The battalion, Uleski often opined to Bannon, seemed to have a knack for screwing up breakfasts, a point Bannon could not argue when, on the morning of the fourth day in the assembly area, word of the pending change in mission came. This unwelcomed interruption arrived as Bannon, his platoon leaders, the XO, the first sergeant, and the Team’s new FIST chief, a second lieutenant by the name of Plesset, were having a working breakfast. After finishing green eggs that had once been warm, bacon strips that were as crispy as soggy noodles, and toast that could have doubled as roofing shingles, Bannon told the gathering they were put to off whatever training they’d been planning and instead, conduct pre-combat check. “You have as much idea as I have as to when we’ll be moving or where we’re going,” he told the Team’s leadership. “But wherever it is, the odds are we won’t be leaving here until late afternoon, at the earliest. So once you’re satisfied you people are ready to move on a moment’s notice, see to it everyone, including yourselves, get some rest.”
Uleski and the Plesset, who went to the meeting with Bannon, arrived a few minutes before the briefing was scheduled to start. As they waited for the battalion XO to begin it, Bannon made his way to the front of the classroom that served as the battalion’s conference room to where Major Jordan was talking to Colonel Reynolds.
When he joined them, after a quick round of perfunctory greetings, the three of them turned their attention to the battalion operations map. The graphics depicting the new mission were posted on it, ready for the briefing. A chill went down Bannon’s spine when he saw that it was another attack. While the Team had made great strides in recovering from the last attack it had participated in, Bannon had his doubts if those who had made it were mentally prepared to be part of another. This was especially true of himself. He wasn’t sure if he could deal with another horror show like the last one as images of the dead and dying flashed through his mind.
A quick glance at the map and the graphics displayed on it showed it was an ambitious plan, aimed at crossing the IZB, into East Germany, and driving deep into the enemy’s rear. The arrows depicting the axis of advance the brigade would be using went through a German panzergrenadier battalion that was already well across the border that had separated East and West Germany since the end of World War II. Once the brigade had passed through the Germans, it would advance up a narrow valley in the Thuringer Wald in the direction of Leipzig, north of the Thuringer Wald, and out onto the North German Plain. Where it would go after that could not be displayed on map the battalion was using as it was too small to show the ultimate objective. Not that Bannon needed to see what lay just beyond the northern edge of the battalion’s map. Berlin, the heart of East Germany and center of communications, was, he imagined, the real objective they were aiming for.
When Colonel Reynolds turned his attention to the commander of Team Bravo, the S-3 sidled up next to Bannon. “Well, what do you think?”
“Let’s see if I can guess who’s leading?” Bannon mused without taking his eyes off the map. “Charlie Company?”
“Sean, you know damned well who’s going to lead the attack, at least initially. Team Yankee is the best company we have, and you have most of our armor. It would be beyond stupid to put anyone else in the lead.”
Bannon took a moment mull his response over in his mind before responding. “Sir, are you attempting to win me over with logic, or butter me up flattery?”
“A little of both, I guess.”
Before Bannon could say another word, the battalion XO called for everyone to take their seats. When Colonel Reynolds motioned to Bannon he was to sit next to him, the battalion commander’s friendly attitude and smile reminded Bannon of the grinning cat who praised the canary for his beautiful song before eating him. When everyone was settled and ready, the battalion XO nodded to the S-2 to start.
The last six days of war had done nothing to improve the intel officer’s skills in preparing a useful briefing. He started by summarizing the progress of the war to date and the gains the Soviets had made in the north. Those gains were impressive. Denmark was isolated. Despite the efforts of NORTHAG, the Dutch border had been reached. Most of the German seacoast was in Soviet hands. Further south, in the central and southern Germany, German, French, and American forces had held the Soviets to minor gains. Only in one area, where a German panzer division had found a weak point at the boundary between two Soviet armies, had NATO forces been able to enjoy any offensive success. That division had managed to trust into East Germany before the drive spent itself. It was this toehold in the enemy rear that would provide the springboard for the attack the battalion was about to undertake.
The S-3, as usual, provided the meat of the briefing. The entire division would be involved in this effort. Brigade would lead off, widening the breach the Germans had made as it advanced north into the enemy rear. French units deploying from the interior of France were replacing those divisional units still in contact as well as another US division that would follow. If the brigade and then the rest of the division were successful in widening the breach, eventually, the attack would be expanded into a corps-size operation.
The specifics of the operation were rather straightforward. The brigade would advance along two axes that ran through two north-south valleys. The 1st of the 98th Mech would lead the attack up one valley to the west while 3rd of the 78th Mech, followed by 1st of the 4th Armor, would advance up a valley called the Nebal Valley. The battalion’s scheme of maneuver called for two company teams to lead the attack, Team Yankee on the right, and Team Bravo on the left. The two infantry pure companies, Charlie and Delta, would follow with Charlie Company behind Team Yankee. At this point in the briefing, the urge to take a cheap shot at Charlie Company was too strong to suppress. Bannon interrupted Major Jordan.
“Excuse me, sir, but I seem to remember trying that before. I don’t know if Team Yankee is ready to be supported by Charlie Company again.”
Bannon’s comment was followed by a moment of stunned silence. Everyone looked at Bannon, then at the battalion commander, waiting for his reaction. Colonel Reynolds, ignoring everyone else in the room, exchanged glances with the S-3, then smiled before turning to face Bannon. “Captain Bannon, I can assure you, there will be no rat fucks like the last time. As I will be with Charlie Company, you can rest assured they will be right where they are supposed to be.” He then turned to Captain Cravin, the Charlie Company commander, and gave him a look that would have peeled paint off a wall.
Cravin, smarting from the exchange, averted his gaze as he responded with nothing more than a simple “Yes” in a low voice. During this exchange, Major Jordan winked when he and Bannon exchanged glances before Jordan continued with his portion of the briefing.
The battalion, it seemed to Bannon, had learned its lessons from the last attack. While it was moving at night, as before, it would temporarily occupy an assembly area to the rear of the German unit it was to pass through before going into the attack. There they would sort out any last-minute changes, refuel, allow the accompanying artillery time to deploy, and conduct last-minute preparations. From there they would be led through the German lines by a liaison officer from the panzergrenadier battalion they would be passing through. To expedite the actions in the assembly area, the battalion XO would leave at noon with representatives from each company, the battalion’s Scout Platoon, and the fuel trucks. The scouts would be posted along the route to serve as road guides where needed.