Even more importantly, Garger realized that it was due to Pierson’s efforts that he had not only survived thus far, but had come to discover he had a natural talent for tanking and combat. The panic, the tenseness, the sick feeling in his stomach, the stammering he had experienced at Fort Knox and during his first weeks in the unit were gone. When the firing had started, everything seemed to fall in place. There was no panic, no fear. In the midst of even the most trying moments of combat, he experienced a clarity of mind that was, in retrospect, nothing short of amazing to him. There was still much he needed to learn, he admitted to himself. But learn he would, if he lived long enough, he reminded himself. Eventually he would master company tactics and all the ins and outs of staff work, just as he had succeeded in achieving an acceptable level of proficiency as a platoon leader. That he was sure of.
The road march to the forward assembly area was a hard and wearing one for Avery. His inability to sleep that afternoon exacerbated his apprehensions and nervousness. Gerry Garger had told him before they left that he was going to have to lighten up on himself or he would have a nervous breakdown before the first Russian got a chance to blow him away. His friend had done his best to couch this sage advice as lightheartedly as he could. Unfortunately, it had the opposite effect, for the more Avery tried to relax without being able to do so, the more he worried that he just might be on the verge of a nervous breakdown. That would be disastrous, he concluded. At least he could live with a wound. Wounds were noble, a red badge of courage no one could argue with. Evacuation because of a nervous breakdown before the first battle, on the other hand, would be a disgrace too terrible to contemplate. Only the sudden realization that he no longer knew where he was because he hadn’t been following the Team’s progress on his map caused Avery to divert his attention from his fears of suffering a nervous breakdown to his fear that he wouldn’t be able to find his location again on the map if something terrible happened before they reached their forward assembly area.
Shortly after 2200 hours, the Team pulled into that assembly area. The movement in and occupation of the marked positions went like clockwork. In peacetime maneuvers the Team had never had such a smooth road march and assembly area occupation. Greeted by Uleski as he dismounted from Alpha 66, Bannon gave his XO a broad smile and a well-deserved atta boy. “Well Bob, you done good. Real good. Have you been able to coordinate with the people we’ll be passing through?”
“Yes, sir. I was forward this afternoon in their positions and have gone over the route several times. It’s a piece of cake.”
“What about the Russians? Does Herman have any information concerning Ivan?”
“Well, first off, they’re not Russians. They’re Poles. The Poles hit the Germans just after I arrived there. The German officer I spoke to said it looked as if the Russians never told them where his unit was because the Poles just rolled right up to the German positions in column formation. His commanding officer let them come into their positions before he cut loose. The Poles never had much of a chance. They were cut to pieces. The officer’s commander was killed but his XO took over and is still holding. Our battalion XO passed word down to us that the German battalion commander believe the Poles will make another try sometime tonight.”
“What kind of units are we facing?”
“Tanks so far, T-55s. Real second-class stuff.”
“Hey, that’s OK by me. I get paid the same amount for blowing away old tanks as I do for tangling with tanks that don’t want to die. Tell me, do you have any qualms about going up against your own people, Bob?”
“Sir, those aren’t my people. They’re as red as the Russians. Though I confess I’d rather be killing Russian Communists, in the end it makes no never mind to me they’re Polish Communists. A red is a red, and a red that’s a Pole and is dead smells as sweet to me as any other.”
Uleski’s cold, unfeeling remark sent a chill down Bannon’s spine. The dark side of First Lieutenant Uleski had come out again, the side that worried him, leaving him to wonder if his hatred would cloud his judgment. He hoped not. For his sake and his crew’s, he hoped not.
“Okay Bob, make sure all the people that came with you make it back to where they belong. Then gather up the leadership and have them meet me here.”
The battalion S-3 came into the company area while Uleski was filling in the Team’s leaders on what he knew of the situation to their front. Major Jordan waited until Uleski was finished before he shared his information them. “The battalion is closed up and ready,” he stated, taking care to make sure he didn’t add any unnecessarily snide comments concerning Charlie Company. “The 1st of the 4th Armor, as well as the artillery battalions that will be supporting us are expected to be in place and set as planned. So far, everything has gone well. As far as anyone could tell, the Polish unit to our front doesn’t know we’re here and hasn’t been reinforced. We will therefore proceed as planned.”
“Team Yankee will begin its move at 0330 hours,” Jordan continued. “At 0350, two battalions of US and one battalion of German artillery will fire a ten-minute preparation on the Polish forward positions, both identified and suspected. At 0400 hours, Team Yankee’s lead element will pass through the German positions and begin the attack.”
Looking over at Garger, Bannon gave him a nod before turning his attention back to Jordan. “That’ll be my 3rd Platoon.”
Jordan acknowledged this by giving Garger a nod before continuing. “If all goes well, the battalion will be on the Saale River by early afternoon, ready to pass 1st of the 4th Armor through us and drive on to Leipzig.”
“Provided the Soviets don’t object to our doing so,” Bannon interjected.
“There’s always that possibility,” Jordan intoned.
“What do we know about Ivan and what he’s up to?” Bannon asked. “Yeah. We did. Have you been in radio contact with anyone else in the Team?”
“Yeah. We did. Have you been in radio contact with anyone else in the Team?”
“We do know he’ll do his damnedest to keep us from crossing the Saale. They’re already dropping brigades on that river just in case the Poles don’t hold. Of course,” Jordan quickly added, “there’s always the possibility that maybe, just maybe, this time the plan will work.”
“Care to place a wager on that, sir?” Bannon offered.
Jordan shook his head. “Captain, I’m shocked, shocked to find gambling going on here.”
After sharing a halfhearted chuckle with the gathering, Jordan asked if Bannon had any questions. When he responded in the negative, the S-3 left, leaving Bannon to cover all the last-minute details he felt needed to be addressed, asked for and answered any questions, then dismissed his officers and senior NCO. When everyone was gone, Bannon made his way back to Alpha 66, clambered aboard, and informed Folk they would split guard duty. “Seeing how you slept during the road march, you get to pull first shift,” Bannon informed his gunner. Then, without further ado, Bannon rolled out his sleeping bag on top of the turret, laid on top of it, and fell asleep in minutes.