The idea here was to capture supplies -- East German Volkspolizei actually had fairly decent armament as a result of the deals with the West Germans that kept the East German state going with trade deals that essentially made Germany a client of the Warsaw Pact, but free to run itself internally. Most of the European nations had made a deal to stay out of it and let the big boys duke it out, particularly after the Battle of Basra. 

There was maybe a platoon of German troops and they were quickly overrun, not expecting the sudden resistance in a quiet sector -- for about a month after the invasion, Vermont had been the quietest of sectors, though people melted into the hills and were kept on a leash as they joined the Green Mountain Boys by the US Army types running that show.

The idea was to end it quickly, and if it couldn't be ended quickly, fall back. But if things went well, the guerrillas had the chance to grab equipment off the dead and loot the trucks. It was a small convoy, six or so trucks, but these trucks were laden down with useful items -- consumables and fuel for the Germans.

So as soon as the gunfire died down, they had orders -- strip the bodies, grab the supplies that could be carried and, most importantly, blow the rest. The whole thing had gone off, except for the bright yellow cab nearby the trucks; no one had shot at it, but that didn't mean things hadn't gone badly for them. He noted it out of the corner of his eye once he was done stripping a body of useful, military, equipment.

Daniel still had the Enfield, with its handful of rounds that he'd spent very sparingly, but acquired a German kalashnikov and some of the man's web gear and backpack. He'd sort through the loot later, as he mostly pulled off the man's equipment, bloodstains and all, and headed for orders. "Check up on that cab, we can't leave civvies out here when the Soviets come looking."

Dan gave a nod and moved over toward the cab, the rifle held carefully with his finger off the trigger. He waved at the vehicle from an unthreatening distance before closing, "Good morning, folks, I think you're on the wrong highway. You might want to clear out if you can."

He knew he probably had to look like a sight, a guy dressed for deer season in Vermont festooned with magazines and pouches and grenades taken off a freshly-shot East German Vopo, field kit that was probably not as good quality as the stuff the survivalist and army guys had, but would still be useful in the long haul. He was in it until it ended, no doubt about that, and he'd known that when he parted with his parents and Claudette. 

Don't think about that, Danny.

The driver, no other words necessary, tried to start the vehicle but got a dead engine; the culprit was some of the shrapnel that shredded the vehicle from the ambush. That's when Dan realized, these people were stuck.

"I'm looking at engine damage here, buddy, I think we've got a situation..."