Team Yankee: a novel of World War III (29 page)

0330, it would have been the Poles enjoying the advantage. As it was, Team Yankee gained a double advantage. Not only did the Poles impale themselves on the Germans' defenses and save the Team the trouble of seeking them out, they allowed the Team to get an extra half hour's sleep.

The sound of the raging battle to their front, the eerie shadows caused by the illumination rounds as they floated down to earth, and the flash from impacting artillery rounds made the crossing of the East German border seem unreal. It was like a scene from a cheap science-fiction movie. Moments like this, when one is not actually involved in the fight but close enough to see and hear it, is when fear reaches a peak. The fear of failure. The fear of being ripped apart by artillery. The fear of death. All these fears run through the mind as a soldier closes to do battle. Once engaged, training and instinct take over. Fear is pushed aside by the necessity to fight or die. But before, when there is still the chance to back out, the rational mind pleads for reason, to stop, to quit before combat is joined. The tank, however, keeps going forward and ignores the rational mind. Combat will be joined, despite reason and one's better judgment.

As Sergeant Polgar's personnel carrier eased down the ramp into the antivehicle ditch that ran along the East German border, he became elated. After being in the Army for sixteen years, something he was doing was making sense. He recalled how, as a private in Vietnam, he and his buddies felt frustrated and betrayed when they had to break off pursuit of the North Vietnamese as soon as they came up to the Vietnamese border. They were never allowed -to go all the way in and finish the enemy and the war. He had been in Korea in 1977 when two American officers were hacked to death with axes in broad daylight by North Korean soldiers, and no action was taken to retaliate. He remembered the 444 days of embarrassment when a third-rate nation, Iran, held Americans hostage, and the Army wasn't able to free them. Like others in the military, the half-measures and restrictions placed on the U.S. military didn't make sense to him.

This attack, however, did make sense. For the first time in his military career, he was carrying the war into the enemy's homeland. He and his soldiers were going to be given a chance to strike at the heart of the enemy. No more running up to an imaginary line and then stopping while some politician reflected on what move would come out best on the next public opinion poll; no more letting the enemy run into a safe hole to lick his wounds and come out again at a time and place of his choosing, as in Vietnam. The Army was going to rip out the enemy's heart and drink his blood. That made sense to Polgar. That was the only way to fight a war.

For a moment Colonel Reynolds considered halting the attack to allow the Germans to sort out the situation before the battalion passed. When he called Bannon and told him to be prepared to halt in place, Bannon immediately called back and told him to let the Team go.

The Poles were pulling back. This was the ideal time to strike, while they were still confused.

The enemy obviously didn't know the battalion was coming; otherwise, they would not have attacked. They had T-55s with old sights. Team Yankee had thermal sights. This was the time to speed up, not slow down. The colonel agreed and told him to go for it. When Bannon dropped to the Team net and ordered Garger to pick up speed, to hit hard, and to keep rolling, all he got back from 3rd Platoon was a simple "I heard that."

The 3rd Platoon rolled through the German positions, deploying into a wedge as they went, and engaging the fleeing Poles. The surprise was complete. Some of the Polish tanks attempted to return fire. They had to stop to shoot, however, and this telegraphed their intentions. Garger's people quickly singled them out and destroyed them. Other Polish tanks simply picked up speed and attempted to get out of the way. In this too, they failed. For once, the Americans had better and faster tanks. 3rd Platoon kept up the pursuit and took out the retreating Poles one at a time. As they were closing in for the kill, Bannon directed the FIST to shift the artillery fires to the left and the right of the Team's axis of advance and to fire smoke as well as HE. This would keep the Polish infantry still in defensive positions facing the Germans pinned as the Team passed through their front line. Once Team Yankee was in their rear, those Poles still facing the Germans would be obliged to retreat or surrender.

The speed of the 3rd Platoon's attack was causing the Team to become spread out.

Bannon was right behind 3rd Platoon and found it difficult to catch up. The 2nd Platoon was behind 66 but still in column. He was sure that the PCs in the Mech Platoon would soon be falling behind. Reluctantly, he ordered the 3rd Platoon to slow down in order to allow the rest of the Team time to deploy. He didn't want to go charging off with only half of the Team, as had happened at Hill 214. He doubted if they would be lucky a second time. Once the tanks in front of 66 began to slow, Bannon had the driver swing 66 over to the left of the 3rd Platoon and ordered the 2nd Platoon to pick up speed and deploy to the left of 66.

The scene before him was incredible. Dante's Inferno could not have been more terrible. In his wildest dreams Avery could not have imagined such chaos and pandemonium. Artillery impacted with no rhyme or reason. The exchange of fire between the lead tanks and the Poles continued. Colored star clusters were popping overhead. Burning tanks were everywhere. Mortar and artillery illumination rounds cast a sickly pale light on everything. The bucking and jolting of 21 running at full throttle to catch up with the CO's tank tossed him about in the cupola. Then, in the middle of this, the CO came up on the net and in a matter of fact manner ordered the 2nd Platoon to deploy to his left. Avery had no idea where he was and even less idea where the CO was. The best the lieutenant could do was give a "ROGER-OUT" on the radio and continue to head in the direction that the CO' s tank was headed the last time he had seen it.

As 21 crested a hill in search of 66 and the 3rd Platoon, it almost collided with another tank that appeared to its left. Only a quick order to

the driver to go right prevented the accident. The TC in the other tank had also seen the near collision at the last minute and had swung to the left some. The two tanks then straightened out and began to run side by side at a distance of twenty meters. Avery was relieved. He had found the CO's tank. As he was about to key the net to order his platoon to begin to deploy, it dawned upon him that the direction of travel of the tank to his left didn't make sense. If the CO's tank was to appear, it should have been to his right, not to the left. He leaned over to take a better look at the tank to his left.

A T-55! It was a goddamned T-55! The sudden realization that he was running side by side with a Polish tank was numbing. It was the sensation of urine running down his leg that galvanized Avery into action. He began to slew the turret and issue his fire command.

"GUNNER-BATTLESIGHT-TANK!"

The target was so near and the thermal sight image so uniformly green that Tessman didn't recognize the object in his sight as a tank. "CANNOT

IDENTIFY!"

The belligerent move by 21 caused the Polish tank commander to give 21 a closer look. He, too, realized his error and began to lay his gun. Tessman repeated his call, "CANNOT IDENTIFY!"

"FROM MY POSITION-ON THE WAY!"

Avery fired the main gun from his override without bothering to go down to his sight. The report of 21's gun and the impact on target were as one. The T-55 veered off to the left, stopped, and began to burn. For a moment Avery simply stood there and watched the T-55 as 21 continued to roll forward. The loader's report of "UP!" broke his trance. "CEASE FIRE."

The retreat of the Poles had lost all form and formation. They were everywhere. Most of the tanks were gone, destroyed or scattered. Now Garger and his platoon were coming across trucks and personnel carriers. As the platoon crested one knoll, they came face to face with a battery of heavy mortars. The tanks didn't even break stride. They simply continued to roll forward, firing at the fleeing mortarmen with machine guns and crushing the mortars under their tracks. Gerry Garger was impatiently awaiting word to move out at top speed again.

The whole Polish rear area was in an uproar. He wanted to finish them before they were able to reorganize. The CO came over the Team net again and ordered the 3rd Platoon into a right echelon. Garner ordered his platoon into the required formation and watched them as they did so. The tanks dropped back and took up their assigned stations, swinging their guns to cover the Team's right flank. It was already becoming light. Garger turned in the cupola and watched 66 come up on his left. Behind 66 he could barely make out the forms of the 2nd Platoon tanks coming on fast. Once they were up, the Team could continue on.

Unless something terrible happened, they would be able to reach the Saale River that afternoon with ease.

Finally, 66 was in sight. He hadn't lost the Team. Avery felt relieved. Then, the first humorous thought that he had had since his arrival in Germany ran through his mind: that made the second time that morning that he had been relieved. He thought about the near brush with the T-55 and his reactions. Hip shooting a tank main gun was not in the book, any book. But what the hell, it had worked. Tank 21 had killed the Pole and saved its hide. The platoon had caught up and was deployed to the left of the CO's tank. With the exception of his wet pants, all was working out rather well so far. Avery began to think that maybe he would make it as a platoon leader after all. He was a veteran and 21 had earned its first kill ring.

CHAPTER TEN.

Red Dawn.

Just prior to dawn, Colonel Reynolds accomplished what the Poles had not been able to, stop Team Yankee. Bannon was sure the colonel would haveliked to let the Team keep going if he could have, but that was not possible. The colonel found it necessary to stop them, just as Bannon had been compelled to rein in the 3rd Platoon as it had forged out ahead of the Team. From the reports on the battalion command net, Bannon could tell all was not going well.

While Team Yankee had been able to achieve complete surprise and scatter the Polish units directly to its front, those Poles who had been to the left and right of the penetration did not panic or flee. Instead, they attempted to close off the penetration as soon as Team Yankee and Team Bravo had passed through. Apparently C and D companies' lack of tanks encouraged the Poles to try. Their initial efforts were successful as they greeted the appearance of C company with a deadly crossfire. The garbled and fragmented reports given by Cravin over the battalion net betrayed his confusion and panic.

The battalion XO, who had been following C company, reported the situation and his actions to the colonel. D company was deployed into positions from which they could support C

company. The XO was still in contact with the

German battalion and was able to get them to add their support to the growing battle. Once a firm base of fire had been established and friendly artillery began to enter the fray, he moved forward to rally C company and reopen the breach.

His efforts, however, were rewarded with a direct hit on his track when it reached the place where C company had gone to ground. The D company commander reported the loss of the battalion XO to Reynolds. He then informed the battalion commander that he was taking over the battalion's rear battle and requested further orders. Unable to contact the C

company commander and sensing that the entire operation was in jeopardy, Colonel Reynolds ordered Team Yankee to stop where it was, instructed Major Jordan to stay forward with Team Yankee, and then turned Team Bravo around and led them back to hit the Poles in the rear. The day that had begun so well appeared to be turning against the battalion.

The order to halt and take up hasty defensive positions threw Sergeant Polgar. For a minute he thought that the Team Commander had made a mistake. The 3rd Platoon leader thought the same, for no sooner had Bannon stopped talking, than Lieutenant Garger came back and asked him to repeat his last transmission. A little agitated at being so questioned, Bannon made it a point to repeat his instructions slowly, in such a way as to ensure that they would not be misunderstood. As each of the platoon leaders responded back to the Team Commander with

an

acknowledgement, Polgar noted the difference between the two tank platoon leaders. The 3rd Platoon leader was clearly upset with his commander for stopping the mad dash that the 3rd Platoon had been leading. Polgar wanted to get on with the attack himself, especially since they had such a clear advantage over the enemy. But he was an old soldier and realized that Bannon would not have stopped their forward movement unless there was a damned good reason to do so. The new platoon leader of the 2nd Platoon, on the other hand, sounded as

if he were relieved to get the order halting

their drive. Not that he could be blamed. The U.S. Army had a tradition of being rough on second lieutenants. It had to be hell on the new lieutenant, being assigned to a unit in the middle of a war and then going right into an

attack like this. Polgar couldn't remember the new lieutenant's name, not that it really mattered. He definitely had not impressed anyone so far. The fact was, there was a lottery going around the Team among the enlisted men betting on how long the new lieutenant would last once they went into action. The big money was on two days. Some bet it would be hours. Polgar had been one of the more optimistic. He had his bet riding on three and a half days.

As the Team's tracks settled into positions along an east-west road and cut off their engines, the sun began to rise. Bannon watched the horizon change from black to a deep red. He was reminded of the old saying, "Red sun at night, sailor's delight. Red sun in the morning, sailor take warning." The sun that was greeting Team Yankee this morning was blood red. Watching the great red orb rise in the east, he silently prayed that this was not an ill omen.

Once the Team was set, Bannon turned his attention to Team Bravo and their progress as that unit retraced its steps. The colonel prepared to hit the Poles with everything he had available. He called the battalion's artillery fire-support officer and designated targets he wanted hit and when they were to be hit. He instructed the D company commander to get with the Germans and see if they would support the battalion's maneuver with fire. Finally, based on information provided by the D company commander, he gave Team Bravo and D