In the middle of September 1942, the temperature has fallen to a bearable mid-twenty degrees Celsius which is a relief to the Europeans serving in North Africa after the blazing heat of the summer months. His two weeks ride through the desert in the heat of the August sun has been a torment and the officer from Northern German is looking forward to the declining temperatures of the Saharan autumn months, before the bitter cold of the desert winter nights torments them in a different manner than the summer's heat. The convoy under the command of Hauptmann Hans Dietrich is to meet and escort an Italian convoy transporting several of their wounded soldiers from the last run-in the Italians had with the Allies. The Italian officer, Tenente Alessandro Marcello, has called for their urgent assistance and HQ has ordered Dietrich there, not only because his base has been located close enough, there would have been closer ones, but also because he speaks Italian well enough after his experiences in Rome as a communication officer and spending enough time in North Africa fighting alongside Italian soldiers and officers to have picked up the language which is similar enough to the French he has learned in school.
Stefan Deutsch is whistling a song that sounds more Hungarian than German, but the Sergeant driving Dietrich's car is Hungarian after all and still prefers the gypsy songs of his Hungarian homeland over the Germans' marching songs. The tall German officer has taken a half-standing position with his leg stabilising him, while he leans against the front seat next to the driver. Although the Feldwebel casts his Hauptmann worried glances from time to time for his insane habit of standing in the car, he knows Dietrich's argument that only in this manner can he have an overview over the vehicles and a better lookout position to gain oversee the surrounding desert. This is exactly what the trained artillery observation officer does with or without wearing his goggles to protect his eyes from the assault through the sand. Constantly on the look-out for Allied commandos, the German Captain barely puts his binoculars down to rest his eyes. The hard part of the look-out position is keeping the balance between proper watchfulness and not stressing his eyes too much that his vision would become affected from the blinding reflections of the sand surrounding them. The disturbance of large masses of sand can typically be made out, before discerning the actual vehicle itself, as is happening now.
Signalling his troops to turn to full readiness, the Hauptmann keeps observing the movements blowing up the sand. With some relief he verifies that the design of the vehicles is Italian and not British. Finally, they would meet their allies who they have been assigned to protect. If all goes well, they will be able to escort them safely to reach the field hospital on the next day. 'Unless the accursed Rat Patrol intervenes', the German Hauptmann thinks bitterly. As they come closer, Dietrich frowns, when he notices that the Italians are not in the least as battle-ready as his own troops. None of them is even holding their rifle at the ready, but they are at least keeping the weapons within grasping distance. Apart from the four trucks marked with red crosses, only two other vehicles accompany the transport, a staff car and a single tank looking almost forlorn. With a sigh, the German Captain thinks back of many a battle when his convoys have been decimated to a similar sorry state, with trucks holding more wounded men than he has had fit men left to protect them and his tanks and armored cars against all odds destroyed in a hail of bullets and grenades. At least he can understand now why they require his half dozen half tracks and tanks as protection. Hauptmann Dietrich shudders slightly at the thought of what would happen if the trucks with the already gravely injured Italians would be struck again by the Rats' bullets.
Halting at 10 metres distance from the Italian convoy, he quickly climbs down from the front half-track and barks his orders his soldiers to stay alert and his First Lieutenant to secure the area: "Bleiben Sie in Alarmbereitschaft and wachsam! Oberleutnant Wagner, sichern Sie die Umgebung!" Without further checking whether his command is fulfilled, Hans Dietrich walks toward the Italian convoy. Wagner and Dietrich have worked together for long enough in North Africa that the Hauptmann can rely on the officer's compliance. Should they be ambushed, the German wants his men to be more ready than the Italians who still have not even picked up their weapons. A lean Italian officer half a head length shorter than the tall Hauptmann greets him with a highly exaggerated salute that almost appears like mockery to the German Captain and cheerful Italian voice: "Buon giorno, Capitano. Sono Tenente Alessandro Marcello." With a proper salute and military stance, Hans Dietrich answers in slightly accented Italian which he has mainly picked up on the side during the North Africa campaign: "Buon giorno, Tenente. Sono Capitano Hans Dietrich." At the Italian answer from the German officer, Tenente Marcello's smile grows even wider and honest delight shines in his eyes. "Voi accompagneremo all'ospedale. Arriveremo domani se tutto va bene", the young Hauptmann explains their intent to accompany them to the hospital which they should reach tomorrow, if all goes well. "Mille grazie, Capitano. Siamo in debito con loro", expresses his gratitude in overwhelming Italian style and that they are in his debt.
Nodding in quiet acceptance of the Italian's gratitude, Hans Dietrich approaches the trucks to check on the medical personnel and wounded. The Italians have their own medics with them which at least has allowed the Hauptmann to leave his own Stabsarzt, Ludwig Sommer, back at his base where he would hopefully be safer than out here. The condition of the wounded is not too bad, but the sheer mass is overwhelming for the stressed Italian medical doctor and his three assisting nurses, each stationed in one truck to take care of the men there. The weariness and exhaustion are obvious from dark rims under their eyes and their laconic tone which stands in stark contrast to their Lieutenant's constant chatter. While the young German officer performs his checkup on the medical truck, the Italian Tenente keeps bombarding him with a continuing stream of words reporting the number of troops, their base and commanding officer, their vehicles' state and whatever else he can think of and thinks is of military relevance. This would not have been as bad if the whole palaver would not have been constantly interlaced with small talk phrases about the weather or the beauty of the day. Pointedly ignoring the incessant chatter while mentally noting all relevant information, the German Hauptmann informs the lower ranking Italian officer of their intended route and is about to give him a warning lecture on the desert commandos, when the whirring sound of Jeeps' motors can be heard, just as they pass the ridge of a dune.
"Feuer erwidern. Schützen Sie die Verwundeten!", the Hauptmann shouts his commands to fire and protect the wounded, while dodging the first bullets flying wildly. Tenente Marcello neither has Dietrich's experience and swiftness at escaping bullets, nor his uncanny luck to hardly be hit by the Rats' bullets unlike many of his men or colleagues. Fortuna does not want him to escape unscathed it would appear, as the Italian collapses with bullet wounds in his right shoulder and upper arm, luckily grazes, as he would be dead otherwise. Nonetheless, the officer bleeds profoundly and whimpers rather pitifully. Gritting his teeth, the German officer decides that he has to act swiftly, if he wants to save the man's life, which is his obligation to at least try. The German Captain grabs Marcello's left arm, hauls him up and drags him into cover under a truck. Knowing that shooting with his side arm at the fast moving patrol Jeeps would only waste his bullets, the German officer concentrates on coordinating the defense instead. As the only officer who speaks Italian he shouts commands to the Italian troops now to fire at their attackers, stay in cover and protect the truck with the wounded.
As several bullets pierce the outer wall of the truck he is using as cover above his head, cries of pain and outrage can be heard from the inside. "Merda!", the Italian doctor curses and Dietrich inwardly agrees. Those outrageous rowdies do not even care that they are shooting at a medical vehicle which is clearly marked with the Red Cross on the side. Next to another truck, one of the half-tracks is shaken by an explosion which also affects the medical vehicle beside it, as shrapnel splinters cut through the fabric. Deciding that this madness has to stop, before most of the Italians are dead, the German Captain shouts to the Italian doctor in the truck: "Ho bisogno di una bandiera bianca." Shortly after Hans Dietrich is handed a piece of white cloth attached to a crutch and the medical officer thanks him briefly: "Grazie, Capitano." "Prego, Dottore", the German mutters back, before preparing for the mad sprint he will have to perform, leaving his cover behind to make the signal of their willingness to negotiate clearly visible.
The young officer has always been nimble and quick on his feet and starts running from the truck's cover out into the open, waving the crutch with the improvised white flag. Once the Hauptmann leaves his cover of the truck, he tries hard to catch the commandos' attention, before any more needless destruction and loss of lives occurs. Another salve of bullets is fired in his direction and covers the side of the truck he has just emerged from. Although trying to dodge quickly, the Afrikakorps officer cannot avoid being shot in the thigh. Even though the momentum of the bullet throws him backward and off his feet, the German keeps waving the white flag in the air, until the hail of bullets finally stops a few moments later. Struggling to his feet with the support of the crutch, Hans Dietrich barks his commands for his German and troops to cease fire: "Feuer einstellen! Interrompi le riprese!"
One of the Jeeps slowly drives into range and stops at a distance of 20 meters. The German officer is struggling to get his breathing and the pain under control, before he focuses his attention on the approaching enemies. Even though he can feel the cloth of his trousers leg becoming drenched in blood worryingly quickly, Hauptmann Dietrich tries to keep a rigid stance, as he scowls at the Rats. Sergeant Sam Troy of all people bears an almost guilty look which the German pinpoints to him knowing fully well that he has shot at a medical vehicle and at someone bearing a white flag. "Sergeant Troy, you are aware that you and your Rats", Dietrich almost spits the word out in contempt, "have just shot at medical vehicles bearing the Red Cross." "Don't blame us, Captain! We were aiming for your halftracks", Troy shouts defiantly. "Which were protecting the trucks you have shot at before!", Dietrich barks back, enraged by the American's audacity.
"You waved the flag, Captain", Troy bellows unhappily, "what do you propose?" "The already wounded soldiers have been harmed further by your attack. Our closest field hospital is more than a day's drive from here and the soldiers need medical treatment much sooner", the German Captain growls with righteous anger. Swaying slightly on his feet and feeling too lightheaded, the tall officer pauses his statement to take a steadying breath, before continuing in a more moderate tone: "I propose that we surrender the gravely wounded and you accompany them to your closest field hospital only an hour or two hours from here. We will cease all hostilities and will not attack you, as long as you are with the trucks bearing the Red Cross, as is international law and common decency." The last part the Hauptmann growls with a deep scowl. "Agreed, Captain. We will not attack you further and you will not attack us, while we escort your surrendered soldiers", Sam Troy accepts the terms without further negotiation. The German Captain is swaying on his feet even more than before and struggling to keeping standing at all which only works because his white flag is attached to a crutch on which the Hauptmann is leaning heavily now. His whole right leg down to the boot rim is drenched in blood and his face looks rather pale beneath the desert tan. Troy fears that without Dietrich things could escalate, turning rather ugly and bloody pretty soon, and therefore is eager to finish the truce, before the German officer will become unable to do so.
Dietrich shouts orders first in German, then in Italian communicating the content of the truce and agreement to save the wounded soldiers. The Italian medic who has given Dietrich the flag before, has finished first aid treatment of Tenente Marcello and carefully approaches the worryingly unstable German Captain. "Capitano, sei ferito. Hai bisogno di assistenza medica." Dietrich's gaze is slightly blurry, as he hears the Italian doctor tell him that he is wounded himself and in need of medical assistance. "Si grazie, dottore", he answers with a slur that worries him as much as the medical doctor. "Dottore Santo, Capitano", the doctor finally introduces himself to the German officer who almost collapses into his arms. But the man has valiantly put his own life at risk to give them a chance and protect the wounded rather than brutally fight until the bitter end. The medic helps the tall Hauptmann to sit down and cuts the ruined trousers leg open to gain access to the injury quickly. After washing away the worst of blood, Dottore Santo assesses the bullet wound and notes the missing piece of flesh from the man's thigh but that the bone has stayed unharmed. However an artery has been nicked and caused the severe blood loss that has crippled the German officer for the moment who appears barely responsive and far too pale. The Italian Dottore Santo decides upon cauterization, as the condition for trying to sew the blood vessel would be far from sterile and endangering the young man's life even further. With a wooden stick the Italian doctor applies silver nitrate on the wound which chemically cauterizes the injury. The dottore can only admire the German Capitano's pride, as the man flinches and grits his teeth, but does not cry out in pain, even though he looks close to passing out.
The American Sergeant who has conducted the negotiations is approaching them and addressing the injured German officer sitting on the ground. "We should take you with us, Captain. You are in dire need of medical treatment." Dietrich is summoning strength from his anger at Sergeant Troy: "First you dare to shoot someone bearing a white flag openly, Sergeant. And now you ask me to surrender because of your breaking international laws. This is impertinent." Troy actually looks guilty in the face of the unusual outburst of the typically composed German officer. "I really did not see the flag and thought you were holding a weapon." Dietrich simply glares at him, unwilling to waste energy on further raging. Also his vision becomes increasingly blurred and the American Sergeant starts to blur in front of his eyes, making him feel dizzy. "Come sta il tenente?", Dietrich instead asks Dottore Santo about the state of the Italian officer to distract himself from the pain and keep himself from passing out. "E vivo, grazie a te", the doctor answers while bandaging the German's leg that his officer is alive thanks to Dietrich, but is in need of a hospital like the Hauptmann. "Ma ha bisogno di un ospedale proprio come te." Sergeant Troy is used to not understanding Dietrich's conversations in German and not surprised that the officer speaks Italian with his allies of the Axis. "Tenente Marcello and I will have to accompany you to the hospital", the German officer translates for Troy unbidden. Offering his hand to help the man to his feet, the American Sergeant tries to alleviate the mood through a friendly half-joke: "Well, I am glad to have someone who can translate all that Italian for me, Captain." Not amused in the least, Dietrich merely sends a dark glare in his direction, as he has to lean on Troy for support.
Dietrich calls his second in command Oberleutnant Wagner, before Troy can lead him off, to give his final orders and hand over command. Wagner supports his swaying commanding officer under his second shoulder to share the load of bearing the tall Hauptmann's full weight between himself and the American Sergeant, as the younger officer is barely able to remain on his feet. Even though Dietrich is lean, he is still a tall man and trained soldier. "Oberleutnant Wagner. Sie werden die Rattenpatrouille ... und die Krankenwagen nicht angreifen! Bleiben Sie stattdessen ... in der Umgebung des Hospitals, aber halten Sie sich vor den Patrouillen der LRDG verborgen... Ich werde versuchen, mit einigen weniger schwer Verletzten ... in den nächsten Tagen den Ausbruch zu wagen. Wenn sich eine Gelegenheit ... für einen Angriff auf einen Alliierten Konvoi ergibt, nutzen Sie sie. Dann haben wir eine Ablenkung...", the Hauptmann slurs more and more the longer he is speaking and his head lolls to the side a few times during his orders. Dietrich knows Sam Troy long and well enough to be sure that the American Sergeant actually cannot speak German. Otherwise he would not have dared give the orders to his Oberleutnant with his enemy listening that should support his intended break-out from the hospital in the next days through a distraction by attacking an Allied convoy.
"Let's go, Captain", Sergeant Troy finally urges once they have reached their Jeep. Dietrich tries to salute to his Oberleutnant for handing over command over his convoy, but almost topples over. With his last swaying steps the American Sergeant and the German First Lieutenant drag him toward the Jeep, as without support under both shoulders he would not be standing at all anymore. Instead of the Italian Red Cross trucks, Troy wants to have the German officer in his own Jeep to get him as fast to a hospital as humanly possible. Rather gently, he helps the barely conscious Captain get onto the front seat next to Private Hitchcock who eyes the pale man with a strange look between concern and wariness. As Hans Dietrich's vision has turned blurry a while ago, the dark tunnel forming now is increasingly concerning for young Hauptmann. The jerk of the Jeep starting its neck-breaking ride over the dunes is the last thing the German notes, before his head lolls to the side and he passes out completely.
"Damnit, Dietrich. Don't you dare die on me!", Troy shouts at the unconscious German whom he has to hold around the chest to keep him from being thrown out of the Jeep, as Hitch drives at a suicidal speed. "Can't we go faster? How far is this damned hospital?", the American Sergeant growls at the young Private who bites down on his chewing gum. "Just a few more minutes, Sarge", Mark tries to calm his raging CO. "I have no idea, if Dietrich has a few more minutes", Troy snaps back and tries to feel the German's pulse at the neck in spite of their bumpy ride which is not very successful. The Captain is completely limp, obviously out cold and the bandage around his thigh which the Italian medic has applied during their negotiations has become drenched in red blood by now as well. "He's bleeding through the bandage. God damnit!", the older American curses loudly. This cannot be the end. Troy is unwilling to accept that the honorable Captain dies in his arms, because he has not seen the white flag the man has waved to negotiate to save the lives of the wounded Italians. The German's head rests on his shoulder now, as this is the best way Troy could think of to keep him from getting injured further, but the close proximity to his enemy who hardly appears like one at some times reminds the American Sergeant of the younger man's human vices and weaknesses, as he is close enough to the German officer to smell the cigarette smoke on him and also the blood.
Hitch does not bother to brake, as he closes in on the field hospital, not with Troy whipping him onward as a coach driver would his horses only verbally rather than physically. To warn the people to get out of their way and call the medics to their aid as quickly as possible, he honks loudly, as he drives into the field hospital in between their tents. Only in front of the triage tent does Mark brake rather suddenly, throwing them all to the front. His honking has called a medic and several nurses out of the tent who run to the Jeep now. "The man needs treatment immediately!", Troy insists without giving them the time to ask any questions. "That's a German ...", the medic starts his puzzled protest only to be interrupted. "You'll treat him right now. He's an officer and valuable to the brass. And he'll bleed to death if you continue this useless blabbering", the American Sergeant growls threateningly at the medic, while jumping down from the back of the Jeep. Hitch has meanwhile steadied the unconscious German Captain whose head leans against the seat rest. At the close distance his loss of color in spite of his desert tan is rather obvious. Cold sweat is visible in small beads at his forehead and his breathing rather shallow. Troy is close to drawing his weapon to threaten the medical stuff, when they finally start moving. The medic checks the officer's pulse at the exposed neck and frowns deeply, while his nurses fetch a stretcher and two young soldiers to assist them with carrying the wounded man. "I can barely feel his pulse. Prepare a blood transfusion and plasma packs, Anne! He has lost a lot of blood", the middle aged man orders, as they load the unconscious officer on the stretcher.
Turning back to the impatient Sergeant, he declares: "We will do all we can to save the man, but he is in a critical state. I'm not sure whether he'll make it." "Do what you can, Doc", Troy growls, sounding as grateful as impatient and unnerved that he is unable to help in any way. "There's a convoy with three trucks and captured Italian soldiers and an officer. They surrendered and we must treat them according to the Geneva Convention." The brown haired American doctor nods. "Thank you for the timely warning. We will prepare everything for their arrival and treat your Jerry officer in the meantime." "We'll drive to meet them halfway", Troy declares resolutely. "I'll check on the Captain, once we're back."