During this operational pause, the battalion was again dispersed over as wide an area as possible so as to reduce its vulnerability to a nuclear attack. Team Yankee remained in reserve. Once the Team was in its position, it settled in and prepared for another day. Foxholes were dug, camouflage placed, fighting and hide positions for each and every vehicle were identified and improved, platoon fire plans prepared, and numerous other tasks carried out. By noon, when they were as ready as they could be, the Team went to half-manning. When Bannon was satisfied there was nothing more that he needed to do, he lay down in the first sergeant’s PC and went to sleep.
At 1700 hours First Sergeant Harrert woke him to tell him that he was wanted at the battalion CP immediately. As Bannon stumbled around, blurry eyed, groggy and still half-asleep, he asked if the first sergeant knew what was up. The first sergeant replied in the negative. “Major Shell didn’t say, sir. The only message he gave me was that you needed to get up to the TOC ASAP.”
Bannon’s feeling of dread dispersed as soon as he walked into the farmhouse where the CP was located. Everyone was going around the room shaking each other’s hands as if it was an alumni reunion. Going over to where Frank Wilson was seated, Bannon asked what was going on.
“Haven’t you been told? The Soviets have declared a cease-fire effective midnight tonight. They’re throwing in the towel. It’s over.”
Dumbfounded, Bannon unable to do anything but stand there, staring down at his friend. Just like that, the war was over. It was too good to be true. Something had to be wrong. “You mean they are surrendering?” he asked when he finally found his voice. “They’re giving up, just like that?”
“Just like that,” Wilson replied. “We don’t have all the details yet, but from what we’ve told so far, the Soviet leadership has changed. The new Premier wants an immediate end to the war.”
Before Wilson could tell Bannon anything more, the battalion commander, followed by the S-3 and the battalion XO, entered the room. The XO called the meeting to order. Colonel Hill went over the information he had, adding to it what he thought would be happening in the immediate future. He tried hard to be cautious, to keep from becoming carried away by reminding everyone that the ceasefire wasn’t in effect yet and that things could change rapidly. But he, like all the assembled commanders and staff, was optimistic and overjoyed by the prospect of peace.
Colonel Hall was followed by Ken Damato who gave a brief summary on the current enemy situation, pointing out some of the dangers they had to guard against once the cease-fire was in effect as he went along. The biggest one was from sabotage and espionage from line-crossers and the local populace. They were, he reminded them, in Communist East Germany.
Major Shell went next, providing the commanders and staff with a quick overview of the more salient points of the rules of engagement that were to be placed into effect once the cease-fire became official. Warsaw Pact forces were not to come any closer to NATO positions than 1000 meters. Any that did were to be warned. Any that made any gestures that were construed as hostile were to be engaged. “All NATO soldiers have the right to protect themselves and return fire if fired upon,” he added with great emphasis before continuing on. “Effective midnight tonight, NATO forces are not to move any farther than the front line trace we have achieved as of that time. The NATO commander had ordered that all operations currently in progress were to continue until then. Once the ceasefire has gone into effect, communications with any Warsaw Pact forces is forbidden unless permission was obtained from Division.” Major Shell finished by informing the gathered commanders and staff that copies of the rules of engagement for distribution down to platoon level would be ready soon.
The colonel ended the meeting by again cautioning everyone against becoming too optimistic or letting down their guard. “Remember, even when the cease fire goes into effect, it’s only a ceasefire, not a cessation of hostilities. Those other people could decide to say fuck it at any minute and pick up where they left off. So stay alert.”
The sun was beginning to settle in the west as Bannon set out to head back to the Team’s area. At his back the early evening sky was alive with brilliant reds and purples. The beauty of the lush green German landscape, unfolding before him, coupled with the spectacle of the setting sun and the quiet early night air lifted Bannon’s spirit to a height that he had not experienced in months. His driver knew the way back, leaving him free to reflect on the joy of the moment. It was over. His worst nightmare was over and he had survived. There would be a tomorrow, a tomorrow he would see. With nothing more weighty on his mind than such thoughts, he relaxed and enjoyed the beauty of the countryside he had not seen before.
The leadership of Team Yankee was waiting at the Team CP when Bannon came rolling in. They had become accustomed to his returning from battalion with grim news or word of a new mission, remaining calm while their commander explained how the Team was about to risk the lives of the men they were responsible for as they went about executing its new orders. This time, like all the times before, they expected no less.
They were therefore taken aback when Bannon approached with a smile on his face. Bob Uleski, sensing that something was afoot, turned to the first sergeant. “Well, either it’s good news, or the pressure has finally gotten to the Old Man and he’s thrown a track.”
As hard as he tried, Bannon couldn’t downplay his satisfaction he felt as he told them of the ceasefire as the colonel had. After all they had been through, he found he couldn’t hold back. “Men, unless we receive information to the contrary, effective midnight tonight, a ceasefire will take effect along the entire front. Barring anything untoward occurring between now and then, the war is over.”
EPILOGUE
Nothing untoward did happen. The ceasefire held. Over the next few days the Team stayed in place, maintaining its vigilance as they methodically went about the task of preparing for a possible continuation of hostilities. While they were careful not to let their guard down, life began to improve. Regular hot meals became available, as did mail service. The men began to catch up on their personal needs, from bathing to clean laundry. Even the weather improved as they moved from the heat of summer into the cool days of early September.
It was during the first week of September that the Division was replaced by a National Guard unit recently arrived from the States. The job of disarming the Soviets to the Team’s immediate front was left to them. Division was temporarily moved back into the western portion of a now re-united Germany where it received replacements of equipment and personnel. By the time this was finished, the Soviet regime that had started the war was no more, and the chances of a new war were, for the foreseeable future, nonexistent.
With the crisis over, the Army bureaucrats began to reassert themselves. Those people who had lived in government quarters in Germany before the war were rotated back to their home station to conduct an inventory of their property, if it was still there, and to prepare a claim for any damages or losses sustained during the war. The decision as to whether personal property that survived would be sent back to the Stales, or families brought back to Germany hadn’t been made yet.