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Praetorium Honoris

Wednesday, August 30, 2023

Auf Wiedersehen, Schulz

(Source)
Hauptmann Ferdinand Busch took his time lighting his cigar. Standing in front of him was Oberfeldwebel Erwin Kroemer, his 3rd Platoon's platoon sergeant. Kroemer was slightly nervous, it was unusual for the company commander to deal directly with his platoon sergeants alone, normally the platoon leader was present as well. But Leutnant Klaus Ochs had been grievously wounded the night before when he had stepped on a mine.

"So, Kroemer, why was your officer outside the lines in no-man's-land at such a late hour? Where were you?"

Kroemer shifted nervously from one foot to the other, he didn't want to get his platoon leader in trouble, even if the man might not live. But the reason for the lieutenant's excursion was one Oberschütze Wilhelm Schulz, everyone in 3rd platoon, save one man, was scared of Schulz. Well, not Schulz himself but Schulz's uncle, a man reputed to be a member of the Gestapo, the feared secret state police.

"Was Schulz on sentry duty?"

Kroemer hesitated, ever so briefly, which Busch jumped on. "Schulz wander off again? Is that what Ochs was doing, looking for his errant sentry?"

Kroemer looked at the floor of the bunker, and muttered an answer.

"What? Did you say yes? What is the problem Oberfeldwebel? There was no Schütze Sauer there to save his ass this time?"

"Ja, Herr Hauptmann. Schulz was away from his post, Leutnant Ochs went looking for him. That's when Ochs stepped on a mine."

Kroemer wondered if he would be sent to a punishment battalion or simply be reduced in rank and transferred out of the battalion. He looked back at the company commander and was surprised to see the man was smiling.

"Did you know that Schulz's uncle is not in the Gestapo?"

"Sir?"

"Apparently everyone in your platoon, except Sauer, is afraid of Schulz because the man has hinted that his uncle is 'an important police official,' in other words, the Gestapo."

Kroemer nodded, "Well, that's the story, Herr Hauptmann, he said that ..."

"Did you know that Schulz's uncle is actually a records clerk for the Kripo¹ in Dresden? He is not a police official. He's a clerk. A damned clerk."

Kroemer looked astonished, "So, he's been ..."

"Yes, the man is a liar and has been shirking his duties. The only man in the damned company to see through his act was Schütze Sauer."

"I see, but ..."

"I'm tempted to have your straps² for allowing this nonsense. I'm very tempted to have Schulz shot out of hand. But Major Hassel doesn't agree and, after all, it is his battalion. Also, you have an otherwise spotless record, decorated for bravery in Poland and in France. I suspect that you have some fear of the Party, which is wise, all things considered. So you will remain with 3rd Platoon as its Führer des Zugstrupp³, but another officer will be taking Leutnant Ochs' place. An Oberleutnant from 1st Battalion staff, one Albert Jäger. Do you have any problems with that?"

"Nein, Herr Hauptmann." Kroemer was now standing at rigid attention, which Busch noticed and appreciated. The man was a good soldier, but he needed to do his job, not worry about who was who back in the Reich.

"What about Oberschütze Schulz, does he stay ..."

"Glad you asked, Schulz has 'volunteered' to lead a three man patrol over to the Russian lines to snatch a prisoner."

"He has?"

"Ja, he's taking Sauer and Schwertfeger with him. Make sure they set out shortly after sundown."

"Sir, I ..."

"Dismissed, Oberfeldwebel."


Schütze Oskar Schwertfeger was a big man, 193 cm tall and weighing in at 104 kilos. He had been a dockworker before the war in Stettin but was originally from a small village outside Leipzig. Which is why he was drafted into the 223rd Infantry Division, a Saxon unit.

He was waiting with Schütze Sauer, waiting for Oberschütze Schulz who was, as always, late.

"So Manfred, what's the deal?" Schwertfeger was a rough man, he didn't like Schulz and most of the platoon knew that. He also knew that Sauer was not afraid of Schulz and that Sauer was gaining a reputation in the battalion. Killing three Ivans all by himself enhanced that reputation. Other's pointed out that "Schultz was there, it wasn't just Sauer." But Schwertfeger knew that for what it was, nonsense. Schulz was a shirker.

"We're going to do two things tonight, Oskar. We're going to snatch an Ivan to bring back for interrogation, preferably an officer."

"What's the second thing?" Schwertfeger asked.

"Schulz won't be coming back with us." Sauer said grimly. The suggestion came from the battalion commander himself, he couldn't order Sauer to do such a thing, but he knew that Sauer understood.

Sauer had been keeping an eye on Schulz since the night of the three Ivans, as some wag at battalion had named it. Schulz was never where he was supposed to be, never went on patrol, and always found an excuse to head to the rear. Major Hassel had made some enquiries, unlike Schulz's uncle, Hassel's brother-in-law actually was a policeman, in Köln.

"So you see, Sauer, Schulz has been claiming to have a relative in the Gestapo, which is nonsense. He's starting to affect morale, I can't call him out as a liar, there are some at division who actually believe Schulz regardless of what they've been told and shown. So ..."

"You need to find a way to be rid of him, Herr Major. Yes?"

Hassel nodded then looked hard at Sauer. "I think you're the man to do it. Unless I'm mistaken?"

"Nein, Herr Major, sometimes the herd needs to be culled of its weaker members. When I was raising pigs, well, let's just say, I had to take care of things. Pigs are intelligent, I learned not to get too attached to any of the animals. I'm afraid that's carried over to my dealings with people. It's time to cull the herd, nicht wahr⁴?"

"You're a hard one, Sauer."

"If you say so, Sir."


A hundred meters into no-man's-land, Schulz stopped and waved Schwertfeger and Sauer to cover. "I think this is far enough, boys. We'll tell the Leutnant that we couldn't get close enough to snag a prisoner. We'll wait for a few hours, then head back. Klar?"

Schwertfeger reached around Schulz and pinioned his arms, he also cupped a hand over Schulz's mouth. "Sorry, Herr Oberschütze," he said sarcastically, "but for you, the war is over."

Schulz began to struggle when he saw Sauer pull his bayonet. Schulz tried to scream but Schwertfeger made sure no sound escaped the man's mouth.

After a brief struggle, Sauer wiped his bayonet on the skirt of Schulz's greatcoat. "Well, that's done. Let's go kidnap an Ivan," he whispered.

Schwertfeger looked at Sauer in amazement, he knew Sauer couldn't see his expression so he murmured, "Really? You intend to actually carry out the mission?"

"How else would we explain Schulz's death?" Sauer shrugged, then shouldered his rifle and began to move towards the Russian trenches.

Schwertfeger shrugged as well, then followed.


Oberleutnant Jäger looked at Sauer, then Schwertfeger, then at the badly battered Russian captain lying bound on the trench floor.

"Where is Schulz?" was his first question.

Sauer looked at the ground, then sighed, "I'm afraid the Oberschütze was killed in action, Sir. When we reached the Soviet trenches, we saw a small group of men, this officer and two others. It looked like they were about to set out on the same mission we had."

Jäger stared hard at Sauer, "And?"

"Well, we got the drop on them, but one of them bayoneted poor Schulz. Schwertfeger here took that man's head off with his entrenching tool, then hit the other man in the chest. Meanwhile, I butt stroked the officer. Gently, so he went down, but wasn't unconscious. The second man that Oskar hit was still alive, so I hit him with the butt of my rifle."

Sauer showed the lieutenant the butt of his K98k, it was bloodstained and had bits of flesh still stuck to it. Jäger turned pale, he'd seen things in France, but nothing like this.

"Manfred slugged him really good, Herr Oberleutnant. The man's head burst like a ..."

"That's enough, Schütze, I get the picture."

"This officer looks to be in bad shape." Jäger said as he looked at the man.

For his part the Soviet officer couldn't take his eyes off the two German enlisted men. They had hit his section of trench like a bomb going off. One minute he was about to lead two men into no-man's-land, (as Sauer had surmised, it was to be a prisoner grab) and the next minute his two men were dead and he was at the bottom of the trench with a German boot on his throat.

His head felt like it was going to split, but he resolved to tell these men whatever they wanted to hear. He just wanted to be as far from these two brutes as possible.


Hassel looked at the two soldiers, both at a rather loose position of attention in front of him. Well, sod that, he thought. They got the job done. "Good job, boys. I'm thinking of promoting the both of you, an Iron Cross as well."

Sauer spoke up, "I'll take the Cross, but a promotion? No Sir, I'm a simple soldier, just want to do my job then go home to my pig farm after the war."

Schwertfeger looked at Sauer, then said, "I want to stick with Sauer, Sir. We make a good team. So yes to the Iron Cross, no thank you to the promotion."

"I could order you to accept." Hassel pointed out.

"Yes Sir, you could, but is that what you really want?" Sauer looked at the battalion commander in a strange way.

Hassel noticed that Schwertfeger had an odd grin on his face. It reminded him of a wolf he'd seen in the Harz Mountains on a hike before the war. It said, I can do whatever I like with you, but I won't.

"Very well, then. Again, damned good job. For now, head back to your platoon."

Both men came to a more correct position of attention, nodded briskly, then stepped out of the bunker.

Hassel shivered, "What have I created?"

Both men scared him just a little, they reminded him of men he had known in the Freikorps back between the wars. Men who cared for nothing but survival, good comrades, but they had to be handled carefully. He had known a few killers in his career. Sauer was one.

He smiled briefly as he realized, with more men like those two, they could actually win this damned war. Which worried him, he hated the National Socialists, so he didn't want them to win, but for Germany he would fight.

"From what I've seen of Communism, I don't want them winning either," he muttered as his aide, Hauptmann Markus Kindl came in.

"Sir?" Kindl had a puzzled look on his face.

"Nothing, Markus, just thinking out loud. Did you see the two men who just left?"

"Yes Sir, Schwertfeger and Sauer, couple of real nasty types there."

"I want the Cross for both of them."

Kindl nodded, "Zu Befehl, Herr Major⁵."

As Kindl left the bunker, he shook his head, "What have those two done to deserve the Eisernes Kreuz? I'll talk to their platoon commander, no, he's new, I'll talk to their Führer des Zugstrupp, Kroemer. He'll know what's what."




¹ Kripo - the Krimanalpolizei, criminal police, responsible for law enforcement.
² Rank in the German military was (and still is) denoted on the soldier's epaulettes, the shoulder straps on their tunics. Lower ranking enlisted would have stripe(s) (one to three inverted chevrons depending on the year) on the left sleeve, but more senior personnel wore their rank on their shoulders.
³ German equivalent of a platoon sergeant, literally the "leader of the platoon section." The platoon commander was called the Zugführer, literally "platoon leader."
⁴ Literally "not true" but the meaning is along the lines of "isn't that true?"
⁵ At your command, Major.

30 comments:

  1. Sauer certainly has his wits about him and just may survive both the Party and the Soviets. Time will tell for Kindl once he discovers the lay of the land.

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    1. Kindl is a staff officer by trade and by nature. We'll have to see what happens if he gets close to the action.

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  2. "You're a hard one, Sauer."

    "If you say so, Sir."

    I have met people like this. I understand the concept, although I do not know I could ever be like that.

    "Which worried him, he hated the National Socialists, so he didn't want them to win, but for Germany he would fight.

    "From what I've seen of Communism, I don't want them winning either," he muttered as his aide, Hauptmann Markus Kindl came in"

    This is both thought provoking and almost strangely prophetic, Sarge. You have given me a fair amount to think on today. As always, well written.

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    1. I wanted to dig deeper into the character of Manfred Sauer. He's an interesting guy.

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  3. Uff. Corporate politics can be as harsh (or worse, maybe, leaving their victim alive, on the street, and wondering "What the hell has happened to me?")

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    1. Leaving the victim alive ... Funny you should mention that.

      At first the post tile was "The Choice." I envisioned Sauer taking Schulz out into no-man's-land and making him choose between defecting to the Soviets or being DRT (Dead Right There). Then it struck me that it would be difficult, if not impossible, to get Schulz anywhere near the Russian positions. So the prisoner snatch mission came into being where it would be plausible for Schulz to stop in the middle of no-man's-land and go no further. So there was really no choice there, Schulz had to be "let go."

      Leaving him alive out in no-man's-land, now that would be very corporate, wouldn't it?

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    2. Crusty Old TV Tech here. Musie has served you well in this small chapter of the story. Sadly, some men demand they be whacked, even in the middle of a war. Of course, war does provide the means and opportunity. But, the cost to those who must do what they must. Thought provoking vignette you have here.

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    3. There's a wonderful movie called "A Very Long Engagement" which portrayed a French WWI punishment of leaving men in No Man's Land
      Great story!
      Boat Guy

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  4. "Which worried him, he hated the National Socialists, so he didn't want them to win, but for Germany he would fight."

    And just across No Man's Land many hated The State and The Party but would sell their lives for Святая Мать Россия. And I wouldn't bet that many who fought in Viet Nam or the later parts of our involvement in Iraq and Afghanistan had similar feelings - hated the politics involved, but be damned to them if they would betray our Republic.

    I don't think many countries, even the US, inspire such a deep and visceral loyalty to the land itself.
    In our parish there were many what a lot of us called "Old Russians," people whose families had fled Russia in the '20s (1920s....geez! a hundred years ago!) and '30s and made their way to the US, some through Europe, some through China. Some even born in Harbin of Russian expat parents, who still had strong feelings for Holy Mother Russia. In fact, our sister paris, a ROCOR (Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia) parish, has quite a few of the grandchildren of those born in Harbin who, even though they never set foot on Russian soil, have a filial loyalty to her.

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    1. The Родина. I really get that.

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    2. I just now thought of it, but loyalty for and love of the Motherland must be what compelled so many who were officers in the antebellum US Army to resign their commissions and fight for the Confederacy. Carolinians and Georgians; Texans and Virginians, only secondarily Americans. Lee's famous comment that he couldn't raise his sword against his native Virginia.

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    3. Back when we were "these" United States.

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    4. Here in Poland patriotism still runs deep. Having been deprived of own state makes you appreciate having it...

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  5. Cleaning house via no man's land...

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    1. No prying eyes. though it's a dangerous venue, it's a good place to "dump the trash."

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  6. Happens socially, too, where we call it "ghosting".

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  7. Art imitates life, and it is hard to tell which is which.
    Perhaps this fiction is merely history which was never recorded, but is totally factual. It probably is.

    Sauer seems to have some redeeming moral instincts, but has an innate sense of what is needed for survival, and is not driven by evil, but not afraid of it either. An interested monster you have created, Dr. Frankenstein. (I confess I rather like him.)

    Schulz, however, was a self serving cowardly scumbag. (I confess I am not troubled by his demise.)
    People like these have existed, and you are resurrecting them for well deserved places in (fictional) history.
    Great dialogue, as always.
    John Blackshoe

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    1. For another glimpse into Sauer's character, read this.

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    2. "Perhaps this fiction is merely history which was never recorded, ..."

      Interesting thought. I like it.

      "Sauer seems to have some redeeming moral instincts, but has an innate sense of what is needed for survival,"

      What might be called in the D&D world "Amoral Neutral," not "immoral" which implies an evil or harmful intent, but "amoral" as in willing to set aside normally accepted moral behavior for survival or the common good.

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    3. Sometimes necessary in war, those near you become your kin, everyone else is an "other."

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  8. Some people just need killing. And getting a good officer whacked, well, that's pretty much the definition of SPJNK.

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    1. When you pose a danger to your own side, then yes, you gotta go!

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  9. hey Old AF Sarge,
    Some people just need killing....Shirkers and Malingers are corrosive to morale and eventually ht would have poisoned the whole unit. "Culling the herd" was necessary because transfers were out of the question, the old school Officers in the Wehrmacht didn't believe on pushing a problem on someone else, their sense of duty forbad such things.

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    1. Yes, it was best handled internally. Accidents happen, neh?

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    2. Hai! Wakarimas!
      BG

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  10. Hard to think it's been 3 years since the farm house raid. Good story tellen'. Getting old and lost in time, I think I found your site on someones side bar because the initial plague bull shit. Apparently, I'm gonna be sticking around. Thanks for the great stories and other "stuff".

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    1. I aim to please, thanks for stopping by Tree Mike.

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