where he could no longer bear a one - way traffic of bodies, Abel rounded up his men and personally organised the fourteen food trucks. He took with him one lieutenant, one sergeant, two corporals, and twenty - eight privates.
The drive to the Front, although only twenty miles, was tiresomely slow that morning. Abel took the wheel of the first truck - it made him feel a little like General Patton - through heavy rain and thick mud; he had to pull off the road several times to allow ambulance details the right of way in their return from the Front. Wounded bodies took precedence over empty stomachs. Abel wished that most of them were no more than wounded, but only the occasional nod or wave suggested any sign of life.
It became obvious to Abel with each mud - tracked mile that something big was going on near Remagen, and he could feel the beat of his heart quicken. Somehow, he knew this time he was going to be involved.
When he finally reached the command post he could hear the enemy fire in the distance, and he - started pounding his leg in anger as he watched stretchers bringing back yet more dead and wounded comrades from he knew not where. Abel was sick of learning nothing about the real war until it was part of history. He suspected that any reader of the New York Times was better informed than he was.
Abel brought his convoy to a halt - by the side of the field kitchen and jumped out of the truck shielding himself from the heavy min, feeling ashamed that others only a few miles away were shielding themselves from bullets. He began to supervise the unloading of one hundred gallons of soup, a ton of corned beef, two hundred chickens, half a ton of butter, three tons of potatoes and one hundred and ten pound of baked beans - plus the inevitable K rations - in readiness for those going to, or returning from, the front. When Abel arrived in the mess tent he found it full of long tables and empty benche& He left his two chefs to prepare the meal and the orderlies to start peeling one thousand potatoes while he went off in search of the duty officer.
Abel headed straight for Brigadier - General John Leonard's tent to find out what was going on, continually passing stretchers of dead and - worse - nearly dead soldiers, the sight of whom would have made any ordinary man sick but at Remagen had the air of being commonplace. As Abel was about to enter the tent, General Leonard, accompanied by his aide, was rushing out.
He coy3ducted a conversation with Abel while continuing to walk.
'What can I do for you, Colonel?'
'I have started preparing the food for your battalion as requested in overnight orders, sir. What ... T 'You needn't bother with the food for now, Colonel. At first light this morning Lieutenant Burrows of the Ninth discovered an undamaged railroad bridge north of Remagen, and I gave orders that it should be crossed immediately and every effort made to establish a bridge head on the efst bank of the river. Up to now, the Germans have been successful in blowing up every bridge across the Rhine long before we reached it soiwe can't hang around waiting for lunch before they demolish this one.'
'Did the Ninth succeed in getting across?' asked a puffing Abel.
'Sure did,' replied the general, 'but they encountered heavy resistance when they reached the forest on the far side of the river. Ile first'platoons were ambushed and God knows how many men we lost. So you had better eat the food yourself, Colonel, because my only interest is getting as many of my men back alive as possible!
'Is there anything I can doT asked Abel.
The fighting commander stopped running for a moment and studied the fat colonel. 'How many men have you under your direct command?'
~One lieutenant, one sergeant, two corporals, and twentyeight privates; thirty - three in all including myself, sir.'
'Good. Report to the field hospital with your men and make yourself useful out there by bringing back as many dead and wounded as you can find.'
'Yes, sir,' said Abel and ran aU the way back to the field kitchen where he found his own men sitting in a corner smoking. None of them noticed when he entered the tent.
'Get up, you bunch of lazy bastards. We've got real work to do for