A Brief Visit Home (Open to Afrikakorps)

[klaus]

Country: Germany
Current Time:1300 hours
Weather Conditions:Dark and dreary, rain will start to fall very soon. Not cold, but a bit chilly.

Klaus bit his lip as he walked down the familiar street. He had walked down the narrow cobblestone pathway many a time during his childhood, whether it was going to meet friends, going to the weekly Hitlerjugend meeting, or just taking a trip to the small corner store where he would spend his weekly allowance on whatever candy he felt like. They were the days, the days of sugar, pear drops, gobstoppers. Carefree days. But now it felt as if a heavy weight was placed on Klaus's shoulders. The weight of human lives. German lives.

About 30 minutes ago, Klaus had been standing in Hauptmann Zurnerbeck's office, standing as the officer answered the burning question Klaus and his family had been waiting for since Klaus had enlisted in the Wehrmacht's Medical Corps: Where would the young combat medic be sent. Would he be sent to the ruthless Russian front, where he would probably not return? Or France, where the Wehrmacht was battling the British Tommys? The answer was Africa. When the officer had announced that, Klaus had been overwhelmed with both joy and a terrible fear. It was hot, dry, and deadly, but at the same time, he would be serving under Fieldmarshel Erwin Rommel, the "Desert Fox". Now he would tell his parents where he was being sent, and he was worried about there reaction.

Klaus wore his Gray-green tunic, The shoulder boards straight and his four pockets pleated perfectly. Klaus's crisp white armband rested on his arm, the blood-red cross lighting up the dismal landscape. He wore his Y-strap and belt, the eagle on the belt buckle shining dully. A EM's field cap sat upon his dark blond hair, it's visor casting a shadow across his young face. Slung over his right soldier was a leather bag containing his tropical uniform and helmet. He had gotten new jackboots recently, for his old ones had been scuffed and the soles worn out. There hobnails clacked on the pavement, providing the only sound except for the occasional automobile driving by.

Finally, the Piper residence came into view. It was a huge home, sitting right on the street corner. Built in Victorian style, it was painted gray and it's roof and shudders black. One lonely turret jutted out from it's left side, and Klaus's childhood room was at the top of it. Klaus approached the massive house, reaching out and opening the Cast Iron gate and starting down the path. The family automobile was parked to the right, a new Volkswagen. Then came a familiar bark. Klaus smiled as two dogs rounded the corner of the house, coming from the backyard. They were old Boxer dogs, one pure white, the other a pretty faun color. Klaus patted the dogs on the head, whispering "Hush, hush, it is just Klaus." Too them. Klaus closed the gate behind him and opened the black front door, not bothering to knock.

The house was huge, it's tall ceilings and mahogany desks and tables a breathtaking sight. The Pipers were wealthy, and they liked to flaunt it. Every piece of there house was pricey, and if they sold all of it, could buy at least three more houses of the same size. Klaus looked for his mother, but she must have been in one of the other wings. But Klaus knew where to look for Dr. Piper.
Dr. Piper spent almost all of his time in his study, where he would read through papers and did other scholarly things. It also served as his home office, and every once in a while a patient would come in to talk with the elderly doctor. But now it would be his own sun to come visit Dr. Piper.

Klaus found the door to the study and paused for a moment. It had been at least a year since Klaus had seen his father, and he wondered what he would say when he heard he was being sent to Africa. Klaus removed his field cap and stuffed it in his pocket as he grasped the cold brass of the doorknob, twisted, and pulled. Klaus entered the study, taking in the room. It smelled of leather and tobacco, and great leather armchairs littered the room. Huge bookcases lined the walls, flanked by paintings of Fredrick the Great, Kaiser Wilhelm, Adolf Hitler, and other famous men of Germany. A massive Mahogany desk sat at the far end, and Dr. Piper sat there, rifling through some files. He was dressed in a white lab coat over a black shirt and golden tie, and thin rectangular glasses graced his nose. "Yes?" Dr. Piper asked."Dad, it's me. Klaus."

Dr. Piper leaped up from his chair and looked at Klaus, overjoyed. "Klaus!" Dr. Piper bolted over to Klaus and embraced him in a hug. "Come on, pull up a chair." Dr. Piper said, dragging up one of the leather armchairs. Dr. Piper resumed his place behind the desk, and pulled out a large bottle of cognac and two glasses. Dr. Piper poured it and offered one to Klaus. Klaus quickly downed his and started to chat with his father. Soon, the study door opened and Mrs. Piper stumbled in, carrying a silver tray laden with sausage and cheese. "I brought you a sna- Klaus!" She exclaimed. She was the first to ask where he would be deployed. Klaus took a deep breath, and then spoke. "Africa. Someone is coming to pick me up to take me to the base, and then I will make it to the docks and sail to Africa."

(If you are wondering where to enter, you should be the one picking Klaus up)

[Werner von Maybach]

The harbour of Tripoli remained a strange place, every time Werner had to visit it again. All these foreign, oriental sounds and aromas in the air. He always enjoyed coming back to this beautiful city.

Today he got ordered to pick up a group of soldiers, which where meant to reinforce the 21. Panzer Division. Werner himself was relatively new to Africa and so he could imagine how these new recruits must feel now. But there where not only combat troops arriving today, there was also a platoon of medics that should become a part of the Division too.

Werner’s company was deployed at a relatively calm section of the El Gazala front. The intended German attack hadn’t started yet and so the men where bored most of their time. This special mission today was exactly the right thing to find some distraction from the daily routine of a desert camp.

The sun was just starting to rise, when the Opel Blitz truck stopped in front of a big iron gate with the inscription “Deutscher Militärhafenbereich, Zutritt für Unbefugte streng verboten”. Luckily, a nice ammunitions supply driver took Werner along to Tripoli. Now he was jumping out of the truck and shook his legs to get the blood flowing again. The driver got off the truck too and walked over to Werner. ”Gut. Wir treffen Uns in Punkt 2 Stunden wieder hier. Der 2te LKW wird dann auch hier sein. Bitte lass mich nicht zu lange warten, denn mein Zeitplan ist heute mehr als eng. Bis später.“ After he finished, the driver turned around and walked towards a big brick building.

There was a fresh ocean breeze waving around Werner’s nose. After the hot, last weeks he really enjoyed it a lot. In the docks there where beautiful white sailing vessels, big transport ships and even two Italian destroyers. With some seagulls flying above, the whole scenario reminded Werner of a postcard idyll.

There was half an hour left to the time, the ship was supposed to arrive in the harbour. Werner killed the time with some cigarettes and a bottle of Italian beer that was sold at the docks. It was a disgusting beverage and didn’t even deserve the name beer.

After several minutes, the transport ship docked and the first German soldiers entered Africa. In front of the footbridge, Werner discovered a small group standing a bit aside. Clearly he recognised the big Red Cross, these men wore on their brassards. That had to be the eagerly awaited reinforcements. Slowly Werner walked over to the medics. ”Guten Morgen, die Herrschaften. Ich nehme an, Sie sind die Verstärkungen für die 21. PD. Willkommen in Afrika. Unser Haufen liegt zurzeit in der Nähe von El Gazala. Der Transport LKW kommt in circa einer Stunde. Bis dahin schlage Ich vor, machen Sie es sich noch etwas gemütlich. Der unangenehme Teil kommt noch früh genug.“

Translations:

“Deutscher Militärhafenbereich. Zutritt für Unbefugte streng verboten.”

“German military harbour area. Access for unauthorized persons is strictly forbidden.”

”Gut. Wir treffen Uns in Punkt 2 Stunden wieder hier. Der 2te LKW wird dann auch hier sein. Bitte lass mich nicht zu lange warten, denn mein Zeitplan ist heute mehr als eng. Bis später.“


“Ok. We’ll meet here again in exactly two hours. The 2nd truck will then be here too. Please don’t let me wait too long, because my schedule is quite short today. See you later.”

”Guten Morgen, die Herrschaften. Ich nehme an, Sie sind die Verstärkungen für die 21. Panzer Division. Willkommen in Afrika. Unser Haufen liegt zurzeit in der Nähe von El Gazala. Der Transport LKW kommt in circa einer Stunde. Bis dahin schlage Ich vor, machen Sie es sich noch etwas gemütlich. Der unangenehme Teil kommt noch früh genug.“

“Good morning Gentleman. I guess that you are the reinforcements for the 21. Panzer Division. Welcome to Africa. Our unit is currently deployed near El Gazala. Our truck will arrive here in circa one hour. I would recommend you, to make yourselves a bit comfortable until then. The displeasing part will follow early enough.”

[klaus]

Click! Click! Click!

Klaus lowered the eyepiece of the borrowed camera from his face and took a deep breath. The salty sea air filled the medic's lungs, giving him a refreshing blast that he needed. The choppy blue waves hit the bow of the transport barge, making a soothing lapping sound. The barge was slowly approaching the dock, and Klaus was amazed by the beautiful ships that sailed around, looking so graceful in such a time of war. Two massive Italian battleships were outlined on the pale blue African sky, the sun glinting off there steel hull. The the twin ship's guns were trained on the sky, looking for any RAF planes that dared come near. Klaus was glad he was docking in such a well controlled area, he had heard terrible stories about huge amounts of men being killed by British submarines and planes. Klaus had several pictures of the harbor and boats, and he was sure that they would come out well. He also had a picture with the soldier Guido Bellasuppi, a young Italian private whom he had borrowed the camera from.

"Du! Medic! Zurück zu den Frachtraum, werden wir bald Andocken!" Klaus whipped around to see one of the Kriegsmarine deckhands. The medic nodded and headed back down the steps. The cargo hold was heavy with the stench of sweat and seawater, and a mass of German soldiers were muttering to each other. Klaus made his way back to Guido, who's tanned skin looked strangely green. "Hier ist Ihre Kamera, Guido." Klaus said, handing the Italian the camera back. Guido nodded and stuffed it back in his bag. As soon as he did that, the door of the barge slowly opened, and the soldiers in the barge began to pile off the transport.

As soon as Klaus walked off the boat, he was immediately hit by a blast of foreign, strange smells. Although the dock was out of limits for non-Germans, he could still see the civilians going about outside of the iron gate. The group of medics milled around the footbridge as a sergeant approached. "”Guten Morgen, die Herrschaften. Ich nehme an, Sie sind die Verstärkungen für die 21. Panzer Division. Willkommen in Afrika. Unser Haufen liegt zurzeit in der Nähe von El Gazala. Der Transport LKW kommt in circa einer Stunde. Bis dahin schlage Ich vor, machen Sie es sich noch etwas gemütlich. Der unangenehme Teil kommt noch früh genug.“ Klaus and the other medics nodded and started walking around.

Klaus took a cigarette from the bottom pocket of his tan uniform, lit it, and puffed. Klaus slipped out the iron gate and into the Tripoli's streets. The pathways were lined with stalls and dwellings, and Klaus was fascinated by it all. He approached one stand and started to look at the wares. Two things caught his eye, the first a small woven basket, the second a bracelet made of some sort of seed pod. Klaus grabbed them and went to the owner of the stall and forked over five reichsmarks. The man selling them smiled and spoke in his native language. Klaus smiled as a multilingual thank-you and stuffed the two items in his bread bag. They would make delightful gifts for his parents. Along with a couple of photos, it would make an ideal "Hello from Africa" sort of thing.

The medic made his way back to the docks, buying a bottle of some sort of Italian beer along the way. Klaus popped the cap of the bottle and then walked over to the sergeant that had welcomed them to Africa. "Wie lange sind Sie schon in Afrika, mein Herr?"

TRANSLATIONS

Du! Medic! Zurück zu den Frachtraum, werden wir bald Andocken!
You! Medic! Get back in the cargo hold, we will dock soon!

Hier ist Ihre Kamera, Guido.
Here is your camera, Guido.

Wie lange sind Sie schon in Afrika, mein Herr?
How long have you been in Africa, sir?

[Werner von Maybach]

After Werner finished his welcome, the group of medics split up and everybody discovered the foreign environment on his own. For him it was more than enough, to light another cigarette and sit back into the warm morning sun. At this time of the day, the sun was still enjoyable. Only hours later, it was one of the biggest tortures for all the soldiers fighting in Africa, whether they were British, German, Italian or Australian.

One of the medics returned to Werner, who offered him to take a seat. The men looked quite young, but had a very earnest face. After he took a sip from his beer, he asked: "Wie lange sind Sie schon in Afrika, mein Herr?" Smilingly Werner answered: "Noch nicht so lange wie es vielleicht aussieht. Entweder man gewöhnt sich schnell an diesen Kontinent, oder gar nicht. Bis jetzt war alles ruhig und wir hatten noch kaum Kampfeinsätze, aber die kommen schon noch." The pleasing warmth of the sun and the Italian beer now developed a strong effect on Werner. He realised that he hadn’t slept a lot the last days. And probably he won’t sleep a lot more in the following.

The loud noise of a heavy engine woke Werner up. He must have fallen asleep for a short moment. A big Sdkfz. 7 parked right next to the Opel truck. Behind the big towing vehicle, there was an at-gun attached. Slowly Werner was getting back to full consciousness. He yawned loudly and stood up. "Männer, das ist Unsere Mitfahrgelegenheit. Alle einsteigen bitte. Wir haben keine Zeit zu verlieren." Slowly he walked over to the Opel Blitz and placed himself in the back.

Translations:

"Noch nicht so lange wie es vielleicht aussieht. Entweder man gewöhnt sich schnell an diesen Kontinent, oder gar nicht. Bis jetzt war alles ruhig und wir hatten noch kaum Kampfeinsätze, aber die kommen schon noch."

“Not as long as it might look like. Either you get used to this continent rather quick or never at all. By now everything was calm and we didn’t have a lot of combat situations, but they will definitely wait for us.”

"Männer, das ist Unsere Mitfahrgelegenheit. Alle einsteigen bitte. Wir haben keine Zeit zu verlieren."

“Soldiers, that must be our ride. All of you get in please. We don’t have any time to loose.”

[klaus]

The sergeant smiled and said ""Wie lange sind Sie schon in Afrika, mein Herr?" Smilingly Werner answered: "Noch nicht so lange wie es vielleicht aussieht. Entweder man gewöhnt sich schnell an diesen Kontinent, oder gar nicht. Bis jetzt war alles ruhig und wir hatten noch kaum Kampfeinsätze, aber die kommen schon noch." Klaus nodded and smiled. The medic was worried about combat, for he was armed with nothing but his medical tools. He hoped the English respected the Geneva Convention, if not, Klaus would be a sitting duck in the vast North African desert. He did not want to die out here, and be buried in the sands. No one would remember him, except maybe his parents. He would be faceless. Not missed. Not even remembered.

It looked as if the sergeant had fallen asleep, for his eyes were closed and his face looked peaceful. Klaus smiled and began to wonder again. He took another sip of the foul beer and stepped outside the gate again. This time he shied away from Tripoli's streets and headed toward the waterline. Three men in large sun hats were casting small brown nets into the light blue water, and then quickly pulled them back in. In the nets were tons of little reddish things squirming around, and Klaus realized they were shrimp. Klaus walked up and pointed to a small basket filled with grilled shrimp tied up in tiny nets. The native fisherman put up two fingers, so Klaus handed over two reichsmarks and picked up a net. He wolfed the small grilled shrimp down quickly, for the long barge ride had made him very hungry. As the medic licked his fingers, he cast the empty bag into the blue water.

"Männer, das ist Unsere Mitfahrgelegenheit. Alle einsteigen bitte. Wir haben keine Zeit zu verlieren." The sergeant shouted, apparently awake. Klaus ran back to the fenced in dock and opened the iron gate. A Sdkfz. 7 was parked next to the Opel Blitz truck, both of their engines humming. The sergeant got into the back of the truck, and Klaus followed him. A Gray canvas was stretched over the top of the truck to protect it from the elements, but it kept the heat in. Klaus was almost strangled by the humidity, and the overwhelming smell of sweat invaded Klaus's nostrils. The medic sat down on one of the wooden benches lining the side of the truck, his medical bag clanking as he sat. The truck started to hum to life, and Klaus hoped someone would say something.

[Werner von Maybach]

After Werner climbed into the Opel Blitz, some of the medics took place in the same truck. One of them was the man, who just tried to start a conversation. Now he looked a bit pale around his nose. The heat in the small truck was horrible. Slowly the time got closer to noon and the sun went hotter every minute. Werner felt getting tired again, but he hardly tried not to fall asleep again.

The truck started its engine and slowly rolled towards the big iron gate. After leaving the harbour area, the Opel quickened and drove through the streets of Tripoli. The places and the beautiful white houses of the city flew by outside the truck. Werner could feel the nervousness amongst the medics and decided to try to becalm these young soldiers a little bit.

”Nur vor ein paar Wochen war ich genau so nervös und unerfahren wie Ihr. Wie Ihr sehen könnt lebe Ich noch. Ist also alles nicht so schlimm. Ihr solltet aber besser ganz schnell die Bilder aus der Wochenschau wieder vergessen. Die haben mit echtem Krieg nämlich so gut wie nichts zu tun, außer Ihr mögt den Gedanken eines Heldentodes“

The truck left the last buildings of Tripoli behind and suddenly the landscape changed. There were no more palms or small bushes. There was just sand, sand as wide as eyes could look. Werner always got the feeling, that this could also be a place on a completely different planet. Some miles away, he discovered a giant cloud of dust moving through the desert. When he took a closer look, he could recognise the silhouettes of a couple of German Stug’s. The preparations for the second German offensive in North Africa had started.

They travelled for over 5 hours now. Some of the young medics had closed their eyes to take a nap, while most of them were just bored out of their minds. Every now and then the driver stopped to have a look at the map. There were only few points in the desert to use for orientation, what made it a very difficult task. The last stop took for over twenty minutes now and Werner started to get a bit nervous. The Sdkfz. 7 was standing right next to the truck and now the driver of the Opel got off the truck and walked over to the towing machine. After a short dispute with the other driver, he came back to the Opel and said to the soldiers: ”Ich habe leider eine schlechte Nachricht für euch. Wir haben uns anscheinend komplett verfahren. Der Kompass muss kaputt sein. Bitte bewahrt erst einmal Ruhe. Wir bringen euch schon noch in euer neues Zuhause.

Translations:

”Nur vor ein paar Wochen war ich genau so nervös und unerfahren wie Ihr. Wie Ihr sehen könnt lebe Ich noch. Ist also alles nicht so schlimm. Ihr solltet aber besser ganz schnell die Bilder aus der Wochenschau wieder vergessen. Die haben mit echtem Krieg nämlich so gut wie nichts zu tun, außer Ihr mögt den Gedanken eines Heldentodes.“

“Just some weeks ago, I have been as inexperienced and nervous as you are now. And as you can see, I’m still alive. It’s all not that bad. But better forget about the pictures you have seen in the Wochenschau rather quickly. They don’t have anything to do with real combat, except you like the thought of a hero’s death.”

”Ich habe leider eine schlechte Nachricht für euch. Wir haben uns anscheinend komplett verfahren. Der Kompass muss kaputt sein. Bitte bewahrt erst einmal Ruhe. Wir bringen euch schon noch in euer neues Zuhause.

“Unfortunately I do have bad news for you. We lost track completely. The compass must be broken. Please keep calm for the moment. We’ll definitely manage to bring you to your new homes.”

[klaus]

The Opel Blitz Truck's engine rumbled as they backed out of the iron gate. The truck picked up speed as they roared down Tripoli's streets, dodging civilians and carts. Spectacular white dwellings and shops lined the dusty street they roared down, and all sorts of exotic smells reached Klaus's nostrils. The African language was fascinating to young Klaus, and he longed to know what every word was.

Inside the truck were about half a dozen soldiers, all but one combat medics. Excluding the sergeant, Klaus looked to be the highest ranked soldat in the back of the transport. The sergeant looked tired, and so did many of the medics. One soldier was asleep by the time they exited the magnificent Tripoli. As they left the city, a French volunteer in a checkpoint booth walked out and said something to the driver, and then the truck was out in the vast desert, followed by the big Sdkfz. 7.

The tires of the truck kicked up a fine mist of dust, which made Klaus cough slightly. For the first hour or so, the medic peeked his head out of the truck every couple of minutes to take in the look of the desert. Once in a great while would you see a plant, but small lizards were no great occurrence. Once a huge cloud of sand appeared on the horizon, moving behind the truck. Klaus realized it was several German Stugs, there big guns trained on the horizon.

For the following time, Klaus began to notice the true monotony of the long ride. The medic zoned out for a while, almost falling asleep. When he broke out of his boredom-induced trance, he started to write a note to his parents that he would attach with the basket and seedpod bracelet. When he finished the note, he took a long sip from the canteen that hung from his belt. He was lucky to have water, for the desert was a dry place and water was scarce. He started to rifle through his stiff leather medic's bag, polishing some of the tools. A white circle was printed on the black leather of his medical bag, and a Wehrmacht eagle clutching a red cross was set against the circle. Inside the cross, a white swastika was layed, turned slightly to the side like they were supposed to be. Then suddenly the truck stopped and the driver and the driver of the Sdkfz. 7. They exchanged a few words and then the grizzled driver walked back over and began to speak.

”Ich habe leider eine schlechte Nachricht für euch. Wir haben uns anscheinend komplett verfahren. Der Kompass muss kaputt sein. Bitte bewahrt erst einmal Ruhe. Wir bringen euch schon noch in euer neues Zuhause."

Some of the medics gasped, others grumbled. Klaus just frowned and didn't know what to think about it. He decided he would ask his Superior. "Herr, was sollen wir tun?" Klaus whispered loudly to the sergeant.

TRANSLATION

Herr, was sollen wir tun?"

[Werner von Maybach]

That must have been the reason for the long break. In the first moment, Werner couldn’t believe what he just heard and tried to repress the panic rising inside him. He knew some cruel stories about soldiers getting lost in the desert and never returning to their units. The desert was endless and searching for a small group of soldiers was like looking for a needle in a haystack. But only that now Werner was that needle.

"Herr, was sollen wir tun?" The question took Werner back to reality. ”Zuerst ist es wichtig, das Ihr euch zusammenreißt. Keine Panik. Ich werde mich erstmal mit den Fahrern besprechen. Bis dahin gibt es für euch nicht viel zu tun. Bewahrt einfach nur die Ruhe. Bin gleich wieder da.

His thoughts were running circles, while he walked over to the Sdkfz. 7, accompanied by the trucker. The driver of the towing machine sat in the sand next to his vehicle and had a big map of northern Africa lying in front of him. When he realised Werner and the other trucker coming towards him, he saluted and said: ”Sieht nicht gut aus. Wenn meine Berechnungen stimmen, sind wir bereits viel zu weit nach Osten gefahren. Hier in der Wüste gibt es ja auch keine zusammenhängende Frontlinie. Wir müssen an Gazala vorbei gefahren sein. Ein Wunder, das uns der Tommy noch nicht begrüßt hat. Was denken Sie darüber, Herr Unteroffizier?“

Werner nodded shortly and replied: “Da wir über keinerlei Funkgeräte verfügen, müssen wir uns wohl selber helfen. Wenn wir wirklich schon im Britischen Gebiet sein sollten, ist es besser, irgendwo Deckung für die Fahrzeuge zu suchen und erst nachts weiter zu fahren. Wir sind leichte Beute für die Briten und ein Gegner entdeckt uns hier auf mehrere Kilometer Entfernung. Wie viel Wasser haben wir noch vorrätig?“

“Genug. Wasser ist nicht unser Hauptproblem. Ein paar Kilometer hinter uns war eine größere Senke. Ich denke dort finden wir genug Deckung.” As if he wanted to underline his words, the driver took a deep sip from his canteen. Werner just wanted to answer, when one of the medics quickly ran towards the group. He looked very thrilled and was completely out of breath, while he tried to speak. ” Herr Unteroffizier, kommen Sie schnell, dass müssen Sie sich ansehen.“

Translations:

”Zuerst ist es wichtig, das Ihr euch zusammenreißt. Keine Panik. Ich werde mich erstmal mit den Fahrern besprechen. Bis dahin gibt es für euch nicht viel zu tun. Bewahrt einfach nur die Ruhe. Bin gleich wieder da.

“First it’s most important that you put yourselves together. Don’t panic. I’ll go and speak to the drivers, what to do. For now there’s not a lot you can do. Just stay calm. I’ll be right back.”

”Sieht nicht gut aus. Wenn meine Berechnungen stimmen, sind wir bereits viel zu weit nach Osten gefahren. Hier in der Wüste gibt es ja auch keine zusammenhängende Frontlinie. Wir müssen an Gazala vorbei gefahren sein. Ein Wunder, das uns der Tommy noch nicht begrüßt hat. Was denken Sie darüber, Herr Unteroffizier?“

„That doesn’t look good. When my calculations are right, we are way too far east now. Here in the desert there is no coherent front line. We must have missed Gazala. It’s like a wonder, that the Tommy didn’t welcome us yet. What do you think about it Sir?”

“Da wir über keinerlei Funkgeräte verfügen, müssen wir uns wohl selber helfen. Wenn wir wirklich schon im Britischen Gebiet sein sollten, ist es besser, irgendwo Deckung für die Fahrzeuge zu suchen und erst nachts weiter zu fahren. Wir sind leichte Beute für die Briten und ein Gegner entdeckt uns hier auf mehrere Kilometer Entfernung. Wie viel Wasser haben wir noch vorrätig?“

“We don’t have any radio, so we’ll have to help ourselves. If we are really already in a British controlled area, it would be better to search some cover for the vehicles and don’t leave it before night. We’re easy prey for the Brits here and any enemy could spot us some kilometres away. How much water do we still have?”

“Genug. Wasser ist nicht unser Hauptproblem. Ein paar Kilometer hinter uns war eine größere Senke. Ich denke dort finden wir gute Deckung.

“Enough. Water isn’t our main problem. Several kilometres behind us, there were a large depressed area. I guess we could find good cover there.“

” Herr Unteroffizier, kommen Sie schnell, dass müssen Sie sich ansehen.“

“Sir, please come with me, quick. You just need to look at this.”

[klaus]

Fear welled up in Klaus’s chest as he saw the face of the Sergeant crease in nervousness after he spoke to him. After a few agonizing seconds the Unteroffizier opened his mouth, speaking honestly to the medic. ”Zuerst ist es wichtig, das Ihr euch zusammenreißt. Keine Panik. Ich werde mich erstmal mit den Fahrern besprechen. Bis dahin gibt es für euch nicht viel zu tun. Bewahrt einfach nur die Ruhe. Bin gleich wieder da."

Klaus swallowed the saliva that had accumulated in his mouth and then slumped against the bench in the truck. His eyes where glued to the opposite side of the truck, glassy with fear. The Sergeant exited the truck, and Klaus could hear him vaguely conversing with the drivers. No point in just sitting here and just wasting away. Klaus though and straightened up, reaching for his canteen. The medic unhooked it from his belt and poured himself some water in the cap, which served as a drinking cup. It tasted of sand, but it was better than no water. He would need it later if he where to survive in the desert. Or so he had been told. Klaus watched as a handful of medics leave the truck, muttering about stretching their legs. Well, there was nothing better to do, so Klaus approached the back of the truck jumped off.

The first thing Klaus noted about the desert was the feeling of sand sucking at your feet. The tiny tan grains seemed to swallow his jackboots, dragging them down into the depths. He was immediately enthralled by it. The sheltered young man had never seen sand, except the sticky kind on the shores of the Baltic Sea where his family would take vacations. He crouched down, his knees cracking slightly due to being bent in the same position throughout the whole truck ride. Klaus's pale hand reached down and touched the sand, before pulling back because of it's heat. He extended his hand again, running nimble fingers through it. It felt nice on his fingers, but the German could already feel it whittling it's way into his boots and socks.

Klaus stood back up, stretching his arms in a wide arc above his head. A few medics perched on a sand dune were looking quite worried, conversing amongst themselves nervously. "Was ist, Jungen falsch?" Klaus said half nervously, half playfully. "Heilige Scheiße, Piper! Nehmen Sie einen Blick!" Klaus rounded the sand dune, and nearly fell backward at what he saw. At least a platoon of British soldiers marched through a shallow valley, flanked by two jeeps armed with Bren LMGs. They looked exhausted by the heat, and some of them had pieces of cloth wrapped around their necks to protect them from the sun. They were oblivious to the Germans watching them above them, and it looked as if they where on some sort of patrol. "Privat! Gehen Sie erklären das Unteroffizier, herzukommen!"

Klaus only hoped the British would not see the Germans, for the Tommies greatly outnumbered the medics. But if some Panzerfausts and a MG42 was around...

TRANSLATIONS

"What is it boys?"

"Holy shit, Piper! Take a look!"

"Private! Go tell the Unteroffizier to come here!"

[Werner von Maybach]

Without hesitating, Werner and the two drivers followed the young medic, who was now running back to the Opel truck. Nearly all of the men had left the truck and where standing together on a small sand hill. They lively discussed something and one of them was pointing his arm at the other side of the hill.

In the moment, Werner arrived at the group, the arguments stopped and one of the medics turned to the Unteroffizier: "Was halten Sie davon, Herr Unteroffizier? Das ist bestimmt ein ganzer Zug Briten. Und die beiden Jeeps darf man nicht vergessen."

When Werner looked into the given direction, he couldn’t recognise anything at first. The sun was glowing directly into his face and burning in his eyes. He tried to use his right hand for some protection, but it worked poorly. Only slowly he got used to the bright light, but after a minute Werner could identify the enemy. There was a long column of marching soldiers, slowly moving through the valley in front of the Germans. One Ford jeep was driving left of the column and another one was following several metres behind. At the moment, the Brits where at least 1.5 kilometres away but if they should accidentally discover the Germans, they would be easy prey for the Tommys.

The truck driver was slowly walking back to his Opel and took out a spyglass. After returning to the hill, he gave the binoculars to Werner and paused next to the Unteroffizier for a moment. Looking through the spyglass, Werner was able to clearly recognise the enemy column now. He estimated the British force to consist of circa 30 men. That would be way too much to handle with his small group.

While he was observing the enemy column, the driver gently flustered to Werner: "Wenn Sie mich fragen, die ganze Sache gefällt mir überhaupt nicht. Unsere Sanitäter sind noch viel zu grün hinter den Ohren, fast noch halbe Kinder. Ich denke wir sollten verschwinden, solange wir noch können."

Slowly nodding his head, Werner tried to analyse all aspects of their current situation. Of course the medics where completely inexperienced and never saw any battle before. The small group of Germans was only armed with their rifles, the at- gun that was attached to the Sdkfz. 7 and some stick grenades, Werner still had left in his baggage inside the truck. He knew that the Brits would both outnumber and probably outclass the small German group. Obviously the Brits hadn’t discovered the Germans by now and so Werner quickly made his decision.

"Gut, wir ziehen uns erstmal zurück. Trotz des Überraschungsmoments sind unsere Chancen hier mehr als gering. Circa 1 Kilometer hinter uns war eine größere Senke. Wir werden die Fahrzeuge dorthin zurück fahren, tarnen uns so gut wie möglich und warten auf die Nacht. Wenn es dunkel ist, sehen wir weiter." After Werner gave his orders, he looked at his men again and hastily walked back to the truck. "Na kommt schon, wir haben keine Zeit zu verlieren. Desto schneller wir uns verstecken, desto besser."

Translations:

"Was halten Sie davon, Herr Unteroffizier? Das ist bestimmt ein ganzer Zug Briten. Und die beiden Jeeps darf man nicht vergessen."
"What do you think about that, Herr Unteroffizier? That’s at least a whole platoon of Brits. And we shouldn’t forget about those two jeeps also."

"Wenn Sie mich fragen, die ganze Sache gefällt mir überhaupt nicht. Unsere Sanitäter sind noch viel zu grün hinter den Ohren, fast noch halbe Kinder. Ich denke wir sollten verschwinden, solange wir noch können."
"If you would ask me, I don’t like this whole situation at all. Our medics a much too wet behind their ears. They’re even half children. I think we should disappear as long as we’re still able to."

"Gut, wir ziehen uns erstmal zurück. Trotz des Überraschungsmoments sind unsere Chancen hier mehr als gering. Circa 1 Kilometer hinter uns war eine größere Senke. Wir werden die Fahrzeuge dorthin zurück fahren, tarnen uns so gut wie möglich und warten auf die Nacht. Wenn es dunkel ist, sehen wir weiter."
"Well, we’re going to retreat here for now. Although we have the element of surprise on our side, our chances here are more than slight. About 1 kilometre behind us there was a large depressed area. We’ll bring the vehicles there, camouflage them as good as possible and wait for the night. When it’ll be dark, we’ll see how to continue."

"Na kommt schon, wir haben keine Zeit zu verlieren. Desto schneller wir uns verstecken, desto besser."
"Come on guys, we don’t have any time to lose. The earlier we get ourselves hidden, the better that is."

[Edward"Butcher"McMillan]

Moderation Post:

The following CP has been issued:

Piper - 11, if you have another account you would like this CP placed into please let me know, but it has to be an Axis account.

Maybach - 9, although your posts seem long, a good portion of them are just translations, that's why you get a bit less.

-JT