To Catch a Bear

(Source)

Premierløitnant Morten Henriksen and his small group of reservists had made their way back down the mountain after burning the hunting camp to deny it to the Germans as shelter. The men were exhausted after trekking all night. Even though they were on skis, it had been cold and the snow had made progress slow. None of the men had slept in over twenty-four hours and they hadn't had anything to eat in over twelve.

Henriksen had picked up four more men and one woman during the night, three of the men were reservists who had not received their mobilization orders, one was a hunter who lived so far up in the mountains that the government didn't know he existed. He had been visiting his sister in Oslo when the Germans had invaded. He had gone into the hills when that event had occurred. He was eager to kill Germans.

The woman was the wife of a forester who had been in Stavanger when the Germans invaded. She had no idea if he was alive or dead, when she had seen the Germans in the valley she had gotten worried, when the Norwegian soldiers had come by, she was ready to go with them. At first Henriksen was reluctant to allow her to accompany them.

"Fru¹ Tonnesdottir, you should wait here for your husband, I can't be responsible for ..."

Hildur Tonnesdottir immediately objected to the lieutenant's tone, "Now see here young man, I have lived here in these mountains all my life, I am responsible for myself. The only way I'll not go with you is if you shoot me!"

Henriksen blushed, "No one is going to shoot you, Madam, but you have to understand ..."

Before Hildur could say another word, Magnus Belland interjected, "Do you know how to use that rifle Ma'am." he said, nodding at the older model Krag-Jorgensen she carried.

"Of course I can shoot, young man, how do you think I live when my husband is away?"

The sergeant nodded then addressed his lieutenant, "She reminds me of my grandmother, Sir, I'd wager she'd outlast us all in these mountains."

Henriksen sighed, then said, "Very well, but stay at the rear Ma'am, behind the soldiers."

Hildur looked like she was going to object, then caught herself, "Of course, but if you need help shooting Germans, let me know. I've been hunting since I was a young girl."

She heard one of the men chuckle and say, "And I'll bet that was a long time ago ..."

A look from Hildur froze the man in mid-sentence.

Hartknoch had the men up and moving shortly before sunrise, he saw no point in staying up here any longer. It was cold, the men were hungry, and there was no sign of the Norwegians they had been hunting. Other than the burned buildings which were all that remained of the hunting camp.

"Jürgen, I want your machine gun section to bring up the rear. I doubt those Norwegians are around, but just in case. There's nothing like an MG 34 to convince someone to stay clear." Hartknoch then led the column down off the mountain.

After a long hard slog, the company made it back to where they had fought the original encounter with the Norwegian reservists. Amazingly enough, there was a truck and two of the small PzKw² I tanks, a vehicle which barely qualified as a tank it was so under-armed (two machine guns, no cannon). But it was better than anything the Norwegians had in the area.

Hartknoch recognized Hauptfeldwebel³ Wolf Lang standing near the truck, which, again amazingly, was loaded up with the company's rucksacks and greatcoats.

"Ah Spieß, we could have used those greatcoats last night, f**king cold up there on the mountain!" as Hartknoch spoke, he had the platoon leaders have their men fall in to collect their gear from the truck.

"Ah, did it get a little chilly up there, Kurt? Miss your cozy barracks back in Jüterborg⁴?"

"Natürlich⁵ Spieß! I miss seeing your wife as well!"

Lang looked around then hissed, "Watch what you say about my wife, Hartknoch. She's told me many times that she doesn't like you." The Spieß grinned when he said that. Lang wasn't actually married but everyone knew how sweet he was on the little blonde barmaid at the Kleiner Hase⁶ in Jüterborg. Everyone referred to her as the Hauptfeldwebel's wife. The barmaid did NOT find that amusing, but she humored the men. After all, their drinking helped pay her salary.

Hartknoch laughed, then as he saw that the company was once again reunited with their greatcoats and rucksacks, he said, "Did you bring a field kitchen with you?"

"Of course, down the hill then to the left, by the cobbler's shop. Get your men fed, then I have another mission for you. No rest for the wicked, Kurt!"

Henriksen hissed between his teeth as he studied the valley where the village was. More Germans and they had two of the small tankettes that mounted a pair of machine guns. "They have tanks, Magnus. Two of those little ones." He handed his sergeant the field glasses.

"We've got nothing to stop one of those." Belland knew that his officer wanted to go after the Germans, but with only eight men and one older woman, he wasn't sure what they could possibly do. He handed the field glasses back.

As he did so Hildur spoke, "I know a place, if we could lure them up the trail behind the grocer's ..."

One of the new men cut her off, "That place where the road dips down on one side into a gully, right?" Åsmund Baardson knew Hildur from her trips down to the village to buy supplies with the money she and her husband made from trapping and hunting.

"Exactly Åsmund, you always were smart."

"What on earth are you talking about, Bestemor⁷?" Martin Sundheim chimed in, "What would you know about killing tanks. We have nothing to kill a tank with!"

Hildur smiled and said, "I've killed bear without a rifle you know?"

Henriksen thought for a moment, "Set a trap for the tank, somehow get it to roll off the road and into the gully, that's what you mean, isn't it Fru?"

"I see why they made you an officer, young Sir." Hildur smiled again.

"All right lads, let's go figure out how to catch a bear without a rifle!" Henriksen said as he followed Hildur into the forest. Things might get interesting, he mused.

Sergeant Belland was firmly of the opinion that his lieutenant had clearly lost his mind.

¹ Mrs. (Norwegian)

² Panzerkampfwagen, (German) Armored Fighting Vehicle, i.e., a tank.

³ Title for the company first sergeant, or Spieß. Spieß was the Wehrmacht slang term for the first sergeant, literally "spear."

⁴ The town where the 163rd Infantry Division trained after being raised in late 1939.

⁵ Naturally (German)

⁶ The Little Hare, a fictional pub in Jüterborg.

⁷ Grandmother (Norwegian)