It was late the next morning when the column of prisoners was sighted nearing the camp. It was not a pretty sight. They were bedraggled, spread out, hunched over and slow. The associated guards following them were yelling harsh commands.
Too late the order came for all prisoners to be confined to barracks. Too many had already seen the new arrivals. The voices of the Stalag 13 prisoners soon reached a decibel louder than the guards, and continued to go up. Kommandant Klink and Sergeant Schultz crossed quickly the ground between the kommandanten office and the small group of prisoners standing outside of barracks 2.
"Hogan," Klink started, "you must get control of your men."
"That's difficult, Kommandant, when they can clearly look at how poorly those men are being treated."
"I know that, I can even sympathize, but we can't have any demonstration or we might have an incident here. Please Colonel Hogan, control your men so something bad doesn't happen."
Hogan looked from Klink to the approaching prisoners. He panned quickly around and looked at his men, who were slowly moving toward the wire. He turned back to the men around him. "Newkirk, Kinch, go stop that group from getting closer to the wire. Carter, get Wilson and the rest of the medics, we're going to be needing his help. LeBeau, get your men ready with the food – by the looks of those men, they're ready to drop."
Hogan turned back toward the Kommandant. "Kommandant, it appears we are going to have our hands full today, probably late into the night. I hereby request that the lights are left on and my medical and supply teams are allowed to travel between the barracks to provide any needed supplies."
Klink looked at Hogan, then glanced over his shoulder at the prisoners who were just now approaching the front gate. The back end of the column could not be seen, as spread out as it was. Normally, the Kommandant would have refused the request, as an opportunity to dig tunnels or otherwise attempt an escape. Tonight, was different. This wasn't the gestapo bringing back a single prisoner who had a difficult interrogation – this was obviously on a scale not seen by Stalag 13 in the past. Klink knew however that it could be much worse, he had heard the stories told by other commanding officers.
When he glanced back, he found he could not look Hogan in the eyes, and he found himself looking at his own boots. "Yes, Colonel Hogan, I will leave the lights on. You and your men can take care of the newcomers." Before Hogan could even reply, Klink turned and hurried back to his office.
Hogan watched as Carter came back with Wilson. The medic had a concerned look on his face. As the prisoners passed through the gates, they were handed off from the traveling guards to the Stalag 13 guards, who ushered them in the direction of Wilson and his fellow medics.
Two extra tents had been setup by the infirmary. It was hoped only a few might need care there, but the looks of the spent group walking towards them told another tale. Food and rest might do wonders for some, but the medical supplies they were promised might be the only hope some of them had.
Hogan knew that he couldn't help with what Wilson was doing. He also knew from personal experience that no one was better at getting both his men and the new men to put forth every effort right now.
Hogan saw Sgt. Kinchloe walking toward him. "Good job with the crowd, Kinch, but now I have something difficult for you. We need to get names and ID's off everyone as they come in, cross check with the other prisoners, and work to verify it with London asap."
Kinchloe smiled, "Already on it Colonel, we have four guys taking down names and starting the interview process. With every twenty-five completed, a runner will go down to Baker to give that list so London can start work on them. We have two others with Baker just in case his fingers get cramped."
Kinch continued, "Newkirk has blankets for most all of them, and clothing for the very worst, we're still short on mattresses, so they will be alternating, except for the medical tents. And LeBeau will be bring the food as soon as Wilson okays it."
"Good work, pass that on to everybody. Tell Wilson to let me know how bad it is. When we find out who the senior man is with that group, I'd like to see him."
"Yes, sir, I'll find that out," Kinch answered. He turned around and jogged over to the infirmary.
Hogan watched him go. He had a good staff, they anticipated his needs, took care of things they knew they could handle. He hadn't told the men yet about his promotion. There was nothing anyone could do at this time. It wasn't like he could advertise it, what possible reason would a prisoner have of being promoted, and two steps at that. Worse yet, he hadn't told them about their promotions. Stalag 13 was still an NCO camp, with just a small sprinkling of mostly junior officers. That wouldn't work if he had to fight brass in other camps. His men would need the clout.
###
The man Sgt. Kinchloe was escorting looked as if he would drop at any moment. A captain with an olive drab jacket, which appeared almost to be a rag. Kinch stopped in front of Hogan, "Colonel Hogan, may I introduce Captain Williams, formerly of Stalag 20B and leader of these men." The captain attempted a formal salute, very well done for the obvious poor shape he was in.
"Captain Williams," Hogan started as he returned the salute, "we are looking after you men as fast as we can, our medics are very good, and food and warm clothing is ready for you."
"On behalf of my men, thank you, sir. You can't imagine how bad it has been."
"I will need you to explain it to me captain, all of it. We need to know."
"We started with 280 men. Most of us sick, and malnourished. The guards didn't even try to help the lame – they shot anyone who couldn't keep up. In the last two days we have had water once and no food. And that was just before the walk here from the train station. Six of my men are laying dead between that train station in town and here. Twenty-four are dead between 20B and where we got on the train. Six more died on the train." The last part came out in tears. It was obvious that the man was beyond his physical and mental breaking point.
"Kinch, get him some food and get him in my quarters. Make sure he's warm. Has he been checked out by Wilson yet?"
"Not yet, sir," came Kinch's reply.
"I don't care, have Wilson come over here. Get him in the barracks and bring back food. Then he needs rest. I'm going to see Klink."
Hogan crossed the distance and into the outer office in a flash. Hilda was there, but Hogan didn't even notice her. Schultz was there too, but didn't even have time to time and verbally stop the POW from entering into the Kommandant's office.
"Klink, have you seen the condition of those men? Do you know what was done to them on the way here? How many died? This is atrocious!"
Kommandant Klink was taken aback by the veracity of Hogan's outburst. Then he was angry by the audacity. "That's Colonel Klink, or Kommandant, Hogan."
"Colonel, over 30 men have died, DIED. And how many more will follow them? How can you possibly justify this?"
Klink looked at Hogan for a long moment, almost a test of wills, but then realizing the lack of moral authority, he bowed his head. "Hogan, I know, I know. That's why I haven't fought you on supplies, or extra rations. There wasn't anything I could do. I couldn't even send trucks for them."
"But those guards, they've committed murder!" Hogan was still outraged.
"I tried Hogan, but those guards are Heer, special army guards, not Luftwaffe. I have no authority over them at all. Stalag 20B had a lot more army prisoners as a percentage, so control was given to an army command."
Hogan stopped for a moment and looked down at the Kommandant. In a more measured tone he asked, "Where are those guards going from here?"
"As far as I know they are going to Hammelburg to wait for orders, probably as reinforcements."
"So they'll be gone in the next few days?"
Klink missed the subtle anger beneath that question, and took it as wishing the guards good riddance. "Yes, Colonel Hogan, probably three days, no more than a week."
Colonel Hogan now had a check on his anger. "Then if you don't mind Kommandant, I will go check on the men. I will bring you a list of any issues we find."
"Hogan, I have said I will bring whatever resources I can to help. I am also going to have roll calls taken inside for two days to give them a chance to improve. Wood allocations have been increased so they stay warm. I wish I could do more."
"They are my men now Colonel. Believe me when I say I will do all I can to help them." Hogan turned to leave, without a cursory salute or dismissal.
"HOGAN!" Klink snapped. "I am still the Kommandant!"
Hogan stopped and turned around, gave the Kommandant a quick salute, and with an expression that was lost on Klink, he said, "Yes, yes you are." Before Klink could even reply, he was out the door and it closed behind him.
Colonel Wilhelm Klink sat in office chair, contemplating what he would do if his and Hogan's roles were reversed. How would he have dealt with Hogan as Kommandant? How would he have held the respect of his men for so long? Would he have been able to plan all the things that Hogan had to get ready for these men? Would he have been able to stand up to others such as Burkhalter or Hochstetter? The answers that came to him didn't please him.
###
When Hogan got back to Barracks 2, Wilson was in there looking over Captain Williams. All the other men had left to give him some privacy. Hogan went over to stand behind the medic.
"I know what you're going to ask Colonel. Most of the men are suffering from severe malnutrition, dehydration and fatigue. A few have injuries they attribute to gun butts or whips. Captain Williams is exhausted, but should make a full recovery. We need vitamins, good food and rest."
"Well, surprisingly enough, Klink is being very supportive. I really believe he feels bad. But this isn't his fault. The army guards are responsible for this."
Hogan continued, "Has the Captain eaten yet?"
"Just a little, and wait, that's all they can have. If they get too much, they'll vomit, and risk aspiration pneumonia. Baker shared with me instructions from London for their care. You've been so good for us, we haven't had to suffer some of the problems others have had. I can sincerely say, thank you."
Williams eyes lit up at the mention of London. "You have contact with London?"
Hogan turned to Wilson, "Joe!" He then looked to Captain Williams, "You can forget you heard that Captain, at least for now. Not a word to anyone. I promise you I will bring you up to speed soon. Get some rest."
Hogan straightened up, "I need to find Kinch, things are going start earlier than I thought."