A group of infantrymen still held a corner of the Capitol building but they were getting overrun by the sheer volume of enemy soldiers that were trying to storm the building for the fourth time in the last hour.
The Browning machine guns were nearly out of ammunition but the men kept firing, another wave of Aryan soldiers was forced back. Grenades were thrown but the American men managed to throw them back to their owners.
The explosions rang out accompanied by brilliant flashes of blue. Aryan infantry lay dead and dying where they fell. But this did not stop the attack if anything the Aryan’s looked like they were relishing the challenge and poured even more firepower into the mix.
Rounds of plasma impacted along the wall next to sergeant Dawkins and his dwindling platoon. They ducked for cover again and hugged the floor uncomfortably, they were laying on a carpet of empty bullet casings.
Ortan could see what was unfolding and managed to get a signal to three Patton’s to go and support the ailing infantry. The tank commander had to resort to using flashlights to signal orders to his units.
The Patton’s turned around and charged head-on at the attacking infantry, they fired their machine guns as they went. The guns continued to fire as they got closer and they started taking plasma fire themselves.
The tanks fired into the advancing infantry, the first round tore straight through a soldier’s body armor and he fell to the floor, the round exploded sending dirt, concrete and body parts across the area.
The tanks did not stop, they were planning to mow down the Aryans as they crossed the open street but the first tank took a plasma round into the rear which set it ablaze; the Patton burned for a second and then went up in a huge ball of flames.
The second Patton turned its turret to see where the round had come from but as it did, the medium tank took a direct plasma hit through its weak side armor. It did not explode but the crew was badly injured or killed.
Finally, the assailant was revealed as a hidden Panther tank who had it gun muzzle positioned in the window of a semi-destroyed office block. The Patton returned fire but the rounds exploded harmlessly into the brickwork.
Me 262’s appeared in a long line from the East and zoomed in towards the White House. The Vulcan anti aircraft Gatling guns opened fire with all they had. The greatest concentration of these guns was around the President’s home.
The rounds spat into the air and the Me 262’s in the front of the formation were taken out, the nose of the jets were shredded to pieces and they crash landed on the churned up White House lawn.
The remaining fighters split in all directions; they maneuvered through the rounds and then released their plasma, the rounds hit their mark along the line of infantry trying to hide in the freshly dug trenches. The heat washed over a group of them and their cries split the night.
“Medic.” the shout went out but nobody came as they were too afraid to leave their hiding places.
Another wave of fighters came in and one after another plasma smashed into the White House lawn and the grass burned for a while until the heavy rain put it back out again.
The American infantry that was defending the White House was mainly made out of the 101st infantry division but volunteers made up the majority of its numbers. They could not believe the horror around them and many started to shake and shiver.
Another huge explosion rocked the area as a roadblock was vaporized, through it a large armored group of Tiger I tanks appeared. Their guns firing as they plowed through. They were quick and through sheer numbers, they managed to overwhelm the M60A1 tanks that had been holding the East corner.
“Shit,” Orton said he knew he could not spare any more tanks to plug the gap. He sighed heavily and then signaled to the Sherman’s. He had just given them the green light to attack.
The Sherman’s began firing on the Tiger’s but at that range, the rounds just bounced off. The American medium tanks did not fall back though and they kept up their fire.
The lead Tiger aimed its gun and fired the plasma round spat forward and impacted straight into the turret of a Sherman. The turret was sheared clean off and the commander was thrown a hundred yards from his vehicle.
The Sherman’s decided their only chance was to close the distance, they charged forward all at once with their guns blazing; even the two Browning machine guns were rattling off everything they had but it was futile.
The Tiger’s fired again, this time in unison. Twenty rounds of plasma raced towards the charging Sherman’s, the rounds detonated and set off a chain reaction, as a larger wave of heat swept through the first line. When the wave cleared the only thing that remained was burning, charred wrecks.
The Capitol building had been stormed at the Western entrance, now American soldiers did not fight for their city or their commanders but they fought for their lives in the intense room to room combat. The Americans held one room while the next room was held by the Aryan forces.
The fighting inside did not take long as the US infantry was running low on ammunition, they had no rounds for the .50 caliber machine guns but they carried on with the infective M16’s. Some of the officers had pistols and as they heard the screams of their comrades in the rooms down the hall; they took the easy way out.
Sergeant Daniels and the last three of his remaining men were still fighting bitterly on the Eastern corner. They were down to three magazines each for their M16’s. They were letting the enemy get right on top of them before firing which meant about one in five rounds pierced the body armor.
Another few bursts signaled the end for Daniels as his M16 was empty but he still had grenades.
“I don’t know about you boys but I think we should show them how to cook Washington style?”
The other two men grinned and chucked their spent rifles to the floor. Each man pulled the pins on two grenades and then just lay there.
The Aryan forces appeared over the rubble and swept their guns over the area. The three men were ordered to stand up slowly with their hands skyward but they just stayed down and smiled. The Aryan’s opened fire, one round into each man.
Daniel’s coughed up a small trickle of blood as he could feel his chest burning. The Aryans moved into the crater just as the six grenades exploded. Shrapnel and body parts were launched in all directions.
Just after 01:00 hours the Capital building fell into enemy hands. All across the great park, smaller fights were taking place. The Washington monument was hit and completely obliterated as a group of Sherman’s fought next to it.
Despair
The Me 262’s peeled off from their attacks runs, the lawn of the White House looked more like the surface of the moon as a mass of craters scared the earth. Commander Orton and his tanks had been whittled down to about an eighth of their original number but they fought on.
The area was now full with Maus tanks, they fired repeatedly into the remaining armored units in the area. Their powerful guns sliced through them with ease.
Commander Orton watched as the last of his platoon went up in a ball of flames, his tank was now the only M60A1 left in action. He was down to five high explosive rounds and was out of options.
His driver looked back to him, “What do you want us to do Sir?”
“Show them that our spirit will never be broken.” Orton smiled.
The driver revved up the engine and the M60 tore forward, it fired three rounds in quick succession on the move. Two hit their marks and a Panther was taken out of action.
Three Tiger I’s aimed at Orton’s tank and fired all at once. The rounds exploded close to his tank and intense heat washed over its armor. Orton and his crew kept coming.