Tyranny of Steel

Herman sat in the back of a helicopter while smoking a cigarette. The air whipped past his face while he checked how many rounds were loaded in his magazine. Not because he had fired any shots recently, but simply because of how bored he was at the moment. 

In truth, the young officer would much rather be stationed in Japan, aiding with the reconstruction efforts. At least that way he could regularly visit the girl who had stolen his heart. After re-inserting the magazine into his assault rifle, Herman placed the weapon to the side as he pulled off his helmet and stared at a colored photograph. 

The miracle of technology was rapidly advancing with each passing day, and no longer did he carry a black-and-white photo of his older sister in the lining of his Stahlhelm. Instead, Herman had a picture of the Japanese Princess Itami Momo. Which every time he looked at would force him to smile. 

Because he had proven himself among the most capable young officers in the German Marine Corps, Major Herman von Habsburg had been dispatched to the region known as German South Africa, where he and his new unit were currently conducting anti-terrorist operations against the local tribes, who continued to make trouble on the frontiers of the German colonies which by now had sprawled up in the region. 

This was the reason why a Marine Corps Officer was sitting in the back of a helicopter. As part of the quick reaction force, Herman was in fact required to get to the zone of conflict as quick as humanly possible, and because of that, he and his Battalion of Marines had specifically been trained in Air Assault.

As for the Anti-terrorist operations he was currently engaging in, that was a polite way of saying that he was in the act of ethnically cleansing the southernmost region of Africa. By now, the German colonies had begun to spread up to the Limpopo river and, as a result, a new wave of African tribes had begun entering german soil with hostile intent. 

As the spearhead of the operations in German South Africa, Herman and his men were equipped with the latest weapons and body armor. Their equipment was similar to the ones worn by the German Special Forces during the German-Japanese War, which was quickly becoming the new standard issue uniform, body armor, helmet, and load bearing equipment. 

As part of an ongoing modernization process for the German Armed Forces, both the STG-27 and the STG-32 which were modelled after the FG-42 and STG-44 rifles from the Second World War, were being replaced with a new assault rifle. 

The rifle was based upon the east german experimental Stg-952 from Berengar's past life and was named as such. The rifle was essentially a modernized AK-74 that the East Germans had designed for export just prior to the reunification of Germany. This model in particular was chambered in 5.45x39mm specifically the 7n6 "poison bullet" which it made use of to horrific effect. 

The magazines were made of a black polymer with steel reinforcements, which matched the synthetic black furniture of the rifle. Overall, it was a very modern-looking firearm, and was equipped with a PK-A red dot sight, which was mounted to the left side of the receiver, creating a rigid and stable platform. 

While the war with Japan was being waged, this weapon system had been in development, but was never produced outside of prototype models. For the sake of the war effort, Berengar felt it would be counterproductive to introduce a new firearm, with a proprietary cartridge. 

However, now that the peaceful era had begun, there was no time like the present to begin the modernization of the German armed forces, and as a result this new and improved assault rifle was quickly becoming the standard arm for the German infantry of every branch. 

The Stg-952 was the first of many modern improvements to the existing small arms collection of the German military. However, these improvements were not just in small arms, but the entire military inventory. Within the next ten years, every aspect of the German Armed Forces would be overhauled from a Second World War era fighting force to a Cold War era military. 

None of this, however, was of Herman's concern. Instead, he watched the river pass by, which appeared in the distance with a dull look on his face. This was the furthest that the Germans had settled so far, and upon witnessing the splendor of the Limpopo river, Herman could not help but poke his head out from over the side of the vehicle and gaze upon its glory. 

It was certainly not the largest river that Herman had ever witnessed, but it was by no means a small one, either. This river had thus far been the boundary between German South Africa and the native tribes who had been pushed beyond this point. 

While Herman was admiring the scenery, the helicopter came to a sudden stop, and thus jogging him back to reality. He immediately noticed a rather substantial African force of native warriors who were crossing the river with canoes. 

As a result, Herman simply scoffed before racking the charging handle of his new Stg-952. He aimed the red dot sight at the enemy targets before squeezing the trigger. A short burst of fire immediately made its way towards his first target and tore into the savage's chest with ease. 

The crackle of gunshots rippled in the air, as the new assault rifles of the German marines, and the mg-27 mounted on the right side of the helicopter sprayed a river of lead towards the African warriors who were seeking to sneak into German lands, most likely for a raid on an unsuspecting German town. 

The bullets pierced through the torsos of the savage warriors, who howled in agony as they lost their lives. With such an overwhelming volume of fire against such concentrated targets, the massacre lasted for less than a minute, before the river ran red with the blood of the native Africans. Once the war band had been eliminated, Herman cursed while shouting towards the deceased enemy. 

"Filthy fucking savages, that is what you get for attempting to cross into German soil!" 

Though Herman and his unit were quick to respond to the intelligence that they received regarding an African war band attempting to cross the Limpopo river, it would not have been a disaster if the savages had succeeded in their attempt.

Over one hundred thousand German troops were stationed across German South Africa. Their jobs were to protect the colonists from the savages beyond their borders, whose attacks only became more frequent with each passing year. 

Because of this, Herman and his unit were always on high alert, ready to be dispatched at a moment's notice to respond to the savage's aggression. It took them roughly ten minutes from the nearest base to reach the Limpopo river which acted as a natural border between German South Africa and the African tribes up north.

Normally protecting such a vast swath of territory would be a difficult task even for the amount of men stationed in the region, but because of the Luftwaffe, the Germans were able to engage in a deep reconnaissance from the air, and detect the movements of African war bands before they were able to rape, murder, and pillage their way through the German towns at the border. 

After detecting the savages, it was a simple matter of deploying a quick reaction force, whether through means of helicopter, or light vehicles to intercept the enemy. With the superiority of German weapons, it was practically a turkey shoot. In the eight months that Herman had been posted in German South Africa, not a single casualty had occurred on the German side.

With this group of pests wiped out, Herman smirked before giving an order to the helicopter pilot. 

"I think it is about time that we engage in some proper retaliation. How about we fly north of the Limpopo and attack the nearest village?"

The helicopter operator looked over at Herman with concern while mentally debating on whether he should follow these orders. After all, an attack north of the border was definitely an order that should be reserved for high command, and not a Major in the field. However, upon seeing the eager looks on Herman's face, and the men in his unit. The pilot could only sigh and act as commanded. 

The helicopter immediately took off north of the Limpopo and began searching for a new target, where they located no more than three hundred kilometers from their initial position. Upon seeing this, the helicopter landed near the village and dispatched the German troops, who were eager to test their new weapons to the fullest extent. 

Once they had surrounded the village of roughly three thousand people, Herman gave the command which would seal the savage's fate. 

"Light them up!" 

The crackle of gun-firing exploded in the air, while mortars were fired off into the unsuspecting village. Bloodcurdling screams accompanied the echoes of the german weapons until it suddenly ceased. After the smoke cleared, the Germans witnessed thousands of corpses twitching in the ruined village. Just to ensure there were no survivors, Herman gave an additional order. 

"Fritz, get the Flammenwerfer!"

The man named Fritz immediately came forward with a flamethrower in hand and a sadistic smile on his face as he lit the village aflame. By the time he ran out of napalm, only ash remained in the once thriving African village. 

The German soldiers gazed upon the wake of their destruction for several minutes before heading back to the helicopter. Where they immediately departed for the base. The destruction of this village was just one of many that was occurring all across southern Africa, and these attacks would not stop until the Germans had conquered the entire region and cleansed the natives from their newfound lands. 

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