Fox at the Front (Fox on the Rhine) by Douglas Niles, Michael Dobson Page B
Authors: Douglas Niles, Michael Dobson
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The Third Reich does not have any medical supplies to spare. Horst!” he called to one of his soldiers. “Take one of the nurses to each ward. If there are any American patients, kill them. All patients who are able to move will get ready to move. Those who can be transported will be moved onto trucks and ambulances. We will leave only those who would die if moved. And Doctor—” His glare was piercing. “—I expect your best medical judgment in these matters.”
Peiper was pleased that Dr. Schlüter was too cowed to do anything but stammer his obedience. That was as it should be. More of Peiper’s troops moved into the building and began ordering medical staff around.
The tramping footsteps of soldiers was not lost on Clausen, and when shots rang out in another ward, his suspicions were confirmed. The ward’s male nurse entered with an armed Waffen-SS Sturmmann. “Are there any American patients here?”
The nurse looked around. “N-No, no, Sturmmann,” he stuttered, pointedly not looking at Digger.
“You will ready yourselves for immediate departure,” ordered the sturmmann in a harsh voice. “If you can walk, get dressed. The rest of you will be transported. Any shirkers will be disciplined.”
All hope ripped away, the patients sullenly began to slide out of bed if they were able. Digger looked questioningly at Clausen. The feldwebel put a finger to his lips and pointed meaningfully at the door where the SS soldier had gone. Digger nodded his head as if he understood. Clausen hoped he was getting the message across. His own clothes were under the bed. When he moved, the agony in his stomach made him stop. He could not walk. He pulled his jacket out and wrapped it around his shoulders, then threw his uniform shirt over to Digger and motioned that he should put it on.
Within about twenty minutes, he, Digger, and other non-ambulatory patients were being loaded onto a truck, one of many vehicles waiting with idling engines outside the hospital. When the truck was full, a Waffen-SS trooper banged hard on its side twice, the signal to pull away into the dark, cold night.
The unwilling passengers huddled in miserable silence, knowing only that they were being carried toward the Westwall, Germany, and the east.
EXCERPT FROM WAR’S FINAL FURY , BY PROFESSOR JARED GRUENWALD (ZURICH: UNIVERSITY OF ZURICH PRESS, 1955)
[NOTE: War’s Final Fury is well known to scholars as the definitive analysis of the final chapters of the Second World War following the assassination of Adolph Hitler. Dr. Jared Gruenwald is Distinguished Professor of History at the University of Zurich, Switzerland. His other books include Rommel: A Study in Leadership and Transformation, Himmler’s Reich, and Stalin’s Time. We are grateful to Professor Gruenwald and the University of Zurich Press for permission to reprint these excerpts concerning the overall strategic situation in Europe during this critical time. The Authors.]
The days following Rommel’s dramatic surrender of Army Group B to the Americans set the stage for following events. While the final defeat of Nazism was certain, there was a question as to who would deliver the coup de grâce: the Western Allies or the Soviet Union. Stalin’s essential perfidy in accepting a separate peace with Germany is well understood, and certainly his motives were no more dishonest than those of the Nazis in turn. Stalin had to stop his advances until January 1945 in any event because of supply difficulties, and the “separate peace” gave him control of two additional nations, Norway and Greece.
Himmler’s government, on the other hand, bought one last chance to defeat the West and recover in time to make it a one-front war against the Soviet Union. The failure of Operation Fuchs am Rhein meant the chance had been squandered, and that in turn would mean a renewed Soviet offensive beginning soon.
The German-Soviet armistice was, as we have shown, an exercise in mutual
Peiper was pleased that Dr. Schlüter was too cowed to do anything but stammer his obedience. That was as it should be. More of Peiper’s troops moved into the building and began ordering medical staff around.
The tramping footsteps of soldiers was not lost on Clausen, and when shots rang out in another ward, his suspicions were confirmed. The ward’s male nurse entered with an armed Waffen-SS Sturmmann. “Are there any American patients here?”
The nurse looked around. “N-No, no, Sturmmann,” he stuttered, pointedly not looking at Digger.
“You will ready yourselves for immediate departure,” ordered the sturmmann in a harsh voice. “If you can walk, get dressed. The rest of you will be transported. Any shirkers will be disciplined.”
All hope ripped away, the patients sullenly began to slide out of bed if they were able. Digger looked questioningly at Clausen. The feldwebel put a finger to his lips and pointed meaningfully at the door where the SS soldier had gone. Digger nodded his head as if he understood. Clausen hoped he was getting the message across. His own clothes were under the bed. When he moved, the agony in his stomach made him stop. He could not walk. He pulled his jacket out and wrapped it around his shoulders, then threw his uniform shirt over to Digger and motioned that he should put it on.
Within about twenty minutes, he, Digger, and other non-ambulatory patients were being loaded onto a truck, one of many vehicles waiting with idling engines outside the hospital. When the truck was full, a Waffen-SS trooper banged hard on its side twice, the signal to pull away into the dark, cold night.
The unwilling passengers huddled in miserable silence, knowing only that they were being carried toward the Westwall, Germany, and the east.
EXCERPT FROM WAR’S FINAL FURY , BY PROFESSOR JARED GRUENWALD (ZURICH: UNIVERSITY OF ZURICH PRESS, 1955)
[NOTE: War’s Final Fury is well known to scholars as the definitive analysis of the final chapters of the Second World War following the assassination of Adolph Hitler. Dr. Jared Gruenwald is Distinguished Professor of History at the University of Zurich, Switzerland. His other books include Rommel: A Study in Leadership and Transformation, Himmler’s Reich, and Stalin’s Time. We are grateful to Professor Gruenwald and the University of Zurich Press for permission to reprint these excerpts concerning the overall strategic situation in Europe during this critical time. The Authors.]
The days following Rommel’s dramatic surrender of Army Group B to the Americans set the stage for following events. While the final defeat of Nazism was certain, there was a question as to who would deliver the coup de grâce: the Western Allies or the Soviet Union. Stalin’s essential perfidy in accepting a separate peace with Germany is well understood, and certainly his motives were no more dishonest than those of the Nazis in turn. Stalin had to stop his advances until January 1945 in any event because of supply difficulties, and the “separate peace” gave him control of two additional nations, Norway and Greece.
Himmler’s government, on the other hand, bought one last chance to defeat the West and recover in time to make it a one-front war against the Soviet Union. The failure of Operation Fuchs am Rhein meant the chance had been squandered, and that in turn would mean a renewed Soviet offensive beginning soon.
The German-Soviet armistice was, as we have shown, an exercise in mutual
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