery ready, in great numbers, to bombard their own positions.'
'But Sir, this would suggest that our tactics are working and will continue to work. We just need to ensure that the follow-up troops move forward quickly enough and that the enemy artillery is suppressed until we've finished consolidating. If we'd had the artillery support on my section of the line, we would have been able to hold the position as the Australians consolidated quickly.'
'Unfortunately we cannot rely on the follow-up forces moving quickly enough, even though they did with you. This new elastic defence seems to be flexible enough to absorb our Tiger assaults before ejecting our troops from our gains. If we move to massed attacks, we will be able to seize control of a whole area while retaining full control of our Tigers so that the follow-on troops can immediately move forward alongside us. It is critical that we are able to hold the trenches that we take.'
'If we walk across no-mans-land, Sir, we will be decimated by the enemy machine-guns. Surely the difference in tactics, as used by Lieutenant Simpson, demonstrates that. His Tigers were not as effective as mine.' Marsh pointed out the obvious flaw in the Colonel's argument, 'It's the movement and resilience of the Tigers that get us into the enemy trenches.'
'It's the movement that is too fast for the rest of our forces to keep up. The General Staff are concerned that support cannot keep pace with our advances
. They say that your section so outstripped expectations that the artillery was not able to work out which lines you held.'
'Sir, the artillery failed to fire at their prearranged targets at the appointed times. That we advanced so well without them shows how effective the Tigers are.' Marsh disagreed.
'The Canadians used a new tactics called the walking barrage to great effect at Vimy Ridge. The Brass want us to adopt this. The artillery will, in future, fire slightly ahead of our troops, switching to the next target at timed intervals while the infantry follow-up behind the barrage. This has been designed to work at a fast walking pace and the artillery officers are not certain it would be effective at the faster pace used by our Tigers. There's also a widespread belief that the tank is the way forward, as they operate at walking pace, allowing the infantry to keep up.'
'All the tanks failed at Bullecourt, Sir.' Marsh felt that no further argument was needed. He had seen several bogged down tanks abandoned by their crews.
'I'm aware of that, but there are great hopes for them from the top levels of Government.' Hudson replied, 'Whatever the merits of your points, and there are many, we do not have the strength to continue to operate the way we have. We must concentrate our forces to remain effective. We still have the confidence of General Haig, despite the mixed reports received from the Australians on the effectiveness of our last experimental deployment.'
'Your job, Corporal Marsh, is to make sure that we retain the best of the previous tactics. In your combat group, you are able to marry them to the new requirements as well as possible. However, try not to deliberately flout the new tactics.' The Colonel said, knowing how Marsh would receive the orders without that last caveat, 'I've also looked at your idea of head armour for the Tigers. Unfortunately, we cannot develop it with the resources we have on hand, but we have improvised something.'