“Our orders are to take Hill 430 by this time tomorrow.”
“Ours is not to reason why. Have the men move out.”
“Which route should we take, sir?”
“Tell the prisoners to walk towards that ridge. Shoot them if they refuse. There’s more than one way to clear a minefield.”
This is an entry in @jayna’s “field” #fiftywords challenge:
@jayna/fifty-word-challenge-results-and-a-new-prompt
History buffs may recognize the inspiration for this story. In WW2, the Soviets used their own soldiers as a low-tech way to clear mines. Men were ordered forward into minefields. NKVD commissars shot any man who balked.
Pixabay image