August von Mackensen met up with Bruno not long after the man had emerged victorious against two of Serbia’s four Field Armies. Granted, their overall size was smaller in comparison to a single German Field Army, each of which were maxed out at 300,000 men at the start of the war, and given the most advanced equipment to fight with.
But defeating them both, and forcing them to surrender within a handful of hours, was no doubt a phenomenal move. Because of this, August von Mackensen gazed at Bruno as if he were the living incarnation of some ancient Pagan God of War, before abruptly speaking his thoughts aloud.
“I’ll have my men relay your victory and its details back to the Kaiser… I think it’s about time you were granted a proper rank for a man of your caliber. And if I dare say so, you might be the first one to be awarded an Iron Cross in this war…”
Bruno also handed a list of names to his current superior officer, of which he guessed would no longer be in charge of him after this swift and brutal victory. The list contained men who he felt had earned some kind of recognition for their performance during the battle.
He then walked away as if the prospect of being rewarded for his service didn’t interest him in the slightest, but not before leaving behind a few demands as he did so.
“Tell the Kaiser unless these men are also properly awarded for their valor, there is no need to waste his time coming to Sarajevo to present me alone with an Iron Cross…”
The list was rather extensive, but Bruno had written everything these men had done in battle, he had after all been observing the conflict as short as it was, and had interviewed the Officers and NCOs beneath his command for any names of the men beneath their command which they felt had performed admirably during the heat of combat.
August von Mackenson took a look at the extensive list and the reasons given for their recommendation, and the award Bruno felt was appropriate for their degree of valor and sacrifice in the face of the enemy. Before looking back to where Bruno had walked off to.
“He prepared all of this, while also ensuring that the hundred thousand plus prisoners of war are all being carted off to captivity? What kind of masterful control of his time and resources does this man have?”
—
Bruno was recalled to Sarajevo, which was easy enough as he had men in the logistics departments transporting way too many prisoners of war to properly count. He could easily hitch a ride on these trucks before getting on the railway and make it back to the Bosnian Capital within a couple of hours.
The reason for his recalling was simple enough. The Kaiser had just gotten the excuse he needed to give Bruno with his final promotion, as well as a reward he felt was long overdue for Bruno’s many years of service. An award, the Kaiser also felt, would be the first among many which Bruno earned in this war.
Of course, the Kaiser needed to travel by train from Berlin to Sarajevo, which would take several days. Because of this, Bruno recuperated after a short but stressful battle on the streets of Sarajevo. He, of course, wanted to check on the small café which he had enjoyed during his previous visit to the city. Hoping the young woman took his warning seriously and utilized the exceptional tip he had given her to get her and her family out of the city.
Unfortunately, as Bruno gazed upon the smoldering ruins of the family’s restaurant, and the graffiti which was spread across it, he realized he remembered the cruelty of the world. The words “Death to Traitors” were written in the Serbian language across the charred remains of what had been a decent café.
It was clear that by the looks of the weathering across the burned-out ruins, that this had happened quite some time ago. Because of this, Bruno quickly asked bystanders for information on what had happened in his absence.
And after a bit more thorough of an investigation than he initially thought was required, probably because of his German uniform, someone revealed that the family had been attacked by Serbian Nationalists a year prior, shortly after Bruno left the city.
Their property was burned to the ground, and they were murdered in cold blood for the way they treated the soldiers of the Imperial Powers, who frequently visited their establishment. Bruno walked away from that scene of that tragedy, determined to discover who the true culprits were.
Luckily for him, both he and his wife had connections to German Intelligence, who were but a short call away to request the service of.
—
To say that Heidi was shocked to receive a phone call from Bruno a few days after he had deployed was an understatement, to be sure. But Bruno made it abundantly clear that this was not a matter of pleasantry, but one of business.
Heidi instantly got out a pen and paper and wrote down the information Bruno told him, leaving behind some cryptic words as she did so.
“Although I’m certain this is probably just some random act of violence committed by thugs. I fear there is an improbable but still possible chance that this was something far more sinister. Do you really want me to investigate this matter fully? If it turns out to have been an attack conducted by the Black Hand because of this family’s small connection to you, what will you do?”
Bruno, of course, responded with a stern and callous tone, as he reminded Heidi of what she had said to him prior to his deployment away from his home.
“There must be no hesitation in the way in which you act, nor can there be any mercy shown to our enemies…. Do you still remember these words, my love?”
How could Heidi forget such a thing? They were the words of advice she had given Bruno in preparation for his deployment abroad. Hence why she bit her tongue in anguish, before nodding her head silently as she responded to the man she loved.
“I do… Alright, I will have this matter fully investigated and get back to you before you head back to the front lines. If these innocent people were truly murdered by agitators connected to Serbian Intelligence or, God forbid, the Serbian Royal Family, then do what needs to be done to punish them for their wickedness!”
Bruno simply left one final and unrelated phrase before hanging up on his wife. The fate of the Serbian Royal Family, and much of its government, relied on whether they were complicit in the murder of these civilians.
The death of a few civilians was something that happened every day, and generally was none of Bruno’s concern. But he and Heidi both suspected such a heinous act committed against them, and nobody else could not be mere coincidence.
If this family were murdered because they had some loose connection to Bruno, then an example needed to be made, not only to the Black Hand, and the Serbian Royal Family who supported them, but the entirety of the world.
After all, if his enemies were willing to engage in such cruelty towards people he had barely encountered in life, then the lengths they would go to in order to harm his loved ones would be much more severe.
Such a thing required a deterrence, and such a thing had to be on the scale of nuclear detonation. If not, then those who sought to bring Bruno to ruin would only keep trying and escalating in the level of violence they engaged in towards people associated with him.
Bruno could only pray that he and his wife were overthinking things, and that this had just been one of many acts of random ethnic violence committed in the Balkans, which was a regular occurrence throughout the history of the turbulent region.
