bullets können sie nicht aufhalten

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Bullets können sie nicht aufhalten! (Bullets cannot stop them!)

Monday, 29 June 1914Upon returning home from work, Ernst Heinz was greeted by his obviously excited wife.

Ernst, have you heard the news from Sarajevo?

What? No, I have not heard any news all day. You know old Heinrich doesn't allow what he calls

“idle talk” in the shop – except for customers, of course! But something delightful did happen

today. You know Heinrich's son, Jakob, is in the army, ja? Well he was recently promoted to

hauptman and with his promotion came a short leave to visit his family. Well, he came by the shop

today to visit his father and he brought along his new sidearm. It is one of the new Pistole 08

models that the army adopted. The one developed by Georg Luger. Margarete, it is a wonder to

behold. Herr Luger has taken Hugo Borchardt's design and turned it into a very practical pistol. It

is even smaller and much more elegant of line than the Mauser that we had in the shop a few

years ago. The only question the army had about the design was that that it is so well-made and

fitted so tightly that they were worried that it might sieze up if it gets dirt in the action. Of course

keeping guns clean is necessary, but in battle these things do happen, so the army designed a

holster that keeps the dirt out. What good thinking, ja? Well, Jakob brought along some of the

cartridges for his Luger pistol -- it seems that everyone is calling it the Luger pistol already -- and

so he and Heinrich and I went to the little firing range behind the shop and we tried it out.

Margarete, this pistol is phenomenal! You just point your arm toward the target and the pistol's

sights are perfectly aligned. And it is even more accurate than that Mauser we had in the shop,

and I told you how good that one was! The workmanship is even up to Heinrich's standards! Once

the army gets all of theirs and they become available to civilian gun shops like Heinrich's I think I



shall buy one... I believe we will be able to afford it, we are doing rather well, and it won't be long

before I shall be almost as good a gunsmith as Heinrich and will be able to open my own shop...

Ach!, but here I have been prattling on about a new gun when you have news to tell me. So what

has been happening while I have been cooped up at work?

Oh, Ernst, your new gun sounds wonderful, but you know I know so little of such things. But I have

heard terrible news from Sarajevo. You know that Archduke Franz Ferdinand was visiting Bosnia

and was touring Sarajevo yesterday, ja?

I seem to remember hearing something about it. A fine fellow this Archduke seems to be, for an

Austrian. So how did his tour go?

It was horrible! Some anarchists tried to blow up his automobile with a bomb, but they missed and

blew up the automobile that was following the Archduke and his wife. Franz Ferdinand even

helped the wounded personally and after they were sent to hospital everyone advised the

Archduke to stop the tour right then and there, but the brave man said to continue, he would not be

stopped by terrorists. Then it happened, Ernst, another terrorist pushed through the crowd and

started shooting. The Archduke and his lovely wife were booth shot dead. Can you believe it?

What is this world coming to? Some people are saying that this insult to the Austro-Hungarian

Empire may lead to war. Do you really think so, dear? I know we have an alliance with them, but

war? Really?

Now liebchen, I don't think it will lead to a real war, after all, everybody knows that the Balkans are

full of hotheads. Austria-Hungary may send an army to teach those Bosnians and Serbs a lesson,

but who in their right mind will defend a state that committed the outright murder of the heir to the

crown of such a power as Austria-Hungary? No, the leaders of all the major powers in Europe are



much too sane to plunge us into a real war just because of some insane Bosnian or Serb or

whatever he is.

July, 1914

Margarete, have you heard? The Kaiser says that Germany will support Austria-Hungary against

the Serbs, and he has called upon all able bodied German men to join the army. This does seem

the right thing to do, and I'm sure this war with Serbia won't last long, after all, how long can little

Serbia stand against the combined might of Germany and Austria-Hungary? I shall enlist

tomorrow.

Oh, Ernst, are you sure about this? Surely a gunsmith is important to the war effort here at home.

I know the country needs men in the army, but I need you here too.

I am sorry, liebchen, but it is my duty to the Kaiser. If I shirked this duty I could never look you in

the face again. As I said, I am sure this will all be over in a very short time.

Of course you shall get my soldier's pay which should be enough to keep you well. I'm sure I'll be

home by Christmas!

8 August 1914

German army training camp

Dear Margarete,

Well, it seems I have both the good news and the bad.

The good news is that my proficiency with the rifle caught the eyes of the training sergeants, and

they asked me about my background with weapons. When I told them that I was nearly a



journeyman gunsmith they immediately took me to the Major's office. I am not ashamed to say

that I thought I was in very bad trouble! But nein, the Major said that the army needed men with

my training and assigned me to a machine-gun company. So when I finish my basic training I shal

be trained on the new MG-08 which is the army's version of the Maxim machine-gun. There is no

better gun in the world! As soon as I finish that training I shall be the leader of a machine-gun crew

and receive a promotion to corporal! I am sure that you will find the extra pay very welcome, and

being in a machine-gun crew is much safer than being a simple rifleman! There is simply nothing

in the world that can withstand the fire from one of these guns, so do not worry about me.

The bad news is that the French and the British have decided to support the Serbs. Apparently

they have some sort of treaty with them. The word is that they invaded Togoland yesterday, so I

suppose the war is on for real. I still have faith in our general staff and do not think that this war

will last too long, even with the French and British joining in. I hope to be home with you very

soon.

15 September 1916 –

The Somme River, France – in the German trenches.

Ernst Heinz finished reassembling his MG 08 machine gun. A good soldier, and Ernst was a good

soldier, always cares for his equipment and no equipment was more important than his weapon.

The MG 08 was an excellent battlefield weapon; it was based on the gun devised by the American,

Hiram Maxim, and could fire the standard 7.92x57IS cartridge at 400 rounds per minute. This was

indeed the king of the battlefield. Indeed, it was the use of such weapons that led to this terrible

trench warfare over two years ago when it became obvious that charging into the face of massed

machine guns was simply suicidal for men and horses alike.



The day started out the same as most days had ever since the fall of 1914. Feldwebel Schultz

awakened everybody before dawn to defend the trenches against possible dawn attacks. After

dawn had broken there was a sort of unofficial truce to allow both sides to have breakfast. Then it

was time to clean weapons and try to avoid the mud and the smell – which was impossible. Those

were the worst things about living in the trenches, the mud and the stink – unless you count that

fellow over in another equally miserable trench who is trying to kill you.

Heinz was a typical soldier. He had enlisted in 1914 to do his duty for his Kaiser and his

Fatherland, but he really had no idea why this war was being fought, other than that Germany’s

ally, the Austro-Hungarian Empire, had declared war on Serbia following the assassination of the

Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife in Sarajevo. Of course Serbia’s allies had rushed to her

aid. So here we were over two years later living in muddy trenches in the times between futile

attacks. So much for Count von Schlieffen’s wonderful plan for a speedy victory.

It’s another boring day in the trenches. Ernst has no assigned duties other than to keep his

machine gun and its crew in a state of readiness. He writes a letter to his wife back home in

Gerrmany. He asks how the kinder are doing. It has been so long since he has seen them. They

must have grown several centimeters. He gives the letter to Hauptmann Koenig to be placed in

the next outgoing post.


The Somme River, France – behind the British lines.



Henry Cooper arose and ate a better breakfast than many of his fellow Tommies. Indeed, he had

even slept in a proper cot well out of the mud and mire of the trenches. Henry was one of the very

few people who actually knew about the British Army’s new secret weapon. He had to know about

it; he was assigned to one of the crews. Many in the Ministry of Defence thought the new weapon

-- originally called a “landship” but almost immediately given a code name to try to preserve

secrecy -- was still far too prone to mechanical failure to be deployed. However, “needs must

when the Devil drives” and the situation on the Somme was dreadful, to say the least. Something

simply must be done to break this horrible stalemate. So the decision was made to use the new

weapon now. Field Marshal Haig had made the plans; now the troops must follow them.

In order to keep the new weapon a secret for as long as possible, the workmen who made the

separate parts were not told for what kind of thing those parts were being made. One of the larger

parts looked like nothing so much as a huge water tank, and so the workers called it. Since ‘tank’

had nothing whatsoever to do with the actual nature of the weapon, the Ministry adopted the term

as a code name – and it stuck.

Henry thought back to when he had been ordered to report to headquarters about a year ago.

He’d thought that he was in for severe discipline, since being summoned to the presence of the

Officer Commanding was almost never good news for a lowly enlisted man. The odd thing was

that he could not recall doing anything that would have even remotely attracted the attention of the

OC. Well, he had his orders and there was nothing for it but to obey.

Upon reaching headquarters Henry was ushered into a windowless room with but one other

occupant. Surprisingly this other man was dressed in civilian attire, but had an unmistakable air of

authority about him. The civilian bade Henry to sit and proceeded to ask him all manner of

questions. When he asked what this was all about, the civilian replied that it was highly classified



but that if he passed this interview and volunteered for the project Henry would then learn the

details.

The civilian (Henry never did learn his name) seemed very interested in Henry’s experience driving

a Holt tractor on his uncle’s farm in America before the war. He also was seemingly pleased that

Henry was of slightly less than medium height.

Several days later Henry was again summoned to headquarters. The same civilian was there and

asked him directly if he would volunteer for a very secret mission that would very likely shorten the

war greatly. Henry would have to answer immediately and no further information would be given.

Henry, like any patriotic Englishman, wanted nothing more than to have this war ended, and

besides, what could be worse that returning to the trenches? So he agreed to volunteer and was

swiftly shipped back to England to be trained as a “tank” driver.

Whilst driving a tank was very like to driving his uncle’s Holt tractor it was very much more difficult

due to the nearly total lack of visibility and to the larger size of the machine. In fact the “tank” was

so large and complex that it required a crew of 8 to properly operate it. Communicating with the

crew over the clamour of the engine was a constant problem. After only a few minutes of

operation the conditions inside a “tank” became a close approximation of Hell itself. Temperatures

rose to unbearable levels, sometimes over 120 degrees Farenheit, and the air was nearly

unbreatheable due to the engine exhaust and the Cordite fumes from firing the weapons.

Ventilation was more a wish than a reality. In combat it would only be likely to get worse.

This testing process made Henry fully aware of the Hellish conditions inside these “tanks” but like

all good soldiers he was ready to do his duty, especially if that could shorten this ghastly war.

However he was beginning to wonder if this was, in fact, any better than the trenches.



As the tank crews were being trained, so their machines were being tested and improved. The Mk

tank had a proclivity to break down unexpectedly and there were still many who feared that this

machine was not yet ready to use in combat, but the die had been cast and the tanks and their

crews were shipped to France under heavy secrecy. For better or worse The Somme was about to

witness the birth of mechanised warfare.

Henry and his crew had been waiting beside their machine when the order came down. The attack

was about to begin. There was just time enough for one last breath of fresh air and then they were

rolling forward at no more than a walking pace, indeed, that was as fast as the beast could go on

its tractor-like tracks, but this allowed the infantry to march behind the great beasts, gaining some

measure of safety from their massive armour.


The Somme River, France – in the German trenches.

The British attack came as they always did. First there was the artillery bombardment which was

extremely hard on the nerves, but usually did little real damage. Unless a shell landed directly in a

trench the blast and shrapnel went over everyone’s heads. When the barrage let up, Ernst and his

crew quickly set up the MG 08 with its box of ammunition in 250 round belts to be fed into the

breech of the big gun by his loader, Hans Weber. This was done with the practiced efficiency of

veteran soldiers, The gun was ready well before the first attacking British troops came into view.

The guns of Ernst’s comrades were readied with equal speed. They would soon be mowing down

their enemies like ripe wheat before the scythe. Would the British never learn?



As they waited at their guns a sound was heard. It was unlike anything they had ever heard before

– a kind of metallic clanking that was loud enough to hear even with ears half-deafened by the

bombardment. Apparently the British had something new to try, but they had tried before and

always failed when the massed machine guns opened up. This new thing would likely be more of

the same.

What they saw next was unlike anything they had ever seen before. Instead of lines of oncoming

soldiers there were huge metal vehicles moving slowly toward the German trenches. Occasionally

one of them would be hit by artillery fire which caused it to suddenly stop in a mass of fire and

smoke; some even just stopped for no apparent reason at all, but these events happened rarely.

The machines came steadily on with the infantry walking behind them where the German bullets

could not reach.

Even worse, the metal monsters mounted machine guns and cannon of their own and they were

now in range and taking a deadly toll on the German soldiers. Ernst trained the MG 08 on one of

the behemoths and pressed the trigger sending a hail of 9.9 gram copper-nickel clad bullets

directly into the front of the enemy machine – the bullets just sparked and bounced off.

Ernst kept up the fire even as the monster reached the trench line, but to no avail, His last thought

as the British “tank” crossed the trench and ground him to a bloody pulp was: Mein Gott, bullets

können sie nicht aufhalten!

bullets können sie nicht aufhalten

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