Team Yankee: a novel of World War III (39 page)

The crack of a tank cannon and the blurted contact report from 3rd Platoon jarred Weiss back to the present. The

element with the XO had made contact. The enemy was out there. Weiss straightened up in the cupola and began to scan the horizon for them.

No one saw where it had come from. One minute there was nothing. The next minute, there it was. It was as if the BTR-60 had popped up out of the ground less than two hundred meters in front of the platoon. Without breaking pace and with one round, Blackfoot's 32 tank destroyed the BTR. Garger automatically ordered the platoon to refuse its left by going to a left echelon formation. This was done without confusion and with hardly a break in the platoon's stride. After a quick contact report to the XO, Garger turned back to his left and peered into the darkness through his night vision goggles. There was no further movement for the moment. The lone BTR, now burning, was well to the rear of the platoon as they continued to the Saale.

The 2nd Platoon, to the right, fired next. Garger whipped around to see what they were firing at. Following the tracers from the 2nd Platoon's rounds he saw several forms moving away from the advancing Team. A brilliant flash and shower of sparks followed by an eruption of flames lit up the night. One Soviet tank had been hit and destroyed. A second Russian tank, clearly illuminated by the flames from the hit tank, could be seen fleeing north. It did not make it, however. Another tank in 2nd Platoon fired and dispatched it.

"TANK-TWELVE O'CLOCK-MOVING NORTH!" At first, Garger thought that his gunner was looking at the same tank that he was looking at. Then he realized that the gun tube was still pointed to the left. He dropped down to his sight and saw the tank his gunner had found. For a moment he hesitated. B company, 1st of the 4th, was to their left. He did not want to

engage a friendly tank. Garger studied the target in his thermal sight for a moment. He could make out the turret and the tracks. It was definitely moving north. But did it belong to B

company or was it Russian? Then he noticed that the rear of the tank was dark. The exhaust from an M-I tank

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vented out the rear, creating a tremendous heat signature. If the tank was an M-I, its rear would have

been bright green. The tank was Russian. Without further delay, Garger issued his fire command and dispatched another Soviet tank.

The young engineer lieutenant was not pleased with his orders nor with having a KGB

captain at his side overseeing him. The KGB captain and his people were supposed to be at the bridge to gather up stragglers and control movement. The young lieutenant was smart enough, however, to realize that the squat, stone-faced captain also had the task of ensuring that the people defending the bridge and preparing its destruction followed orders. Why else did the captain follow his every move and question every order the engineer gave?

The 15th Guards Tank Division was in the process of withdrawing across the Saale. The withdrawal was in great haste and confusion. There seemed to be no rhyme or reason to the order in which units came across. A tank unit was followed by a maintenance detachment, which in turn was followed by an artillery unit with a field hospital mixed in. To add to the confusion, the KGB would halt units at random and demand to see written orders giving them permission to withdraw to the north side of the river. Most of the units did not have these, having received orders over the radio. The KGB knew this but continued to stop units.

The thing that bothered the engineer lieutenant the most was the manner in which the KGB

dealt with stragglers. When individuals, officer and enlisted, were found to be crossing without their unit, they were taken over to the side of the road and questioned. At first, the KGB captain was called in to consider each case. After awhile, however, he tired of this and allowed a young and enthusiastic KGB lieutenant to deal with the enlisted stragglers. The captain only wanted to be called in to deal with the officers, Justice, KGB style, was quick. The engineer, at the insistence of the KGB captain, watched each series of executions. Once a straggler was determined to be a deserter, he was put into a small wooden shed at the south end of the bridge. When the shed was full, the convicted deserters were lined up next to the road, in full view of the troops moving across the bridge. The KGB lieutenant would read a statement outlining the crimes committed against the State and Party before giving the order to fire. The first time he watched, the engineer lieutenant became sick. As he bent over to throw up, the KGB

captain slapped him on the back and told him he had nothing to worry about, as long as he carried out his orders. The captain's statement was a promise, not a threat. The engineer lieutenant knew that if he blew the bridge without first receiving permission, the next time the KGB captain slapped his back, there would be a knife in his hand.

The sudden flurry of engagements stopped as rapidly as they had begun. The Team was halfway to the river and making good time. The Soviets encountered by the XO's element had been withdrawing and apparently were not interested in offering resistance. All was going well so far. Things had a nasty habit, however, of changing very rapidly. Six tanks and a couple of well-placed antitank guided missile launchers could raise hell with the Team.

Bannon expected to make contact with just such delaying forces momentarily.

The anticipation of such an event was becoming unbearable. An outright shoot-out with the Russians in the open was preferable to this rolling around in the dark waiting to be hit. His mind kept filling with worst case what ifs as the Team came to each point he had marked on his map where the Soviets could take up good delay positions. As the Team approached each point, Bannon could feel his heartbeat quicken as his body prepared for action. But nothing happened. The Team's lead elements would bypass the point and continue rolling north. Just as he managed to calm down, the next critical point would be reached, and he would again tense up in anticipation. They had to either make it to the river soon or make contact with the Russians. It really didn't matter to him. Anything was better than dealing with the stress of the unknown.

Just ahead of the element he was leading was a small town. Bannon would have preferred to bypass it but decided to send the scouts through it. Part of the Team's mission was to be noticed and running through the town was a good way to get noticed. The 1 st Platoon and the Mech were ordered to go around the town to the west and the scouts to make a high-speed dash through the center. If they ran into light resistance, they were to bull through. If the Soviets were present in strength, they were to back out and follow the rest of the Team. As the I st Platoon veered off to the left, the scouts formed on the road and raced in at a dead run. The lead scout track had no sooner entered the town when the report of its machine guns came echoing out. Flores sent a quick contact report. He had run into a Soviet recon unit in the town square and was taking it under fire as they rolled through.

Bannon reminded him that he was not to become decisively engaged and was to get out of there as soon as possible to rejoin the Team. With the din of battle clearly audible over the radio as he responded, Flores gave Bannon a curt "ROGER-OUT" and continued to fight his battle and carry out his orders. Though concerned that the scouts might not be able to extract themselves, Bannon was pleased, nonetheless, that they had run into the Soviet recon element. No doubt the Soviets would get a report back about the Team's presence, and part of the Team's mission would be accomplished thanks to the Russians themselves.

The firing just south of the river startled both the engineer lieutenant and the KGB captain.

They looked in the direction of firing, then at each other. For the first time that night, the lieutenant noted a look of concern and uncertainty on the captain's face. They both went to find the motorized rifle company commander who was charged with defending the bridge.

They had to find out what was going on.

The firing had also been heard by the soldiers attempting to cross the bridge. Not wanting to be caught on the wrong side when it was dropped by the engineers, they began to push forward. The impatience of the drivers gave way to anger when they felt the people in front were not moving quickly enough. Truck drivers began to blow their horns and bump the vehicles to their front in an effort to speed up the

crossing. This did nothing but add to the confusion and push the mass of troops and drivers near the edge of panic.

The Team was now within a few kilometers of the bridge. Bannon decided it was time to start making a lot of noise in an effort to give the appearance that they were going to attempt a crossing. He ordered the Team FIST to fire prearranged artillery concentrations on both the north and south side of the bridge. Since the bridge was gone or soon would be, the artillery fire wouldn't hurt anything. It would, however, appear to the Russians that they were firing a preparatory fire for an assault crossing. The longer and more convincing the deception, the easier it would be for the rest of the battalion.

With the first impact of artillery, the KGB captain dropped all pretense of being calm and unconcerned. The idea of facing American combat troops terrified him. He and his men knew what would happen to them if the Americans captured them. Yet he knew they could not leave the bridge without orders. To do so would be considered desertion.

After dealing with deserters all night, he knew what would be waiting if he left now. The only hope was to get permission to leave.

Both the engineer lieutenant and the KGB captain tried to make it over to the southern side of the bridge. They were, however, fighting the tide, as everyone on the south side was trying to go north. Vehicular traffic was stopped. Trucks had been hit on both sides of the river, blocking the exit on the north side and the entrance on the south. This jam was compounded by

drivers who abandoned their trucks and began to flee on foot. As they pushed their way against the flow of fleeing troops, both noticed that their men had joined the rout. At first, the lieutenant tried to stop his men and order them back. Few paid any attention as they continued to push their way ahead. The KGB captain tried a different approach. He pulled out his pistol and pointed it at his men. When one of

them kept going, he fired several times, dropping the KGB private and two other soldiers who happened to get in the line of fire. This, however, did nothing to stem the tide. The other KGB men simply gave the captain a wide berth as they continued north.

Once on the south side of the river, the lieutenant and the captain found the company commander. The commander was yelling into a radio mike but didn't seem to be getting an answer. When he saw them, he turned to the engineer and told him that the Americans were only a few kilometers away and would be there any minute. The bridge had to be dropped now. The KGB captain asked if they had received orders to do so. The commander replied that he couldn't receive orders because his radio was being jammed. The KGB captain responded that they couldn't drop the bridge until they received permission.

The commander, frustrated now, repeated that the radio was being jammed and that he could not contact anyone to get permission. He reiterated that the bridge had to be dropped now or they would lose it. The engineer joined in, saying that they had to make an immediate decision. The bridge had to go. Both he and the commander stared at the KGB captain. The KGB captain in turn looked at each of them. It was against everything he had-been taught.

He had been trained from childhood to obey orders, to avoid taking the initiative, to conform.

Now, he had to decide on his own. There was no superior to decide for him. There was no one who could share the blame if something went wrong. He had to decide for himself, and he couldn't do it. Just as the engineer and the commander began to yell at the KGB captain again, demanding permission to drop the bridge, an American 155mm artillery shell ended their debate.

As I t crested a small rise, Weiss looked down and saw the Saale. In the clear-night air, the light from the half-moon reflected from its smooth surface. They had made it. In a few more minutes, their mission would be accomplished.

He scanned the length of the river. All appeared to be calm until he saw the artillery impacts. The rounds were falling among a cluster of vehicles with their headlights on at the bridge they had been heading for. There were still Soviets on the south side of the river. A closer inspection revealed that the vehicles were mostly trucks with only a few personnel carriers mixed in. There seemed to be a great traffic jam at the entrance to the bridge and a great deal of panic. This pleased him. Nothing like an easy kill to finish the attack. "THE BRIDGE, IT'S STILL UP L.T.!"

Weiss dropped down to his sight extension and looked to see what his gunner was yelling about. It was still there! As 11 rolled down to the river, Weiss traversed the turret, studying the entire length of the bridge. It had not been dropped yet. It suddenly occurred to him that they had a chance to seize the bridge intact.

The report from 1 st Platoon was too good to be true. The Team had not only caught some Russians on the wrong side of the river, but the bridge was still up. Suddenly Bannon had to make a snap decision. Did they try for the bridge and risk having it blown up in their face or with some of the Team on it? Or did he simply stop on the south bank and let the Russians blow it

up? Whatever he decided, it had to be now. The 1 st Platoon was well on its way and would, in a few minutes, decide for him if he didn't. The Team had been ordered to divert the Soviets' attention from the battalion's main effort. Capturing a bridge intact and establishing a bridgehead here would certainly do that. Without calling battalion, he ordered 1st Platoon to go for the bridge. The scouts, coming up fast after clearing the town, were ordered to follow 1st Platoon across. The Mech Platoon was ordered to drop one squad on the south side to clear any charges on the bridge and send the rest of the Platoon across. Bannon ordered Uleski to get up to the bridge as soon as possible and send the 2nd Platoon across to join Bannon and take charge of the south side of the bridge with the 3rd Platoon and the Mech squad there. Everyone was ordered to hold their fire until they were on top of the Russians.