Re: Blood and Iron

Chapter 14: The Butterfly Effect



Bruno was released from his cell a few days after the event. And during his captivity he had plenty of time to think about the consequences of his actions. His actions though minor, would cause many changes in the timeline. Not only here in China, but on a global scale.

And the following two weeks of patrols proved this was correct. Bruno did not know exactly what transpired in the conversation between the Kaiser and the Tsar. But a full on negotiation regarding zones of responsibility took place for the continued duration of the Occupation of Northern China.

German and Russian soldiers had no direct contact with one another after the incident which Bruno was responsible for. And that was not the only change. Military Police began a thorough investigation of German troops and their movements during their patrols and punitive expeditions.

If anyone, no matter the rank or noble title, was caught engaging in crimes such as looting, murder of unarmed civilians, rape, et cetera. Then they would be summarily executed via a firing squad.

In addition to this, the Kaiser investigated what had been stolen from the Qing Dynasty by its soldiers who did engage in acts of Brigandry, finding that several cultural artifacts and relics were taken during the occupation.

The Kaiser immediately ordered the return of these items to the Qing Dynasty, and punished those responsible, as well as those up chain of command who either wittingly or unknowingly allowed such actions to take place.

Bruno's reputation was mixed after this. For those with a sense of justice, he became an almost mythical figure. And was well respected among their ranks. But for those who had more sinister personalities, he became a blight. The man responsible for the eyes of the Crown being set upon them.

In addition to this, the Company Commander who scolded, and recommended the imprisonment of Bruno following the incident at the Chinese Village was demoted, whereas Bruno was given a promotion to take his place.

In just a few weeks of being deployed, Bruno had been granted the rank of captain. And was now in charge of a full company of two hundred riflemen. Of which he had four officers beneath his command.

Two of them were Heinrich and Erich. Who were far more willing to back Bruno's commands in the field than the other two, whose loyalties were more towards their previous captain.

Following the incident between Germany and Russia, the other nations of the Eight alliance began to follow with Germany's strict adherence to the laws of war. Not wanting to suffer a similar incident, or spark needless conflict between themselves and the German Reich. The way which the Eight Nation Alliance conducted itself was vastly different than it had been in the life Bruno had initially lived.

The amount of suffering caused to the Chinese people was mitigated out of a fear of provoking the Kaiser. Whose sense of chivalry compelled him to punish his own men who engaged in such atrocities.

After this issue was brought to his attention, the Kaiser simply could not ignore it. Holding the East Asia Expeditionary Corps to a higher standard than they otherwise would have been as Colonial Soldiers.

In addition to this, several nations began returning the Cultural relics and artifacts that they had plundered during the initial fighting, and the first two weeks of the occupation. Still, a few nations did not comply with these standards. But for the most part, things had changed overall in this timeline.

And Bruno estimated the consequences of his actions would have a far more severe effect in the years to come. For example, in four years a war would break out between Russia and Japan over disputes in the East.

In the history of his previous life, the German Empire had provided an exceptional amount of material aid to the Russians during this war. And had even sent military advisors to aid them in their efforts.

But unless the rift between the German and Russian Armies, which Bruno had caused in this new timeline, was mended soon, then it would appear Germany would not be providing in this aid, and perhaps might even instead give it to the Japanese.

If that were to happen, then it was entirely possible for the Japanese to side with the Central Powers during the Great War. Meaning that German Colonial possessions in the Pacific and East Asia would not come under assault by the Imperial Japanese Military.

This was all theoretical of course, and Bruno had no way to prove these things would indeed occur, as there were still fourteen years before now and the Great War. During this time, any number of things could happen to change the outcome of world politics even further, as this minor incident during the Boxer Rebellion had already done so.

Still, the fact remained. Things had changed. The entire outcome of the Boxer Rebellion would be different as a result of Bruno's actions. And the immediate future, if not mended appropriately, would change as well.

As a Captain, Bruno had more degree of control over his unit, and whether or not they formed patrols or acted as sentries on base was up to his decision, or at the very least he could put in a request to the Battalion commander.

For him, spending his days on base was less than an idea. Not that it was particularly a bad experience. It was more so the fact that he felt his time and efforts could be better used in the field.

And because of this, Bruno ordered regular patrols for his company. Who marched into the Northern Chinese countryside to pacify any Boxer remnants that still remained. After what he had done during his initial excursion into the field, the Chinese locals had a much better attitude towards Bruno, and the German soldiers in general.

Thus, as Bruno marched alongside his soldiers into another village, with his Gewehr 98 shouldered, the local villagers came out to greet them. Though the soldiers under his command didn't speak Mandarin, Bruno did, and was quick to converse with the civilians who offered him and his men things like bags of rice to take back with them to their base.

The soldiers under Bruno's command tried to march forward, as they refused the offers of gifts which the civilians tried to bestow upon them. As for Bruno, the village leaders came to

greet him.

They at first were making small talk with him, praising the Germans for the relatively benevolent way in which they treated the locals when compared to some of the other nations occupying China.

But after a bit of conversation that Bruno found tiresome, one of the elders leaned in close and gave him a fair warning about the actual state of the village.

"This village is currently under the occupation of the Boxers. They are armed with rifles and are lying in wait for you down the main road. They intend to ambush you after the crowd disperses. Do not blame the villagers for distracting you. We have no choice in the matter." Bruno silently nodded at the Village elder. Which was his way of assuring the man he had heard what he said, and would not be taking retribution on the villagers for their act of deception. After doing this, he whistled towards Heinrich, who was busy flirting with the local women. When the man heard his rank and name shouted at him, he quickly snapped to

attention.

"Lieutenant Koch!"

After forcing himself away from the local ladies, much to his own lament, Heinrich marched over to Bruno and was quick to ask the man what was happening.

"Captain, may I ask what is so urgent that you must pry me away from such lovely ladies?"

Bruno gave the man a stern gaze, looking directly at him, while facing his back to the Boxers down the main road. He gave the man a motion with his eyes that silently pointed towards the hostiles while he spoke in a low voice towards his lieutenant.

"I've got actionable intel from the village elders. Supposedly, this town is occupied by the boxers, they are armed with rifles and are lying in wait for us within some of the buildings

down the main road.

You and your men are to circle around and flank their position. I want you to take the fuckers out before the rest of us walk in an ambush, understood?"

Normally Heinrich would be saluting Bruno in response to his orders, due to the difference in rank between them. But Bruno had ordered his men not to do such a thing when they were in

an active Warzone.

The reason was simple: a salute signified that he was the officer in charge, and that could make him a target of the local insurgents. Which was a lesson he learned from his last life

during his deployment to Afghanistan.

Because of this, Heinrich nodded his head before regrouping with his platoon. He waved goodbye and blew a kiss to the local ladies before he and his men covertly split off from the Company to perform the task they were given.

The boxer remnants had seized control of the local village a mere week before. It was an act of desperation as they had run out of supplies while hiding in the hills.

They were equipped with a variety of rifles, some of which were looted from the soldiers of the Eight Nation Alliance which they had killed in battle previously, while others were supplied by the Qing Army prior to their defeat, and occupation by the Great Powers.

The man in charge of the local Boxer cell was equipped with a Hanyang Type 88 bolt-action rifle. Which itself was a domestically produced copy of the earlier German Gewehr 88. He was sitting and smoking, while one of his men armed with a French Lebel Model 1886 rifle aimed down his sights through the window of the building they were occupying for the sake of their

ambush.

The leader of these insurgents put out his half-smoked cigarette and slightly pulled back his bolt to ensure a round was chambered before approaching the man in the window with the Label rifle. Tapping him on the soldier while motioned with his head for him to take a break. "Relax. It looks like the locals are playing their part. It will be some time before the Germans come down this section of the road. Go take a piss. You have been standing there with your rifle raised for over an hour."

The boxer silently nodded his head and allowed the leader to take over his post. Having kept

his rifle raised for an hour his arms could truly use a proper rest. However, the moment he shut the door to the room behind him, and walked down the halls. He found himself face to

face with a group of German soldiers who were progressing down the corridor with their weapons raised.

The man was just about to call out to his friends. When Heinrich rushed forward with his rifle, and the bayonet which was attached to it. Stabbing the man in the heart. And pinning him to the ground. Where he put his foot over the boxer's mouth. Ensuring that he couldn't alert his fellow insurgents.

The last thing the man saw as the light faded from his eyes was the sight of five German soldiers move beyond him, where they stacked up on the door. Preparing to kick it open and

kill the men inside.

After thoroughly dispatching the Boxer to the afterlife, Heinrich rushed forward towards the door. He himself was quick to motion towards his men to do what was necessary. The door was kicked open immediately after, and the boxers inside were startled by the fact that the Germans had discovered them.

They tried to raise their weapons in response, but it was too late. The five German soldiers

unloaded on them, spending their entire five round internal magazines riddling the Boxers with bullets.

The last thought on the insurgent leader's mind was that he and his men had been betrayed by

the villagers, and how they were a bunch of traitors to the Chinese nation for selling out their fellow countrymen to these foreign occupiers.

Heinrich and his men quickly loaded another five rounds into their rifles with their stripper

clips, tossing the thin sheets of metal aside after they were done with them. Once their weapons were properly armed, Heinrich sighed heavily.

He and his men had spent the last hour climbing through these buildings, engaging in close

quarters combat with the enemy. And this was the only time they had needed to fire their

weapons.

They had caught the enemy with their pants down, and now that it was over, he suddenly felt

the urge to have a smoke. His hands trembling from the hour long stress he had just endured, Heinrich reached out to the half-smoked cigarette which the Boxer leader had left in the ashtray, and finished it with a long and heavy drag.

He and his men would regroup with the rest of the company shortly after, having only two of their soldiers suffering minor wounds. Where, after performing first aid on the wounded, they would continue with their patrol. On this day, another village was liberated, and the German Occupation in Northern China was one step closer to coming to a proper end.