May 11, 1940
Silistra, Bulgaria
"I don't want to hear it, Brauer."
"I wasn't going to say anything, sir."
"Yeah well, tell me that you weren't thinking it." When Brauer remained silent, Helmut nodded and said, "Thought so."
They were lying on their stomachs atop a small rise and staring down at the small city of Silistra. Dawn had just broken and the city was still and quiet. Beyond it they could clearly see the Danube. They could also see groups of enemy soldiers patrolling along the outskirts. If Helmut wanted to turn and look over his shoulder at the way they had come, he would see another group of Bulgarian soldiers closing in from behind. They were hemmed in with Bulgarians on all sides.
He glanced over at Brauer, who had been bemoaning Helmut's decision not to execute the men in the cabin for the past two days, and sighed. Perhaps Brauer had been right. Perhaps their present situation was one that precluded mercy, that required harsh measures. He had just simply not been able to give the order. Even now, he wasn't completely sure why. It was, after all, an order that he had given before. This time, though, he had looked into those men's eyes and decided to leave them in peace. He would be willing to admit, though, that it had been a serious mistake not to have tied the men up in some fashion. Rather than bind them, Helmut had instead forced the men into the shed that stood near the cabin. Gesturing with both his hands and his weapon, he had tried to convey instructions for the men to remain inside before he shut the door. He had then thrown the latch, but had not locked the shed. That way, the men would have been able to escape eventually but not before he and his comrades were long gone.
They had moved quickly after that, sure that the Bulgarian Army would soon be searching for them. They had, in fact, come across the first signs of pursuit the next day. They had emerged from the woods at a cross-section of a major roadway. Helmut had decided to take that as an opportunity to consult his map and try to get his bearings. He was staring hard at the map, trying to find the road that he was standing on, when he had heard Nagel shout that several vehicles were coming up the roadway. They had just managed to take cover among the trees before two trucks loaded with Bulgarian soldiers passed slowly by. While they watched, men jumped from the vehicles and began to fan out into the wood behind where they were hiding. Moving as silently as possible, Helmut and his companions had slipped away as the Bulgarians searched the area they had just vacated. Not long afterward they had noticed small aircraft flying overhead. Helmut was sure that they had been spotted from above at some point. It was the only way to explain how close the Bulgarian pursuit was.
Helmut had originally hoped to cross into Romania through it's land connection to Bulgaria, but the fact that he was farther west than he had assumed made a crossing of the Danube River necessary. To do that, they would need a boat of some kind and that meant going through a city or town. Thus they had come to Silistra. The only problem now was getting past the patrols and into the city. After that they could make their way to the river and commandeer a vessel. They were going to need to move quickly, though. The group of enemy soldiers advancing on them from the rear would not take long to reach them.
Helmut turned to Brauer and Nagel and said, "Alright, listen up. We're going to head out around the city to the west. That way, we can use the tree line for cover right up until we reach the city. We'll slip past or neutralize any patrols we encounter and enter the city. After that, we head to the river and seize a mode of transport. If we get separated for any reason, just remember to head toward the river. Got it?"
Brauer and Nagel nodded their understanding and the small group moved off toward the city. They kept themselves completely in the trees until they reached the edge of the city, not far from where it met the Danube. Helmut cautiously moved toward the edge of the wood and looked around. He was about to step into the open when he spotted two enemy soldiers coming his way. He stepped back and motioned for Nagel and Brauer to stay put. Once they had passed, Helmut slipped out into the open and directed the others to follow. They moved from the trees and into the city. Keeping together, they began to head toward the river, all the while careful to avoid being seen by what people might be out at this hour.
They had made it most of the way toward the river without having been detected, and Helmut began to allow himself to hope that they would escape the city without incident. That hope would be very short lived. The trio had just rounded the corner to come in front of a tall official-looking building when they found themselves face to face with a uniformed individual. He went for a weapon at his side even as the three brought their weapons up and the quiet was shattered by gunfire. The uniformed man was thrown backwards as bullets hammered into his body. He fell, dead before he hit the ground. Helmut heard a shrill sound behind him and turned to see another man wearing the same type of uniform blowing a whistle from the steps of the building. Brauer fired and the man's body tumbled down the steps.
The three men began running away from the building as more men poured out of it and began firing in their direction. They ran, weaving between the buildings, with the sounds of pursuit growing loud behind them and Helmut half smiled despite the danger as a sudden sense of déjà vu came to him. The river soon appeared before them and they quickened their pace. Reaching the riverbank, they looked round for a means of escape and Helmut heard Brauer shout that he had found a boat. Helmut turned toward their pursuers and fired a burst from his MP40 in hopes of keeping them back and ran to wear Brauer was standing next to a medium sized rowboat. Helmut made a negative gesture and said, "Not this one. We need to find something with an engine."
Brauer shouted back, "We don't really have time to conduct a search, sir!"
Helmut turned back, saw the uniformed men that he assumed were policemen coming closer and noticed that Bulgarian Army uniforms were now scattered among them as well. He could see that Brauer was right, they had no time. Still though, they wouldn't make it in that rowboat. It was too slow, the Bulgarians would easily be able to pick them off before they had even gone half way across the river. Helmut weighed the situation, realized that there was only one way this would work.
"Alright, we'll take this one.", he said. Brauer climbed in as Nagel pulled a knife from his belt and cut the rope that held the boat to shore before climbing inside. Nagel turned and offered a hand to Helmut. Helmut approached the boat, but stopped short of climbing inside. He looked down at Nagel and thought of Achen as he said, "I was wrong before when I said that we only lose our friends. Sometimes we get to send them on ahead."
With that, he put his boot against the bow of the rowboat and pushed. He saw Nagel's hand slowly drop as the craft glided out onto the river. With Nagel's protests coming to him from across the water, he turned to face the Bulgarians.
Silistra, Bulgaria
"I don't want to hear it, Brauer."
"I wasn't going to say anything, sir."
"Yeah well, tell me that you weren't thinking it." When Brauer remained silent, Helmut nodded and said, "Thought so."
They were lying on their stomachs atop a small rise and staring down at the small city of Silistra. Dawn had just broken and the city was still and quiet. Beyond it they could clearly see the Danube. They could also see groups of enemy soldiers patrolling along the outskirts. If Helmut wanted to turn and look over his shoulder at the way they had come, he would see another group of Bulgarian soldiers closing in from behind. They were hemmed in with Bulgarians on all sides.
He glanced over at Brauer, who had been bemoaning Helmut's decision not to execute the men in the cabin for the past two days, and sighed. Perhaps Brauer had been right. Perhaps their present situation was one that precluded mercy, that required harsh measures. He had just simply not been able to give the order. Even now, he wasn't completely sure why. It was, after all, an order that he had given before. This time, though, he had looked into those men's eyes and decided to leave them in peace. He would be willing to admit, though, that it had been a serious mistake not to have tied the men up in some fashion. Rather than bind them, Helmut had instead forced the men into the shed that stood near the cabin. Gesturing with both his hands and his weapon, he had tried to convey instructions for the men to remain inside before he shut the door. He had then thrown the latch, but had not locked the shed. That way, the men would have been able to escape eventually but not before he and his comrades were long gone.
They had moved quickly after that, sure that the Bulgarian Army would soon be searching for them. They had, in fact, come across the first signs of pursuit the next day. They had emerged from the woods at a cross-section of a major roadway. Helmut had decided to take that as an opportunity to consult his map and try to get his bearings. He was staring hard at the map, trying to find the road that he was standing on, when he had heard Nagel shout that several vehicles were coming up the roadway. They had just managed to take cover among the trees before two trucks loaded with Bulgarian soldiers passed slowly by. While they watched, men jumped from the vehicles and began to fan out into the wood behind where they were hiding. Moving as silently as possible, Helmut and his companions had slipped away as the Bulgarians searched the area they had just vacated. Not long afterward they had noticed small aircraft flying overhead. Helmut was sure that they had been spotted from above at some point. It was the only way to explain how close the Bulgarian pursuit was.
Helmut had originally hoped to cross into Romania through it's land connection to Bulgaria, but the fact that he was farther west than he had assumed made a crossing of the Danube River necessary. To do that, they would need a boat of some kind and that meant going through a city or town. Thus they had come to Silistra. The only problem now was getting past the patrols and into the city. After that they could make their way to the river and commandeer a vessel. They were going to need to move quickly, though. The group of enemy soldiers advancing on them from the rear would not take long to reach them.
Helmut turned to Brauer and Nagel and said, "Alright, listen up. We're going to head out around the city to the west. That way, we can use the tree line for cover right up until we reach the city. We'll slip past or neutralize any patrols we encounter and enter the city. After that, we head to the river and seize a mode of transport. If we get separated for any reason, just remember to head toward the river. Got it?"
Brauer and Nagel nodded their understanding and the small group moved off toward the city. They kept themselves completely in the trees until they reached the edge of the city, not far from where it met the Danube. Helmut cautiously moved toward the edge of the wood and looked around. He was about to step into the open when he spotted two enemy soldiers coming his way. He stepped back and motioned for Nagel and Brauer to stay put. Once they had passed, Helmut slipped out into the open and directed the others to follow. They moved from the trees and into the city. Keeping together, they began to head toward the river, all the while careful to avoid being seen by what people might be out at this hour.
They had made it most of the way toward the river without having been detected, and Helmut began to allow himself to hope that they would escape the city without incident. That hope would be very short lived. The trio had just rounded the corner to come in front of a tall official-looking building when they found themselves face to face with a uniformed individual. He went for a weapon at his side even as the three brought their weapons up and the quiet was shattered by gunfire. The uniformed man was thrown backwards as bullets hammered into his body. He fell, dead before he hit the ground. Helmut heard a shrill sound behind him and turned to see another man wearing the same type of uniform blowing a whistle from the steps of the building. Brauer fired and the man's body tumbled down the steps.
The three men began running away from the building as more men poured out of it and began firing in their direction. They ran, weaving between the buildings, with the sounds of pursuit growing loud behind them and Helmut half smiled despite the danger as a sudden sense of déjà vu came to him. The river soon appeared before them and they quickened their pace. Reaching the riverbank, they looked round for a means of escape and Helmut heard Brauer shout that he had found a boat. Helmut turned toward their pursuers and fired a burst from his MP40 in hopes of keeping them back and ran to wear Brauer was standing next to a medium sized rowboat. Helmut made a negative gesture and said, "Not this one. We need to find something with an engine."
Brauer shouted back, "We don't really have time to conduct a search, sir!"
Helmut turned back, saw the uniformed men that he assumed were policemen coming closer and noticed that Bulgarian Army uniforms were now scattered among them as well. He could see that Brauer was right, they had no time. Still though, they wouldn't make it in that rowboat. It was too slow, the Bulgarians would easily be able to pick them off before they had even gone half way across the river. Helmut weighed the situation, realized that there was only one way this would work.
"Alright, we'll take this one.", he said. Brauer climbed in as Nagel pulled a knife from his belt and cut the rope that held the boat to shore before climbing inside. Nagel turned and offered a hand to Helmut. Helmut approached the boat, but stopped short of climbing inside. He looked down at Nagel and thought of Achen as he said, "I was wrong before when I said that we only lose our friends. Sometimes we get to send them on ahead."
With that, he put his boot against the bow of the rowboat and pushed. He saw Nagel's hand slowly drop as the craft glided out onto the river. With Nagel's protests coming to him from across the water, he turned to face the Bulgarians.
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