Hammelburg Area, Woods Around Bombed-out Factory
December 21, 1943, 2000 hours
Hans Wagner had just finished dragging the last log into its place on the road. Now he stood with the rest of his group and examined the pile. "I think this will be enough," he said. "Now we just have to wait."
"Are you sure they will stop?" Ilse asked.
"They have to," Karl replied. They can't go around it and they can't turn around."
"And when they get out of the car, we've got them," Hans said.
Hans directed everyone to take their places on each side of the road to wait. He hoped they wouldn't have to wait long. He was excited. He had been waiting for this for two months, ever since his sister was attacked. Now, he felt that he was minutes away from punishing those responsible.
He didn't have to wait long. They heard the car coming before the saw it. It rounded the corner slowly and then stopped abruptly when the driver saw the debris blocking the road.
The group had gone over their plans before, and Hans was hoping that both men got out of the car to look at the mess in the road. If one stayed in the car, it would be more difficult, as his group did not have any guns, and he knew that the Gestapo men did. Luck was with him as both men got out and started walking towards the front of the car.
Hans charged the man nearest him. He was vaguely aware of his brother and Max Becker running silently along beside him in the short sprint to where the car was stopped. He hoped that the rest of his men were doing the same on the other side of the car.
The Gestapo man gave a shout as Hans dove at him and pushed him up against the car. He wrapped his arms around the man so that Karl and Max could disarm him. When Karl had grabbed the gun from the man's belt, he yelled, "Otto, do you have him?"
"Ja, we have him," Otto Bauer replied from the other side of the car. "We are bringing him around."
Four men appeared from behind the car with Otto holding a gun on a bewildered man in a Gestapo uniform. He herded him over to stand beside the man Hans had grabbed, and handed his gun to Hans. Ilse appeared from where she was hiding on the side of the road.
"Well, well," Hans said grimly. "What do we have here?" In the dim light, he could see that the men were startled and scared. "It looks like we have a couple of scared little rabbits."
"What do you want from us?" Hans Dietrich said timidly.
"We just want to talk with you," Ilse said. "Don't you want to talk with us?"
Franz Hurst peered through the dimness at Ilse. "I know you," he said. "Hans, that's the girl we ..."
"Franz!" exclaimed Hans Dietrich, trying to quiet his partner.
Ilse smiled. "I'm glad you remember me," she said sweetly. "I would hate to think that such a memorable experience for me would mean nothing to you."
"What do you want from us?" Hans Dietrich repeated wearily.
Hans Wagner remained quiet. He had agreed when Ilse begged him to let her handle the situation, though he knew that the final actions would be his.
"Such manly gentlemen do not want to talk with a lady?" Ilse asked.
"We don't have time for conversation," Hans Dietrich said. "We will be late for work, and then you will have the Gestapo to answer to."
"I'm afraid I must insist," Ilse said, moving closer to him.
Hans Dietrich smirked. "So you enjoyed it so much before that you want it again?" he asked smugly.
Ilse smiled broadly and then with a sudden move, kick him hard between the legs. He grunted and doubled over onto the ground, groaning in agony.
"I enjoyed it about as much as you are enjoying that," Ilse retorted. She turned to Franz, and asked, "How about you? Do you want some enjoyment too?"
Franz shifted himself so that Ilse could not repeat the move she made on his partner. "You will be in trouble," he said meekly.
Ilse lashed out and raked her nails across his face. He screamed and covered his face with his hands. Ilse took advantage of his distraction and kicked at him wildly. She felt the impact, but Franz had turned himself so that her kick impacted on his thigh.
"You pigs!" she screamed. "You filthy pigs! You think because you are Gestapo you can do whatever you want?"
"What do you want? Do you want us to say we're sorry?" Franz begged.
Hans Wagner stepped forward. "I want you to say goodbye," he said calmly.
Franz looked around and saw the gun in Hans' hand pointed directly at his face.
"Please, let us go and we won't bother her again," Franz sobbed. Tears had begun falling from his eyes.
"I can guarantee that you won't bother her again," Hans replied, a grim smile appearing on his face.
"Please," Franz whispered, knowing it would do no good.
---------------
Oskar Schnitzer and Oskar Meyer were walking through the woods being led by three of Schnitzer's dogs. He had picked his best-trained dogs to bring with him because he needed to be sure that he could concentrate on the information gathering rather than keeping his animals in check. After all, this wasn't a real training exercise; it just had to look like one.
Schnitzer had talked to Hochstetter earlier in the day to tell him that he would be training his dogs in the woods. Hochstetter had informed him that neither he nor his dogs were to come within one hundred meters of the factory, because the area was mined. He also refused permission to use the road leading to the factory, as it must be kept clear for official use. So even before this trek in the woods, he had gotten some of the information that Colonel Hogan needed.
Now, as they neared the edge of the woods, they split up. They would each scout the facility and then meet up again when Schnitzer told the dogs to find Meyer. "Remember, not too close," Schnitzer reminded Meyer before he walked away.
Meyer hadn't walked three steps before they heard a gunshot ring out, followed soon after by a second. He stopped and looked back at Schnitzer. "Those were gunshots," he commented.
Schnitzer didn't answer. His attention was locked on the facility. An alarm had started sounding immediately after the shots were heard, and now searchlights were scanning the woods from the top of towers that were located inside the compound. His first urge was to run, but he realized that if they were seen running, the guards at the facility would start shooting. Besides, he had permission from Major Hochstetter to be in the area.
One of the lights passed by them, illuminating them briefly as it passed. The light immediately returned, and Schnitzer threw his hands in the air. "Quick," he said to Meyer. "Put your hands up. We don't want them to shoot."
The light stayed on them, and a voice yelled at them from the compound. "Halt! Don't move or you will be shot," the voice yelled. Schnitzer kept watching the compound. The searchlight was somewhat blinding, but he thought he saw people making their way towards them from the compound. Interesting, he thought. Major Hochstetter said that the area around the camp was mined. But it seems that there is a way through the mines.
After a few moments, a Gestapo Captain and a small squad reached the place where the two men were standing. "Search them," the Captain said.
One of the men moved forward and searched Meyer and Schnitzer. Finding nothing, he took their papers and handed them to the Captain. "Their papers, Captain Dorfmann," the man said.
Dorfmann took the papers and looked at them in the light of his flashlight. "Herr Schnitzer and Herr Meyer," he commented. "What are you doing in this area?" he asked.
"I am training these dogs," Schnitzer replied, nodding towards the three dogs that were sitting patiently. "Major Hochstetter gave me permission to use this area tonight."
"He did, did he?" Dorfmann responded.
"Ja," Schnitzer replied. "I called him this morning."
Dorfmann handed the papers back to the men. "If you two would please follow me," he said. "We will go see Major Hochstetter now to confirm your story."
"Of course, Captain," Schnitzer replied.
---------------
The truck stopped in front of the pile of debris blocking the road. Major Hochstetter jumped out quickly and looked around as his men piled from the back of the truck. He pointed to three men and said, "I want you, you and you to clear this mess from the road. The rest of you, come with me."
Hochstetter led the men around the barricade and stopped short when he saw the Gestapo car sitting with the driver door open and two bodies on the ground beside it. Hochstetter aimed the flashlight at the forms on the ground as he walked towards them. As he knelt beside one of them, he heard a gasp of recognition from one of his men.
"That's Franz!" the man exclaimed.
Hochstetter growled low in his throat and shined the light at the other form on the ground. "And that is Hans," he said. "They've been shot in the head." He quickly looked at his fallen men, noticing that their firearms were not in the holsters on their belt. He aimed the flashlight at the ground in the area, searching for their weapons. The light reflected off of two shiny objects that he bent and picked up. Shell casings, he thought. But their weapons are missing. It's as if they were targeted and killed with their own weapons.
"Major?" one of the men asked tentatively.
Hochstetter wheeled around and faced the men. "This was obviously an ambush," he snarled. "You, take the men and search the woods around here. I want to know about anything you find."
"Jawohl, Major," the man said. He motioned the men in different directions around the site, leaving Hochstetter alone by the car.
Hochstetter didn't like this. It was obviously an ambush designed to trap anyone heading towards the facility. The placement of the barricade was such that you didn't see it until you rounded the curve in the road, and since the road was too narrow to turn around, a vehicle would be trapped. But where were his men's weapons? The two shell casings looked like they would come from the Gestapo-issued Lugers, which would mean that they were killed with their own weapons.
Hochstetter's thoughts were interrupted when he heard Captain Dorfmann's voice yell out, "Major Hochstetter?"
"Over here, Captain," Hochstetter shouted in reply. He saw the Captain emerge from behind the barricade followed by several other men, one leading three dogs on their leashes. As they got closer, Hochstetter recognized Schnitzer and Meyer.
"Herr Schnitzer, Herr Meyer," he said.
"I found these men in the woods on the other side of the facility," Dorfmann said. "Herr Schnitzer tells me that he had your permission to train his dogs in that area tonight."
"Ja," Hochstetter replied. "I talked to him this morning."
"We heard gunshots," Schnitzer said as he looked at the men on the ground beside the automobile. "What happened, Major?"
"Two of my men were ambushed and murdered," Hochstetter replied.
"That's terrible," Schnitzer responded. Uh oh. This is not good. Hochstetter will not be happy that two of his men were gunned down. I hope there are no reprisals to the townspeople because of this.
"Yes," Hochstetter replied. "I will find out who did this, and it will be very terrible for them."
I'd like to know who did this as well. It couldn't be anyone in our group. We all know that killing Gestapo men just makes the Gestapo very angry. "Unfortunately these dogs are not trained, or I would offer their service to help you track down those responsible," he told Hochstetter. "But if I see anything suspicious while I am training tonight, I will certainly let you know."
Hochstetter shook his head. "I'm sorry Herr Schnitzer," Hochstetter said distractedly. "But I'm afraid that I cannot allow you in the woods around the facility any longer. I'm sure you understand the reason why."
Damn, thought Schnitzer. Colonel Hogan needs the information about the progress they are making on this fuel depot. I wasn't able to gather nearly enough information. "Ja, I understand, Major," he replied. "I will return to my truck parked on the other side of the facility."
"Captain Dorfmann will accompany you, Herr Schnitzer," Hochstetter stated. "The ones who did this may still be in the area."
I doubt it, Major. They are long gone by now. Only an idiot would stay around after an ambush. Then again, it's not to smart to ambush and murder the Gestapo. I must tell Erich about all of this. "Danke, Major Hochstetter," a resigned Schnitzer replied.
---------------
The rest of the men had gone to their homes, and Ilse sat in the barn with her brothers. Hans was very excited that they were able to accomplish their goal.
"Ilse, I told you that those men would pay for what they did to you," a smiling Hans said to his sister.
Ilse nodded. She had mixed feelings. She was very happy that she was able to confront the men – it had felt so good feel the impact of her foot when she had kicked them. But she was somewhat disturbed by what her brother had done. It had amounted to nothing more than cold-blooded murder, and she feared that it had made them no better than the men they had just dispatched.
"Ja," she replied. "I am glad that it's over. Now things can go back to the way they were."
"Over?" Hans replied in surprise. "My dear, this was just the beginning."
Ilse was shocked. She looked at her brother who had an evil grin on his face. "But Hans, we've done what we set out to do," she said.
"Nein," he replied. "This was just the beginning of what I set out to do. We have much more work to do."
Ilse just stared at her brother in disbelief. What has happened to you? We have had our revenge for what happened to me. Why isn't that good enough for you? Deep down inside, she shook with fear. Nothing good will come from this, she thought.