The Last Lady from Hell (27 page)

Two sturdy ground crew members had grabbed a large red fire bottle on wheels from its position by the tower and were pulling it at a trot in the direction of the wrecked airplane. With the dust cloud still hanging in the air, Gunther, the fire team, the doctor in his sidecar and the ambulance arrived upon the scene.

No fire–that was critical–but there was smoke and where there’s smoke, time is of the essence. The fire crew blew the CO2 fire bottle off at the hot engine and areas of potential fire. It trumpeted out a howl and engulfed the area in a cool fog. Another ground crew member cut Zieger’s safety belt off and began to drag the injured pilot clear of danger. He then attended to the gunner bomber, but it was too late for him.

The doctor with his black bag of medical tools and supplies barely waited for the ground crew to get out of his way. He knew right away that there had already been massive blood loss and it was imperative that he stop it from continuing.

He ripped open the pilot’s blood soaked uniform shirt and began to clean the area with alcohol, causing Zieger to bellow with pain. The doctor ordered the assisting medic to administer morphine, but the semiconscious Zieger held up his hand and tried to speak.

Nothing that he said made sense. The doctor sternly nodded at the medic to proceed. As the medic was about to inject the morphine, Zieger’s bloody hand grabbed his wrist in a viselike hold. With
his other hand he grabbed the doctor’s white coat by the lapel and pulled him close to his pale face with remarkable strength.

“Massive troop buildup, tens of thousands, all sectors...artillery... hundreds of big guns... pass information on to command....”

Both the doctor and the medic were stunned by Zieger’s strength and impressed by his sense of duty in insisting the information be passed on even before they tried to save him. The doctor looked up at Gunther and orderd him to get the information to command immediately.

Gunther tagged the motorcycle driver, and the two sped off to the communications officer shed. As they left, Zieger loosened his grip on both the doctor and the medic and passed into unconsciousness.

German command acted swiftly on the information and began preparing for what would become one of the major offensives of the war.

Aid station on the Yser Canal

The Sunbeam ambulance that carried Dan Mckee to The 5
^th
Canadian Stationary Hospital
.

The brave men of the 36
^th
Ulster

Ziegers’ Albatros CV

After the crash

The carnage of trench warfare

The infamous Minnie trench mortar

HMS Olympic in dazzle paint