Battle Born by Nathan Best

Author:Nathan Best
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Big Sky Publishing
Published: 2022-02-15T00:00:00+00:00

‘We have them!’ shouted Abd al-Malik, raising his rifle and waving it at the sky. Excitement and pride rippled through his chest, and he felt young and invigorated. This was what he truly lived for, battle and blood.

Gathered in front of him, his closest generals looked on at the display and nodded. They had shared Abd al-Malik’s vision and his victories for many years. This was a good battle. It had been surprisingly easy to lure the Dutchmen into an ambush and the number of helicopters and fighters which had been shot down was astounding. The destruction of the Dutch armour was the icing on their cake. Everything that Abd al-Malik had promised and planned had come to fruition.

‘It is time to finish off the Dutchmen and slaughter every man left alive. I want the two men who came down from the western side of the mountain killed as well. I do not care who they are, or where they came from. Everyone dies today who is not one of our people. Our specialists have done their jobs. The Frenchman has been exceptional. Our Russian friends have paid a high price, but their blood is now spilt with the Afghan people, we are all one.’

Abd al-Malik’s enthusiasm flowed out over his generals and engulfed them. Abd al-Malik had called his council two hundred metres from the village where the smoking ruins of the Shilka anti-aircraft vehicle and ECM truck still belched filth into the sky. On the slopes leading down to the Dutch position lay the shattered bodies of his fighters and their equipment. He saw only justification in their sacrifice. More of his men would die today. Abd al-Malik trusted in Allah that his body would be among them soon enough.

‘What do we have left to end this?’ he asked, eyes glowing with a wildness he had not felt since he had fought the Russians as a young man.

‘The last Shilka, two LandCruisers with DShK and your transport,’ supplied Gholam Gul from where he stood to Abd al-Malik’s right. His weathered face looked like it was chiselled from stone. The battle had set a grim angle to his face, and he was under no illusions each time he drew in breath it could be his last. He was happy with that possibility.

‘Good. Send them with the remaining men and wipe the valley clean. There is no hope for the Dutch khanzir, none. I will show them the respect they should have shown me. I will hang their bodies high for all to see. Ensure none survive. They are cut off and there is no hope for them to escape. Kill them all. Make it so,’ ended Abd al-Malik.

Nodding, Gholam Gul turned and walked back towards the village where the Shilka and LandCruisers had been hiding in hollowed-out buildings. Their drivers and gun crew were waiting for a chance to engage in the battle. The loss of the first Shilka had been expected but had come too quickly. Gholam Gul trusted in the second crew to live longer.

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