The year was 1944. For the third German Reich, the year was getting bad to worse.
Just before the Red Army enter Minsk, at a certain workshop, Oberleutnant Hans Ulster and his crew were fixing up a Jagdpanzer 38t or Hetzer as she was called.
"This thing is very uncomfortable." Said the driver of the vehicle.
"I want the StuG back already." Cried the radio operator.
"Why are you guys crying!? I should be the one to cry because my position is the worst." Said the loader.
"Hey, stop mumbling and get on with your work." Hans urged them.
Just before the repairs were complete a soldier in dirty and torn uniform ran to the shed.
"Abandon the position. Red Army is already here. Everyone is ordered to evacuate."
Everyone was surprised. They stopped their work and started panicking.
"We have to get out of here, now!" The driver urged.
"What about her?" Hans said pointing at the Hetzer.
"Forget about it. The Red Army will be here anytime. If you don't want to spend the rest of your days happily in Stalin's winter camp, then move! The last truck is leaving now." The soldier said.
The other three members of Hans' crew left the vehicle and rushed outside towards the truck.
"Hey we can't leave her here. She is almost fixed."
"But herr Oberleutnant it'll still take time to be totally fixed. We can't wait until then. We must leave."
There was no way Hans could leave his beloved Hetzer.
He remembered all the time he was in charge of the vehicle since joining the Heer a year ago.
But it seems his crew didn't share the same passion about it.
And it's true. While the Hetzer was a really effective vehicle, its reception among the crew was not that great.
So, the others urged their commander to leave and even cheer him up.
"Don't worry boss, maybe next time we'll get the Tiger. Let's leave for now."
"I'm sure the fuhrer will retake the lands we lose today in the future." It sounded more like a joke to everyone rather than real hope.
Though none spoke anything about it.
"Yeah sure he will." Someone made an even more bogus joke.
But Hans just couldn't leave his Hetzer.
"You guys go. I will fix her and bring her out myself." He said to the others.
"But the Red Army will be here soon. You can't wait here to fix it."
The crew tried desperately to change the mind of their commander.
"I can't forget everything we went through together. I have been serving with her since the beginning so I just can't leave her." Hans said.
"Hey hurry up! The Bolsheviks are almost here."
Someone else cried out to them.
Unable to change the mind of their commander, the other crew got on the truck and left.
"Sigh, don't worry I won't leave you behind." Hans said touching the vehicle.
The vehicle was almost drive worthy. After a few more work, Hans entered inside to drive it out, happy that the Red Army was not yet here.
But as he was about drive out, something else happened. Something worse than Red Army troops approaching.
It was an Ilyushin Il 2 Sturmovik with orders to destroy any German ground force it could notice.
The pilot noticed a lone Hetzer moving out slowly and dived down on it.
Inside the vehicle Hans didn't notice the predator that stalked him.
Being in the driver seat he could only see what was in front of the vehicle. Moreover the engine noise made sure that nothing from the outside can be heard.
Before long he noticed the aircraft flying out low in front of the vehicle.
"Damn it. The Red Air Fo....."
Before he could end his words, a loud noise deafened his ears.
Followed by a ball of fire that engulfed the entire vehicle.
Before the fire could burn him alive, Hans died from the head injury he suffered due to the bombs explosive force hitting his head on the driving gear.
"Ah, so she will be my grave. Forgive me mother, forgive me Emma. I won't be home this Christmas."
These are the final words he mumbled before his eyes filled with blood oozing from his forehead closed.
The red world he could see for a brief moment due to the blood was almost symbolic, claiming a Red Army victory that'd follow soon and the futility of the aryan supremacy he once believed.
After that his vision turned black. And he could feel that life had left his body.
Hans too had once believed in the greatness of the German race and believed that the eastern territory was God given for them.
He had full trust in his fuhrer when he enthusiastically joined the Wehrmacht and came to the Eastern front, leaving his family behind.
He too believed that the Fuhrer will lead them to victory.
However, after coming to the front his delusion was soon broken. Nothing was going on according to what he heard back home.
It was hell. The bitter fighting, the grim atmosphere, everything fell heavy on him.
He lost many comrades and friends in the bitter fighting while still clinging to his dear vehicle the Jagdpanzer 38t.
He would notice the brutality carried out against unknown civilians by his fellow countrymen and comrades as he traversed through the front with his crew in his beloved Hetzer.
"Is this how a master race should act?" He would think, and felt horrified that he once believed the words of Aryan supremacy.
Everyday he tried to survive to return home. He could understand how delusional and broken from reality people back home were.
Everyday promises of great victory could be heard over the radio, but he could see that the mighty Wehrmacht was losing ground one after another.
There was no sign of victory anywhere.
The only thing he could do was cling to his beloved Hetzer and pray,
"At least let the armour be strong enough to stop communist bullets."
However, all of it didn't matter anymore. He was now dead and the regret he felt was not getting to meet Emma or his mother one last time.
He felt pain, a terribly sharp pain. His eyes were heavy and he couldn't open them. But he felt something soft beneath him.
"How can I feel anything? Am I not dead? Does that mean I can go meet Emma and mother?"
He tried to move his hands to see what was beneath him.
"Oww, commander it hurts. I am not your landing pillow. Please move and this is not the place for doing something like this."
He heard a sweet voice. But to him it was a bit unrecognisable since his ears were still hurting.
"Em, Emma, is t-that you?" He said, still unable to open his eyes.
"Huh?! Who's Emma? You're not cheating on me are you commander?"
Hans couldn't believe the words he heard.
"W-what do you... who's cheating, on who?" He couldn't say anything more.
He felt the softness underneath him moving.
He couldn't understand what was going on. Unable to keep his head clear, he succumbed to the pain.
He felt a pair of hands touching him gently and moving him.
He forced his eyes open for a brief moment only to see the face of a beautiful girl in front of him before closing them again.
"Commander, commander, what's wrong? Are you alright? What should I do?!"
He could hear the girl screaming. And maybe also crying.
However, the pain took over and he fainted for who knows how long. Once he woke up it was almost night.
He could see the clear and peaceful beautiful sky with a bright moon over head and many twinkling stars.
It was a scenery he didn't see for such a long time.
Looking beside he could see that he was lying in a field with a grass everywhere and many trees scattered around.
There was no gunfire, no bombardment, no artillery and no wailing and cry of the wounded or the stench of blood and rotting corpses anywhere.
A stark contrast to what he went through the entire time in the battlefield.
After his visions and nerves cleared up some more, he could feel a warm softness under his head.
Something he never felt after leaving his home. He decided to turn around and see what it was.
The scene surprised him. It was very beautiful young girl giving him a lap pillow.
"Are you awake commander?" The girl said.
Hans could see the girl brighten up. Her face now had a radiant glow under the moonlight.
"I am so happy to see you are awake. I almost had a heart attack when I saw you faint." The girl smiled.
Tears rushed through her eyes as she hugged him.
Hans on the other hand was really confused.
"E-excuse me ma'am, but who might you be?" He asked while being held strongly by the girl.