Devils with Wings Read Online Free PDF Page B

our withdrawal or counter attack the enemy’s right flank. Are you clear on that Fischer?”
    “Yes sir,” answered Fischer, shoulders back and head held high at the potential importance of his troop’s role.
    “Should we get into deep shit, it will be your troop’s responsibility to help get us out of it. Any questions?” Paul opened it out to the entire group.
    Max asked, “Is the estimate of enemy troops still the same sir?”
    “Yes, about five hundred Polish troops.”
    “Do we know the quality of the troops we will be up against sir?” piped up Leeb, Commander of one troop.
    “We believe them to be artillery troops, so they’re not frontline infantry. But, there are still five hundred rifles out there; any one of them has the capability to kill you. So, be confident gentlemen, but not over confident.”
    “Unterfeldwebel, anything you want to add?”
    “Just this sir, remember the tenth commandment. Keep your eyes wide open. Tune yourself to the utmost pitch. Be nimble as a greyhound, tough as leather, hard as Krupp steel. You shall be the German warrior incarnate.”
    The troopers’ pride was obvious in their faces; this was one of the Ten Commandments they had to learn during their training at Stendal. In their minds it set them apart from all other soldiers, they were the elite.
    “And finally,” continued Max, “once in the woods keep your troops spacing tight, not too tight that they make a good target for a Polish grenade, but it will be easy for troopers to get separated if the woods become dense with masses of undergrowth. Understood?”
    “Yes Unterfeldwebel,” responded the Troop Commanders.
    “Understood?” repeated Max louder.
    “Yes Unterfeldwebel,” roared the Troop Commanders at the tops of their voices.
    Paul was just about to release the Commanders to go to their respective troops, when Oberleutnant Volkman joined them.
    They all snapped to attention.
    “At ease gentlemen. Is your platoon ready Leutnant Brand?”
    “Yes sir,” saluted Brand.
    “They have been briefed, and are ready for the job ahead Herr Oberleutnant.”
    “I’m depending on you Leutnant Brand; I don’t want any fuck ups. One company is leading the entire Battalion and one company is being led by your platoon. Fleck will be on your right flank and Leutnant Janke will be threehundred meters behind you in reserve.”
    “Fischer’s troop will be roughly in line with them sir on our left flank, acting as our platoon reserve,” informed Paul
    “Right Brand, you seem to have everything covered. Gentlemen, I shall leave you to it, good luck.”
    They all saluted their Company Commander and he left to join second platoon where he would have the company command post.
    “Right, get your men together,” commanded Paul “we move out in ten minutes. Max, I want you with three troop. Should we get into a situation, it may well be three troop that gets us out of it.”
    “Right sir,” confirmed Max.
    “Max?”
    “Yes sir?”
    “This could be a straight forward operation, but equally it could go belly up. Keep the guys on their toes; we can’t afford any loss of concentration. As ever, I and the rest of the platoon will be looking to you Max.”
    “I understand sir.”
    The stocky Unterfeldwebel moved off to round up the platoon, thinking, it’s you we will be looking to sir, if anything goes wrong.
    The fair haired, sturdy sergeant had only been with Paul for six months, and although they were officer and NCO, a mutual bond of trust and respect was forming between them.
    The six foot two, lanky, but athletic, Leutnant and the five foot ten, stocky, muscled NCO were like chalk and cheese. Paul, an intelligent, articulate and erstwhile tactician and Max the solid Rottweiler. To this day, no one knows how Max got into the Fallschirmjager, ten kilos over the accepted weight for a paratrooper.
    All three of the Unteroffiziers and their troops looked up to Paul and Max. They were both leaders of men, albeit in