Upfall

Over the course of several weeks trains brought Der Fuehrer's men and equipment, including new vehicles, into Lubin. Despite the urgency of the movement, Kumm's regiment still competed for railroad access with transports filled with Jews heading to the ghettos of Warsaw and Lodz. The destruction of the Sobibor and Treblinka camps and the temporary shutdown of Belzac meant that the ghettos were no longer emptying, creating severe security, administrative and health problems. Still, Heydrich and Eichmann kept the trains running.

Kumm, however, could not complain about the quality of his equipment. As promised, when the men of the regiment arrived in Lubin by train, they were mated with scores of new trucks. Eight gaudily camouflaged assault guns arrived as well, along with motorcycles, Kubelwagens and four scout half-tracks for the reconnaissance detachment. A dozen larger half—tracked carriers, painted mustard yellow, were split between the two mobile battalions. The regiment was only deficient in artillery. Much of the divisional artillery had yet to be replaced, and what was available the divisional command refused to release, despite Kumm's appeals. This included all of the regiment's normal complement of regimental support, antiaircraft and anti-tank guns. The only artillery that moved to Lubin was the mortar battery assigned each battalion. As far as the Kumm's divisional commander was concerned, the assault guns and mortars would be more than sufficient for fighting "Jewish partisans." Put that way, Kumm could hardly protest.

With the regiment's men and equipment came the individual commanders of Der Fuehrer's three infantry battalions. Hauptsturmfuhrer Hans Opificius, commander of the battalion headed for guard duty at Belzec, was the first battalion leader to arrive in Lubin. He looked jealously at the regimental transport already in the depot. He and his men would have to continue on to the Belzec by train, just like its victims. The battalion assigned to Siedice, far to the northwest, was under the command of Sturmbannfuhrer Horn. Horn arrived in Lubin the following day and departed for Siedice shortly afterward, taking half of the assault guns and half-tracked personnel carriers with him. The last battalion to arrive was 2d Battalion under the command of Haupsturmbahnfuehrer Sylvester Stadler. Stadler's men would remain in Lubin with the regimental command elements.

Stadler, even more than Kumm, looked like the prototypical SS officer. Tall and well muscled, he preferred to attend to business in his onto the mine. The cyclists moved carefully down the road, which was roughly paved in brick and broken flat stones. It reminded Kaiser of an ancient Roman road before his half-track ground up the paving stones. The passage itself was largely in shadow under tall oaks and pine, with the sun low in the sky behind them. After a kilometer one of the motorcyclists stopped and pointed to a crater in the road, surrounded by bits pieces of broken equipment and what looked like dried blood and flesh. It was obviously where the Polish police had encountered the mine.

One of the Kubelwagens held team of engineers. These men dismounted and cautiously moved down the road. The engineers quickly identified several other mines, mostly hidden under loose bricks and stones. They marked some with panels, and carefully removed several more from the roadway. The column waited while the engineers worked in the gathering dark, alert in case of an ambush. Nearly an hour later the engineers had made a neat pile of five mines, marked four others, and laid out tape marking a safe route forward.

Kaiser dismounted and walked to the second Kubelwagen, where his platoon sergeant, Scharfuhrer Schmundt, stood nonchalantly smoking a fragrant Russian cigarette. Schmundt was a couple of years older than Kaiser and veteran of fighting in France and Russia. He came to attention as Kaiser faced him, pulled the cigarette from his mouth, and looked at the young officer warily but respectfully.

"What do you think, Scharfuhrer Schmundt?" said Kaiser curtly.

"Think about what, sir?"

"This road—we've been stopped nearly an hour with no signs of partisans, or an ambush."