The Allied advance could be heard closing in on them, and the German soldiers wanted to retreat to safer areas north.
Hilgendorf stood over the bloody body of his colonel, regretting the man"s death but pensive about what it meant for his own survival. In wartime, bodies were buried where they were slain, although it didn"t seem that Bernhard"s body would be moved by anyone now, certainly no one from this town that he had abused so egregiously.
The lieutenant didn"t want to tarry long enough to do so himself. However, it was customary to return to the family of fallen soldiers some memento of their life, so he withdrew the journal from Bernhard"s pocket and slipped into his own uniform. Looking around, and sensing the sound of gunfire getting closer, Hilgendorf departed quickly and worke
