Post by mpowers8 on Sept 21, 2004 5:31:59 GMT
“Bubi, get up, we have to report to the Captain.”<br>
Sergeant Johannes Cruz rolled onto his back and groaned, rubbing his hands across three days of stubble and squinting into an overcast sky. “Rain?” He managed. His mouth felt as if it were full of cotton balls, with the requisite hairy teeth that constitute morning breath.
“Fog,” Lieutenant Eichmann responded, “now get your boots on and bring the map case, I’m going to see if there is any coffee left.”<br>
Bubi pushed his blanket off his legs and went about the stiff movements of a soldier in the morning. It started with inspecting his weapon for rust, and ended in putting his hated weapons belt on and finding his stinking helmet. Grabbing the Lieutenant’s map case, he scrambled from under the camouflage net and headed to the command post to find his officer.
The unit Command Post was a little over five hundred meters from where the 222-scout car “Little Mule” was parked and hidden. On the way there Johannes managed to get a fist full of bread, cheese and even a quarter link of sausage. He was in the midst of wolfing these down when the Company First Sergeant called him over before he could enter the command tent.
“Good morning Sergeant, sleep well?” The First Sergeant asked, holding a tin cup full of steaming coffee out to Bubi as he sat on an empty ammo crate and motioned to a field stool nearby.
“Good, no artillery.” As he took a small sip of the coffee his expression went sour as he coughed and looked at his First Sergeant. “I see your habit of brewing motor oil and petrol with your socks for filtration has not changed from Poland.”<br>
“Never change what works.”<br>
“Any news on what’s happening today? Or are we just having a chat over the money you stole off me in your cheating hearts game?”<br>
First Sergeant Fakenthal smiled, “we have another game starting tonight if you are back by then, always need more teams.”<br>
“I bet you keep scaring the newcomers off.”<br>
“Look,” Fakenthal said, leaning in close. “The Captain didn’t look happy this morning Bubi. Charlie Company sent out reconnaissance at dawn, and they aren’t back. News has it there are partisans in a small village ahead of here. There was a rumor of armor that way too, deep tracks in the mud from one of our foot patrols out last night. I’m pretty certain you are on your way out there to find our lost boys, and I don’t like it. We haven’t seen tanks for almost a week, and we are about due I think.”<br>
Johannes nodded, “yeah, I get that feeling too.” He dipped his bread crust in the coffee and took a bite, finishing it off. “Cigarette?”<br>
Fakenthal opened a tin case and pulled a pair of cigarettes out and handed them to the Sergeant, then stood and stretched with a groan.
“Must be bad if you are giving me extras.”<br>
“Save the second one for your firing squad,” the First Sergeant said as he turned to walk out of the Command Post cammo netting. “See you for that hearts game Bubi, be safe.”<br>
The CP tent flap opened and Eichmann stuck his head out, “Sergeant, get the updated maps and then find Deutsman, he’s ours now.”<br>
“Check sir,” Johannes said as he stood and hung his helmet on a peg just inside the tent flap. He dropped the empty tin coffee cup in an empty ammo box next to where the coffee pot was sitting and stepped fully inside.
The Command Post was a riot of activity. The front of the tent structure was a Panzer IIF tank named Apple, which had been backed to within 7 meters of an Opel-blitz truck mounted with a makeshift wooden enclosure and filled with radios. Between the two hung a tarpaulin on tent poles supported by both vehicles. Hanging maps, strapped to the pole ‘supports,’ showed the current lines and dispositions of the Battalion. The Company Commander, Captain Hans Alderman, was currently on a wire phone speaking and alternately taking notes, probably from the Battalion Commander. A couple of men clapped Johannes on the back as he entered and then returned to their duties.
Johannes turned to the map table and handed his map case to the private there who nodded and immediately began updating it with a grease pencil. Johannes then made his way through the human press to the radios in the back of the communications vehicle and jotted down the frequencies in use for the day and also those for the next day, as well as challenges and passwords so he and the Lieutenant would be able to pass through friendly lines without added ventilation from nervous sentries. As soon as he was done he went back to the map table for his case. The Private finished what he was doing and checked over it one last time before finally folding the leather map guard over the marks and handing it to Johannes. “As of 0530 this morning Sergeant, the Battalion has been static so at least friendly positions should be very close.”<br>
“Danke, Private.” Johannes nodded to the man and moved to stand near Eichmann. The Lieutenant looked at him and nodded approval of the preparations for the day’s work. “We have Deutsman for gunner sir.”<br>
Eichmann half-smiled and whispered, “good thing too, that one could hit a sparrow at a kilometer in the rain. Make sure he steals some of the booze in motor pool before he transfers over.”<br>
“Good thinking sir, now I know why you’re an Officer.”<br>
Eichmann turned a stern look on his Sergeant, but it didn’t hold any real malice. Just then, the Captain hung up the phone and motioned to the two of them.
“I saw you get your maps updated Sergeant, may I have them please?” Alderman asked, reaching for the map case. Johannes handed it to him open and ready. The Captain pointed to a small rectangle with an X marked through the middle with an oval at the center, next to the symbol was the letter A. “As you can see, we are here, and as the Battalion has been here for almost ten hours now, the other friendly locations are pretty solid, as I am sure you were told when the map was handed to you.”<br>
“Yes sir,” Johannes said, letting his eyes wander northeast to the nearest red indication of an enemy unit.
“This morning, before dawn, C Company drew the short straw and sent a reconnaissance element forward, an 8-rad car. They reported on enemy disposition in this bung hole of a village, and then nothing.” The Captain tapped the map with his gloved fingertip as he thought in silence for a moment. He looked up to Eichmann and continued. “I want you to take your 222 and move it to the outskirts of the village, staying out of contact, and try to find the missing car. It could be something simple like a broken engine, or it could be shot to pieces. These partisans and Bolshevik troops have been fighting a lot harder than expected, so I want you to be extremely cautious.”<br>
Lieutenant Eichmann nodded and then looked back to the map. “It looks pretty well forested sir, we should be able to stay out of sight up until the village, and Johannes has a pair of optics we got from Warsaw, it wont be a problem.”<br>
The Captain nodded, “I have four scout teams, and I chose you because I believe that to be true Eichmann, don’t make a liar out of me.”<br>
Eichmann and Cruz both stood at attention as the Commanding Officer dismissed them and returned their quick salutes.
After the pair of them were out of the rank smell of the tent, and her unwashed occupants, Eichmann turned to Cruz with a smile on his face, “glad to be getting out of here for a little while, this whole camp is begging for an artillery bath.” Cruz only nodded. “Get Deutsman, then get back to Little Mule. I’ll talk to supply on the way and get our gas brought over.”<br>
“Oh sir, I am so pleased you thought of this humble peasant and arranged for something to be done without me having to get it done!”<br>
“Insubordinate bastard, that’s going to get you shot,” Eichmann managed to hit his Sergeant with a small rock before he was out of range on his trot towards the motor pool and Private Deutsman. ‘He had better duck better than that if he wants to make it through today,’ he thought, turning towards the fuel dump to arrange provisions for their scout car.
Sergeant Johannes Cruz rolled onto his back and groaned, rubbing his hands across three days of stubble and squinting into an overcast sky. “Rain?” He managed. His mouth felt as if it were full of cotton balls, with the requisite hairy teeth that constitute morning breath.
“Fog,” Lieutenant Eichmann responded, “now get your boots on and bring the map case, I’m going to see if there is any coffee left.”<br>
Bubi pushed his blanket off his legs and went about the stiff movements of a soldier in the morning. It started with inspecting his weapon for rust, and ended in putting his hated weapons belt on and finding his stinking helmet. Grabbing the Lieutenant’s map case, he scrambled from under the camouflage net and headed to the command post to find his officer.
The unit Command Post was a little over five hundred meters from where the 222-scout car “Little Mule” was parked and hidden. On the way there Johannes managed to get a fist full of bread, cheese and even a quarter link of sausage. He was in the midst of wolfing these down when the Company First Sergeant called him over before he could enter the command tent.
“Good morning Sergeant, sleep well?” The First Sergeant asked, holding a tin cup full of steaming coffee out to Bubi as he sat on an empty ammo crate and motioned to a field stool nearby.
“Good, no artillery.” As he took a small sip of the coffee his expression went sour as he coughed and looked at his First Sergeant. “I see your habit of brewing motor oil and petrol with your socks for filtration has not changed from Poland.”<br>
“Never change what works.”<br>
“Any news on what’s happening today? Or are we just having a chat over the money you stole off me in your cheating hearts game?”<br>
First Sergeant Fakenthal smiled, “we have another game starting tonight if you are back by then, always need more teams.”<br>
“I bet you keep scaring the newcomers off.”<br>
“Look,” Fakenthal said, leaning in close. “The Captain didn’t look happy this morning Bubi. Charlie Company sent out reconnaissance at dawn, and they aren’t back. News has it there are partisans in a small village ahead of here. There was a rumor of armor that way too, deep tracks in the mud from one of our foot patrols out last night. I’m pretty certain you are on your way out there to find our lost boys, and I don’t like it. We haven’t seen tanks for almost a week, and we are about due I think.”<br>
Johannes nodded, “yeah, I get that feeling too.” He dipped his bread crust in the coffee and took a bite, finishing it off. “Cigarette?”<br>
Fakenthal opened a tin case and pulled a pair of cigarettes out and handed them to the Sergeant, then stood and stretched with a groan.
“Must be bad if you are giving me extras.”<br>
“Save the second one for your firing squad,” the First Sergeant said as he turned to walk out of the Command Post cammo netting. “See you for that hearts game Bubi, be safe.”<br>
The CP tent flap opened and Eichmann stuck his head out, “Sergeant, get the updated maps and then find Deutsman, he’s ours now.”<br>
“Check sir,” Johannes said as he stood and hung his helmet on a peg just inside the tent flap. He dropped the empty tin coffee cup in an empty ammo box next to where the coffee pot was sitting and stepped fully inside.
The Command Post was a riot of activity. The front of the tent structure was a Panzer IIF tank named Apple, which had been backed to within 7 meters of an Opel-blitz truck mounted with a makeshift wooden enclosure and filled with radios. Between the two hung a tarpaulin on tent poles supported by both vehicles. Hanging maps, strapped to the pole ‘supports,’ showed the current lines and dispositions of the Battalion. The Company Commander, Captain Hans Alderman, was currently on a wire phone speaking and alternately taking notes, probably from the Battalion Commander. A couple of men clapped Johannes on the back as he entered and then returned to their duties.
Johannes turned to the map table and handed his map case to the private there who nodded and immediately began updating it with a grease pencil. Johannes then made his way through the human press to the radios in the back of the communications vehicle and jotted down the frequencies in use for the day and also those for the next day, as well as challenges and passwords so he and the Lieutenant would be able to pass through friendly lines without added ventilation from nervous sentries. As soon as he was done he went back to the map table for his case. The Private finished what he was doing and checked over it one last time before finally folding the leather map guard over the marks and handing it to Johannes. “As of 0530 this morning Sergeant, the Battalion has been static so at least friendly positions should be very close.”<br>
“Danke, Private.” Johannes nodded to the man and moved to stand near Eichmann. The Lieutenant looked at him and nodded approval of the preparations for the day’s work. “We have Deutsman for gunner sir.”<br>
Eichmann half-smiled and whispered, “good thing too, that one could hit a sparrow at a kilometer in the rain. Make sure he steals some of the booze in motor pool before he transfers over.”<br>
“Good thinking sir, now I know why you’re an Officer.”<br>
Eichmann turned a stern look on his Sergeant, but it didn’t hold any real malice. Just then, the Captain hung up the phone and motioned to the two of them.
“I saw you get your maps updated Sergeant, may I have them please?” Alderman asked, reaching for the map case. Johannes handed it to him open and ready. The Captain pointed to a small rectangle with an X marked through the middle with an oval at the center, next to the symbol was the letter A. “As you can see, we are here, and as the Battalion has been here for almost ten hours now, the other friendly locations are pretty solid, as I am sure you were told when the map was handed to you.”<br>
“Yes sir,” Johannes said, letting his eyes wander northeast to the nearest red indication of an enemy unit.
“This morning, before dawn, C Company drew the short straw and sent a reconnaissance element forward, an 8-rad car. They reported on enemy disposition in this bung hole of a village, and then nothing.” The Captain tapped the map with his gloved fingertip as he thought in silence for a moment. He looked up to Eichmann and continued. “I want you to take your 222 and move it to the outskirts of the village, staying out of contact, and try to find the missing car. It could be something simple like a broken engine, or it could be shot to pieces. These partisans and Bolshevik troops have been fighting a lot harder than expected, so I want you to be extremely cautious.”<br>
Lieutenant Eichmann nodded and then looked back to the map. “It looks pretty well forested sir, we should be able to stay out of sight up until the village, and Johannes has a pair of optics we got from Warsaw, it wont be a problem.”<br>
The Captain nodded, “I have four scout teams, and I chose you because I believe that to be true Eichmann, don’t make a liar out of me.”<br>
Eichmann and Cruz both stood at attention as the Commanding Officer dismissed them and returned their quick salutes.
After the pair of them were out of the rank smell of the tent, and her unwashed occupants, Eichmann turned to Cruz with a smile on his face, “glad to be getting out of here for a little while, this whole camp is begging for an artillery bath.” Cruz only nodded. “Get Deutsman, then get back to Little Mule. I’ll talk to supply on the way and get our gas brought over.”<br>
“Oh sir, I am so pleased you thought of this humble peasant and arranged for something to be done without me having to get it done!”<br>
“Insubordinate bastard, that’s going to get you shot,” Eichmann managed to hit his Sergeant with a small rock before he was out of range on his trot towards the motor pool and Private Deutsman. ‘He had better duck better than that if he wants to make it through today,’ he thought, turning towards the fuel dump to arrange provisions for their scout car.
