The Magitech soldiers powered our APC. It had sustained a hit to the engine earlier that day. Our flame knight, Pyre, did what he could to seal up the damage, but in the end it could not be completely fixed on the field. So our electro-technist, Navittas, did what he could to get a few last pumps out of it. There were too many shorts though. He nearly burned himself out trying to keep it going. It's a good thing we had him though. We would have been stranded nearly a day away from camp in the freezing cold desert – now we were mere hours. Damned desert. Monty and the empire really knew how to pick these campaigns. Well... we piled out of this APC and started the lonely trek back to base. We had succeeded at least. Those damned Germans never knew what hit 'em, a lovely little combination of comp B and magic – blew their fuel stores sky high. Never seen quite such a barbecue. 'Course, getting out was a hell of a lot harder than getting in, what with the increased light... but still, we made it. Thank you air corps. You did a lovely job of messing up those tigers. We might have a chance in this next battle.
I suppose I had better tell you who I am. I'm Sergeant Arnold Maddock, British army, part of the thirteen corps. Might call me a bit of a jack of all trades in this outfit – I've done just about every job there is and more. So, that's probably what made me a good choice for leading this commando team. I might not have magi-tech like those two do, but I know plenty on how to work with them and get the job done. Alright then... Gents, on your feet. Full gear. Never know what we might run into on the way back. Jerry's been all over the lines, just as we 'ave. That said, unless you want to starve, this cushy ride's over.
We get out of the APC, the five of us left. These aren't men, they're boys. Barely old enough to shave. At least they could still hold their Enfields, shoulder to shoulder with the rest of us. Corporal Edward Jennings is the only other man in this squad. Demolitions is his specialty. As much as I like being a jack of all trades, sometimes you want the right man for the right job. If it weren't for him, this mission we just did would have ended in disaster. He had the brilliant idea to use a bit of pitch from our APC's stores to disguise our charges. Germans didn't know what hit 'em. Then there's a boy I have no respect for. Private Derek Petersen. I hope to god that he never gets above that rank. Having him leading people into battle would be disastrous. Barely has the stomach for fighting. How he even got in on this commando unit is beyond me. Must have some friends up above. Why he isn't a lieutenant in that case is anybody's guess. Maybe he pissed those people off? Ah well. If worse comes to worse, there is something I can do about it.
It was about a four hour march back into our base. It was not without incident. We encountered a small group of German soldiers, displaced from who knows where. About ten of them to our five. Normally, we wouldn't have bothered with them, but command had standing orders to capture any if possible on the raid. Plus we had the initiative. And an ambush position. I ordered the troops to take their positions, and take their marks. I asked around, and found out Petersen had just gone to take a leak. This could not wait. A few seconds more, and they'd be gone beyond the sand. This dune was perfect for the shots. So I ordered them to take their shots. We nailed six of them before they realized where we were shooting from. I yelled at them that if they surrendered, they wouldn't be harmed. The kraut yelled back “Wir abtreten” – we surrender. So I sent Navittas over the top. Then Petersen started shooting them with his Bren. By the time I got to him, the deed was done. There weren't any more prisoners to be had.
When we got back to base, we heard the news on the radio. Australia was under attack by the Japanese.
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German chapter delayed. Will likely be up by next week.
