I awoke the next morning to sunlight streaming in on my face. I got
up off the ground and stretched, telling myself that I would clean up my
blanket and gear when I found out what was going on. I grabbed my hygiene
kit from my gear and walked out of the church to shave, brush my teeth and
take care of some more personal business, then on the way back I woke up my
men. Lt. Morgan was gone probably in some sort of a meeting or a briefing.
The men were ready in minutes, as was I. I stepped up to the heavy wood
door and opened it, blinking as the sunlight streamed in.
We grouped outside and waited. A few minutes later, Morgan stepped
over. "Sergeant Stone." He motioned to me.
I rose to my feet and walked over to him. He handed me several
pieces of paper and a map, on which were several markings. "The plan was
that I was going to lead the mission today, Sergeant, but the Major wants
me to head down to Battalion today, so I'm handing it over to you."
"Yes sir." I said.
"You've got the operations order, and that map has the latest intel
on it. You've got everything that you need for today." He explained.
"Thank you, sir." I said
"Good luck, Sergeant."
I stepped back to the squad. "Okay everyone, change of plans. The
mission stays the same, but I'm going to be leading the squad for the
duration. Now when we move out, we're going to move north, so we should
run into a supply line. Lets move out.
We walked away from the town, talking and laughing as we went, but
became more silent as we reached more forested areas, about two miles from
our starting point. I stopped the squad to put Han and his BAR on point.
I figured the extra firepower would be best used right there if we ran into
any resistance.
I was very nervous about encountering the enemy. Not because I was
leading the squad, but because there was only one person from my original
squad here and that was Miller. I was leading people that had been in
combat only once or twice at most.
It was about an hour before we saw anything. We were walking when
Han suddenly dropped and signaled for us to do the same thing.
I crawled up beside him. He pointed to an area about 20 degrees to
our right. There were several camouflaged German soldiers draping camo
netting across a half track while three more were repairing a damaged track
towards the rear of the vehicle.
Three more were away from the others, looking off in another direction.
I pulled out my binoculars and studied the three. Two were
corporals, both carrying MP40s, the third man was older, his rank was
Sturmbanfurhur, a German Major.
This was a large find, German officers were notoriously difficult to
capture. If we could get this one, that would give us a definite advantage
over the German forces in this sector. We had to snatch him, now.
I waved a few of my men forward.
"Listen, I want those two soldiers first, then the ones on the half-
track, that one in the middle, the officer, can't be hit.
I passed my binoculars down the line so everybody could see what I
was talking about, then the optics came back to me.
"Everyone choose a target." I called out. Everyone aimed at one.
I brought out my carbine and aimed at the middle soldier of the three
working on the track. I squeezed the trigger three times, signaling a hail
of fire.
The shots rang out. I saw the my soldier jerk, then slump forward
against the vehicle. My men picked off the soldiers on either side of the
major, leaving a stunned SS officer alive.
Han broke formation and ran directly for the officer, the man did not
even have time to turn before he used his BAR as a club and slammed the man
to the ground. He reached back into his web gear for cord to tie the man
up.
I rushed forward, stopping for a moment to make sure all of the Nazis
were down. I held my weapon on the rear of the track, waiting for someone
to poke their head up, but nothing happened.
Nothing happened, I eased up a little, waiting for something to
happen. When nothing did, I took out one of my grenades and tossed it over
the top and into the rear of the vehicle. I heard several screams just
before the weapon went off, tossing one German completely out of the back.
A plume of white smoke shot out of the rear of the vehicle.
I picked myself up off the ground and looked at the vehicle. The
outside looked fine, except for the broken track, but white smoke that
stunk of cordite was lifting out of the back. The afternoon breeze quickly
dissipated it once it was out of the vehicle.
I looked over at Han; he was holding the Major at gunpoint with his
BAR. "Nice grab." I congratulated him.
"I'd watch him, he's a shifty little bastard." Said Han, giving the
man a jab with the barrel of his machine gun.
I was about to wave the rest of the squad over, who had stayed in
their positions like I had told them to, when I heard a slight groan in the
bushes, about 20 yards to my left.
Han moved off to check it, leaving me with the Major. I took this
moment to study the man. He wore that damned orange oak leaf camo that
made them so hard to spot. He had the standard Kraut helmet instead of the
officer's cap and an officer's web gear. The holster on his belt was
empty, I looked around and found his pistol laying about where Han had been
standing. I picked it up, a Wather P-38. a reliable kraut weapon, a good
choice for an officer. I chambered a round in the pistol and used it to
cover him, slinging my carbine on my back.
I looked at the man's face. He had jet black hair, but graying at
the temples. He had a large bushy handlebar mustache also flecked with
gray hairs. He was slightly overweight, but gave the authoritarian
appearance of an officer.
I looked over at Han, who had apparently found a not quite dead
German solder in the bushes. As I watched, Han kicked the man over and
raised his BAR to his chest, then fired a burst into the man. His chest
opened up in response to the close range automatic fire from the powerful
weapon.
A wave of anger ran through me, how dare he! There were strict rules
of engagement and conduct that we had to follow; these rules did not
include shooting wounded soldiers, even if they were the enemy. This was
the type of thing that gave the military a bad name.
I restrained my anger for the moment and turned my attention the
Kraut Major. Han returned to my side.
I held the pistol in my lap, still pointed in the Major's direction.
I then waved the squad to my position and out of concealment.
They grouped up on me. "Ensign, get the Bazooka ready. Plouffee, do
you still have that bundle that I told you to carry?"
"Yes, Sarge." He said and handed me a canvas bag that he had stored in his pack. I took it from him and opened it, dumping the contents into his lap. The contents were an issue pair of GI pants, shirt, leggings and an M41 field jacket. I had planned for the contingency of capturing someone important. I motioned for the man to put the uniform on. He complied silently. "Vogul, radio back. Have taken a prisoner, aborting mission and returning to base." I looked over at the Major, he was taking his sweet time getting into the uniform. I motioned for him to hurry up, and then took his web gear from him. I took the two spare magazines for his P-38 and stuffed them into one of the pockets on my field jacket. The Major got the uniform on, then we prodded him away from the half- track. Ensign set up his bazooka and fired. The shell was propelled out of the tube and into the engine of the vehicle, then he put another into the tracks, just to make sure that it wouldn't be moving any time soon. I moved the squad out and the lingered in the rear, signaling Han to remain with me. "Soldier, I should have you court-martialed." I said to him. "Why?" He asked, genuinely oblivious to why I might be upset with him. "Shooting wounded and unarmed Germans is an offense, even you would know that. More than that, it gives the service a bad name and sure as hell doesn't make us look good." "So what? Now were court-martialing soldiers for killing the enemy?" He countered. "You take it as you will, but remember, when we get back to base, this incident will be reported and the necessary actions will be taken." I informed him He remained silent. That was all right, I didn't want to hear anything from him anyway I moved to the front of our line. Miller was walking point, his BAR ready to go. The captured Major walked behind him, his hands tightly bound with some rope. We prodded him back towards the city. With the US uniform on, any Germans would see the Major as just another Allied soldier. To top off the idea, I picked up a helmet and a Garand from a dead US soldier, then placed the helmet on his head and slung the rifle on his back, once I had unloaded it, of course. We continued moving, right until we reached a clearing. We were still in the treeline when we saw the tank. The squad dropped, pulling the Major down with them. I poked my head up and watched. It looked like the tank was a Panzer Four, with about two squads of Infantry backing it up. Ensign slid up beside me and clicked the safety off his bazooka. "Ease off, Ensign. The bazooka won't do anything but let them know where we are. As I watched, the Kraut tank moved towards us, churning up gouts of earth under its treads, then the unbelievable happened. One troop was walking beside the tank. His eyes played over our position, then the man spotted us. His hand rose to motion towards our position. I snapped up my carbine and fired two shots. The spinning .30 caliber bullets cut cleanly into his chest and did not exit. The bolt on my rifle locked open and I dropped the clip out of it to reload. There was general confusion in the Germans. They couldn't figure out where the shot had come from because of the noise from the tank's engine. My squad opened up on them. Three or four fell before they even returned fire. Automatic fire crackled at us in response. More fire hit the Germans while Ensign fired his bazooka, the shell of which promptly ricocheted off the surface of the turret. The skin on the beast was far to thick to be penetrated by the round. The tank stopped and the turret swiveled towards us. I knew we only had a few seconds while the gunner switched from an armor-piercing round to a high explosive one designed to kill infantry or unarmored vehicles. "GO, GO, GO!" I yelled and hauled Ensign out of the way. I heard the gun fire and dived. The explosion sent me rolling. I came up in a crouch as the hatch on top of the tank opened and an MP38 totting Kraut started firing. The man started to shake as the bullets that my men fired cut into him, sending him back into the tank. We moved out of the way as the tank swiveled to bring its machinegun to bear. I ran up alongside the tank, looking along the turret. On most German tanks, they had incorporated a rather interesting feature to protect the tank from attacks by infantry. They had made a spherical swivel port with a hole in the center. The idea was that when infantry approached the tank, one of the tank crew would fire a machine gun or another small arm out of the port. The only drawback was that other enemy infantry could also fire through these ports if they could get close enough. That was what I was about to do. I held the muzzle of my rifle against the hole and fired until I was out of ammo in my clip. I yanked my rifle out and rant as a stream of automatic fire came back at me. I ran back to regroup with my squad. Then I heard the crack and roar of an armor piercing shell being fired and punching through the side of the Panzer. The tank tried to swivel to track what had fired on it, but the damage was too severe. Another shell hit the tank and put it down for good. I glanced around to see where the shells were coming from. With a growl from its gas engine a British Cromwell tank approached us. The tank came to a stop, then the hatch on top opened up and the tank commander stood up. "What the bloody hell are you waiting around for? Don't you know how close the Jerries are? Hop on for a ride." We gladly climbed on and found places to sit. The commander shouted an order to his men below and the powerful vehicle lurched into motion. I nudged the Major with my carbine and told him to sit still. The Brit tank commander looked at me with a quizzical look on his face. Then the realization hit him. "Oh, he's a Jerry?" I nodded. I slid up onto the turret to explain what had happened. I told him about our original mission, how we found the half-track and the Major, and how we got where we were. I asked him if he could give us a ride back to our base. He looked thoughtful for a moment. "Well, it would be a large deviation from our plan, but if it would end the bloody stalemate in this sector, why not?" He reached down into the tank and came out with a canteen. He took a draught off it and then passed it to me. I took and experimental sip. Warm brandy. With a grimace, I tossed back a drink of the putrid substance. I handed him back the canteen and we drove on.
"Yes, Sarge." He said and handed me a canvas bag that he had stored in his pack. I took it from him and opened it, dumping the contents into his lap. The contents were an issue pair of GI pants, shirt, leggings and an M41 field jacket. I had planned for the contingency of capturing someone important. I motioned for the man to put the uniform on. He complied silently. "Vogul, radio back. Have taken a prisoner, aborting mission and returning to base." I looked over at the Major, he was taking his sweet time getting into the uniform. I motioned for him to hurry up, and then took his web gear from him. I took the two spare magazines for his P-38 and stuffed them into one of the pockets on my field jacket. The Major got the uniform on, then we prodded him away from the half- track. Ensign set up his bazooka and fired. The shell was propelled out of the tube and into the engine of the vehicle, then he put another into the tracks, just to make sure that it wouldn't be moving any time soon. I moved the squad out and the lingered in the rear, signaling Han to remain with me. "Soldier, I should have you court-martialed." I said to him. "Why?" He asked, genuinely oblivious to why I might be upset with him. "Shooting wounded and unarmed Germans is an offense, even you would know that. More than that, it gives the service a bad name and sure as hell doesn't make us look good." "So what? Now were court-martialing soldiers for killing the enemy?" He countered. "You take it as you will, but remember, when we get back to base, this incident will be reported and the necessary actions will be taken." I informed him He remained silent. That was all right, I didn't want to hear anything from him anyway I moved to the front of our line. Miller was walking point, his BAR ready to go. The captured Major walked behind him, his hands tightly bound with some rope. We prodded him back towards the city. With the US uniform on, any Germans would see the Major as just another Allied soldier. To top off the idea, I picked up a helmet and a Garand from a dead US soldier, then placed the helmet on his head and slung the rifle on his back, once I had unloaded it, of course. We continued moving, right until we reached a clearing. We were still in the treeline when we saw the tank. The squad dropped, pulling the Major down with them. I poked my head up and watched. It looked like the tank was a Panzer Four, with about two squads of Infantry backing it up. Ensign slid up beside me and clicked the safety off his bazooka. "Ease off, Ensign. The bazooka won't do anything but let them know where we are. As I watched, the Kraut tank moved towards us, churning up gouts of earth under its treads, then the unbelievable happened. One troop was walking beside the tank. His eyes played over our position, then the man spotted us. His hand rose to motion towards our position. I snapped up my carbine and fired two shots. The spinning .30 caliber bullets cut cleanly into his chest and did not exit. The bolt on my rifle locked open and I dropped the clip out of it to reload. There was general confusion in the Germans. They couldn't figure out where the shot had come from because of the noise from the tank's engine. My squad opened up on them. Three or four fell before they even returned fire. Automatic fire crackled at us in response. More fire hit the Germans while Ensign fired his bazooka, the shell of which promptly ricocheted off the surface of the turret. The skin on the beast was far to thick to be penetrated by the round. The tank stopped and the turret swiveled towards us. I knew we only had a few seconds while the gunner switched from an armor-piercing round to a high explosive one designed to kill infantry or unarmored vehicles. "GO, GO, GO!" I yelled and hauled Ensign out of the way. I heard the gun fire and dived. The explosion sent me rolling. I came up in a crouch as the hatch on top of the tank opened and an MP38 totting Kraut started firing. The man started to shake as the bullets that my men fired cut into him, sending him back into the tank. We moved out of the way as the tank swiveled to bring its machinegun to bear. I ran up alongside the tank, looking along the turret. On most German tanks, they had incorporated a rather interesting feature to protect the tank from attacks by infantry. They had made a spherical swivel port with a hole in the center. The idea was that when infantry approached the tank, one of the tank crew would fire a machine gun or another small arm out of the port. The only drawback was that other enemy infantry could also fire through these ports if they could get close enough. That was what I was about to do. I held the muzzle of my rifle against the hole and fired until I was out of ammo in my clip. I yanked my rifle out and rant as a stream of automatic fire came back at me. I ran back to regroup with my squad. Then I heard the crack and roar of an armor piercing shell being fired and punching through the side of the Panzer. The tank tried to swivel to track what had fired on it, but the damage was too severe. Another shell hit the tank and put it down for good. I glanced around to see where the shells were coming from. With a growl from its gas engine a British Cromwell tank approached us. The tank came to a stop, then the hatch on top opened up and the tank commander stood up. "What the bloody hell are you waiting around for? Don't you know how close the Jerries are? Hop on for a ride." We gladly climbed on and found places to sit. The commander shouted an order to his men below and the powerful vehicle lurched into motion. I nudged the Major with my carbine and told him to sit still. The Brit tank commander looked at me with a quizzical look on his face. Then the realization hit him. "Oh, he's a Jerry?" I nodded. I slid up onto the turret to explain what had happened. I told him about our original mission, how we found the half-track and the Major, and how we got where we were. I asked him if he could give us a ride back to our base. He looked thoughtful for a moment. "Well, it would be a large deviation from our plan, but if it would end the bloody stalemate in this sector, why not?" He reached down into the tank and came out with a canteen. He took a draught off it and then passed it to me. I took and experimental sip. Warm brandy. With a grimace, I tossed back a drink of the putrid substance. I handed him back the canteen and we drove on.