Beyond the Shield

by Nachman Kataczinsky

  Jeff nodded. “I came from the future. Please don’t think this is a trick or hoax. Israel was transported, replacing 1941 Palestine. That is why you lost contact with your people. We didn’t contact you before now because we were quite busy for a while rescuing the European Jews from the Nazis and needed secrecy.”

  “What about the British? They let you do things in Europe? I don’t remember them being very friendly to Jews. They never responded to our inquiries and were, in fact, quite rude about it.”

  Jeff smiled. “Indeed they were never friendly to us but when a state with advanced weapons and strong military offers assistance even John Bull is smart enough to accept.”

  Cahan fidgeted in his chair. “And why are you telling me this story now?”

  “Simple. We want to encourage the Jews of the United States to join us in Israel. To advance this idea I would like to extend an invitation for you to come visit, all expenses paid, to see for yourself.”

  “I think there’s something fishy about your story. But there’s no harm in checking it out. That’s what journalists do. I’ll send one of my correspondents.”

  “Good, but maybe you should send several, just to make sure we don’t pull the wool over anyone’s eyes. If they want to bring their spouses it would be even better,” Jeff said.

  “We have women writing for us but it will take at least two, maybe three, weeks to get to Palestine and as long to get back, plus a week there. I will lose whoever goes for a month and a half. I don’t know that I can send more than one,” Cahan said.

  “Your calculation is wrong. You need to send your people to the Port of New York where they’ll be picked up by a boat and deposited in New Brunswick. From there we will fly them to Israel. They will return the same way. Travel time is two days each way. You can have your people back in ten days. Do we have a deal?”

  Cahan looked at Jeff for almost a minute. “For some reason I trust you, outrageous story and all. You have a deal. When and where should they report?”

  “I will let you know a week before departure. Probably by the end of this month. Let me know the travelers’ names as soon as possible.”

  Jeff had three more appointments that day. Rabbi Stephen Wise, like Cahan, offered to send a replacement.

  His last appointment was with Hillel Kook, also known as Peter Bergson, the head of the Bergson Group, who had come to the U.S. in 1940 from Palestine by way of Poland with Ze’ev Jabotinsky. Kook, the brother of the future Chief Rabbi of mandatory Palestine, used the name Bergson so as not to embarrass his family. In the original history he very actively tried to save European Jewry.

  “Finally someone from Palestine! A little while ago we were asked by a Palestinian representative to make our protests louder, which I couldn’t as we were as loud as I knew how to be. What’s going on there? Are you from the Irgun?”

  “The situation is much more complicated than you can imagine. Let me show you a short film and we will talk after that,” Jeff said with a smile.

  After watching the film, Kook carefully examined the laptop and finally asked, “What happened to my family?”

  Jeff took out two envelopes and several printed pages from his bag. “Here are letters from your daughters and a copy of several pages from a history book. I’ll wait.”

  It took Kook close to an hour to finish reading. Finally he asked: “So what do you want from me?”

  “We want to bring as many Jews as we can to Israel. You are a public figure with lots of followers. If you’re convinced that our story is true, I’m sure you can convince others. We would like you to come for a week-long visit and then do whatever you want with the information.”

  “What about my mission here?” Kook asked.

  “The reason we asked you a little while ago to intensify your activities was because we were in the process of moving the European Jews to Israel. The noise you were making helped us deceive the Nazis. Now there are no Jews left in Europe, so your mission is over. We hope you will accept a new one. You don’t have to decide right now. Come and see for yourself. You can act with conviction only if you believe this incredible story. And bring more people with you.

  “How long will the trip take?”

  “About ten days round-trip. You will have about a week in Israel.”

  Kook smiled. “Future Israel. Sounds too good to be true and I’m very curious. Count me in.”

  ***

  Himmler jumped from his seat when the Fuehrer entered. “Mein Fuehrer, they told me to wait in your office.”

  “Yes, yes, those were my orders. Sit. What’s so urgent?”

  “We have a serious problem. I just received a message from General Hausser. He was warned by Manstein that if he tried to execute the orders we gave him his group would be attacked and disarmed by the Army Group South. Obviously Manstein has vastly superior forces so Hausser stopped and asked for instructions. Besides, if the Soviets realize that two German forces are fighting each other…”

  Hitler leaned back, the fingers of his left hand drumming on the desktop. “That’s unexpected. I didn’t think that Manstein was a traitor. I suppose that if I order him to give up his command there is no assurance he will. What do you suggest?”

  Himmler rubbed his chin, a nervous gesture he had recently acquired. “We can’t arrest Manstein and the other generals and we can’t let it go. Maybe we should just kill them all? That will prevent further investigation but is better than nothing.”

  “That’s a good idea. Send Otto Skorzeny to liquidate von Rundstedt. This will confuse the traitors. They don’t expect us to know the members of this conspiracy. Rundstedt is in France and will be easier to get to. After he’s taken care of we will take care of Manstein.” Hitler thought for a moment and added, “Maybe Manstein and Zeitzler can be treated at the same time. Keep me up to date.”

  ***

  All fourteen ministers - constituting the full Government of Israel - sat in session. The debate over the Arab issue was loud, threatening to become violent. Since the time travel event Israel enjoyed a national unity government. It looked like this unity might not last much longer.

  The divisions were clear: the right and center parties wanted to present the Israeli Arabs with the option to resettle on an alternate Earth; the left objected to resettling even the Arabs of Judea and Samaria.

  After two hours of arguing and shouting the Prime Minister used his gavel and best command voice. “Ladies and Gentlemen, the arguments on both sides have been repeated at least ten times. I will summarize:

  “The pro-resettlement group wants to hold to the resolution of resettling the Arabs from Judea and Samaria and add an open and public resettlement proposal for Israeli Arabs, who would be free to accept or reject it. Those who were invited by Jordan and whom we approve will be free to move there.

  “The anti-resettlement group wants to rescind the original resolution and do nothing.

  “I suggest that we vote now.”

  The vote showed a sharp difference in opinion: ten ministers were for resettlement and four were against. Amos Nir concluded: “The resolution for resettlement passed.” He was about to adjourn the meeting when a minister from the Labor party stopped him. “The resolution passed in the government but we insist on bringing it before the full Knesset. If this is not done we will leave the government.” The other three opposed nodded in agreement.

  Amos was a bit surprised. “You would leave the government at a time when the country is at war with Nazi Germany in order to force us to rescind a resolution you voted for only six months ago? Would you have done that if the security cabinet approved the decision without your involvement?”

  “It’s the deportation of Israeli citizens,” responded the minister from Labor.

  “But we’re not deporting citizens; we only propose giving them the option to leave.”

  The Labor minister got up. “Either the government brings this to the full Knesset or we walk out.”

  Amos smiled. “And what will
happen when the Knesset majority decides the same thing?”

  “They will side with us,” said the Labor minister.

  Amos thought for a moment and then surprised everyone. “I agree. Let’s bring this decision before the Knesset and ask it to pass a law that will put this issue to rest.”

  After the meeting the Minister of Defense stayed behind. “Amos, why did you agree to this foolishness?”

  “We are nearing elections and I think this kind of thinking needs to be clearly presented to the public. There’s nobody better than the left to bury itself. I believe that a great majority of our population, especially those who were rescued from the Nazis, will have little tolerance for the leftist fools who are playing with our security and existence while we’re fighting a war.”

  ***

  Noam Shaviv was reading in his hospital bed when his father-in-law came to visit.

  “Hi, Noam. How are you doing?” Ze’ev inquired.

  Noam smiled. “As good as can be expected. They torture me with physical therapy twice a day, but at least the food is good.”

  Shoshanna entered the private room.

  Ze’ev waved to her. “So what’s new with you? We haven’t heard from you for two days now,” he joked.

  “Actually I needed to ask you something. You know that Esther, Sheina and Tzipora share an apartment in Beer Sheva. Since your grandmother is helping me I get all the news and gossip. She told me that Esther wants to go to medical school. I mean she really wants to. She finished a year of medical training in Samarkand and liked it.”

  Ze’ev nodded. “Your grandmother was a good doctor. The best diagnostician I ever met. She loved the profession and had great instincts.”

  Shoshanna smiled. “Yes, I remember. The question is how to help this Esther? Grandma graduated from medical school in Russia. To get into a medical program here is very difficult. Even the one at Ben Gurion is very picky.”

  Noam interrupted, “Ze’ev, don’t you know someone or somebody who knows someone?”

  Ze’ev nodded. “I’ll have to think but I’m sure you’re correct. I have doubts about using this kind of connection though. I did a favor once, a long time ago, for a friend who wanted her son to have a safe job in the army. Years later I married Linda and told her about this ‘good deed’. She convinced me that it wasn’t a favor to the son, although the mother was happy enough. I’ll ask Esther and see what she wants.”

  A nurse came into the room. “Noam, it’s time for your exercises.”

  Noam groaned miserably. “You see, guys. They’re going to torture me again.” He threw off the blanket and almost nimbly lowered his feet to the floor. Apparently he could walk using a cane and supervised by the nurse on one side and his wife on the other.

  Ze’ev asked jokingly, “How soon will he be able to run?”

  “Probably in a month or so if he continues to exercise after he goes home,” the nurse responded seriously.

  “Interesting,” Noam smiled. “You ask the same questions as my dad.”

  ***

  The armor company commander looked at his troops. They were at parade rest with a beautiful Alpine landscape in the background. The morning air was crisp, almost freezing.

  “You all know why we’re here so I will not make you stand in the cold and listen to one more explanation. The Nazis are close and we expect to see them in this valley within the next several hours. I would like to remind you of an absolute truth of war: you have to fight in order to live. The enemy will kill you if you let him, especially this enemy. It’s kill or be killed, so show no weakness or hesitation.

  “We are facing two SS armored divisions. According to our intelligence they have 417 tanks, plus artillery and mechanized infantry, about forty thousand soldiers in all. These are seasoned troops that have seen action. We will defeat them. You know what your tanks can do and what the artillery behind you can do.

  “They outnumber us three to one, which means that they’re doomed. But don’t be too cocky. These are excellent troops and they have an Alpine infantry element with them, so be careful.

  “As to our tactics: we don’t go into our normal maneuver and attack mode until after the enemy starts retreating. Our job is to stand and let them smash themselves against us. We don’t want them to escape after defeat, so we’ve made provisions to close the exit of the valley by the Brenner Pass before they can leave. We do want some to escape and carry the word so that others will be afraid even before they encounter us. We all carry oversize unit and country flags for exactly that reason – We want these Nazis to know who is killing them.

  “Good luck to us all.”

  The intelligence people slightly underestimated the speed at which the Germans could move. Their lead scouts arrived at the pass just before ten in the morning and were engaged by Italian units. The firefight went on for close to an hour until several German tanks arrived and an artillery battery opened up on the Italians. At this point the Italian commander decided, prudently, to withdraw. It was an orderly retreat with the Germans following cautiously.

  One of the Italian units equipped and trained for mountain warfare positioned on a slope a mile from the pass opened up on the German tanks. The tanks didn’t have enough elevation to return fire and had to retreat. Even though the Italians used antiquated light artillery a direct hit into the thin top armor could kill a Panzer IV. The victory was short-lived as German artillery quickly got the range and very soon their infantry began firing from below. The Italians had to abandon two of their five artillery pieces and withdraw behind the peak of the ridge.

  Since the Israeli positions were only about eight miles from the pass, the Germans arrived within firing range of the tanks before noon.

  At first the SS scouts didn’t notice the Merkava tanks –waiting in a hull down position with only the flat turrets sticking out. The scouts did take notice of artillery coming down on them. Of the five German armored half-tracks and three armored cars, only one armored car managed to escape.

  The valley was quiet for a short while with the only noise coming from ammunition cooking off in the burning vehicles a mile and a half from the Israeli line. Then the lead Panzer IV tanks appeared. Israeli drones transmitted images of German artillery taking up positions about twelve miles away – their longest range. Israeli artillery with a range of twenty-five miles opened up before the Germans had time to set up. The 155mm shells directed by an artillery observer using drone images were deadly. The SS group commander withdrew his artillery. It did him little good since they had to travel more than ten miles to get out of range of the Israeli guns. By the time the maneuver was completed only two artillery batteries were still in a semblance of working order. Those six surviving cannon didn’t get to fire in this battle.

  The German tanks were careful. After the Italians abandoned their position a panzer platoon advanced slowly to locate the opposition. The accompanying infantry was slightly behind the tanks, also spread over the width of the valley.

  A coordinated volley from three Merkava tanks killed the panzers at a range of half a mile, causing the infantry to stop and dig in.

  The Germans would have followed up with their standard tactic - an encirclement movement - but the valley was too narrow for that. The alternative was to bring up more tanks and try an assault on the offending position. The width of the valley at this point was about 2000 ft. and the ten panzers filled it. Ten more panzers were in a second line. Both lines were steadily moving forward.

  The four Merkava tanks in position in front of the hamlet of Colle Isarco started slowly retreating to the main Israeli position 2.8 miles to the south. They shot as they moved, and soon there were 12 burning panzers, replaced by new ones and still advancing.

  The German infantry also advanced, although some elements dug in to hold the terrain taken.

  As a tank commander Wolf was expected to keep an eye on what was going on and didn’t really have much to do. The German tanks fired on his platoon a couple of times b
ut the shots went wide; they couldn’t aim very well while moving and half a mile was far enough to be relatively safe.

  Every so often a marker popped up on the tank’s display marking an enemy tank. The gunner saw the marker as well so the only thing Wolf had to do is tell him to fire. At this point in the battle the platoon commander was calling the shots. There was time for Wolf to take care of some of the infantry advancing with the SS tanks. He used the machinegun slaved to one of his sights, taking down a German soldier or two. The other three tanks did the same, so the Germans became very cautious. From time to time Wolf also sighted and shot his 60mm mortar. This took a bit of time since he used only proximity fuses set to burst fifteen feet above ground. Those seemed more effective than the machinegun.

  The slow retreat seemed to work - a display on one of the monitors slaved to a drone above the valley showed German forces pouring through the Brenner Pass, massing behind their forward attacking formation. About half an hour later Wolf’s platoon commander ordered them to destroy the German tanks attacking them and retreat into the waiting defensive line.

  By the time Wolf’s tank joined the rest of the company it was close to four in the afternoon and parts of the valley were in shadow from the surrounding mountains. The platoon was resupplied with ammunition and topped off its fuel tanks. They had time to rest and eat. An hour later the Germans attacked in force. A mass of tanks raced toward the Israeli positions, infantry running between and behind them. German infantry units peeled off the main force and started climbing the ridges on both sides of the valley. They were doing their best to get into a commanding position over the valley and their opponent’s forces.

  It seemed that the German commander had figured out that he was dealing with an enemy with superior equipment, which wasn’t a first for him. After all, the Soviet T34 tanks had been a nasty surprise. Those had been overcome with superior tactics and discipline. Since the German didn’t know that his tanks’ guns couldn’t harm the enemy, he was trying to close the distance and use numbers and infantry to overwhelm them. This was someone experienced in combined arms fighting. At this point in the battle Wolf had no more time to contemplate the action – the order came to destroy the enemy.