The sky above the northern plains of France thundered with the roar of engines, not of weather, but of machine.
Sweeping low over the rolling fields, formations of twin-engine bombers cut through the gray clouds, their dark fuselages gleaming with the tricolor roundel of the Armée de l'Air.
They moved in perfect formation, too perfect. Rehearsed. Artificial.
On the ground, the blast of a whistle sent entire battalions of French infantrymen surging forward from their foxholes, bayonets fixed, rifles braced.
Their pace was quick... but not rushed.
Each man carried the newly issued MAS-36/34, a semiautomatic rifle born from joint development with American consultants.
Rugged, accurate, gas-piston driven.
No more bolt-action fumbling. No more lagging behind.
Or so they hoped.
The mock battlefield trembled again. This time from the distant hammering of belt-fed machine guns mounted on wheeled platforms.
