Sitting in the back of the humming halftrack, Joakim couldn't help but feel uneasy at the sounds that occured, far away yet so close by. He was humming to himself, an old song he knew of. He looked at the karabiner 98k between his legs before looking up at the man across from him. It was Claus, a man whom he had no idea of how he got to be a panzergrenadier. Yet here he was. He wasn't exactly a hero, but any man that can shoot a gun can hit with that gun, therefore he was an addition to the team. Softly, Joakim continued humming to himself. 

[i]Wir woll´n zum Sturme gehen,
Frei nach Landsknechtsart,
Laßt den verlor´nen Haufen,
Voran zum Sturme laufen,
Wir folgen dicht geschart.[/i]

And that much was true. Joakim wanted to storm - a position, a settlement, a village if he had to. He'd follow the commander anywhere, and walk in front, the vanguard, the first into the battle. Hurrah! 

It seemed like God had heard his pleas, and the radio crackled. Joakim couldn't make out what was being said between the loud engine noises and the explosions nearby. [i]3 minutes... inform your men.. dismissed![/i] That's all he could make out. The squad leader soon clarified, ordering to get out of the halftrack and spread out. [i]“Jawohl herr Unteroffizier!”[/i] Joakim answered, before dismounting from the halftrack and spreading out to the right side. They approached the farmhouse and went a good while without being noticed at all. 

Suddenly they started receiving fire from the dug in position around the farm. Immediately Joakim's veterancy kicked in and he dropped to the ground, to avoid any fire coming his way. To his left a man who was too slow to lay down got shot, a bullet penetrating his chest. It was unfortunate but there was nothing Joakim could do while they were under fire.

He pulled back the bolt and took aim as best as he could, aiming for a window from where there was enemy fire. Slowly he squeezed the trigger and the gun fired, though from this distance it was hard to shoot accurately even with some training, and the darkness inside the building made it near impossible to see what was going on. 

Joakim pulled back the bolt again to load another bullet and looked left and right in search of the officer. [i]“Herr unteroffizier,”[/i] he yelled as loud as he could. [i]“We need to flank that position or we'll be sitting out here all day!”[/i]

[hr]

Meanwhile in Lithuania, Pavlov was standing in the farmstead with the commander. The rest of the soldiers had turned and ran away as quick as they could. The commander said something about them being the only ones to die for Stalin and the Motherland, but Pavlov had other ideas. [i]“Sorry sir, but I intend to run to fight another day!”[/i] he said as he quickly left the building through the back and followed the rest of the soldiers. He was unsure where they were headed, but it was better than staying there and being captured by those fascists.