“We’ll remember him if he stays but we’re under fire discipline so just line him up, Oleg.”
Ferensky, the gunner, whispered with his loader and brought the 122mm gun to bear on the square hedge that Kalinov described.
The 6th had stayed silent as a considerable enemy force had passed under its guns, all part of the plan that intended to do the enemy units the maximum amount of harm.
The debate on ammunition reached Stelmakh’s ears.
“What’s the problem, Comrades?”
“Comrade Mayor, we’ve HEAT loaded but I recommend we switch to solid shot.”
Stelmakh understood Kalinov’s concern, although his gunner was confident that the hedge would not prematurely detonate the HEAT shell.
Stelmakh was inclined to change but consulted his gunner anyway.
“Oleg, can we be certain?”
“Well… I s’pose not, Comrade Mayor. The AP would certainly go through but I’ve fired through bushes with HEAT before without problems so…”
“No chances then… load AP, Comrades. We take no chances tonight.”
There was no further discussion and Kalinov began the task of changing rounds, made more delicate an operation because of the two-part ammunition.
The task had been completed and another round of cigarettes had been consumed before Stelmakh’s radio crackled into life.
“Chorniy-odin, Chorniy-odin, Zimniy Dvorets… execute, execute, execute, over.”
‘Shit… here we go!’
“All units Chorniy, all units Chorniy, plan one, repeat, advance plan one…commence attack, repeat, commence attack… out.”
Stelmakh switched his focus to his gunner.
“Are you on that target, Oleg?”
“Yes, Comrade Mayor.”
“Fire!”
“Firing!”
The 122mm breech leapt back as the massive gun sent a solid shot down range, aimed at the square hedge behind which the loader had claimed to see an enemy Panther tank.
0340 hrs, Tuesday. 1st April 1947, Route 79, three kilometres northeast of Koprzywnica, Poland.
Serzhant Oleg Ferensky was a superb gunner, with years of experience.
His aim was perfect but still flawed, as he did not know that the Panther was sat lower because of the scrape in the ground in which it had descended.
As a result, the heavy shell missed the tank and screamed over the top of the turret.
None the less, it did good work.
The 1er RCDA was decapitated…
…as was Rolf Uhlmann.
“Berta, Berta, this is Anton, come in, over.”
For the eighth time, the radio waves remained silent.
Knocke held himself in check, willing the commander of his tank regiment to come back online, but sensing that another comrade had been lost to the dogs of war.
“Enough. Try the second in command again.”
“Berta-two, Berta-two, Anton, over.”
The silence held unmistakable portents of doom.
Knocke looked at the situation map and calmly thought through the whole action, taking in each change
He looked back to the signallers as the radio continued to crackle with reports of heavy fighting.
The action all focussed upon the area in which Uhlmann’s assault force was engaged, and in the Alma zone, where units of the other division should have been providing a link between Camerone and the Vistula.
Knocke ordered Haefali’s force to Koprzywnica but no further, something that drew D’Estlain back to the table once he had passed the order.
“Why no further, mon Général? Surely Haefali’s presence would help stiffen Uhlmann’s force?”
“I think we’ve moved well beyond that point now, Alphonse. This isn’t an accident… we’ve walked into a strong enemy force here… they’ve concealed themselves… everything makes me think this is a trap and I’m going to get us out of this before we think about how to go forward again.”
The radio brought forward more urgent voices, and both senior men stopped their discussion to listen in.
“Merde!”
D’Estlain moved towards the radio group to make certain he was hearing what he thought he was hearing, whilst Knocke took advantage of the moment to pour a glass of water.
Being away from the radios meant he heard more in some strange way, as his CoS was focussed on reports from Haefali.
Knocke’s attention was on a report from their running mate in the DRH, the Grossdeutschland Division.
He sprang across the room and put his hand on the radio operator’s shoulder.
“Confirm that report immediately.”
The report was repeated and Knocke saw the death of his division laid bare in the words.
He was back at the map in the blink of an eye, accompanied by D’Estlain.
“Alphonse, we have a problem… a big problem. Grossdeutschland have reported a strong enemy thrust battered to a halt roughly half a kilometre from Włostów… here!”
“Mon Dieu!”
The point of the enemy advance was well beyond the key junction at Lipnik.
“No time to lose. Urgently request Leroy-Bessette to send his 1er Brigade to the area here… I want them to link with Grossdeutschland here and with Emmercy here. I’ll sort that out with General Lavalle but make sure Leroy-Bessette gets his men moving quickly. Emmercy’s units to hold in place, and orient for defence to the north, northeast, and east. Haefali is to orient…”
“Sir, Haefali’s report had him under artillery fire with an enemy force approaching from the north and northwest.”
“What?”
“He’s here… at Koprzywnica… I believe he’s got enemy moving down Route 758… here… and the north… this way.”
“Verdammt normal! The bastards have flanked us already!”
Knocke’s loud expression of emotion was enough to guarantee that anyone who hadn’t grasped the seriousness of the situation was now fully aware.
“Right… I’ll ask General Lavalle to deploy the rest of Alma along the line at ŁONIÓW… we’ll use Route 9 as our backstop line. Meanwhile, get Uhlmann’s force back to Haefali and defend Koprzywnica until otherwise ordered. I need more information from there and I need it now.”
There was an obvious problem that hadn’t yet been addressed.
“I want the recon force in 7e RTA to check out the area here,” he pointed to a circle that included Postronna and Zbigniewice.
“I want to know if there’s anything of substance sat in there.”
D’Estlain finished his notes.
“Shall we prepare to move back, mon Général?”
Knocke shook his head.
“No. I need to be close to this and, as things stand… and for all I know… enemy forces could be on their way here right now… and if so we’re all the division has between it and destruction. We’ll stay here, Alphonse.”
A signal NCO interrupted their discussion.
“Sorry, mon Général, but Général Lavalle’s on the telephone and insists on speaking to you immediately.”
Knocke accepted the interruption with a nod.
“Alphonse, get our men moving quickly now.”
“Oui, mon Général.”
“Knocke.”
He listened intently as Lavalle apprised him of the problems with Grossdeutschland’s failure to push forward, and then requested the release of the 1er Division’s infantry to protect the gap between the DRH division and Emmercy’s group.
He was more than surprised when it was not given to him, as Leroy-Bessette’s men had other fish to fry and Lavalle had an alternative organised already.