The War Down Stricken Lane

Chapter 11: A Big Surprise

Note: What is being said IS in German, however due to this chapter being mainly in this language I will simply have it in English for ease of the reader.
The forests formed back into a trench as Elijah moved back... he saw some smoke riding from the back as he looked at the back line. He also noticed a few tanks arriving at the front they all rolled in slowly, and to specific structures. A small concrete cover area for tanks, however some rolled behind sandbags a useless cover, but something nevertheless. His orders were to pull to the back line, and back to HQ. The reasoning is unknown, but he assumes everything here will be fine after all he was apart of some leadership. He was likely needed in that relation. So he approached the front line towards a soldier, "You there! Is there any transports to the HQ? I have orders!" The soldier pointed somewhere distant. There was a few trucks sitting idly on the damaged roads. He walked himself by the force of German soldiers looking at the wreckage of the frontline fuel depot as he passed it by smoke still bellowed, but the fire was long suffocated. Eventually he approached the trucks, there was a few men in there mostly officers of some type. He pulled himself into the back of one, and into a seat. Eventually it began to roll along...

Arriving at the HQ he joined the other officers in a line to enter readying his ID to enter. The line took sometime to pass, and he passed up his ID to the guard. "Elijah! I've got orders to send you straight to Friedrich... he's in meeting right now though. So you'll have to wait." That's all he needed to know, he took back his ID, and headed straight to Friedrich's office... he even ignored an alarm that went off as he waited outside of it.

Adalheid wandered the empty halls... what would he do? He couldn't even fight the enemy he was told to fight... he contemplated disobeying orders, but he also didn't wanna risk losing a promotion. After all the thoughts of leading men to battle had overridden everything else. The glory of such a feat was not something he messed around with, and so he continued his boring walk. The hallways he was in were not well decorated, drywall, and reinforced bits of wood, with sandbags at times. A part that was added on later during the war, at least from what he was told... German troops passed him every once in a while, inferring that this area was where his barracks was located too. The area he was assigned made him question his worth... was he truly Aryan? He had to be? Maybe it was all they could do... but there was openings in that other area, these soldiers could have been there... maybe they needed them there, for security... but it still made no sense. Suddenly alarms start to blare, and Adalheid looks around at the red flashing lights providing the only lighting for the area as the other lights darkened. He pulled out his Luger, the only weapon he had on him, and he began to run to try and locate what was happening. He ended up in front of an exit... making the decision to just stay there and make sure whatever is here doesn't escape. He stood with patience, watching has German soldiers pass in front of him. Soon something limps his way, and he aims his pistol... however they looked familiar... that Colonel... he began to draw closer, his hatred grew as did his snarl. He looked to end this Colonel once and for all. The colonel however looked up and saw him, staying calm too... this only made Adalheid angrier... he had thoughts of torture... slowly cutting this man apart as he deserved. "Damn it kid! You don't have to get in my way!" That damned Colonel yelled, Adalheid's anger grew from within... he let the thoughts of the reich he served course through him. It was the only place he could see himself... he felt the pain that the Americans brought him for little more than a tip off... it all came together. "No! I must!! You have caused me pain, and plan to tear down the only place I've ever had any use!!" The colonel looked at him, not with what would be the anger and hate he thought all enemies of the reich had... but with some pain himself, his arm had already been shot. Yet this wasn't the only emotion... it was, empathy? No... Americans aren't capable of that! Are they? "It doesn't have to be this way! This side doesn't insure you have use! You could join me on the other side, and we can end this war one victory at a time!" The colonel spoke once more letting down his guard too... Adalheid furrowed his eyebrows, however something else took ahold of him... he continued to speak with unsure anger, "I will never join you!!!" He approached point blank range right in front of him... he contemplates the trigger, but something pulled at him... it was telling him no... he hesitated as he tried to make up his mind. Before the Colonel suddenly kicked the Luger out of his hand... Adalheid lost his balance, and fell to the ground, the colonel moved passed him before looking back, "I could have killed you kid... you best be grateful..." and just before he left he flashed an M1911 pistol in its holster... Adalheid looked with shock... his jaw was widened. He didn't even bother to grab his gun. He was at that man's mercy... and he was spared. He never thought Americans could be so human...

The neutral rumble vibrated anyone within the metal body. The Tiger E1 was set up on the hill holding Klaus Von Hindenburg and his crew... "Handzen! Check the transmission, we need to make sure we are in moving condition!" The driver named Handzen yelled from the front where the transmission was, "Jawuhl!" (Ja-vole) it was easy to assume from sounds of movement he was getting to work, Klaus was between his gunner, and loader. Positioned at the hatch leading to the top of the turret, he could stand comfortably there and look through a slit, yet to look into the tank he had to crouch down. He watched through his slit in the interior of the elevated hatch looking carefully into what he could see of the forest ahead... he decided to crawl up to the front to check on the driver and radio operator most especially on the transmission, and it's condition. He crouched back down into the Tiger's turret. "Bezel, you keep an eye on the tree line while I go check on the transmission." Bezel looked over. "Alright sir." He pulled himself back to where Handzen was working, Franz was in the Radio op seat talking to the other tanks. "How's the transmission?" Handzen just finished his checks. "It's all good sir, we'll get moving if we need to." Klaus opened his mouth to speak before he was interrupted, "Sir!!! You might wanna see this..." Klaus spoke to Handzen, "Alright let's cut this short, just be ready." He began to pull himself back to the turret, "What is it?" The gunner looked over... he was pale.. and scared. "See for yourself..." Klaus went to the hatch opening it and pulling himself out to the top... and that's when he saw it... 10 American Sherman's... 3 with 76 millimeter cannons. They were at a run for their money, and perhaps they were about to pay out...