The Man Hunter of the Eastern front

Author's Note

This story is centred on an actual person named Josef "Sepp" Allerberger (1924-2010). He was an Austrian sniper of the Wehrmacht's 144 Regiment, 3rd mountain division on the Eastern Front, who has been credited with 257 kills with the longest confirmed kill reported over 1,100 meters (1,200 yards). Josef Allerberger escaped captivity by the Soviets at the end of the war and went back home to Wals-Siezenhelm, Salzburg, Austria where he became a carpenter after the war.

In this fan-fiction, I may twist some of the major historic events in which Josef was killed in action at the Battle of Berlin (1945) and never made it back home to Austria. Instead he was brought to the other world to join the Drifters against the Ends shortly after he thought he died. I hope you enjoy reading the story.

*Disclaimer*

I do not own any character or material of the original series. The scenes and characters depicted in the story are from real life events that happened. Some of the scenes are changed or exaggerated to dramatize the events.

Legend

"sample text" – normal conversation

'sample text' – thoughts of a character

*sample text* - sound effect

Chapter 1: Berlin in flames

The sound of plane engines roaring in the skies above a ruined city can be heard as flames and smoke engulf buildings and streets. The constant sounds of Katyusha[1] rockets and artillery can be heard from afar, followed by dreadful loud explosions as battle rages on in streets and alleys, buildings to buildings. *WHEEE**WHEEE**WHEEE**BOOM**BOOM**VRRRRRMM**VOOOMMM**BOOOM*

*BRRRTTT*BRRRRRRRT**POW**POW**BURPPPP**BURRRPPP*

Berlin, Germany 30th April 1945

The USSR has reached the inner city of Berlin as their mighty army closes in on the Reichstag[2] by every minute, every inch of the last German lines of defence. The Wehrmacht is now in complete disarray, with its dwindling number of soldiers and shortage of food and ammo. The government of Nazi Germany is desperate to survive the onslaught of the tremendously powerful Red Army as Hitler grew ever more frustrated and angered by the incompetence of his generals. The last remaining German soldiers from all ages of youngsters to elderly men braced for the last battle they may face for the rest of their lives as the Soviets prepares for the final assault of the last streets that separates the Chancellery Building.

In one particular ruined apartment building, a man in German uniform could be seen sitting in a crouched position from a window of the top floor with a telescoped Kar98[1] aimed at an end of the street below him, where Soviets' advance could be heard.

There are several stielhandgrantes[1] laid on the sill of the window and a few tripwire AP mines could barely be seen set up at the door of the apartment below him.

The German solider seems to a seasoned fighter as he has a few scars and old burn marks on his hands, wearing a patched up uniform and draped piece of cloth over his shoulders exclusive from the standards of the Wehrmacht and carrying a few other firearms around his uniform webbing, including a Browning Hi-power[1] pistol, a PPSh-41[1] sub-machinegun and also a few captured enemy F1[1] grenades over his shoulder straps.

The man has several badges and a few medals in his pocket, one clearly made out from his shirt pocket is the Knight's Cross[1], one of the highest awards to the servicemen of Nazi Germany for combat bravery.

He looked at the medal sticking out of his pocket for a moment and said, "The Knight's cross, huh? It only seems so reasonable since we are the last remaining of the best in this country no wonder we were awarded such a great medal.

Then added, "Still, if I were to be captured, I would have to get rid of my badges or I'll be a one sorry skewered weasel when Soviets finds out I'm the guy who killed hundreds of their men." as he chuckled abit to himself.

"I believe it's an honour from the Fuhrer for extreme bravery in battle. The fact that you earned it is still the truth, sir." a young man in his teens wearing a German Volkssturm[1] uniform said as he sat near the other man.

"Hmph, more like a like parting gift from a coward who sits in his nice comfy bunker while shouting thorough the radio that there are "traitors" among us. This medal will stand for nothing after this war. It will become a myth and a curse upon those who dare show off."

Suddenly they heard the voices of Soviets and tanks rolling down the street opposite of them. The two men looked out the window.

The man is Josef Allerberger[4], still alive after the brutal Eastern Front campaign. Even though it's nearing the end of the war with the obvious losing side, it doesn't seem be that he's about to get weary of the war.

He peers through his sniper scope. "One tank, two MGs and 15 men armed with rifles and a few PPShs." Josef says as he motioned his hand to the young boy to come over. "Ernest, can you hand me your binoculars? I need to have a closer look."

The boy Ernest quickly hands over his binoculars to Josef as he gets his Mp 40[1] submachine gun ready. Josef tells Ernest quietly, "Remember, don't shoot until they pass our block. Remember, Pull the trigger, not squeeze it." The boy replied, "Verstanden.[3]"

Josef looks out through his binoculars, attempting to identify the officer in the group. He spots a man signalling other soldiers with his hand and his uniform badge could be clearly seen as the commandant of the platoon.

'Found you.' Josef said. He position his hand on the rifle holding the trigger steady, while slowing down his breath to every 5 secs. 'If I take out the tank. They would have no support while Ernest would throw grenades at the soldiers and I'll shoot the officer next.'

Josef whispers to Ernest, "Ernest, I need you to get yourself to the room next to ours and take out your grenades. Once I shot the tank, you will throw grenades at the soldiers." Ernest nodded, before crouching quietly to the other room.

Josef aims steadily, each time putting the sights on the rear of the Soviet tank's fuel compartment. He carefully pulls down his cloak over head to ensure that the enemy would not make out his outline or his position. He times the moments when bombs drop on the city. As the soldiers pass by the apartment, the tank rolls pass revealing it's exposed fuel tanks.

In a block not too far off, a bomb falls and explodes, and at that moment Josef slows down his breath drastically and takes aim of the fuel tank's screw cap, he shoots the fuel compartment and the bullet pierces through screw cap of the fuel tank.

*PHOOOM!WOOOOOOM!BOOOM!*

Soon, the tank was on fire and the tank crewmen started came crawling out of the tanks engulfed in flames. The Soviet commandant was taken by surprise, almost startled. "What was that!? A mine!?" having not heard the gunshot first.

Suddenly several grenades were dropped right in front of the Soviet soldiers and they screamed, "Grenade!" A moment later there was a series of loud explosion, killing many of the soldiers, knocking over the maxim machine guns and the commandant.

"There he is! On the top floor! Get him!" the soldiers shouted.

The commandant regained his foot, then attempted to use a flare round to signal other nearby troops while the remaining men retuned fire at the apartment building and then tried breaching the building.

'I won't let you do that, Bolshevik!'

The commandant was shot in the head blowing up a chunk of his upper skull, ultimately unable to call for more reinforcements. When the soldiers opened the entrance door to the building, a set of AP mines rigged to the door went off, killing several of the men. *BOOOM! Ahhhhh!*

The men were riddled with shrapnel and their lower half of the torsos blown up. Now with only 5 men, they went up to the floor where the grenade came from.

Ernest cocked his Mp 40 and waited for the Russians from the room. When the Russians go up to the floor Ernest opened fire aiming at the centre of mass. *BUUUUUUURRRP!*

The boy managed to take down 1 of the soldiers before he had to take cover from the return fire. At that moment a grenade came bouncing into the room and he pulled over a nearby table facing the grenade and ducked behind it.

*BOOOM!*

The grenade went off and the room was covered with shrapnel but, the boy was unharmed. However the explosion caused immense pain to his inner ear and so he was in a concussion unable to comprehend what is going on around him aside from the muffled voices.

Then the soldiers breached the room, aiming their guns at the overturned table. The boy then thought that this is it for him to kick his bucket just before Josef came up from behind the 4 soldiers and shoots them with his PPSh-41.

*BRRRRRRRRRRRRTTTTTTTTTTT**AHHH!*

All four soldiers fell to the floor, and Ernest stood up slowly from the table cover. "Are you okay, kid?" Josef asked.

The boy then clasped his ear shut and swallowed his spit.

'Ouch!' the pain was really great. Then slowly the boy began to hear what Josef was saying,

"What sir? I didn't hear you!" asked Ernest with a puzzled look.

Josef grinned, "I meant to say, that you did a good job Ernest. You are now a man! Ha!" Ernest too grinned.

Suddenly, the two heard more soldiers coming their way with the sound of multiple tanks heading their way. "Scheisse! I guess they heard us. We can't fight that many armour. Time to get out of here Ernest!" Josef said in a sharp yet discreet manner.

"I have 2 smoke grenades, you hold one! It might come in handy for our escape!" as he tosses a stielhandgranate with a white ribbon painted on the head.

"Sir, the tanks are already closing in, there no enough time to get out from the front! I think we should use the back alleyway!" Ernest shouted.

Josef then thought for a moment and said, "There should be a dumpster on our way in this house. We have no time to run down stairs since the Soviets across the street would hear us trashing about. We will have to jump from a mid-floor onto the dumpster through one of the windows!"

"Yes, sir!" Ernest said just as the sound of a tank turret turning could be heard from the street,

Without thinking much Josef yelled, "Ihn Deckung!"[3] And they dropped to the floor.

*BOOOM!*

Suddenly a tank shell came straight through the wall adjacent to them and the half of the room collapsed.

Josef and Ernest got back up and they ran over to the hallway of the floor and down the stairs to a middle floor, dashed over to a room with window facing the back alley right above the dumpster.

They smashed the large widow in a living room with their guns and jumped out of the window, landing on the dumpster, making a rather loud thud. Ernest got up and felt a sharp pain down his left leg.

"Ahhh! My leg!" Ernest let out a small voice and the Russian soldiers heard it.

"They are behind the building, surround them!" as loud footsteps can be heard approaching.

Josef then got out of the dumpster and told Ernest to give him his hands. Ernest held over his shoulders and was pulled out of the trash.

Josef throws a smoke grenade to the right side of the alley where most of the footsteps and shouting was heard.

Josef looked at Ernest and asked, "Are you alright? Can you walk?"

Ernest replied, "Yes I can, it just a broken leg." As he tries to stand up, he lets out a groan. "Ugh!"

"Don't push yourself too hard." As Josef starts running to the other side of the alley with a wounded comrade over his shoulders. Then, a few soldiers appeared over the other side of the alley.

"There they are! Kill them!"

In an instinctive reaction, Josef took out his Browning pistol and shot all 3 soldiers dead with excellent accuracy.

"Sir, behind you!" said Ernest as he aimed his MP 40 at the soldier behind him and shot him down.

Josef then reached the end of the alley and escaped their pursuers. "We need to regroup with the garrison!" Ernest said.

Josef replied, "No! The Russian would have probably surrounded the nearby streets by now. The men at the garrison would have probably retreated by now. We need to fall back too!"

The two men then started pacing quickly across the street and 200 meters beyond that is the last barricade held by whatever remains of the German armed forces. *CRASH! BANG!*

A wall of a building 40 feet away from them came falling down as a Soviet tank emerges from the rubble. "Panzer! Run Run! Quickly!" as Josef shouted.

They were only a few meters away from the street as they ran toward it. The tank then fired a shell at them, merely missing by a few inches as the wall of a building opposite the street they ran to collapsed.

"Mein gott[3], that was a close one!" Ernest said.

Josef looks at the barricade across the street and said, "We are not out of the mess yet, kid. Do you have a flag? So we can wave at the men in the garrison over there. Quickly before that tank catches up with us!" pointing at the heavily fortified barricade with barbwires and tank traps and a few AT guns and panzers, including the last remaining Tigers used as mobile tank guns.

Josef then said, "We are heading there now. We have to make it there before the Soviets runs over the perimeter!"

Ernest replied, "I think I have the flag sir." As he took out a small folded piece of fabric painted with a familiar rotated swastika within a white circle and a red color representing Nazi Germany.

"Good, now I'll tie it onto my rifle and we will take cover behind buildings and run over to the end of this road to the garrison, verstanden?" "Verstanden!" Ernest replied.

Soon, they are running waving the Nazi flag on the rifle muzzle as they hurried over to the barricade.

The men at the barricade notices the men, "Isn't that the men told to fall back to here to the last barricade? Why is there only 2 of them?" the men said.

Suddenly, the tank that was chasing them came up right behind them as the main gun on the turret can be heard whizzing. "Take cover!" Josef said as the tank fires its round.

They both took cover but the round landed very close to them and they were sent flying to a wall on the side of the street. The soldiers at the garrison noticed the tank and requested permission to fire Pazerschrecks at it from the garrison commander.

The Hauptmann[1] at the garrison told them, "We cannot afford to waste our precious ammunition over mere 2 soldiers who were probably from the garrison that was breached ahead of ours. I heard no one from there made it back here alive."

The captain watches the 2 men are now laying on the ground disoriented by the explosion. Josef came to his senses back first and see Ernest still lying down unable to come to his feet.

"Ahhhh! My ears!" the poor boy screamed "I can't hear anything!"

Josef pulled the boy back up and said, "On your feet Soldier! We are almost there!"

A Sergeant at the garrison shouted at the captain, "Sir, those are our men no matter how much they seem to be goners. We must help them!"

The Captain feeling the loss of his countrymen over a pointless defence that was impossible from the very beginning when the Soviets Broke through the German defence line along the Oder and Neisse River.

Then, the Captain with resolve to save the men ordered them to use the Panzerfausts since there's still adequate number of them for the next assault.

Then a squad three of men from the garrison runs up to a corner of the street and tries to fire their weapon. The Soviet tank sprayed machine gun fire at the men knowing that they have AT weapons.

Josef not wanting anyone else to die because of them, took his rifle and aimed at the tank midst the machinegun firing at the AT squad's direction.

He took one last breath before adrenaline surged through his body, now everything has slowed down he could see the driver of the tank peering through a slit as it moved.

'Aim steady, keep the focus pinned, keep it small. I have to take out the driver at the right moment.' In an attempt to cause the tank to run into a building.

He took his shot and the bullet went right through the tank driver's head instantly killing him and through the gunner's leg. The tank then went out of control and ran into a nearby building.

However, just as Josef shot the driver of the tank, he was caught up in the tank's coaxial machine gun fire aimed at the AT crew and was shot in the chest multiple times. He fell down but still conscious.

Ernest now out of the daze from the explosion see his comrade dying.

"Corporal!" Ernest shouted. Josef shows a grin on his face saying, "That was abit reckless of me. So this is how I end huh? Not much surprise…."

*Bleghhhh!Cough!Cough*

Blood starts spurting uncontrollably out of his mouth. The AT squad took advantage and went around the rear of the tank and shot their panzerfausts. The tank blew up and it was destroyed for good.

Ernst still determined to save his dying comrade, moved him out of the street and dragged him all the way to the barricade, attempting to perform a first aid on him as he took out his bandages.

Josef said in a very scruffled voice, "H-Hey.. kid-d, i-its no u-use do-n't. I've s-seen men, they d-don't get ba-ck fr-om this kind of letha-al woundd." As blood continues to bleed out.

Ernest in a fit of anger said, "SHUT UP! You have to live! Don't die yet, we still need you! Who will be there for us if you aren't here to fight with us together now!?"

Just as Ernest said that, Josef placed his hand on Ernest' head "Y-You will-l fight. You are a soldier of Germany have some p-pride in yourself. You are no longer a boy, you are a man now." Josef said as he chuckled.

"Protect t-the p-people, do not let them fall into the Soviet h-hands. They would commit the same crime on our people as we did to theirs. I-If all else fails, run over to the Western allies side and surrender. Deutschland will still remain your beloved fatherland in their hands."

Ernst now feeling immense sorrow of losing a great comrade, he cries as he is unable to stop the bleeding of his tattered body that has sustained serious injuries in his vital organs.

"I will never forget you. I will live and tell the people your story after this war is over. May I keep your diary, sir." Ernst said.

Josef smiled, "I-It's in m-my lower pocket to my right l-leg-g. Y-You can keep that a-and my medals too. Keep them s-safe."

Ernst mustered up with courage said, "I will promise to keep them safe until the war is over. I will tell the world that you were here with us corporal, sir!"

Josef chuckled in a rather croaking manner, "Good man, uhh….."

From a fading vision Josef see shouting soldiers from the barricade and hears roars of Soviet hordes heading their way as Ernst puts away his diary and the soldiers hurried back to their garrison.

At this point, Josef doesn't care anymore, he's a soul free of danger and combat. 'So this is what death feels like. So cold….like those mountains back at home. It's so cold…'

Door Corridors, Somewhere in another dimension, 2XXX

Josef opens his eyes and sees a bright corridor aligned with hundreds of doors. Soon, realize he is in another dimension now.

"Where am I? Is this heaven? I thought I should have gone to hell."

Then he sees a Caucasian man with glasses sitting at a table reading newspaper smoking cigarettes with an ashtray by the side of the table full of cigarette butts. The man looks at Josef with an expressionless face.

Josef not wanting to feel awkward since it's not his way of dealing with people speaks to the man, "Hello, Mr. Satan or angel Michael whichever you are. I'm here to receive my judgement for afterlife. It's not as if I wanted to smile but there's always a saying in the army that in the face of death you laugh your way to hell in the face of the devil once you die. That way it's merrier. And boy do you love to smoke." Josef lets out a small laugh.

The man sitting at the table puts up a small smile himself before he proceeds to take out a piece of paper which Josef recalls being similar to a military unit assignment paper as the man writes on it.

"What is that paper for?" asked Josef just as a corrugated stone door beside him opened.

"Woah!" exclaimed Josef as he was sucked into what seems to be a dark void.

The Other World, Orte's Southern Territory

The door opened up on the other side in another world and Josef Allerberger came out through the door almost tumbling down, but regained his balance before hitting the ground face first.

As he regained his stance, he almost felt shocked since it's not a flat ground he's on.

Josef landed on a hilltop area of the region where elves lived for thousands of years. "Schisse, I would have dropped down and well….I guess I might not die since this is heaven? No?" as he almost dropped over the hill side with many rough rocks underneath the slope.

"Anyways, where am I now? A land different from that of Earth's? Although it should feel abit more pleasant if this is truly heaven. Maybe I'll try a trick to see if this is heaven at all. The Bible once said that in heaven no pain nor sorrow would come to its inhabitants."

Josef took out his bayonet and attempted to scrape his palms slightly with the edge of the blade.

'Achh! That stings!' 'This is definitely not what the Bible told me. I knew it, religion just messes with the minds of people, to control. A Great garden of Happiness beyond the afterlife, huh? Tsch.' as Josef scoofs.

Then he remembered about his diary, and he opened his left leg pouch and see his diary nowhere. Then he check his shirt pocket and his medal was missing. He smiles.

"At least, Ernst did took my diary. My legacy lives on, on Earth? I guess."

"At least I'm somewhere now. Away from Earth, probably." Josef sighs as the looks over the seemingly uninhabited stretches of land with features he doesn't recognize.

Then, he spots a wagon full of chopped wood pulled by horses, there's something strange about the man driving. He then gets an idea of what he should do next.

"I'm going to have a long day ahead of me." Said Josef as he stood atop the hill. An old legend ends and a new story begins.

References

[1] ## Military jargons and weapons ##

Katyusha – A USSR made rocket artillery first built and fielded by the soviets during World War 2. Officially known as the BM-13 launcher, light BM-8, and heavy BM-31s the Katyushas of World War II, were usually mounted on ordinary trucks. It's got its nickname "Katyusha" from a popular wartime song at the time, written and composed by Mikhail Isakovsky going by the same name "Katyusha".

Kar98 – The standard rifle of Nazi Germany during World War 2. It fires 7.92x57mm Mauser ammunition and has an effective rage of up to 500/1000m (iron sights/telescopic sight). It's essentially a cut-down barrel version of the Gewehr 98 as to avoid the treaty of Versailles. It remained the primary service rifle of Germany until the end of war in 1945.

Stielhandgranate – Standard "stick grenade" of the German military during World War 2. The grenade is considered a "concussion" type grenade since it relies on the explosive force rather than the fragmentation of the grenade, it can be fitted with a fragmentation sleeve though to maximize it's anti-personnel uses. It is one of the most easily recognized military weapons of the 20th century. Its design has been widely copied by other countries, especially the countries controlled by communist states such as, China.

Browning Hi-Power – A single-action, semi-automatic handgun that fires 9mm ammunition. It is based on a design by gun inventor John Browning and completed by another gun inventor named Dieudonné Saive at Fabrique Nationale (FN) of Herstal, Belgium. The Hi-Power is one of the most widely used military pistols in history, issued in armed forces of over 50 countries.

PPSh-41 – Knowns as the "Shpagin machine pistol", is a Soviet sub-machinegun designed by Georgi Shpagin. It fires 7.62x25mm Torkev pistol ammunition Cheap and reliable, it is a very common weapon in the hands of Soviet soldiers and preferred weapon by shock troopers. It was one of the major weapons of the Soviet army during World War 2 and saw extensive combat use during the Korean War.

F1 – A Standard issue fragmentation grenade in Soviet armed forces during World War 2. It is based on the French grenade going by the same name "F1" and contains 60 gram of explosive charge.

Knight's Cross – The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross or simply the Knight's Cross and its variants were the highest awards in the military and paramilitary forces of Nazi Germany during World War 2. The Knight's Cross were awarded to those who show Exceptional Leadership or for an act of extreme battlefield bravery.

Volkkssturm – It was a national militia established by Nazi Germany during the last months of World War 2. It consists of conscripted males ranging from the ages of 16 to 60 years who were not already serving in some military unit as part of a German Home Guard. Members of the Volkkssturm received only basic military training with a brief indoctrination and training on the use of small arms such as Kar98s and Pazerfausts.

Mp 40 – A German made machine pistol that fires 9mm ammunition. It was developed in Nazi Germany and used extensively by the Axis powers during World War 2. It was designed in 1938 by Heinrich Vollmer with inspirations from its predecessors, the Mp 38. It was used externsively by infantry, shock troopers, paratrooper, officers and even some high ranking general as their personal side arm. Its advanced and modern features made it a favourite among soldiers and popular in countries from various parts of the world even after the war. The Allies nickname for it was "The Schmeisser, Burp gun etc."

Hauptmann – German army/air force rank equivalent of Captain in Western Armies.

[2] ## Names of Places ##

Reichstag – The chancellery building of Germany built in 1894 during era of the German Empire. It is a historical government building that built to house the Imperial Diet of the German Empire. It was burnt down in 1933, in a conspiracy by the Nazis to blame the communists of the attack as a plot against the German government. Restoration attempts were made during the 1960s but, it was only fully restored in 1999 which became the modern meeting place for the German government, the Bundestag.

[3] ## Linguistic Translations ##

Verstanden – "Understood" in German

Ihn Deckung – "Take Cover!" in German

Mein gott – "My God." In German

[4] ## Names of Historic People ##

Joseph "Sepp" Allerberger – He was one of the most deadly snipers of the Eastern Front serving under the 144 Regiment, 3rd Mountain Division of the Wehrmacht. He's a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross and the Sniper badge (Gold), only one of the three recipients. Josef Allerberger escaped captivity by the Soviets at the end of the war and went back home to Wals-Siezenhelm, Salzburg, Austria where he became a carpenter after the war. He was best known for his unconventional tactics of using field terrain, most notably when he used a camouflaged umbrella to cover his fore shadow in low terrains. He died in 2010 due to old-age health problems.

In this story, his personality is considered that of a country man who is sociable among many and cracks a few jokes occasionally to calm nerves of those around him, but as a professional soldier, he is calm and collected person, with a mind carrying out orders at a tactical level on the battlefield. Being from a family of carpenters, he is very creative with tools and traps, and can create simple items crafted from wood and stone out.

He does not let emotions get to him whether it is the number of enemies he has killed or settlements pillaged and destroyed, gotten used to such atrocities since he was deployed on the Eastern Front and is always a type to think first before he shoots. Despite being cold hearted towards his enemies, he would never shoot civilians and surrendering soldiers since he does not take any form of pleasure in doing so and does not want to be grouped with the SS soldiers.

Despite being an ordinary men compared to most other Drifters, he has a collection of skills, tactics and experiences possibly far exceeding some of the drifters of military origins. He uses booby traps and distraction to lure enemies. He is also a master of evasion and escape due to his wartime experience as a sniper.