Chapter 3: Later that Day

Toha arrived back at his squad with the orders firmly in his hand. He delivered it to his squad leader that promptly opened it and read it. His eyes expressed shock.

The squad leader looked at Toha almost in disbelief “Lieutenant Colonel himself wants you to scout Fresnes north. It is a couple of miles away from us. Be ready to meet possible fierce resistance private. We have a couple of squads that are in the surrounding area trying to make sure the Germans are not pressing some counter-attack on us, but you will be on your own. We will be helping the supply line get moved forward while you are gone. Go get yourself something to eat. You will be leaving in an hour.”

“Understood.”

Toha went into the trench and the room that he slept in. Not far from the place was the galley, a makeshift dugout room with a simple table and chairs. It had its own stove and bucket to clean and wash plates. On a cabinet, the squad found food that was left behind after the place was captured. Food was being served for the men by another fellow Native American who doubled as a cook.

“I am afraid all we have is German food. Let’s see I found kartofflen, schweinefleisch, and möhren. Toha, how good is your German?”

Toha looked at the cook that was trying to figure out the food in the cabinets in the galley. The food was stuffed in heavy bags to help preserve their shelf life. His German was ok, but with no one else being an expert, it was better than nothing. “Looks like potatoes, pork, and carrots.”

“Good, I can get started with making a stew,” the cook replied.

Toha went and decided to head to the makeshift armory that the Germans used in the trench prior to its capture. There was not much, but he took a look at the rack with the weapons. There were Gewehr 98 Rifles, but Toha felt happy with the Springfield rifle that he already had. He went and made sure to take about fifteen rounds with him for the rifle.

He said out loud, “I need a pistol or revolver to take with me in case my rifle does not work, or I run out of ammunition. I could go and ask for my squad leader’s M1917, but there are a couple of pistols I can grab from the armory here instead. Wait, what is this?...”

Toha found something that was smaller than a rifle but bigger than his rifle. Another soldier walked into the room and looked at what he was looking at.

“By our ancestors, look at what you found,” the soldier said to him.

“What is this gun?”

The soldier explained, “I am actually surprised it’s here. Their storm commandos that attack trenches use this. This is an MP-18. This is a wonderful gun to have. I have only heard of this gun. I never thought I would see one.”

“Is this a carbine or some powerful semi-automatic pistol?”

The soldier replied, “This is a very light machine gun or submachine gun depending on how the white men term it. It is the German answer to us using shotguns in the trenches. You could literally jump into a trench with this gun and pour automatic weapons fire with it.”

Toha’s eyes widened. He had seen someone use a Chauchat, but the thing was large and broke when it was being demonstrated to the division.

The soldier nodded, “If you are heading into a possibly dangerous area alone, then I suggest you take the most powerful stuff you can use. The MP-18 is short-range, it’s basically an automatic pistol hence why the Germans called it a Machine Pistol in German obviously.”

Toha held the MP-18 in his hand. He nodded, “I wonder if I can take this and my rifle at the same time? What’s your name anyway?”

“You can simply just call me Private Koi. I don’t share my full names to anyone. I don’t anyone getting too attached to me in case ... well, I get shot. It might be possible to carry both; it will be heavy for you, though. The gun does seem to have some problems that I already see upon looking at it.”

“What do you see that has problems?”

Koi took a good look. “Well ... for one the way this thing is constructed. The loader drum is this snail drum that sticks out. It looks like it carries about 25 to 35 rounds in it. I imagine the spring would make it hard to try to load more rounds unless we have something special to load it. Out on the field, you will have a hard time reloading this thing. Once you fire all the rounds, it might be best to go and drop this thing or ... I don’t know, find an expert on German guns. It does have some cool things, though. The loader drum is mounted on the side so you can grip the side as you fire it and keep it stable as you kneel and shoot.”

Koi took a look at the snail drum and could see that it is fully loaded with ammunition. “It’s up to you on this one, um what’s your name?”

“Private Toha.”

“Yeah, well ... it’s up to you on what you feel is the best for you. There are some Lugars that I see on the rack that you might take instead of that. They are straightforward to use and fire in case the rifle jams.”

Toha was in deep thought. He took and held his rifle and tried to shoulder the MP-18, but it was awkward to do so. He would have to drop the gun to use the MP-18 practically, but if he was going to be the lone wolf, he might as well risk and take the best he could find.

“I think I will take the Springfield and MP-18 with me. I will have something short-range and long-range for me out there.”

Koi nodded as he took a look at the guns on the rack. “I know I am taking this Lugar as a trophy to bring back home. I love the simplicity of this pistol.”

Toha took a look at a crate that was next to the rack. He took his knife and broke the seal, holding it closed. Koi took a good look at the crate as well.

Upon opening the crate, Toha and Koi knew exactly what it was. They were Stielhandgranates or stick grenades used by German soldiers.

Koi nodded, “Now there is something I always liked about the Germans. I honestly think that these grenades are better than the grenades that we use, but not everyone agrees with me. If there were anything, I would at least take one of these grenades with you. You are already carrying a lot with you, but this grenade. I recommend taking one of our F-1s. That way, you will have flexibility in combat, you will have a grenade for close range and another to throw far away.”

Toha gripped the stick grenade in his hand. The design was simple for it. By adding a wooden attachment to the grenade, you could actually throw this grenade much further than a typical handgrenade. For the Native Americans, they used an atlatl or spear throwers. You would put the spear on the thrower and then overhead throw fling the spear much further than a typical overhanded throw. For the Germans, this was their grenade, and nothing was better than that.

“I will take one.”

Koi added, “Make sure you pull the pin on those things before you throw it or it won’t go off, then they will take it and throw it back on you.”

Toha nodded, “I agree.”

Make sure that you take a flare gun. One-shot will be red to indicate that there are a lot of German soldiers in the area and that you are meeting resistance. It will warn us if the Germans are launching a counterattack on us. The other flare which will be blue will let us know that you are not only alive but that you haven’t seen anything.”

“Agreed.”

Toha decided to head back into the mess hall after a short time to go get something to eat before commencing with his scouting mission. He closed his eyes and thought about the journey ahead of him.

He ate the stew that was made as he noted to himself, quietly, “It is very well possible that I will encounter nothing when I reach Fresnes. I must be ready for what will hit me.”

He closed his eyes as he thought about his parents. He missed them. There was nothing to return back to at home. He had his parent’s house, but that was it. No woman was interested in being with him, and at the same time, he felt discouraged from pursuing a relationship with anybody.

He said quietly to himself, “I can’t think about them too much. The calmness before the storm can drive men mad. The battle is the shortest thing in a conflict. Most of the time is waiting for the struggle to begin and trying to keep everything working. Do they remember the warrior for the battle he fought, or do they remember the majority of the time he spent keeping the home clean for himself? They will always remember the battle and nothing else. I need to think that way too, but in reverse.”

Toha loaded up with his gear in the armory. He took everything he said he was carrying. He carried no additional rounds for the MP-18. If he ran out of ammunition for it, he would drop the gun and keep going. He took additional rounds for his rifle as he knew that was going to be his primary weapon.

“Hmm ... feel like in some ways that I should paint my face in war paint, but I am afraid that may advertise that I am Native American to the Germans. Even though I don’t speak Choctaw, I don’t want the enemy to think I am either.”

He took out his necklace, tucked into his shirt, and looked at the picture again. “Se:he, guide me for my journey will be perilous.”

Toha looked at the man of the maze on his necklace. The man destined to find his way to the center. After gathering the courage, he tucked the pendant back into his shirt.

Outside of the room, there were men to wish him luck. The squad leader, Koi, Shikoba, all shook his hand. Death was a natural process, but it was still absolutely essential to wish a person a pleasant journey, even if it might be a short one.

Toha struggled to climb up the ladder with all the heavy gear on him. Carrying almost two full guns and equipment to last a couple of days certainly could weigh any person down. The men helped him climb over the ladder to the edge of the trench. Toha looked north as he started his journey. What lies in front of him was anyone’s guess.

With his two guns in hand, Toha shouldered his MP-18 and began to proceed north. He stepped past a set of trees and started heading north. He saw allied aircraft flying overhead. The artillery bombardment still existed from the allied side, but the front was getting quieter and quieter.

Toha had found a dirt road and proceeded to walk down the road. He pondered about going off-road as he could get shot more easily. When he reached the path, he had a good view of the countryside. There were little trees as he was in the wide open. He was in danger of getting snipped from the grass, but there was little he could do about it. Allied aircraft were flying in pairs of two or three overhead of him. They were heading eastward to go after any enemy aircraft. As long as the plane kept flying, he did feel a little safer than usual. Anybody that tried to take a shot at him could risk getting strafed from allied aircraft.