大象传媒

There are some scenes one comes across after the battle is over which seem to define the essence of the nature of war. This one dates from 1947 in West Germany, when the Army of Occupation was helping to get things in order.
It is a sunny day in open country. To the right of the road is a wide, shallow valley running parallel with the road. Just ahead and to the right of the road is a cottage. There is no movement and so sound except for birdsong.
Along the length of that grassy valley lie five Sherman tanks, one behind the other in line and dead-quite dead.
Through the front wall of that cottage projects the obscene snout of the gun of a German tiger tank, pointing at those dead tanks. That gun does not move, the tank which carried it is also quite dead.
It is not difficult to read the story.
Those Sherman tanks of the advancing Force had been quietly probing ahead, looking for the retreating enemy. A gallant tiger tank had hung back to slow the advance and it had seen the Shermans across the open country.
Stealthily it had crawled up to the cottage and like a great, grunting beast it had shouldered it's way into some housewife's kitchen and squatting there, had paused.
As the Sherman's passed it had sent a single deadly shell into each, starting on the tail of the line so that those in front knew nothing. But the allied infantry had crept up and ripped the busy Tiger tank apart with the explosive.
Looking at it later one replays the action but now it is only a set piece of battle, a neatly set out demonstration model for instruction.
But one is left wondering-what of that country housewife. Had she fled when her familiar countryside view had been filled with invading tanks, so that she did not see her neat cottage ravished by the great iron monster that was defending her?
Then had she come back later when it had all gone quiet, to find her home a ruin and lost to her family. And seeing that she had wandered blindly away, no place to go to but no place to stay here?
One could weep aa she must have wept.

This story was submitted to the People's War website by a volunteer of the Stoke CSV Action Desk on behalf of John Pound and was added to the site with his permission. The author fully understands the site's terms and conditions.

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