In mid February, Snake squad received a message via pigon from command, and inside was the first solid hint on where the invasion would come to them. Snake Squad Your efforts at disstablizing the German defenses and your ability at making high level assassinations and get away with it is admirable, but we must order that your period of free reign of operations has been suspended. Your orders are to go to the Por-de-Calais and Normandy areas and focus your efforts there. You are also to give a detailed assessment of the command, number of troops, and defenses in place of both areas, but we must request you focus your intelligence missions on Normandy. Please destroy this letter immediately after recieving it. Ryan looked to his fellows, "Well, you read it, lets get a move on. Someone hand me their lighter."
The Coyotes made it back to France without any problems, and their always mobile existence allowed them to be particularly hard to be tracked by the Nazi forces. They still had to take Rene down and to make preparations for the future invasion by the Allied forces. They didn't know when the invasion will occur, but it will happen.
(Hmm...You know what, lets make it interesting and change up history a bit) As Snake squad drove along the road, they listened in on into the radio, when they heard a disheartening report from the Eastern Front over the BBC Reports have come in from Russia that the German Wermacht have achieved its first truly major victory since Stalingrad. The Soviet Nursa Offensive has ended in absolute disaster for the Soviets, with over a hundred thousand dead, and the same number again wounded, captured, or missing in action. Sadly, this failure has meant that Leningrad, after two years of dreadful seige, has fallen to the Reich. In other news along the Eastern Front, the Red army has been pushed back out of Ukraine, namely due to the German army making a deal with the Ukrainian locals to reduce the usual occupational operations in exchange for help in the fight against the Reds. However, in other better news, a massive dam damaged by a previous raid with Germany itself has been completely leveled by brave Resistance members from within Germany itself. And once more, it appears that Hitler is trying to open up separate negotiations with Western powers to make peace, saying he is quote "the only man who has the ability to crush the common enemy of the Communist Russians." His advances have been met with stiff "no"s.
Saint-Dizier, Vichy France Gruppenführer Eckehard Stoltenberg stood outside a tall building next to two guards, while the remainder of his force went across the town and conducted searches without warning throughout the town. Eckehard was an old man, somewhere in his seventies with a large silver moustache and groomed back hair, dressed in his black coat and uniform while he smoked a cigar. Despite his old age and history amongst the forces, he was known to have been a disgusting man with almost no sense of morality or taste. Rumours about him went across the allied forces of horrors about the man, involving a story about him owning a ‘throne’ made out of Jewish skulls to being married to a younger Aryan woman almost fifty years younger than him. Whatever the reason, he wasn’t particularly liked amongst the Allied forces and even across the SS. Despite not being the friendliest person in the armed forces, Stoltenberg was an absolutely brilliant tactician with an entire lifetime of experience. Had he been played by Hitler to the Battles in Stalingrad and Moscow, the Reich could have won the conquest of Russia. Unfortunately, Stoltenberg’s prestige and reputation made him a desirable-as-hell target for the Allies. One member of the Coyotes dressed as an SS solider with a shockingly youthful appearance and brown spiky hair, one PFC ‘Mathew Reed’, managed to assassinate him by taking a bowie knife and stabbing Stoltenberg multiple times in the neck before killing the two guards next to him, the Coyotes supplying some heavy cover fire to make their escape. With Stoltenberg’s death, it was another key moment that now firmly cemented the Coyotes into the war. The Coyotes, despite not revealing their identity’s, made headlines in England and they felt fantastic. Stoltenberg’s death was one of many to follow. Although not as severe and traditional as the Snake’s assassinations, the Coyotes were more creative and clever in their methods and were seen as national heroes in the Resistance. Morale jumped in the resistance and for once, even if it was for a second, the Resistance believed that they could win.
Meanwhile, a truckfull of regular German soldiers was driving down the road towards the Atlantic Wall when they saw an abandoned military truck on the side of the road. Curious, the driver pulled over and they hopped out and approaching the truck. Their investigation didn't turn up much...until they checked the glove compartment. Inside covered by maps and gloves obviously there to try to conceal it, was a small book. Opening it up, they saw writing in English. They decided to take it and leave the truck behind, not knowing who took it, and drove on. As soon as they reached the next city, they turned in the Coyote journal into the military HQ, who while finding it only told things they already knew the Coyotes had been and not much help on their next movements, they found the locations of several Resistance Headquarters and that the Coyotes had been in contact with one "Snake Squad" which was described as a "sniper and recon group". They finally had something on them... The raids began the next day
The raids were devastating to say the least, the smaller ones falling almost instantly to the superior German army. The larger ones however, destroyed as much evidence as possible that involved all other resistance hideouts, their locations, their plans and various other important information. While they were ultimately destroyed and stripped clean of life, two of them were booby-trapped with explosives when the resistance members commuted suicide to avoid a worse fate that would ultimately await them if they remained alive. Despite this, the Resistance fighters fought with absolutely everything they had and managed to inflict some damage to the Germans. All resistance to the north towards Belgium and North-East towards Germany was almost non existent. Nonetheless, spirits tried high about the sense of French brotherhood and companionship. If any serious damage was to be inflicted now, a serious German commander had to die. Whoever it could be was unknown, but with the success that the Coyotes and Snakes were having alongside with the a Resistance. Even if they didn't want to admit it, Germany was running out of officers in France
As February rolled into March, it became obvious to Snake Squad over the radio that the tide had turned once again in the Eastern Front, not enough to send Germany on the offensive, but it was enough to halt the Russians and send them back far enough to build up defenses in preparation for the coming summer offensive the Soviets were likely going to try. They also heard that the Fins had repelled a Soviet invasion after months of fighting, and had forced himulating terms onto the Reds, namely in the terms of forcing them to reconize Finnish independence, establishing a demilitarized zone up to 5 miles deep on the Russian side of the border, and payment for the damages caused by the invasion. That was something they actually wanted to hear. "Seems like the Soviets aren't doing so well anymore." Gordin noted as the radio broadcast ended while Ryan looked through his scope at a beach, not knowing it was going to be Omaha beach. "Nope." Holger replied, "Hell, I honestly don't care, the more they hold up those Red bastards, the more we can make sure they don't try to take over any countries themselves, and it's all the more troops tied down in the Eastern Front for both. However, I worry that they might not be so willing to decline to negotiate the longer the stalemate draws on, which means a few million of battleharded German soldiers will come rushing west." "I don't see it happening, ever read Mein Kampf? Ol' Adolf just rambles on and on about how the Communists and Slavs are the next worst thing to Jews. The war in the East will only end in one way, with the destruction of one or the other, maybe both." Herman put in. "I don't like it..." Ryan muttered. Everyone looked at him confused, "What?" "I don't like the looks of this beach. There are cliffs surrounding it with only three roads on and off. There isn't much by way of defenses, but they're working on it. And this is the exact kind of beach we landed on when we first went into Naples." "So?" Gordin asked "So, it means Command will be looking at this place as a possible invasion beach. And if Rommel is still in charge, it means he's going to remember it as he was in charge of the defense of Naples. Which means...He's going to beef up the defenses, it will be a slaughter I'll bet." Ryan replied, "However...looking at it, looks like it couldn't be defended by more than a couple companies, so the size of the defenders wouldn't be that large. But it wouldn't need to be. Put up 20 or so machine guns ringing the entire beach and you could hold back 20,000 men easy." Ryan looked over to Herman, "You're our comms, you know what to do. Call it in."
Standartenführer Albin Klempner was the next victim of the Coyotes, assassinated in the middle of the night after he was pulled out his bed, had his arms broken quickly while muffling any screams before throwing him out of the top floor of a hotel he happened to be resting in. Not only did Klempner die instantly once he made contact with the ground, but the Coyotes decided to place a rose between his hands and rigged a bomb underneath a nearby truck when the soldiers tried to take the rose out of his hands, which had a tripwire connect to the bomb through one of it's thorns. Ultimately, their attack worked and a dozen soldiers were killed. From March to May, the Coyotes continued their creative assassinations against the Nazi leaders. At this point, almost 30 officers and Generals were assassinated alongside another 'collateral' body count of just over 900 German soldiers. They were making a name for themselves, and this paranoia of assassinations were making SS and Wehrmacht leaders nervous. Exactly as planned. Rene was the next target. It wouldn't be until June when they could hit him properly, but the severe lack of body guards and influence in Northern France allowed for a once in a lifetime opportunity to occur.
(If you can't tell by now, I'm changing it up to where it's the invasion of Northern France that marks the final hours of the Reich, not the ever advancing Russians, and instead of the Battle of Berlin being with the Soviets, it's the Western Allies) Today, the Soviets officially announced an end to their summer caimpaign early as their concentrated attack on Poland failed. Though promising to quote "keep up attacks to pin the Germans down and drain their resources", reports show that in the past month alone, a million Soviet soldiers died to take an area not much bigger than the British Isles. Meanwhile, plans captured deep inside Germany have been reconstructed, and the first jet engine fighter built by the Allies had been approved for combat. Faster than anything in the skies, the so name J-1 Stingray is already on its way from American assemby lines to assist in the fight, with designs on the way for high altitude heavy jet bombers. One can only imagine what they intend to do with this. In other news, the Americans are currently in the midst of preparing an invasion in the Pacific on a grand scale. We aren't being told where it will come, but if i had to guess, it will be Papua New Guinea and be coming from Australia. As the three others listened to the BBC radio, Herman looked at Command's new orders, "Huh...We have been told to assassinate Rene before the second of June, then we are to hold a position within Normandy until relieved, from there...we are...going to be transferred to Moscow?" Everyone in the car looked at each other curiously, "You sure you got that right?" Ryan asked. "Yup, clear as day, "Report to Moscow to set up a position in Red Square. This war is merely the beginning of another, Hitler will lose. Then we will have the Soviets to deal with. You will be this war's first soldiers. You will have to make it look like it was Russian dissidents." Everyone looked at each other again before falling into silence before Holger finally broke the silence with what they were all thinking. "They want us to kill Stalin."
May 31st, 1944 The Coyotes and their Resistance allies together shared what they liked to call their ‘Last Supper’. A banquet of food was presented onto a large table in the largest Resistance base in France, where at least eighty freedom fighters sat together and shared stories of sadness, pity, sacrifice....but unexpectedly hope. The Coyotes and Snakes had helped the fight to save their country, and were both seen as heroes in the eyes of the French alongside making waves in the allied lines. While still being a major threat in the country, influence and organization for the Nazi forces in France were much less organized then they were almost a year ago. The night belonged to the Coyotes, and it was defiantly a night to remember. A cheerful escape from the nightmare that was the reality around them. It was almost like a party, with American swing and jazz music playing on a radio, a dance floor and even plenty of other enjoyable experiences that would not be associated with war in the slightest. Some of the Coyotes even met a special someone, even Katz was enjoying the company of a black haired resistance fighter who was around his age. All that is needed now is the death of the final piece of the puzzle, Rene. ----------------------------------------------------------------- Rene was inside of a hotel building, shirtless to reveal his shockingly fit and muscular body adorned with extremely beautiful yet racist Nazi tattoos, one of them covering his entire back involving a pair of Vikings, a longboat and lightning while a massive swastika was adorned as a centrepiece of his back, while a single black swastika was on his right chest muscle. He put on a white singlet before the rest of his uniform as he looked into a mirror. Once his black coat was done up, buttoned up to prevent the harsh cold from outside, he put on his infamous SS that had the ‘Death Head’ emblem and went outside, where literally the entire area around him was practically a warzone. He pulled out a pocket watch and looked at a picture of his parents, who both lived in Rene's birthplace of Nuremberg. He didn't know what fate would await them, but if the Reich won the war, then they would have committed suicide like Rene would have. For his absolutely fanatical loyalty and devotion alongside his parents personal devotion , a world without National Socialism wasn't a world at all. Rene knew that he would not survive the next 48 hours. He was not afraid to die.
(You mean lost the war?) Snake squad tracked down Rene with the help of the scattered local Resistance, all it took was two and they learned he was in Caen in Normandy. They quickly found him, he wasn't a hard man to miss. Then, they began their final tracking, waiting for him to get to an area where they could get him, looking not out of place in their SS uniforms.
(Oops, stupid spell check) The clouds above the city were pitch black, the sound of thunder echoing across the skies above. Caen looked like a warzone, the town being reduced to a battlefield between an enormous collection of Resistance members and local fighters while Rene commanded the entire German force in the city, numbering in the thousands when a Command sent them into the area. The Germans were dominating the battlefield through their experience, training and weaponry. Although, the Resistance seems to do at least some damage against them. He walked out of the hotel, pulling two knives out of his pockets and stabbing two attacking resistance members in the neck who were waiting outside of his door. He then placed the knives away as a he walked towards the battle almost calmly, making peace with whatever god he had been led to believe in. In his case, it was the Fuher. His arrival hit the resistance like a hammer, with the front lines being utterly thrown to the wind. Just as he felt like somebody was watching him, he suddenly stopped and raised his hands towards the sky, a sinister smile on his face. "Americans...." Rene announced in English
"Amerikaner? Hier, mein oberfurhrer? nicht, mein oberfurhrer." (Americans? Here, my oberfurhrer? No, my oberfurhrer) Holger responded behind Rene's back, "Nein, wir sind Sie sind Verstärkungen, 1st Heckenschütze Kader, 5th Sturmtrupp der 65th Waffen-SS Bataillon." (No, we're you're reinforcements, 1st sniper squad, 5th assault group of 65th Battalion) The other three remained silent knowing what Holger had in mind, and the squad name and classification matched their uniforms, Ryan being the squad Junker (highest rank for a non-commissioned officer, but in consideration for becoming one) as they stood by, holding their weapons, then Ryan spoke up (going to type in English for ease's sake), "General Rommel sent us in once he heard a Resistence uprising was underway, the rest of our assault group is on its way, but we need to know a good sniper position from which we could dig in."
Rene smelled a rat, but decided to play along with what was occurring, switching back to German. "There is a clocktower nearby, should provide plenty of range." Rene knew quietly that the entire clocktower was not only a perfect vantage point, but was also rigged with explosives underneath the floorboards if a betrayal occured.
"Thank you." Ryan said before pulling out his Colt 1911 and firing four shots in rapid succession in Rene, 1 to each knee and two to the stomach, the others quickly surrounded Rene, looking like they were trying to help him when they were really breaking his arms and legs to immobilize Rene before he could even react before "pouncing" on Ryan and dragging him away as if to go execute him.
Rene hit the ground hard, collapsing to the ground as he was immobilized quickly. Before he could even hit the ground, the Coyotes appeared out of nowhere and noticed the Snakes doing their job for them. The hopped downwards from a nearby floor and soon joined the Snakes. Rene looked towards the sky, blood coming out of his mouth as he watched the Snakes and Coyotes take him down.
The Snakes left the Coyotes to perform the Coup de Gra, trying to get out quickly as it was obvious that the German Wermachht were in their mop-up stage of the fight with the Resistance.
The Coyotes looked back at Rene, who seemed to have already been defeated spiritually and decided that they were going to deal with this matter quickly and efficiently. With this final blow, the Coyotes mission would have been complete. Over a year fighting against Germany, it came down to dealing with a final blow against the blonde haired man. Rene said nothing until a devilish smile came onto his lips, just as Katz took out a Colt 1911 from his waist. “Any last words, Schneider?” He looked back upwards as Rene spoke his last words, spoken in English to ensure that this matter was serious. “My last wish is for God to protect Germany and to help make Germany great again. I loved my homeland and its people. I have done my duty to this nation and I call upon the world to have mercy on my people. Now, I will follow my brothers and sisters into eternity. Ein Volk, ein Reich, ein Führer. Heil Hitler.” Katz and the Coyotes showed no emotion as the pistol was raised, but were overall relieved that everything has come full circle. The following gunshot sounded a new era.
As the Snake's headed out of the city to find themselves a place to hold up at, a German convoy truck forced them to pull over. As they reached for their 1911's something surprising happened, an SS officer walked in front of the car and began speaking in German, "I know who you are. I know what you've done. And I know your current orders are to wait somewhere until the invasion comes through then you are to head to Moscow. I'm sorry, but there's been a change of plans. Please, step out of the car, we won't hurt you." Snake squad cautiously did so, knowing they were no safer from bullets in the car as outside of it. "Good." The officer said before lighting up a cigarette, "Now, in case you haven't noticed, ein Reich has become quite unstable in France, and while the Resistance has been shattered and won't be doing anything for quite some time, once the invasion comes and breaks out, and it will, the only place where we would be able to put up true resistance is in the first province, but that will be a losing battle. I would say it would take a few months at the very most, but once a full breakout is achieved, well, we will be driven back across the Rhine faster than you could say schnitzel. Then Germany will be forced to fight on its homeland. Meanwhile, German forces on the Eastern Front will lose heart and want to head West to defend their homeland, and once the West crosses the Rhine, it will be over. So, I'm going to keep you as my pet snipers, and when the time comes, you will kill Hitler. Once he is dead, Rommel will be shoehorned in, and the war will end, simple as that." "...What's in it for us?" Ryan asked "Oh ho, I'm not asking, I'm telling, unless of course you would like to get mowed down right here by my lovely soldiers. But, I guess you'ld rather death over helping end the war in Europe and live in comfort the rest of your days as the men who killed Adolf Hitler." Ryan narrowed his eyes and growled lowly before saying "Fine." In an annoyed tone. "Good to hear! Now come along please."
The red rose had become something of a symbolic reminder of war. The horrifying beauty of it all and the blood red rose petals reminded mankind of so many things, but all roads that these questions traveled found themselves back 'home'. For the Coyotes, the rose had become something of a trademark of their work, and their most influential target was Rene Schneider, the 'perfect' Nazi. It was raining in Caen, and Rene's body was directly in the middle of the street almost in a peaceful position. The clouds turned to a violent black and it began to rain heavily. The former SS officers coat was opened up as the top part of his grey uniform was marked with his blood. He was shot in the heart instead of the head, almost out of mercy by the Coyotes. Rene's extremely handsome appearance was what defined what remained of his body, his neck length blonde hair and goatee was now saturated in rain and his eyes were closed. Rene was an absolute genius, smarter than Einstein considerably, and was known to be a swift and highly efficient learner in almost anything, as if he was a human calculator. Had he been born in America, he could have changed the world. Of course, Rene never believed that any atrocity or crime he had to commit for a better German future was a bad thing. Not even multiple visits to Concentration Camps changed his mind. Rene never told other officers on why he was so Anti-Semetic, but it was a secret that his parents only knew. A secret created by loss and sacrifice after his sister, a gentle soul and the only person whom he acted the driving force in his life, was murdered by a Jewish doctor in 1928. By the time that German troops found him, Rene had been dead for fifteen minutes. His eyes were closed while his clothes were drenched in the rain from the heavens above. He held a rose, a final gift from the Americans in his right hand, clenched into a fist despite the thorns poking his flesh and blood running down the street and into the sewers. What they found disturbing was how much that the fanatical SS officer was in peace in death, all stress and tension just completely non-existent. What also came across, much like his nickname, was the small peaceful smile on his face. Nobody knew why he was smiling. Could it have been of something he seen after death? A moment to repay the sins he had committed? Nobody knows, and nobody but his parents ever would. Rene was going to see her again.
