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Those who've been around a while know that I spend a lot of time in Maryland. Kids and grandkids, dontcha know?
I'm there right now, the photo shows what a lovely day Wednesday was, a nice way to start October.
The story of the Fall of Berlin and the events preceding that are on hold for a bit. For there is a problem ...
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The most direct path goes straight through the city, a city jam-packed with fanatics ready to die for Hitler, folks who won't look kindly upon a group heading west to avoid the Soviets. Hell, Hitler had his wife's brother-in-law executed for trying to flee Berlin.¹
So why not have them go around the city, some of you might be asking. Well, have a gander at this map ...
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So I need to come up with something that's realistic and possible. And in late April, early May 1945, there isn't a lot of wiggle room to get our folks to the west.
But I'm going to try. Heck, the story might just end in the ruins of Berlin. In real life a lot of stories did just that, but they weren't stories, they were real flesh and blood people.
While not all stories have happy endings, I like mine to.
We shall see, so bear with me.
¹ See the story of Hermann Fegelein here.
Let them escape on pogo sticks.
ReplyDeleteGround's kinda soft for that.
DeleteLink provides a most interesting read Sarge, at best the guy was opportunist/poseur, at worst....well. Enjoy your break, rest that brain.
ReplyDeleteBit of both really, didn't do him much good in the end though, did it?
Delete“War is Hell!” Apparently writing about it has some of those aspects also.
ReplyDeleteNot to worry, your faithful audience will be here when you get back.
Have fun! juvat
It's hard to be creative with grandsons crawling all over you!
DeleteI've wondered how you were going to have a good outcome out of such a bleak situation. Soldiers, at that time, had the best chance at surrendering to Allied soldiers, but civilians in Berlin faced a daunting future under the Soviets. Soldiers caught by the Soviets could disappear forever in wherever the Soviets decided they should send them. None were given autonomy, had to deal with the arbitrary decisions of their occupiers, and the lone survivor of a family, or a marriage, found everything they ever knew was gone forever. Having a happy ending will be a daunting task.
ReplyDeleteIf it's even possible at all. At this point I'm of two minds about the outcome of this tale. One is bleak indeed.
DeleteMaybe they will run into another unit looking to find the Americans...
DeleteWhich in all of the confusion of that time may open fire on them.
DeleteThey just have to run faster, maybe in the company of a general who wants to be captured by the Brits or Yanks
ReplyDeleteThat is an idea, there had to be others who can see where this ends up and are making a run to the other front.
DeleteOr war really sucks & they don't make it...
Any Mouse @ 6:45 AM - Can't outrun a mechanized force, which the Russians mostly were by then, thanks mostly to the good old US of A. (We provided them with thousands of trucks.)
DeleteRob - Some units did make it to the west, many did not. The harsh calculus of war.
DeleteRe: first photo - Very pretty area! Have fun.
ReplyDeleteRe: Our ragtag band of heroes. Tight situation, and possibly more danger from their own than from the Red Army. Only option, really, is for them to play it by ear, and make their own luck. Maybe "appropriate" some uniforms and vehicles from the Feldgendarmerie and head west.
The area here is gorgeous.
DeleteOur heroes are indeed "in a tight spot" to borrow a quote from one of Hizzoner's (and my) favorite movies.
O, brother are they! Their sitchi-ation is pret nigh hopeless.
ReplyDeleteNot quite hopeless, but damned difficult for all that.
Delete"What are you doing here?" asked the Kett;ehund (who looked less kettlehund than normal kettlehunds...)
ReplyDelete"We have orders to punch west into a group doing an armed recon, gotta cut them off and keep them from reporting back," said the leader.
"Mind if I join you? keep a watch to make sure you do your job and don't run away, don't you know," KH said while tucking his gorget into his inner coat pocket...
Might be worth a try, but the situation is very fluid. Might not be a chance to explain anything, someone might just start shooting instead of talking.
DeleteAnd all it takes is a tunnel, mining tunnel, or a stretch of nigh-unto-impossible forest where either helpful civilians or some fellow German knows the way. Or something. Not knowing the terrain, but there are ways.
ReplyDeleteAnd, of course, even on the best assaults, there are gaps and holes and mistakes made by the attackers.
The terrain won't be much help, forests there are but impenetrable they are not. The key will be that the lead Soviet elements are striving to reach Berlin, not mop up stragglers. They'll leave that to the trailing units who, in many places, were far more interested in terrorizing civilians than engaging armed Germans. (Second line troops are never the best, it's why they're in the second line.)
DeleteA plane (and a willing pilot)? Preferably an Allied one. A Russian (a Russian C47 would be ideal) or one of the captured Allied bombers tested by the Germans. A fighter might get one or two passengers out. Commandeer a German transport plane getting high German brass out, although flying a German aircraft would be close to suicide given the Russian fighters swarming in the area and the Allied fighters west of Berlin.
DeleteThat would be tough. First, finding a suitable aircraft, second, finding the fuel, third, surviving in the air. The Allies had air supremacy by then.
DeleteGet out of the obvious assault corridors and hunker down, let the war pass by, then make way to say, Denmark? Get captured by the British.
ReplyDeleteNot a bad idea, but the Soviets had a lot of people closing on Berlin.
DeleteFirst hunker down and let the assault wave pass over.
DeleteThen, if they are somewhat north of the E-W line of Berlin, punch north after the frontal assault, staying ahead of the following units. Keep moving northwestwardly. The Soviet second line wasn't as mobile as the first line as their maintenance was atrocious (in comparison to US forces.)
If they are south of the E-W line of Berlin, pump south then southwest after the assault wave and head to the Amis.
This is actually how even large groups of escaped prisoners often manage to stay on the run for a long time. Escape, hunker down close, let the first wave pass, stay between the first and second wave of searchers.
Nobody is searching for them, which is good. However, a bunch of Soviet armies are passing through. Makes things iffy.
DeleteI am minded of a tale told by Cooper about a German who escaped from a POW camp near the White Sea after the end of the war, who was able to emulate a soviet soldier sufficiently well to make it almost all the way to Allied lines before being shot. Would it be possible to become part of the invading army? Just a thought....
ReplyDeleteAnother thought- the Oder runs to the Baltic... and there are lots of canals there, too. Soviets don't care about travel paths not moving in their direction of interest......
One or two might make it that way, but a whole platoon? Problematic.
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