Generaloberst Gerd von Rundstedt- Commander of German Forces for Fall Gelb
November 26, 1939
Brussels, Belgium
Generaloberst Gerd von Rundstedt stared down at the planning map spread out before him as if he wanted to tear it to pieces. General von Kleist had just arrived with news that Ghent had finally been secured, but von Rundstedt could see that was already too late for his plans to work as intended. There would be no encirclement of the Belgian Army due to the quick response of French forces who had prevented both wings of his pincer movement from closing behind the Belgians. Though his men had eventually defeated these enemy formations and occupied almost all of Belgium by this point, the delay in the advance had allowed the Belgian Army to escape to the south to fight again. General von Rundstedt's face twisted up at the thought of all of the time and men he would lose throughout the rest of the campaign as a result.
Tearing himself away from the map he gazed around the table to his principal commanders and explained his new strategy.....
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November 28, 1939
Near Namur, Belgium
Otto Wolf looked down at the infantrymen who were riding atop his panzer and momentarily felt sorry for those who had not been able to hitch a ride and
were struggling in the snow that covered the road. Of course, that was not to say that those who had gotten a ride were not uncomfortable as well: it had become extremely cold as day turned to night and they had to be freezing. Feeling that cold himself, Otto ducked down and closed
Marlene's hatch in order to let the panzers internal warmth chase the chill away.
One of the benefits of being a panzerman, he thought with a smile.
He and the rest of I. Panzerarmee were on the march toward the city of Namur, which was quickly being turned into a fortress city by the Allies. The actual attack on Namur was supposed to have begun days ago, but I. Panzerarmee had been diverted to assist in the Battle of Ghent and was only now prepared to begin the assault after crossing back over the ground between Ghent and the launching off point. Otto himself had not seen much action during the battle as his heavy panzers were not deemed suitable for combat in the close confines of the streets of Ghent. Instead, he and his company had protected the flank of I. Panzerarmees advance into the city from possible counterattack. While he had not gone into the city, those who had brought back images vivid enough to make Otto thankful for this fact. They painted a picture of a shattered city. The beautiful architecture of the medieval city now lay in ruin after almost a week of aerial bombardment and combat and the bodies of thousands of soldiers littered streets. A scene of particular devastation was the Graslei, where members of the SS "Das Reich" division had fought a brutal close range battle against the enemy with terrible casualties on both sides. By all accounts, the elements of the "Das Reich" division that had fought in this area of the city had been severely mauled and this filled Otto with worry. As a result of not having gone into the city as well as the quick eastward march toward Namur, Otto had not been able to search for word of his brother and feared for him in light of the rumored heavy casualties that his division had suffered.
Otto shook his head and tried to force thoughts of Helmut from his mind. Between his wife and his brother, he was beginning to spend an awful lot of his free time in anxious worry but thus far was managing to keep his personal and professional concerns separate. As sweat began to bead on Otto's forehead, he cracked open the hatch and stood back up in the turret just in time to see an officer from the division's General Staff flag him down. Otto called for his column to halt and climbed down to see what the young officer had to say. The young man, who Otto figured was new since he had not met him before, informed him that he was only a short distance from his designated launching point for the attack tomorrow and gave him detailed directions to the area.
Once they had arrived, Otto instructed his crew to get as much sleep as possible and set off to ensure that his panzer company would be ready to fight in the morning and to give his officers their final instructions. As he stomped off in the snow, he took a moment to look across the long field toward the city of Namur with it's heavy fortifications. Intelligence reported that the French and Belgian defenders were manning an extensive trench system that was supported by numerous artillery and anti-tank pieces as well as at least one French armored division. By all appearances, Namur was going to be an even worse killing ground than Ghent had been and Otto turned away as a chill that had nothing to do with the winter cold ran up his spine.
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Helmut Wolf opened his eyes and immediately became aware of terrible pain. It pulsed and throbbed through him and made him want to cry out. As he fought to bring the pain under control, he tried to make sense of his surroundings. It was dark, too dark to make out anything in detail.
Does that mean I'm being held in the dark or that it's nightfall?, he wondered. Though the pain it brought him was excruciating, he tried to sit up but found that he was strapped down. While struggling weakly against these bonds he became aware that he was in motion. The rocking sensation put him in mind of a train, and Helmut wondered if it was heading north to German territory or south toward the enemy. Looking around, Helmut realized that there were other shapes moving around him and tried to speak but found that he was unable as his mouth was very dry and his tongue felt swollen. Feeling a sudden surge of panic, he bit his lip against the pain and began to struggle against his restraints with all the strength he could muster. He must have gained someone's attention because a dim shape suddenly appeared above him in the darkness. Helmut once again tried to speak before feeling something sharp go into his arm. Within seconds his head began to swim and darkness swallowed him.
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Next up: The Battle of Namur begins.