by Harold Coyle
The 1st Platoon tanks were at point-blank range when Weiss gave the order to fire. The tanks fell in behind 11 and followed it as they all blazed away with machine guns at the fleeing Russians. All semblance of order disappeared as 11 pushed onto the bridge. Going was slow on the bridge as trucks that could not be bypassed were pushed out of the way.
Fires sprang up as fuel tanks were ignited by tracers. Russians fled into the night or simply tried to surrender to the charging tanks.
The tanks were not interested in prisoners right then. Neither was the Mech Platoon. As soon as Sergeant Polgar's track reached the south side of the bridge, he stopped and dismounted. The next track in line did likewise, dropping its ramp and disgorging its infantry squad. As the troops came piling out, Polgar yelled to the squad leader to cut all wires to the demolitions. The troops, never having done this, began to rip away at any wire they found. In the rush of the moment, one infantryman tried to cut an electric power line with his bayonet. He nearly electrocuted himself. Despite this, the fire from die-hard Russians, and working in the dark, the infantry managed to keep the bridge from being blown.
Once Uleski had closed up on the south side, the Team went about the task of securing the bridge, dealing with any resistance, and rounding up the Russians who wanted to surrender.
Bannon sent the Scout Platoon out as far as he dared to establish a combat outpost line.
The 1 st Platoon was deployed to the left of the main road in a quarter arc to the river. The 2nd Platoon was deployed to the right, also in an arc from the road to the river. One Mech squad stayed at the bridge's north entrance, one at the south, and the third was deployed forward on the road to set up a road block. Uleski deployed the 3rd Platoon on the south side of the river in a shallow semicircle.
When Bannon reported the seizure of the bridge to battalion, neither the commander nor the S-3 would believe him. They kept asking him to make sure that he was not confusing the Saale River bridge with a small bridge across a stream farther to the south. When he finally convinced them that the Team had in fact seized the main highway bridge, they gave him a wait-out while they conferred on what to do. After a couple of minutes, the battalion commander came on the net and ordered two companies to reinforce Team Yankee at the bridge. The S-3 would continue to drive to the river and conduct the crossing farther to the west as planned. The colonel shifted the main effort to the bridge to prepare for the passage of the 25th Armored Division.
As dawn began to break, Team Yankee found itself momentarily alone and out on a limb again. But there was no sign of fear or apprehension. The men went about preparing for an enemy attack that they expected but would never receive. Unknown to them, far beyond the outpost line established by the scouts, men were making decisions and issuing orders that would start the final and potentially most deadly phase of the war.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
The Day After
When the battalion commander arrived, he began to expand the bridgehead. Team Yankee elements that were still south of the river were sent north and ordered to move forward and establish a defensive position on high ground four kilometers northeast of the bridge. B company was sent to establish a position four kilometers north of the bridge. The scouts were sent out farther but had the same mission. Team Charlie was kept south of the river to protect the bridgehead from attack there and to mop up Soviet stragglers still running around.
The only action of the day occurred when a company of Soviet tanks came down the road from the north. The scouts let them pass, reporting their location and allowing B company to prepare for them. It was obvious that the Soviets either didn't know the bridge had fallen or thought that the battalion's positions were farther south. Whatever the reason, B company made short work of them.
By 0700 hours, the lead element of the 25th Armored Division was crossing the river. From their positions, the men in Team Yankee could watch the endless line of vehicles and troops stream north. Once the 25th had passed through B company, B company and Team Yankee were ordered to move to new positions farther east, expanding the bridgehead. Team Charlie did likewise on the south side of the river. By noon the entire battalion, minus Team Charlie, was across the river, reconsolidated and again ordered to move farther to the east.
It was during this last move that word came down from battalion for all the commanders to gather at the battalion CP. When Bannon arrived, he was greeted with a stone-cold silence by the officers who were already there. They were standing around the rear of the command track listening into a conversation the colonel was having on the radio. Bannon stopped and thought to himself, "Great, some dumb son of a bitch has come up with another nightmare of an operation."
Coming up closer, he could only catch bits and pieces of the conversation. When the colonel finished, he put down the mike, stood there a moment. Turning to the S-3, he merely said,
"Well, I guess we're fighting a new war now. "
Bannon turned to Frank Wilson, the commander of Team Charlie, "New war? What's the Old Man talking about? Did someone pop a nuke?" Frank looked at Bannon, closed his eyes, and nodded his head in the affirmative. They had crossed the nuclear threshold.
Colonel Hall came out of the track followed by Major Shell and stopped in the middle of the officers gathered. "As some of you heard, the Soviets have initiated nuclear warfare. This morning they launched an attack with a single weapon against a British city, destroying it and causing severe damage to the surrounding area. The United States and Great Britain together retaliated by striking a Soviet city with several weapons. Although there have been no further exchanges, we are to assume that the Soviets will continue to use nuclear weapons, including tactical devices." He paused for a moment to let this news sink in before he continued, "As a result, the battalion will increase the distance between the company positions. Team Yankee will be pulled out of the line and held back as a reserve. The S-3 will provide you with details. I expect you to take all measures necessary to protect your force without losing sight of our mission."
Major Shell pulled out his map board and pointed out where each company and team was to go. Team Yankee was to pull back into reserve positions. To reduce their vulnerability and present a less lucrative target, the platoons were spread out over a wide area. After some additional instructions, the commanders and staff dispersed and went about adjusting their units and assets to deal with the new threat.
News of the use of nuclear weapons put a pall on all activities and conversations. Up to now, the war had been manageable on a personal level. The Team had been in some very tight spots but had come out in relatively good shape. The men had met the Russians face-to-face and found that they could be defeated. They had confidence in the Team's weapons, its leaders, and the Team itself. They had been sure that they would win. The initiation of nuclear war, however, was different. Not only was there nothing that the Team could do to stop it, a nuclear war threatened the United States. Their families and friends four thousand miles away were now in as much danger as they were.
It was this fear of the unknown and the feeling of hopeless despair that became Bannon's greatest challenge. As soon as the Team was in its new positions, he went to each of the platoons and gathered the men around, going over what had happened and what it meant.
He explained the possible results and what they had to do. For the most part, however, he tried hard to be upbeat in his discussions and point out that they were not entirely helpless.
The Team still had a job to do and could still influence the outcome of the war.
By evening he didn't know whether or not his efforts had had any effect. Everyone was in a quiet, reflective mood, the men talking to each other only when necessary. For the most part, each man passed the night alone with his own thoughts and fears.
Bannon too was overcome with a feeling of despair and fear. As a soldier, it was his job to know about the effects of nuclear weapons. He knew national policy and the size of the nuclear arsenals that each side had.
For the first time in many days his thoughts kept turning to his family. Nightmare images crept into his mind and destroyed his ability to reason and think. The stress of the last few days, exhaustion, and now the fears brought on by the thought of an all-out nuclear war were too much for him to handle. With no one to talk to or share his feelings with, he sought escape through sleep. Like a child faced with a situation beyond his control, he withdrew from the horrors of the real world and drifted into a fitful sleep.
Stand-to the following morning reminded Bannon of the first day. It was as if the Team had gone full circle and was starting anew. In a sense, this was true. Only the distant rumble of an occasional artillery round broke the stillness of the morning. As he greeted the men during his rounds, they responded in a perfunctory manner. Uncertainty and dread underlined everything they did. The lieutenants looked to Bannon, seeking guidance or inspiration or something. They found nothing. He could see this and their disappointment when he could not give them what they needed. Even a hot breakfast, the first cooked meal served in days, did little to raise morale. Something had to be done or he feared they would all go crazy.
After the morning meal was over, Bannon called the platoon leaders in for a meeting. He decided that it would be no use trying to play the cheerleader. Instead, he took the business as usual approach. When the leaders were assembled, he went down a list of protective measures that should have already been put into effect. Such things as every man, including the tank crews, digging foxholes, turning off all but one radio in every platoon, covering all optics when not in use, camouflaging everything, and more. In addition, he warned that the platoons needed to tend to their routine maintenance and personal hygiene.
The platoon leaders at first looked at him with puzzled stares. Since the start of the war they had become loose in some of the areas he wanted to tighten up. He simply returned their stares and told them that each platoon was to inform him when they thought they were ready for inspection. At the conclusion of the meeting he turned them over to the XO and went to battalion to see if there was any news on the progress of the 25th Armored or intelligence updates.
The news at battalion was good. First, there had been no further use of nuclear weapons since the first exchange. It appeared that the Soviets had decided to try to intimidate the Europeans by taking out one of their cities with a nuclear device. Birmingham in England had been chosen for this exercise in terror. The prompt retaliation by both Britain and the U.S. against the city of Minsk was enough to demonstrate the resolve and unity of NATO.
The cherished Soviet notion that the U.S. would not risk a nuclear attack on herself to save Europe had been disproved. Just as they had understood the purpose of the Soviet attack, the Soviets understood the meaning of NATO's: NATO would trade blow for blow.
To the north, the 25th Armored Division was making good progress. The Soviets were not able to stop the drive. Furthermore, there were signs that the Warsaw Pact was beginning to break up. Ken Damato gave Bannon a copy of the division's intelligence summary to read. It discussed the breakout of armed insurrection, no doubt aided by U.S. Army Special Forces A teams, in Poland and East Germany. Polish units were no longer attacking. Several Soviet units in Northern Germany had surrendered en masse. Others were on the verge of doing so. Deep strikes by the Air Force were hampering the flow of supplies and the movement of troops. In short, the war was going well for NATO.
Also mentioned in the Intel summary was an analysis of the effects of the strike against Minsk. While the loss of Birmingham was a major disaster, it would not interfere with the NATO war effort. The destruction of Minsk, however, was hampering the Soviets by severing a major communications center. The cold, analytical view of the nuclear exchange was haunting but, at the same time, welcome.
Buoyed by the news at battalion, Bannon went about the day's activities with renewed energy. Maybe things were not as bad as they seemed. As he went from platoon to platoon, he gathered the men around and passed on what news and information he had from the outside world. For the most part, the effect on the Team was about the same as it had been on him. In addition, the return to some type of routine served to keep the men busy and oriented on the job at hand.
In the early evening the battalion was ordered to move farther to the east and establish contact with Soviet forces. A battalion order was prepared and issued to the team commanders at 2100 hours. Team Yankee was to remain in reserve, following the rest of the battalion as it moved forward. Ken Damato expected to make contact about ten to fifteen kilometers to the east of their current front line trace. Time for the movement was 0300 hours. The news of the new mission was welcomed by just about everyone in the Team. The rest had been good and the reorganization and maintenance needed. But everyone wanted to get on with it. They knew the sooner they got moving, the sooner the issue would be decided. The Team was as Americans have always been, anxious to avoid a war but when forced to fight, anxious to get on with it and finish it rapidly.
Without an artillery preparation, the lead elements of the battalion moved out. The steady advance was hindered only by Soviet recon units that fired and fled. Dawn of the thirteenth day of war found the battalion still moving to the east. After an advance of fifteen kilometers they were ordered to halt. While they had not made contact with the Soviets' main forces yet, division did not want to go too far. The main effort was still aimed for Berlin. There were few forces available to protect the flanks of that drive and there was no need to spread them too thin.
The battalion was again dispersed over as wide an area as possible so as to reduce its vulnerability to a nuclear attack. Team Yankee stayed in reserve. Once the Team was in its position, it settled in and prepared for another day. Foxholes were dug, camouflage placed, fighting and hide positions improved, platoon fire plans prepared, and numerous other tasks accomplished. By noon, they were ready and went to half-manning.
When Bannon was satisfied that all was in order, he lay down in the first sergeant's PC and went to sleep.
At 1700 hours, First Sergeant Harrert woke him to tell him that he was wanted at the battalion CP immediately. As Bannon stumbled around, still half-asleep, he asked if the first sergeant knew what was up. The first sergeant replied negative. The S-3 wouldn't tell him.
The only message was to get up to the CP ASAP.
His feeling of dread dispersed as soon as he walked into the farmhouse where the CP was located. Everyone was going around the room shaking each other's hands as if it was an alumni reunion. Bannon went up to Frank Wilson and asked what was going on.
"Haven't you been told? The Soviets have declared a cease-fire effective midnight tonight.
They're throwing in the towel. It's over." He stood there for a moment. Just like that, the war was over. It was too good to be true. Something had to be wrong. "You mean they are surrendering? Now? Without our even touching the Soviet Union?" "Something like that. We don't have all the details yet but from what we heard, the Soviet leadership has changed and they want an immediate end to the war."
The colonel entered the room followed by the S-3 and the battalion XO. The XO called the meeting to order. Colonel Hill went over the information he had and what he thought. He tried hard to be cautious and keep from becoming carried away by commenting that the cease-fire wasn't in effect yet and that things could change rapidly. But he, like the commanders and staff assembled, was optimistic and overjoyed with the prospect of peace. He was followed by Ken Damato, the S-2, who gave a brief summary on the current enemy situation and pointed out some of the dangers they had to guard against once the cease-fire was in effect. The biggest one was from sabotage and espionage from line crossers and the local populace. They were, he reminded them, still in Communist East Germany. Major Shell followed and explained the rules of engagement that were to be placed into effect once the cease-fire became official. Warsaw Pact forces were not to come any closer to NATO positions than 1000 meters. If they continued to advance, they were to be engaged. All NAT
O soldiers had the right to protect themselves and return fire if fired upon. Effective at midnight, NATO forces were not to move any farther than the front line trace they had achieved as of that time. The NATO commander had ordered that all operations currently in progress were to continue until then. Communications with any Warsaw Pact forces were forbidden unless permission was obtained. The S-3 finished by saying that copies of the rules of engagement for distribution down to platoon level would be ready soon. The colonel finished the meeting by cautioning everyone against becoming too optimistic and especially against letting down their guard. They were still at war and the cease-fire could fail at any moment.
The sun was beginning to settle in the west as Bannon rolled back to the Team's area. At his back the sky was alive with brilliant reds and purples. The beauty of the lush green German landscape, unfolding before him, coupled with the spectacle of the setting sun and the quiet early night air lifted Bannonfs spirit to a height that he had not experienced in months. The driver knew the way back, leaving him free to reflect on the joy of the moment. It was over.
His worst nightmare was over and he had survived. There would be a tomorrow and he would see it. With nothing more weighty on his mind than such thoughts, he relaxed and enjoyed the beauty of the countryside he had not seen before.
The leadership of Team Yankee was waiting at the Team CP when he came rolling in. They had become accustomed to his returning from battalion with grim news or word of a new mission. They had become practiced at remaining calm while their commander explained how the Team was about to risk the lives of its men to execute its new orders. This time, like all the times before, they expected no less.
They were taken aback, therefore, when Bannon approached with a smile on his face. Bob Uleski, sensing that something was afoot, turned to the first sergeant. "Well, Sergeant, either it's good news or the pressure has gotten to him and the Old Man has finally slipped the track."