The plane shuddered, explosions erupting all around it.
Paul gripped a metal piece before looking out of the window.
Suddenly light filled the night sky; a plane next to theirs erupted into a fireball, falling from the sky.
His eyes widened, yet he turned around again after a second, mustering the men around him.
Not an ounce of fear, he thought, straightening himself.
Then the pilot shouted from the cockpit, trying to fight against the loud sound of the engines and the explosions all around them: "We are approaching the landing zone!"
Paul and the rest of the men stood up abruptly.
Student shouted, "Check your parachutes one last time and secure your gear!"
The plane descended with a loud roar.
Student stumbled towards the metal door of the JU52, opening it with a loud sound of the pressure difference. Wind raced into the cabin, pushing all of them back.
"Come on!" Student shouted while pushing the first of his men out of the plane.
The men formed a line, jumping one by one.
Only Paul and Student remained.
Paul looked at him deeply one last time before jumping out of the plane, Student following him.
Paul descended quickly, the wind slicing at his cheeks; the free fall was exhilarating. He managed to discern his landing zone between the fire and destruction.
Then he pulled the ripcord of his parachute, which opened without delay, abruptly slowing his fall.
Paul skillfully navigated the parachute, evading bullets from enemy anti-air guns.
When he was nearing the ground, he already saw a group of soldiers, parachutes lying flat on the ground, shouting something before taking cover.
When Paul's feet kissed the ground he skillfully rolled onto the ground, unstrapping his parachute.
He lunged toward a crate, searching for cover from the incoming bullets. After reaching relative safety he looked around him for the first time.
A plane burning brightly was not far away. There were craters in the taxiways, and the buildings around him had either holes in them or were burning from the devastating first wave.
More and more soldiers landed safely, regrouping at the designated landing zone, not far from the control tower.
A soldier jumped next to Paul, evading deadly artillery shells, which exploded a few meters away from the two.
The dust settled and the soldier's eyes opened slightly when he saw the rank on Paul's uniform.
"Major," he stammered.
"Private," Paul answered, turning toward the man.
"Your orders?" the soldier asked.
My orders, Paul thought, raising his head slightly, watching his men shoot toward the buildings. But what caught his eye was the tall control tower — a perfect position.
"Have our MGs landed yet?" Paul asked expectantly.
"We managed to collect two working ones, sir. But there are some which are not working properly after harsh landings," the soldier said quickly.
"Relay this to your sergeants: I want the two MGs up there." Paul pointed toward the control tower.
The soldier gulped, yet did not say anything.
"The sergeant should give me a handful of men; we will storm the tower and establish MG positions there. While we make our way toward the tower, the rest of our men have to give us covering fire," Paul said while watching more and more German soldiers reinforcing their ranks.
The private ducked, then ran quickly toward some other officers.
After a minute, about fifteen men made their way back to Paul's position under the cover of crates and burning scrap. With them: two machine guns and a weird-looking box.
"Sir!" One of the sergeants greeted Paul while a bullet flew above his head, coming from the control tower.
A sniper? Paul thought, before turning back toward the sergeant.
"Hauptmann Seher ordered us to assist you! We have brought a radio so the Hauptmann and you can communicate," the sergeant said enthusiastically.
"Good job," Paul said, before grabbing the radio.
"Hauptmann Seher, I want you to give us cover fire in exactly one minute; focus on the defensive positions at one o'clock and the tower itself. I've spotted snipers up there!" Paul shouted into the radio.
A crackle came back before the voice said, "Yes, sir! Understood!"
Paul watched the soldiers in the near distance scrabbling, positioning themselves in a line, having moved crates as defensive cover.
After what felt like an eternity, Paul's watch finally showed twelve and he ordered, "Let's go!"
The group ran quickly while an enormous exchange of gunfire erupted, the Germans shooting with everything they could.
A man in Paul's group was hit in the stomach, collapsing to the ground. A few slowed their pace, yet they knew they couldn't help him, so they clenched their teeth and ran even quicker.
Another soldier was hit, yet he didn't collapse. He continued running while clutching his bleeding shoulder.
The group reached the safe concrete structure relatively intact, which was a miracle itself.
Paul quickly signaled to one of his men, who kicked open the light metal door.
Gunfire erupted from inside, forcing the soldiers to lunge to the side.
Paul reacted quickly, pulling out a grenade from his belt and throwing it inside.
He counted silently; the explosion erupted.
"Now!" he shouted, storming into the tower together with his men flanking him.
There were still some Spanish soldiers alive, retaliating. One of the Germans got shot in the head, yet Paul avenged him just as quickly.
The group shot at everything moving while climbing the staircase to the top. Spanish soldier after Spanish soldier fell, painting the stairs red with blood.
Soon they reached the top, another door blocking their way. Shouts came from within and footsteps echoed.
Paul motioned to one of his machine gunners, who quickly understood.
He leaned above a railing, laying the machine gun on it, before he and the rest of the squad riddled the door with holes. Screams and loud sounds erupted from within, being drowned by the loud machine-gun fire.
After a few seconds Paul ordered the soldiers to stop, before they kicked open the door once again, their rifles raised, shooting at any Spanish still alive.
Paul shot one Spanish soldier on the ground, trying to reach for his gun, before he glanced toward the dead soldiers, especially their rifles.
Sniper rifles, he thought.
His men quickly gathered in the middle of the room, having finished their task.
"I want the two machine guns placed outside, but don't fire just yet," Paul ordered the two men, who quickly positioned themselves overlooking the battlefield.
"Are there any snipers here? Or at least someone familiar with them?" Paul asked the group.
After a moment, two men raised their hands.
"Yes?" Paul asked.
The two men looked at each other.
A middle-aged man answered, "We were snipers in the Great War, for some time."
"That will suffice. Take their rifles and position yourselves too."
Paul took the radio and asked, "Hauptmann Seher?"
After a few moments the radio sprang to life: "Yes, sir? Have you successfully taken over the tower?"
"We have," Paul said. "Have you managed to get an overview of the situation?"
"We are still counting, but so far... ninety-eight men," the Hauptmann said slowly.
"Then where is Oberst Student and the rest of our men?" Paul asked in disbelief.
"One of our men saw gunfire further north. It's only a guess, but I think the strong winds could have carried them further north than planned."
"Shit," Paul said. He jumped with me, though? Did he see the men and try to save them? Pul thought.
"Fine. Although it's hasty, we have no other choice if we want to save the rest of our men."
"Prepare the assault... We have to overrun them now, while they are still not fully entrenched. I've established MG and sniper positions here, only waiting for you," Paul said quickly, before motioning for his men to be ready.
"We will prepare it at once, sir." The Hauptmann shouted something to his men before the line crackled into silence.
After a few tense minutes, the loud sound of engines arrived.
The sirens of the Stukas filled the airport before dark silhouettes broke through the clouds, dropping bomb after bomb onto the enemy positions.
"The third wave, finally," Paul whispered.
The Hauptmann saw the situation too, quickly grasping the moment.
Loud shouts erupted from the German side, before tides of German soldiers climbed from their cover, running across the airfield, shooting back at the enemy.
Fire erupted from the control tower after Paul ordered his men to start.
Paul himself made his way down the tower again, taking four soldiers with him as bodyguards. The rest were ordered to barricade themselves to protect the advantageous positions of the tower at all costs.
Countless amounts of blood flowed through the rubble of what was once an airport terminal. The Spanish, who searched for cover within the rubble, were overwhelmed by the German attackers and the rain of machine-gun fire from above. It was another massacre.
Flocks of German soldiers secured the positions, seizing another three machine guns. Although Spanish, they were still useful.
Paul and his bodyguards arrived too, searching for Hauptmann Seher.
"Seher," Paul shouted towards the man, who came running quickly.
"Herr Major, we have to hurry. I believe Oberst Student and his men are encircled inside that building!"
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