James Shipman - Task Force Baum

He sat there over the next several hours, watching and listening to events unfold. The radio was soon installed, and Baumann arrived. The panzer commander was in constant communication with the regimental headquarters as he gave and received updates on the operation to capture the task force. Despite Baumann’s comments about “waiting,” Koehl noted the commander’s intense interest in the progress of the American force, and he gave swift orders in return. Koehl strained his ears, trying to pick up and understand exactly what was going on, but the radio was on the far side of the tent, and he was able to grasp only bits and pieces.

As the night wore on, he noticed an almost imperceptible lightening of the sky. Morning was just beginning to dawn, he realized. Daylight was an advantage to both hunter and prey. The Germans would be able to utilize their spotter plane again, assuming the Americans didn’t send fighters to blot it out of the sky. They would also be able to spot the column from a long way off. However, the Americans, who did not know the area, would be able to see the Main and orient themselves on the river. They would also be able to pick out any ambushes before they reached them.

That assumed the Americans were still anywhere nearby. If they’d reached Höllrich and turned south, they could have passed Gemünden and perhaps found a way back across the Main somewhere down the way. They could already be back in their own lines by the time dawn broke.

As he considered this, Baumann set the radio receiver down. He turned and walked across the tent, looking down at Koehl.

“What is it?”

“Miraculous news,” said Baumann.

“Tell me.”

“The Americans ran into another roadblock near Höllrich. My roadblock.”

“But I thought you said…”

“I didn’t tell you everything, Koehl. I’m not going to piss my command away, but it doesn’t mean I don’t want to bag these bastards. I put one tank and a platoon of men at the crossroads in Höllrich. They exchanged fire with the Americans and destroyed a Sherman, capturing a few men in the process.”

“Wonderful. What about the rest?”

“They’re here.”

Koehl was shocked. “What do you mean?”

“They drew back from Höllrich, and they’ve taken position on the adjacent hill. I suspect they are waiting for first light. I’ve issued orders, and in the next hour or so, we will have them surrounded. They don’t know we are here. As soon as they ignite their engines in the morning, I’m going to blow them to hell.”

Koehl couldn’t believe it. He was going to have his revenge after all. He looked up gratefully to the commander. “Thank you, Hauptmann . You’ve given me a last gift.”

“Not the very last.”

“Will the colonel pardon me?” Koehl asked, a flicker of hope sparking his soul.

Baumann shook his head. “Your fate is in his hands. I’m supposed to send you to Hammelburg now. But I’m afraid the tactical situation is going to create a delay.” The Hauptmann looked at him sternly. “This is what you are going to do, Koehl. You are going to return to your Ferdinand. I’ve restored the radio. You will command that vehicle, and that one only. You will follow every command I give without question. You will participate in the attack in the morning, and then you will immediately turn yourself back in to me. If you agree to those terms, then I am releasing you for duty. Do you agree?”

Koehl stared up at the Hauptmann . “I do. Thank you. You are a true man. I will never forget this.”

“Good luck, Koehl. Both this morning, and at Hammelburg. I will speak to the colonel when this is over. If there’s anything I can do, I will do it. For now, you will have your vengeance.”

They shook hands, and Koehl walked away, heading in the darkness toward his crew.

Near Höllrich, Germany

March 28, 1945, 0200 hours

Machine-gun fire ripped through the column in the darkness. Hall whipped his Thompson around and fired a short burst. This was his last clip, and he couldn’t afford more than a couple pulls on the trigger. An enemy vehicle exploded in a massive fireball directly to their front, the view blocked by the Shermans. To his right up ahead, in the flaring light from the burning tank, Hall could see German vehicles turning into position to fire at their column.

“We’ve got to get the hell out of here!” he screamed to Stiller.

The major was already throwing the jeep into reverse. Hall turned behind him and saw that Baum had had the same idea. The tanks and half-tracks to his rear were beginning to back out of the firefight.

The jeep jerked rearward and rolled away from the German column. One of the Ferdinands fired a shell that flew high past a Sherman and crashed into the field to their left. Hall fired another burst toward the tank, not sure if he hit anything. He pressed again, and the Thompson failed to respond. He was out of ammunition.

Shells flew in all directions, but there were no hits on the tanks in front of them. As Hall watched, trees materialized to his right and left, embracing the task force in the protective shelter of the forest. The firing in front of him blazed for a brief time longer, then faded away. They’d escaped. However, they were backing up slowly, and there was no room to maneuver. The Germans would be after them in no time. They had to get turned around and find another route.

The column ground to a halt. Again, Baum was stopping the force when they needed to keep moving! Hall swore to himself, his heart ripping through his chest. He kept his eyes on the front of the convoy, expecting the Germans at any moment to crush the lead tank.

Baum appeared, moving along the vehicles, heading to the front to confer with Nutto. He disappeared in the darkness for a few minutes, then returned.

“What’s the deal?” Stiller called out, as the task force commander passed them again.

“I just talked to the lieutenant,” responded Baum. “The Germans haven’t followed up in front of us yet. He figures they may be blocked by that bastard he took out. That should give us a few minutes at least.”

“To do what?” asked Stiller. Hall noted a little impatience in the major’s voice. Perhaps he had emotions after all.

“We passed a road a mile or so back to our left. I didn’t take it because it was gravel and narrow as hell, but it’s heading west. We’re going to backtrack and see where it leads.”

“What if it doesn’t go anywhere?” asked Hall.

Baum looked up in irritation. “I haven’t taken us all this way just to flounder out here in the middle of nowhere, Lieutenant. We won’t know where it goes until we take it. Don’t worry, I’ve been in worse scrapes before. We just have to keep our heads and stay on the move.” He looked up. “We still have half the night. With any luck, we will hit Höllrich in the next hour or so. Once we’re there, we can decide north or south.”

“How do we determine that?” asked Hall.

“I don’t know yet. We get there, and we’ll see. Maybe we grab a citizen and interrogate them. They may know if there is a bridge to the south.”

Baum sounded desperate to Hall. It was clear the convoy was running out of options. He was right. They’d spent too much time in the hills. They’d been stopped cold south and north. West was their only avenue of escape. And if that turned out to be blocked as well…

“Let’s get moving,” said Stiller, ending the conversation. Baum nodded and turned away, hurrying back down the column.

The convoy continued in reverse, unable to maneuver or turn around on the narrow road hemmed in with trees on both sides. Hall still worried about an attack from the front, but as the minutes passed without any incident, he began to relax a little. Finally, he made out in the darkness the small gravel road to their left as it whisked by in reverse. The jeep kept rolling backward another hundred yards until the lead Sherman was behind the turn. The column stopped and then began to lurch forward, each tank making the sharp turn onto the road and moving west.