Berlin, the heart of East Germany and center of communications, was the objective they were aimed at. The S-3 saw Bannon studying the map. When he came over, he paused a moment before speaking, 'Well, what do you think?' 'Let's see if I can guess who's leading-C company?'
'Sean, you know damned well who's going to lead the attack, at least initially. Team Yankee is the best company we have, and you have most of our armor. It would be stupid to put anyone else in the lead.' Bannon looked at the S-3 for a moment, considering his answer.
'Sir, are you attempting to win me over with logic or flattery?' 'A little of both, I guess.'
The battalion XO started the briefing by telling everyone to take their seats. Colonel Reynolds called Bannon to sit next to him. His friendly attitude and smile reminded Bannon of the cat who praised the canary for his beautiful song before eating him. When everyone was settled, the battalion XO gave the briefing sequence and told the S-2 to start. The last six days of war had done nothing to improve the Intel officer's skills in preparing a useful briefing. He started by summarizing the progress of the war to date and the gains the Soviets had made in the north. These gains were indeed impressive. Denmark was isolated. Despite the efforts of the NATO allies in the Northern Army Group, the Dutch border had almost been reached. Most of the German sea coast was in Soviet hands. In the central and southern portions of Germany, German, French, and American forces had, for the most part, held the Soviets to minor gains. In one area, a German panzer division found a weak point between two Soviet armies and had driven into East Germany before the drive spent itself. It was this drive that would provide the springboard for the attack the battalion was about to undertake. The S-3, as usual, provided the meat of the briefing. The entire division would be involved in this effort. Brigade would lead off, widening the breach the Germans had made and going north into the enemy rear.
French units deploying from the interior of France were replacing those divisional units still in contact as well as another U.S. division. If the brigade and then the rest of the division were successful in widening the breach, eventually the attack would grow into a corps-size operation. The brigade was to advance along two axes, along two valleys running south to north. The 1st of the 98th Mech would lead the attack up one valley to the west while I st of the 78th Mech, followed by 1st of the 4th Armor, would advance up a valley called the Nebal Valley. The battalion's scheme of maneuver called for two company teams to lead the attack, Team Yankee on the right and Team Bravo on the left. The two infantry pure companies, C and D, would follow, C company behind Team Yankee. At this point in the briefing, the urge to take a cheap shot at C company was too strong to suppress. Bannon interrupted Major Jordan.
'Excuse me, sir, but I seem to remember trying that before. I don't know if
Team Yankee is ready to be supported by C company again.'
There was a moment of silence. Everyone looked at Bannon, then they looked at the battalion commander, waiting for his reaction. Colonel Reynolds exchanged glances with the S-3, then smiled. 'Sean, I can assure you, there will be no rat fucks like the last time. I will personally assure you that C company is where it is supposed to be.' The colonel turned to Cravin, the C company commander, 'Isn't that right, Captain Cravin?' Cravin, smarting from the exchange and visibly upset, simply replied yes in a low voice. Major Jordan winked when he and Bannon exchanged glances, then continued with the order.
The battalion had learned its lessons from the last attack well. While it was moving at night, as before, it would temporarily occupy an assembly area to the rear of the German unit it was to pass through. There they would sort out any last-minute changes, refuel, allow the accompanying artillery time to deploy, and conduct last-minute preparations. They then would be escorted through the German lines by a liaison officer from the German unit. To expedite the actions in the assembly area, the battalion XO would leave at noon with representatives from each company, the battalion's Scout Platoon, and the fuel trucks. The scouts would be used as road guides where needed. When the S-3 finished, the colonel got up and emphasized certain points that he felt were important. The first one was that the battalion was going for the deep objective, Leipzig. Any resistance that could not be overcome in the first rush was to be bypassed. The second was that he wanted to keep the battalion closed up and tight so that if there was a major fight, the full weight of the battalion could be brought to bear on the enemy rapidly and with maximum violence. The last point he made was that there would be no tolerance for screw-ups as in the last operation. He was looking straight at Cravin as he covered the last point.
As usual, Bannon's mind turned to the new mission as the S-4 and S-1 and all the other staff officers covered their areas. Uleski would catch any important information that they might accidentally put out. Bannon studied the map on his lap and ran a finger along the axis of advance. There would be more than enough room to maneuver the Team in the valley they would be moving through. There were a few choke points but nothing of any significance.
The biggest threat would come from the hills to the east. He began to draw red goose eggs around those spots that appeared to be ideal for defense or from which a counterattack might come. When this was done, he assigned each one a letter then looked for the best way to move the Team. The ideal formation appeared to be a wedge with the two tank platoons deployed forward and the Mech taking up the rear.
The end of the battalion meeting interrupted his train of thought. He met with Uleski and his FIST, gave each one some items to cover with various staff officers, and then went to the S-3 to clarify some points and make some recommendations. When all questions had been answered, they went back to the Team to prepare the Team order and get ready for the move.
The Team received the news of the new mission with the same dread that Bannon had.
While they knew that they could do their part, they had no confidence in the rest of the battalion. The thought of another fight like that for Hill 214 was not a pleasant one to contemplate. Only Avery seemed anxious to get on with the attack. Bannon passed it off as inexperience. No doubt he would lose all enthusiasm the first time he had to collect the dog tags from one of his people. Provided he made it that far.
The rest of the day passed quickly. Bannon issued the Team order just prior to the departure of Uleski at noon. Uleski would go forward to prepare their assembly area along with one man from each tank platoon and an infantry squad for security and to act as guides. He was also to go as far forward as possible. Bannon wanted him to recon the routes through the German lines and coordinate with the Germans for fire support and cover during the passage through their lines. He had no doubt that the Soviets saw the danger that the German penetration presented and would be rushing to seal it off or eliminate it. The question now was who would get there first.
After receiving a brief back from each of the platoon leaders on how they were going to perform their assigned tasks and satisfying himself that they were ready, Bannon decided to get some sleep. He went to the gasthaus and borrowed one of the rooms where he could have a few uninterrupted hours. After having slept on the ground for eleven days, the sensation of sleeping between clean sheets on a soft bed was foreign. But it was a sensation that his body adapted to easily.
The easy manner with which the other platoon leaders and Hebrock went about preparing for the attack amazed Avery. They all were going about their business as if this were a tactical exercise at Fort Knox, not an attack that would take them deep into enemy territory.
As hard as he tried, he could not settle down. His mind was racing a mile a minute, trying to remember everything that he had learned at the Armor School as he prepared to issue his platoon order.
Not that he had to worry. Hebrock was normally a step ahead of him, issuing orders and checking out the tanks. The two of them went over the order, item by item, crossing out those parts that were not needed and adding things that Avery had overlooked. Hebrock was diplomatic in the manner in which he 'advised' his platoon leader of what he needed to do and say. Even as he issued the order, Avery would occasionally look up at Hebrock for his approval.
When the order had been given and the CO satisfied with the brief back, Hebrock advised his lieutenant to get some sleep. Only after the platoon sergeant assured him that there was nothing more to be done did Avery make the attempt. Attempt was all that he could manage.
His mind was cluttered with thoughts, fears, and problems, real and imagined. Did he cover everything in his order? What if they got lost during the road march? How would he know when they were through the German lines? Would he remember all of his crew and platoon fire commands when they made contact? Would he be alive tomorrow? His mind did not stop. Sleep never came.
The Team began its move at 1800 hours. The old German and his wife watched as they rolled out. First Sergeant Harrert left them two weeks worth of rations, an envelope with dollars and deutsch marks that he had collected, a first-aid kit, and two cans of gasoline. In order to keep them from having any trouble with German or U.S. authorities, a receipt with Bannon's signature, in English and German, identified those items left as payment in
