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POV of a British captain
14-December-1919
''Lower your head before one of those machine guns tears it off!'' I heard the major shout at one of the men who had leaned out to fire.
The roar of the machine guns was deafening. They could be heard everywhere while we remained packed inside one of the craters left by our cruisers' guns when they bombarded the coast to open the way for us.
Despite that support, we were in a fairly bad position. The Germans were comfortably entrenched, emptying entire belts of ammunition at us, while we could barely raise our heads without being filled with lead.
''Damn it!'' someone shouted.
One of our men had leaned out to fire and the Germans opened his head. I heard that wet sound when its contents scattered across the earth, followed by the dry impacts of bullets smashing his helmet apart.
The machine-gun fire continued for what felt like an eternity, until it finally began to lose intensity.
''The Germans are falling back!'' someone shouted, pointing toward the trees.
''Get out of this damned hole! We have to gain ground and help the other groups before they do the same thing to them that they did to us!'' the major roared, beginning to hand out orders among the officers and soldiers who were still alive.
The Germans were far better prepared for their rebellion than any of us had expected. Intelligence was not only wrong. It had no idea what was happening.
According to the reports, barely two German divisions had seized all the countries that should have been formed after the treaty. The reality was that there were many more divisions than expected, so many that the original forces sent to intervene were inferior in number to the German troops.
We still did not have a confirmed figure. Our spies had not managed to send information and, according to what our superiors told us, there were serious problems getting any message out of the occupied territories.
The only thing we knew for certain was that the Germans had enough men to defend the entire Baltic coast. Every landing we tried to carry out ended up turning into a slaughter.
Luckily, the Navy had begun a bombardment campaign against the German positions, although without much success. The rebels had their own air force and were preventing our reconnaissance planes from locating their camps.
Because of that, the bombardments mainly served to clear the beaches of minor fortifications and attack specific points inside the cities where it was believed the Germans were concentrating troops.
Barracks, camps, local government buildings and positions identified as coastal defenses were attacked in every city. However, the bombardments remained limited, since our orders demanded that damage be reduced as much as possible.
We were supposed to have the support of the local population.
However, while we waited for the arrival of new reinforcements from the islands, not a single popular uprising had come to help us. Not one.
All of that had ended up leading to our landing.
The bombardments had forced the Germans protecting the area to retreat into the forests. However, as soon as our boats began advancing toward the beach, the Germans came out again from among the trees and received us with their machine guns.
A good part of the troops died inside the boats themselves, without even reaching land.
Those of us who managed to disembark had to force our way through fighting. The defenders were not too many, but they had an enormous advantage. They fired from solid ground and prepared positions, while we had to advance rowing in open boats.
''Richard, come here. We are about to decide what the hell we are going to do now'' the major said.
I adjusted my helmet, got up from the ground and approached the group of officers.
''The first thing is to hide the insignia. High command likes to see us well ordered and shining, but we are the first ones they shoot when they distinguish a rank. Come on, do not stand there staring at me. Take off those damned insignia'' the major ordered while tearing the decorations from his uniform.
I obeyed and put away everything that could distinguish me too much from an ordinary soldier, although some differences were still quite obvious.
''Good. With this, we will be a little harder to recognize. We are near Pernau, but not close enough for them to see us from the city. From what I understand, this whole plan consists of cutting the supplies north of Riga. We have to prevent the Germans from using the cities in the area as logistical centers. If we manage to weaken them, perhaps we can take and hold a port from which to land the heavy equipment. For now we can barely transport anything in those damned boats. Our task will be to place explosives on the railway lines'' the major explained while taking a map out from under his uniform and pointing to the routes we had to follow.
''How old is that map?'' a lieutenant asked while examining it.
''From 1916. The Russians gave it to us when we asked them for maps of the railways of the former Russian Empire. In exchange, we gave them additional supplies for their civil war'' the major replied.
''Are we going to follow a plan using a map from three years ago?'' I asked, looking at the major.
''It is all we have. We barely know what is happening in these territories. For the moment, our only option is to follow the plan and try to weaken the German defensive network in the north'' he replied.
Although he tried to hide it, the major seemed as unconvinced as we were.
''We had better start by moving the corpses before the rest of the second wave arrives'' another captain said, scratching his face while pointing to the beach covered with dead and wounded men hit by German fire.
We began forming a perimeter around the beachhead to make sure the second wave would not have to go through the same thing we had. We moved the corpses aside, treated the wounded who were still breathing and began reconnoitering the surroundings.
''There are a couple of dead Germans over there'' I said, observing the edge of the forest.
''I have heard their equipment is much better than ours, Captain. Maybe one of them has one of those submachine guns they used in the trenches'' commented one of the soldiers accompanying me while looking at the bodies.
''I do not recommend getting close. The Germans have damned good snipers. They could be watching their own dead, especially in a wooded area like this'' I replied, trying to locate any movement among the trees.
Several similar conversations took place. Many men wanted to get some German souvenir, especially one of their submachine guns. They were highly coveted weapons because they were well built and quite useful in close-range fighting.
Finally, reinforcements arrived from the sea and preparations began to advance into the territory controlled by the German rebels.
Several groups entered the forest with the mission of finding the first sections of the railway line we had to blow up.
When we began moving, I saw that the first thing some soldiers did was pick up the weapons of the dead Germans and empty their pockets of magazines and ammunition.
We advanced slowly through the surroundings, pushing our way through brush, roots and fallen trees.
Then we began to hear the sound of an engine.
''There is a vehicle nearby'' I said, looking in every direction while trying to locate the position of the German vehicle.
But before we could locate the origin of the noise, a rain of bullets began falling on us, accompanied by numerous shouts in German.
''Take cover!'' I shouted, placing myself behind a tree while dozens of German soldiers came out from among the brush, firing at us.
An intense exchange of fire broke out between both sides. The enormous difference in firepower was obvious. The Germans had submachine guns and machine guns that did not stop spitting bullets.
The fight quickly turned into a slaughter. Our dead fell amid the unending screams of the wounded, while the German uniforms made them damned difficult to distinguish among the trees and vegetation.
Listening as bullets tore pieces of wood from my cover, I raised my rifle and aimed toward the German vanguard advancing against us.
Among the splinters flying everywhere, I managed to distinguish some movement. I could barely see who I was shooting at, but I pulled the trigger anyway.
I worked the bolt and fired again. I believed I had hit someone when I saw a silhouette collapse among the bushes.
While we continued fighting, we saw more of our reinforcements arrive. They joined the firefight and several grenades began flying toward the German positions.
Then we heard a powerful explosion.
When we looked toward the source of the roar, we saw a great flare. The Germans seemed to lose momentum and began falling back into the forest.
''I have splinters even inside my mouth'' I said, spitting while advancing crouched toward the next cover.
The rest of the group gathered again while our wounded were carried away. We coordinated with the captain of the other company to continue advancing.
Finally, we managed to see the vehicle we had heard. It was ahead of us, covered with branches, brush and some snow. They had even painted the front part to help hide it, but one of our grenades had managed to wreck it.
The vehicle had been abandoned. Apparently, the armor had saved the lives of its occupants, since we found no corpses inside.
''There is a German machine gun here!'' I shouted so someone would come remove it and we could use it.
When I raised my head, I saw that one of our companies continued pushing the Germans deeper into the forest.
''There is a live Hun here!'' one of the soldiers shouted.
I walked among several German corpses. Their uniforms had a strange pattern that helped them blend into the terrain. I also noticed that most of them wore some kind of armored protection over their torsos.
Finally, I reached the prisoner. The German had a considerable dent in his helmet and seemed quite confused, as if he still did not understand what the hell had happened.
''I… sur… render'' the German said with difficulty, trying to raise his hands.
I observed that both his helmet and the protection he wore over his chest had two holes opened by impacts.
''It looks like they have some kind of metal inside'' I said, striking his vest with my knuckles and moving his helmet slightly to examine it.
''What is happening, Richard?'' the major asked, approaching with several men from his group.
''We captured this German. His equipment is strange. The helmet looks different from the one normal soldiers use, and it does not look like the one those men over there were wearing either'' I said, pointing at the German corpses that had nothing similar to the prisoner's equipment.
''Do not waste time with this. Once we finish driving these rebels out of here, we can take a look at the German equipment'' the major said.
''Where do we take the prisoner?'' I asked.
''Nowhere. He is a rebel and has no right to receive any special treatment. Put him on his knees'' the major replied while taking out his pistol.
The soldiers obeyed and the German began to panic.
''Ransom… prisoner… British'' he stammered, looking everyone in the eyes while breathing with difficulty.
The pistol shot echoed among the trees and the German fell dead.
''Keep moving'' the major ordered.
Without wasting time, we continued advancing. Soon we noticed that the German rifles had no bolt. They used weapons that could fire again without needing to operate anything between each shot, something that immediately drew everyone's attention.
The soldiers greedily searched the German cartridge pouches, collecting ammunition and trying to load the captured weapons. However, the men of the first company kept almost all of them, since they were the most veteran and no one seemed willing to argue with them.
We continued advancing through the forest, facing the Germans the whole way and forcing them to fall back.
However, as we moved, I began to notice too much movement around us. The Germans in front of us continued retreating, but branches could be heard breaking on both sides of our position.
''Find the major! The Germans are trying to surround us!'' I shouted.
My men began looking in every direction.
We moved quickly backward, trying to find the major's force to warn them of the possible ambush and convince them to retreat before it was too late.
As we withdrew, shots began to be heard from the east and the north. Before we could keep advancing toward the major's position, they opened fire on us from quite far away.
I saw several of ours fall. The shots came from a group of men wearing branches attached to their uniforms to blend into the forest.
A damned machine gun forced us to keep our heads pressed to the ground.
Around us, footsteps, moving branches and orders shouted in German could be heard.
Shots came from every direction.
''On my signal, throw the grenades. We have to get out of here'' I said, moving a hand toward the ones hanging from my equipment.
My men did the same.
We threw the grenades as far as we could and soon heard screams among the German positions.
''Now! Run toward any cover you find! We will cover you!'' I shouted.
I started running and barely managed to place myself behind a thick root protruding from the ground. From there, I began firing at everything I saw moving, trying to buy time so my men could withdraw.
I could only distinguish flashes between the trees and silhouettes that appeared for a few moments before disappearing again.
More men fell, but we managed to begin a more or less organized retreat while the chaos inside the forest continued increasing.
After what felt like an eternity, the Germans stopped chasing us.
We returned to the coast and warned the other units about the counterattack. We also told them that the Germans would probably return once they managed to reorganize.
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