All the Kaiser's Men

CHAPTER 1: Lions in Europe

Kruger, Agnes

48590 Korschenbroich

Dar es Salaam, Mittelafrika

December 17, 1940

Dearest Agnes,

    I am sorry it has been so long. We have just gotten off the ship today. I know you are worried, and you have good reason to be. I know that is not something a supportive husband should say but I do not wish to lie to you. War is dangerous and even more is that the case for fallschirmjäger. However I pray that your worrying keeps me alive, for perhaps it will be one of your loving prayers that will save my life when needed.

    I do not intend to write to you without reassurance however. My brothers and I are disciplined, well trained, and well armed. We fight with a savagery and intuition unknown by even our brothers in the Fatherland, let alone by the damned Communards. Our leadership is highly competent and unorthodox. General Student is a hard man. He may be harsh to us but he is savage to the enemy. He strikes terror in all who face him and he will show nothing but cruelty and brutality to the French. I, we, have faith in him. He makes us feel invincible, unstoppable. We will be victorious and I will see you and the children again.

    The French are yet again the aggressors. Several communards were found guilty of terrorism in Elsaß-Lothringen and were given the hangman's rope. The French have declared those men "Martyrs of the Revolution" and now the whole of the border has descended into anarchy. Communards, German and French alike pillage the countryside granting us the "gifts" of their revolution. They destroy factories, farms, all while the main army fight us on the back foot, retreating deeper and deeper into France. I have heard stories of murder, rape, and other atrocities that I refuse to put to paper. I even heard of a man, simply trying to protect his daughters, be crucified by Communards.

Despite their audacity to commit such grievous sins, they refuse to fight us in open battle. The cowards rely on treacherous snakes among our people to undermine our efforts. The enemy utilize ambushes and terrorism to achieve victory. The army is nearly at Paris but insurgents still strike as deep as Dresden. Bombs have been detonated in Leipzig and there have been clandestine raids in Hannover. It seems the deeper we push, the more emboldened they become. Is this strategy or just sheer desperation? The Communards fight with the strength of a cornered animal and I do not wish to underestimate them. As the winter approaches, the war has lulled. We cannot grow idle though. Anything is possible.

This war has become one of insurgency. As I said before, the regular army has nearly made it to Paris in the time that it took for us to reach the continent, yet all we have captured are scorched fields and razed cities, and we have tasted nothing but our own blood. One could not say we are winning, for we are simply advancing and dying. That is why they have been desperate to bring in specialized units. They know that the only way to combat the unorthodox, is with the even more unorthodox. I'm offended that the French even believe they have a chance. Our bullets will tear legs before they can run, arms before they can return fire, and our knives will cut throats before they can scream. Britain has yet to directly help their red allies however I am sure that their agents lurk among the shadows.

Enough about the war though. The weather here is atrocious. My hand shivers and my nose is red as I write to you. I have not seen snow in ages. Then again, the children have never seen snow at all. There is so much of it. White sheets floated in the water as our ship pulled into the quay. It is cold enough that I can see my own breath. We are properly clothed but I don't see how one can just adjust to something so quickly. What a story would it be if the Fallschirmjager were defeated not by vile Communard insurgents but rather by inhospitable weather. I have been told that the snow will reach up to our knees when we march, and that our limbs will fall off should we become too cold. Why anyone would choose this over a sunny, warm savanna is beyond my comprehension.