Hammelburg Area, Hammelburg Branch Rail Line
July 25, 1944, 2345 hours

Hans Wagner rested his hand on his brother's shoulder. "Not yet," he said quietly. "Give it another few seconds."

The rest of their group gathered around and together they watched the dark silhouette of the supply train moving along the tracks in the moonlight.

Hans gave Karl's shoulder a squeeze. "Now, Karl!" he said.

Karl pushed down on the plunger. The whirring sound it made was loud in the darkness. A split second later, a large explosion lit up the area as the train buckled and heaved. Shards of wood from the boxcars flew in every direction, mingling with pieces of whatever the train was carrying. The group gave a cheer as they watched the destruction unfold before them.

"Unhook that and get going," Hans ordered, taking off into the woods with his team following.

Karl quickly unhooked the wires and carried the plunger as he ran to catch up with the group.

- - - - -

After the barn door was closed, Hans slapped his brother on the back happily. "We did it," he said excitedly. "We have proved that we can operate without the expert guidance of Colonel Hogan!"

There was a low murmur of excitement as the five other men agreed with Hans.

"So what did you prove?" Ilse asked stubbornly. "You proved you can blow up a defenseless train."

"It is not just the train, Ilse," Karl countered. "It is the idea that we alone picked the target and successfully destroyed it. Colonel Hogan will not have any complaints about this mission."

"And if he does, we will not have to listen to them," Hans added determinedly. "We have shown that we can be successful without him telling us what to do."

"But Hans, you promised him you would work together," Ilse begged.

"I have changed my mind now," he replied grimly. "We were able to destroy that vital supply train tonight, and I think we should do what we think is best from here on out."

Ilse huffed in disgust. "Hans, you are asking for trouble," she said, and stomped from the barn.

"Ilse!" Karl shouted after her.

"Let her go Karl," Hans said. "She will get over it. Besides, we need to talk about what to do next."

"What do you have in mind?" Karl asked.

Hans smiled broadly. "I think it is time to take another look at the fuel depot," he replied.

His group moved closer to him as they spend the next several hours discussing and planning their approach. Since their last attempt, security at the depot had been tightened and they needed to find another way to get to it. They drew a rough sketch of the facility and its surroundings on the dusty ground and then drew in all of the security that was known. It turned out that there was a lot that they didn't know. But that didn't deter Hans – he was determined that the fuel depot would be destroyed … and when it was, he would prove to Colonel Hogan that he was a force to be reckoned with.

It was almost sunup when the group left the barn, each with their separate reconnaissance assignment.