Captain Hann

By: AliasCWN

Chapter 1

The column was separated into several groups, each hidden in a wadi with their engines running, waiting. The crews were all tense, ready to spring into action. Captain Wilhelm Hann eagerly scanned the desert around them with his field glasses. Captain Dietrich had sent him out to check this sector of the desert while the captain himself checked an adjoining sector. There had been a report just that morning about an enemy unit spotted in the area. Captain Hann had wanted to search for the unit but Captain Dietrich had taken that area for his own column to search. He had warned Hann that the small unit in question was deadly and unpredictable. Hann had wanted the challenge if for no other reason than to prove to Captain Dietrich that he was no green officer to be lectured at every turn. He had fought his share of battles in Poland and other parts of Europe, and in his eyes, the desert wasn't all that different.

He lowered his field glasses and twisted to check on the men behind him. They were good soldiers; he'd whipped them all into shape personally. To a man they snapped to attention in his presence and jumped to obey his orders. Some of the newer ones were still soft but they would toughen up or die, he didn't particularly care which. The lower ranks were expendable, they could be replaced. He took more care with his officers.

Looking around he located his second-in-command. The lieutenant was a smart and capable officer, but young and green. The officer had good instincts and a strong grasp of military strategy. Given the right leadership, his leadership, the young soldier would go far before this war was over. Hann had no doubt that he himself would reach great heights in the German army. He had already won many battles due to his superior tactics and bold maneuvers. He just needed the right people to notice his successes and he would be on his way.

He smiled to himself as he turned back to scan the desert once again. Captain Dietrich had sought to hog all of the glory by capturing the desert Rat Patrol with his own column. The joke was on him today. Hann had intercepted a message to the Allied unit that had ordered them to return to their base immediately. If his calculations were correct, there was a good chance that the Allied jeeps would be passing right by the wadis where his column now waited. This particular section of the desert was the flattest, swiftest path for their return to their base for miles around. The message had sounded urgent and he expected the Allies to use the quickest path available.

The engines of his vehicles clattered and Hann checked the direction of the light breeze again. He would have to have the engines shut down if there was any chance the wind would carry the sounds to their quarry and alert them of his presence. Satisfied that that wasn't the case, he fidgeted nervously, wondering how long it took two small jeeps to travel across a small section of desert. There was no talking behind him because he had ordered his men to stay completely silent. The captain sighed, he would have liked to talk to the lieutenant to pass the time but the young officer seemed to always be near the men. Sometimes the captain thought that the lieutenant might be avoiding him on purpose. The captain sighed again; it was lonely at the top.

Finally two small specks appeared in the distance. At first they would appear and then disappear into the shimmering heat waves that rose from the desert floor. He watched them come closer until they were distinct vehicles heading in a direct line for where his column waited.

"Get ready." He ordered. "They'll be here soon."

"Do you see them Captain?" Lieutenant Petroff walked over to stand next to the halftrack Captain Hann had commandeered.

"Yes Lieutenant, they are headed our way. A few minutes at the most and we will begin our attack."

The young officer nodded and walked away to check on the men once more. Hann almost called him back, the men were undoubtedly ready, he had ordered them to be ready. He could hear the young officer offering words of encouragement to the more timid of his troops. Hann admitted, only to himself, that he didn't understand the lieutenant. The men responded to the junior officer as well as they did to him yet he had never heard the lieutenant so much as raise his voice to any of the men. Somehow he had managed to command their respect without punishing a single soldier. Hann went back to watching their victims draw closer to the trap.

There was a sudden strong gust of wind and Hann immediately checked the direction of the wind again. The jeeps were close now; nearly close enough to spring the trap. He could see the men and vehicles clearly now, even without his binoculars.ann HannH

He listened intently for a change in motor sounds but the engines of the halftracks drowned out the sounds of the American engines. It was no wonder the Americans were able to sneak up on the German troops so easily. He would have to make sure that his men knew that ears alone would not alert them to an enemy unit approaching. He had been paying attention when Captain Dietrich had warned him about the Rat Patrol's blitz attacks. Perhaps Captain Dietrich had allowed his men to be lax in their duties but his men would not fall to the same incompetence. Pushing those thoughts aside until a later date, Hann prepared to give the signal to attack.

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