Sent to Die

Bent, battered, buckled and bowed, the young men looked old,
The soldiers were brave boys that had endured weeks in the cold.
Rifles hung from limp arms, heads hung low,
So far all they had fought was wind, rain and snow,
But that could soon change, they were vulnerable to enemy attack,
They had to persevere; High Command told them not to turn back,
They were the first soldiers in, at their destination they’d soon arrive,
High Command expected it to be their last destination,
They were not sent out to survive.

They arrived at the post they had to hold at the fall of night.
The men needed sleep, but knew this was the time to fight,
Non-religious men found it fitting to pray,
They knew the battle was imminent and they might again see the day,
Suddenly war commenced, bullets whistled by,
Mines brought death from the ground; bombs brought death from the sky.
The Forward Commander radioed for backup and was told he didn’t have long to wait.
He knew that if they were longer than 10 minutes they’d be too late.

The massacre was soon over and the enemy pushed on,
But they’d be held back enough to ensure backup troops defeated them by dawn,
As first in, they had basically been sent to commit suicide,
But though they died tragically, they died with pride,
And the poor soldiers don’t know this war will be fought again,
They died thinking they died to end war, but they really died in vain.

Deano

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