Hammelburg, Outside of the Hofbrau
November 3, 1943, 2100 hours

Hans Wagner was hiding in the alley behind the Hofbrau. Beside him were his brother Karl and his sister Ilse. Both Hans and Karl had pleaded with Ilse to stay at home that evening, but she would hear none of it. This was her battle, and she refused to be left out of it.

They looked out at their objective. The Gestapo car was sitting in the parking area at the side of the building. Karl had worried that it would be parked too close to the building, but Hans didn't care. He was going to blow up the car no matter what.

Hans looked at his watch. It was time. He looked around to make sure he wouldn't be seen as he made his way to the car. Seeing nobody, he crept out of the ally, staying in the shadows until he reached the car. He moved towards the gas tank and removed the cap. Removing the oil soaked rag that he had in his pocket; he stuffed it down the opening to the gas tank. He struck a match, lit the rag, and ran back to the ally.

He reached the alley in time to turn and see the car burst into flames. The force of the explosion lifted the entire back end of the car into the air and caused the windows of the nearby cars to shatter. Hans smiled as the heat of the burning wreck warmed his face.

"Let's get out of here," he said to Karl and Ilse. "We don't want to be caught."

As they started to move down the dark alley, they heard another explosion. Hans knew that was another Gestapo car blowing up. Seconds later, another explosion signaled the third car going up in flames.

Hans was pleased. His small group had targeted three cars for that evening. From the sounds he had heard, all three targets had been hit. They heard the sirens echo in the night as the fire brigade responded to the emergency. Now he hoped that everyone would be able to make it back to the barn safely.

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When the Wagners returned to their barn, they found that Max Becker and Rudolf Albrecht were already there, waiting. Max and Rudolf had been assigned to take care of one of the cars that evening.

"Did you have any trouble?" Max asked Hans as they entered the barn.

"Nein, it went beautifully," Hans replied. "How about you?"

"No troubles at all," Rudolf answered. "There will be nothing left of that car."

Hans smiled. "Wonderful," he said. "Now we wait for Otto and Heinrich."

Otto Bauer and Heinrich Schneider were the other two men in Hans' group. They had the task of taking care of the third car.

"This was a great idea hitting three Gestapo cars in the same night," Max said.

Hans nodded. "Ja, hit them hard right form the start," he replied. Before he could continue, they heard noises outside the barn followed by the door opening. Otto and Heinrich had returned.

Hans saw the smiles on their faces and didn't have to ask how it went. "It looks like you had no troubles tonight," Hans said.

"None at all," Otto replied. "It was quite easy."

"Good," Hans replied. "We'll let the excitement die down a little before we pull off our next job." The dim light of the barn gave his face an eerie appearance as he smiled at his small group. "Everyone be careful going home. It seems that someone upset the Gestapo this evening."

Everyone laughed as they headed out of the barn to make their way home. Hans looked at his sister and said, "And did you enjoy this evenings entertainment, Ilse?"

A broad grin nearly split Ilse's face. "Ja, it was exciting," she replied.