"But of course he was right, dear. Frank is always right."
The patronizing tone of Emma Richardson and reference to her, Kozak, as dear, irked Kozak. Yeah, Kozak thought, this is a colonel's wife, half of a "command team," a concept in which the Army expected a commander's wife to take charge of the other wives in the unit. Deciding that she didn't want to waste any more time with this woman and in a less than subtle move to put Mrs. Colonel in her place, Kozak let her face go into a stone-cold stare. "This, Mrs. Richardson, is a combat unit. We will be moving in the next few minutes and have little time to spare for civil-military concerns. My first sergeant will evacuate you and your children back to the battalion aid station, where they should be able to take care of you. Other than that, there's nothing that I can do. Now if you would excuse me, I need to finish washing up and get dressed. My company is waiting for me."
The reaction that Kozak elicited from Emma Richardson couldn't have been any more devastating if Kozak had punched Emma Richardson in the face. Like a child being scolded by a parent, Emma Richardson sat up straight as the warm smile that she had plastered across her face was replaced with a look of genuine shock. She couldn't understand, Kozak concluded, how another woman, especially one junior to her in age and status, could treat her like that. Though for a brief second Kozak felt bad about what she had done to the older woman, that thought quickly passed. Instead Kozak rationalized to herself that the pompous ass deserved it. Perhaps, Kozak thought, Mrs. Colonel Emma Richardson will think twice before treating an officer in the Army like she was one of her little Army-wife friends.
Turning to Stokes, who had been standing in the open door of the Bradley throughout this whole scene and trying hard not to laugh, Kozak nodded. "If you would, First Sergeant, arrange for transportation back to the aid station for this lady and her children so we can get on with the business of the day." Finished, Kozak reached down, fished the washcloth out of the bowl of soapy water between her feet, and paid no more attention to Emma Richardson as she made her way out of the Bradley.
Finished with his second briefing of the day to Chancellor Ruff and glad to be afforded the opportunity to flee the press of politicians and reporters that crowded the corridors and offices of the Chancellery, General Lange began his headlong flight back to his operations center. Even his brisk pace and choice of less well used exits, however, was not enough to ensure his unhindered escape. Lange was about to leave the building when a shout from Colonel Kasper, Ruff's military aide, stopped him. "General Lange, a moment of your time, please."
Upset that he had not even made it out the door without being summoned back to answer another absurd question, Lange paused and turned to face Kasper as he approached. That Kasper had framed his request more as a command and less like a question did not escape Lange and increased his anger.
As the young colonel approached, the general watched him like a cat watches a strange dog. He did not trust Kasper. No one, in fact, on the General Staff trusted Kasper. He was to them an opportunist, a General Staff officer who used his training and proximity to the Chancellor to benefit his own career. A few who had dealings with him openly wondered if Kasper was singlehandedly trying to resurrect the old Prussian king's adjutant. Under that system, a relatively junior officer assigned to the king to handle administrative matters often served as a personal advisor to the king. Depending on how the king felt about the officer and the General Staff, the junior officer, or king's adjutant, could have power that was greater than his rank or experience warranted. The more Lange saw of Kasper, the more convinced he became that the talk of his staff might not be far from wrong. Looking at his watch just as Kasper came up to him, Lange gruffly reminded him who was the leader and who was the led. "I have, Colonel, already spent far too much time here. Whatever it is will have to wait."
Kasper, used to such efforts to brush him aside, ignored the general's rebuff. "This will not take more than a moment, Herr General. First I would like to apologize for the Chancellor's ramblings and short temper. You see, Herr General, he has been under a great deal of pressure and is not well equipped to handle it."
Though he felt like shouting back that everyone was operating under the same pressure, Lange merely grunted.
Though he saw the look of disdain in Lange's face and felt in his heart Lange's curt response, Kasper continued. "There is much concern with the manner in which the Army has been responding to orders. The Chancellor is not pleased with the lack of drive General Kiebler has shown in close contact with the American Tenth Corps. The Chancellor noted several times over the past days the vast difference between the performance of the 2nd Panzer and the"
Lange cut him off, for he knew where the conversation was going. "General Kiebler is the commander of that division and he is carrying out his orders in a manner that he judges suitable for the situation, the enemy, and the terrain which he faces. I will not, so long as I am the chief of staff, second-guess my commanders in the field." He was about to add that Kasper needed to tell the Chancellor that there was a vast difference between the view in Berlin and conditions as they actually existed in the field, but again he held himself in check.
Not that he had to. Kasper already understood what Lange was leaving unsaid. Seeing that there was little use in easing into the subject, Kasper opted for the direct approach. "What I would like to convey to you, Herr General, is that the Chancellor is losing his confidence in certain senior leaders. He feels that they are intentionally holding back, that they are in fact attempting to do everything within their power to allow the Americans to escape and embarrass this government. The collapse of the Luftwaffe's command structure due to absenteeism, failure to follow orders, and the active sabotage of aircraft is only serving to heighten his suspicions."
By "certain" senior leaders Lange knew that Kasper was referring to those of the old Bundeswehr who unlike the easterners had been lectured for years that being an officer in a constitutional army required more than simply following orders. Seeing that the shadow boxing was over, Lange also got to the heart of the matter. "Doesn't the Chancellor appreciate the position in which he has placed us?" Lange, now animated, thrust his index finger at Rasper's chest. "You, Colonel, you are an officer. Don't you feel the pressure? Haven't you stopped to consider what's going on here?"
Lange paused, turned his head to look out the door at the leaden gray sky, then back at Kasper. What the hell, Lange thought. If he was here to feel me out for Herr Chancellor Ruff, he might as well get it all. Placing his briefcase on the tile floor next to his foot, Lange folded his arms across his chest and leaned forward closer to Kasper as he lowered his voice to a whisper. "My God, the Parliament has called for an immediate armistice, a call that Herr Ruff is happily ignoring as he continues to hide behind the emergency powers clause of the constitution. He, better than anyone else, knows! Every officer in the Bundeswehr, except for the easterners, has been taught that his first responsibility is to his conscience, and the selection process for our officers has always emphasized the need for officers who believe that morality and responsibility to the German people are more important than blind obedience. Every senior officer from the old Bundeswehr that I have talked to feels like he's being pulled by four plow horses all going in different directions. Herr Chancellor continues to run blindly off into the darkness, dragging us and the German people into a crisis of his own design. The Parliament insists that it has constitutional control of the Army and that the emergency war clause does not apply. The German people and our responsibility to them are not being served by blowing up our own countryside, and they are making it known. And finally, most of the officers of the old Bundeswehr cannot in all good conscience support a government whose motivations they do not trust."