The Sleeping Beauty Raid—Chapter 4
The truck arrived and the men packed their gear in the back. Saunders noticed that Troys' men were very careful with their packs. They didn't throw them around, they handled them gently.
They climbed in and sat on the hard seats along the sides. The reality of the situation was starting to sink in at last. On the long ride they had plenty of time to speculate on what they were going to be ask to do.
Kirby glanced at Cage before looking past him to the others. The laughing faces were gone, replaced by the serious expressions of tough, battle hardened soldiers. Kirby had a feeling that things were about to get real.
Once their truck dropped them off, Lt. Hanley led them directly toward a German outpost. They needed a German truck to take them to their final destination, and the outpost boasted just such a truck.
"Make sure they don't get a radio call out." Hanley reminded his men.
"We got it L.T." Saunders acknowledged.
"Need any help with the guards?" Troy appeared beside Saunders. Chip started to refuse before he thought about his last encounter with the four men. Then he hadn't trusted them, now he knew they could take care of themselves.
"Alright Troy. Can your men handle the two outside guards?"
Troy nodded confidently.
"Okay. Your men take care of the guards and my men will deal with the rest of them. Let me know when they're ready."
Troy nodded again and called to his men. The two privates nodded as Troy told them what he wanted. They turned and left before Saunders could say a word. He soon lost sight of them.
Chip organized his men and got them all in position before looking around for Troy.
"Whenever your men are ready Sargent."
"Call me Sam. And they're ready now. Just say the word."
Saunders looked but he didn't see either of the privates. He eyed one of the guards who stood near a shed. He couldn't see how anyone would be able to approach him without being seen. With a nod of his head he gave Troy the go ahead.
Chip watched the guards. One suddenly arched his back and fell forward, his rifle dropping to the ground. Chip looked for the second one, expecting him to sound the alarm. That guard had dropped his weapon and had both hands covering his face. Chip watched as he fell to his knees and dropped to the ground too. Saunders didn't wait to see if the Germans inside noticed. He urged his men forward, cautioning them to keep down. They moved in on the guard post as quietly as possible.
The first shot came from the German side. One of them spotted the advancing Americans and called the alarm. Saunders and his men had reached shelter by then. The fight was fast and brutal. A bullet clipped the stone next to Cage sending a chip across his check. Sawyer fell to his knees as a string of lead whipped over his head. Billy and Littlejohn made their way around the back, cutting off the German escape route. Chip and his men were determined and they had the advantage of surprise. The German soldiers fought to the last man, giving Saunders some tense moments.
As the echo of the last shot faded away, Chip searched for his men, counting them as he spotted each soldier. Satisfied that they were all accounted for, he concentrated on the outpost.
A careful check of the buildings yielded a surprise. Locked in one of the rooms, tied and gagged, they found an American soldier. The man was grateful for the rescue. They couldn't send him back alone and they couldn't spare a man to take him back. Hanley made the decision to take him along.
"The name is Woodrow Melnick. I was with the 2nd platoon, Easy Company. I was on patrol with a buddy when these krauts jumped us. My buddy didn't make it. Sure not sorry to see these guys buy it. I'd have killed them myself if I had had half a chance."
"Take it easy buddy" Saunders cautioned. The other mans' attitude was making him uneasy. "You'll have to come with us, but hear me good. You obey orders and don't go off half-cocked. We have a job to do and you're not going to get in our way."
The other man nodded his understanding.
"Cage, go check out that truck." He watched Melnick as Cage and Kirby ran to the truck. The man seemed content to stay out of the way. The gas tank was full and the truck started easily. Cage found some papers on the front seat and brought them to Hanley.
"The truck's good to go Sir. I found these on the seat." He handed the papers to the lieutenant.
"I'd keep those handy." Jack Moffitt spoke over the officers' shoulder.
Hanley looked up in confusion. "Do you read German too?" Gil knew the sargent spoke German but this was the first that he realized that he could read it too.
"As a matter of fact, I do. Those are travel papers Lieutenant. They'll allow you to pass through any checkpoint in this sector." The British sargent smiled at Hanley. "You never know when they may come in handy."
Hanley smiled and handed the papers to the British sargent. "Use them any way you see fit." With a final look around, he called his men together. "Sargent Saunders. Let's get rolling!"
"Saddle up. Move out."
The men scrambled into the truck for the next leg of their journey. Now they traveled more slowly, alert for enemy activity. It was getting late in the day and they still hadn't reached their destination.
"Where are we going Sarge?" Melnick scooted over next to Saunders and started asking questions.
"Deeper into German territory."
"Where?"
"Does it matter?" Chip pinned the man with a glare. He watched the man for a reaction.
"No." Melnick admitted. "Just as long as I get to kill krauts."
"Can that kind of talk." Saunders ordered gruffly. "We're not here to kill krauts. We have more important things to do."
"More important than killing krauts? What are you guys up to anyway?" Melnick looked from one man to the next. No one answered and he missed the look that passed between the three sergeants.