Disclaimer: I do not own Call of Duty or any its characters

A/N: Hello everyone, this is my very first Call of Duty fanfic novel of the video game the Big Red One: following the heroic battles against the Germans during World War 2 and historic battles in Africa, Italy, France and finally Germany.

Here is the first chapter, where the US forces attempt to liberate the small French town of Maubeuge of the Nazi forces occupying it...and the tragic death of a young Marine who joined the elite combat unit, the 1st Infantry Division.

Reviews and comments will be appreciated

Prologue: We've Been Through Worse

Maubeuge, France

September 7th, 1944

0840 Hours

It was bright sunny day outside French city of Maubeuge, although the small base camp was filled with a combination of anxiety from the veteran soldiers of their elite combat unit and cocky arrogance from inexperienced rookies, who had completed their training back home in America and were assigned to the 16th Infantry Regiment. Speaking of inexperienced rookies, a young man in late teens to early 20's was admiring an M1 Garand semi-automatic rifle while playfully and carelessly aiming the barrel around the air. While the inexperienced rookie was admiring his newly obtained bolt action rifle, an M4 Sherman dozer tank was pushing the burnt wreckage of another Sherman that had been destroyed by the German forces controlling the city. As the Sherman tank moved the burnt and destroyed tank out of the way, two United States Marines were operating am M45 anti-aircraft turret, attempting to shoot down any German Stukas flying overhead!

"Man, I cannot wait to try this baby out!" The young American soldier stated, hoping for a battle to happen in order to try out his newly acquired M1 Garand...which earned the disdain of one of the senior soldiers whom was standing right beside him.

"Huh, get a load of him! Where do they keep getting these guys?" The older Marine stated to his fellow squad mate while thumbing to the younger soldier, who had a puzzled look to what his problem was after examining the .30-06 rifle!

'Hmph...Brooklyn has some nerve being so hard on the kid: especially since he was just like him during and after finishing army training back home.' The squad's fellow Marine and newly promoted sergeant, Roland Rogers mentally stated with a look of disgust at his friend and fellow Marine's attitude towards the new recruit to their unit.

"Give it a rest, Brooklyn." The other veteran Marine, Cpl. Stephen Kelly stated also showing disgust with Brooklyn's attitude towards the kid simply because he was a little overexcited to be fighting for his country just like the rest of them.

"Fine, then you collect his dog tags..." The veteran Marine, known by friends and squad mates as 'Brooklyn' replied angrily, telling his fellow Marine that he could collect the kid's dog tags once he was killed in action by the Germans.

"What's he sore about? All I said was..." The young recruit asked, wondering what Brooklyn's problem was since all he said he was looking forward to fight for his country and was cut off by the senior Marine.

"Look replacement, just because you were that patch over your shoulder doesn't mean you're one of us!" He coldly snapped at the kid, who backed away a bit intimidated by Brooklyn claiming he wasn't really a member of their unit simply because he passed boot camp.

"Brooklyn...a word." Sgt. Rogers demanded as he grabbed a hold of Brooklyn's uniform collar and angrily dragged him away while the second Marine comforted the kid.

"What did you say your name was?" Kelly asked, wanting to know the recruit's name after his friend's attitude problem.

"Andy. Andy Allen." The kid, Pvt. Allen answered after quickly recovering from Brooklyn's cold attitude towards him.

"Don't pay any attention to him, Allen. He just lost a lot of good friend's back in France, we all did." Cpl. Kelly stated, explaining Brooklyn's negative attitude towards him: how they lost a number of Marines, whom they were friends with while fighting the Krauts back in France.

While Kelly was talking to Allen, to help him get over Brooklyn angrily stating he wasn't a member of their unit, Rogers had dragged Brooklyn to a more secluded part of their camp for him to tear the idiot a new one.

"Sarge, what the hell..." Brooklyn demanded, shocked that his sergeant had actually angrily dragged him away by the collar of his uniform and was cut off in return!

"Shut up! What the hell was that with the kid?" Rogers angrily snapped in return, telling Brooklyn to shut up and explain his cold attitude towards Allen, whose just a kid wanting to honor his country just like the rest of them!

"That kid doesn't belong in our unit! Just because he passed selections, doesn't mean he's actually one of us!" The senior Marine countered, defending his actions by stating just because Allen made it through boot camp, didn't mean he was actually a part of their rifle company.

"He does belong in our unit, Brooklyn! That kid earned his slot on our squad, just like the rest of us when we finished training back home. Besides, that rookie isn't really your problem." His current squad sergeant stated, defending Allen further by claiming he earned the chance to serve in their unit and how the kid wasn't really his problem.

"What are you talking a...?" Brooklyn asked, confused by what his squad leader was talking about before being cut off.

"You're pissed because you see a lot of yourself in that kid: obnoxious, mouthy and arrogant just like you were back in Camp Pendleton and when we first faced the Jerry's back in Africa." Rogers explained, pointing out to Brooklyn that he was just like Pvt. Allen back in boot camp and when they first fought together back in Africa: an obnoxious and arrogant idiot who treated the war like it was an actual game.

"Oh c'mon Sarge, I wasn't that cocky and arrogant when we first faced the Krauts back in Af..." The senior Marine snorted, dismissing Rogers' claim that he and Allen were alike and he was just like him back in boot camp and Africa and was once again cut off by his sergeant.

"You were exactly like him and one other thing: Hawk might've put up with your attitude and mouth when he was in charge of our squad, but I won't. I'm only going to say this once: back off the kid or I'll have you assigned to a different unit." Roland countered and gave him an ultimatum: telling Brooklyn to back off Allen or he'd have him transferred to a different rifle company!

"You can't be serious!" The veteran Marine cried out, not believing his newly promoted sergeant and friend would actually kick him out of their unit!

"Try me." He said dry and plainly, as if daring Brooklyn to test whatever patience he had with him...and was relieved that his friend and fellow Marine gave a simple nod.

"Fine." Brooklyn muttered underneath his breath, showing he would back off Allen and cut him some slack.

As soon as two of the rejoined Kelley and Allen, along with a scout from their unit whom had been given a ride back to their current staging area and two Sherman tanks were driving down the road towards Maubeuge.

"It's hell out there guys! It looks like a division of SS has moved in and they are not giving up those crossroads without a fight." The scout reported, informing his fellow Marines and Sergeant that the battlefield through town was basically a slaughterhouse and they wouldn't be entering without clearing out the Germans protecting the crossroads.

Right after the Shermans had drove down towards the small German controlled town, the commanding officer in charge of their unit, Lt. Norman Delaney had approached the five Marines to fill them in on any current developments and mission assignments to capture Maubeuge.

"Okay, listen up. We've got a regiment of mechanized SS dug in across that river. Division wants control of those crossroads, so it's Fox's job to clear that bridge for our armor." Their C.O. stated in a firm yet gentle voice, informing Rogers and his squad mates how the Germans had complete control of a bridge in the small French town and how it was up to him and his team to clear the crossroads and bridge for their Shermans to pass through.

"Couldn't we ask for more air support sir? It would make our job a hell of a lot easier." Cpl. Kelly asked politely, wondering why they couldn't simply ask for their planes to provide air support to protect their tanks from the Stukas.

"Look out! Stukas!" Pvt. Allen cried out in shock, as they heard the sound of the engines and witnessed a lone Stuka releasing ordnance on one of their M45 AA guns, that was too slow to evade the insanely fast German manufactured bi-plane.

After the tank was destroyed and burnt in flames, Lt. Delaney and the other Marines merely looked around, to make sure the other Marines were alright...while Kelly glanced down to the soil to see that Allen had actually ducked for cover! The young Marine merely picked himself up and chuckled nervously, as he was embarrassed since he was the only who ducked for cover while Delaney, Brooklyn, Kelly and Rogers looked at him in surprise...which swiftly ended before their C.O. continued with the debriefing.

"There's no time. We need to take that damn bridgehead, now!" Lt. Delaney answered, explaining to Cpl. Kelly there was no time to get authorization to call in for additional air support and that it was all up to them and their fellow Marines to clear out the Germans protecting the bridge for their tanks to advance into the small town.

"Sergeant! I want you to take your squad and move down that hill. We've lost a number of good men trying to liberate this town and we can't let their sacrifices be in vain." He added before turning to Rogers, ordering him to lead his men down the hill and clear out the bridge so their tanks could pass through!

"Consider it done Lieutenant!" Roland stated respectively, as he and his commanding officer saluted each other before Delaney turned to give the rest of the Marines their assignments.

"Brooklyn, Kelly: you both take point. Allen, stay close to either me or Kelly. Don't want you to get killed so soon in the fight!" He stated turning to his men, ordering both his closest and oldest squad mates to take point while commanding Allen to stick close to either him or Kelly, as neither of them wanted the young kid to die so soon as they attempted to liberate Maubeuge.

"Yes sir." Allen stated as he saluted his sergeant, as he knew better than to question his C.O.'s orders and appreciated the concern, as he was nervous due to marching into an actual battlefield first time in his life.

"You got it Sarge." Cpl. Kelly added right after, as he trusted his sergeant's judgment due to their close friendship fighting together while Brooklyn kept silent, as he was still upset at Roland for threatening to have him transferred to a different unit if he wouldn't back off Allen.

After being given their orders, Kelly and Brooklyn had charged forward, down the hill to the dirt road, along with Rogers, Allen and other Marines with their weapons drawn out. While Allen and half of their men were armed with M1 Garands, Roland and the other half of their squad were armed with M1A1 Thompson submachine guns. As they sprinted down the hill towards the small city of Maubeuge, the American troops heard and spotted a Stuka flying overhead and witnessed its left wing being sheered off, as one of their remaining M45 AA guns had gotten lucky and managed to hit the German attack bi-plane/dive bomber. The shot down German attack plane had spun out of control before flying above the American soldiers and crashed into a nearby hillside.

As Rogers and his men continued marching towards the outskirts of the French town, they couldn't help but grimaced as they ran past burnt down houses and remains of destroyed Sherman or Panzer tanks. The moment Rogers and his squad approached the town, an explosion rung out that sent five of their men upward and killed them instantly! Roland and the rest of their squad gasped surprised, but immediately recovered as they spotted an infantry of SS troops and Panzer 4 tank guarding the entry point to the town. The Germans immediately aimed and fired their MP40 submachine guns and Karabiner 98k bolt action rifles, killing the American troops whom were too slow to shoot first or left stunned after seeing the Panzer killing their fellow men in a matter of seconds!

"Panzer! Take cover!" Cpl. Kelly shouted as he and Brooklyn took cover behind the remains of a destroyed brick wall, with Rogers and Allen ducking behind the adjacent side and were fortunate the main turret missed its next shot!

"Those goddamn Nazi bastards!" The young rookie Marine cried out, not believing how many of their fellow Marines they lost so quickly after they left their command post!

"Stay clam kid! Return fire, men!" Roland stated firmly, reminding Allen to keep his cool before aiming his Thompson, leveling the sight with his eye and fired a burst of rounds while strafing aim; killing a number of five German troops!

Kelly, Brooklyn, Allen and the rest of their squad followed their sergeant lead: aiming their Garands and Thompson submachine guns and fired in retaliation for their fallen Marines! The German troops had cried out, as the .45 ACP and .30-06 rounds had passed right through them, as they were too slow to take cover or reload their MP40's and Karabiner 98k rifles. As soon as the SS troops were gunned down, Roland and his men had easily evaded the Panzer: due to them being too close the driver to shoot the main turret or crew members to man the duo MG34 secondary heavy machine guns underneath the turret. Fortunately for Roland and his men, a number of buildings had been destroyed during the past number of days as their forces attempted to liberate the city and they passed through the basement of a destroyed building.

Once Rogers and his squad entered the basement, they managed to navigate through the burning halls despite the smoke from the fire obscuring their vision. After they passed through a hole that had been blown open in a back wall, the small squad of American troops came upon a door that was closed shut and also found a fellow US Marine, whom was badly wounded: the left side of his face was covered in surgical bandages, suggesting he was caught in the blast radius of a bomb dropped by a Stuka or 92 tank shell round that severely burned his face and the knee to his right was bandaged up as well.

"Oh, man." Allen stated softly as he winced at the sight of the badly injured Marine, whom simply glanced down as he knew he wasn't much to look at, especially with the injuries to his head and face.

"Allen, get the door." Roland commanded, as he could tell that the sight of the injures their fellow Marine sustained was rather unsettling for the young recruit, whom nodded in agreement with his sergeant's order.

Breaking the door down wasn't that difficult, as Allen merely raised his right leg up, folded it in and lunged forward: kicking the wooden door off its hinges. Once the door was open, Rogers and his squad stared surprised by the sight of Allied soldiers that were badly wounded, exactly like the Marine outside the room being tended by the remaining medics and immediately knew what the building they stepped into was: a medical station used by the Allied Forces to treat their heavily wounded troops and fellow Marines. Knowing they couldn't put the lives of the medics and wounded soldiers at risk, the American troops continued with their mission, moving up the remains of a still standing staircase to the second floor...and where a shell tank collided and destroyed a weakened wall!

After Sgt. Rogers and his squad recovered from the impact of the shell colliding with the building and destroying the wall...they stared surprised once the smoke/dust cleared up as they spotted their main objective: the bridge they needed to clear out for their Shermans to pass through the city!

"We made it Sarge! That's the bridge!" Cpl. Kelly cried out happily, as he and his squad located their primary target...and immediately took cover as a large squad of German forces started firing once they noticed and spotted them!

"Yeah...and here come the stinkin' Krauts!" Brooklyn cried out as the Germans took aim and fired upon, refusing to allow the American troops to cross over into the small French town!

Once half of the SS soldiers had ceased firing to reload, while the rest of the troops continued to fire, the Rogers and his squad fired their M1 Garands and Thompson machine guns in retaliation. The Nazi's had cried out as the .45 ACP and .30-06 rounds passed through them and several US Marines had tossed a few Mk. 2 hand grenades, sending several of the Germans skyward into the air and landing hard on the soil, dead. However, the Wehrmacht refused to surrender the bridge and the fire fight continued for what seemed to be four-five minutes...until Roland and his men spotted and smiled as the one thing that would turn the tide of the battle to their favor had just arrived.

"Look, a Sherman!" Allen cried out happily after seeing one of their own assault tanks arrived and began firing shells from the main turret, decimating the German forces!

"Hell yeah!" Brooklyn cried out as he, Rogers, Allen and Kelly smiled as the SS had foolishly fired their MP40 submachine guns and Karabiner 98k rifles at their Sherman, only for the bullets to ricochet off the tank's sturdy armor!

"Keep firing boys! Let's give our armor a hand!" Their sergeant commanded with a huge smile, as he and his men nearly succeeded in accomplishing their main goal in liberating the bridge.

Without wasting a second, Roger's men and fellow Marines had fired their Thompson submachine guns and M1 Garands at the SS troops foolishly shooting at them and their M4 Sherman, only to miss several American soldiers, who took cover behind the tank to avoid enemy fire. Roland had leveled the iron sight of his Thompson with his eye and fired half of his current mag towards the Germans attempting to prevent him and his squad from taking the bridge...and cried out as the .45 ACP rounds pass right through their bodies. However...things were about to take a turn for the worst for the Americans: as Allen spotted the one thing that had sent their victory down the crapper.

"Oh, no...Stuka!" The young Marine shouted out, alarming his sergeant and fellow Marines and they glanced up to see a Stuka diving right towards their direction and releasing a single 1800 kg bomb that destroyed their tank!

Roland and his squad mates stared in complete shock, while the German infantry cried out as their dive bomber had destroyed the American tank and took advantage of their dismay by shooting at the stunned US Marines!

"They just took out our armor! Damn it!" Allen shouted in disbelief, not believing that the Wehrmacht had just destroyed their Sherman while he, his sergeant and fellow Marines took cover behind the burning remains of their destroyed assault tank.

"Keep it together kid! We're going to get through this!" Sgt. Rogers ordered, telling the still visibly shaken young recruit to keep calm in combat, as the enemy counted on them to be overwhelmed by their fear.

"Got it Sarge." The young Marine replied, as his squad leader's calm demeanor and leadership helped him recover from the shock of witnessing the destruction of their Sherman.

"Sarge, I think I see a way around the bridge! Through that basement over there, just follow me!" Brooklyn stated after he and Kelly fired their Thompson/M1 Garand at the SS soldiers, killing three-six of the enemy troops attempting to keep them pinned behind their destroyed tank and spotted their means of flanking the Germans: the now exposed basement of a building that had been destroyed by a large fragment of the tank smashing into the building!

After the Germans had stopped to reload their MP40's and Karabiner 98k's, Rogers and Kelly had swiftly reloaded their Thompson machine gun and M1 Garand carbine and swiftly fired while Brooklyn and Allen tossed a single Mk. 2 hand grenade across the bridge, killing the Germans that were too slow to evade the blast radius of the two handheld explosives. Once the Wehrmacht had ceased firing to take cover, the American soldiers had climbed down the newly created hole and crossed through the building...but not before skidding to a quick stop after an explosion erupted from the river right near them!

"Across the river!" Brooklyn shouted as he and his fellow Marines spotted German troops firing Karabiner 98k rifles and lobbing Model 24 Stielhandgranates from the top floors of the buildings, which provided the Nazi's a perfect flanking position.

"In those buildings!" Kelly shouted as pulled the pin off a Mk. hand grenade and tossed it, which resulted in three SS troops flying upward and 'splashing' hard into the water, sinking to the bottom of the river dead.

"Take them out men! We've got to take that bridge so our tanks can finish the job!" Roland shouted as he swapped his Thompson for his M1 Garand, leveled the iron sight and took out four German infantry with a single well placed shot with his fellow Marines following his lead!

After Rogers and his squad of Marines had eliminated the Wehrmacht forces occupying the buildings across the river, they continued forward to their main objective...but had to take cover as a Panzer Mk. 4 tank had been bunkered in the ground floor of a building across the river, that had fired directly at the US soldiers non stop with its heavy machine gun.

"How the hell do we get past that Panzer?" Pvt. Allen asked, not believing that the Krauts actually had a Panzer tank station across the river from their location and asked how they were supposed to reach the bridge while avoid being shot by the Jerry's.

"Don't wet yourself rookie. We just have to wait for that bastard to reload. Once he's out of bullets, we make a break for it." Brooklyn stated plain and simple, sarcastically telling the young Marine not to wet himself, much to his, Rogers and Kelly's annoyance while telling Allen how they were to get past the Panzer: how they'd simply wait for the main gun to run out of ammo before making a dash for the bridge.

Waiting for the Panzer to reload wasn't exactly easy...as the Nazi trooper manning the MG34 mounted heavy machine gun wasn't going to let them sneak past him. But fortunately for the Americans...the MG34 ran out of ammo, just like Brooklyn predicted...which was also unfortunate for the German! Once the American troops had sprinted past a couple of destroyed buildings that were still standing, Kelly had leveled the iron sight of his M1 Garand and with precise accuracy...took out the machine gun operator with a head shot before he could even react! The moment they successfully made it past the Panzer and buildings...Rogers and his men smiled at the sight before them: two Sherman tanks that had managed to get through the German's defenses!

"Alright! Those Sherman should be able to clear the way for us!" Cpl. Kelly cried out happily after seeing two of their own tanks a few meters away from their main target: the opposite side of the bridge!

But sadly for the U.S. Marines...their luck had took another turn for the worst: as the moment the two Shermans proceeded to advance towards the bridge...a Stuka had destroyed the Sherman driving behind the first one in a matter of mere seconds!

"Oh, come the hell on!" Allen cried out in annoyance, not believing that the German's annoying dive bombers had destroyed another of their tanks!

"I hate those stinking Krauts! They never fight fair!" Brooklyn shouted in agreement due to past experience, as the Wehrmacht troops never fought fair back in Africa and Italy.

Despite the fact that they just lost one of their Shermans in a matter of seconds, the Americans had continued fighting as they approached the bridge while taking cover to avoid enemy fire. But the second they neared the bridge, a huge explosion erupted out as the side of a house was blown open!

"How the hell did that happen?!" Kelly asked as he and his men glanced surprised by what just happened...and would soon learn the answer to his question!

"There's your answer Kelly! Tiger, across the bridge!" Rogers cried out while pointing to what nearly hit them, but missed and struck the house they were standing right nearby: a Tiger Mk. 1 heavy assault tank guarding the bridge and saw smoke emitting from its 8.8 cm KwK 36 turret, as it no doubting fired a shell at their direction but fortunately missed!

After the German heavy attack tank attempted to reload, the Sherman had stopped near the opposite end of the bridge and after taking precise aim, its 75 mm M3 turret had fired a single shell that hit its mark: landing a direct hit on the Tiger, destroying its treads! However, despite rendering the German heavy attack tank immobile...the turret was still functional and the Tiger retaliated, firing a single 92 HE shell that destroyed the Sherman in one single hit!

The American troops stared shocked that the Tiger had easily destroyed their remaining Sherman in just one clean shot without even trying...but knew it wasn't a complete loss, as their tank had took out the treads of the German heavy attack tank which meant: it was a sitting duck.

"Watch out guys! That turret's still functioning!" Kelly cried out, alerting his sergeant and fellow Marines to take cover as the Tiger's main turret was still working as it was swiveling around, aiming for an easy target.

"Say Sarge! Maybe we can draw that tank focused on us while two of our guys take it out with satchel charges!" Sgt. Roger's closest friend and appointed right hand man suggested, recommending that they distracted the Tiger while two of their men planted satchel charges on the enemy tank.

"That's an excellent idea Kelly! Whose got satchel charges handy?" Roland stated, as he agreed with his friend and fellow Marine's plan on clearing the bridge and taking out the Tiger: by planting explosives on the now motionless German heavy assault tank!

"I do Sarge!" One of his riflemen, Pvt. Scott answered while raising a hand, showing he was wiling to volunteer to plant the charge on the Tiger, along with two fellow Marines, Sgt. Synder and Sgt. McCord whom volunteered to assist him.

"Alright men, listen up! We're going to provide cover fire for Scott, McCord and Snyder so they can plant the satchel charge and take out that Tiger! Once its out of the way, we clear out that building, signal for air support to take care of the rest and our work here is finished." He commanded while giving his remaining men their orders: how they would provide cover fire for their volunteers to plant an explosive charge on the German heavy attack tank and once it was dealt with, they would clean out the target building across the bridge and signal an air strike for the Allied forces to clear out any remaining Wehrmacht forces, which would conclude their mission in Maubeuge.

Once they were given their orders, the three Marines had saluted their sergeant before crouching down and carefully approaching the immobilized German assault tank. While their volunteers vaulted over the rubble that prevented their Sherman from crossing over the bridge, Rogers and the rest of his squad had provided cover fire for their fellow Marines: aiming/shooting their Thompson submachine guns and M1 Garand battle rifles at the target building directly behind the Tiger while its turret continued to swivel around, as if searching for an easy target.

"Allen, keep your head down!" Cpl. Kelly shouted, telling the young kid to stay behind cover after he attempted to fire his M1 Garand...but immediately ducked as a German troop fired his Karabiner 98k bolt action rifle after catching a glimpse of him in his sights!

After their fellow Marines had vaulted over the rumble and approached the Tiger, McCord and Snyder provided cover fire for Scott as he planted a single explosive charge underneath the main hull of the German heavy attack tank, while attempting to avoid being shot by the SS troops holed up in the target building.

"C'mon you guys! Blow the charge!" Allen cried out, telling their three volunteers to hurry up and blow the charge, taking out the German assault tank...but unfortunately for McCord, Snyder and Scott...they never had the chance to ever set the charge to destroy the Tiger, as they were gunned down by an enemy Flakvierling AA gun!

"Aw Christ! Fall back!" Brooklyn cried out as he and his squad mates stared horrified that their fellow Marines were killing instantly by an enemy AA gun and they immediately took cover...as the tank's turret had aimed directly in their direction!

"Take cover!" Sgt. Rogers shouted out, ordering his men to take shelter to avoid being hit by the Tiger's 75 mm HE rounds and much to their good fortunate, the German tank had missed its shot and only destroyed the side of the building where he and his squad were taking cover behind.

"Hey Sarge! Perhaps we can cut through that building and get a bead on that 20 mm." His second oldest friend and squad mate suggested, while gesturing to the now destroyed wall which would make the perfect flanking route to neutralize the enemy AA gun and more importantly...taking out the Tiger.

"That's a good plan Brooklyn! Everyone, this way: through that building!" Roland shouted as he agreed with Brooklyn's idea and called out to the remaining members of his squad, instructing them to get inside the damaged, but still standing building which his remaining Marines nodded in agreement.

The moment the remaining Marines heard their squad leader's orders to enter the house they had been using for cover, they immediately did as ordered and swiftly entered, while barely avoiding the impact of another HE shell exploding and leaving a medium sized crater in its wake! Knowing they wouldn't be safe, Rogers had led his remaining team: which consisted of Brooklyn, Kelly, Allen and fix-six Marines that were fortunate to remain alive during their entire suicide mission to the upper floor of the house...which coincidentally, was parallel from the building the Germans were firing their 20 mm AA gun and more importantly...had an MG42 mounted heavy machine gun mounted outside the remains of a destroyed window!

After spotting the unoccupied enemy heavy machine gun, Roland smiled as he approached the MG42 and pulled back the charging handle, as the ammo belt was already securely set and iron sight was properly calibrated, so he wouldn't have to worry about missing any targets. Once the MG42 was locked and loaded, he took air and fired a heavy concentrated hail of 7.92x57mm rounds towards the German AA gun: taking out the Flakvierling and the two German troops operating it!

"Ha ha, nice shooting Sarge!" Allen cried out happily after witnessing his sergeant using the Nazi's own weapons to destroy the anti-air gun while he and Kelly fired a single precise .30-06 round that passed through the foreheads of two SS soldiers firing down upon their squad from the balconies in the neighbor building across the river!

Once the Flakvierling was out of commission, Rogers led his remaining men down the staircase leading outside behind the house and approached the bridge that the Tiger assault tank was protecting. But thankfully, the German troop operating the main turret could not see them so the Americans had no need to worry about being blasted by a 75 mm HE shell and had plenty of cover to protect them from the Wehrmacht troop firing MG42 from the machine gun nest on the top floor of the target building and as an additional bonus...Roland had a shot to the satchel charge that Scott had dropped the moment he, Snyder and McCord were gunned down by the German AA gun.

"Brooklyn, Kelly, cover me!" He immediately ordered, instructing his two closest friends to provide cover for him so he could plant and set the satchel charge on the Tiger.

"You got it Sarge!" Both Kelly and Brooklyn replied as they took aim with their M1 Garand carbines and fired at the SS machine gun nest while taking cover behind the rubble on their side of the bridge!

Thanks to their effort, the Nazi troops were so focused shooting at them...they failed to notice Sgt. Rogers approach Scott's bullet riddled corpse and retrieved the satchel charge from his left hand. He then securely placed the charge underneath the hull of the German heavy attack tank, set the timer to explode in 10 seconds and rejoined his squad...as the Tiger exploded and burst into flames once the 10 seconds passed and timer went off!

"Alright!" Pvt. Allen cheered out, throwing a fist into the air, showing he was relieved that the German attack tank was no longer a threat to him and his squad...while both his sergeant and Kelly chuckled softly at the young kid's enthusiasm, while Brooklyn simply rolled his eyes before they moved on.

"Careful boys! Don't let that machine gun get a bead on any of you!" Roland ordered, instructing his remaining Marines to be extremely careful as they approached the target building: as just one single shot from the MG42 would kill them instantly, which they nodded in agreement.

The second the American soldiers crossed over the bridge, that was when German troop operating the MG42 from the upper floor of the badly damaged, but still standing building began firing separate bursts of rounds down upon them! But thanks to their swift reflexes, the surviving US Marines had managed to avoid being shot to death by the high caliber rounds...and thanks to Roland, he managed to take out the machine gunner: as he leveled the iron sight of his Thompson with his eye and fired a short barrage of .45 ACP round that passed through the SS soldier's body!

"I don't believe it, we actually made it!" Allen cried out excitedly, not believing that he and his squad had just made it through the German control town and survived his first mission with the 1st Infantry Division!

"He he he, we're not home free quite yet kid." Sgt. Rogers stated while chuckling softly, as he corrected the overexcited rookie that their job wasn't finished just yet.

"We've got some bombers comin' to flatten this friggin' berg! We've just got to lay some smoke so we don't get hammered by own bombs!" Brooklyn added after his friend and sergeant, informing the inexperienced rookie that they needed to deploy smoke grenades to signal the Allied Forces to send their bombers to finish off the remaining Wehrmacht forces in Maubeuge!

"Powell, Van Owen. Toss some smoke grenades. Brooklyn: you, Kelly, Allen and the others get ready. Once the bombers get to work, the Krauts are gonna come running to retake this position. We need to hold out as long as we can, so make every shot count!" Roland stated as he gave his remaining men their assignments: ordering two of his Marines to toss out some smoke grenades to signal the Allied Forces to send in their bombers while they were to make a stand against any surviving German forces arriving to retake the bridge and building!

"We're all over it Sarge!" Pvt. Van Owen answered as he and Powell reached behind their backs and pulled a single smoke grenade, releasing red smoke that floated towards the sky and took a suitable shooting position for the Nazis alongside their squad mates.

"You got it Sarge!" Kelly replied as he, Allen and Brooklyn saluted their sergeant before they took suitable shooting positions the second their fellow Marines tossed the smoke grenades as the Germans would be arriving shortly.

The second Powell and Van Owen had signaled for the air strike and the rest of his squad had took up shooting positions, Rogers had entered the target building, climbed up the fragmented staircase to the top floor to the machine gun nest and loaded the MG42 while waiting patiently for the SS troops to arrive. The moment the red smoke had floated towards the sky, Allied bombers had soon approached the soon liberated French city and began releasing bombs, as the all too familiar sound of explosions had erupted throughout Maubeuge...along with Flakvierling AA guns firing 20 mm shells, attempting to shoot the bombers out of the sky, but fortunately missed due to the planes being too far out of firing range. However...the Nazi's had gotten lucky and shot several Allied bombers out of the sky...as one had flown right over where Sgt. Rogers and his small group of surviving Marines were preparing to defend both the bridge and target building!

"Here they come!" Allen cried out as a huge battalion of SS troops had charged across from the opposite side of the bridge, with their MP40's and Karabiner 98k's blazing!

"Open fire!" Roland commanded as he pulled back the charging handle of the MG42 and hailed a burst of bullets towards the foolish German forces, who were planning on retaking the bridge!

"You hard the Sarge, boys! Shoot those Nazi sons of bitches!" Brooklyn cried out, as he leveled the iron sight of M1 Garand and fired three precise shots, killing two SS troops with the rest of his fellow Marines following his and their sergeant's lead!

The fire fight between the German's and American's had been a heated one, as the Nazi's had refused to go down without a fight...even though they were killed quickly and rather easily, due to Roland strafing aim with the MG42 and his remaining men firing precise shots from their M1 Garand carbine and Thompson machine guns! They had even killed several enemy soldiers with some well tossed Mk. 2 grenades, which helped turn the tide of the battle...but the Germans simply refused to surrender!

"Allen, what are you doing?! Get back to cover!" Kelly cried out, as he looked on shocked beyond words as the young rookie had foolishly charged out of cover to confront the relentless SS troops and ordered him to get back behind cover, which fell on deaf ears and unfortunately...Allen's foolish gung-ho attitude got him killed, as a Wehrmacht soldier had fired a single 7.92x57mm round that passed through chest!

"Oh god, Allen! Medic!" The older Marine cried out, devastated that the young recruit he had grown so fond of had been killed on the battlefield on his watch and called out for one of their surviving Marines, who was hopefully a medic to check on the kid...despite the fact that he was dead.

'Oh Jesus, not the kid...' Roland mentally stated with a frown, as he witnessed Allen foolishly leave cover to take on the still approaching Germans and was killed by his recklessness and was also saddened by his death, as he was looking forward to getting to know the young recruit better and forge him into a more experienced Marine.

After witnessing the Germans kill the young recruit to his unit, Rogers had glared angrily while firing separate bursts of rounds towards the SS forces, killing as many Nazi's as he could with the MG42 to avenge Allen's tragic death...until an enemy mortar round had struck the target building, causing the damaged and exposed roof to collapse and knocking him off the top floor! He had landed hard on the ground, while groaning and writhing in pain as a huge surge of pain had coursed through his head and vision had became blurry, as he was drifting in and out of consciousness. As he attempted to stay conscious, Roland had spotted Brooklyn running towards and kneeling right besides him as the rest of their squad continued to hold off the Germans!

"You're gonna be alright Sarge! Where's the medic?!" His friend and fellow Marine shouted, as he reached for and held his wounded squad leader's hand as his vision started to fade to black, showing he was about to lose consciousness.

"You're going to be fine, just stay with me! Stay with me Sarge!" Brooklyn cried out, begging his friend and sergeant to stay awake even though he eventually passed out from the excruciating pain he felt from the fall and lost consciousness.

A/N: There it is everyone, the first chapter to my new Call of Duty: Big Red One fanfic. The next chapter will be posted some time by the beginning of April. Be sure to read and review. Until next time, bye.