I woke before dawn the next day feeling fully rested. This camp, even more remote than my own, had generously shared what little they had with us. I had retired at a decent hour and had slept surprisingly well. No dreams of the American, no waking up in the middle of the night with "what ifs" or "I should haves", no doubts or anxiety about the mission. I accepted that I had prepared as well as I was able and now all that remained outstanding was the final completion of my orders.
We left early in the morning, soon after I had graciously thanked the commanding Hauptmann for his hospitality. He wished us success on our mission, hoping we would secure the supplies while also finally bringing an end to the Rat Patrol. He, too, had been attacked by them and had lost several men to their raids. I had to wonder if a German unit even existed which hadn't had the misfortune to make their acquaintance.
Eerily, he used the same words as Meyer to describe them: "Four men and two Jeeps, everywhere and nowhere at once." He complimented us on inflicting the one casualty, frankly stating I had accomplished more in one encounter than the rest of the Afrika Korps combined. He was able to provide me with a few details of their operations and I readily made notes of his observations. I expected to put an end to them today, but his observation could be useful if the Allies launched a replacement team which used their same methods of operations.
We needed to move quickly and I was pleased I had limited my column before we left our base camp yesterday. I had forced myself to pare the column to five vehicles: Two panzers, two half-tracks and the ladder truck which I had decided to add at the last moment. Although they limited our mobility, the panzers would provide us with heavier fire power than the half-tracks. The ladder truck offered us the ability to locate the commandos given the vast distance we were searching. Unfortunately, the small number of vehicles also reduced the number of men which could accompany me. I would have preferred more resources since I knew what the Rat Patrol was capable of accomplishing even with their very limited resources.
We soon arrived at the rendezvous point I had given the chieftain. I waited patiently for almost an hour, forcing myself to be calm as my adrenalin was surging. I seriously doubted he would walk away from such a lucrative financial opportunity in its final moments. I knew that the Bedouin must be in the near vicinity searching for the Rat Patrol. It would only be a matter of time for the natives to pinpoint the Rat Patrol's location and indicate it to us.
I kept scanning the horizon and finally, off in the distance I spotted a faint movement. I sent a man up the ladder and I could see him focus on something in the distance. He promptly confirmed that it was the Arab tribe and that they had spotted the Rat Patrol. Their leader was rapidly motioning their direction indicating we had little time to spare. The man called down the coordinates and we immediately departed on the final leg to put our mission to an end. I had suspected that we were close to the depot and now my suspicions had been confirmed. Now it was a pure race of speed to prevent the commandos from carrying out their mission before we could complete our own.
It was a battle of time as to which team would arrive first at the supplies. We were racing against each other with exact opposite goals. My objective was to capture the depot. Theirs was to destroy it. Time was limited for the both of us, but I accepted the fact that the Rat Patrol held the distinct advantage over me. They had a more precise knowledge of the depot's location.
Even with their advantages, they would be the ones doing the actually difficult work for both groups. I merely had to find the Rat Patrol after they had already located our mutual goal. I needed only to give them enough rope to hang themselves. However, I knew if I gave them too much rope, it would give them the crucial moments necessary to complete their mission while I failed at mine.
It was a deadly game which in the last moment I could either win or lose. There was no guaranteed outcome. I had seen on numerous occasions that even if you are on the defense, you may be able to turn the tide if you steadily persist. All it took was the smallest opportunity, and the ability to advantage of it to reach victory.
As each moment passed, I knew that my window of opportunity was closing and that of the Rat Patrol was opening wider. I forced myself to remain focused.
I ordered my men to increase their speed, urging them faster and faster with waves of my arm. I never lowered my field glasses, continuously scanning the general area that the Arabs had indicated.
Finally, our efforts were rewarded. The commandos came into view. I knew the two teams had converged at this critical moment. Our engines were pushed to the limits and the sounds and it would be impossible for them to misunderstand. They would have heard us and known that we were moving rapidly.
I could see them off in the distance, small but rapidly growing in size as we raced closer. They had left the safety of the Jeeps and were kneeling down in the soft sand, the four of them digging with short shovels. Suddenly, I saw them look up. Even from our distance I could see them rapidly increase the speed of their digging.
They had found the supply cache. Obviously, they were preparing to set the explosive charges that would destroy it.
I was desperate to stop them and the destruction of the supplies. I ordered my men to fire, even though I knew they were out of range. I wanted to distract the commandos by rattling their nerves. Anything to give us the precious seconds we so desperately needed.
I saw two men break away from the digging and run to a Jeep. It immediately dawned on me that they were going to counter-attack us. With an inner grin I gave them my respect, even if I did dismiss such actions as foolhardy. I believed that I would have acted the same way if I had been in their desperate position.
The man covering the .50 caliber gun armed it as the driver pulled away. The Jeep's actions had the desired effect in that we were forced to cover ourselves from the attack, losing precious seconds in the process. I ordered the panzers to engage the lone Jeep while I led my other men to stop the other commandos.
The two men continued digging, completely focused on their task. They knew we were very near, but they continued to stubbornly persist. I saw them plant what must be the final charges. I knew we were in the final seconds of the race. We were now firing at close range. While at our speed we were not succeeding in hitting them, I saw with satisfaction that we had damaged the remaining Jeep. At least that would prevent the two from escaping or taking any additional explosives from it.
They finally rose from the ground and seized some nearby equipment. When they quickly ran to the side and threw themselves to the ground, I knew that it was not to find cover from our firing. I instantly realized what was imminent.
I accepted the fact that I had failed against them for a second time in less than a week.
They couldn't have timed the detonation more perfectly. The exact moment we arrived, the first charges ignited. Then, the chain reaction of detonations began throughout the area. Before I could order my men to move, there was a tremendous explosion underneath my half-track. We were directly over the cache. The vehicle was thrown onto its side. All of us were thrown out of it like spineless rag dolls.
We scrambled for what cover we could in the sand to prevent us from being hit from the flying debris. I calmly thought that at any second the sand beneath me would erupt when the chain reaction reached us. But it never did. There was nothing more I could do except witness the cache's final destruction. All around us the explosions continued without ending. Ever the good soldier, I couldn't help but feel the frustration at the Wehrmacht losing so much of what we so desperately needed.
I could see all of the annihilation and devastation from my vantage point pressed on the ground. It reminded me of a holiday fireworks display in which I had unfortunately wandered. It was all actually rather pretty, if one discounted the horrible sounds and the terrible smells of our defeat. All around, my men were dying for a quest that was not meant to succeed.
Even over the deafening explosions I could hear the other Jeep return. The Panzers had not succeeded in destroying these two men any more than we had succeeded in stopping the two men that were responsible for the destruction surrounding me. They had returned for their men. They would not leave them for us to capture.
I could see the Jeep come to an abrupt halt. The two men quickly crowded into it. They were making good their escape leaving us Germans to the nothing that remained. They were leaving without a scratch, while I had again lost several men.
They passed in front of me. For the first time, I was able to observe them closely. Their uniforms showed no ranks, and I was immediately struck that each man wore a different headgear. One of the men had an undeniable presence and strength about him. I instantly recognized him. I knew that he was the lead sergeant. The exploding munitions and petrol shot out plumes of flames and smoke framing him like a portrait. It was obvious that the danger around him didn't concern him in the least.
I wondered where his courage came from and how it came so easily to him, even though his situation was fraught with such peril. He obviously possessed a self-confidence and freedom generated from deep within him that fueled his apparent lack of concern for his own life and that of his team. A part of me yearned to have his proficiency for a calling so dangerous. The lure of it was irresistible.
He had a strong jaw and direct eyes that were fearless. I instinctively knew that if a gun was held to his temple, he would still never show the slightest fear. He was confident that there was nothing that we could do against he and his team. Not at this moment, nor any time into the future. No doubt his assurance would carry that belief of immortality against us far beyond his grave.
He caught my eyes. He was so focused on returning my gaze that I don't think he was aware of any of the explosions around him. Surely he recognized me as the commanding officer of the unit he had so deftly defeated and wanted me to never forget who he was. He held my eyes as he stood in the rear of the Jeep, leaning casually against the .50 caliber weapon.
There was something else that I saw behind his eyes, and those eyes that reached down and grabbed my soul. They weren't empty and hard as I had expected. Instead, there was a depth I could follow down to the core of his being. When I reached there, I was surprised. I saw compassion there, both for me as a man and as a fellow soldier.
Divergent thoughts raced through my mind in the instant our eyes met and locked. Each of us stood our ground, not wanting to give way to the other, not daring to show any sign of weakness.
And then I knew at that precise instant, oh how I knew, it was he, the one she had foretold about. The one she had promised would be connected to my life now and into the future.
The American had finally made his appearance and had stepped into my life, here in the desert of North Africa. At times, I had carefully placed him to the back of my mind until I would suddenly remember and wonder about him, trying to guess when our paths would finally converge into one. To be honest with myself, he never really was far from my thoughts. The proof to that being when he visited me in my sleep after our first encounter just a few short nights ago.
I had never forgotten what she had said, and I had patiently waited for him all these years. A small part of me had foolishly wished (or had foolishly hoped?) that he would be fighting for Germany. But deep down inside, I had honestly known that irrational wish wasn't meant to be. Every story has an end, but I knew this story had a beginning that was just now in its infancy.
This story was my black destiny. A destiny connected to his success while my lot was to be bathed in defeat.
As much as I wanted to believe that I had chosen my own fate in life, I realized that it had been chosen for me, much as he had been. Had she also visited him, I wondered? Told him about how our lives would be inter-twined? Was this the reason why he didn't open fire when he had the perfect opportunity to cut me down with the .50 caliber?
Or was there, perhaps, a different reason for his mercy? That he was also fighting with honor, holding himself to the same code as I did? And what of the other three men who currently shared his life? Would they be connected with me into the future or were their fates meant to be different? She had not mentioned them, but perhaps they would be linked to the sergeant and thus connected to me into the future. The odds were against all four, five if you included me, surviving until the end of the war.
I desperately wanted to know how our lives would be connected, now and after the war. I wondered when we would fight together as brothers, save each other's lives. He had just now spared my life. I could only speculate how and when I would be returning the honor.
The equality of brotherhood seemed so remote and impossible. At this moment I felt like a subordinate, not as an equal or as a superior. I was on my knees in abject humiliation before him, a proud German officer almost crawling in the dirt. It was impossible to win every battle in every war, but I had never felt the sting of a loss such as this one.
I told myself to release these thoughts. There was no reason for me to feel any shame. I had lacked the means, but not the ability to defeat them. They had had no more than I did, yet they succeeded.
The man's face showed his satisfaction for what he had accomplished. Yet I saw no traces of gloating or exultation crossing his strong features.
I finally broke his gaze and looked away, down into the desert sand. I gave him this acknowledgment that he had won, that he had beaten me, if even only for this one battle.
It was now up to my skill and ingenuity to ensure the future encounters would be different, and that I would eventually win the war against him and his men. No matter what she had foretold concerning the two of us, I would still loyally serve Germany. I would seek to defeat him and put an end to him.
And like our previous encounter such a scant time ago, he soon departed and I was left with only my thoughts. I estimated less than ten intense minutes has passed from when we opened fire until this moment. Yet in the few seconds we had held each other's gaze, our lives had solidified for the future. I knew we would meet again and I knew it would never be over.
No, it would never be over. Not even when the war came to a merciful end years into the future.