Man at War – Excerpt No. 65

After nightfall, a group of twenty men crept across the bombed out field that was once the front line. The allied troops recently gained ground, shifting the lines further east and left behind a feast for ghouls.

At the head was Warrant Second Class Murphy, followed closely by his three sergeants. Their objective was an old bombed out church on the outskirts of what was once a thriving community.

Despite months of artillery strikes several of the tombstones were still visible as was one of the spires. One of the brass bells was partially buried by what used to be the main doors.

a cinematic photograph of a group of armed British soldiers wearing worn and muddy trench coats and helmets making their way cautiously across a desolate bombed out field littered with barbed wire and cratered earth towards a heavily damaged church with a crumbling steeple and shattered stained glass windows in the background the soldiers carry rifles and wear puttees and have determined expressions on their weathered faces with a mix of fear and resolve in their eyes the scene is set in a dull overcast light with clouds of smoke and fog rolling in from the distance and the overall mood is one of somber intensity and grit.

Disclaimer: This novel is an work in progress and readers may encounter grammatical errors and inconsistencies. Please view this a draft and not a published work.