You are fools to believe in learning something from your own experience. I prefer learning from mistakes made by others in order to avoid own blunder.
(Otto von Bismarck)
Strolling through the ruins that once had been Ciudad de México, Colonel Erich von Manstein meticulously tried to discern between damage caused by ground fighting and devastation due to US strategic bombing. Because he officially was a volunteer, he wore Mexican uniform; and because his Spanish was rather poor, he was accompanied by an interpreter. Experience acquired in the first few days had taught him that a female interpreter was what he needed; a woman at his side kept away the flocks of whores otherwise invariably attracted by his uniform. One could do nothing against the ubiquitous chores of begging children, but at least the omnipresent prostitutes could thus be deterred.
Dolores del Rio was the prettiest interpreter imaginable. She had worked at the Babelsberg studios since 1923 and spoke German fluently, yet with an intriguing Spanish accent. She had arrived on the same convoy as Manstein, intend to help the country of her origin; but, obviously, actresses were not what Mexico required in the first place today. Thus, she had offered working as an interpreter for the German specialists, whom she already had known from the voyage to Veracruz on board the HAPAG liner ‘Kaiser Wilhelm III’.
Erich von Manstein paused in the shadow of a ruin in order to write down some notes into his tickler. One could learn a lot about fighting in urban areas here in Ciudad de México. The Amis had used their armour quite effectively for suppressing resistance; this required some extra ammunition – and the resolution not to spare the civilian population, but it worked. Thus, the contention originating from the Spanish Civil War that tanks were not suited for urban fighting could be debunked. The lesson learned at Arras in 1918 still held truth: By their ability to destroy whole buildings, tanks were ideally suited for the task, provided they were diligently protected from enemy close combat squads, especially those armed with Panzerfäuste.
While von Manstein was writing, del Rio had lighted a cigarette and was now regarding the scenery. She was appalled by the destruction and misery to be witnessed everywhere. Since arrival in Veracruz, she was moving through ruins and destruction. Being the daughter of a Porfiriato, who had lost all family assets in the First Mexican Revolution, she had come to know poverty and hardship at the age of six; but that had been cosy and comfortable compared to what she experienced these days. How could people carry on under such conditions? Ciudad de México was a vast expanse of rubble, with many corpses still buried below the debris. Until two days ago, Yanqui airplanes had still conducted night raids, ploughing up the wreckage with their heavy bombs.
Ignoring the circle of mendicant kids that had formed around him and del Rio during his note taking, von Manstein continued his tour. Ahead was a collecting point for US armour. The Mexicans intended to utilise some of the tanks and armoured cars captured, this required cannibalisation of the rest. Therefore, collecting points had been set up all over the city. While the Panzerfäuste generally had only caused light or moderate damage, US bombs had thoroughly smashed most wrecks. The American M3 tank was roughly the equivalent of the Panzer III currently in service with the Heer. Until now, he had only seen two M3s fragmented by direct bomb hits, but most vehicles had badly been tossed around by bomb blast, losing turrets, tracks and other parts. Thus, one could state that aerial bombing was more effective against tanks than shelling by artillery. The blast and the splinters delivered by artillery shells hardly could stop tanks, but the blast effect of heavy bombs obviously was capable of ultimately disabling them.
Del Rio watched von Manstein crawl around between the rusty wrecks. The man was a militaristic maniac, absolutely devoted to his eerie profession. Opposite her, he was courteous and gallant, but that was about all. No sexual emotion had ever distracted him from his strange activities, although she had signalled her willingness for a little adventure early on. In 1929, she had separated from her husband, Jaime Martinez del Rio, who subsequently had committed suicide; since that time she had entered alternating unrewarding short-term relationships with various men, mainly from the movie industry. Von Manstein, the leader of the German military expert team sent to Mexico, had impressed her as a natural leader and extraordinary shrewd head already on board of the liner. Therefore, she had taken care to be selected as his interpreter. But obviously, he was more interested in torn steel and grimy debris than in a beautiful woman…
Von Manstein wasted no time examinating the effects of the Panzerfäuste; these had been most thoroughly tested in Germany – and it was well known what they could do and what not. But here was a tank that obviously had fallen victim to a ‘Mexican Cocktail’. These incendiary bottles were an ingenious invention of the Mexican guerrillas: Easy to manufacture and very dangerous especially in urban surrounding, also quite useful when fighting from house to house…
If one replaced the fuel with white phosphorus, one might be able to produce an incendiary hand grenade easy to handle by common soldiers. – Von Manstein opened his tickler and started writing again…