halts that we met a civilian who showed our guards (in what to us appeared to be a defiant manner) a leaflet, obviously dropped from one of our aircraft. It was signed by General Eisenhower and told all members of the German Armed Forces exactly how they should proceed in order to save their lives, by peaceable surrender. The leaflet was printed in both English and German, and it assured the possessor a safe conduct through our lines, if presented to a member of our forces in the proper manner. Altogether, it was a most interesting document and we wondered if the civilian in possession of it was actually a German soldier who intended to take advantage of the scheme at the earliest opportunity.
We left the town, following a road that seemed to go gradually downhill for a long way. Running alongside the route was a single-track electric tramway. Our guards indicated that we might possibly proceed part of the way by tram. However, after waiting a full half hour at a stop, the tram, when it eventually came, was so packed that it seemed impossible to squeeze another living person into it. Nevertheless, quite a few did get on, although it was not to be expected that weshould, whilst there were Germans left behind. After seeing the tram leave with its sides almost bulging, we proceeded on foot.
We seemed to walk an awful long way down that hill without getting any nearer to the bottom. As it was our first really long stretch of walking for several days, we wondered how poor old Diffy was coping. We asked him from time to time how he was getting along, but he said that he felt quite alright, although his wounds were obviously giving him a great deal of pain.
There was another ugly incident when at last we reached the bottom of the hill and found a road branching off to the left with a signpost indicating that the distance to Siegen was 100 kilometres. The siren had just sounded and several Thunderbolts were buzzing about overhead, when a group of angry men came rushing up to us armed with sticks, staves and some of them with their revolvers drawn. I am bound to say that the way in which our guards held the situation in hand was admirable. We all felt that if it had not been for them on this and on subsequent occasions, we might have been severely injured, or even lost our lives.
We walked a little further along the road to Siegen and when we were well clear of all the built-up areas, we were told that we could rest in a small wood at the side of the road and partake of our midday meal. Water was obtained from a nearby cottage and served to wash down thebread and cheese that was to become so familiar before the journey was over.
During that stop for lunch, we got to know quite a lot about our guards, with whom we realised it would pay to keep on the best possible terms. The little policeman was called Karl Kremer and he formerly kept a dairy shop in Aachen. He told us that he had no interest whatsoever in the war and that all he really wanted was to get back to his wife and business. We even got as far as suggesting that nobody would be any the wiser if he accomplished this end by the simple means of turning his back for a few moments and letting us disappear into the woods. We had already seen enough of the German system of communications to know that there was not the smallest chance of our being expected by the people in Frankfurt, and as Karl himself explained, if he was taken prisoner by the Allied Forces, he would, as a policeman, merely be sent back to do police duty in his home town.
The whole idea seemed to tempt him somewhat and there were times when we thought he might succumb. However, he told us that if it was found out, he would be shot, and, of course, we did not doubt his word for a moment. The other man, whose name was Adolf, could not speak a single word of English and all we learnt about him was that he had a wife and family in Frankfurt, which explained quite a lot of things that had beenpuzzling us. How
We left the town, following a road that seemed to go gradually downhill for a long way. Running alongside the route was a single-track electric tramway. Our guards indicated that we might possibly proceed part of the way by tram. However, after waiting a full half hour at a stop, the tram, when it eventually came, was so packed that it seemed impossible to squeeze another living person into it. Nevertheless, quite a few did get on, although it was not to be expected that weshould, whilst there were Germans left behind. After seeing the tram leave with its sides almost bulging, we proceeded on foot.
We seemed to walk an awful long way down that hill without getting any nearer to the bottom. As it was our first really long stretch of walking for several days, we wondered how poor old Diffy was coping. We asked him from time to time how he was getting along, but he said that he felt quite alright, although his wounds were obviously giving him a great deal of pain.
There was another ugly incident when at last we reached the bottom of the hill and found a road branching off to the left with a signpost indicating that the distance to Siegen was 100 kilometres. The siren had just sounded and several Thunderbolts were buzzing about overhead, when a group of angry men came rushing up to us armed with sticks, staves and some of them with their revolvers drawn. I am bound to say that the way in which our guards held the situation in hand was admirable. We all felt that if it had not been for them on this and on subsequent occasions, we might have been severely injured, or even lost our lives.
We walked a little further along the road to Siegen and when we were well clear of all the built-up areas, we were told that we could rest in a small wood at the side of the road and partake of our midday meal. Water was obtained from a nearby cottage and served to wash down thebread and cheese that was to become so familiar before the journey was over.
During that stop for lunch, we got to know quite a lot about our guards, with whom we realised it would pay to keep on the best possible terms. The little policeman was called Karl Kremer and he formerly kept a dairy shop in Aachen. He told us that he had no interest whatsoever in the war and that all he really wanted was to get back to his wife and business. We even got as far as suggesting that nobody would be any the wiser if he accomplished this end by the simple means of turning his back for a few moments and letting us disappear into the woods. We had already seen enough of the German system of communications to know that there was not the smallest chance of our being expected by the people in Frankfurt, and as Karl himself explained, if he was taken prisoner by the Allied Forces, he would, as a policeman, merely be sent back to do police duty in his home town.
The whole idea seemed to tempt him somewhat and there were times when we thought he might succumb. However, he told us that if it was found out, he would be shot, and, of course, we did not doubt his word for a moment. The other man, whose name was Adolf, could not speak a single word of English and all we learnt about him was that he had a wife and family in Frankfurt, which explained quite a lot of things that had beenpuzzling us. How
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