The Demjansk pocket - The calm before the storm

[∬: Attila Anday]

Country: A huge forest north of the Seeliger lake, northern Russia
Current Time: the morning of the 11th of January 1942, around 9 a.m.
Weather Conditions: Strong frost, but the sky is bright and sunny

The storm on Moscow had failed. Clearly Anday could recognize the shock in the faces of the young soldiers around him, who had managed to somehow survive the happenings of these last, awful days and weeks. The German army had been known to be absolutely unbeatable to many, a myth that totally got destroyed here in the freezing cold, Russian winter. Only around fifty men of Anday's company were left, the rest of the soldiers had fallen victim to either the barbarian cold or the merciless enemy. Countless wooden crosses stood besides the Russian roadways and in the many, tiny villages now .

After the Totenkopf Division had to take quiet heavy losses in the battle of the small town Tula, the direction of the German advance had turned around totally. In these early days of the year 1942, only a hard hand could keep the German retreat from becoming a headless flight sometimes, especially since the Russians had launched their next, major offensive in the northern sector at the 8th of January. The defensive fightings had been fierce and the German soldiers had desperately held their grounds for over two days, against an enemy who was way superior in both equipment and pure numbers of men. Finally, after the connection to the regiment had gotten cut off completely and the last supplies of ammunition had come to an alarming low level, the Obersturmführer had only seen the last chance in retreating his men from the direct frontline toward the west, to try and save at least these tiny rests of his company. Anday had always felt a strong responsibility for the soldiers, serving under his command and he had already seen a whole lot too many of them dying in this endless, Russian country.

Without speaking a lot, the German Waffen SS- soldiers marched through the deeply snow-covered forest now, always heading westwards. Most of the men had fallen into some kind of apathy, caused by the hunger, the bitter cold and the leaden tiredness. The uniforms of the men were a colorful mixture of Russian uniform- parts, civilian clothing and the last shreds that were left from their original, German uniforms. Every now and then, one of the soldiers slipped away and fell into the deep snow, staying there until some of his comrades lifted him up again and carried the totally exhausted man for the next, few meters.

Loudly the frozen snow crunched under the officer's boots and the breath coming out of his mouth, condensated within seconds. Although Anday wore a pair of grey, wooden gloves, the frost had made his hands feel totally numb and every movement of his fingers was a hard task to the man. The temperature had fallen to around -40 degrees Celsius throughout the last night and although the sun was brightly shining now, it didn't really feel like getting any warmer to the chilled through soldiers. Additionally to the cold, the deep snow made every step to appear endless, causing a lot of the marching SS-soldiers to curse out loudly. The tankhunters- platoon had already lost track to the main marching- column of the company, because the wheels of their at- guns were hardly frozen and got stuck in the snow every now and then. Sometimes ten or more soldiers were needed, to get the heavy, metal cannons moving again. Most of the trucks and towing vehicles had already gotten abandoned and blown up way behind, because there wasn't fuel left for them anyway.

Besides Anday, Strumscharführer Frankfurter deeply hauled the smoke of his cigarette into his lungs and turned to Anday while slowly releasing his breath again: "Das hier ist bei weitem der größte Haufen Scheiße, in den wir bis jetzt reinspringen mußten und da waren schon ein paar verdammt tiefe dabei, Herr Obersturmführer. Wenn Sie mich fragen, hat uns der Russe diesmal so richtig bei den Eiern." Anday just severely watched at his NCO, but abdicated from replying to that awfully pessimistic view of the things, although the officer had to admit, that the young man was more than right here.

The thick forest ended in a huge clearance, when one of the men loudly yelled:"Seht mal, da vorne am Waldrand, sind das Iwans?" The marching row came to a sudden halt and everyone tried to find some cover behind thicker trees or in the brushwood. Within seconds, the Obersturmführer had thrown himself into the wet snow to the ground. Although his eyes were aching because of the cold wind, Anday took his binoculars and strained tried to recognize anything at the edge of the opposing forest. Blurry, the SS- officer was able to see some dark grey shapes that moved along the edge of the woods on the other side of the clearance. Besides Anday, some soldiers brought one of the few remaining machine- guns into fire position behind the trunk of an uprooted oak tree. But should the Russians have already advanced that far west?

Translations:

"Das hier ist bei weitem der größte Haufen Scheiße, in den wir ... ."
"This is by far the biggest heap of shit we had to jump into by now and there have already been a lot of deep ones along the way, Herr Obersturmführer. If you'd ask me, the Russians do really have our balls this time."

"Seht mal, da vorne am Waldrand, sind das Iwans?"
"Watch out, there in the front, at the edge of the forest. Are those Ivans?"

[∬: Erik Schneider]

The Obersturmfuhrer awoke abruptly from his sleep with visions of men dead in the bitter Russian winter, both Russian and German, haunting his dreams. The men he killed and the men that died underneath his command. Even in his dreams, Schneider couldn't escape the horrors of war. Beside him, slept the remnants of his company all gathered in the warmth of a Russian church. Schneider and his men had been engaged in a fierce defense of Northern Russia after the war had shifted from offensive to defensive for the men of the 3rd SS "Totenkopf". Once the frontline had stabilized south of Leningrad, Schneider and his men had taken a position between the Lakes Seliger and Ilmen in a largely forested area. Exhausted and freezing cold, the Totenkopf men were shivering in their trenches when the Soviets attacked on January 8th. Proudly, the Totenkopf troops stood firm and repulsed the Soviet attacks while the units on either side of the division fell to the Soviet armies.

Schneider and his men fought desperately and fanatically to fend off the sub-human beasts, but the attempt was futile. The Russians hit his positions in massive human waves and artillery bombardments each night until morale shattered completely. The Russians finally managed to encircle Schneider's position, wiping out nearly an entire platoon in a single night. With all contact of the outside world cut off and his company slashed in half, Schneider made one last desperate bid for a breakthrough to save what lives he could. After days of fierce fighting, the remnants of the company had broke through the Russian encirclement and retreated westward into the Russian forests in hopes of survival. Abandoning what heavy weapons and vehicles that hadn't been destroyed, the fleeing SS men moved through the Russian countryside at a snail's pace due to the unwelcoming weather and wounded soldiers.

Only sixty or less were still alive, more than half of the company slaughtered by the racially inferior Russians. Schneider had organized the survivors into two platoons, each consisting of three squads of around ten men. Out of the sixty, many were wounded still and not to full fighting capacity. And the rest were exhausted from the last several months of ice and snow. The company had come across a deserted Russian town and taken refuge in the church for the night. In the center, where an altar had once been there was instead a large hole. The soldiers had built a fire in the hole for warmth and huddled in the moderately sized church to escape the dreaded Russian night. Schneider awakened his second in command, an Untersturmfuhrer by the name of Muller. The man awakened groggily and looked questioningly at the Obersturmfuhrer. "Wecken Sie die Männer. Erlauben Sie ihnen, kurzes zu frühstücken und sie sich vorbereiten dann zu lassen, sich heraus zu bewegen. "

Nearly an hour later, the Totenkopf company was on the move again through the Russian forests. Men scavenged what winter clothing they could in the form of Russian jackets, boots, fur coats, fur hats, and gloves to combat the Russian winter which at times seemed more deadly than the Russians themselves. Amongst the improvised winter clothing was the camouflage, which many of the men had tailored out of torn white bed sheets to be worn over their greatcoats and helmets. Amongst the men donning the makeshift white camouflage was the Obersturmfuhrer himself, whose camouflage covered his entire torso. The camouflage covered down to his knees, but stopped a few inches above his elbows. Instead of a helmet however, he only wore a toque and field cap to protect his face and neck from the cold. The German troops looked awkward, each dressed differently. Some only in greatcoats, some with camouflage, and some with scattered Russian winter clothing.

"Herr Obersturmfuhrer, über der Reinigung im Rand des Waldes! Sehen Sie das?" A jumpy Unterturmfuhrer alerted Schneider of the movement across the way. Getting down onto his knee, he signaled for the rest of the men to follow suit. The Totenkopf men, by now battle-hardened soldiers, spread out to seek cover. Raising his binoculars to his eyes, Schneider struggled to make anything out except for a few scattered blurs here and there that seemed to be... reacting to their movement? Muller had seen more movement, but within moments it was hard to see anything. There was no doubt that there was something out there and there was no doubt they were soldiers. But what side were they on? Schneider now found himself on his belly, resting his MP40 against the base of a tree with the Untersturmfuhrer at his side.

There was silence on each sides of the forest as the men dug in amongst the trees and snow, keeping a watchful eye on the trees just across the clearing. Was it possible the Russians had pursued them? Had they broken through their lines? Breathing heavier now, Schneider gulped as he opened his mouth to speak in hopes of ending this "Mexican standoff". "Wir sind deutsche Soldaten der 3. Abteilung SS-Panzer! Identifizierenen Sie sich oder wir werden gezwungen, Feuer zu öffnen! Identifizierenen Sie sich!" The Obersturmfuhrer roared across the clearing, hoping for his words to make it to the other side. He wanted a response, whether it be in German or... regretfully Russian. The men were on edge as they trained their rifles at the trees, awaiting a response as well.

Translations:

- "Awaken the men. Allow them to have a brief breakfast and then have them prepare to move out."

- "Herr Obersturmfuhrer, across the clearing in the edge of the forest! Do you see that?"

- "We are German soldiers of the 3rd SS Panzer Division! Identify yourselves, or we will be forced to open fire! Identify yourselves!"

[∬: Attila Anday]

"Wir sind deutsche Soldaten der 3. Abteilung SS-Panzer! Identifizierenen Sie sich oder wir werden gezwungen, Feuer zu öffnen! Identifizierenen Sie sich!", a loud German voice yelled through the silent Russian forest. Anday could identify the voice coming from the deeper brushwood on the other side of the clearance that was about 100 meters away from him. For a short moment, the thought of a Russian trap flashed up in the Obersturmführer's mind. He hadn't experienced the Russians as being a very fair fighting enemy by now and these last months here in Russia had made the officer become a lot more distrustful.

Silently, Anday whispered to the soldiers that were directly surrounding him: "Bleibt unten. Ich trau dem Braten nich so ganz. Frankfurter, Sie kommen mit, wir schauen uns die Sache mal aus der Nähe an. Der Rest der Kompanie bleibt feuerbereit, notfalls müßt ihr dafür sorgen, daß Frankfurter und ich auch wieder in einem Stück zurück kommen. Los gehts." Within seconds, Anday checked the clip of his MP 40 and the two stick grenades, he had put into the shaft of one of his bulky, Russian snow boot. Carefully the German officer peeked over the uprooted oak tree in front of him, before he pushed himself off the hard frozen ground. In a fast zigzag movement, Anday sprinted toward the clearance, always trying to stay hidden behind the several trees and bushes. Behind him, Anday realized Sturmscharführer Frankfurter following in the same manner. Just before reaching the clearance, the two SS- men dived down behind a small height, tightly pressing their bodies against the snowy ground.

Strained observing the forest at the other side of the clearance again, Anday wasn't able to recognize anyone at first. The soldiers on the other side tried to stay hidden in the bare cover of the forest's brushwood now, until the whole situation had become a bit clearer to everyone, just like the men of Anday's company did also. Frankfurter, who lay behind a small fir tree, had his Russian PPSh sub- machinegun tightly grabbed with both hands and aimed it at the direction, he assumed the man, who had just yelled at them, to be.

Right in the moment, Anday wanted to take down his binoculars and give up trying to identify the soldiers opposing his company for now, he realized a quick movement behind the base of a once larger tree. Although he had seen the shape of the man for only a few seconds, Anday was absolutely sure about having seen the dark field- grey of a German uniform cap on his head. "Ich hab da grad jemanden gesehen und Ich würde eine Wette eingehen, daß der ne Deutsche Feldmütze aufhatte.", Anday whispered to the NCO besides him. Silently, Frankfurter replied to his superior: "Ich kann nix erkennen, aber Ich trau der ganzen Sache immer noch nich. Sollten wir es wirklich zurück zu den Deutschen Linien geschafft haben? Das wär zu schön um wahr zu seien."

Without hesitating any longer, Anday carefully got up on his knees, still staying hidden behind the safe cover of the small ground height. "Nicht schießen, Kameraden. Wir sind auch Deutsche, die Reste der zweiten Kompanie der Totenkopf Division. Sehr schön, mal wieder eine Deutsche Stimme zu hören. Ich komme jetzt ganz langsam aus der Deckung heraus." While the Hungarian SS- man loudly shouted over toward the other side of the clearance, he realized that he had started to sweat heavily. The two men had completely forgotten about the temperature now, which still was around 30 degrees below freezing. The blood behind Anday's brow pulsed in long, hot beats, when he slowly raised himself over his cover. Step by step he carefully walked toward the edge of the clearance, holding his MP high over his head, signaling that he was a German soldier too. Only his appearance surely wouldn't have been enough of a proof for him being an officer of the German Waffen- SS.

Translations:

"Bleibt unten. Ich trau dem Braten nich so ganz. ..."
"Stay down. I do smell a rat. Frankfurter, you'll come with me, we'll have a closer look at this whole thing. The rest of the company stays ready to fire, you'll maybe have to secure that Frankfurter and me will come back in one piece. Let's go."

"Ich hab da grad jemanden gesehen und Ich ... ."
"I have just seen somebody over there and I would take a bet, that he had a German field- cap on his head."

"Ich kann nix erkennen, aber Ich ... ."
"I can not recognize anything, but I still don't trust into this whole thing. Should we really have already managed to get back to the German lines? That would be way too good to be true anyway."

"Nicht schießen, Kameraden. Wir sind auch ... ."
"Don't shoot comrades, we're Germans too. We're the rest of the 2nd company from the Totenkopf division. It's quite nice to hear some German voices again. I'll slowly come out of my cover now."

[∬: Erik Schneider]

A tingling sensation of a cold numbness passed through the Obersturmfuhrer's body as he dug in behind the carcass of a fallen tree. The sensation caused the soldier to shiver slightly and as his body reacted, he tightened his grip around the cold metal of his MP40. His muscles were tense as his eyelids closed in on his eyes, squinting to make out the blurs of motion in the distance. His eyes, red and irritated from the icy wind, were amazed to make out brief glimpses of dark grey blurs zig-zagging between trees. His wool gloves were nearly ready to tear as his hands increased their firm grip on the sub-machine gun in his hands. He bit his chapped lips, which stung from the pain, knowing a decision had to be made that could prove drastic. With his body feeling so numb and dull and his mind so void in the cold, it felt good to feel any amount of pain in his body.

Ultimately, the Obersturmfuhrer decided it was best to hold off on any fire. The movement across the clearing could prove to be friendly, or he could be allowing the Russians to set up properly before they struck the first blow. "Halten Sie Ihr Feuer. Die ganze Sie. Halten Sie Ihr Feuer," Schneider muttered, his lightly spoken words fell upon obedient ears. Ears that were ready to hear a pin drop in the snow, if it was required of them. Schneider's teeth chattered silently in a mixture of anticipation of the movements across the clearing and the snow soaking the front of his greatcoat and causing great discomfort against his warm skin. Bitterly, Schneider's eyes shifted their focus to that of the Untersturmfuhrer who lie beside him behind the fallen tree log. Muller answered with an equally unpleasant glance.

Hugo Muller was a bastard child orphaned shortly after the Great War to be raised in a cruel, harsh world. The brutal world had forged a tough, bitter man but also created many of Muller's vices. The young orphan had grown up a scoundrel who was known to lie, cheat, and steal when he needed. The twenty three year old Untersturmfuhrer had immediately took to the Obersturmfuhrer, who was about seven years older. Schneider had been a veteran of the Battles of Poland and France before he had been promoted to Obersturmfuhrer and become acquainted Muller, whose first combat was seen under Schneider during Operation Barbarossa. The firm grip of Schneider had straightened the boy out and beaten some of his vices away. Hugo Muller was a loyal, brilliant man who looked up to the man that led him into battle.

"Was stellen Sie uns sollten tun, Herr Obersturmfuhrer dar?" the nervous junior officer inquired. Schneider's gaze drifted away from Muller's confused face and to the clearing. "Was stellen Sie uns sollten tun, Herr Obersturmfuhrer dar?" Schneider answered simply, irritating Muller slightly. Again, he questioned, "Aber… warum, genau? " The Obersturmfuhrer chuckled silently and shook his head slightly. "Wir wissen nicht, wem über dieser Reinigung dort ist. Wenn wir abfeuern, können wir unsere eigenen Männer töten. Wenn wir aus Abdeckung heraus umziehen, können wir finden auf gefeuert. So warten wir und sehen, was geschieht," he explained and silenced any further questions from the young, anxious officer. He had seen plenty of action under Schneider, but he was still learning.

Suddenly, Schneider's calls were answered from across the clearing. The rest of second company from the 3rd SS Totenkopf? What were they doing out here? Then again, Schneider's men were here as well, it was likely they were facing the same situation. If it was 2nd Company though, the voice was most likely coming from Obersturmfuhrer Attila Anday. Or, there was the possibility that Anday had been killed during the Russian counteroffensive and his replacement was speaking now. A man dressed in the field-grey uniform of a Waffen SS soldier could be seen cautiously walking from the edge of the forest with his MP40 raised high over his head to show he was friendly. "Jeder bleiben unten. Lassen Sie nicht Ihren Schutz im Stich, bis ich es erlaube. Ich gehe heraus und spreche mit ihm," Schneider commanded the men around, raising himself from the snow.

Muller caught Schneider by the forearm as he raised, startling the officer and almost causing him to strike the Untersturmfuhrer across the head. "Es konnte eine Falle sein!" Muller cried out, making sure his voice couldn't be heard across the way. Schneider nodded, which was all that Muller needed to see to realize that that was the point. Schneider would go out first to see if it was a trap laid for his men, putting his own life at risk. When Muller pleaded that he should go in Schneider's place, the Obersturmfuhrer shook his head no and muttered, "Ich gehe, Muller. Sie bleiben hier. "

"Ich komme jetzt auch, Kameraden heraus!" Schneider's voice roared from the silent forest, as he raised his MP40 high over his head and stepped forward. He approached the opposite side of the clearing, the strap of his MP40 brought up around his shoulder as he did so. As he walked, he felt slow and weak as he trudged through the snow. He increased his pace though, finally coming face to face with the other officer. His face didn't quite appear German, but it also didn't appear to be Russian. That was a good sign at the very least. "Gut, ein freundliches Gesicht zu sehen. Obersturmfuhrer Schneider. Meine Firma brach vor kurzem von einer Umzingelung nahe den russischen Linien, wir versuchen, unsere Weise zurück zu deutschen Linien zu bilden aus. "

Translations:

- "Hold your fire. All of you. Hold your fire."

- "What do you figure we should do, Herr Obersturmfuhrer?"

- "Now, we sit and wait."

- "But... why, exactly? "

- "We do not know who is across that clearing there. If we fire, we may be killing our own men. If we move out of cover, we may find ourselves fired upon. So we shall wait and see what happens."

- "Everyone stay down. Do not let your guard down until I allow it. I will go out and speak with him."

- "It could be a trap!"

- "I am going, Muller. You will stay here. "

- "I am coming out now too, comrades!"

- "Good to see a friendly face. Obersturmfuhrer Schneider. My company recently broke out from an encirclement near the Russian lines, we are trying to make our way back to German lines."

[∬: Attila Anday]

Carefully coming out of his cover, Anday paused for several seconds, before continuing his way toward the clearance. Without noticing it himself, the officer had completely held his own breath now. His heart was still pumping like crazy and despite the freezing cold temperature, sweat was running down his forehead. But still, he wasn’t really able to recognize anything at the opposing edge of the forest, except fir trees that were gently and peacefully swaying in the cold wind. But if there really would be Russians out there, wouldn’t they’ve already opened fire upon him when they first saw him coming out of his cover? Or was Anday just about walking right into the open arms of the enemy, who was ready to thankfully taking him as an rather important prisoner of war? No, his pure instinct told him that those men out there were friendly and in the current situation, there wasn't any time left to waste.

In the moment, the officer had crossed the clearance nearly half way, a loud, German voice started yelling: "Ich komme jetzt auch, Kameraden heraus!" When Anday did finally hear these words, they actually took a full load off his mind. Slowly, a white figure appeared out of the brushwood, also holding a MP over his head. From the distance, Anday couldn’t recognize any details, except that the man was wearing some kind of a white camouflage smock. The smock did nearly shroud his complete shape and was covered all over with dirt and big, earth- brown blurs.

Fastening his step, the frozen snow crunched loudly under Anday’s bulky felt boots. These boots had once belonged to one of the Bolshevist soldiers, but right now that man wouldn’t have any more use for them. And although the boots did still stink awfully, Anday was more than thankful for having them, as the felt kept his feet somehow warm, even with temperatures of -30 degrees Celsius or worse. Never in his life, the Hungarian would have been able to imagine himself happily wearing the boots of a Russian.

The figure at the opposing edge of the forest got clearer to Anday with every step now and soon he was able to recognize the man to be in a comparable, desolate condition as himself. The eyes of the other German were shrunken, he hadn't shaved himself for at least some weeks and the skin of his face looked grey and unhealthy. The camouflage smock emerged to be the rests of a simple, white bed sheet that just had gotten tied around the field- grey uniform. Still carefully approaching, the other man raised his voice first and introduced himself as Obersturmführer Schneider. Anday had heard this name before, but because of him being relatively new in the 3rd SS- division, he hadn't had the possibility to meet a lot of the officers of the division personally before. Actually Anday could especially remember the name Schneider quite well, because there was a certain reputation connected with it.

Now that the adrenaline rush was over, Anday immediately started to feel the cold again, which was slowly creeping under the several layers of clothes he was wearing. "Ich bin Obersturmführer Anday, Kommandant der 2ten Kompanie. Freut mich ehrlich, Sie zu sehen. Ich dachte eigentlich erst, wir habens endlich geschafft und das hier wäre so eine Art Deutsche Auffangstellung. Aber augenscheinlich geht es Ihnen und Ihren Männern nicht viel besser als uns. Wir sind vor zwei Tagen von unseren Stellungen am Fluß Polomjel aufgebrochen, nachdem uns die Bolschewisten bereits rechts und links einfach umgangen hatten. Warum zum Teufel hätten Sie uns auch direkt angreifen sollen, wären wir doch früher oder später sowieso in Ihren Schoß gefallen wie eine überreife Frucht. Unsere Front hier hat doch Löcher wie das Kleid einer alten Hafenhure."

Turning around for a second, Anday signaled Sturmscharführer Frankfurter to leave his cover too and join the two officers, who where standing on the small clearance. Slowly, Frankfurter pressed himself off the ground and slung his PPSh over his right shoulder. Silently he cursed the freezing cold, but after recognizing Schneider, Frankfurter immediately sprung to attention and saluted hackly. Raising his voice again, Anday issued his orders to the NCO: "Frankfurter, geben Sie dem Rest der Männer bescheid, daß wir auf andere Deutsche Truppen gestoßen sind. Die Züge sollen aufschließen und in dem Waldstück hier unterziehen. Die MG's beziehen Stellung und Ich will Posten am Waldrand. Hab zwar nicht vor hier lange zu bleiben aber sicher ist sicher." The NCO only nodded his head some times and immediately turned back, heading to inform the rest of Anday's men, who still waited behind the opposing edge of this deep and wild Russian jungle.

Translations:

"Ich bin Obersturmführer Anday, Kommandant der 2ten Kompanie. ..."
"I am Obersturmführer Anday, commander of the 2nd company. I'm honestly glad to see you. First I thought that we finally made it through and this here would be some kind of a German defensive position. But obviously the situation of you and your men isn't really better than ours. We have left our positions at the river Polomjel two days before, after the Bolsheviks had simply bypassed us left and right. Why the hell should they have attacked us directly, as we would have fallen into their wombs like overripe fruits sooner or later anyway. Our front here is as holey as the dress of an old harbor moll."

"Frankfurter, geben Sie dem Rest der Männer bescheid, ... ."
"Frankfurter, go and tell the rest of the men that we've met other German troops here. The platoons shall close the gap on us and assemble in this wooded area here. The MGs take up positions immediately and I want men in position at the forest edge. I'm not planning on staying here for very long but we're better safe than sorry."

[Heiko Alkema]

Moderation[/b]

Attila Anday[/i] - 5CP

Erik Schneider[/i] - 4CP
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