James Shipman - Task Force Baum

“ Jawohl .”

“Then why didn’t you do it?” screamed Koehl. “I gave a direct order, and you disobeyed!”

“Did you see the force they had, sir? Let me explain—”

“I don’t care what you think they were going to do!” shouted Koehl. He fumbled for his holster.

“No, sir!” interjected Schmidt. He stepped forward swiftly and placed a firm hand on the Hauptmann ’s wrist.

“Let me go!” ordered Koehl.

Schmidt tightened his grip, pulling the captain’s hand away from the holster. Koehl turned, his eyes blazing, focusing on his command sergeant. “Get your damned hands off me!” he insisted.

Schmidt shook his head. “Sir, you can’t. He screwed up. He thought he was doing the right thing. You can punish him, sir, but not that.”

Koehl still struggled, but Schmidt would not release his grip. He felt the blood rushing to his head and the dizziness returning.

“Please, sir, you’ve never done that before—even with everything that’s happened to us.”

“He disobeyed a direct order!”

“I know he did, sir.” Schmidt leaned in. “But he didn’t kill your sister.” The sergeant pleaded these last words.

Koehl reeled at the statement, his anger draining out of him. He fought his sergeant half-heartedly for another moment, then dropped his hand. He couldn’t take much more of this. He needed medical treatment and a little rest. “You’re right,” he admitted.

He turned to the engineer. “I want you out of my sight and out of my unit. You are relieved immediately and will return to the regiment. You will wait there in arrest until I’ve had time to submit a report. Do you understand?”

“Yes, sir. I’m sorry—”

“I don’t want to hear it! Get out of here now before I change my mind!” The sergeant gave a vigorous salute and retreated swiftly from the Hauptmann . Koehl breathed in and out, leaning against his Ferdinand. He was exhausted from anger and frustration.

“We’ve lost them. Those bastards killed Gerta, and I won’t be able to revenge her now.”

“You got some of them, sir.”

“A handful. I had them all. If that Schweinhund had followed orders. I’ll peel the skin of his body when we get back to HQ.”

“It’s going to have to be enough. I can’t imagine they would try to cross the Main again.” Schmidt placed his hand on the captain’s shoulder. “You did your duty, sir, as always. We stopped them. Now let’s go home and take care of Gerta.”

Koehl thought about his sister. He would have to claim her body and assist with the burial details. Assuming he could even get to her now that the Americans were battling through on the front. He tried to imagine what she would look like. He’d seen so much death, none of it pretty. No, he couldn’t deal with that. When the time came, he’d let Schmidt assist him. The dependable sergeant could take care of the details—would make sure his sister was honored.

“Should we mount up and head home, sir?” asked his sergeant.

Koehl hesitated. He wanted to say no, but what was the point? They weren’t doing any good sitting here. Schmidt was right. It was time to return to headquarters. If nothing else, he could make sure that this insubordinate engineer got his due. He’d got some of those bastards. It would have to be enough. He felt the hole in his stomach. It tasted like an unfulfilled promise.

The Hauptmann climbed up onto his Ferdinand and, with both hands on the top turret, lowered himself into the hatch. The behemoth was ambling backward, away from the river, within seconds.

Soon the column of anti-tank vehicles rumbled down the highway out of Gemünden, as heads poked out of windows to wave. Koehl saw the solemn expressions of the inhabitants. They probably realized this would be their last celebration of the war. He raised his arm in salute, the traditional military one, not the preposterous Hitler gesture they were all gradually discarding. His eyes met with a middle-aged man who returned the gesture. His face wore the battered creases of World War I. He’d already known defeat. A nation crumbling in flame. Now Koehl’s generation would join them. Twice destroyed in the century, Germany must find some way to survive, he realized sadly.

Koehl felt a tug on his trousers. Schmidt was huddling below him, handing the radio up through the portal.

“What is it?” asked the captain.

“It’s the colonel.”

Koehl nodded and took the radio receiver. The ringing in his ears had largely subsided. He drew the instrument upward. “ Ja? ”

“ Hauptmann , I’ve heard reports you blew the bridge at Gemünden. Is that true?”

“ Jawohl . Das is richtig .”

“Congratulations. Did you destroy any enemy units?”

“Two Shermans and a squad or two of infantry.”

“Excellent. You’ve done well, my friend.”

“Thank you, sir. It doesn’t feel like enough.”

“Yes. I heard about your sister. I’m so very sorry.”

“Thank you, I appreciate it,” said the captain, fighting to control his voice. “Is there anything else?”

“We have some more intelligence on the enemy attack. It’s a bit of a puzzle really.”

“How so?”

“I thought we were facing a general advance, but the attack was on a much narrower line than we originally suspected. I managed to extract a reconnaissance flight from our stingy friends in the Luftwaffe , and the mystery grew from there.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean there’s no more than five hundred of them. A smattering of tanks and some half-tracks. The whole situation makes no sense to me. Why, with a hundred thousand men in spitting distance, would they send a tiny speck of dust at us?”

Koehl was as surprised as the colonel. The attack was totally out of character with everything else the Americans had done. Their friends from across the Atlantic liked everything big. Massive armored attacks with fast-moving infantry and plenty of ground-support aircraft. Patton was an artist who painted with a sledgehammer.

“That’s peculiar, sir,” Koehl said finally. “Still, it matters little at this point. They can’t get to us, and we can’t get to them. Unless you have some men tucked away on the west side of the river that I’m unaware of.”

“How I wish I did, Captain. But all hope may not be lost. They aren’t returning to their lines.”

Koehl’s ears perked up at this. “Where are they going? There aren’t any more bridges across the Main.”

“Not so, captain, there’s one at Burgsinn. It’s not much of a structure, but if they’re a little patient, they can get across one by one. If they don’t give up and if they can find it.”

Koehl’s mind focused. “How far away is that?”

“Less than ten kilometers, due north from your present position.”

The captain calculated the distance and the likely speed of the enemy force. “I might be able to make it there in time if I proceed at full throttle. Do you have anything else to throw at them?”

“I’m sorry, Hauptmann . I’m trying to pull some resources together, but they won’t get there in time. If you go, you go it alone. Now that I know the size, I’ve changed my mind about these Americans. I don’t want you to take the bridge down. I want you to blow the bastards to hell. And Koehl…”

“ Ja? ”

“If you do catch up to them, give them a few rounds for me. For your sister. But I want to stress this, Hauptmann , I’m not ordering you to take them head-on. If you can get up there in time, and if the situation presents a reasonable risk, do it. I’m leaving it to your judgment.”

“ Jawohl! ” Koehl dropped the headset down to Schmidt. The sergeant looked up at him with an expectant expression.