Operation Cowboy: The Secret American Mission to Save the World’s Most Beautiful Horses in the Last Days of World War II (Kindle Single) by Talty Stephan

Author:Talty, Stephan
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
Published: 2014-04-03T00:00:00+00:00

THE RESCUE

THE FIRST HALF OF THE rescue mission, the diplomatic part, was over. The Wehrmacht command in Hostau and Colonel Reed had agreed that American soldiers could proceed to the stud farm, gather the horses and lead them to safe haven in an Allied-controlled depot inside Germany. However, General Schulze, the Nazi official in charge at Hostau, hadn’t guaranteed them safe passage through the Bohemian Forest; in fact Dr. Lessing had warned the Americans that they might face bands of SS soldiers keen to engage. The Second Cavalry would have to make it to Hostau, defend it against attack, arrange for the transportation of POWs and horses — including very young foals and pregnant mares — and bring the Lipizzaners out through no-man’s land, all without getting killed. It was a tall order, even for men who’d survived the worst of the war.

Early the next morning, Reed gave orders for the march on Hostau. Seventy troops from the A Troop, 42nd Squadron, Second Cavalry Regiment — along with elements of C, E and F troops —formed into a task force, bolstered by two light tanks and two assault guns. Maj. Robert P. Andrews headed up the mission, with Capt. Tom Stewart as his second-in-command. Third Platoon, led by a tough, blunt-speaking Irishman named Lt. Bill Quinlivan, would take the vanguard with twenty-eight soldiers.

The front line elements of the Task Force opened fire at dawn, sending a barrage of artillery arcing over Hostau, announcing the assault. The troops pushed up the road through the Bohemian Forest. Nearing the town of Bělá nad Radbuzou, gunfire suddenly erupted on the unit’s right wing, but the attackers were quickly driven off. Armed with the fire power of two armored cars and two machine guns, the Task Force had won its first victory of the mission.

Despite the sporadic gunfire, the SS hadn’t yet made their presence known. As the soldiers moved deeper into the woods, Stewart wondered whether his unit was too large for the SS to take on, or whether the German soldiers were patiently waiting to isolate small bands of Americans before making their move. Perhaps, Stewart thought, the Nazis had simply up and left.

Meanwhile, Dr. Lessing was making his way back to Hostau alone. On the way, he passed Dobirsch Kotz, the grand manor of a local baron. The Baron himself, taking in the morning air on his balcony, spotted the captain coming along the road, haggard and thoroughly drained after many hours without sleep, and invited him in for breakfast. Lessing demurred, wanting to push on toward Hostau. “You’re totally exhausted!” the Baron protested. “Come in for a quarter of an hour and have a bite to eat.” Lessing nodded tiredly, jumped off his horse and walked into the manor.

He was sipping some pea soup when the phone rang. It was one of the Baron’s trustees, calling from a nearby estate. He had thrilling news: American troops had been seen heading toward the stud farm.

Lessing was ecstatic. He jumped out of his chair, hurried out of the manor, mounted his horse and galloped in the direction of Hostau.

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