The push to rewrite it all continues.
Chapter III: Moving Out
"Do what is right, not what you think the high headquarters wants or what you think will make you look good."
-General Norman Schwarzkopf, Jr.
Hauptmann Gerhard Köln
German 12th Army, XX Corps
2nd Inf. Bat., 3rd Inf. Reg.
3,6 kilometres from the River Elbe, 2nd IB Camp
26 April 1945
1031 hours
"Look out!"
Gerhard jumped to the side of the dirt road as a supply truck roared by, the bed wobbling as the driver took a hard corner and disappeared behind a ruined bunker. 'Asshole.'
Continuing his trek, the hauptmann entered his squad's camp to see Ella crouching by the fire with Gruppenfuhrer Amelia Belts, another Volkssturm recruit that had transferred to the standard Wehrmacht and was assigned to Gerhard's squad only a week ago. She and Ella were nearly inseparable, being nearly the same age. The two girls looked similar as well; Gerhard could only tell them apart by eye colour; hazel for Ella, and a dark brown for Amelia.
When the two noticed their squad leader, they made to stand up before Gerhard motioned for them to relax. "Where are the others?" he asked, watching as Amelia poured a cup of whatever liquid was brewing over the flames.
"Gunther and Hans are out looking for some toilet paper." Ella said, stoking the flames underneath the pot. "We've almost run out."
"Leopold and Nikolas are still sleeping." Amelia added, motioning towards the two younger mens' tents; indeed, the tents both had a pair of boots sticking out from under the flaps. The young woman stood and walked over to Gerhard, handing him the cup she'd poured. "Coffee, sir."
"Danke." Taking a moment to drink, he sighed as the familiar taste hit him, relaxing a little before he walked over to the tents, kicking the two pairs of boots. "Up! I'm not repeating myself." Waiting a moment, he heard the sounds of grumbling and a few curses before deciding that the two men would wake up the rest of the way themselves. Gerhardwalked back towards the fire in time to see Gunther and Hans handing out rolls of their catch to the two volkssturm recruits. Another roll of toilet paper flew towards the hauptmann, who deftly caught it just before it hit his face. "Thanks." he stated dryly.
Gunther just grinned, then poured himself his own cup of coffee. Gerhard remained where he was, looking upon his squad as they got themselves organized and exchanged jokes despite the overall situation. Most especially, he watched Amelia, who reminded him so much of Maho with her looks. The girl looked up briefly to see her commander watching her, smiled briefly, then returned to helping Ella dole out the remaining coffee to some members of neighboring squads who had come by to get their daily caffeine fix.
"Kommandant?"
Turning towards the voice, Gerhard saw Leopold standing by, looking ready to march off. The boy was wearing his railman's cap as always, and his scoped rifle slung loosely over his shoulder. As was typical, his hair was much longer than most officers would ever allow, but times being as they were, Gerhard didn't care one way or another. That, combined with the boy's rather impressive facial hair, disguised his young age; the boy was no more than 17 years old.
"Go sit by the fire and relax." Gerhard said. "You can put the rifle down for now, no need for it." Leopold nodded and walked over to join the others, quietly opening up a candy bar and observing the other squads as they came by. Gerhard turned and walked back to the tents, where Nikolas was getting ready.
"I overheard sir." the young man said as he picked up his submachine gun. As Gerhard watched, he took his pack of smokes out and lit one up, puffing on it before getting back to straightening his belongings. "Be there in a moment." Gerhard nodded, grunting a response before returning to the campfire. As he did, a breeze blew up, and with it, he felt a raindrop hit his face. Looking up into the grey sky, the hauptmann heard the rumble of thunder nearby as the storm brewed overhead menacingly. A voice nearby commented on the weather sourly, bringing a slight grin to the soldier's tired face.
"Sir, if I may ask, does this have anything to do with us going anywhere else than here?"
Gerhard looked to Nikolas, who had finished putting himself together and walked up next to him. The boy's combination of brown hair and blue eyes was a little startling, even after knowing him for a year and then some. Unlike most of the other members, Nikolas had signed up willingly for the Wehrmacht in 1944, after the Allies had invaded Normandy. Despite the near constant defeats he'd suffered in that time frame, he remained positive, which was an impressive feat. "In a moment. I'd rather not repeat myself."
With that, the two soldiers walked into the center of their camp, where the others were talking about some nonsense while Gunther and Hans played a hand of cards. The other few members were otherwise preoccupied, but quieted down and looked up as Gerhard approached. He sat down on a stool and sighed, looking into the fire as the falling rain caused it to hiss occasionally in complaint.
"So, Gerhard…" Gunther said, setting aside his hand and taking a swig of water. "What did they tell you at the meeting?"
Gerhard looked over at his second-in-command as the rest looked to him. 'There's no real way to sugar-coat this, I suppose. Might as well give it to them straight.' It's what he owed them anyways, as their officer.
"The führer has ordered the Twelfth to attack the Soviets surrounding the center of Berlin, in an attempt to relieve High Command and allow them to escape west and, I suppose in his mind, begin a counteroffensive to secure the city." As he expected, there was silence amongst his squad as Gerhard waited for any comments. The three veterans in particular; Gunther, Hans, and Nikolas, all looked at the hauptmann in disbelief, likely wondering how anyone could see such a move as having even a remote chance of success. It reminded Gerhard of what had been the response from himself and the other officers earlier that morning.
With no comments, the captain continued. "However, despite the fact that these orders have come directly from the Führerbunker, General Wenck told us today that he has a different task for us." As he said those words, Gerhard noted that his squad's faces turned from disbelief to intrigue...a high-ranking officer disobeying direct orders from Hitler, much less one who was in the führer's favor, was an interesting development.
"Starting tomorrow morning, the Twelfth Army shall advance towards Berlin, where we will open a corridor for any civilians or stranded soldiers to escape to the western shores of the River Elbe, over the Tangermünde bridge. We will be towards the foremost part of the fighting, in the suburbs surrounding central Berlin. We are to stand our ground against any Soviet forces and defend the corridor as long as possible before retreating." Gerhard again paused, seeing a few hopeful smiles amongst the squad. "Any questions?"
There was a brief silence, then Leopold shifted as he raised his hand. "Sir, why are we retreating to the western shore of the Elbe? Haven't the Americans occupied that area already?"
Before Gerhard could answer, Hans spoke up. "General Wenck is surrendering us to the Americans, isn't he?" Gerhard nodded slowly, confirming the obergefreiter's statement. There was another pause as the squad took that in, weighing the options.
Gunther stood up and walked over to Gerhard, looking him in the eyes before speaking. "Two and a half years ago, you were appointed our squad leader after your Luftwaffe unit was disbanded. I didn't think much of some pilot being in charge of an infantry squad, but you've been one of the best leaders in this regiment that I know." The man stuck out his hand, offering it to his superior. "I'll follow you into battle again anytime, Gerhard."
Gerhard stood and shook his friend's hand, relieved to have him with him on this endeavor. Once they parted, Gerhard looked around. "And the rest of you?"
Yet another pause followed, followed by slow nods from each of the members of the squad as they stood. "Very well, then. All of you, get packed up and ready to march. We leave at daybreak."
27 April 1945
0452 hours
'Of course it decides to really rain today.'
The German officer grumbled quietly as he left the safety of the medical tent, trekking through the light rain towards the march-off point. Second Battalion had, for the most part, completely packed up overnight, and only the remnants of the logistics and support units were left, scrambling to get moving before the storm really broke.
As he went, he saw a familiar face he'd been meaning to talk to for a while. "Look's like you're in for a fun walk, eh Gerhard?"
The hauptmann looked at Friedrich Böhm, one of his close friends he'd known since he'd transferred to the infantry. The man motioned for his sergeant to lead the squad on as he slowed to meet Gerhard's pace. The battle-worn officer's eyes were weary underneath his helmet, but he managed to put on a smile despite that.
"I'm not the only one, unless you aren't coming with us." Gerhard responded with a grin, releasing the man's hand. Böhm nodded in agreement, shifting the weight of his assault rifle further up his shoulder.
"I'm lucky, actually; we were one of the squads to get a halftrack. Won't have to join you in the ground-pounding today." Böhm's eyes sparkled with humor, and despite the prod, Gerhard couldn't help but allow his smile to grow. In teh back of his mind, though, he knew what it meant for his friend to be getting a ride; he'd be part of the spearhead, rushing ahead to exploit the break in the Soviet lines and be the hammer to General Wenck's anvil.
"Lucky you indeed." Gerhard stated, stepping over a puddle formed by the annoyingly incessant rainfall. "By the way, thank you for the heads up yesterday. Saved my ass." Friedrich nodded, and the two remained silent as they made their way to their destination, finally pausing by a beaten-up halftrack.
"Good luck...see you on the other side."
"Only if I don't get there first."
With that, Gerhard's fellow officer hauled himself up into the back of the personnel carrier before shutting the doors. After a few moments, the engine roared and the halftrack moved off, presumably going to the head of the column.
"Friedrich, don't forget, you still owe me a drink!"
"Ja!"
Smiling, Gerhard turned back and returned to his squad, who were clustered together in a rather miserable, wet group. Amelia motioned for him to join, and so he found himself a spot amongst the squad, uncovering his head and listening as Hans led the squad in a prayer. As the man finished, Gerhard kept his eyes closed for a few moments longer, asking for a few more things from whoever may have been listening.
'FWEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEET!'
The sudden whistle caused troops all around to stand up as Gerhard finished his prayer. He opened his eyes and replaced his helmet upon his head as the rest of his squad shouldered their packs and weapons. The 12th Army, at least 15,000 men and women from all parts of Germany, from different branches, had answered the call of their general as he asked them, one more time, to charge into battle. All across this front, they were preparing to face the full might of the Soviet army to save their families, friends, neighbors, and, perhaps, some honor for the Fatherland.
"ZWEITER BATTALION, MÄRSCH!"
And with that, Gerhard and his squad, accompanied by the whole of Second Battalion, began the march into Berlin, back into the fires of hell.
LTGEN. Omar Bradley
Commander, U.S. First Army
West of the Elbe River, Germany
26 April 1945
1103 hours
"Sir!"
General Bradley looked up from his work as one of his staff members jogged into the command tent and up to his desk. "What is it, captain? It's hard enough running a war without interruptions every fifteen minutes."
The young officer nodded as he caught his breath, having run from the radio tent some distance away. Bradley sighed and held out his hand for whatever message the officer was carrying. The young man passed off the paper and ducked his head. "Apologies sir. The message was labeled urgent."
"Of course it is." Bradley shook his head, dismissing the junior officer as he unfolded the telegram and read it.
To Lt. General Omar Bradley,
I am General der Infantrie Walther Wenck, commander of the German forces on the eastern bank of the Elbe River. I have a sincere, if somewhat extraordinary request to make of you, and wish to discuss it with you in person. The matter is extremely urgent and I am short on time in which to negotiate. The primary matter will be the surrender of my forces to you, unconditionally.
That said, there are other matters which will need to be discussed in person. Therefore, I wish to meet with you, officer to officer, in order to determine how I will proceed from here.
Thank you in advance for your time.
General Wenck, German 12th Army
Below the general's name was his signature, along with a list of three addresses. Bradley assumed they were suggestions for places to meet. Sighing, the lieutenant general put on his helmet and walked out to his Jeep, whistling for his aide to join him. Knowing these German generals, it should be interesting to listen to what this General Wenck had to say.
Besides, it wasn't every day you had an offer of unconditional surrender of an entire army.
Rewrite Notes
Continued thanks to all who provided OCs for Gerhard's squad. I will be leaving the previous note attributing them to their owners, as they deserve all the credit for their creation. I only hope I have and will continue to do them justice.
Gefreiter Leopold Kesselschmied - Courtesy of E2Fan32110
Gefreiter Nikolas Wulfe - Courtesy of CaptainAshe179
Volkssturmmann Ella K. Krazer - Courtesy of delta2177 (I know I already mentioned you, but here's another one.)
Gruppenfuhrer Amelia Belts - Courtesy of Commissar Darman
By this point, I figure most people won't be seeing these updated chapters until I mention them in the first new chapter I post after my return, but if you are here before then, let me know how they compare, please!