Two Great Cities Burn
“I see a very dark cloud on America's horizon, and that cloud is coming from Rome” - One of the many slogans used by American protestors on the government's decision to station American soldiers in Britain; Originally said by Abraham Lincoln
(Right) The French divisions led by Marshal Hansen (Left) A map of the frontline across the length of the Seine river
After the Atomic Bombing of Rouen and the successful extraction of both the encircled American armies and the British army, the remaining Allied divisions - notably the 'lesser' members of the Commonwealth such as Canada, New Zealand and South Africa kept fighting with the French; either not caring about the British betrayal or were forced at gunpoint - the majority of the divisions station at Paris and the Seine River Line were Commonwealth. On the other hand, American and British divisions caught behind the French divisions or were left behind by the retreating Americans or British were forced by the French to be the 'First Line Defenders' (1), simply put, they would either hold their positions, killing as many Infected before being infected themselves or be shot by the French MP's stationed behind the soldiers. It is reported that nearly 30,000 Americans and 12,000 British soldiers were forced to become FLD's - none were reported to have survived.
With the Infection already spread into most of northern France - now it was bordering the Seine river, it came as no surprise that Paris would become a target for the Infected. 10 divisions were stationed in Paris (2 of them FLD's) against a horde of nearly 2 million Infected; the commander of the French divisions was German Field Marshal Hansen, possibly a former Waffen-SS commander (2). When night came on January 10 1947, the Infected began their assault onto the once great capital of the French Republic. But that was not it, in defiance to modern science, the Infected launched two attacks at almost the same time; one on the French city of Dijon and the other on the former Italian capital of Rome - leading many to refer to that day as the
Great Offensive, when almost 6 million Infected attacked simultaneously in three different location. Referring to the
Infected Battle of Paris, I have attached along an interview with a Private Joaquin Henri, a member of the Seventh French infantry battalion and a first hand survivor during the Fall of Paris.
A surviving colour photograph of Rome burning after an artillery barrage by the 17th Artillery Regiment in an effort to delay the Infected. The verity of this photo is questioned.
"[I started to jot down the words that he spoke. I didn't really ask that many questions, the Private would just fill me in on the events that happened - allowing me just enough time to finish writing a sentence before he continued on.]
Women screaming, soldiers dropping their guns and sprinting for the suburbs...It was worse then when we first caught sight of the Germans. I was part of the 41eme Division Cuirassee; along with two divisions of militia, the 77th Motorized FLD Infantry Division, the 6th Armoured FLD Division, the 4th Polish Motorized Division, the 7th Motorized Division and the 12th and 15th Canadian Infantry Divisions. The Canadians were the bravest, literally holding off the Infected while buying time for the other non-FLD divisions to retreat back but other than that, the entire battle with the Infected at Paris was a living hell. Some of the buildings were ruined due to artillery fire from rear-end regiments while the ones that were still stand were inspected, the majority of the time they housed around 10 - 15 Infected, and that was just the ones that moved. In each building and even on the streets, all the soldiers avoided the bodies, even the ones that they themselves shot were avoided.
All the while, the surge of Infected began to increase - when the FLD divisions were wiped out, the area around the Eiffel Tower and the Arc de Triomphe became the frontline of the battle. It was...fierce. At first, it would seem that we were winning, the Infected couldn't reach us while we were shooting them, then our ammo began to low and the Infected came closer and closer, till they reached out. I was beside two other Privates, Philippe and the Canadian, Ross. We were manning a small area behind a pile of broken bricks when the Infected broke the line near the Arc, then panic swept the ranks and it became a battle against the other soldiers as we retreated into the suburbs. I remember turning to see the Canuck running across to a machine gun nest and firing at the Infected, his previous words of "I have nothing left to live for" came back at me.
[Our interview stops here at the Private's request.]"
(Right) Italian troops led by Marshal Badoglio (Left) A map of Rome isolated from the territory controlled by Italy
The second part of the Great Offensive was the
Infected Siege of Rome, where the Italian divisions were fighting against a force of Infected nearly 8 times their size. The defense of the city was led by Italian Field Marshal Badoglio - who came out of retirement on the insistence of the Italian government - and three Italian divisions - the 13a Divisione 'Re', the 12a Divisione 'Sassari' and the 51a Divisione 'Siena'. The once capital of the known world was besieged from all sides, 80,000 Infected on each side. As well, although the Italian government had already evacuated to Sardinia, the leadership of the Vatican, Pope Pius XII remained in Rome, holding a large mass for the Italian people trapped in the city. There is an on-going rumour that the Pope was approached by Marshal Badoglio to be personally blessed. When the fighting began, the Italian soldiers fought a brave but futile battle - the Infected had then from all sides till a stroke of luck by Italian Naval Captain Alessandro De Luca when he arrived to the besieged capital along with 4 transports and an escort of destroyers. Upon hearing this news, Marshal Badoglio ordered his troops to assist in evacuating the non-infected civilians onto the ships while he sent a regiment to personally escort the Pontius Maximus.
Other than the information provided by the Italian government in Sicily, there is little knowledge as to what happened to the regiment during their mission. Although they returned safely back to the small area under Italian control, the Pope was not within the group of Cardinals, Bishops and Archbishops. Most of the Italian people and the Catholic Church agree that Pius XII decided to remain in Saint Peter's Basilica along with some of the soldiers in the regiment. Another note is the disappearance of the Marshal Bidoglio during the battle. Some say that the Marshal decided to remain in Rome as the city fell to the Infected, others say that in his failure to rescue the Pope, he decided to die via suicide by proxy. In the end, the Infected Siege of Rome dealt a blow to the Italians - they lost not only their capital but also the Vatican City, the center of the Catholic faith was now under the Infected. An interesting note is that while on the transports to Sardinia, the cardinal electors during the 1947 papal conclave decided on selecting Alfredo Ottaviani as Pope Leo XIV (Papa Leo Quartus Decimus) (3).
The Infected Battle of Dijon was in all respects similar to Paris
Lastly, the
Infected Battle of Dijon is considered the final attack during the Great Offensive. Dijon, during the battle was commanded by French Field Marshal Leclerc de Hauteclocque along with eleven divisions including: the 10eme, 23eme, 21eme Division d'Infanterie, the 3eme Div. d'Infanterie Nord-Africanine, the 1st Burmese Infantry, the 2nd Tanganyikan Colonials 3 militia divisions and 2 FLD divisions. The battle at Dijon is similar to the one at Paris; the sheer number of Infected attack the city drowned out the gunfire of the defenders. Statistics of the Dijon battle show that of the 110,000 soldiers present, only 17,094 survived during Dijon and of that number, only 1,257 reached safe zones - Malta, Corsica etc.
Pope Leo XIV in his Cardinal outfit prior to becoming the new Pontius Maximus
(1) - The French government realized that they needed any and all able bodies to delay the Infected. The FLD's became a source of easy 'fodder'
(2) - Marshal Hansen died prior to the creation of this report. His certificates and other military records were lost during the Infect Siege of Berlin early on the Infection.
(3) - In OTL, Alfredo Ottaviani was not chosen as the Pope - Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli was chosen as the new Pope and took the name Pope John XXIII.
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They are indeed. When Paris and Rome fell, so will London, Madrid etc.
“I see a very dark cloud on America's horizon, and that cloud is coming from Rome”
- Abe Lincoln
“While stands the Coliseum, Rome shall stand; / When falls the Coliseum, Rome shall fall; / And when Rome falls - the World.''
- Lord Byron
I know these are all about Rome..but it was the center of the world...I really like the first quote because it fits in with the story very well...I mean the Ami's will have a hard time reconquering Europe now that almost all of Europe has been overrun by the Zombie hordes...
Your quotes are good. I've used both submissions into this update