The Red Cross Barge

In a warm French inn‑parlour at dusk, a weary Red Cross surgeon named Max Keller sits apart from a boisterous circle of young Uhlan officers. The men spread a large, coloured map over the remnants of a celebratory dinner, their laughter echoing against the courtyard’s chestnut trees. Keller, still smouldering his pipe, watches their eager plans to reach Paris, feeling the weight of recent battles and the relentless grind of field hospitals that have already scarred his mind.

The contrast between the officers’ carefree bravado and Keller’s stark recollections of Charleroi creates a quiet tension that drives the narrative forward. As the group prepares to board a Red Cross barge for the next stretch of the war, the story delves into the complexities of duty, friendship, and the unseen costs of conflict. Listeners will be drawn into the fragile camaraderie and the moral choices that begin to surface as the journey unfolds.