Re: Blood and Iron

Chapter 222: The Angel of Berlin



In addition to making sure those children affected by the war within the Imperial Powers were properly taken care of should they lose their parents, or that the widows and their children were also given aid to support them without their husbands around to look after them.

Heidi's charities also expended significant amounts of resources and personnel looking after those physically wounded in battle. German soldiers naturally received priority, but if there were enough room in the field clinics and hospitals, then Austro-Hungarian and Russian soldiers were also treated.

The invention and mass production of life-saving antibiotics such as penicillin had done wonders to fight infections, severely decreasing the number of amputations that would have been medically necessary to stop the spread of otherwise lethal diseases.

In addition to this, the adoption of suitable footwear for the conditions of the trenches prevented the outbreak of fungal infections and other nasty conditions such as gangrene and trench foot that if not treated properly could lead to the loss of the affected limb, or worse death.

While Bruno had been almost entirely focused on producing the tools needed to kill as many of his enemies as possible and win the war, Heidi was the one who reminded him that Germans would suffer as well, and would need ample preparations to mitigate casualties.

All things considered, Germany was currently sustaining the least amount of deaths, as those who could be saved generally were because of what Heidi had done to prepare for the war. As a result, both Bruno and Heidi had gained reputations as angels, and were depicted as such in wartime propaganda.

There were just two distinctive roles which they served, and they were opposite to that. If Bruno was the living incarnation of Azrael, the Angel of Death who led millions of souls into the afterlife, then Heidi was the personification of Raphael, the one who healed those who had come to harm, and in doing so preventing her dark counterpart from reaping their souls.

Heidi was not just the one coordinating the efforts to save as many lives as possible, when she could manage the time, she would visit the soldiers who had been brought back to the fatherland for one reason or another, and give them a friendly smile, and her personal thanks. Letting them know that the world had not come to an end, and that the people they were protecting were extremely thankful for the sacrifices they had made.

One of the men who she was speaking to knew exactly who she was. He had after all served beneath her husband at Belgrade, and was injured during its defense after the Germans had gassed the residents into extinction, and occupied the ruins left behind.

The man had been injured enough that he was extracted from the battlefield and sent back to Berlin after his treatment was over. To be properly cared for and rehabilitated. Frankly speaking, he had an enormous amount of respect for Bruno, but he was suffering heavily from what he and the army did at Belgrade.

His wounds weren't just physical, his mind was scarred in ways that were difficult if not impossible to treat. And because of this, he couldn't help but feel like venting his frustrations with himself, to the woman of the man who had ordered the army to massacre an entire city.

"You're Heidi... Right? Heidi von Zehntner... The wife of the Generalfeldmarschall?"

Heidi instantly looked over at the man who was lying in one of the sick beds. She didn't understand who he was, or how he knew her. After all, there were many soldiers being treated in Berlin from various different theaters of war.

Because of this she instantly paid the man her full attention as she pulled up a stool and sat down in front of him, her face was friendly, so much so, that the man who had wanted to yell at her, and blame her for how he was feeling, couldn't manage to feel any anger within his heart.

Especially when she spoke to him in the kindest of tones, one in which he simply wasn't expecting.

"That's right, you know my husband?"

The soldier nodded his head, whatever words he had thought of saying to Heidi the moment he saw her enter the room had instantly evaporated, he didn't even think as he confirmed that he indeed knew Bruno, albeit not on a personal level as he was just an enlisted man barely old enough to fight.

"I do... I... I was attached to the 8th army... before... well, before this happened..." Those were the only words Heidi needed to know to fully understand the young man's situation. By the look of confusion in his eyes, he was at Belgrade when Bruno gave the order to massacre the city, and because of this she had an empathetic gaze in her sky-blue eyes as she spoke to the man as if she genuinely cared about his pain, which she did.

"You... You were at Belgrade, weren't you? You poor soul, I can't even imagine what you are going through right now... What my husband did was cruel... In more ways than I think he is even aware of.

Not only to the innocent citizens in the city who paid for the actions of the Serbian Royal Family unnecessarily with their lives. But also to you all who had to carry out and witness the attack which Bruno ordered... How are you holding up, if you don't mind me asking?" Men were, in many ways, rather simple creatures. When the world was unraveling around them, and they were questioning themselves and everything else in life. All that was really needed to prevent them from going totally insane was to know that someone, somewhere, -cared.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

Even if they didn't personally know the person, the fact that somebody would show them kindness in their darkest hour was more than enough for most men to suffer silently and endure whatever pain they were going through, at least enough to move along.

And because of this, the young man, who had felt a series of confusing and conflicting moments until Heidi sat down and talked with him, came to terms with what he had done in an instant, at least enough so to steady his heart and mind, so that he could continue on, not only fulfilling his duty until the end but also with life in general.

Thus, he wore a bittersweet smile, as he confessed to Heidi how exactly he was feeling in that moment.

"You know what... I think... I think I'm going to be fine..."