A Long Story

By: AliasCWN

Chapter 1

Nothing had gone quite as planned. When Captain Boggs had given the Rat Patrol the assignment he had warned them that the information was suspect. He had also told them that someone at headquarters wanted to believe that the information was true; maybe badly enough to ignore the danger signs.

Troy didn't know who he blamed more, the blindly trusting soul at headquarters, or himself. Moffitt had suggested that it might be a trap but in the end it had been his decision to commit his men to the plan to enter the base. They might have been able to come up with a better plan but he had wanted to complete the mission within the time frame set up by headquarters. Trying to meet that tight schedule had been their downfall. He had ignored his own unease and gone ahead with the plan.

Moffitt had been correct in his suspicions. Captain Dietrich and a visiting major named Steinkopt had been waiting for them. It was a clever trap, Troy would give them that. And it had been flawlessly executed. Troy was a bit surprised that Dietrich had gone along with it; it had meant sacrificing several of his men to complete the ruse. The Captain was well known for the concern he showed his men. He had even made the remark to Troy once that the thing he hated most about command was sending men to their deaths. He'd said that he hated writing the letters to their loved ones. Now, as a result of their own trap, he had three more letters to write. Their deaths might have been avoided if Dietrich had acted a little sooner but he had waited to ensure the trap was sprung.

The Rat Patrol had slipped onto the base and approached their target. The office where Dietrich kept his plans had been dark, watched by four extremely exhausted guards. Only one of the four had survived when the trap was sprung. The four soldiers, sent to stand guard even though they had not slept for over twenty-four hours, had carelessly allowed the Allied soldiers to slip past them. They hadn't even noticed when the black-out curtains were drawn and the office lights came on. Their first warning was when Major Steinkopt came rushing down the street with his squad of soldiers. The Allied soldiers had heard the Major's men and immediately tried to fight their way out. Three of the four guards found themselves caught in the crossfire; all three of them died. The fourth ran to join in the fight and was wounded as he came out of the alley; he was rushed to the hospital.

The battle had been fierce, leaving many of the Major's men dead or wounded. Captain Dietrich had held his men back knowing that the Allied soldiers had nowhere to go. Major Steinkopt had continued to send his men forward time and time again until the Allied soldiers had run out of ammunition.

The Major considered the surrender of the Rat Patrol an unqualified success. Dietrich supervised the clean- up of the base, taking note of the number of dead and wounded Germans and hoped they didn't have too many more successes like it. They had captured the Rat Patrol; it was true, but at a one-sided cost in lives.

"We did well Captain." Major Steinkopt couldn't contain his excitement as the four Allied prisoners were searched and bound. "All four of them; we captured all four of them."

"Yes Major." Dietrich replied grimly. "But at what cost?"

"You cannot count the cost if you want to accomplish anything Captain. These men died fighting for their country. To mourn them is to belittle their sacrifices."

"The Americans had nowhere to go Major. We had them surrounded and outnumbered. All we had to do was sit back and wait for them to come to the same realization. Sergeant Troy is no fool, he would have surrendered without any of their 'sacrifices' being necessary."

"Wars are not won by the timid Captain. Those who boldly take the initiative are the ones who win the battles." The Major declared. "Now Captain, where would you suggest we hold out prizes?"

"The holding cells are quite secure Major. I would suggest that you put them in there and double the guards."

The Major considered the suggestion as he eyed the defiant prisoners. "I think we should separate them. It will be harder for them to escape if they don't know where the others are being held."

"And where would you put them Major? There are not that many secure rooms on this base. Ordinary rooms will not hold them." Dietrich warned the officer.

"Put the sergeants in the cells, not together, in separate cells."" The Major ordered his men. "The privates we will hold elsewhere." He turned to explain to Dietrich. "Do you have any storerooms with no windows?"

The Captain thought about his buildings. There were several rooms with no windows but they were filled with files or supplies. He informed the Major of that fact.

"They will do Captain, the prisoners won't be moving around in them anyway. We'll tie them to a chair and assign a guard to each one."

"Not more exhausted men I hope." Dietrich replied warily.

"That was necessary for our plan to work Captain. The men had to be exhausted enough to allow your Rat Patrol to slip past them."

"They are not 'my' Rat Patrol Major." Dietrich answered coldly. "And if your men had approached more discreetly my men might have had time to find cover before the fighting began. Their deaths were not necessary to carry out the plan."

Major Steinkopt waved off the Captain's concerns. "They died as soldiers Captain; a fact that you can include in the letters that are sent to their families. They join so many of our other young men who fight for and believe in our cause."

"Too many have already died for that cause." The Captain growled.

"And more will die. Germany shall yet triumph!" The Major's voice hardened as he looked at Dietrich. "We must remain strong and lead with courage and conviction."

"Your men did lead with courage and conviction Major; and they died the same way. All I'm saying is that we cannot afford to lose men for nothing if we mean to continue this war. Their lives must not be thrown away as if they are nothing."

"Their lives were not thrown away Captain; they were traded for the capture of that American team." Major Steinkopt argued. "A team, which I might remind you, has done untold damage to our war effort. They have killed many of your men Captain, but they will not be killing anymore. Once we get the information we want from them they will be exterminated. Even you can see what we have accomplished here."

"We have captured them before Major." Dietrich explained.

"But this time we will not be soft and allow them to escape."

"Are you suggesting that I allowed them to escape?" Dietrich stiffened at the implied accusation.

"Not at all Captain; after all, you are not the only German officer to have captured them and then lost them again. I am just saying that it will not happen this time."

"You seem fairly certain of that Major." Dietrich answered. "I assure you, others have felt the same before you."

"Then I suppose we shall just have to wait and see Captain Dietrich. We'll let the Americans spend the rest of the night worrying about what it is we have planned for them. Tomorrow morning we can begin our interrogation."

"As you wish Major." Dietrich responded with a nod of his head. "If you'll excuse me, I must see to my men and then I think I'll turn in. Tomorrow promises to be a very interesting day."

"My men will guard the prisoners Captain. Your men have a base to defend. I wouldn't want them to get too exhausted and let our prisoners slip through their fingers." The Major suggested slyly.

"Be my guest Major, as you say, my men have a base to defend." Dietrich excused himself and headed for the hospital to check on the condition of the wounded men.

Major Steinkopt watched him go with a satisfied smile on his face. Turning to his lieutenant, he gave orders for the guarding of the prisoners. "Make sure that the sergeants are not aware of the location of their privates." He demanded. "Captain Dietrich seems to be certain that they will not try to escape without their men. It seems a foolish notion but we will keep them apart just in case the Captain is correct."

"Yes Major, I'll see to the arrangements immediately." The lieutenant hurried away and the Major stared off into the direction that Dietrich had taken. He stood lost in thought for several minutes before he shook himself and took off in the direction of his quarters.

An ambitious man, the Major had plans for his new prisoners. He would get them to talk before he had them shot. The information they gave him would be sent to headquarters along with the report of their deaths. Eliminating the infamous Rat Patrol should be good for a promotion at the very least. With luck he'd get the promotion and a chance at a position in Berlin itself. He smiled all the way to his quarters as he imagined the accolades he would receive.

Dietrich was at that very moment listening to a report from the doctor on the condition of the men wounded in the battle. Several of them were not expected to survive the night; more letters to write. Many of the dead and wounded were from Major Steinkopt's unit but Dietrich asked about their conditions anyway. Tomorrow he would stop by the hospital and have a few words to offer encouragement. Tomorrow would be soon enough to begin writing his reports and listing the dead. Rubbing his head to try to relive the headache that was building, he tried to concentrate on the doctor's report.

"If you need anything Doctor contact my office. I know we are short on supplies but I will try to get you what you need."

Thank you Captain." The doctor replied, watching the officer with concern. "Are you all right Captain?"

"Fine, why?"

"You keep rubbing your head."

Dietrich smiled tiredly. "This whole plan has kept me awake the last few nights; I'm a little short on sleep. Perhaps now that the enemy has been captured I will get more rest."

"I could give you something to help you sleep."

"No thank you. I think I'll just take a few aspirin for my headache and retire to my quarters. You know where to reach me if you need anything."

The doctor nodded. "Good night Captain."

Dietrich nodded in return and headed for his quarters. After the last several nights, each spent waiting for Troy and his men to fall for their deception, Dietrich was sure he'd have no trouble sleeping.

Sending the fake information to Allied headquarters had been easy enough to accomplish. Getting them to believe it had been a bit more difficult. Making sure that they sent Troy and his men to investigate had been the hard part. Dietrich was still having a hard time believing that it had actually worked. But they had come, they had blundered into the trap, and now they were prisoners. So why wasn't he more elated? He thought of the dead, the wounded, and the look in the Major's eyes when he talked about the prisoners, and he regretted not accepting the doctor's offer of something to help him sleep.