Tuesday, September 17, 2019

0085 - The Great Escape - Part I

1200 06 AUG 2000
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It had been nearly two weeks. Two weeks ago the team had buried their comrade in arms, friend, brother Schmitty. Following the destruction of the Fifth, the team had held up west of Kalisz as the division died. When the fighting had died down and the frantic calls on the radio had ceased, the team had reluctantly decided to leave their hiding position east of Kalisz and attempt to break out toward the south. Soviet and Polish troops still patrolled the countryside but maybe fate would smile on the team and they would slip through the noose.
What followed was a week of hectic travels interspersed with quick, brutal combats. They had met bandits, primitives and stragglers. Soviet patrols had been encountered and defeated, new friends gained and some lost. Villages had been freed of oppression and deals made with some unsavory characters. Somehow the team had made it through, finally arriving at Dobrodzień, where once again they were among friends.
Similar experiences had also been had by the troops of B Troop, 1/116th ACR. They had fought and killed, traveled and fled before returning to their cantonment in Dobrodzień. Here they meant to stay, as did the team. A lot of thing were in short supply, including manpower. That problem was about to be addressed.
After a week in which the team had the opportunity to heal and rest, they had been called to a briefing. Although nothing really out of the ordinary, the atmosphere felt different this time. A general air of desperation mixed with a glimmer of hope filled the room as the flip charts were carried in, covered with worn cavalry guidons. Now it was time to learn the details of the mission that they were being asked to execute. Time to learn what fate had in store for them.
Captain Elizabeth Warren, commander of B-Troop entered, followed my Major Ed Harris, the team's commander as all present in the room stood at attention. Both took their places at the front of the room before being joined by impressive bulk of First Sergeant John Blue Elk, the First Sergeant of B-Troop.
Major Harris had the rank but it was Captain Warren’s cantonment. An agreement had been reached whereby the overall command of the cantonment fell to Captain Warren and Major Harris had direct command of the team. Each worked hard at supporting the other and the agreement had worked so far and both agreed that no one would be served well with a direct conflict about the chain of command.
Top Blue Elk flipped up the first guidon, revealing a map of central Poland including Kalisz. A slight but noticeable shiver went through the group. They had recently escaped from that hellhole and had no great need to return any time soon. No horses left in the world were going to drag them north ever again. As with many things in the world, they were wrong about that too.
After giving the team a few minutes to let the shock sink in, she addressed the team: “Judging by the look on your faces, I can probably safely assume that everyone is familiar with the area of operations for this mission. That being the case, I will skip all the BS and get down to the meat of the mission. We have received word from various merchants travelling in from the north, that a large group of POWs from the 5th are being held in an improvised camp near the old train station in Zdunska Wola. Your mission is to infiltrate the WP lines, find the prisoners and effect their rescue before acquiring local transport and bringing them back to our cantonment.”
The room remained silent. Everyone understood that they needed to rescue their comrades in arms but they were being asked to throw themselves again into the thick of things. No one relished the return to the north, regardless of the reason. Before any voices could be raised in opposition to the plan, Harris addressed the team: “It is a hard mission, I have to admit, but those guys are our guys and they need our help. The last report mentioned that many were in terrible condition and some had died already due to exposure. They will all literally die without our help.
We will travel north in Can-Can using captured Russian uniforms as disguises. We have also managed to acquire written orders stating that we are searching for stragglers from the 5th. They should be enough to get us through any casual inspections or roadblocks we encounter.
Our primary mission is the rescue of NATO POWs. Our secondary mission is to cripple the enemy logistical formations in order to slow any possible pursuit. Weapons use is at our discretion with the only stipulation being that if we do engage enemy units, no survivors may leave the encounter. If one survivor remains it will endanger our cover. If we fight, we kill them all, regardless of the situation.”
The room was quiet before but as Harris finished, it became as silent as an unopened tomb. For the most part, the team had never been that bloodthirsty before. They had given quarter and expected the same from the enemy. This mission was different and each team member would have to decide how they would deal with their own personal ghosts later.
Harris continued, “Potato will draw the uniform of a Soviet Captain and will be ‘in charge’ in all encounters with the enemy that require negotiation. Wally will draw a Polish lieutenant’s uniform and will be Potato’s Polish liaison officer. The rest will draw Russian infantry field uniforms.
Once we leave the general vicinity of the cantonment we are on our own. We cannot call anyone for backup and we will be travelling fast and we will try to avoid enemy encounters where we can.
Captain Warren has provided us with ammunition for the PK and we will draw medical supplies and engineering materials from our cache.
We kick off tomorrow at 0600. Any questions?”
The last part was purely rhetorical. The mission was simple and the fact that they would be going it alone was nothing new to the team. Same, same, as always.


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