Homecoming

Houffalize, Belgium, 1945
U.S. Army Photo

As the remnants of Kampfgruppe (mot) von Lüttwitz came in sight of the village of Stadtkyll, a ripple of shock went down the column. The men had been at the front for a long time, they had seen ruins like this in France, in Belgium, in Luxembourg, and some had seen similar scenes of devastation in the East. This was the first time that most of them had seen a German town in such utter ruin.

The pretty town, which lay in the valley of the Kyll River, had been bombed by the Americans and the British since the men had set out for the great Ardennes offensive a little over a month before. There were one or two buildings left, from what they could see, most of the inhabitants were gone. Dead perhaps, many had probably fled the area when it became obvious that the Allied aerial armada would destroy every possible transportation route feeding the German armies in the Ardennes.

There was a Feldgendarmerie post here, manned by living men this time, and they looked miserable and as tired as the men in von Lüttwitz's column.

Wehrmacht Feldgendarmerie in Winter Uniforms
(Source)

One of the Feldgendarmerie troopers stepped into the road and raised a hand. Major von Lüttwitz nodded at Leutnant Sauer and Hauptfeldwebel Keller, they halted the column. Reaching into his map case, von Lüttwitz extracted the documents he'd been given back in Belgium by the Waffen SS battalion commander whose lines they had re-entered after being cut off. He walked forward, he heard the bolt of an MP 40 being pulled back, that had to be Sauer, he thought.

"Guten morgen Herr Major, may I see your orders?" The feldwebel actually gave von Lüttwitz the traditional Army salute, not the Hitler version.

"Certainly, Feldwebel. I see that Stadtkyll has seen better days. We were here a month ago." von Lüttwitz handed over the document.

The sergeant looked at the document briefly, then said, "You were with the SS?"

"We were attached to 6th Panzerarmee, supporting both the Leibstandarte and the 12th Volksgrenadier Division. We were cut off when Kampfgruppe Peiper went charging into Belgium and the Amis flowed in behind them. The Hitler Jugend saved our asses, those orders, as you can see, are from them. Fall back to Stadtkyll and regroup. Well, here we are. All that seems to be missing is Stadtkyll."

"Please wait here Major." The sergeant started to walk over to a small shed next to the road.

"No, you wait Feldwebel. My men and I are hungry, tired, and I have two men suffering from frostbite who need immediate medical attention. Where do you think you are going?" von Lüttwitz snapped the words out with all of the crisp precision German officers were known for. The sergeant reacted as expected.

"Jawohl, Herr Major. Begging your pardon Sir, but I need to show your papers to my Captain. He's in the shed."

"Spieß?"

"Yes Sir?"

"Take two men and kindly ask the captain in that shed to join us. Forcefully if need be."

"Jawohl Herr Major!"

Within seconds a rather disheveled, and very fat, Hauptmann of the Feldgendarmerie joined the Major and his command party in the road.

"What is the meaning of this Major? Do you mean to interfere with the operations of the Feldgendarmerie?" The sleepy looking Hauptmann was struggling to strap his belt around his ample midsection as he sputtered and fumed.

"That's Herr Major to you, Hauptmann. How dare you interfere with military operations! Feldwebel," von Lüttwitz turned to the Feldgendarmerie sergeant, "what are your unit's orders?"

The sergeant snapped to attention and answered, "To redirect units coming in from Belgium to new assembly areas for refitting. The Hauptmann is perhaps a bit overzealous, Sir."

"Very well, where might we be headed?"

"Continue down this road to Jünkerath, there is a depot where the Army is handling units, which are, uh, redeploying from the front. Yes Sir, redeploying."

"I will not stand for this Major, I will report..."

The crack of the pistol shot made everyone jump. The Feldgendarmerie Hauptmann looked puzzled for a moment, then he slumped to the roadway. Manfred Sauer had drawn his pistol and shot the man in the forehead.

"Shame about your Hauptmann, isn't it Feldwebel?" Leutnant Sauer looked at the Feldgendarmerie Feldwebel in a meaningful way. He had yet to holster his pistol.

"Yes Sir, we were warned of Belgian partisans possibly operating in this area. Perhaps we can forget about this little incident?" The sergeant was sweating profusely and was understandably nervous. It was just him and two other men against a full platoon of infantry. It was a losing proposition, he wasn't sure what his commander, Hauptmann Fettermann, had been thinking. Too long in the East threatening civilians probably. Sometimes the people you harassed fought back.

"Carry on, Feldwebel. Jünkerath you say?"

"Yes Sir... Stay on this road, you can't miss it."

Kampfgruppe (mot) von Lüttwitz continued on down the road, leaving death and three thoroughly cowed Feldgendarmerie in its wake.

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