difference in the plan was that rather than creep along in an effort to sneak out, they would roll as fast as the PCs would allow. In addition, the tanks would fire up their smoke generators and blow smoke the entire way back. While 55 and 31 would be exposed to the front and flank, the PCs and the other two tanks would be hidden in a rolling cloud of smoke.
As they were about to break up and return to their vehicles, a volley of artillery fire impacted to the south in the vicinity of Hill 214. Everyone turned in that direction. When a second volley confirmed their fears, all eyes turned back on Bannon. They had been too late. The Russians were coming back.
'All right. Sergeant Polgar, you come with me. We're going to go up there and see what's going on. Bob, you're in charge while we're gone. Be ready to crank up and roll if the Russians come. Until then, stay alert and keep quiet. If the
Russians come before we're back, leave without us. Move in the opposite direction until you're in the open. Then carry out the plan as we have discussed. Any questions?'
There were none. What else could they do? Bannon turned to Polgar. 'Do you have an extra M 16?'
'Yes, sir. I can take one from one of the wounded.'
'Good, get me one, a couple of magazines, and meet me back here, pronto.' Polgar went over to one of the tracks. Bannon turned to Uleski. 'Bob, no heroics. If there's trouble, and we're not back, get out of here. Clear?' 'Clear.'
By the time he had his helmet and web gear on, Polgar was back with the rifle. After inserting a magazine and chambering a round, the two turned and started to head south.
Polgar followed Bannon at a distance of five meters and a little to his right. The assembled leaders watched them for a moment before Uleski bellowed out the order to mount up and be ready to move.
After they had gone a hundred meters, the artillery stopped. He and Polgar paused and squatted down to listen for a moment. The sound of tracked vehicles could be heard to the south. Bannon motioned to Polgar. They continued on. As they were nearing the crest of the hill and the tree line, he saw movement to his front. Instinctively, he dropped into a prone firing position behind the nearest tree. Both he and Polgar watched and waited. To the left Bannon noticed a movement. Then there was more to the front at a distance of fifty meters.
As they watched, a line of figures approached through the woods. He turned to Polgar and whispered, 'When I start shooting, run like hell back to the XO and tell him to go east out of here. ' Polgar thought about it. 'You're the Team commander, I'll cover you. You go back and tell the XO.'
'Damn it, Polgar, I gave you an order. You better be ready to move when I let go. Clear?' Polgar didn't reply. He only nodded.
Bannon turned back to watch the line of figures continue forward. Slowly he reached into his pocket and pulled out the two frag grenades he had taken off 66 before destroying it.
He raised the M 16 up to his shoulder and began to sight in on the nearest figure. This was going to be a very short fight.
As Bannon watched the figure in his sight, it occurred to him that the uniform was very familiar. It was camouflage. Then he noticed the rifle. It was an M 16. They were Americans. He turned to Polgar and whispered, 'Americans.' Polgar stuck his head up a little higher, looked, and then smiled.
Remembering the day before, he was a little more cautious in making contact. He let the line of infantry get within twenty meters and then bellowed out, 'HALT!'
The line of infantry froze where they stood, ready to drop and fire. Their heads slowly turned to find the origin of the voice.
'Advance and be recognized.'
Their heads snapped as one in Bannon's direction. He slowly rose up to the kneeling position but kept his rifle trained on the nearest man. He began to move toward him. When he was close enough, Bannon repeated the order,
'Halt.' At that point, he was unable to recall the challenge and password.
He had to do something fast before the people in front of him got excited and fired. 'We're Team Yankee, Task Force First of the Seventy Eight. We were cut off. Who are you?' Bannon kept his rifle aimed at the figure.
'What's the challenge?'
'I don't know. We were cut off yesterday. I'm Captain Bannon, the team commander.' The infantry was beginning slowly to spread out. Things were not working out well at all.
From behind, Polgar called out, 'Hey, Kerch. Is that your mob of dirt bags out there?'
The infantryman in front of Bannon straightened up, let the muzzle of his rifle drop some, and turned toward Polgar's voice. 'Polgar, is that you?'
'Yeah, it's me. Now tell your mob to ease up so the captain and I can get up.' With that, Polgar stood up and began to come over to where Sergeant First Class Kerch, A company 1st of the 78th Mechanized Infantry, and Bannon had been holding each other at bay. Team Yankee had been relieved.
Polgar led Kerch and his people through the woods to where Team Yankee was located.
Bannon went up to the top of Hill 214 where the battalion command group was. It occurred to him as he followed the trail to the top of the hill that he'd been here for over twenty hours, had fought for the hill and done his damnedest to hold it and had never been on top of it. He was finally going to see what the Team had paid for so dearly. At the wood line he passed the tracks from a platoon of the 1 st of the 78th that had been attached to the I st of the 4th Armor. They were waiting for word to go in and pick up the dismounted element he and Polgar had encountered. Just below the crest of the hill, two tanks and a PC sat, peering over the top toward Arnsdorf below. There were three figures standing next to the PC looking at a map board. When one of the figures looked up and saw Bannon approaching, he motioned. The other two looked up, put down the map board, and started towards him. They were the battalion commander, XO, and S-3 of the 1 st Battalion, 4th Armor, Team Yankee's parent battalion. As he closed, Bannon saluted and, as nonchalantly as possible, greeted Team Yankee's saviors.
'Sean, Colonel Reynolds told us you had been wiped out last night.' 'Sir, the news of our demise has been greatly exaggerated. D company is reporting for duty.' Not that they could do anything but, what the hell, it sounded good.
Maj. Frank Shell, the S-3, looked him over for a moment, then turned to the battalion commander. 'If the rest of his people look as bad as Sean, the infantry was right, Team Yankee was wiped out.' Then he turned back to Bannon and, seriously this time, asked if the rest of the Team did look like him. Bannon's eyes were bloodshot and had dark circles around them. Every exposed patch of skin was dirty. He had two days' growth of beard. The cut on the side of his face had become swollen from infection, and there was dried blood on his face and neck and around his collar. There was also dried blood on the chest and sleeves of his chemical suit from pulling Ortelli from 66. This was mixed with diesel and oil stains. Bannon guessed he couldn't have looked much worse. As they walked over to the PC, he explained the Team's situation and requested that an ambulance be sent immediately to the trail junction to bring out the wounded. The battalion XO got on it and had an M-113 ambulance rumbling down to the Team in minutes. They stopped by the tanks and looked down into Arnsdorf. There were still wisps of smoke rising from some of the burned-out Soviet vehicles. Scores of dead Russians littered the field among the smashed vehicles. The battalion commander looked at Bannon, 'I take it you did that last night.'
'Yeah. With a little help. Very little help,' he replied without turning away. It all seemed so remote now, so foreign. Bannon had difficulty equating the scene before him with the horror show that had been last night. He gazed up at the clear blue morning sky, across the valley to the green hill to the north, and then at the battalion commander. 'Yes, sir. We did that and more.'
After the battalion commander and XO left to go down into Arnsdorf and follow the attack, Major Shell updated Bannon on what had happened since yesterday morning and how 1st of the 4th had come into play. The Mech Battalion that Team Yankee was part of had become spread out all over the division's rear during the night road march. While passing through one of the villages at night, part of the column had taken a wrong turn. The people leading the two line companies, C and D, the battalion trains, and the battalion CP all realized their mistakes at different times and tried to get back onto the proper route separately. This led to confusion and more errors, just as the first sergeant had reported.
D company was the first to show up and join Team Bravo on its overwatch position at 1730 last night. C company went into the rear areas of the German panzer division that was to the south of the division, got turned
