Bloody Stalingrad

by Andrew McGregor

  Hase and Udet moved towards the passageway further down the wide tunnel, brief grins forming on their faces. They crouched to enter the narrow tunnel, Udet holding the lantern before them.

  Hausser moved in behind them, cautious of their eagerness, ‘Go slower and be careful. Remember the Russians are ahead.’

  Udet and Hase paused at the end of the passageway, realising their potential error. Gunfire could be heard through the tunnels, the fighting getting nearer.

  The group cautiously moved through the maze of tunnels, the stench nearly overwhelming in places. The darkness seemed to close in on each individual man as they progressed, their senses heightened by the close proximity of the gunfire, expecting to emerge into a firefight after each corner. The lantern provided only minimal light, the slight glow casting shadows across openings and the contours of the bricks around them in the tunnels. The illumination stretched only so far, the soldiers straining their eyes in attempts to see beyond the light’s penetration, searching for the signs of a waiting enemy or threat. Each man fought his own deepest fears in the dark, desperate to avoid their own violent personal demise in sewers beneath the brutalised freezing city. The terror of individual pain or death in the enclosed misery of this darkened environment playing on their minds.

  The soiled water seeped through the stitching in their boots, the freezing cold liquid numbing their feet and slowly eroding their resolve. Entering another narrow passageway, Hausser was becoming increasingly concerned that they had strayed even further from the exit and were now hopelessly lost. Initially they had followed the wounded man’s trail of blood, with droplets in places and smudges in others. Reaching a wider section of the tunnel system with a small sandbagged defensive position, they had found a larger section of blood smeared across the brick floor of the tunnel. The discarded magazine drum from the Romanian quartermaster’s PPSH 41 submachine gun and spent bullet casings indicating the scene of a brief skirmish.

  Moving forward, they descended the steps in front of the sandbagged position, leaving one lonely soldier next to the candlelit defence. His solitary vigil for defence and a potential fall-back position, but also as a potential guide towards the exit.

  Hausser glanced into the tunnel on the left, seeing the water ripples glinting in the light from the lantern, the surface of the liquid broken several times. The commander screwed his face up in disgust as he considered what was in the water, then realised the items were moving in a specific direction. His eyes widened as he saw the six rats emerge from the water at the other end, the liquid glistening on their fur. A shiver went down his spine, realising the rodents were extremely well fed, sighing heavily as he determined there were no clues required as to their diet.

  Hase moved in front of the commander into the narrow passageway, Udet following. Pushing their boots into the water, they heard louder gunfire burst out further into the sewage system, then an explosion. As the water seeped into Hase’s boots once more, he slowly advanced down the narrow tunnel, hearing the other soldiers enter the passageway behind him. Approaching the end of the tunnel, he stopped, straining his ears in an attempt to listen into the sewer before him.

  The sound of running water to the right was interspersed by the faint sound of squealing seemingly to the left. He turned and retrieved the light from Udet behind him, feeling another metal grille beneath his boots, the water surging downwards beneath him, he stole a glance out into the next tunnel, seeing the bodies lying on the cold surface of the sewer floor. There were several Russian and German corpses scattered across the tunnel, the victims of a bitter hand to hand fight. To the left were a similar number of bodies, the light casting shadows across the walls and floor. He tensed as he saw a couple of the bodies seem to move, considering briefly there may still be some wounded amongst them. Then he caught his breath as he realised the numerous rats amongst the prone figures, gorging on the lifeless bodies. The figures twitching as the rats gnawed on tendons and muscles that still exuded warmth.

  The nausea rose within him as he considered the rodents intoxicating lust for blood and warm meat. Gripping his rifle tightly, he edged cautiously into the tunnel, the water splashing around his boots as he stepped out of the polluted liquid. His eyes widened in horror as he realised the rats were not perturbed even by their presence, the rodent’s natural fear of man no longer evident. Several of the vermin beadily eyed him defiantly, their eyes flashing in the light, a couple rising onto their haunches to sniff the air, their front teeth blood stained.

  Beside him he noticed Udet was observing the vermin closely, his rifle pointing towards them in disgust and revulsion. Their joint realisation that the Russians were no longer the only enemy, but the bitter environment itself and their survival within the confines of the devastated city above. With those thoughts, a strange alien opposing affinity with the rodents’ fragile blossoming city existence was established.

  Chapter Forty Seven: Friend or Foe?

  Hausser cautiously emerged from the passageway, his eyes widening at the sights around him. Pushing the soldiers forward, he hastened them to the right, preventing them from further dwelling on the gruesome visions to either side.

  Moving towards the sounds of running water, they heard the sounds of sporadic gunfire getting slightly nearer. Cautiously descending the slope at the end of the wide tunnel, they stepped back into the freezing water, the polluted liquid now rising above their ankles.

  Hase moved to the left towards the sounds of gunfire, following the current and pushing his boots gingerly through the thick liquid. He hesitated, glancing round and seeing Hausser nodding to him, indicating for him to continue. Hase glanced further into the darkened passageway before him, then walked forward into the tunnel, his eyes straining to see beyond the dim light from the lantern.

  The light faded in the passageway as Hase advanced with the lantern, Udet proceeding into the tunnel behind, following the flickering light in front. Stepping cautiously, he noticed several rats passing him through the water, the rodents swimming towards the bodies to their rear.

  Approaching the end of the passageway Hase could feel the cold water moving in his boots each time he stepped, the battle between his body temperature and the freezing liquid continuing. Reaching the corner, he held his breath, seeing a faint light filtering across the walls from the left. He clenched his Kar 98 rifle tightly in his left hand and ducked his head out into the narrow tunnel before him.

  The next tunnel was of similar width to the one they stood in, the level lower, the water flowing vigorously from right to left, the current swirling stronger as the water from their tunnel joined it. Seeing a flickering candle in an alcove on the right at the bend of the passageway, he hesitated nervously, turning his head as a body floated past on the current, the frozen corpse’s face contorted in pain. The body continued in the torrent’s flow disappearing from view as it floated round the bend in the tunnel.

  Hase cautiously pushed his feet forward at the junction of the passageway, gingerly feeling for any steps or a slope beneath the dark water’s surface. As his boot slipped on the edge of the slope, he pushed his foot downwards, feeling for the floor of the tunnel, Udet grasping the back of his tunic to steady him, understanding his actions.

  Feeling the brick floor of the tunnel beneath his boot, Hase moved forward slightly, placing his weight through his leg. The frozen torrent tugged as his boots, the undercurrent strong, Udet tightening his grip on the back of Hase’s tunic, feeling the soldier struggle against the water’s force. Hase half turned, his back against the corner of the junction as he edged out into the torrent.

  Hausser leant forward across Udet, taking the lantern from Hase, seeing the soldier beginning to shiver with the cold as the water seeped through the combat trousers above his boots. Hase nodded his thanks, his teeth beginning to chatter beneath his scarf. Raising his rifle, he stepped sideways into the tunnel, his back pressed against the wall. Bracing himself against the flowing water, he could feel the cold clinging to h
is legs, the sensation seeming to pierce into his flesh with the freezing liquid.

  He edged along the tunnel, the sensation of the undercurrent tugging at his legs almost overpowering. Seeing the other soldiers slowly follow him from the side tunnel, he pushed himself further along the wall, allowing them room.

  As Hase began to follow the wall round the bend, the force of the flowing water moved from the side of his legs to the front, almost pressing him against the wall, the water rising to his crotch as the current was forced to turn in the tunnel. He felt his body begin to shiver in addition to his teeth chattering, his exhaled breath condensed as the temperature in the passageway dropped further.

  Pushing his numbing legs sideways, he forced them through the silt accumulated on the bend, the progress slowing as the slurry seemed to suck at his boots. With the water pressure and the slurry on the floor of the tunnel, his progress lowered, his cold legs now edging along the wall.

  His eyes widened in horror as he saw the group of rats swimming towards them in the torrent, their fur glistening in the water. As his arms were raised holding his weapon above the water, he froze, considering striking out at them as they approached. Then the rodents abruptly turned in the torrent, swimming past him into the darkness, his relief apparent as he exhaled condensed air heavily.

  Gunfire echoed across the walls from ahead, startling them. Hase stopped then glanced round, seeing the suffering on the other soldier’s faces, their bodies beginning to shake with the cold, their teeth chattering. Now all five of the men lined the wall, their arms raised to protect their weapons, their progress slow as they edged through the raging water.

  As Hase turned the bend in the tunnel, he felt the water pressure resume on the side of his legs, his feet moving more freely. Becoming more wary of his shaking due to the freezing water, he tried to turn slightly, beginning to wade through the fast moving liquid, forcing his numb body from side to side to increase his pace. He felt the torrent ease as the soldiers behind him adopted his tactics, their bodies forming a makeshift breakwater for him.

  Squinting into the darkness, he could not make out the end of the tunnel, the light from behind him flickered off the dark water as it surged in front of him, seeming to increase in momentum. Staring forward as he pushed himself through the liquid, his fear began to rise, the darkness seeming endless before him.

  He heard a soldier thrash in the water behind him as he slipped, Hausser grasping the man and steadying him before he slipped beneath the surface. Hase realised the cause of his fear, the consideration an enemy may lean into the darkness ahead and open fire. The water noise was now intense around them in the narrow tunnel, the surface of the polluted liquid beginning to carry debris past them at higher speed.

  Hase struggled forward, the other soldiers pushing themselves through the polluted water, their tenseness beginning to transform into panic at the realisation they could not turn back. As he pushed forward, his body now shaking uncontrollably with the cold, he realised the liquid was now above his belt, the water level rising rapidly in the narrow tunnel.

  Hausser realised at the same time that the level was increasing, determining it was now too late for them to turn back, his fear becoming almost intoxicating, ‘Keep moving!’ His urgent shouts went virtually unheard with the increasing volume of the water around them. The soldiers now collectively aware of the rising water.

  Hase felt the water reach his chest, raising his rifle higher to prevent it becoming unusable. As the weapon grated on the sloped roof, he turned it in his hands, the barrel pointing forward as the brick ceiling prevented the weapon from being held above either side of his body.

  Moving the rifle to one hand, be began to use his free arm to assist his progress, moving it with his body. The water was now just below his chest, his body becoming increasingly numb as he pushed himself through the water. Hearing some of the men groan behind him, he realised panic was beginning to set in as they collectively tried to push against the current, a current that was becoming stronger.

  As he spluttered, the water rising dramatically before dropping back below his chin, he saw a flicker of light ahead, his heart racing in his chest as he pushed himself further, the water tugging at his legs and body. As the water rose to just under his chin, he thought he saw a helmeted head duck into the tunnel towards them, in front of the dim light.

  His body tensed as the dim light got nearer, his mind becoming clear, his ears waiting for the sound of gunfire. Hase thought of warning the others behind him, but realised they could do nothing, the water restricting any reaction. Closing his eyes briefly, he felt the water surge over his chin, the light seeming closer. As he opened his eyes, another helmet ducking into the tunnel on the opposite side to the first, the metal glinting in the poor light. His legs were now being pulled upwards by the force of the water as it gained speed rapidly. Closing his eyes again, realising he could no longer resist the undercurrent. His mind admitting defeat, he relaxed his numb leg muscles, allowing the water to lift them from the sewer floor, the water beginning to propel him forwards.

  Hase braced himself as he rapidly approached the light, hearing louder rushing water as his ears cleared the surface of the poisoned liquid in the tunnel. As his body surged forward with the gushing water, he relinquished fighting the current, allowing it to push him towards the light. Feeling the scraping of the walls as his shoulder hit the brickwork, he gritted his teeth, his body turning in current of the water to face the tunnel behind. As the freezing water rose, he saw the soldiers behind him fighting against the undercurrent, individually reaching out for the walls desperately as they lost their footing, the force of the accelerating mass of liquid too strong to resist.

  Udet closed his mind to what was happening, the freezing temperature having numbed him. As his boots lost contact with the bricks below, his body was propelled forwards, briefly glimpsing Hase disappear some metres before him. The flickering light was now only metres away and he glimpsed metal in the distance before the water rose up over his face and he closed his eyes instinctively, awaiting for what would happen, his breath held.

  Hase felt hands attempted to roughly grab him from the left, scratching his arm and back, then the grip was torn away with the force of the water. He felt himself falling, the world spinning for a second as he dropped downwards. Feeling water explode around him as he landed in the deep reservoir, then the sensation of being pushed downwards as the weight of the water falling from above forced him further into the murky depths. Momentarily, he felt his body drift, his mind darkening and becoming relaxed, unable to feel the freezing water around him. He felt a blow to his back, then side, then he was hit briefly several times, his mind twisting to presume the impacts were bullets. He felt his body drifting downwards, weight tugging on his limbs, pulling him into the darkness, his body limp and numb. The pain from the impacts was bruising, his mind considering the cold was dulling the pain of the impacts. He smiled briefly, thinking he would not die in extreme pain at least, that fate was perhaps treating him kindly at the end.

  Then his mind screamed at him to survive, to kick out and fight the weight dragging on his body in his soaked uniform. Kicking his boots hard, he felt them hit a wall, then make contact with a solid obstacle. He pushed his feet against the underwater step, feeling his body drift upwards in the water, his conscious urgency to breathe turning into panic. Forcing his numb legs to move, he opened his eyes briefly, seeing the dim light above him through the muddied water. Kicking again, the light perhaps seemed to get bigger, his mind becoming confused, his sight dimming slightly. Feeling the pain in his limbs lighten, a sensation of warmth seemed to slowly filter through his frame and chest, his view of the light dimming further.

  He felt his body move, the warmth beginning to surge through him. His frame moved again, his mind struggling to understand what was causing the movement, the warmth seeming to beckon him, he closed his eyes in almost embrace of the rising heat filling his chest, feeling his uniform stretch acros
s his chest briefly. Then he was moving, faster and faster, his eyes drifting open in surprise, the light accelerating towards him. The water exploded around him once more as his head burst above the surface. He heard the sound of a large wheeze as his chest sucked in air, then another, the air restricted by the water in his throat and lungs. As he wretched and coughed, he felt the warmth recede, his mind seeming to reach out in an attempt to capture the heat, to retrieve it. He felt his body jerk as he coughed more, his limp body being moved in the freezing water. Hase’s body spun round as he neared a low platform, seeing the hands reach out for him from above. His body rising slightly from the water as the hands gripped his uniform tightly, then he dropped back. More hands grasped his shoulder and uniform and he jerked upwards from the water, still retching and sucking in air. He looked down in bewilderment as his chest rose out of the polluted liquid, seeing the water cascade off his uniform and boots. Further beyond his feet, he saw a helmeted head, the gloved hands pushing him upwards from the dark pool. The helmet rose upwards, the concerned face of Udet below the steel headpiece, the water in the reservoir over his shoulders.

  Hearing splutters to the right, Hase felt his upper back landing on metal, then he was turned over roughly, his helmet hitting the metal walkway. Feeling a knee placed hard on his back, pressing downwards, his stomach and insides feeling trapped. Then he felt the liquid rise within him, his mouth opening as water poured from his chest. As he vomited, he sucked in air, the gasps weak initially then becoming stronger. The pressure on his back was intense as he lay there, struggling for air, his chest wheezing and gasping. Then he felt a body land on top of his left side, the knee lifting off his back, the pressure lightening.

  He coughed and spluttered, the exertion having completely drained him physically, feeling the body on his left roll to the side, a hand then placed on his side as he slowly rolled over onto his back, breathing sharply and heavily, his chest painful. His frame shaking with the cold and his teeth chattering, he cautiously opened his eyes looking up at the stained bricks above him.