Benji The British Wardog

And His World War 2 Journey

by Cathleen Breslin, Maddie Roling, and Maria Kircher

Today was a very special day for Benji. After training for years, he was finally going to fight in the war along side his best friend James. Benji was no longer an ordinary dog; he was a British war dog!

The year was 1941, and the war had been going on for almost two years now. It all started when Germany invaded Poland then France and Britain declared war. German forces were taking control of Europe one country at a time. James had just turned old enough to be in the war, and Benji had been training for years to prove that he was a war dog. For their first battle they were sent to was Crete an Island in Greece.

As soon as the landed in Crete, Benji and James had fought side by side for what felt like forever.They were fighting together for days,until James went to help out an injured friend. Benji tried to follow, but with all the fighting, Benji soon lost sight of his best friend. BANG! The world went black.

Benji opened his eyes and took in his surroundings. He was no longer on the battlefield, in fact, he wasn't even in Crete. Benji had been knocked out by an explosion and was taken to the infirmary on the boat. He overheard some soldiers talking about the battle. "I'm surprised we lasted one day after the Germans landed their ships," said one soldier. "Ships weren't the problem, it was the Luftwaffe that beat us." The soldiers talked about the two weeks of the battle for Crete but Benji didn't care if they lost the battle. He already lost his best friend James.

Benji was retrained and after a few months, he was as good as new. It was now 1942 and although the United States had joined the war, the axis powers were still dominating the war. Benji was sent off to Russia to help defend in from German forces. As war raged throughout Europe, all Benji could think about was James.

In the next battle, Benji dodged bullets, bombs, and fighters all while thinking of one person- James. James was his motivation. Benji needed to find James again to be happy.

Benji ran off into the woods amidst all the fighting. He did not know where he was or where he was going, but he knew he could find James. Suddenly, Benji heard something snap beneath him and in a split second he found himself high above the ground in a net. "Great," he thought. "A trap." Benji struggled to free himself but nothing seemed to work.

A pack of German dogs came out from the trees laughing and mocking Benji. He couldn't believe he had gotten caught.

"No wonder why the Allies are losing this war," one dog yelled. "Look at their soldiers. You call yourself a war dog?"

"Let me go!" Benji pleaded. "I'll do anything, just let me go!"

The dogs looked at each other and began to talk, but Benji couldn't make out what they were saying.

One yelled up, "We'll let you down under one condition. Join us. You can never win on the Allie's side."

Benji had an idea. "Fine, I'll join your pack."

The pack began barking excitedly and let him down.

"Good choice." said one of the dogs

"There's no way the allies will win this war!'' Said another dog.

Another replied "Hitler will soon conquer all of Europe. He is unstoppable."

Benji growled in disgust, "You won't win. With the U.S. on our side, we will destroy Germany, Italy, and Japan."

Benji said, "Sorry, but I will never fight with you. The Allies will win in the end, you'll see!"

The German dogs were not pleased to hear this and starting to inch closer, growling. Benji stood his ground preparing to fight, but he was surrounded and outnumbered.

One of the German dogs lunged at Benji, but a flash came from the trees and the dog was tackled to the ground. Benji then saw the face of his rescuer.

"Who are you?" Benji asked.

"I'm Rosie, an American war dog," she answered.

"You saved my life."

She answered,"No problem, but let's take care of these Germans first." Together the two fought off the German dogs and escaped into the woods.

After the two had a large distance between themselves and the German dogs, they slowed down.

"Thanks again for saving my life," Benji said. "How did you find me out there?"

"Well, I heard voices and decided to see what was going on," Rose explained. "Once I saw that pack close around you, I couldn't just leave you because we're allies. You seemed lost."

Benji said, "I'm looking for my best friend James. We got separated in a battle. I won't stop until I find him."

"I'm so sorry," Rose said. "Instead of going alone, come with my troop and we can look together." Benji thought for a moment. This might be his best chance at finding James, and Rose seemed like a good friend to have along the way.

"Okay, let's go," Benji agreed happily.

Benji joined Rose's troop. After hearing news that the Germans suffered a massive defeat in the battle of Stalingrad in 1943, Benji couldn't help but feel excited. Things were finally turning around for the Allies. For the next few years, Rose and Benji fought side by side. In July of 1943, at the Battle of Kursk, the Germans suffered heavy losses thanks to the USSR. By August, Britain and the U.S. had control of Sicily and for the next year, the Allies liberated countries and rapidly reduced the Axis Power's control.