May 11th, 1940. The German invasion of Belgium was in full swing. The German airborne forces were tasked with taking Fort Eben-Emael, which was integral to the success of the army. A series of battles were being fought along the border, usually aimed to secure important bridges and crossings.

German Panzer divisions were ready to move into central Belgium and bring the invasion to a swift end. First, however, Belgian garrisons protecting the bridges and crossings needed to be eliminated. And this was a task that fell to Hans Bauer.

Surveying the field ahead, Hans deduced that the coast was clear and signaled for the rest of his squad to approach. They had advanced this far under the cover of a forest. Across the ways was a dirt road which ran north, passing by Hagen’s Farm and crossing over a river. The bridge which crossed over that river was a vital crossing that the German Panzer Divisions sought to utilize. But thus far the Belgian garrisons threatened this move.

By the time the squad had assembled on the edge of the wood, Hans began to relay orders. “Ziegler, Brant,” he referred to the two Machine Gunners, “cover our advance. Moltke, Kramer, you’re with me. Winter, you take Seidel and Schmidt. We’ll split up and advance on the road in two teams. Schnell!”

The disciplined soldiers exited the forest and proceeded towards the road in two teams; Hans had tasked Winter with leading the second team because he was the oldest and most experienced, having served in the Great War. Meanwhile, Ziegler and Brant, with the help of Claus and Otto - the two machine gun assistants - covered the advance.

Once they made it to the road and found no resistance, Hans signaled for the MG teams to regroup.

Now it was only a matter of advancing north, along the road, towards Hagen’s Farm, where the Belgians were expected to be. The darkness would cover their approach, and they remained on the eastern side of the road so they could cover themselves in the ditch.

Marching bands, girls waving handkerchiefs and blowing kisses, all of this accompanied the squad of Sergeant van der Koopften. But unlike most of his men he knew better than to smile and be glad of what he was about to see. He was marching off to what had a reasonable chance of being his last day alive.

As he saw in the distance the farmstead with the bridge he'd be defending he grunted; the scale was quite different in real life than upon the map. The damned krauts had already ruined the livelihood of this innocent worker, not particularly caring for the ambitions of the Germans. The bastards didn't want to fight war honestly and attack France through it's proper borders so they invaded Belgium to get around the French defences. Well, if a scrap was what the nazis wanted then they'd get one. They'd see what the sons of Flanders and Wallonia could bring forth, and they'd taste cold steel on their filthy lips.

As they got closer, Leopold started to bark orders.

"Nicolet, Albrecht you old bastard, get over to the far side of the road right before the bridge, go in the ditch and cover yourselves with mud. I know, I know, your beautiful uniforms will get dirty but I don't care. You'll use the ditches as cover as you lie down. You won't show your faces until the enemy is right and close where you can throw your grenades and get off some fast shots, you hear me?" As the grumbled confirmations came the Sergeant said "Good, on to the next order of business. Private Janssen, you'll go to the barn, stand at the door and look through the lines of the forest, you'll be one of our little reserves. Heavy gunner team, you'll set up at the right window of the farmhouse. Robert, Heinrich, you two will be at the window and doorways of the farmhouse... now!"

At last, the Sergeant inhaled, and massaged his eyebrows as only two remained without orders. Corporal Voors and Private Jacobs, you'll come with me to the windmill, we're the aegis, you hear? The others will be relying on us for support. Enemies our comrades don't see, we take them down. If all else fails, we are here. Understood? Good. Let's go, I think I hear the Germans in the distance."

With that, they were deployed. Some men smoke, whilst the gunnery team quietly played a game of cards to settle their nerves before the invader arrived....

Despite the blanket of darkness which covered the land, the German squad could make out Hagen’s Farm in the distance. Their commander, Hans, held up one hand to order the party to halt and they all knelt on their knees. “It’s up ahead, we’ll be there shortly. Expect hostiles. Stay on the right side of the road; we’ll use the ditch as cover on our approach.”

Hans intended goal was to hug the right side of the road heading north, that way the Belgians - who he expected to be on the left side - would not their approach. Little did he know that Nicolet and Albrecht were hiding in the mud.

And so when the Germans approached, the entire 10 man squad came to a rest just within range of the two mud-covered Belgians. They had checked their weapons and ammunition while also peeking over the ditch to see the composition of the battlefield.