Erich stood before his brigade commander. A colonel who had fought in three wars: the Great War, the German–Japanese War, and the Spanish Civil War.
Normally, Erich had no need to stand before his direct commander. Most information passed through other channels.
But today he was not alone. Every battalion commander within the brigade stood before the man, each as anxious as the last.
There was really only one reason they would all be summoned like this, and anyone who had climbed this high within the German Army understood exactly what that meant.
Nobody requested permission to speak. They stood in perfect silence, waiting for the announcement they all knew was coming.
The colonel, dressed in full parade uniform rather than the field BDUs the others wore, took a long drag from his cigarette.
Deathly silence followed each plume until the cigarette was gone, its filter crushed beneath his boot.
His voice pierced the quiet like a knife through the heart.
