Upfall

By midday most everyone slept at least a little, and taken in food. Chaim got up and moved about, which encouraged the Israeli commandos, but two of the three wounded Bears were much worse off. Ido believed they would survive only if the sayeret reached safety and the men received sustained rest and steady attention.

The suffering of the wounded men only further undermined the fragile condition of Fliegel's men. Yatom recognized the signs of battle fatigue clearly enough. He was amazed that these young Jews, most of whom had never held a rifle before, had accomplished so much already. Their burning desire for revenge had sustained them, but it was only temporary courage. Physically weakened and emotionally fragile at the start of the mission, the Bears were now completely exhausted. Even Fliegel was next to useless. The Bears were broken, and Yatom knew that they would probably not recover without hot food and a few days of rest—neither of which he could offer.

The sayeret was worn-out but far from broken. Still, five days of ceaseless running and fighting had taken its toll. The Israelis were not in top form anymore. They too needed rest and replenishment. Mofaz took on the task of reminding the tired commandos to attend to the necessary tasks of cleaning their weapons and equipment—a weak spot in the IDF, even in the best of times.

Yatom called an orders group early in the afternoon to evaluate their situation and plot the next move. The usual group gathered on a bed of pine needles. Yatom summarized their situation. Things were getting dicey, said Yatom, who noted that they would soon start running out of food, water and fuel. They could ration the food and water, but the extra jerry cans of petrol they hauled out of Treblinka would only be good for another 70 kilometers or so. The hard driving was tough on people too. Beyond petrol, most acute problem was with the sayerets own equipment. They had shot off two thirds of their 40mm grenades, and about half of their rifle ammo. Everyone had dipped into the extra ammo that Feldhandler brought along. Most critically, the sayeret’s batteries were beginning to fail—again, even considering Feldhandler's extras. Batteries ran almost all of the Israelis tech gear, from radios to thermal and night vision scopes.

Feldhandler had rechargers that he believed would work on the Polish electric grid, assuming they could find a secure place with running electricity. Having set forth the sayeret’s numerous problems, Yatom pulled out one of his maps and traced a line further east, which seemed the safest direction for the time being.

"At the Polish frontier we‘ll head south again. We stop when we reach the refugees from the train—if they are still alive" said Yatom.

"But before that we must find someplace with fuel and electricity, even if it is during the day. We'll have to risk it."

"Where?" said Mofaz.

"As far east as possible—around here" said Yatom, putting his finger on the map around a town called Kolonia Rozanka.

"These Polish names will kill me" said Mofaz "if the Germans don't first. I'm glad my people are Sephardim" he joked, meaning Jews from North Africa or the Middle East. "No wonder you Ashkenaz are so messed up."

"You still haven't said what the plans are when and if we reach the refugees from Sobibor" said Shapira.

Yatom scratched his face, which, like most of the commandos, was now covered with a thickening beard. "Once we find them, if we do, we'll see to their welfare and defense. Then, hopefully, we'll go home."

"What was that about Sandler meeting us a Belzac in three weeks then?" persisted Shapira. "Isn‘t Belzac on the list too?"

"We still have to attack Belzec" said Yatom "but not with the full sayeret. Sorne Jews from Treblinka, together with Sandler's men, should be able to at least penetrate Belzac and knock out the gas chambers. Do you agree Dr. Feldhandler?"

"Yes" said the scientist in an unusually subdued tone. "Except that we need to have at least a couple of our own men to lead the attack.. "

"Dr. Feldhandler doesn't trust our Jewish friends" said Yatom, pointing over to where Fliegel sat dejectedly with several of his men "to handle things alone. Honestly, I agree. So an officer and one man will have to assist in the Belzac op. That‘s all."

"Who?" asked Shapira.

Yatom shrugged. "We'll draw lots. Anything else?"

"As a matter of fact, yes" said Shapira. "Look at this." He handed Yatom a piece of bloodied paper typewritten in German.

"Where is this fiom" said Yatom irritably. "What is it?"

"lt‘s from the satchel we took from the Germans at the last roadblock."

"My ability to read German is not so good" said Yatom, handing the paper back to Shapira. Shapira gave the paper to Feldhandler.

"Maybe you can explain this to the commander" said Shapira.

Feldhandler took the paper and examined it lethargically. "So?" said the scientist. "It appears to a set of orders, evidently from the German officer at the last roadblock." Feldhandler read some more.