Jack's+WWII+Narrative+Essay

It was fairly chilly for being August 25th. Usually it is damp and about 70 degrees. I’d have to say it was only about 45 degrees, and it had been raining a cold, musty rain all day. My best friend and cousin Andre was extremely sick. He practically hacked up a lung as we were conversing about the plan that had just gotten released. Hitler just told all the Nazi Generals to tell their troops about the battle tactic that would startle all of Poland, and us too for that matter. The tactic was called Blitzkrieg, or lightning-war. Andre tells me of his past experiences of training to be a dive bomber. “We have trained for months for this Ulrich. This tactic will shock the world. Heavy gunfire from the infantry, dive bombing overload from fighter pilots, and tank units blasting through Poland all at the same time. Have you trained a long time for this?”
 * __ FAST FORWARD __ **

I thought for a moment. I really hadn’t trained at all. My general, General Dirk Kaufmann, or Kauf, had mentioned something about the infantry having to be strong. He warned us of the dangers ahead. He explained what we were going to do, but after he said the word "dangers," I zoned out. I thought of what my family would do if I didn’t come back from my base. I mumbled an answer to Andre’s question with a “yes, of course,” even though I haven’t trained, and wasn’t even fully aware of the bloodshed which would happen ahead.



I wrote one last letter to my wife and children on August 28th. It read, “Hey honey, kids, there is an extremely dangerous mission that is coming up in a few days. Hitler ordered all of the Generals to tell their troops about a new tactic he was going to try. I can’t tell you much about it, and honestly I don’t even know much about it, but Andre and I both will be part of it. He, of course, will be part of the air strike. I am in the infantry. I will try my best to come back to you guys alive. Both Andre and I will. Love you- from Ulrich Hahn.”

My wife wrote back with a very heartfelt letter, but it didn’t arrive until after the battle was over. It was now the last day in August. Kauf announced the night earlier that September 1 would be the Blitzkrieg. We now knew we would be in Poland, and on the north side. I thought it was unnecessary. Adolf Hitler was getting ahead of himself. This blitzkrieg could start a whole new conflict, and mostly just because people didn’t agree with the Treaty of Versailles from the First World War.

The night before the attack, tensions were high. Everyone was extremely nervous. A bunk mate, Friedrich, leaned over and asked to borrow a pen to write one last note to his family. He died the next day in the battle. In the corner of my room, two former best friends were yelling and throwing punches. They weren’t arguing for any particular reason, the pressure just must have gotten to them. They cracked under pressure and exhaustion. I would’ve liked to talk to Andre one last time that last night, but I never got to. He was in a separate room, near, but not close enough to go talk to him. The next morning was the Blitzkrieg. I was lying, uneasily, in my bed. It must’ve been about midnight before I let myself fall asleep. It was the morning of the Blitzkrieg. Everyone was nervous and worried as the planes took off first. They went and immediately I got down and prayed for Andre. The tanks also went before the infantry. We got a report from one of the tankers. He told of their immediate success of taking out the first line of the Polish. It was almost time for the infantry to attack. I put on my helmet, which smelled strange, almost like a rotting egg salad sort of smell. My gloves seemed to mold to my hands perfectly. My pants were too big for me though. I think I had lost weight from the day I got them until the day I was in the Blitzkrieg. My jacket fit perfectly, just as my gloves had. My name was perfectly stitched on it- “Hahn”. Last thing I put on was the red Nazi armband with the swastika on it. The color red looked good on me, I thought as I tried to refocus my mind on the intense peril I was about to experience. Kauf yelled, and my whole unit moved out.

We approached the Polish border. Some of my friends had noticed that we were grouped with some Soviets and Slovaks, but they really didn’t say much to us. I think we all knew to stay out of each others business. Planes were whizzing above us, and tanks awaited us ahead. About ten planes were already downed in front of us. One dropped out of the sky about 20 feet ahead of us. It burned a bluish- green color. Maybe the fuel discolored the fire, but it reeked terribly. We ran past, running past dormant tanks on the way. Shots were fired as my unit approached enemy lines.



The most terrifying Friday I had ever had was happening. Two bullets flew right past my right ear as I sprinted past more tanks and downed planes. As I looked at two dead soldiers lying on top of each other, drenched in blood, I started to regret my decision to join the army. Men cussed and yelled as they ran along with me in our best effort to catch the Polish off guard. A Slovakian man tripped next to me, and though he was totally okay, but a Pole shot him in the chest as he was getting up. Kauf kept us pressing from the North. The loudest sound I have ever heard is the sound of planes blowing up as they viciously plummet to the ground. The whole time I was praying for Andre. I guess I wasn’t praying hard enough though. As I passed my dead bunkmate Leon, an Arado Ar 234 dropped in front of me. I passed it like I had the other 15 to 20 downed planes. I pondered for a moment and remembered that Andre had told me something about flying an Arado. I nervously hesitated for a moment, and then I turned around just to check if it was him. I saw a blonde haired boy all bloody and lifeless. I sighed in relief, not because I was happy someone died, but because I was relieved it wasn’t Andre. I started walking away, and out of the corner of my eye I spotted a black haired man with his legs covered by the plane. He looked like he must’ve gotten thrown out of the plane on impact. I jogged over and on my way I spit on the ground. A piece of gravel had gotten into my mouth. I was shaking as I pulled his mask off. My eyes immediately filled with tears. It was Andre. He didn’t have much blood on him, but there was no mistaking that he was dead, and not just knocked out. I had lost my cousin and best friend in the world. I brushed the dirt off of his face, mixing it with sweat and turning it into mud in the process. I kissed him on the cheek, said an extremely brief prayer, and was about to get up as Kauf yelled at me to get up and get moving. After I lost Andre, I knew I had to fight for him. Three to four hours went by and we were really pushing our way in. Tanks, infantry, and planes had also been from the sides of Poland too. Kauf just told us we were in great shape, as he got a message from the other generals. There was an hour or so of complete stand still from our side. The other sides kept pressing on, but we were told to stop for a bit. Most people were just talking during our little “break”. They talked about how Poland had no chance against our quick attack. I was focused on Andre, and praying that I would return to my wife.



Kauf ordered to press on, and everyone was well rested. For a moment it looked as if we gained total control of Poland. With that joy and feeling of accomplishment also came with the feeling that we had just started another war. We fully gained control of Poland on October 6, though war was declared only two days after the Blitzkrieg began. It is now over a year later, and I still look back on it as one of the worst decisions Germany as a country has made, though the war is going well so far. I dropped out of the war. I saw what happened to Andre and couldn’t let it happen with my wife and kids as wonderful as they are. I helped fight for my country in the beginning. I got us into the war so I think I have paid my dues. I still write to some good friends from the war. They tell me it is going extremely well, but I just don’t see it. I thought seeing all the bloodshed was brutal. Some guys just love fighting in the war. Andre did. I loved it until I lost my best friend in it. But what do I know, I’m just a war drop-out. **__BIBLIOGRAPHY__ ** "Holocaust History." //Blitzkrieg (Lightning War)//. United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. Web. 26 Mar. 2012. . Trueman, Chris. "Blitzkrieg." //History Learning Site//. Web. 26 Mar. 2012. <http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/blitzkrieg.htm>.