Opening Moves

‘Need to know more,’ accompanying the thought with a gesture to Colonel Samuel V. Rossiter USMC, officially a USMC officer attached to Ike’s staff to fly the flag for the Corps, which he did ably, but in reality a member of OSS who briefed Eisenhower in on special ops when needed.

“What’s the situation at Hildesheim Sam?”

“Very strange Sir. Nothing happening at all except nuisance artillery fire. It seems the boys handled them very roughly yesterday and they are licking their wounds. We have recon working on it but no reports back as of yet.”

Moreover, neither would there be today. The photo-recce spitfire had long since been struck from the skies.

“2nd Armored has got set on the Hameln-Springe line, but we have confirmed sightings of Soviet vehicles at Blomberg. Not sure what numbers or type, and it could just be a small recon force. General Collier has switched some 2nd Armored assets to cover his southern approaches, just in case.

“Excellent.”

Rossiter was looking directly at his commander and noted the pained look that suddenly developed.

“We still have a huge issue with Göttingen. General Bradley has ordered them out I understand?”

“Yes Sir. There is a difficulty with the route of escape.”

Rossiter tapped the Weser River line, which ran across the path the trapped units needed to use.

“I believe the Soviets have managed to trap most of the 83rd Infantry and part of the 8th Armored east of the Weser.”

Fishing in the sheaf of papers he held in his left hand, he extracted the report he was looking for.

“Major General Macon of the 83rd states he cannot disengage as he is pressed on all fronts and fighting every foot backwards. Recon elements of the 8th are trying to find a way across the Weser. Unusually, the Reds are bombing the bridges, something they have singularly avoided doing thus far. Options for withdrawal over the Weser are becoming less by the hour. General Bradley has ordered a stand on the west bank of the river opposite these forces to try and give them the best chance of escape, and engineers are putting extra bridges across.”

Eisenhower had recently discussed this with Bradley and whilst he was content to let the old warhorse do his work, the risk to both the trapped units and those ordered to hold the Weser line was great.

Gesturing with his smoking right hand, Ike pointed out a Soviet drive that was moving north-west from Fritzlar.

“Actually Sir, we have garbled reports of enemy activity just south of Istha.”

“Where’s that?”

Rossiter walked to the map and his finger pointed out a small town positioned west of Kassel.

Eisenhower’s face was a mask of horror.

Returning, the Marine Colonel hastily continued.

“We are trying hard to firm that up but we have no contact with the unit from the 79th that gave us the heads up.

“OK,” an angry finger waved in the general direction of the map, a voice slightly raised, “But we do need to stay on top of that one, Sam.”

“Yes Sir.”

Coffee arrived on cue and gave a natural break, permitting one man to retire feeling chastened and the other to drink, feeling that he just displayed a little too much emotion for a Commander-in Chief. A word of apology later would be needed. The Colonel was good at what he did and did not deserve his boss’s anger, leastways not for that.

It was not getting any better by the time he resumed his observations. Kassel was holding and holding tough, but the Soviets looked like they were trying to bypass to the south. Frankenberg had stopped them, or rather the Eder River through it had, 75th Infantry Commanding officer reporting the bridges down and his front stabilised in a very recent report.

Giessen was also holding, having been assaulted very early on in the conflict, the Soviet advance being unexpectedly deep, mainly because of the problems experienced by 5th and 6th Armored Divisions.

A move to the south aimed at Butzbach had been anticipated and blunted. The Soviets didn’t know that the paratroopers dropped on Kransberg were all dead or captured. It had been an easy call to anticipate a relief attempt, so when they peeled south-east and then drove back into Bad Nauheim the Americans were ready again, although the fighting was hard and casualties heavy on both sides.

Frankfurt was still friendly but that was very finite, as the eastern suburbs now belonged to the enemy and probes were being thrown out north and south in an attempt to surround.

A southeast aimed thrust had taken Aschaffenburg in a bloodless advance and that element seemed to be turning south-west.

‘Looking to be aiming at Darmstadt’ he proposed, in discussion with himself.

‘Too close to the Rhine for my tastes,’ He conceded.

Beckoning Rossiter over again, he did not forget what he owed the man.

“My apologies Sam. Forgive me.”

“Think nothing of it Sir; it’s a hell of a day that’s all.”

No harm done and one very serious and competent officer thinking that his Boss was actually a good man.

“Darmstadt?”