I had been sitting in these trenches for what had felt like hours, maybe it was minutes, I couldn't tell. My squad and I were tasked with defending a spot on the German Third Line. I was with the French Army, I was only 20, dropped out of the University to join. I was waiting to spot something coming over those hills, anything at all. All you could see was the smoke on the horizon, and the distant sounds of gun and mortar fire. It was close to nightfall, all I had to eat was a stale piece of bread in the past 12 hours. It was almost pitch black when I saw something, I was almost positive it was something. I brought my Enfield up to my eyes to focus on that spot. My squad was spread to thin, I didnt know where they were, I was alone.
It had been 10 minutes since I heard anything. I was starting to think I was too tired, and was hearing things. Then I heard it again, the shuffle of something in the dirt, all my muscles tensed up. It was then when I saw the helmet, barely noticing it at all. The infamous german helmet, black and crowned with a spike. The man who came up looked as equally tired and hungry as me. I touched the cold trigger, it had been days since I last used it. The gun was loud, if I missed I would've died. I pressed the trigger, it hit something, he didnt go down. It hit the cannon behind him.
He looked up, right at my position. I went to pull my bolt back, and fire again. I knew I wouldnt miss again, the gun didnt fire it was jammed. I turned and ran, I had to get out of the trench. I turned the corner and stopped, I listened for any noises, I couldn't hear anything, I crouched and walked over to the ladder and climed out. I laid prone next to an abandoned wagon, it was destroyed probably by mortar fire. I laid there for the longest minutes of my life. My heart was still pounding and I thought it was screaming my position to the world. I saw the helmet again, around the same corner I was at just minutes ago. I waited for him to come around, I had a plan wait for him to pass, then shoot him from behind, he would never know, but instead he waited for hours. It was almost dawn, you could see the smallest glimpses of the sunlight.
I thought he left to report back to a much larger German force. I was ready to climb back in to my post, and write a report for my NCO. When he turned the corner, he just walked through, he was quiet, but seemed very unaware. He passed by, here was my chance to get him. I got up, and laid down, just then I felt a sharp piercing pain in my leg, I almost yelled. It was the barbed wire, it was everywhere in between trenches. He crouched to do something, he gave me time. I sat up to get my leg out, It was hard to get yourself out of barbed wire. I then got my arms stuck in it, I couldnt get my self out, I tried just pulling my limbs, It made my cuts deeper. I was quickly losing blood, I felt my life draining. I sat there staring at the sky, until death consumed me



10/10, would die from barbed wire again