"Operation Hannibal" Introduction:

INTRODUCTION (Part 1)

The only sound was the tramp of boots and the heavy breathing of the men in the supply column. The sky was grey over the clearing and the cold was fierce and penetrating. Edward was watching the man’s back directly in front, and kept his own weary legs in time with his comrades. He didn’t know the names of most of his fellow Latvian “volunteers” the Germans were using to keep their supply lines open, but at least he was with a few friends from his hometown. They didn’t have a chance to talk much but even their mere presence was reassuring. Carrying supplies was not much fun, but it was better than digging trenches. They had been doing that for the last couple of months, ever since they had been called up in the middle of the worst winter that any had remembered. The German Army had been victorious so far, but cases of frostbite and the fierce Soviet counterattacks had taken many of their best soldiers. There had even been fighting behind the battle lines. As they trudged along, close to the front now, the men were deep in their own thoughts and lost in the monotony of the march. Soon they would be up with the field kitchens and be able to grab a meal of pea-soup ... that would be a bit of heaven!