Operation Storm Forge: A New Plan

Katsaros and his team started to run inside the forest as thunderous blast of the explosion masked the sound of their footsteps. The very bridge, once a great symbol of the German strength, now was nothing but all the rubble – burning in the night. For a moment, the team allowed itself a brief sigh of relief. But that moment didn’t last long.

“We did it,” Corporal Georgiou said, after wiping the sweat from his forehead, his voice was laced with relief.

“It’s far from over,” Katsaros countered as he scanned the trees around them. “We need to get out of here before they find us.”

The German soldiers were now to look for them. They had rung the alarm bell the moment the bridge had collapsed, and the place would soon be swarming with enemy men. They had no time to spare.

Katsaros led the way, his instincts guiding him through the dense forest. He knew this area well from their earlier reconnaissance missions, but it was a dangerous place to be now. The forest was vast, and the Germans had already shown that they knew how to search it thoroughly.

“We need a new plan,” Katsaros said as they ran. “We can’t go back the way we came. We’ll be surrounded.”

Pavlos, the keen shot, eyed him. “What do you think we shall do, captain?”

“There’s only to the south”, thought Katsaros now rapidly. There’s a desolate farm up to five kilometers down this line of route: We could well use that; until we decided whatever would come up from it.

The team nodded and stepped it up a little faster. The forest seemed endless, and each snap of a twig or rustling of bushes had their nerves twitching with tension. They did not know how close the Germans were, but they couldn’t risk sitting there waiting to find out.

As they walked through the trees, German patrols became very loud in the distance. This meant that they should not linger; otherwise, they would have been spotted during every minute that they spent standing out against the landscape.

When they finally reached the farmhouse, it was a relief to see it in one piece. The building was old and decaying, but it would provide shelter from the Germans’ search. They hurried inside and shut the door behind them.

“We need to rest, but we can’t stay here long,” Katsaros said, his voice firm. “We’ll stay here for a few hours, then we move again.”

The team remained silent, thinking. Having blown up the bridge, they were now to find a means of escape since they could not remain at one place for long. The Germans would come for them, and this would take some time.

Katsaros felt the weight of the situation bearing down on him. They had struck a blow against the Germans but now were in even greater danger. The odds were very much against them.

But Katsaros wasn’t one to back down. He had made it through impossible situations before, and he would do it again. He looked at his team, their faces tired but determined. They were in this together, and they weren’t going to stop until they had finished what they started.

“We’ll figure this out,” he said, his voice steady. “We’ll get out of here, and we’ll keep fighting.”