On to Remagen
"Kinch, get on the radio to London right now. Tell them we have information that one of the Rhein bridges is still intact and we have the diagrams of where the demolition charges are plus a map of all the defenses in Remagen."
"Will do Colonel. I'm on it right now."
"Carter, go into the armory. Check if the Sturmgewehrs are ready to go. Also as a backup, bring along 3 MP40s as well. And see if that Hitler buzzsaw is still in working order.
"Also bring alonghand grenades and smoke bombs just in case."
"Mon Colonel, the Feldjäger uniforms and rations are ready."
"Reply from London, sir, they say congratulations on getting the information. The First Army will be expecting that map and diagrams. Some forward scout platoons are a day and a half from Remagen."
"Kinch, there might be a problem with communications though."
"Well sir, today is your lucky day. We got a Kübelwagen from the motor pool sergeant. And it happens to have a working radio. Had to pay twice the usual rate though."
"We parked it on the side of the road next to the emergency tunnel entrance. And we have extra jerry cans so you don't run out of gas. Although that was the last of the gasoline left in the motor pool. Not that the Krauts need any gasoline at this stage of the war."
"Good job Kinch, that makes our life easier. Carter, LeBeau, let's go change our uniforms. We head out in 10 minutes."
As Carter drove the Kübelwagen down the road, Hogan surveyed the scene in front of him.
The once vaunted Wehrmacht was a shell of its former glory. Instead of the crack grenadiers of years past, the road was filled with weary Landsers along with the old men and boys of the Volksturm. Marching towards the front lines as the last line of defense for the Rhein.
On the other side of the road, civilian refugees were marching with what little possessions they had in hopes of finding an area safe from the fighting.
The civilians were lucky that they were in the West. The stories of the Red Army and the atrocities in East Prussia, Pomerania, and Silesia were in their minds. At least the Amis and Englanders would be less cruel and hopefully treat them better than the Ivans.
As the Kubelwagen proceeded, Hogan and his men looked at a horrible sight. Men hanging from trees. With placards draped on them with the following words.
I am a deserter and shirked my duty to the Reich. This is the fate of all who fail to obey the Führer!
"Sacre chat, mon Colonel, I don't like the Boche at all, but those executed soldiers are boys and old men! What kind of a madman does things like this?"
"Carter, stop the car! Looks like there's going to be another execution. And it looks like an SS flying execution squad. Let's stop the bastards."
The SS Lieutenant looked at the documentation of Colonel 'Hoganschmidt' and the letter from Jodl with suspicion.
"Herr Oberst, these men are deserters. They deserve to die, so why do you care?"
"Listen you idiot, the Feldjäger has ultimate jurisdiction in military affairs, even over the SS. Turn those men over to me!"
"And if I refuse?"
"If you refuse, look over there at my men. And I have shot your kind. Even the Gestapo and SS have deserters."
Carter had the MG42 at the ready along with bandoliers of ammunition draped on him. LeBeau was wielding the ugly looking Sturmgewehr.
"I will give you 10 seconds. If you do not obey, I will give the orders to open fire on your men. I will keep you alive in order for you to be sent to a penal battalion outside of Berlin. I'm sure the Ivans will take great pleasure in tearing you to pieces."
The SS lieutenant thought about it for 5 seconds.. And then gave the the command.
"Release those men to the custody of those Kettenhünde!"
The Wehrmacht captain looked uneasily at Hogan, Carter, and LeBeau. For the Feldjäger had a reputation of being more fearsome than either the Gestapo or SS.
"Herr Oberst, we are ready to die. Shoot us now! At least it will be faster than hanging from a tree branch."
"No, you will not die today. Go back to your unit."
The Captain and the other 2 soldiers heaved a sigh of relief.
"Herr Oberst, we have no unit left. It was wiped out in an American infantry attack. We were looking for other stragglers when that SS flying execution squad showed up. They are killing anyone who have no papers or cannot account for their unit."
Hogan scribbled a note in German on a sheet of official looking stationery and handed it over to the Captain.
"Hauptmann, take this. It states that you and your men are under the authority of the Feldjäger on a special mission. I suggest that you and your men follow those civilians."
"Jawohl, Herr Oberst!"
"Hauptmann, how far are the Amis from here and Remagen?"
"They are only 2 kilometers from us. And another 5 kilometers away from Remagen."
"That was close, sir! Why didn't the SS do anything? There were 10 of them in that execution squad."
"Andre mon pote, nobody fools around with the Feldjäger. Even the SS fear them."
"All right, if that Wehrmacht captain is right, we should be close to finding an advance force of American troops. Carter, pull over the side of the road. I'm going to transmit a radio message in the clear to Hodges' HQ. You and LeBeau keep watch."
Headquarters, First US Army-Somewhere close to the west bank of the Rhein River
The General's S-2 was monitoring all radio transmissions that morning. The reports were coming about rapid advances and the Germans in full retreat. Then came the surprising message over the radio.
"Papa Bear calling all US units in the area. London Bridge is still standing. Repeat London Bridge is still standing. Request immediate meeting with General Hodges or a senior officer. Porridge is hot, porridge is really hot."
The legendary Papa Bear? Wasn't he the leader of a sabotage team in Germany? He heard of the stories but thought it was fiction. Apparently it was not.
The S-2 told the Sergeant to get General Hodges on the double.
"Papa Bear, this is General Hodges. I understand you have something important. Speak freely, this is a secure channel."
"Sir, I have information that will end this war in a hurry. There is one bridge over the Rhein that the Germans have not blown up. I have the plans for where the demolition charges are planted as well as a map of Remagen and all the defenses."
General Courtney Hodges whistled to himself.
"If we secure that bridge now, this will mean the war in western Germany could be won in a matter of weeks. We could even drive onto Berlin."
"All right Papa Bear, you may proceed to my headquarters, but how will we identify you?"
"Sir, have your forward patrols look for a German Kübelwagen. We will be flying a white flag of surrender. I will be wearing the uniform of an USAAF Colonel and my men will be disguised as German Military Police. It will be just the 3 of us."
"Papa Bear, that is rather unusual, but it's a go. We received a radio transmission about 30 minutes ago from London as well. We are expecting you."
"You may proceed to my headquarters. You will be given an escort of Jeeps. However, as a precaution, you will stop 1 mile away from my HQ. You and your men will be blindfolded and your car will be driven to my HQ by my S-2."
"Understood sir...we will be there in 5 minutes."
Hogan immediately put on his US Army uniform.
"LeBeau, switch places with Carter. Looks like he needs to sleep. Drive slowly and look for the escorting Jeeps."
General Hodges was true to his promise. Hogan saw the escort of Jeeps down the road.
"LeBeau, stop, I'm going to talk to the officer over there."
He pulled out the white flag of surrender. Carter and LeBeau looked on nervously.
"Don't shoot, this is Papa Bear, we have the information for General Hodges!"
"Papa Bear, I presume. What, Rob you're Papa Bear?"
"I'm not Doctor Livingstone. And how are you doing, Pete?"
Lieutenant Colonel Peter Steinmann, Hogan's roommate from West Point had to smile. That voice on the radio did sound familiar.
"I see you're up to your old tricks again, Rob. Remember when we sneaked out that one night to go to that bar in town and those 2 redheads…that was a night to remember!"
"Pete, this isn't time for a reunion. Now blindfold my men and I and drive us to General Hodges' HQ. And that's an order!"
"Carter, LeBeau, this is Lieutenant Colonel Steinmann. He's a friend of mine from West Point."
"He's going to drive us to First Army HQ to see General Hodges."
"Darn Rob...you guys have perfect German uniforms and even German weapons…how did you get Sturmgewehrs? We haven't even gotten a closeup of one of them."
The Kübelwagen proceeded to HQ driven by Colonel Steinmann along with our blindfolded Heroes.
"Colonel Robert Hogan, USAAF reporting Sir! My men, Technical Sergeant Andrew Carter, USAAF, and Corporal Louis LeBeau, Free French Army."
Our 3 Heroes gave General Courtney Hodges a crisp salute.
General Hodges looked at the 3 characters. An American colonel and 2 men dressed in German Military Police uniforms
What little he heard about the famous Papa Bear was that he had a flair for the unorthodox.
"I could use men like these," he thought to himself. "They drove 80 miles through the night to make a special delivery. Hope it was worth it."
Hogan offered the diagram and map to General Hodges.
"General Hodges, here is the diagram of the Ludendorff Bridge and the map of the defenses. They are authentic. You will notice dried blood spots on some parts."
"These were taken off a dead German Lieutenant in the combat engineers. A few days ago, he was shot near the Remagen area. One of our agents found them on his body and she delivered them to us."
"She? One of your agents is a German woman?"
Yes sir, she is a woman, but more of a girl. She just turned 20 years old, but she is pretty special. She is a nurse in a local hospital. I don't want to divulge any more information of course."
"Steinmann, you read German. Look at the map and plans," ordered General Hodges.
"Sir, these are the real deal!"
General Hodges formulated the orders.
"Steinmann, have the CO of the 9th Armored Division report to me on the double! He is to look at these documents. Once he is done, he is to organize a task force of infantry, combat engineers, and armor to take that bridge immediately. At all costs!"
"And Colonel Hogan, Sergeant Carter, and Corporal LeBeau, you have just won the war for us in the West. Well done! Stay in my HQ for a few days as my guests. It's going to be dangerous out on that road."
"Sir just one day. We head out tomorrow night. I have a POW camp to run." Hogan grinned.
The Ludendorff Bridge was captured March 7, 1945. German attempts to destroy the bridge using bombers and V-2 rockets failed miserably.
Several pontoon bridges were built alongside the Ludendorff Bridge as a backup should the Germans manage to destroy the bridge.
On March 17, 1945, the Ludendorff Bridge collapsed due to structural weakness and stress. Not from German demolition charges. By then the Americans were on the other side of the Rhein and the last natural defense of Germany was breached.
March 8, 1945-Back in Stalag 13
"Kinch, Newkirk, Baker, we're back." Colonel Hogan and his men emerged from the tunnel under the bunk.
"Colonel, that was some crazy road trip. The Germans are all ballistic and London airdropped this article from Stars and Stripes about the Remagen bridge." Kinch was grinning.
"Blimey, Sir, maybe we'll be going home soon." Newkirk replied.
"Look me up in Newark-we are going to have all the pizza we can eat and real Italian wine at my dad's restaurant. Not that vinegar with food color that LeBeau makes." exclaimed Garlotti.
"Garlotti, come to Chicago. We have real pizza there." Baker responded.
"Baker, deep dish isn't real pizza." retorted Garlotti.
Just another day at the office, thought Colonel Hogan.
The Notes for this Chapter
In the last stages of the war, the situation in Germany was chaotic to say the least. Old men and Hitler Youth were drafted into the Volksturm (the German militia) to face off against battle hardened solders. And front-line soldiers who could not account for the whereabouts of their units or were considered deserters could be arrested and executed by Gestapo special tribunals or German military police.
Hitler's buzzsaw-the MG42, which was the best all purpose machine gun of the war and the ancestor of the general purpose machine gun used by the majority of Western military forces.
Feldjäger troops did have the discretion to force soldiers to fight instead of summarily executing them. As Hogan does in the guise of his fake identity. Plus I think he refuses to kill in cold blood, although if those SS in this story got nasty, he would definitely kill.
The threat of an SS officer being turned over to the Red Army for special treatment is real. Most of the SS Panzer Divisions surrendered to the Americans or the British. Only the ones who were trapped in Eastern Germany and could not head West fell into the hands of the Soviets and obviously very fee survived the tender mercies of their captors.
Penal battalions were widely used by both the regular army and the Waffen-SS during the war. The Waffen-SS units were noted for their brutality.
The Kübelwagen is the German World War 2 equivalent of the US Jeep. It is essentially the same chassis of a Volkswagen Beetle with a squarish body. An extremely reliable vehicle just like the Jeep. The Volkswagen Thing is essentially a Kübelwagen and the Bundeswehr used the modern equivalent as well.
The S-2 is the senior staff officer in charge of security and intelligence in a US Army division/army group.
The capture of the Ludendorff Bridge was a series of lucky coincidences for the US. No secret plans involved though.
Is a New York/Newark style pizza better than a Chicago deep dish pizza?