Chapter 28 gardener's story

"Did you fight in World War II?" asked the gardener. "Of course. U.S. Navy. Pacific theater." "Not here in Italy?" "No. But my brother is here. He fought with him." The gardener nodded, as if recalling the past: "Throughout 1944, the Allied forces fought and advanced on the Italian peninsula, from Sicily northward to the Austrian border. That year, the German army fought and retreated, fighting It was a long retreat. At first they were allies of Italy, but after Italy surrendered, they became occupying forces." "Here in Tuscany the fighting was fierce. The Field Marshal commanded the Germans. Facing him were the Americans under Admiral Clarke, the British under his command, and the Free French under his command. By early June, The western front has reached Umbria to the north and Tuscany to the south."

"In the south here, the terrain is rugged, the mountains are continuous, the mountains are steep and steep, and there are hundreds of streams in the valley. The road winding up the mountain is the only way for vehicles. There were machine guns on the hillsides firing down the road. The scouts hiding on the hills could direct the artillerymen behind them to drop the shells at the enemy with unerring accuracy. Both sides suffered heavy casualties." "Siena became a busy medical center. The German army's medical corps built several field hospitals here, and they were often full. Later, when they couldn't accommodate them, several monasteries were requisitioned. The front of the Allied troops was still Pushing forward, Field Marshal Kesselring gave the order to send all the lightly wounded to the north. German ambulance convoys drove to the north day and night, but some wounded were unable to move and had to stay. Many soldiers died of their wounds and were buried In the suburbs, the pressure of tense beds was temporarily relieved. But in late June, the battle became unprecedentedly fierce and was drawing to a close. In more than ten days in late June, a young German surgeon who had just graduated from medical school came to Arrived here. He has no clinical experience and can only watch from the sidelines, learning as he goes. The time to sleep is very short, and the supply is severely short."

There was a cheer in the summer sky, and out of sight the last part of the procession entered the field square.Teams from each parish circled around a wide sandy track paved with cobblestones.A medieval chariot entered the arena, and the chariot pulled by oxen carried a pennant symbolizing the grand ceremony and horse racing festival, and there was a louder cheer from the crowd. "The German garrison here in Siena is the Fourteenth Army, and the commander is. Don't read the newspapers about them, because after months of fighting, many troops are exhausted and understrength. Fourteenth Army The main detachment was the 1st Airborne Corps, and Schramm deployed all the troops and equipment he got from the sea into the mountains south of Siena. This was Admiral Limmerson's right wing. On the left Further inland, the exhausted 90th Panzergrenadier Division of the German Army managed to hold off General Harmon's 1st Panzer Division."

"In the center of Admiral Mark Clark's U.S. Fifth Army, facing the city of Siena, was Admiral Juin's Free French Forces, flanked by his own 3rd Algerian and 2nd Moroccan Infantry Divisions. During the five days of fierce fighting from June 21st to 26th, these were the Allied troops held back by the Germans. Then the American tank troops inserted into the German armored positions, and Siena was attacked from two sides, first from the east. American troops on the flank, followed by French troops on the west." "The retreating German companies came back with their wounded, grenadiers, panzers, air field divisions, and paratroopers. On June 29, the last heavy fighting took place south of the city before the Allies The army broke through the lines."

"The fighting was fierce and brutal, and eventually turned into hand-to-hand combat. German stretchers entered under cover of night and did their best to treat hundreds of wounded, both German and Confederate troops, and finally brought them back to Tin Jena. Seeing the enemy on both sides, and in Siena, the entire German 1st Airborne Corps was in danger of being surrounded, Admiral Liemerson asked Field Marshal Kesselring to agree to level his lines. His request was granted , so the paratroopers withdrew into the city. Siena was full of soldiers. The number of wounded was so great that even the courtyard under the walls of the old convent was requisitioned as a temporary shelter and a field hospital for the last About a hundred wounded from the German and Allied armies arrived. Newly arrived young surgeons were assigned to take charge of the medical work here. It was June 30, 1944."

"Here?" the American asked. "This used to be a field hospital?" "yes." "But there is no equipment, no water, no electricity. The conditions must be very difficult." "It was very difficult." "I was returning home on a transport ship. We have a large nursing home for the wounded." "You're lucky. Here the wounded are lying where the stretcher men put them down. Americans, Algerians, Moroccans, British, French, and over a hundred Germans who were seriously wounded. They were literally lying Waiting here to die. In the end, the total number of wounded reached two hundred and twenty."

"Where's the young surgeon?" The man shrugged. "Oh, he set to work, and did his best. The superior medic sent three orderlies to assist him. They went to the nearby houses to find mattresses, straw mats, and anything to lie on. They also went around stealing sheets. and blankets. Sheets are used as bandages. There are no rivers running through the city of Siena, but many centuries ago, Sienese people have built an intricate network of underground water supply channels to bring water from the mountain streams to the city. Underneath the street so that people could draw water from the wells. Orders installed buckets, chains and pulleys on the nearest well and brought the water into the yard."

"A huge kitchen table, brought from a neighboring house, was placed here, among the rosebushes in the middle of the courtyard, as an operating table. Medicines were scarce, and hygiene was still less particular. All afternoon and dusk he kept He went all out for the operation. When night fell, he went to the local military hospital to beg for a kerosene lamp. Under the light of the kerosene lamp, he continued to operate. But it was of no avail, he knew that the wounded would die." “Many of the wounded were seriously wounded and unconscious. He had run out of painkillers. Some were hit by mines just a few steps away from their comrades, others had shrapnel from shells or grenades embedded in their bodies, and some A man's arm or leg was torn apart by shells. Soon after dark, the girl came."

"What girl?" "Just a local girl, an Italian girl, he guessed. She was young, maybe in her early twenties, and she looked odd. He saw her staring at him. He nodded, and the girl smiled, and he went on with the operation." .” "Why do you say it looks strange?" "Oval face, pale complexion, looks quite calm. She has short hair, but not the bob hairstyle that was popular at the time, but a curly curly hairstyle. Quite elegant, not a very frivolous hairstyle. She wears a light Gray cotton shirt." "She came to help?" "No, she went away. She walked quietly among the soldiers. He saw her take a cloth, dip it in a bucket of water, and go to wipe their foreheads. One by one, the wounded were put there. An operating table, he's still working. Even though he knows he's wasting his time, he's still working. He's only twenty-four, just a grown man, and he's taking on a grown man's job. He's exhausted, exhausted, Try not to make mistakes. The bone saw is used to amputate after being sterilized, and the household cotton thread is coated with beeswax to start stitching the wounded. The morphine is running out and has to be rationed. The wounded screamed in pain, ah, they screamed how……"

The American stared at him intently: "My God," he said softly, "you're the surgeon. You're not Italian. You're the German surgeon." The man nodded slowly: "Yes, I am that surgeon." "Honey, my ankle feels better now. Maybe we'll see the end of the show." "Be quiet, honey. Just a few minutes. What happened?" In the Field Square, the procession left the arena, and the contestants took their places facing the palace.Only one drummer and one flag bearer from each parish remained on the sand track.Their task is to demonstrate their respective skills with flags and formations, weaving complex patterns to the beat of drums, and paying a final salute to the crowd before the game begins, which is also the way to win the silver chalice for their respective parishes. last chance.

---

Notes: