User blog:LB&SCR/GWM Episode 3: Alvin York vs. Anibal Milhais

As the saying goes, "War brings out the worst in mankind, but it also brings out the best." What man is capable of is often brought out in the most stressful of moments; superhuman feats of carnage and courage are brought forth by pushing one's mentality to the limits, and those who don't break are often able to perform above and beyond what duty calls them to do. Today, we look at a famous story of such performance; and a lesser known story of equally brave courage.

Alvin York



 * -| Bio =

Alvin York was drafted into the US Army in November of 1917 in preparation for fully taking part in the war as part of the wartime Entente. However, York knew that fighting in a war conflicted with his Christian beliefs, and for a good part of his training was constantly troubled by these thoughts, until bringing it up with his Captain. Being a Christian himself, the Captain gave York 10 days of leave back home to fully think about his troubles. He returned believing that God had meant for his objector status to be waived, and that God would protect him as he went off to war. So, York finished his training and was shipped off to France alongside his unit as part of the American Expeditionary Forces.

It was here during a German Offensive in the Meuse-Argonne that York would perform the actions that would earn him America's highest award for galantry. German Machine Guns had pinned his regiment down with heavy suppressive fire, so York, three other NCOs, and thirteen privates were assigned to infiltrate the German position and silence the heavy firepower. The 17 men worked their way behind the German position and overran the local headquarters, capturing a large number of gathering Germans who were prepping for a counter attack. They were attending to these prisoners when some of the Machine Guns turned themselves around and opened up on the Americans, killing six and wounding three: leaving York and seven privates.

Leaving his men with the prisoners, York crawled to a position where he could shoot the Machine Gunners: The gunners had to straighten up above their cover to reposition the gun and reload, so with just helmets showing York picked off the crews one by one until those guns were silenced... but then he was jumped by six Germans with bayonets fixed. Out of Rifle Ammunition, York retrieved his pistol and killed all six of them before they reached him. The German in charge of the location personally surrendered the remainder of his unit to York. As such, Corporal York and seven men escorted 132 German Prisoners back to American lines.

The newly minted Sergeant York recieved the Distinguished Service Cross, which was later upgraded to the Medal of Honor in 1919. He recieved France's highest honor: the Croix de Guerre; alongside medals from other Allied Nations, ending up with around 50 medals awarded to him for his actions that day.


 * -| Perception =

Very few names in America from WWI earn the awe and distinction of Sergeant York's, however, his road afterwards wasn't easy. Periodically after recieving his medal upgrade to the Medal of Honor, controversy has arisen over whether or not Sergeant York deserved the land's highest honor; claiming that his story was  too good to be true. They doubted whether or not the official version was true, and whether that the glory going to York should instead be evenly spread among the seventeen men who'd taken part. Sergeant Early and Corporal Cutting, among other survivors of the 17, argued against the official version of the events (aka, those stated in the Bio). Eventually, the government acquiesed and awarded 8 other men awards for their valor that day as well, though the official version of events remained unchanged.

One periodic uproar got bad enough that in 2006 the US & French Governments launched a joint investigation of York's actions. Using modern technology and forensic evidence, the team located the site where York claimed his actions had taken place. Digging about in the ground unearthed 46 rifle rounds and 23 pistol rounds; all of which were linked to York's weapons. Additonal German gear discovered led to the conclusion that the majority of York's story was actually true, debunking the ideas of his story being a fake.

York would get to keep his medals.

Weapons

 * -| Rifle =

M1917 Enfield



The M1917 Enfield was an American Variant of the British Pattern 1914 Enfield Rifle, and was numerically superior to the American Springfield in the hands of US Doughboys. It is a bolt-action rifle that weighs 9 lbs, and it is loaded with .30-06 Springfield cartridges via 5-round stripper clips. Each round carries 2,800 ft/s of force with it, and each round is also effective up to 600 yards.


 * -| Light Machine Gun =

Browning Automatic Rifle



The Browning Automatic Rifle is a 19 lb light machine gun of American design. Each BAR is loaded using a detachable magazine which holds 20 rounds of .30-06 Springfield ammunition. Each round carries 2,822 ft/s of force behind it. The gun can spit out 650 rounds per minute, and has an effective range of around 1,500 yards.


 * -| Sidearm =

Colt M1911



The Colt M1911 is roughly a 2 1/2 lb handgun of American Design. Each M1911 carries 7-rounds in a detachable magazine. Each round is a .45 ACP, and each bullet offers 830 ft/s of stopping power.

Anibal Milhais



 * -| Bio =

Anibal Milhais was drafted into the Portuguese Army in July of 1915, in preparation for the small nation joining in the military action in WWI alongside the Entente. However, instead of fighting in Africa where the Portuguese were already in conflict with the Germans, it wasn't until 1917 when Anibal was mobilised alongside his brothers-in-arms and placed in Flanders, Belgium. Though not seeing major action, casualties mounted because the Portuguese often volunteered to do nighttime raids on the trenches. The Day they were to be rotated to the second line... the Germans struck out suddenly with the Spring Offensive.

During one of the many clashes during that offensive, it was during the Battle of The Lys that Anibal stepped into he shoes of a hero. After suffering over 13,000 casualties the combined Scottish-Portuguese lines broke and they started retreating... but not Anibal Milhais. Armed only with his Lewis Gun, Milhais set himself up and started facing 2 entire German Regiments alone, shooting nonstop and in all direction with his Lewis. The Germans lost 100 killed and many more wounded trying to knock this man out, that they actually believed that a much larger group of men were in front of them, and after three days eventually took a detour around him, trapping him behind enemy lines. Anibal picked up his trusty Lewis Gun and started walking back to the Allied lines while avoiding the Germans along the way. He rescued a Scotsman during the trek and they both returned to Allied Lines, but Anibal said nothing about his adventure... the Scottish Major went blethering on about it instead.

A few months later, Anibal was in the same position as before, only this time it involved Belgians. Anibal stood alone while the Belgians retreated to a second trench, and after ensuring they'd made it retreated himself. Thanks to Anibal, the Belgians suffered 0 casualties retreating. This made the Portuguese Government make up there mind, and in 1918 on the Battlefield in front of 15,000 Allied Soldiers, Anibal Milhais was awarded the Pinnacle of Portugal's Honor System: Order of the Tower and Sword. He was then awarded the Legion of Honor by France. It was in the commendation letter that Milhais earned his famous nickname after it praised him for how many soldiers he was worth: Soldados Milhoes....

... Soldier Millions.


 * -| Perceptions =

Differeing views on Milhais are hard to come by because it is often forgotten that Portugal is an often forgotten part of the Entente. However, what we do know is that he is highly revered by the Portuguese people, and they (plus the Portuguese in Brazil) united in order to actually get this guy a pension. Because after the war ended the Portuguese were in trouble economically, and they had to all tighten there belts. Milhais could barely survive and feed his family, and when he asked for help, the government named his hometown after him... So, he moved to Brazil, where the Portuguese population absolutely blew their stacks at how their favorite hero was being treated. They scraped together some funds, and send him back... alongside an angry letter to the Government. That made the government actually give the guy his pension. Enough to live on, at least.

Weapons

 * -| Rifle =

Short Magazine Lee-Enfield Mk III



The SMLE Mk III is a 8.7 lb bolt action rifle used by the Portuguese after the British completely re-outfitted their western front armies (Portugal still used old rifles from the 1880s). It fires .303 Enfield Ammunition from a ten round magazine that is loaded using stripper clips. Each round 2,441 ft/s of force behind it, and it is effective up to 550 yards.


 * -| Light Machine Gun =

Lewis M1917



The Lewis M1917 is the variant of the Famous Lewis Mk I manufactured by the American Company Savage. Most stats are the same: It is still a 28 lbs weapon fed from a 47-round pan magazine and fires approx. 500-600 rpm. However, it's operation has been changed to gas, and the American .30-06 instead. It puts out about 2,800 ft/s of force behind each bullet.


 * -| Sidearm =

Savage Model 1907



The Savage Model 1907 is a smaller handgun designed for women to put in their purses... Portugal and France also baught them for their militaries. It is a 1 lb 3 oz handgun with a 10 round magazine. It fires .32 ACP bullets, each of them having approx. 800 ft/s of stopping power.