Chapter 4: Preparing Against the Storm
24th April, 1945. 1115 hours – German Staging Area around Neukolln, Berlin
A few Tiger tanks, Panthers and armoured personnel carriers stood idly by in between some buildings and a small square as the soldiers busied themselves with checking their weapons, ammunition, and equipment. Others sat or stood around, attempting to get some much needed rest. The shriek of nearby artillery shells and the subsequent rumbles of explosions encompassed all around, whilst the cracks of rifles and submachineguns echoed across the ruined streets and roads of the city.
Slowly hoisting herself out of the commander's hatch, Maho placed a map onto the roof of the turret, before taking it and making her way down onto the ground. The rest of her crew were already outside; Ernst and Christian were sitting on the engine deck of the Tiger conversing with one another, whilst Felix had gone off to a nearby tree to relieve himself. Shaking her head with a small smirk, Maho walked up towards Erika, who was leaning against the front hull of the Tiger, a lit cigarette gently placed between her index and middle finger. She turned towards the source of the footsteps, flashing a kind but tired smile towards Maho as she approached. "You look absolutely exhausted." She stated, her soft smile growing into a half-hearted smirk.
Maho smiled faintly. "That's the same for you, Erika." She replied, producing a lighter and a packet of cigarettes as she spoke. "And in all fairness, cut me some slack. We haven't had any time to rest these last couple weeks."
"I don't know what you're talking about, Maho. I think I still look as presentable as ever." Erika retorted gently; a soft smirk crossing her features as she flipped her light blonde hair in a somewhat playful manner, earning a quiet chuckle from her superior.
"Exhausted, but as beautiful as ever." Maho spoke gently, flashing a smile as she took a long drag of her cigarette. "However, I don't anticipate that we will get much more in the coming days." She exhaled slowly, rubbing her eyes gingerly with the back of the hand that held her map. "Also, Hauptmann Brandt is on her way. I received a message through the radio a few minutes ago stating so. Command wants her to take control of the counterattack when the Soviets come our way."
Erika nodded. "It'll be good to have her with us." She spoke, her eyes briefly making contact with Maho before looking away and sighing, her somewhat playful demeanour vanishing as quickly as it had come.
The latter turned her head to face her gunner. "What's on your mind, Erika?" She asked softly. Erika shook her head, a faux smile on her face.
"It's nothing. Tired, that's all." She muttered, albeit almost silently.
"I know when you're thinking of something, Erika." Maho stated, her voice softening slightly as she moved a step closer towards her comrade and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Tell me what's bothering you."
Erika sighed quietly, looking up to face Maho; her face pale and wearied as she took a shaky breath of her cigarette. "I don't like where this is going, Maho." She whispered shakily. "The Soviets have us surrounded on all sides of the city. It's only a matter of time now." Her blue eyes slowly met Maho's. "I don't want to die here, not in this hell hole." Erika mouthed, her hand visibly shaking as she took another drag. "But everything seems to point towards that conclusion."
Maho looked over to Erika, pondering on what to say as her mind repeated the words that her friend had just spoken. As much as she did not want to believe, Erika was right. They were now encircled; it was inevitable from the start. But only now did the depth of the situation dawn upon her; it was only a matter of time till the noose slowly tightened around them as the Soviets closed the trap. What or how, in her sane mind, could she say to Erika to reassure her when everything she said was true? She sighed, before forcing a smile to cross her features.
"Each day we fight," She began. "It is a promise to those around you that you stand by them. No matter whether through the easy or the tough times. With each day we fight, you are showing to Felix, Christian, Ernst that you are fighting with them, for them, and for each other." Maho gestured to the rest of the crew behind them with a flick of her head. "You're showing to them, to each and every one of us that you're not fighting for this fatherland, for Hitler. You're fighting for those who are in the lurch with you, to ensure that they get out of this alive. It's this bond, this camaraderie that will see you, and see us through. We keep on fighting so we can make sure we will get out of this place alive, all of us."
Seeing Erika look down and nod slightly, Maho softly placed her hand on the latter's cheek. "You are an amazing friend, Erika. I could not have asked for a better comrade to have stood by me for all these years. You and I have fought all over this continent. Russia, Normandy, the Ardennes, and now in our homeland. We've been through and experienced so much. You are an excellent soldier, gunner, and second in command. I've always needed you throughout our time together; and now, I need you more than ever." The brunette chuckled slightly. "I know this is a big ask, but I need you to stay with me. I can't lose you now. I need you to hold on, and to keep on doing what you do best; hunting tanks."
Erika stifled a shaky laugh, before looking up at her superior and nodding slowly. "I've always got your back." She whispered. "You can count on me to get the job done, and to keep the boys in order."
Maho smiled, gently wrapping her arms round Erika into a soft hug. "I'll never stop fighting for you, and for every single one of the boys." She spoke softly. "You can count on me to lead you all as effectively and efficiently as I've always done. That is a promise."
As they moved away from one another, Erika rubbed her eyes, before smiling faintly. "Thank you, Maho." She spoke, a glint of appreciation emanating from her voice as she cast her finished cigarette onto the floor. Seeing a familiar figure slowly walk towards her Tiger, she turned and nodded briskly in greeting with a faint smile. "Feldwebel Ketler." She spoke, before politely gesturing to Maho she wished to join the rest of the crew. The latter smiled and nodded in reply.
"Feldwebel Austermann." Miho replied promptly. "Oberleutnant Ketler." She spoke, turning to Maho and saluting, in which Maho quickly returned.
"How are things with your platoon?" Maho questioned, reaching out and lighting the cigarette that Miho had just produced from its packet.
"Good." The younger sibling responded, producing a map from her pocket. "I was conversing with the other tank commanders in my platoon on potential ambush points along the main road." Her fingers circled several locations on the map. "Although this needs to be confirmed and agreed upon with the rest of the troops here."
Maho scanned the locations quickly, before conferring with her own map. Pausing momentarily, she then nodded in agreement. "Those are good spots for an ambush. But like you said, we'll need to run it through at the briefing once Erwin arrives." She stated gently. "How are your troops faring, Miho?"
The latter took a soft drag, before nodding simply. "They're fine. I've made sure they have enough ammunition distributed between them, given the shortage that we are experiencing." She smirked faintly as she saw Maho roll her eyes at the remark before continuing. "I also suggested for them to reload the smoke launchers with smoke canisters instead of anti-personnel ones, which we had last time. I figured that if we were to launch a surprise counterattack, it would be best if we hit them hard, then withdraw to draw them in."
Maho turned to her younger sister, a small smile crossing her features as she did. "And when they try to push through the smoke, we'll have relocated to a secondary position and will be ready to hit the tanks that are sent to stop us." She nodded and gently patted Miho's shoulder. "That is a very good idea, Miho." She glanced over to her crew who were situated at the engine deck and walked a few paces towards them. "Erika, Felix. Check if our launchers are loaded with anti-personnel or smoke canisters. If they're anti-personnel, replace them with smoke." She spoke. "Though keep the anti-personnel canisters close by in case we need them in a pinch."
"Jawohl, Oberleutnant."
The two of them quickly clambered up to the turret, and promptly disappeared into the confines of the Tiger. Taking another short drag, Maho looked over to a wooden bench a few meters away, where Karla was sitting secluded and away from the rest of the men nearby. Next to her sat a neatly folded map and an unholstered pistol laying on top as she slowly scribbled something down in a small notebook, using her thigh as a hard surface to write. However, something about the setup struck Maho as odd; Karla, judging by the experience and knowledge Maho had about her, would never leave her sidearm unholstered unless she was going to use it, like in a combat scenario. The brunette paused momentarily. Was she thinking too much into it?
'Don't worry about it, you haven't seen her in two years if not more, so perhaps some habits have changed.' She thought to herself gently. "Let's go and see how Karla is doing, hm?" She asked the younger. Seeing the latter nod, the two sisters slowly walked towards Karla, who turned towards the sound of boots thumping on the cobbled ground. She flashed a smile in greeting, quickly stuffing her notebook into her pocket and holstering her pistol.
"Wanna sit down?" She asked simply, shuffling over to make space for both Maho and Miho as the two quickly sat down beside her. Karla fumbled and produced a slightly battered packet of cigarettes before quickly lighting one up, and inhaling deeply, before exhaling as if in relief. "How are the preparations going for the counterattack?" She asked softly, turning to face Miho. "I saw you and the other commanders of your unit conversing as well as with Maho."
Miho nodded, unfolding her map and showing it to Karla. "I was discussing using the smoke canisters that we have on the Panthers and Tigers during the counterattack, as well as the potential locations for the counterattack. If we surprise them, hit them hard, deploy the smoke and then withdraw to other prepared positions, we can draw them in and take them out, especially the heavy IS-2s. It's those heavy tanks that I'm worried about." She spoke, sighing slightly.
"I already told Miho that it seemed to be a good idea, but I wanted to run it through you, then the rest of the troops." Maho stated, glancing over at Karla as she did so. The trio sat in silence for a few moments, silently smoking, but enjoying the quiet company of each other. A few minutes later, Maho abruptly broke the silence. "Do you think we have a chance of holding out this area against the Russians?" She asked quietly. "You think we will be able to successfully counterattack especially against the IS-2s in an urban engagement?"
Karla smirked, exhaling softly as she flicked the ash off her cigarette with a gentle tap. "I can't believe that the Black Lady of Soborwka, one of the most tactically adept and proficient commanders of the Panzerwaffe is asking me this." She chuckled slightly, her blue eyes glanced over to Maho as the latter shook her head in faux exasperation, though Maho herself could feel a small smile cross her features.
"Regardless of what they call me, I'm asking you because you have much more experience in this matter." She spoke plainly, raising up her index finger gently as Karla opened her mouth to protest. "I've fought mostly the British and Americans for the last year or so, whilst you have remained fighting in the east."
"And losing horrifically." Karla muttered under her breath.
Shaking her head again, Maho smirked faintly and continued. "You've fought the new Soviet armour a lot more than, Erwin, Miho or I have as we've only encountered them for the first time recently. So," she took a small drag. "As much as I know you're modest, Karla, you are more experienced dealing with the heavy tanks the Soviets have and would appreciate your advice and expertise."
Karla nodded, taking another heavy drag before exhaling and casting away her finished cigarette, exhaling slowly as she snuffed it out with the heel of her boot. "I think we can manage it if we ambush them and take them by surprise. If we manage to get the IS-2s isolated and draw them in, we have a chance. We can take out the IS-2s easily from the sides or the under glacis if the gunner is a good shot. The turret is possible, but tricky. Our best bet is to draw them in and hit their sides, or to engage as close as possible. She stated slowly. "From my experience, we can fire faster than them, so that makes follow up shots easier for us. However all of this will only delay the inevitable. They have overwhelming weight of numbers, so the Soviets will regroup, and hit us repeatedly until we are forced back." A forlorn sigh escaped her lips as she unfolded her map slowly. "Remind me, where did you say you were planning to counterattack, Miho?" She asked.
Miho paused momentarily, before standing up and walking behind Karla to read her map. "We know the Soviets will have a main line of advance across the bridge from Rixdorfer Strasse towards the crossroads further down that runs along Teilestraße and Bergholzstraße." She spoke quickly, pointing at several locations on the map. "We have a few options from there, but nothing is fleshed out as of yet. But the idea is as long as the flanks near the crossroads are not overrun immediately, we can counterattack from further up the street and draw the armour into the nearby built up areas on both sides."
The elder sister craned her neck over to have a look at the map. "In theory I think that's a good idea, we can have several Panthers or Tigers to pop up and open fire from Eschersheimer Strasse, as well as from the left hand corner of the crossroads, then fall back towards ambush points as you've said." She spoke, her mind deep in thought as she did so. "However it's a risky gamble to put our tanks in close combat in an urban environment. We cannot afford to lose anymore armour than we have; we've barely got any left to begin with." She turned to the other officer with them. "What are your thoughts on this, Karla?"
The blonde studied the map for a while, before nodding in agreement. "As long as we have infantry support and get our troops up in the buildings and alongside our tanks, we can have a chance of dealing some losses to them." Karla spoke slowly. "Those locations you mentioned does give us some room to manoeuvre, as well as to draw them in for the infantry to ambush them. However as Maho said, we cannot hold them off forever. We'll have to hit them hard, then withdraw before we get overrun. But all in all, you have a good plan, Miho." She smiled faintly, giving Miho a soft pat on the shoulder.
The sound of rumbling engines caused them to turn their heads to the source. A Tiger tank, followed by a couple of troop trucks slowly crawled into the square. The black attire of the female commander clearly visible above the commander's hatch as the small convoy growled to a stop half a dozen meters in front of them. "Ah, Erwin's here." Maho stated, as she watched the troops disembark from their trucks and the Tiger crew to do the same. Gesturing Miho and Karla to follow her, the trio made their way towards the Tiger, where Erwin had just climbed out of the commander's hatch, and nimbly made her way to the ground. Upon seeing the three women, she nodded in greeting, flashing a smile towards them.
The three of them saluted their superior as Erwin promptly replied in kind. "Nice of you to join us, Hauptmann Brandt." Karla stated gently.
Erwin kindly smiled at the latter, though her soft smiling expression did little to hide to dark bags and the look of exhaustion that was etched onto her face. "Command wanted me to take personal control of the counterattack and to liaise with the supporting infantry." She spoke. "They want all the available firepower they could get, so they sent me over with my Tiger as well. It does beat sitting in headquarters and not doing anything." She chuckled quietly.
"Well, the more the merrier." Maho muttered, glancing up towards her superior. "We need all the troops we can get if we are to have a chance of holding this sector."
Erwin nodded in agreement. "Which is why I received word that we are getting some infantry reinforcements to support the armour that we have left." She stated quickly, much to the surprise of the other three.
"Regular troops? We're gonna need them, not the children from the Hitler Youth or the Volkssturm; they're not combat effective." Karla queried. Erwin simply shrugged.
"I wasn't told, but they're arriving at the U-Bahn station nearby. Maho, Karla, I want the two of you to meet up with the group and bring them up. They are led by a Leutnant Biese. Once they've arrived, we'll go through and make a rough plan of action of what to do." She then turned to the youngest in the group. "Miho, I need to get a run-down on your platoons' condition, if that's possible?" She asked, her voice adopting a somewhat softer, motherly tone. Maho gestured to Karla to get going, as Erwin and Miho slowly walked towards the few Panthers that were at the opposite end of the square. After a few steps Karla stopped and glanced back at her Tiger. Maho looked at her.
"What is it?"
"Weapon." Karla quietly stated, before starting to briskly walk back towards her Tiger. Maho paused momentarily, before nodding.
"Good idea."
The brunette quickly headed back towards her Tiger, where the rest of her crew were milling around its vicinity and chatting. Seeing their commander quickly walk towards them, Felix turned to face Maho. "Is everything alright, Oberleutnant?" He called out. She nodded, before disappearing into the confines of the Tiger, reappearing moments later holding a StG-44 in her hand, before quickly setting herself down onto the ground and re-joining her crew.
"Just getting a weapon, that's all."
Felix tilted his head in confusion. "What do you need it for?"
"To shoot you, of course." Maho spoke in a humorous manner, quickly attaching the magazine to it as a wave of subdued laughter washed over her crew. "I'm going with Oberleutnant Brun to rendezvous with some reinforcements that are coming our way." She explained, her voice shifting to a more serious demeanour. "I want you to get the Tiger ready for combat operations as we'll be going over how to counterattack the Russians when they come, then most probably heading towards the frontline. Erika, can I leave you to lead the boys?"
"You can count on me, Oberleutnant." Erika responded promptly. "Does that include shooting Felix as well?" She asked, a small smirk crossing her features as she did so.
Maho chuckled under her breath as she heard Felix retort about Erika not having the guts to do it as the rest of the crew began to head towards the Tiger to prepare it for combat. She quickly met back with Karla, who was waiting for her near the middle of the square, her own StG-44 hung by a strap on her shoulder. She spotted Maho and flashed a smile as the latter walked up towards her. "I learned the hard way to not get caught without a weapon back on the eastern front. Even when we were not near the frontline." She spoke softly, as they began to head down towards U-Bahn station. A somewhat close artillery explosion caused the two to glance towards the source of the sound, then quicken their pace somewhat.
"Partisans?" Maho asked quietly, as they half jogged, half walked down the road, sticking to the sides as much as possible, the crunch of broken bricks, glass and rubble following them with every footstep they took.
Karla nodded. "Yeah. We were taken off the line for a few days to rest and repair some of our Tigers. Nowhere near the frontline. However, some of the locals must've told them we were there since we got attacked by a group of partisans the next evening." She sighed. "They managed to take out two Tigers with Molotov cocktails and killed a few of the crewmen that were caught unawares. I only had my pistol to fend off a group of them before we managed to force them back once reinforcements came. It taught me to always take a weapon with me, just in case." She gestured to the StG-44 draped over her shoulder.
They continued moving forwards for a few moments in silence, occasionally stopping and listening to the seemingly ever closer exchanges of gunfire and explosions, before continuing on their way. "It must've been a difficult time after Erwin and I were transferred to the Western Front." She spoke softly. Karla scoffed, her blue eyes glancing over to Maho's; a sigh emanating from her lips as she spoke.
"You have no idea."
"Erwin managed to receive one of the letters that you had apparently sent her from late 1944." The brunette added. "It talked about how the Soviets had gone on the offensive and had taken you by surprise, and that you had to give up most of Byelorussia, and that you were nearly in Poland."
Karla's eyes lit up slightly. "You got the letter? I'm surprised it managed to find its way to you and Erwin." She spoke, chuckling slightly under her breath. "I remember that time…" Her voice trailed off to almost a silent whisper, her movement slowing down slightly. She glanced over to Maho, though her eyes seemed blank, expressionless as if devoid of emotion. Maho looked back at Karla. Her look said it all. She sighed.
"It was really that bad, wasn't it." Maho mouthed. Karla just stared at her fellow officer momentarily, her head nodding minutely as the two of them came to a stop a few meters away from the U-Bahn station entrance.
"You have no idea, Maho." Karla whispered hoarsely. "I know you spent a lot of the in the east, but those few months was nothing like you would have ever experienced." She mouthed. She sighed, before blinking a few times and rubbed her eyes gingerly. "Shall we head down?" She asked, her voice becoming more like her usual tone as she spoke.
Maho nodded and began to head down the steps. Even as she did so, she couldn't help but notice Karla's eyes, which had now regained some sort of focus to them, though they still seemed devoid of life and emotions. She felt a small lump grow in her throat as she glanced over to her friend. This was not the Karla she had remembered from their time serving together in the east back in 1943. She was a shell of her former self, made numb from her experiences fighting an attrition war against the Soviets; the trauma and horrors of what she saw now plaguing her every being. A broken human being. She could feel tears begin to well up in her eyes as she looked away briefly, making sure Karla did not see her faltering emotions before composing herself momentarily after.
Upon descending down to the lower level of the station, the musty, humid stench of human sweat, blood and bodily fluids washed over them like a nauseous wave. Glancing to her left and right, Maho could see dozens of old men, women young and old, children huddled and sat down on the floor, or leaning against the walls as they sheltered from the continuous onslaught that was happening above. The lights flickered on and off with every artillery strike, its rumble penetrating deep into the confines of the U-Bahn station below like a deep, distant roar coupled with the quiet whimpering and crying of children, sheltering in their mother's arms with each subsequent artillery explosion above.
Quickly hurrying down another flight of stairs to the platform level, her eyes were greeted with even more civilians huddling and sheltering along the platform. Several metro cars stood stationary next to the platform. An even stronger stench of blood, sweat and filth perforated their nostrils as Maho and Karla slowly made their way through the sea of civilians and wounded soldiers alike. Nurses hurried back and forth bandaging and tending to the wounded, their aprons spattered with blood, their expressions stoic yet exhausted looking. The cries and screams of the wounded echoed around the entire platform. A soldier with a heavily bandaged right arm, still holding his rifle glanced up blankly as the two officers slowly walked past, his eyes following but not seeing as the man next to him screamed in agony whilst a nurse disinfected his open leg wound, blood still dribbling down and pooling on the ground as another nurse quickly ran towards him, bandages in hand. The other people around them seemed not to notice or care, as they huddled together, looking up occasionally as another explosion rumbled overhead.
"Why haven't they evacuated these people further towards the city centre?" Karla whispered; her voice hushed as they kept on walking. "The Russians are surely to be here sooner or later." She spoke, almost silently mouthing the sentence as Maho glanced to her left; more people packed the metro cars, with another being used as a makeshift operating room where a doctor was sawing off an injured soldier's foot. The squelching sound of blood and the subsequent foot being severed and dropping into a bucket caused the brunette to look away as she forced away a gagging sensation rising up her throat.
"I'm not sure, but if each station is a full, there will not be any room for them." Maho mouthed, gazing over the many civilians, soldiers and wounded as she spoke. They all had the same expression etched onto their faces; a resigned, fatigued look in which they seemingly stared somewhat blankly, though still looking around at any visual movements, but did not seem to, or want to process the hell that was unfolding all around them. She stopped walking as she noticed another group of soldiers emerged from the tightly packed platform and trudged towards them, led by an officer and seemingly an NCO. "Are you Leutnant Biese?" Maho asked. The officer looked young; as if he had not seen eighteen summers. The dim lights illuminating his short, messy brown hair and pale complexion. His light blue eyes looked towards the two women as he nodded.
"That's me, Oberleutnant." He replied, promptly giving the Hitler salute to Maho and Karla, in which they both nodded curtly in response. "I was sent to help reinforce part of the Müncheberg division that was defending this area? I was told a Panzerwaffe officer would meet me and link up with some soldiers led by a Hauptmann Brandt."
"The officer in question is me. I'm Oberleutnant Ketler." Maho spoke clearly, before gesturing to Karla. "This is Oberleutnant Brun. She will also lead you to our staging area." The young male officer's eyes widened slightly at the name.
"Oberleutnant Ketler? The Black Lady of Soborwka?" He stated, a small smile crossing his features as he looked at Maho in slight disbelief. "You're the one who stopped those Jewish Bolshevik hoards single-handedly at Kursk?" Seeing the somewhat serious, yet steely look from Maho, he quickly composed himself. "Pardon me, Oberleutnant. I just did not expect someone of your calibre to be here, defending Berlin against those dirty Bolsheviks." He spoke, glancing away momentarily.
"As much as I appreciate you reading off my supposed accolades, we have a job to do, Leutnant." Maho stated coldly. "Firstly, what condition are your troops in?" She asked. The male officer and NCO gestured for the rest of the troops to walk over.
Her heart sank as she saw the soldiers that slowly trundled towards them. A ragtag of children and a few teenagers, no older than seventeen or sixteen years old walked towards her, all donned in uniform: some wearing field caps, others with helmets. The younger ones held panzerfausts, whilst the older teenagers had rifles. A few regular soldiers were also part of the group, their machine pistols and StG-44s held tightly in hand. Maho sighed quietly. These were not the troops she wanted or needed, but deep down in her heart, she knew that they were the only troops left that could be spared.
The young male officer saw her expression. "Don't worry Oberleutnant, they are all ready to fight against the Bolshevik scum. They will kill those dirty sub-humans." Karla held back a laugh as she looked over to him in exasperation.
"Ready to fight? They're children." She stated simply, before looking at each in turn. "How old are you? Fourteen? You, thirteen?" Karla questioned. Seeing them nod, she shook her head and chuckled to herself dejectedly before turning her gaze to the officer leading them. His uniform was remarkably clean, as if he had only worn it for the first time. "You look young, which front did you fight at?" She asked plainly.
"I haven't had the honour of fighting yet." He replied quickly, albeit slightly taken aback by Karla's question. "But we are all ready to defend our fatherland against and fight the Bolsheviks with all we have up to the last bullet and last man."
"We will fight to the very last." Came a voice from the back. Maho and Karla looked at the young female, donning a helmet and rifle slung over her shoulder. Her blonde hair in twin braids extending down to her shoulders over her field grey uniform.
Maho slowly walked over towards the girl. "How old are you?" She asked slowly.
The girl looked up at the female officer. "Sixteen, Oberleutnant." She answered confidently.
"You're very young." Maho stated, as she took the rifle from her shoulder and briefly inspected it, before handing it back to her. "Have you been taught to use this rifle before?"
"Briefly. But I know how to use it to kill Russians."
Maho smiled faintly, in an attempt to keep her true emotions and expressions from spilling over. "Why are you here fighting, and not with your family?" She questioned quietly.
The girl looked up to Maho. "We made a pledge to the Führer that we will fight to the very last man and woman." She stated assuredly.
Maho nodded slowly before heading back to Karla, who was also inspecting the weapons the child soldiers had. "They're fanatical, but what chance do they have?" She mouthed to her. "They're just children."
Karla sighed, and simply shook her head. "A fanatical officer leading fanatical children. They won't last five minutes." She whispered back; her voice hushed to ensure no one heard her words before turning to the group. "Right, let's get moving to the staging area. We don't have much time. Follow us."
"Jawohl, Oberleutnant."
24th April, 1945. 1140 hours – German Staging Area around Neukolln, Berlin
The group of soldiers led by Maho and Karla slowly trudged towards the entrance of the square, their boots crunching against the rubble, rocks, bricks and glass that was strewn all over the pavement.
As they walked, Maho saw a group of soldiers, infantry and tank crewmen alike gathering towards Erwin's Tiger and turned to the group behind her. "We'll be running over the plan of attack in a few minutes." She turned to the young officer and his NCO. "Make your way to the group next to the Tiger, Oberleutnant Brun and I will join you momentarily." As the two men made their way towards the Tiger, she turned to the rest of the soldiers. "There's a truck with ammunition, resupply quickly if you need to then join us for the briefing." She stated plainly.
"Jawohl, Oberleutnant." They replied promptly, before making their way towards the truck.
Karla sighed faintly, watching the young troops gathering up ammunition and grenades as she turned to Maho. "Who thought it was a good idea to send us children to fight the Russians?" She asked quietly.
The brunette shook her head, lighting up a cigarette as she brought it to her lips and took a deep drag. "They're schoolchildren." Maho muttered under her breath, exhaling as she glanced up to the sky; a dark, smoky grey haze obscured the blue sky as scent of gunpowder and smoke grew ever seemingly stronger. "Thrown into uniform and given barely any training but are told to defend their homeland and against the Soviets with their lives. They are literally just cannon fodder, what good are they on the frontlines?"
The two female officers slowly made their way towards the growing group of soldiers, in which Erwin was at the centre, leaning gently against the hull of her Tiger as she waited for the last few officers and NCOs to arrive, a lit cigarette smouldering away gently in the corner of her mouth.
Seeing Maho, Karla and the newly arrived officer and NCO join them, she smirked slightly and cast her cigarette to the floor and struck it out with a single stomp of her boot. "Now that everyone is here, we can go through the plan of action." She stated. "We have been tasked to delay the Soviet advance into the surrounding area south of Neukolln. This is an important position; if the Soviets break through this sector, they will be able to threaten Tempelhof airport and its defences." She quickly unfolded a large-ish map of the area and placed it on the floor for all to see. "We know the Russians will make their main line of advance through Rixdorfer Strasse. We already have troops holding the bridge connecting our side of the canal against the Soviets, as well as anti-tank guns and other defences that should slow their advance towards us. However, they will not stop them indefinitely. Once our bridge defences are breached, they will head towards the crossroads of Teilestraße and Bergholzstraße. That is where we come in; we are to hit them hard before they can pass the crossroads and into the residential areas further north. We will have artillery support from the flak towers to give a brief barrage beforehand."
"How are we to achieve that, Hauptmann?" One of the infantry officers asked. "We only have a few Panzers and barely enough infantry to hold out, let alone push them back fully." A few other of the NCOs and officers nodded as a murmur of agreement swept through the group.
"We can employ ambush tactics." Miho spoke out. "We don't have the numbers to perform a full counterattack, but we can still do hit and run operations. This suits our situation." She knelt down and pointed at the map. "We can assume the main bulk of their forces will advance down the main street. As long as our flanks hold somewhat, we can pop out from side streets and open fire at the forces near the crossroads and draw their armour and infantry into the built up areas either side."
Another officer nodded in agreement. "That way, we spread their forces out thinly along a wider area, and we can draw them into prepared points of fire. But where should we initially open fire from, and where should we draw them to?"
"I would recommend our Panzers open fire from Eschersheimer Strasse and from the left side of the crossroads." Maho said, her fingers gently tracing a circle at the proposed location. That allows us more room to pull back to the surrounding areas where the infantry can hide in the buildings for vantage points against their troops, and for our armour to perform hit and run manoeuvres." She glanced up as she heard another wave of mumbles and mutters of agreement and disagreement waved its way through the group, gauging their response to her idea.
"Why can't we just gather all our forces hear and hit them directly at the crossroads?" One of the infantry NCOs spoke, his grizzled face frowning a little at Maho. "This running and hiding sounds a little… cowardly to me, don't you think?" He muttered as his light blue eyes met the latter's. A few others nodded in agreement.
"He's right. We have Panzers, we have infantry. This is our homeland! We must meet them head on if we are to stop these monsters from taking our capital!" Another shouted, making his way to the front of the group and faced Maho with a scowl.
Maho stood up fully, her gaze settling into a cold glare at the man in front of him as she took a step towards him. "If you want to defend our capital and our homeland, then listen to me." She spoke icily. "I don't care if we must fight the Soviets like cowards, hiding in the shadows and striking them when it suits us before pulling back. It maximises our chances of survival, whilst dealing as much damage to them as we can." Taking another step closer, her glare grew stonier. "It allows us to live to fight another day, Feldwebel." Maho muttered intensely. "That way, we can keep on fighting and defending our homeland, instead of throwing away our lives recklessly like you suggested. We do not have the equipment or manpower to do such that. We must be resourceful and use our forces wisely." She took one more step towards him, their faces barely an inch apart as she stared at the man. "Do you understand me?"
He glared at Maho, his frown unmoving, before nodding slowly and stepping back. "Understood, Oberleutnant." He muttered. "We'll do it your way."
Erwin nodded slowly. "Now that's out of the way, are we all in agreement with the plan of action?" She questioned. Seeing the group nod or murmur in agreement, she continued. "Leutnant Biese, Oberleutnant Meyer, Feldwebel Schmidt, I want your troops to occupy the buildings we mentioned around the crossroads, as well along the side streets. You are to engage the infantry and any armour that may come up. How you do so I'll leave it up to you." She stated. "I would get your men up to the frontline as soon as possible to prepare the positions before the Soviets attack. We'll join and support you once we are able to."
The three men nodded. "Jawohl, Hauptmann. We'll set off immediately." They and their NCOs quickly turned round and headed back to their respective troops, leaving only the Panzer officers and NCOs left.
Erwin watched the infantry contingent leave, before turning to the remaining group members. "Right, Feldwebel Ketler, I want your Panther to take the side-streets towards the crossroads. You have better manoeuvrability than our Tigers, so I want you to use that to your advantage and to take pot-shots at the Russian tanks before moving away to a different location. Have your platoon support you in that endeavour, and to draw them deeper in." She spoke, before turning to Maho. "I want you and Oberleutnant Brun to position yourself at Eschersheimer Strasse north of the crossroads, and to try and take out the leading elements of the Russian armour that would've gathered near the crossroads, then help support our Panthers and infantry further south. I'll be there with you also. The rest of your two platoons will spread out just north of the park on the left side of the crossroads, and to help engage any tanks that may come your way, especially the IS-2s. Are we all clear?"
"Jawohl, Hauptmann." They all replied promptly.
"Alright, mount up, and let's get ready to move out." Erwin stated. As the rest of them slowly filtered back towards their vehicles, the four women within the group remained. "What sorts of soldiers did Leutnant Biese bring?" The blonde asked, folding up the map on the floor as she did so. Karla sighed quietly.
"Children and teenagers, mostly."
Erwin stopped what she was doing, looking at Karla with an expression akin to surprise, humour and shock all mixed in one. "Where are they?" She questioned.
"Right by the ammunition truck."
Erwin turned to where Karla said, and her face fell. "I'm sending children into battle?" She whispered solemnly. "I'm sending children to fight and die?" Sighing softly, she rubbed her eyes gingerly with her hands. "It's such a pointless waste. It will be like sending pigs to a slaughterhouse."
Maho nodded slowly. "They won't last the engagement, especially since Leutnant Biese has no combat experience." She muttered, digging into her pockets and revealing a battered pack of cigarettes. "Which is again, an absolute waste of lives." She spoke, lighting up a cigarette before handing one to Karla, Miho, and Erwin. Nodding in thanks, Miho and Karla quickly lit them up and took drag.
"In the end, they have a job to do. Let's hope for our sakes that they can be of some use, even if they are children and shouldn't be anywhere near the frontline." Miho whispered faintly, staring at her cigarette blankly as she exhaled the grey wispy smoke from her nose and mouth and turned to her superiors. "I'm going to brief my crew and prepare my platoon to move out, if you will excuse me." She said, saluting the three officers before heading towards the small group of Panthers that were parked at the far end of the square.
"Let's get ready." Erwin stated simply, returning the salute given to her by Maho and Karla, before the three quickly went their separate ways. Maho walked towards her Tiger and saw Erika sitting and Felix lying on the back of their Tiger, with Christian and Ernst standing below them. Seeing their commander approach, Erika quickly tapped Felix, before jumping down to the ground, joined by Felix moments later.
"Briefing finished, Oberleutnant?" The gunner asked.
Maho nodded, beckoning them over. "I'll keep this brief and simple. We are to hold the crossroads area just south of Neukolln. We are employing ambush tactics to hit the Soviet armour hard, and to spread their forces out thinly to attack at our choosing. We first will be going to Eschersheimer Strasse; once our artillery barrage hits, that is our cue to pop out and open fire. Erika, the IS-2s will be our priority. Once we've opened fire, regardless of any kills or not, pop our smoke launcher, and we will head further south towards the crossroads near the built up areas here." She gestured at the map. "We'll then ambush any armour that may come that way, and to inflict as many losses as we can."
Erika nodded in understanding. "Will we have infantry support?"
"Yes. We'll have troops up in the buildings to engage the troops and support us as well." Maho spoke. "I need you all to work together even more so than before; Felix, listen well to Erika's ammunition calls, we will need them on the double. Ernst, l need your head on a swivel and to listen to my instructions at all times. Erika, I can trust you to keep the boys focused and your gunnery skills to be impeccable. " She smiled faintly. "I have known each and every one of you for a long time now. Do the best you can. You haven't failed before; I know you won't now. Are we clear with what needs to be done?"
"Jawohl, Oberleu-"
A sudden shrieking sound filled the air, getting louder and louder with every passing second. Maho's eyes widened as she instinctively looked up at the smoke filled sky.
"Incoming!"
She roughly shoved Erika to the ground just as the first artillery shell exploded in the centre of the square and exploded in a brilliant flash of orange, sending dust, rocks, bricks and shrapnel everywhere. The two women crawled underneath the Tiger and was quickly joined by Felix as Christian and Ernst somehow clambered up and practically fell into the tank via its hatches, buttoning them shut just as another explosion lit up the square a few meters behind them. Maho could only glance from under the Tiger as the carnage unfolded all around them. A shell exploded next to one of the buildings, practically imploding it and blasting several soldiers half a dozen meters forward as they were flung like ragdolls. The shrieking and each subsequent explosion almost deafening as the screams and cries of the wounded filled the air. The ground trembled with each impact, coupled with the sound of soldiers running back and forth was covered by the continuous, hellish barrage that surrounded them. She felt Erika grip her arm tightly as shells exploded outside, followed by another and another, blasting apart vehicles, buildings and human bodies; their limbs and bones being eviscerated by flying shards of deadly metal and shrapnel. Several soldiers flopped out of a burning truck, consumed head to toe in flames as they staggered around, flailing and screaming their vocal chords hoarse as they collapsed in a burning heap a few meters away from them.
Just as quickly as the barrage began, it stopped abruptly only a few moments later. The deafening roar of explosions was replaced by an eerie silence, punctuated only by the screaming and wailing of the wounded. A thick, hazy grey haze of smoke and dust lingered like a blanket as Maho and her crew gingerly crawled out and stood up. "Is everyone okay?" She muttered, her eyes surveying the damage that the brief barrage had caused. Several vehicles and trucks, including two Tigers and a Panther were utterly destroyed, their burning husks and bits of metal littering the ground around them. Over a dozen soldiers lay dead in the square; blood, bone and brain spattered on the ground and walls of nearby buildings. Other wounded soldiers crawled around or rolled in agony as blood poured from stumps or mutilated bodies riddled with shrapnel.
"I'm alive, Oberleutnant." Erika replied shakily, pulling herself up to a standing base, followed momentarily by Felix as two hatches opened on the Tiger, revealing the rather pale looking Christian and Ernst. "Everyone is in one piece."
Maho nodded absently as she watched the shell-shocked remnants of their force slowly kick into gear, the surviving troops re-forming into their platoons or re-boarding their vehicles as the remaining tank crewmen slowly entered their Panthers and Tigers. "Alright, let's mount up. That was most likely the Soviets softening us up for an attack." She spoke, trailing off slightly as her eyes caught sight of the young girl she had talked to earlier. She lay seemingly motionless a few meters away from the ammunition truck; her blonde twin braids splattered with blood as red dripped from the corner of her mouth in a steady stream; her uniform torn to shreds with the bloody remains of what seemed to be her lower torso an arm's reach away from her but still connected via her entrails.
Blood slowly oozed from her disembowelled upper body as she gingerly lifted her head and glanced down. Maho could only watch as the young girl's eyes widened in utter shock and horror; her mouth opening to scream but only a small gurgling sound emanated from her as fresh, foamy blood dribbled from her mouth and down her chin, the tears flowing from her grey eyes mixing with the blood that was now spewing steadily out of her mouth. Maho looked away, ducking into the confines of the Tiger, and closing the commander's hatch as the young girl slowly slipped away, her heaving chest slowly ceasing to move and draw breath.
"Radio check, can everyone hear me?" Maho quietly asked as she put on her headset, though she still couldn't help herself and glance at the now motionless girl one more time as she did so.
"Loud and clear, Oberleutnant." Erika promptly answered.
"Alright, Ernst, fire up the engine and let's move out." Maho commanded. "First platoon, follow my Tiger out, followed by Hauptmann Brandt. Oberleutnant Brun and second platoon follows on afterwards."
"Jawohl, Oberleutnant."
As the column of Tigers, Panthers and other vehicles slowly made their way out of the square, Maho glanced back at the wreckage that was behind them. Her heart sank as she saw the two burned out Tigers sitting there. Their division now had only half a dozen Tigers left. How were they supposed to defend against the Russians with such depleted numbers? She rubbed her eyes wearily; she knew that the action they were about to take was a risk. It was highly likely that they would suffer more casualties.
More soldiers, tanks and equipment would be lost and never be replaced.
The division would grow even weaker than it was now, making it even more difficult for them to mount any sort of offensive or defensive operations in the future.
The young female officer forced the intrusive thoughts out of her head as her expression settled and she exhaled slowly, closing her eyes in an attempt to focus. 'I have a job to do.' Maho thought to herself.
'I have to defend my homeland.'
Notes:
This chapter was written with hope of trying to further explore, tease and expand on how people are physically and mentally affected by their environment, but also the deep bonds of friendship and camaraderie that were forged between comrades in arms such as the likes of Maho and her crew, Maho and Karla etc, even during these difficult times for them. Hopefully we have been able to do such that in one way or another.
Its also nice to show how much Miho has grown and developed as a soldier compared to the previous Panzer Diary; seeing her develop and improve her tactical prowress, under the guidance and tutelage of those around her.
Another interesting point of interest would be Karla, and seeing how the experience of being on the Eastern Front for an extended amount of time has affected her psyche and way of thinking...
But hey. Maho and her comrades now move towards an inevitable engagement against the spearhead force of the Red Army... how will that turn out for them?
Hope you have been enjoying this chapter and the story so far; as usual, any feedback is welcome, just leave a review :)
Stay safe all of you,
Deathvoltz
LisaEichwald21
Translations for German words/terms/dialogue will be posted below. (Sorry if they are not accurate; I do not speak, nor learn German.)
"Leutnant" = Approximate rank equivalent of Second Lieutenant (UK)
As always, any reviews with constructive critism would be welcome.
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