Part 105, Chapter 1699
Chapter One Thousand Six Hundred Ninety-Nine
1st November 1965
Heuberg, Württemberg
It had been twelve weeks that had seemed to grind on forever. Then just like that, they were over. The Instructors had hardly let up on them though, the final task had been to have the barracks cleaned for white glove inspection so that it would be ready for the next training cadre, whenever it arrived. They had gotten their orders ahead of leaving that afternoon and to Manfred’s surprise he was going to remain in Heuberg to receive advanced training in Advanced Radio Operation, Observation and Field Studies, whatever that meant. That sounded good but didn’t seem to mean a whole lot. Manfred had thought that he was going to Wunsdorf to be trained as a Platoon Leader. Instead he had been pulled aside by an Oberstlieutenant who he had seen at a distance before and told that his Uncle Stefan had recommended him for something a bit more interesting. It had turned out that the Instructors had been keeping careful track of everything that he had been doing over the course of training and they had reached some rather surprising conclusions.
It was hardly a surprise that they had noticed that he was an athlete and that he was tall, making him ill-suited for service in most armored vehicles. However, they also threw around terms that gauged his ability as a leader, how he handled adversity and if he could think for himself. Apparently, he inspired loyalty. It was a shock to him just how contrived everything that had happened to him over the course of basic training had been, but he could practically hear his father’s warnings about how the Heer really worked as he walked away from the meeting with the Oberstlieutenant. He had been told that he was being given the opportunity to be the part of something new and that it was up to him to make the most of it. It had been when the Oberstlieutenant had shook his hand that Manfred noticed that he was wearing a familiar patch on the sleeve of his uniform, a cat leaping through flames. Meaning that the Oberstlieutenant had come from the 28th Independent Fallschirmjäger Regiment of the KSK. Just what was someone like that doing recruiting among the Panzer Dragoons?
Walking into the barracks, Manfred could smell the chemicals that had been used to clean the barracks and found Christian sitting on a chair with his usual vague smile. Christian was getting sent to the Quarter Master’s Battalion of a Division in Posen which meant that he would drive a lorry as planned and that Manfred would finally be free of him. He might be staying at Heuberg, but he would still need to collect his things to move to a different barracks.
“I heard about what you got Manny” Christian said, “Or should I call you Sir.”
Though Manfred had not said anything, word had gotten around that he would be promoted to Fahnenjunker upon completing basic training. Despite him finding himself doing punishment details with the others, it had still thrown up a wall between them.
“Whatever” Manfred replied, “You ought to be leaving for Posen, right?”
“Actually, no” Christian said, “After you left an Oberfeld came through and asked if we wanted to volunteer for the same thing you got. The other guys said that the first rule of being in the Army is to never volunteer, but someone needs to watch your back.”
Inspires loyalty, Manfred thought sourly to himself, somewhat misguided in this case. Somewhere nearby someone was probably laughing their heads off at how things had panned out and not for the first time he wondered exactly what his Uncle had gotten him into.
Moscow
To my dearest and most beloved Sister
I hope that this letter finds you well and that your recently concluded journey was without incident. Heinrich is doing well, and I so look forward to seeing you and my Godson at Christmas time. Our children are too young to appreciate how they truly are cousins, but I hope they will be instant friends…
Gia read on through the letter that Asia had sent. While Asia had gotten over their breakup ages ago, she still liked to needle Gia about it in the letters that she sent. To anyone else who read it, they see nothing untoward, but Gia understood the frequent double meanings that Asia employed and could read between the lines. The relationship between them had been the first time in Gia’s life when she had first understood that matters like that were far larger than just herself and the need to keep it solely between them. She loved Fyodor just as much as she had loved Asia but had never mentioned it to him, Gia didn’t know if he would understand. As it was, he seemed to see what he wanted, that Gia had a deep familial bond with Asia. They had also realized that Alexei and Heinrich truly were cousins in that they both had the same Great Grandfather. It truly was their hope that the two boys would be like brothers growing up. Reading down the letter, a paragraph caught Gia’s eye.
I had your cousin Vicky come to me for advice, she is such a dear girl and she fears that she will never be able to find love because of her social rank. I told her that she should give it time and that there was no one way to live her life. She would just have to muddle through like everyone else. I wish that I had more offer her than that.
That was a bit of a surprise.
1st November 1965
Heuberg, Württemberg
It had been twelve weeks that had seemed to grind on forever. Then just like that, they were over. The Instructors had hardly let up on them though, the final task had been to have the barracks cleaned for white glove inspection so that it would be ready for the next training cadre, whenever it arrived. They had gotten their orders ahead of leaving that afternoon and to Manfred’s surprise he was going to remain in Heuberg to receive advanced training in Advanced Radio Operation, Observation and Field Studies, whatever that meant. That sounded good but didn’t seem to mean a whole lot. Manfred had thought that he was going to Wunsdorf to be trained as a Platoon Leader. Instead he had been pulled aside by an Oberstlieutenant who he had seen at a distance before and told that his Uncle Stefan had recommended him for something a bit more interesting. It had turned out that the Instructors had been keeping careful track of everything that he had been doing over the course of training and they had reached some rather surprising conclusions.
It was hardly a surprise that they had noticed that he was an athlete and that he was tall, making him ill-suited for service in most armored vehicles. However, they also threw around terms that gauged his ability as a leader, how he handled adversity and if he could think for himself. Apparently, he inspired loyalty. It was a shock to him just how contrived everything that had happened to him over the course of basic training had been, but he could practically hear his father’s warnings about how the Heer really worked as he walked away from the meeting with the Oberstlieutenant. He had been told that he was being given the opportunity to be the part of something new and that it was up to him to make the most of it. It had been when the Oberstlieutenant had shook his hand that Manfred noticed that he was wearing a familiar patch on the sleeve of his uniform, a cat leaping through flames. Meaning that the Oberstlieutenant had come from the 28th Independent Fallschirmjäger Regiment of the KSK. Just what was someone like that doing recruiting among the Panzer Dragoons?
Walking into the barracks, Manfred could smell the chemicals that had been used to clean the barracks and found Christian sitting on a chair with his usual vague smile. Christian was getting sent to the Quarter Master’s Battalion of a Division in Posen which meant that he would drive a lorry as planned and that Manfred would finally be free of him. He might be staying at Heuberg, but he would still need to collect his things to move to a different barracks.
“I heard about what you got Manny” Christian said, “Or should I call you Sir.”
Though Manfred had not said anything, word had gotten around that he would be promoted to Fahnenjunker upon completing basic training. Despite him finding himself doing punishment details with the others, it had still thrown up a wall between them.
“Whatever” Manfred replied, “You ought to be leaving for Posen, right?”
“Actually, no” Christian said, “After you left an Oberfeld came through and asked if we wanted to volunteer for the same thing you got. The other guys said that the first rule of being in the Army is to never volunteer, but someone needs to watch your back.”
Inspires loyalty, Manfred thought sourly to himself, somewhat misguided in this case. Somewhere nearby someone was probably laughing their heads off at how things had panned out and not for the first time he wondered exactly what his Uncle had gotten him into.
Moscow
To my dearest and most beloved Sister
I hope that this letter finds you well and that your recently concluded journey was without incident. Heinrich is doing well, and I so look forward to seeing you and my Godson at Christmas time. Our children are too young to appreciate how they truly are cousins, but I hope they will be instant friends…
Gia read on through the letter that Asia had sent. While Asia had gotten over their breakup ages ago, she still liked to needle Gia about it in the letters that she sent. To anyone else who read it, they see nothing untoward, but Gia understood the frequent double meanings that Asia employed and could read between the lines. The relationship between them had been the first time in Gia’s life when she had first understood that matters like that were far larger than just herself and the need to keep it solely between them. She loved Fyodor just as much as she had loved Asia but had never mentioned it to him, Gia didn’t know if he would understand. As it was, he seemed to see what he wanted, that Gia had a deep familial bond with Asia. They had also realized that Alexei and Heinrich truly were cousins in that they both had the same Great Grandfather. It truly was their hope that the two boys would be like brothers growing up. Reading down the letter, a paragraph caught Gia’s eye.
I had your cousin Vicky come to me for advice, she is such a dear girl and she fears that she will never be able to find love because of her social rank. I told her that she should give it time and that there was no one way to live her life. She would just have to muddle through like everyone else. I wish that I had more offer her than that.
That was a bit of a surprise.
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