Berlin blood

Thielicke would not say that the first fights were difficult for him. The front fighters advanced by leaps and bounds. Everyone on his team acted harmoniously, everyone knew their job. Of course, there were disagreements between them, but this was rare and never ended in anything serious. Poland was different from Germany. The guy perceived it as a big village. He didn’t have any hatred towards the locals, he was indifferent, which suited him quite well. The soldiers interacted with the inhabitants of the Polish villages and were friendly, despite the destruction they were about to bring. They were accepted. Much could be learned by talking with Poles. They were all different: some residents treated them quite well and friendly, others, when they saw soldiers on the street, immediately hid, some did not even want to see people in uniform, and if they did meet them, they expressed dissatisfaction with their entire appearance. But Thielike wasn’t very interested. He was in some kind of his own universe. He was constantly left alone, either simply talking with someone about battles and tanks, or mentally returning to peaceful life. He thought a lot about Hilda, about how she was. He wrote letters to her, but for some reason did not receive an answer. Maybe she doesn’t receive letters because she moved to Berlin after all, and now he doesn’t know her address? Or maybe because she doesn’t want to answer because she found herself a rich lover? These questions often visited the guy’s head, but he couldn’t find an answer to them, so he simply sent them to the far corners of his consciousness. They stayed in Poland almost the entire autumn, but soon their commander received news of their return: they were again sent to Berlin. Tielike hoped that, having arrived there, he would be able to understand the reason for his beloved’s silence. The road turns out to be neither too long nor boring. They ride in the tank almost all the time, singing different songs and feeling the spirit of unity. The ominous darkness in the corners does not bother anyone for the time being. Thielike always keeps a Pervitin tablet with him — they were given them before the fight. When Thielicke first saw and tried them, he was surprised by the effect. In the case of night operations, Pervitin provided additional energy, the ability to stay awake and not feel tired. And if you add coffee, you can stay on your feet for two or even three days. True, there were side effects: headaches, loss of reality, as if you were under water, when all your senses were heightened. You are able to react to the smallest details and hear many times better than in your normal state. And it’s scary. When they were given these miracle pills, they were warned about possible side effects and that they could be addictive. Only thanks to the inspiring voice of Dr. Thielicke remembers these warnings and notices changes in himself. Without pills, the world now seems dull, now it is an “old” world, in which there is less and less room for sounds, smells, tastes and sensations. He just stopped feeling. But the guy is holding on as best he can, because everyone else is also on pills. And Jens, and Alfred, and Erich, and Eris. The entire Wehrmacht, as Jens says, is the Luftwaffe and Kriegsmarine. They approach the border when Thielike covers his eyes. There is nothing to worry about and he is able to fall asleep for the first time in days, despite the noise made by the moving tank. Everyone except Alfred relaxed, lost focus, and began to fall asleep. Everyone simply closed their eyes. Erich remained in touch with other tanks through force and gave signals that everything was okay with them. They drive up to the German border in the morning, and arrive in Berlin by lunchtime, studying the situation around them. Thielicke notes that practically nothing has changed except people’s faces. Everyone is preoccupied with something, passers-by are excited. Only when they encountered columns of military equipment did people noticeably relax. “Tilike,” Alfred called out to him when they were allowed to rest and stay in the city for a while until there were any orders. — Yes, did you want something? — Go sleep. Are you still using those pills? — Well, yes and what? We all sit on them and nothing like that. — But not in such quantities as you. Understand, it’s easy to get hooked on it, but it’s hard to get out of the habit. Rest now. You can also go out with your girlfriend. “If I find her,” the rest of the team approaches them. — So, who has what plans? — Jens, as always, was in good spirits and cheerful. Although it’s not surprising, everyone on their team was sitting on something. Jens is on coffee, Tilike is on drugs, Alfred is on tobacco, Erich is on morphine (as it turns out, this is a long-term addiction of his). True, no one could understand how he got it, but no one was surprised. Eris is on a bunch of sedatives. The guy went to a mental hospital, but no one knew why he ended up there. “Let’s finally get some sleep and wash ourselves,” Eris was the first to begin. “I can’t stand this smell anymore.” “Yes, he’s right, we’ll also have to wash our uniform, otherwise we didn’t wash very often,” Alfred lit a cigarette. — Well, where to wash? Have you even seen these dilapidated buildings in which the Poles live? How can one even live there? “They live, after all,” Erich rarely inserted a word into the conversation, but if he did it, it was appropriate and brief. — Okay, in any case, you need to get some sleep and eat normal food. I don’t want to remember for now about canned food and rusty water, into which you need to constantly pour disinfectant,” Jens summed up and everyone scattered in all directions. In the evening, Thilike began to think about how he could find Hilda. She never sent her address, and he could only guess. Go to Stuttgart? No, it’s too far, and he can’t waste time like that. Write to her? But how long will he wait for an answer? It might be worth trying to find her in Berlin if she has moved. But where? The guy tossed and turned on his bed until the morning, turning over different options in his head, but none suited him. The morning is not set. Headache and slight nausea — apparently he had an overdose after all. After lying down for a while, he feels better, his headache begins to go away. The first thing after eating he decides to take a walk around the city. On the left are small two-story houses, fenced with nice half-meter fences, and below are various shops, cafes and restaurants. On the right side there is a park where children and adults sit in the sunshine, smiling on their faces. The guy feels the lightness that comes from them. There are many cyclists, some soldiers also ride in their free time. Nearby he sees doctors who also arrived here to collect. Out of interest, he decides to go in and see what and how. Many people immediately appear around him, everything is saturated with the smell of alcohol and ointments, as well as organization. He approaches one of the walls and sees the names and surnames registered in a help group in Berlin, and comes across a painfully familiar surname. A puzzle immediately forms in my head: why are there no letters from her? Thielicke leaves, realizing that he will not find her either in Stuttgart or in Berlin. May 1940 Thielike goes into battle again, but this time against the French. For all this time, he does not receive a single letter from Hilda. They will stand on the border of the countries and will have to break through the Belgian troops. Their team will perform from there. The blood begins to boil again, and the same fire shines in the eyes. The days he spent training were certainly valuable, but combat was better. Jens gathers everyone near the tank to tell them what is needed and where they will be. Warns that the French are not Poles. They will really fight. Therefore, each of them needs to be well prepared. Everyone understands that they need to get enough sleep, and tomorrow stock up not only on coffee, but also on drugs and sedatives. There are different situations. Yes, and bad days. They leave early in the morning straight towards the border. The mood and atmosphere in the tank is not exactly cheerful. She simply doesn’t exist. Everyone is confident of victory, but they are worried and focused on their tasks. Thielicke sees the battlefield again through his scope. The drug begins to act, the eyes begin to notice any little things, the hearing becomes sharper, the reaction becomes faster. The brain processes information before it has time to comprehend it. A dull veil covers him and he is already operating on autopilot. They run to the border, where they are already waiting, and the battle begins. Tilika is hot, stuffy, ill, exhaustion makes itself felt at the most inopportune moment, but he understands that he cannot let the team down. He gathers his last will into a fist and continues to fight. The enemy is retreating under pressure and counting losses, but it is too early to think about complete victory. “Tilike, point at eleven o’clock,” Jens shouts. His distant voice reaches Tilike and he turns. And he shoots. Erich refills another shell, but Thielicke does not see the enemy yet. “Tilike, turn the tower, three o’clock,” he turns. — I don’t see anyone. “He should be here,” Jens is worried. “Eris, have you heard anything from the others?” “Nothing, he disappeared,” tense silence falls in the tank. At one point, Tilike, succumbing to a random impulse, turns the tower to seventeen o’clock and sees the enemy. — He’s at seventeen o’clock! — everyone else realizes that he is behind them and they are under attack. — Turn the tank around, Alfred, quickly! — he does it as best he can, but does not have time. A shell lands on the tank, causing my head to begin to burst at the seams. — Tilike, deploy the turret, Erich, armor-piercing — everyone listens, there is no time. The order was carried out and the last tank was destroyed, they won. Everyone exhales, and Thilike puts his head against the wall of the tank. They stop for the night. The night gives you relaxation and an opportunity to think. But Tielike falls asleep earlier. The next day they go to the Ardennes and pass them without much difficulty. This time there are no incidents, everyone moves slowly, advancing and seeing how, throwing away weapons, people run away from the battlefield. — Commander, tell me, which final destination are we going to? “Alfred was the most curious of them all.” — Do you really care? You just do your job and that’s it. Today, as you can see, the fighting is easy. — Well, yes. “In any case, let’s not let our guard down.” As soon as Jens has time to say this, a shell casually passes over the adjacent tank on the left. — Tilike, damn it! Where are you looking? — Sorry, commander, but I didn’t see anything. — How is this possible? — They’re shooting from cover! — Eris reports that the neighboring tanks have the same situation. — Take aim and hit all the enemies you see. — Eat! — coordinated work began in the tank. The only one who froze was Erich, who was either upset or relaxed about something. I had to waste my energy to shout to him and be distracted from the sight, which Tilika did not like. At one point, Erich stops hearing and reacting to anything altogether. — Erich, shrapnel! — Tilike is trying to shout to his comrade. — Erich! — silence. “Damn,” Tilika had to charge it himself. Jens arrived in time, now doing two things at once. Loaded and commanded. Erich sat with glassy eyes staring into nowhere, looking more like a rag doll. When the battle ends, Erich completely switches off for unknown reasons. The whole team exhales and then gets to France without incident. There they give him to the doctors and they confirm an overdose of morphine. He got lucky. They arrived quickly and without fighting; the French turned out to be no stronger than the Poles. As the guy learned from the news, Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, France surrendered and were defeated. — Damn, what should we do with him now? — Alfred, leaning on the tank, looked at Jens, who was not in the best condition. — Let him rest here. We can stay here for now, so we’ll see. We all need rest and good sleep. “I need to see a doctor too,” Eris raised his hand and put out his cigarette. — Are you looking for your pills? — Yes. — Do you really need them? Alfred interjects. — Well, if you don’t want me to rush at you with a knife, then yes. “Okay, go,” Jens lets him go. — Tilike, go get some sleep. “I was going to do it anyway.” — Okay, then everyone is free for today. They separated. Thielike went to one of the houses, where they were kindly received by a French family, said hello and went to the allocated room. As soon as his head touched the pillow, he immediately fell asleep.