‘How far is it from Kachalinsk to Kletskaya, sir?’ Eckhardt asked.

  ‘About thirty miles as the crow flies,’ came the grim reply.

  But it will probably be a lot further than that on foot. Let’s cross this road and keep moving. I’m in unknown country now so I can’t tell you what lies ahead. All I do know is that we’re going to have to be more than ordinarily fortunate if we’re not to have a head-on clash with enemy units.’

  They crossed the road and continued, marching through the crisp snow in single file. At times it was difficult to walk, for the snow had drifted. Eckhardt was thinking that it would have been easier and quicker for them if they possessed skis, but they struggled on, following Major Dantine, who was using a compass for his bearings. It was obvious that he had given a lot of thought to this project before they started out, and Eckhardt was still hopeful that they would succeed. They had covered the worst of the trip by breaking out of the encirclement, but he knew they would need more than average luck to get back to their own lines without running into some Russians.

  Six hours passed before Dantine permitted them to rest, and the men fell about in the snow and lay exhausted, their strength sapped almost to zero. They were crossing a featureless plain with not a tree or a shrub to create a horizon. There was just snow, darkness and overcast sky. Range of vision was good, and they had plenty of time, when they heard tank engines and the squealing of tracks, to seek cover. They crawled into a ravine that was filled almost level with snow and lay motionless while more than twenty massive, white-painted tanks roared past within yards, heading in the direction of Stalingrad.

  When they resumed their march the sky had cleared a little and there were some stars shining. They had scouts out, one of them being Sergeant Meyer, and Eckhardt’s only worry was that they would walk into a Russian unit on its way to the front. The odds against not meeting the enemy seemed astronomical. There had to be some reserves, and they should be camped in this area.

  It was impossible to gauge just how far they travelled that night. Each man followed the one in front, and they remained silent. But dawn was approaching, and Dantine signalled to Eckhardt.

  ‘We seem to be in the middle of the steppe,’ he remarked. ‘The only thing we can do is burrow into the snow in all-round defence. Tell the men they must remain still during the hours of daylight.’

  ‘Do you think they’ll last through the day without food, sir?’ Eckhardt demanded.

  ‘Do you know where we can get any, Oberleutnant?’ Dantine countered.

  Eckhardt shrugged, but Sergeant Meyer was coming back from his scouting position.

  Sir, there’s a village about a mile ahead,’ Meyer reported. His eyes were shielded from their gaze by the rim of his steel helmet, and the camouflage hood stood out around his face like a monk’s cowl.

  ‘Any signs of life?’ Dantine demanded.

  ‘No lights and no dogs barking, sir.’

  ‘Could be deserted.’ Dantine grimaced. ‘But if we have made the progress I think we have then we’re in an area where our advance did not penetrate, so I think the village will be occupied by civilians, and that means food.’

  ‘It could also mean Russian troops, sir,’ Leun put in quietly.

  ‘You’re right.’ Dantine looked up at the sky. ‘Oberleutnant, take five men and scout the place. Find out what the situation is. We may be able to shelter there during the day. It looks to me as if a snowstorm is on the way. If so we need to be under cover, and it will restrict enemy movement.’

  ‘Our luck couldn’t hold out so long,’ Leun said harshly.

  ‘Silence, Sergeant Major! No need to talk up trouble. I told you there was an outside chance of getting through and it looks as if the gods are being kind to us.’ Dantine motioned for Eckhardt to move out.

  Eckhardt took Sergeant Meyer and Corporal Steine with him plus three other men from his old platoon, and they tramped through the snow towards the village, the vicious wind cutting into them. Snow was beginning to fall heavily. Meyer had to retrace his footsteps in order to find the spot from which he had seen the village. Eckhardt peered into the gloom and made out the vague greyness of a building of some kind, and there was another some yards further back.

  They went on slowly, ready for trouble. Eckhardt was not happy about the situation because any habitation in this area could mean enemy troops. He signalled for the men to spread out as he approached the first hut. Dawn was breaking now, but the overcast sky kept daylight at bay and snow was swirling around them.

  With Sergeant Meyer covering him, Eckhardt eased forward to a door and kicked it open, Bergmann ready, and a wave of heat rushed out into his face. He peered into the dim, smoke-filled room and caught a glimpse of the red glow of a fire. There was movement inside and he pressed forward instantly, lumbering into the room and covering the occupants. He saw about a dozen civilians and looked around quickly for signs of Russian soldiers but there was none.

  ‘No soldiers, sir,’ Meyer said. ‘I’ll take a couple of men and check the next hut. Steine, remain here and watch these people.’

  Corporal Steine nodded and cocked his machine pistol. He positioned himself in the doorway, covering the people inside. Eckhardt went with Meyer and they entered the next hut to find it deserted. It was cold and cheerless. They went on to the next building, then the next, finding a dozen in all, and some of them were occupied by civilians. But there were no Russian soldiers.

  ‘Go back and report to the Major,’ Eckhardt told Meyer.

  ‘There are nine Russian families here but no enemy troops.’

  Meyer departed quickly and Eckhardt stood looking around at the buildings. There was shelter and possibly food here, he thought. But the day might bring trouble in the form of Russian soldiers, and he felt uneasy at the thought of remaining, although he did not think Major Dantine would want to move on. They had to find somewhere to rest up and this was as good a spot as any.

  The men came in carefully, weapons ready, and a more thorough search was made of the village. But there were no surprises awaiting them and Dantine had sentries posted and went to question the civilians with the aid of one of the men who could speak some Russian. He ordered Eckhardt to put the men in the empty huts, where they remained alert.

  Fires were lit in the huts. Eckhardt took charge of security and sentries maintained vigilance. There were twenty-nine of them including the three officers and Sergeant Major Leun, and four of the men were in poor shape. They had been helped over the last miles of the march by their comrades and now lay together in one of the huts. Satisfied, Eckhardt went to report to Dantine and found the Major in one of the huts, their interpreter talking to the villagers. Leun was not present and neither was Corporal Steine. Dantine turned to Eckhardt.

  ‘Oberleutnant, we are going to spend the day here,’ he said. ‘Sergeant Major Leun and Corporal Steine are outside killing a sheep. It will be cut up and distributed among the men. At least we’ll have some hot food. I want half a dozen of these people taken as hostages and held in one of the huts. The situation is being explained to the villagers and I’m certain they’ll want to co-operate. There are nine families — about fifty people altogether, including children. Maintain vigilance and be ready for trouble. I’m trying to get information about Russian troop movements, but there’s no way of knowing if these people will tell us the truth.’

  ‘I think we can assume that they won’t, sir,’ Eckhardt replied. ‘I’ll take the hostages across to the hut where our sick men are lying.’

  They settled down in the village, the guards vigilant at their posts. With fires burning in the huts they occupied, they began to thaw out and feel more human. They had some hot tea, taken from the villagers, and when the sheep had been butchered and cut up it was cooked. Although they were exhausted by their efforts during the night and the general lack of food, no one could rest until they had eaten, and Eckhardt could not remember tasting anything more delicious than the hot meat they devoured. But unaccustomed hot food lay badly in their bellies, and some of the men were ill.

  There was plenty of wine in the village, but it was strictly rationed by Dantine, who agreed that it would do the men good to have some. Then they settled down to rest, changing the sentries regularly, and for the first time in many weeks Eckhardt began to feel like a man instead of an animal.

  Dantine snored in a corner of the command hut while Eckhardt sat in another on duty. He would rest later, but he did not feel tired. He was warm for the first time in weeks and there was hot food in his stomach. Leun joined him, unshaven and haggard, and Eckhardt, studying his subordinate’s features, hardly recognised him as the man who had started the summer campaign. But they had all suffered greatly in the battle for Stalingrad, and defeat was etched into every face. The men who had fought in the battle would never be able to forget it, he mused.

  ‘If we get through tonight without trouble then we should have a better than even chance of making it, shouldn’t we, sir?’ Leun asked in a quiet voice.

  ‘Each night improves our chances, although we’ve still got to pass through the Russian lines when we reach the front.’ Eckhardt spoke slowly, not wanting to think of the dangers still lying ahead of them. He was not afraid to die. He had been prepared to do just that ever since the war started. But he did not like to think of losing his life cheaply. The Russians had to be made to pay dearly for German blood.

  ‘If we hit a quiet part of the line, well away from the encirclement area, which is what the Major is trying to do, then we should pull it off,’ Leun said with some enthusiasm.

  ‘What do you think will happen to us if we reach our lines, sir?’

  ‘Happen to us?’ Eckhardt frowned. ‘What do you mean?’

  ‘We’ve disobeyed orders! We were supposed to stay and fight to the death.’

  ‘That’s Major Dantine’s problem and I’m sure he had a good reason for bringing us out. But don’t cross your bridges until you come to them. Wait until we reach our own lines before you worry about that.’

  ‘Yes, sir.’ Leun got to his feet and went to a window, peering out into the falling snow. It was warm and snug in the hut, and Eckhardt was feeling sleepy. ‘Excuse me, sir, but I thought I heard a vehicle outside.’ Leun turned and began to fasten his protective clothing. ‘I’ll just go out and check with the sentries. It is time they were changed anyway.’

  ‘No shooting, remember,’ Eckhardt said, getting to his feet. He went to the window and peered out, but could see nothing through the swirling snowflakes. He could not even see the next hut, and the white wilderness outside was muffled and bitterly cold. He suppressed a shiver, thinking of the coming night, then spotted an indistinct figure moving. For a moment he thought it was one of their sentries. The snow seemed to hold off for an instant and he caught a glimpse of a big, three-ton American truck. It was as if a giant hand had suddenly lifted a corner of the snowstorm to give him sight of the vehicle, and he went into action immediately, without thinking.

  ‘Leun, there is a truck out there,’ he snapped, hurrying to where his Bergmann was standing in a corner. ‘Get the men alerted quickly. It’s Russian!’

  Chapter Eighteen

  The sentries had already spotted the Russians, and as Eckhardt and Leun went outside a grenade exploded, throwing up a pall of smoke. Small arms rattled and the truck began to burn, searing the gloom. Several Russian soldiers who stood grouped near the vehicle were blown to pieces, and Eckhardt triggered his Bergmann as he ran forward with Leun at his side. The German sentries were still shooting.

  Leun was calling to the other troops who were emerging from the huts, and the sergeant major led a number of them off to the right in a flanking movement intended to put them into a cut-off position. An MG-34 chattered briefly in a burst, then fired a second, longer burst, the heavy echoes blasting through the muffled stillness.

  Major Dantine appeared from the left, leading four men, and they dashed in close to the burning truck. Eckhardt motioned to the men nearest him to start closing in and they forced a semi-circle around the vehicle.

  About a dozen Russians had been climbing out of the truck when the grenade was thrown amongst them and they had taken the full force of the blast. Shots crackled and the wounded were killed. Then order returned. Dantine was like a madman as he glared at the watchful German troops.

  ‘Who threw that grenade?’ he demanded.

  ‘I did, sir!’ Corporal Steine stepped forward, his face set in harsh lines. ‘When I saw how many there were I knew I could not let them deploy so I took a chance and got them with the grenade. If they had spread out among the huts we would have been in serious trouble, sir.’

  ‘I’m not concerned about these Russians,’ Dantine said wearily. ‘But they could be an advance guard and there might be more of them outside the village.’ He glanced around, hardly able to see more than a few yards in the swirling snow. ‘Has Sergeant Major Leun taken some men to check on the situation, Oberleutnant?’

  ‘Yes, sir.’ Eckhardt nodded. ‘And I’ll take some men and make a sweep.’ He motioned to four men and they started in the direction from which the Russians had come. Already the falling snow had almost filled in the tracks made by the wheels of the vehicle. He lowered his head, peering from under his hood, and cursed when he was unable to see more than a few feet.

  A challenge was called to him in German and he replied quickly. The next moment Leun and his party appeared, and they were ready to use their weapons.

  ‘No signs of more of the enemy, sir,’ Leun reported, ‘and the tracks indicate that just the one truck came in, that’s all.’

  ‘If we were going to check out this place we’d leave the rest of the unit well back out of range,’ Eckhardt commented. ‘But we’re not going to venture out of the bounds of the village in this weather. We’d never find our way back again. If there are any Russians out there then we’ll wait for them to appear. Leave a couple of men here, Leun, with orders to come in should they see anything, and we’ll go back and find out what the Major’s plans are.’

  Dantine had the men down in the snow in all-round defence. The village seemed hostile now. The snow was not helping, for it restricted vision.

  Dantine demanded.

  ‘No signs of the enemy, sir,’ Eckhardt reported. ‘This could be just an isolated patrol.’ He looked at the burning truck and saw that some of the supplies aboard it had been dragged clear.

  ‘We can’t take that chance, I’m afraid.’ Dantine shook his head. ‘We’ll have to move out. I learned some useful items of information from the Russian civilians here, if we can believe them, and the main thing is, I think I know the direction we now have to take. We’re pulling out immediately, but before we do so I want all the villagers put to death. If the Russians turn up after our departure I don’t want them to learn anything about us.’

  Eckhardt nodded. He estimated that there were about fifty men, women and children.

  ‘We’ve got some supplies from the truck,’ Dantine continued. ‘It’s a pity the vehicle was damaged. We might have been able to use it. But before we go I want all Russian dead searched for papers. We can use all the information we can get.’

  Eckhardt nodded again. He turned to Leun, informing the sergeant major that the villagers had to be put to death. ‘I suggest that you segregate the men from the women and children, Leun,’ he said firmly. ‘Take care of the men first. No one must be left alive when we leave.’

  Leun looked as if he would protest, but one look into Eckhardt’s gaunt features changed his mind and he turned and called Corporal Steine. A dozen men were detailed and they went off into the snowy blankness.

  Eckhardt remained alert, half expecting the guards on the edge of the village to suddenly appear and warn of the approach of more Russians but there was no movement at all. Silence had closed in about them, apart from the crackling sounds of the burning vehicle, and they seemed to be trapped in an alien world where all the elements had conspired against them.

  After what seemed an eternity Leun returned, and his tone was clipped and harsh as he reported. He saluted and stood to attention.

  ‘I beg to report, sir, that all the occupants of the village have been killed. We used our knives, sir, to prevent noise. There were fifteen men, ten women and twenty-five children.’

  ‘Thank you, Sergeant Major. Go and check your sentries on the outskirts and find out if they have seen or heard anything.’ Eckhardt’s voice was unemotional.

  ‘Yes, sir.’ Leun marched away stiffly, and Eckhardt stared after his brawny figure until the snowflakes swallowed it up.

  Major Dantine returned. ‘I’m organising the food situation,’ he said. ‘At least we shan’t go hungry for the rest of our trip. I think a few more nights on the march will bring us within reach of our objective, Oberleutnant.’

  ‘Are we moving out immediately, sir?’ Eckhardt demanded.

  ‘Yes. We can’t risk staying on here, and the snow will cover our tracks. It will be just like moving at night.. Have you anything to report?’

  ‘All the villagers have been executed, sir. But we have four men who are sick and unable to continue.’

  ‘Let’s go and check them. Which hut are they in?’ Dantine turned, and Eckhardt led him to the hut. ‘We can’t let anyone slow us down. Anyone who can’t keep up with us will have to be left.’

  It was obvious that none of the four men would be able to continue, and Dantine studied them for a moment.

  ‘You know we cannot leave you here alive,’ he commented. ‘We’ll have to put you out of your misery before we depart. You have served your country well. Heil Hitler!’

  Eckhardt followed him out into the snow once more and they began to make their last preparations before moving off. Leun returned, bringing in the sentries, and reported that there was no further movement from the direction the Russian patrol had come. Dantine told Leun to take care of the four Germans they were leaving behind and the sergeant major entered the hut without protest. A moment later there were four single shots, and when Leun reappeared he was putting away his Luger.