‘This is madness, utter madness. It’s not a game. And you are no soldier. You’re a brilliant inspiration and a wonderful organizer, but you’ve barely done any fighting in your life. Let the army boys do their job, John.’
‘But they’re not, are they? You heard Brigadier Chappel this morning. A fine fellow, I have no doubt, but he wouldn’t even consider ordering a counter-attack. He just wants to sit and wait. Well, that’s no good. We need to strike now. I know I’m right.’ He looked at Satanas and Alopex for approval. Satanas tilted his head. I think you are right. ‘We’ll leave through the Canea Gate, head straight down the road and then split up. You two can go south, and I’ll break through to the west.’
‘John, don’t. It’s a needless risk.’
‘Battles aren’t won without taking risks, Alex.’
‘Battles aren’t won taking needless, stupid risks.’
Pendlebury walked over to Vaughan and clasped him by the arms. ‘Alex. We need to do this. My mind is made up.’
10
It was a hot day. So hot, in fact, that the men manning the walls had begun taking off their tin helmets; the steel had become too hot to touch, let alone wear. Better to risk an exposed head than fry one’s brain. A sickly stench had also begun to waft across the walls. Second Lieutenant Guy Liddell knew the smell – it reminded him of one summer when a rotting deer had reeked for days from its death-bed in the woods, a cloying, nauseous stench that seemed to get into one’s hair and clothes. Except, of course, that the smell was no deer, but men who just a day earlier had been living and breathing but who were now dead and, it seemed, abandoned, missed by the burial parties, their bloating corpses left to bake and rot in the May sun.
It could have been me, thought Liddell, as he looked out from the walls towards the endless lush groves, fields and trees, bursting with life and framed by the mountains beyond. A vision of beauty, but to Liddell this place was hell. Homesickness welled within him, his sense of entrapment overwhelming. He was hungry and thirsty, yet that smell made him feel sick, so that the last thing he wanted was food. Images from the fighting the previous night kept filling his mind: limbless men, the sound of bullets whistling over his head, the fear he had felt. Christ, he had even pissed himself – the only consolation had been that, at night, no one had noticed. He had poured water over his crotch and by dawn his shorts had dried, but the thought that he was still walking around in clothes soiled by dried urine disgusted him.
Liddell swallowed hard.
‘Are you all right, sir?’ Sykes asked.
‘Yes, yes, fine, thank you, Sergeant.’ I need some shade. ‘But I’m just going to go down to the, um, street. To get some … water. You carry on, Sergeant.’
Sykes smiled and nodded, and Liddell hurried away, across the gate and into the bastion, its dark coolness instantly refreshing. Back out on the street, he stepped around the corner from the bastion entrance and out under the great arch of the gate. Protected by its shade, he paused, drank from his water bottle, then quickly filled and lit his pipe, the sweet aroma of the tobacco going some way to hide the stench of death. He thought about Tanner who, like Sykes, was now swaggering about in German boots, with a German Schmeisser slung across his back, as though he were some kind of ancient warrior parading his battle prizes. He realized now that he had been wrong to stop him plundering those men the previous afternoon, but it was humiliating to see the pair flaunting their new-found possessions, as though they were deliberately trying to rub his nose in it.
Liddell closed his eyes, leaned back against the stonework, and breathed in the delicious smell of tobacco. He still planned to confront Tanner, but so far there had not been the opportunity, not with the battle the previous night, and this morning he had only ever seen him from afar. On the two occasions he had made towards him, Tanner had somehow disappeared by the time he had got there.
But now there Tanner was, walking towards him from beyond the gate. Liddell’s heart quickened. It was strange: he had been thinking about it and now the perfect opportunity had presented itself.
Tanner saluted lazily as he reached the edge of the archway.
‘I was just getting a moment’s shade,’ said Liddell, then hastily added, ‘And where have you been?’
‘Just to get a look at the lie of the land, sir.’ Tanner, too, had taken off his helmet. Beads of sweat pricked his brow, and dark patches stained his shirt. He began to walk on past, but Liddell stopped him.
‘There’s something I want to say to you.’
Tanner faced him, but at that moment, there was the sound of a vehicle approaching from the town, something so rare on the island that they both immediately turned before Liddell could say any more. They heard the grinding of gears, a burst on the throttle and Pendlebury’s pick-up turned the corner. Tanner stepped to one side, but the truck halted beside him.
‘Afternoon, Tanner,’ said Pendlebury.
‘Off somewhere nice, sir?’ Tanner glanced across at Satanas and Alopex in the front beside him. Sitting in the back were four andartes. Pendlebury was wearing Cretan dress. ‘I hope you’re not intending to drive too far in this, sir. Lots of Jerries up ahead.’
‘We’re heading to the mountains,’ said Pendlebury. ‘I’m afraid I can’t persuade the good brigadier to counter-attack from here.’
‘So, you’re planning to do it yourself?’
‘In a nutshell, yes.’
‘One fight last night was enough for you boys, eh?’ chuckled Alopex.
‘No, no,’ said Tanner, his voice calm. ‘I’m with you. A counter-attack is what we should be doing. Dusk or dawn is the best time, though, I reckon.’
Liddell moved beside him. ‘Can we help you, sir?’ he said.
‘Just what are you proposing to do, sir?’ cut in Tanner.
‘Trying to get away before I’m arrested again,’ said Alopex. He began to laugh.
Pendlebury turned off the ignition. ‘Satanas and Alopex are going to take the car, head south and up to Krousonas, and I’m going to jump out shortly and cut through to the west.’
‘But the Germans are all up ahead, sir. With respect, it’s madness to try and cross their positions.’
‘Tanner,’ snapped Liddell, ‘remember who you’re talking to.’
Pendlebury raised a hand. ‘It’s all right, Lieutenant.’ He turned to Tanner. ‘I’ll be quite all right. I know how to slip through. It’s a question of time, Tanner, and we haven’t got much of it.’
Tanner looked at Alopex and Satanas, who stared back at him, dark eyes unblinking. ‘Sir,’ said Tanner. ‘This is madness. Please, if you must go, do so with Satanas and Alopex. There are few Jerries to the south. You’ll have a chance that way.’
‘No time,’ smiled Pendlebury. ‘We need to attack tonight, while the Huns are still off balance.’
A thought now occurred to Liddell – one that could win him respect and show his authority. ‘Maybe you could take some men and escort him, CSM,’ he suggested.
‘Maybe you could,’ agreed Alopex.
‘And then we all get killed instead of just Captain Pendlebury?’
‘Of course, if you’re scared …’ said Alopex.
Tanner glared at him, but Pendlebury cut in, ‘I don’t need an escort. I’ll be able to slip through on my own. Don’t forget, I know this place a lot better than they do.’
‘Excuse me a moment, sir,’ said Liddell. ‘Let me have a quick word with Tanner.’
‘We need to get going, Lieutenant.’
‘Just a brief moment, sir.’ Moving away from the car, he now spoke to Tanner in a low voice: ‘You were all for going out on a patrol yesterday.’
‘The situation was completely different,’ said Tanner, exasperation in his voice. ‘They’d just landed then, and we could easily work in around the back of them. Patrolling forward when they have outposts trained on us is a completely different matter. And look at him – he’s a bloody archaeologist, not a soldier. Christ, he’s only got one eye, and he�
��s expecting to hoodwink all those para boys, some of the best-trained troops in the whole Jerry army.’
Liddell thought a moment, then said, ‘Look, I think you should know something. I’ve deliberately kept quiet about your past, but I do know what happened.’ He eyed Tanner and immediately saw the flicker of alarm in the CSM’s eyes.
‘What’s that got to do with this?’ Tanner snapped.
‘I’ve suggested we escort Captain Pendlebury. I don’t want you showing me up.’
Tanner stared at him.
‘Is that clear?’
Tanner glared at him a moment longer, then turned back to the car. ‘Sir, give me five minutes, and I’ll get some men together. We’ll come with you. Lieutenant Liddell is right. We can create a diversion.’
Pendlebury glanced at Satanas and Alopex.
‘It is a good idea,’ said Alopex. ‘You should accept the offer.’
Pendlebury stepped out of the car. ‘Very well,’ he said. ‘And thank you.’
As they hurried back from the arch, Tanner clenched his fists, an intense anger welling within him. Rarely had he so wanted to knock a man cold as he did Mr Liddell right now. Perhaps the man was bluffing, but that was hardly the point. He was being blackmailed, and that was unforgivable. And it was crazy to be heading out like this, however much he sympathized with Pendlebury’s reasons. Bloody hell. And who was he going to take? It felt like a suicide mission, yet he knew there was something in Liddell’s suggestion. He reckoned Captain Pendlebury had virtually no chance of getting through on his own, but by creating a diversion, those odds might lengthen a fraction. Would it be worth it? Christ only knew.
‘Sergeant!’ Tanner called, once they were through the arch. ‘Sergeant Sykes!’
Sykes appeared. ‘Yes, sir?’
‘Organize five volunteers and get them down here, iggery!’
‘Volunteers? I don’t like the sound of that.’
‘Just do it, Sergeant,’ barked Tanner.
At the noise, Captain Peploe emerged from the bastion. ‘What’s going on?’ he said, striding briskly towards Tanner and Liddell.
Liddell cleared his throat. ‘Captain Pendlebury is attempting to break through enemy lines, sir, so I suggested Tanner take a patrol with him to try and cause a diversion.’
‘You did what?’ said Peploe, incredulous. ‘But it’s broad daylight. What the hell is he thinking of? What were you thinking of, Mr Liddell?’
‘His mind is made up, sir. It’s the only way he has any chance at all of getting through.’
‘Where is he?’ said Peploe. ‘He’s not taking my men.’
‘Sir,’ said Tanner. ‘Mr Liddell is right. We won’t dissuade him. I know it’s foolhardy but he hasn’t a chance without us. Perhaps if we get close to the Jerry lines and create a diversion, it might distract the enemy while Captain Pendlebury slips through.’
‘Well, I damn well hope you’re intending to go too, Lieutenant,’ snapped Peploe.
Liddell looked taken aback. ‘The CSM has volunteered to lead it, sir.’
‘But it was your idea.’ Tanner could see that Peploe was livid. ‘You lead by example, Lieutenant. You can’t send good men out on a patrol like this and not go too.’
Liddell’s eyes darted from the captain to Tanner. Then he took a deep breath. ‘Yes, sir,’ he said. ‘Of course, sir.’
Sykes now appeared from the bastion with McAllister, Bell, Atkins and Hill, all men from 1 Section. ‘Your volunteers, sir,’ he said.
‘Well, you can bugger off, Sergeant,’ said Tanner. ‘I only need four men now.’
‘But I’d like to come, if it’s all the same to you.’
He glanced at Peploe, who nodded.
‘Jesus,’ muttered Tanner. He sent Hill back onto the walls, then briefly explained their mission. ‘Now, I had a bit of a recce earlier,’ he added, ‘and I think there may be a way through, a little further to the south. There’s a house on the main road that I’m pretty sure is their CP, but we’ve got to get past their pickets first and then get Captain Pendlebury over the river, where I’m pretty sure most of them are lying up. Getting over the river’s going to be the tricky bit, but there’s a lot of those maize fields and, as we now know, the crop’s tall enough to crawl through. Before that there are groves and vineyards and broken ground. If we use it well, with a bit of luck we’ll be all right.’ He paused, patted his webbing, then said, ‘You all got enough ammo?’ They nodded. ‘Good. Leave helmets behind, and anything that might chink or make a noise.’
While the men were sorting out their gear, Peploe took Tanner aside. ‘I’m sorry, Jack. This is a bloody awful mission.’
‘It’ll be all right, sir.’
Peploe glanced at Liddell, shook his head, then led Tanner back to the truck waiting in the shade of the arch of the Canea Gate.
‘Do you really need to do this, Pendlebury?’ he asked.
‘Yes, I’m rather afraid I do,’ Pendlebury replied. ‘It would have been better if Brigade made a big push tonight, but unfortunately the brigadier was having none of it.’ He smiled. ‘But when it’s all over, I’ll stand by my promise, Peploe. I’ll show you round as many of the sites as you care to see. And they’re stunning. You won’t be disappointed.’
‘Thank you.’
‘It’s worth fighting for, this island – for its people, for its beauty and for its antiquity. The thought of the Nazis crawling all over Knossos or Karfi is repellent. We can’t let them get their grubby little hands on them.’ He adjusted his eyepatch. ‘All those years I spent digging up the past, studying and learning about the lives of those ancient warriors and now I’ve become a warrior myself.’ He chuckled. ‘I never thought I had it in me. To be honest, it’s all been rather instructive. I think I understand them better now.’
Pendlebury agreed to leave Satanas and Alopex at the gate, and let them continue on their own. Tanner watched the two Cretan kapitans embrace their English friend with an affection that was clearly heartfelt.
‘And you,’ said Alopex, pointing a finger at Tanner’s chest. ‘Don’t get yourself killed. That is my honour, OK?’
Tanner had a mind to knock him down there and then; he was not in a good mood. Instead, he snarled, ‘One more jibe out of you, and I’ll not wait for this to be over. I’ll take this bunduck here and shove it up your bastard Cretan arse.’
Alopex made to take a swing, but it was Satanas who pulled him back. They spoke quickly and angrily, then got into the pick-up and drove off.
‘And you like these people, sir?’ Tanner said to Pendlebury, as they watched the car head away, a cloud of dust following in its wake.
‘I do, yes.’ He laughed. ‘They’re kind, fun-loving people, fiercely loyal, but proud. You have to understand, Tanner, that there is a strict hierarchy system in Crete. It’s quite feudal, really. Each village or town has its one family with the chief, the kapitan. Other families must accept that heredity. Satanas is the kapitan of Krousonas, Alopex of Sarhos. Krousonas is a larger, more important place than Sarhos and that is reflected in Satanas’s status. These men expect respect and loyalty – it is a code they have grown up with since birth. If they are insulted they have an obligation to see that slight avenged. You insulted Alopex, so he has to avenge it. What would his men think of him if he did not? His honour would be slighted again. And I’m afraid that means a blood feud.’
‘But he insulted me first. I wasn’t looking to pick a fight.’
‘That’s irrelevant to him. This is his country and he is a kapitan. He feels he can say anything to you. Clearly, he chose the wrong man to insult, because now you both find yourselves in a situation where neither of you can back down. Don’t get me wrong, I understand it from your point of view. In some ways you’re like a kapitan in your company – you don’t want to lose any face in front of your men.’
‘A man’s pride can get him into trouble, sir, but respect is important. Respect and honour. These are things I’ve also been taught to value. I’ll fight
him if I have to, but I’m not backing down. I’m damned if I’ll ever apologize to him.’
‘Then maybe you two are more alike than you know. But I suspect he already does respect you.’
‘He did fight well last night, I’ll give him that.’
‘And it sounds as though you have a grudging respect for him too.’
Tanner grinned. ‘We should concentrate on the job in hand now, sir, don’t you think?’
‘Quite so, CSM, quite so.’
They had been weaving through the narrow alleys of the town beyond the walls but were now approaching the town’s edge. The stench from the bodies lying in what had become no man’s land was now even stronger. The heat had seen to that. Somewhere to the south, shots rang out.
‘They’ve been spotted,’ said Pendlebury. He looked worried for a moment, then said, ‘Oh, I’m sure they’ll get through.’ There were a few more shots, but a small cloud of dust could be seen rising just above the greenery and it appeared to be still moving southwards. Tanner, too, felt sure they had got through and, not for the first time, wished Pendlebury had gone with them. It was amazing how obtuse really clever people could be.
They paused by a low, flat-roofed building, where open country spread away from them on the far side. The sun was still high. Sweat covered their faces, and flies buzzed in front of them. On the wall above a scrawny grey cat looked down and mewed.
As they crouched in a group, Liddell said, ‘I think we should all move out there together.’
‘No, sir,’ said Tanner, ‘Captain Pendlebury should move alone on our left, away from where most of the Jerries are.’ He turned to Pendlebury. ‘If that’s all right with you, sir? About fifty or sixty yards. Close enough so we can see you.’
‘Yes, I think you’re right,’ said Pendlebury.
‘And we don’t cause a diversion unless we have to.’ Tanner took out his sword bayonet and drew a rough map in the dirt. ‘Here’s their CP,’ he said, making an X beside a line that was the main road.
‘And here’s the river. Three hundred yards or so to the south-west, it meanders back on itself. We’ll cover his flank here, where the bend in the river juts out, so that he can cross it further back. There’s a little cliff in the river on the bend and maize fields the other side, so as long as there aren’t lots of Jerry there, you should be all right, sir.’
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