Old Men and Boys

Source

The men marched with their heads down, shuffling along more than marching. The day was miserable, snow alternating with sleet. Krafft was with the bridge detachment commander, Schmidt.

"I'm Dieter, by the way. We haven't been properly introduced have we?"

Schmidt laughed harshly, "Sorry Stabsfeldwebel, I left all my cartes de visite¹ at my home in Dresden. But no we weren't properly introduced, I'm Wolfgang. my friends call me Wolf."

Krafft chuckled, "You have friends?"

Schmidt looked at Krafft, "I suppose most of them are dead now. From Tunisia to Stalingrad, most of the lads I grew up with are gone. You?"

"I've lost everything. My home was bombed out by the Tommies. Wife gone, house gone, bastards even killed my dog. All I have now is the Army, I suspect I won't even have that shortly."

"Amen to that, brother."

The road was more or less straight all the way from the Oder to the Seelow Heights, but just ahead was a rise. Beyond that rise was a village. Near the top of the slight ridge, Krafft could see men working, digging, filling sandbags.

When they got close to the entrenchments Krafft was shocked, the diggers weren't all men, it seemed that the entire village had fallen out to prepare the town for defense. From up ahead, he heard the lieutenant call a halt.

"Wait here, Wolf, have the men fall out and get off their feet."

"Right Dieter, I could use a break myself."

As he made his way up the column, Krafft noted that most of the males were either quite old or quite young, adolescents and teens. They were all wearing armbands, there were very few uniforms in evidence. The armbands were black and red with white trim and lettering, he looked closely, the armband proclaimed the wearer to be a member of the "Deutscher Volkssturm Wehrmacht."²

He saw that von Zitzewitz was talking with an older man, he had to be in his seventies if he was a day. The man was wearing a police uniform, he seemed to be in charge.

Krafft stopped, nodded at his officer and said, "Herr Leutnant, will we be pausing here for very long?"

Before von Zitzewitz could speak, the older man frowned and said, "No wonder we're losing the war, is this how you report to a senior officer?"

Krafft spared a glance at the man but continue to focus on his lieutenant.

"Yes, we shall spend the night. This is Oberstleutnant Braun, he is in command here. I've just been explaining to him that we cannot stay to defend his town. The army does not fall under the police."

Braun stood erect and barked, "I outrank you Leutnant! During the Great War we shot upstarts like you!"

Krafft couldn't help himself, "Perhaps that is why you lost that war, Herr Oberstleutnant, you're supposed to shoot the other fellow, not your own chaps."

Braun began to turn beet-red when von Zitzewitz interrupted, "Thank you Krafft, that will be all. Take the men into the village and find quarters for the night." Turning to the older man he asked, "You have food in the village, I trust?"

"Those rations are meant for the garrison!" Braun was apoplectic.

"Carry on, Staber."

Von Zitzewitz leaned closer to the old police colonel, "If I was you I'd hold my tongue. My men are in no mood for rear area nonsense. Feed them, house them, and we'll be on our way at first light. Provided the Russians don't get here first."

With those words, the old man seemed to deflate, "Russians?"

Von Zitzewitz nodded, "Not fifteen kilometers behind us. If they can get over the Oder, they can be here tonight."

"I am not equipped to defend against ..." Braun stuttered.

"I suggest you dig those holes deep, Herr Oberstleutnant, Ivan has a lot of cannon."

As the lieutenant got the men up and moving, the old man stood atop the ridge, looking to the east with a very worried look on his face.

"Isn't there a possibility for OKW³ to send us right back out here to defend this village?" one of the younger men was asking the lieutenant that question as Krafft walked up with Lang.

"Sure, they could also order us to commit suicide, it would have the same effect." Lang offered.

Von Zitzewitz shook his head, "Uffz that's out of line."

Krafft chimed in, "Yes Kurt, you shouldn't frighten the children." Even the lieutenant laughed at that.

"Seriously, Sir, what if they order us ..."

"Then of course, Schütze Krebs, we will turn around and come back. Make sure your life insurance is paid up."

Young Krebs looked like he was going to cry. Krafft rescued him, "Head back to the bivouac Johannes, we can chat about that later."

"Really Lang, I don't need your sense of humor right now," the lieutenant was upset and it showed.

"Sorry Sir, I'm just starting to lose my will to live. The next kid who asks me what the high command intends I just might shoot myself. Or spank him. This is a Gottverdammte kindergarten, how old is Krebs? Fifteen?"

"Go get some sleep, Kurt. I need to talk to the lieutenant."

As Lang went off muttering, Krafft led the lieutenant by the arm out of the barn they were set up in.

"We should think about staying here for a few days, Sir."

Von Zitzewitz stared at his senior sergeant, "Are you serious?"

"Look Sir, it will be some time before the Russians come up. We can help the old policeman set up his defenses and give the men time to recuperate."

"What makes you so sure the Russians won't come up soon?"

"Logistics, Herr Leutnant, they've been advancing almost non-stop since they paused at Warsaw, before that they'd been on the move since early summer. They need to stop and regroup before taking on the last challenge of this war."

"Which is?"

Krafft wondered if the lieutenant was being deliberately thick or if the man's fatigue was worse than he thought.

"Berlin, Sir. Once the capital falls, it's over. The war, probably Germany itself."

"The Führer has vowed to fight to the last, there is word of an Alpine Redoubt where we can hold the enemy off for ..."

"For what, Herr Leutnant, a season? A year? It's like the Atlantic Wall, the West Wall, it's all propaganda, one of Goebbels' fever dreams. There is no redoubt, Sir, there is no hope. We can only choose where to die. I don't even think survival is possible anymore. You didn't see what we did in Russia. Now the chickens are coming home to roost."

"I still think ..."

"Please, Herr Leutnant, stop dreaming, you'll give the men false hope. There is no hope."

Von Zitzewitz started to protest then stopped, he looked into the distance. It was as if a light had come on. Perhaps it was thinking of the women and children and old men digging trenches upon a wind swept ridge, preparing to meet a ruthless enemy. Maybe it was remembering the sight of a soldier, with only one arm, teaching a group of boys how to fire a Panzerfaust.

"You're right, Dieter. We'll stay here for a bit. Whether or not we move out and head to the heights, we'll see. I suppose this is as good a place as any to die."

Krafft shook his head, "Bit early for that, but keep that possibility in mind. I'll go see to the men."

Von Zitzewitz waved a hand in dismissal, he seemed to have aged a hundred years in just moments.

¹ Visiting cards or calling cards.

² Literally "German Peoples Storm Armed Forces" - a militia formed from virtually anyone who could carry a weapon.

³ Oberkommando der Wehrmacht - High Command of the Armed Forces.