Madeleine had Claude halfway up the slope when there was the sound of shots behind them. Tony turned to see a crowd of Germans running towards them, too many to count. Raising his gun, Tony shouted his instructions.
"Charles! Help Madeleine to get Claude up the embankment. We'll cover you!"
Jean-Paul and Tony opened fire on the advancing Germans, felling a number of them before replacing the magazines in their guns. Behind them, Charles helped Claude to stumble up the embankment, blood pouring from the wound in his shoulder, while Madeleine ran on ahead. She breasted the slope at a run and turned, flinging herself to the ground and bringing her Sten gun to bear on the Germans advancing towards Jean-Paul and Tony. They were retreating slowly up the embankment, firing as they made their way backwards up the slope. Claude and Charles slid over the lip of ground which sheltered Madeleine as she began to fire on the men below her. At the sound of her gun, Tony and Jean-Paul turned their backs on the Germans. They ran up to join the remainder of the group. Tony reached them first and thrust his gun into Charles' eager hands.
"Use this.” He slipped his pack from his shoulders and began rummaging in it as Jean-Paul joined them. The three Sten guns fired down on the advancing Germans, a number of whom fell. But there were still about a dozen approaching.
Tony carefully lifted a gammon grenade from his pack. The black skirt below the bakelite top was distended by a kilogram of plastic explosive. Tony pushed in the extra-sensitive fuse. The grenade was armed when he threw it down towards the advancing Germans and exploded on impact. The effect was devastating. Four of the enemy fell unmoving to the ground while five others screamed and writhed in agony. The rest of the sentries looked up at the top of the embankment where the Sten guns were firing again, then retreated towards the cover of the stationary trains.
"Quick, before they regroup. Charles and Madeleine, get home quickly. We'll meet as planned next week. Leave Claude to me and Jean-Paul."
“Right, Albert.”
The two young French patriots made their way towards their homes as Tony knelt beside Claude.
"How are you?"
"I’ve been hit in the shoulder but I can still run."
"Good." Tony helped the older man to his feet. "Help me, Jean-Paul. We'll get him back to his garage, then decide what to do."
. The two men supported their wounded comrade though the streets towards his garage. It was not far, but the journey seemed to take forever. Claude stumbled along, pain racking his body and his vision blurring, supported on either side by his comrades who were all too conscious of the trail of blood they were leaving behind them, but aware that the time it would take to stop and dress Claude’s wounds would probably cost them all their lives. At last they reached the garage and slipped inside the double doors. Claude sank gratefully to the floor, only semi-conscious, while Tony fumbled for the light switch. The bulb sprang to life at his touch, to reveal a blood stained Claude smiling weakly at him.
“Sorry, Albert. This makes things difficult, doesn’t it?"
Tony smiled, exuding a calmness and confidence which he did not really feel. "Don't worry Claude, everything is going to be all right." He carefully removed the bloodstained jacket and opened the shirt as he spoke while Jean-Paul fetched a first aid box from the work bench. Tony frowned as he set to work bandaging the wound. "I don't think it's too serious, Claude, the bullet entered from the back and exited at the front. But anyone can see this is a bullet wound so we can't leave you here for the Germans to find, especially with a trail of blood leading straight to your door."
There was the sound of explosions in the distance. The charges they had laid were beginning to go off, and the Germans would be more eager than ever to find them now. Claude grimaced as Tony tied the last knot in the bandages.
"Albert, you and Jean-Paul must get away. I’ll be all right."
His two companions shook their heads in unison. "No Claude, we're in this together." Jean-Paul helped his compatriot to his feet. "Get into this car. I'll drive you to a safe place where we can get a doctor to you."
Tony knew he was thinking of the hut down near the beach, where he had hidden out after the accident on the cliffs. He nodded approval.
“Yes, Claude. You'll be safe there." He switched off the light and opened the double doors. The sound of running feet on the street greeted him, and he signalled for Jean-Paul to hurry. As the engine of the car roared into life the first of the Germans came into view. Tony opened fire on them, hitting no one but causing them to duck back round the corner in surprise. The black car drove slowly past Tony, who leapt inside, letting off another burst of machine-gun fire for good measure. Jean-Paul gunned the engine and the car roared off down the road and round the first corner, trying to escape the fire from the guns of the soldiers who were re-emerging into the street.
More explosions could be heard behind them and Jean-Paul increased speed. Claude gritted his teeth at every jolt. They had travelled for almost a mile when they sighted their first patrol. Tony opened fire on them without warning and saw one of the soldiers fall to the ground as they flashed past. The second soldier opened fire on the rear of the car and they could hear sound of bullets thudding into the body work.
The tyres of the car screeched as Jean-Paul threw the vehicle round the next corner and onto the main road. With a muttered curse he saw that the road had been blocked on the edge of the city, at the very point where he believed himself safe from pursuers. With a grim look, he pushed the accelerator all the way to the floor. The engine roared as the car approached the wooden barrier. German soldiers began to fire at them and the windscreen shattered as Tony leant out of the side window to return fire. Bullets flew thick and fast, but Jean-Paul ignored them, his mind focussed on the barrier ahead. They hit it at top speed. Claude was thrown from the back seat, a cry of agony escaping his tight-pressed lips. The sound of tearing metal and splintering wood rent the air, but then they were through. The Germans behind them fired wildly but did not have vehicles to pursue the fleeing saboteurs.
Tony smiled grimly as he laid aside his gun and helped Claude back up onto the seat.
"Well. It looks like we've made it. But I think I owe you a new car!"
Claude forced a smile, more of a grimace really, at Jean-Paul’s voice.
"Don’t worry, my friend. I won’t hold you to that!"
Tony looked back out of the shattered rear window.
"No pursuit yet, Jean-Paul, but they'll be after us soon. Get us to the path leading to the hut as quickly as you can. I'll help Claude to walk down there while you drive on until you’re at least five miles past the doctor’s village. Then dump the car somewhere. Make your way back to the doctor’s, pick him up and bring him to the hut when you feel it's safe. Claude should be all right until then."
"All right, Albert." Jean-Paul nodded as he spoke. "You stay with Claude. Anyone moving around will be questioned. Don't worry if I can't get back to you until later tomorrow. I don't want to risk being followed."
"I trust your judgment."
They continued their journey in silence, until the pathway leading down into the woods came into view. Jean-Paul stopped on the road, not pulling onto the small track which led down to the fishing hut for fear that the Germans might notice the tyre tracks and decide to search the apparently deserted area. Tony helped Claude out of the car, checking that no blood was seeping through the bandages to leave a trail which might be followed, then he began to help his friend down the overgrown pathway. Claude stumbled, suffering from loss of blood and shock. Tony heard the sound of the car fading into the distance, and he wondered if he would be able to get the Frenchman down to the hut alone. Patiently he coaxed the injured man along. Tony hardly noticed his incoherent mumbling as he struggled onwards.
They were about half-way to the hut when the roar of a motorbike engine intruded into the silence, closely followed by the sound of a number of trucks. Tony listened anxiously as the vehicles approached the entrance to the path, then
sighed with relief as they roared past. It was now up to Jean-Paul to shake them off and get to Leclerc for help.
The two men stumbled on, the elder supported by the younger. Tony heaved a sigh of relief as the solid bulk of the fishing hut finally hove into view. He opened the door and helped the semi-conscious man onto the bed, then closed the door and lit the lamp. As he looked round the single room, he experienced a strange mixture of emotions. The last time he had seen this hut with its simple wooden bed, table and single chair, he had been the injured one, receiving attention from Doctor Leclerc and waiting for a submarine home. It seemed strange now to have the roles reversed. He gazed down at Claude. The man’s face was pale and drawn and he had fallen asleep At least Tony hoped he was asleep and not unconscious. The hastily bandaged shoulder had begun to bleed again, the dark red stain spreading on the blue shirt. Tony rummaged around and found some of the bandages which had been left behind after his sojourn in the hut and used them to rebind the shoulder as best he could. Placing a blanket over the Frenchman, he picked up the bucket from behind the door and went outside to fill it from the stream. On his return he laid a fire in the hearth and lit it. Once the flames were established, he put some of the water in a pot and set it to heat. He checked on Claude again, then settled himself in the chair by the table and fell asleep.
It was almost dawn when Jean-Paul returned with Leclerc. The doctor smiled at Tony.
“Well, Albert. I hadn’t expected to see you here again. I’m glad to see you looking so well."
Tony shook the doctor’s hand. "It's all thanks to you. I would have died if it hadn’t been for you."
Leclerc shrugged. "All part of the job. Now, I had better attend to my new patient." He made his way over to the bed and examined Claude’s shoulder. "The bullet passed straight through. I’m afraid it took a piece out of the bone on the way. I’ll bandage it. It should heal well enough, but he will always find that shoulder stiff."
"He's going to be all right, then?"
Leclerc nodded at Jean-Paul, who was busy stowing the packs and Sten guns he had carried with him since abandoning the car. "Yes, but it’s obviously a bullet wound. He can’t go back to his home."
Tony nodded. "We know. But where can he go? Where can we hide him for the rest of the war?"
Leclerc shrugged in reply, but Jean-Paul smiled broadly.
"I can help you there. Claude has a sister living in a small village some thirty miles south of here. We can hide Claude in this hut until the hue and cry about our attack on the railway yard has died down, then we can move him down to his sisters."
"What will he do there?"
Jean-Paul had a ready answer for Tony’s question "I think his brother-in-law owns a farm, so he can help there. His days of working with the Resistance are over."
Tony nodded. "He’s done well. Even if he does no more in this war, his contribution will be remembered." He turned to his two companions. "I'll stay with Claude while you two get back home. You come back and take over from me later, Jean-Paul, and don't forget to bring some food!"
Jean-Paul arrived in the early evening with a young companion. Tony smiled.
"Theresa! Don't tell me you are going to play nurse again?"
The young girl grinned. ”Yes, Albert. When we heard about the attack on the rail yard and Papa came home without you, I knew it must have been your work. For a moment I was afraid that you might have been hurt, but Papa said it was Monsieur Claude. I want to help if you will let me. See.” She held up a bag. "I’ve brought plenty of food. I’ll try to look after Monsieur Claude as though I were a proper nurse."
"Well, if you nurse him as well as you did me, we have nothing to worry about."
Theresa beamed at the compliment, and Tony smiled.
"I’m proud of you, Theresa." The girl turned to her father as he spoke. "But please be careful. If you hear anyone moving about in the woods, get out of here and hide."
"What about Monsieur Claude?"
"If he can’t walk, you will have to leave him here."
"But Papa!"
"But nothing, little one. We don’t want to lose Claude. But if the Germans come, it’s better to lose one than two. How do you think your mother and I would feel if you were captured?"
Theresa nodded. "I understand, Papa. I won’t take any risks."
"Good. Now, Albert," he turned to Tony as he spoke, "we’d better get back. I’ll come daily to check on Theresa and Claude. It would be better for you if you stay out of sight."
Tony nodded. "Right." He leant over and kissed Theresa on the forehead. ”Take care, little lady. France will never be defeated while she has children like you."
With that the two men turned and left the hut, leaving Claude to the tender ministrations of his nurse.
91
Major Steinhauser glared at his sergeant on the other side of the desk.
“Well, Karl. What have you got to say about all this?"
Dresner stood to attention, recognising his superior’s mood. He was well aware that their usual informal relationship was suspended for the time being.
“Well, sir, after the attack on the docks, the number of sentries at important sites was increased."
"I know, but that didn’t stop the saboteurs, did it!"
"It did slow them down, sir. We think they were spotted before they had planted all of their explosives, so the damage could have been worse."
"There should have been no damage at all!" Steinhauser slammed his fist down on the desk in anger, then sat back in his chair in exasperation. “Sorry, Karl. I shouldn’t be taking it out on you. It wasn’t your fault."
Karl Dresner relaxed noticeably. "I’ve spoken to the sergeant who was in charge last night. He says they wounded at least one of the saboteurs, then trailed him back to his home." Steinhauser raised his eyebrows in surprise, glad for some good news, but his feeling of elation was soon deflated. "We assume he is the garage owner Claude Corver, for that’s where they followed him and at least one other man. They broke away by car and escaped."
"Damn! Can't these regular soldiers do anything right?" Steinhauser showed the usual contempt of an SS officer for the Wermacht soldiers who made up the majority of the German army. "Did they lose anyone?"
Dresner nodded. "Yes. Six dead, ten hospitalised and four more with minor wounds."
"What!" Steinhauser leapt to his feet. "We lost that many, while they only had one wounded?" He walked over to the window and stood for a moment in silent contemplation, hands clasped behind his back. His mind was working furiously as he gazed down at the drab people pursuing their ordinary lives on the streets below. At last he turned back to his subordinate.
"Karl, I’m assuming that the same group of people made both the attack on the docks and the one on the rail yard. What do you think?"
"I would have to agree, sir. Both attacks were extremely well organised."
“Yes, too well organised and too well armed for it to be a group of locals working alone. I think we had better start thinking along the lines of a British agent working somewhere in the Saint Nazaire area, supplying arms and training to the local Resistance. I want you to increase radio monitoring. He must have some contact with England. Also make more spot checks on the civilians. We might be lucky and catch someone with forged papers."
"What about reprisals for last night?"
"I want the family of Corver questioned to find out if they know anything. And it wouldn’t hurt if a few people were roughed up a bit on the streets. That might bring an informer out into the open." He frowned across at Dresner. “I want this group found, Karl. Particularly the leader."
“Yes, sir. I’ll get on with it right away."
The sergeant saluted and left the room.
The next few days in Saint Nazaire were difficult for everyone. The Germans were angry and frustrated about the attack on the rail yard, and vented their feelings on the civilians. Beatings were common for minor infringements of German laws, sometimes for no infringe
ments at all. No-one dared intervene for fear of disappearing into the prison cells, which already housed a number of people taken for questioning about the attacks. Members of the Corver family were prominent among them.
Dresner took charge of the interrogations, starting with Claude’s mother and working through his brothers, nephews and nieces. No-one said anything. Despite the beatings, the lack of sleep, the cold, the hunger, the rapes, everyone denied knowledge of Claude’s activities, which was true for none of them had known that he was working for the Resistance. Now that they did know however, and were aware he was wounded, a number guessed where he might go to hide out, but his sister’s name was never mentioned. Dresner had to report to Steinhauser that the trail to the Resistance had gone cold.
During the time of reprisals, work to repair the rail yard continued. The damaged tracks were removed and replacements laid within two days, but the repairs to the rolling stock were going to take much longer. Tony had not managed to plant charges on all the engines, so there were still two running, but the others would be off the rails until new boilers could be brought in. The carriages for the passenger transport had not been damaged, but the supply trucks for the army had all had their axles broken. Steinhauser had a number of others brought in from nearby towns, but there were not enough, and the transportation of supplies to Saint Nazaire was severely disrupted.
Tony was pleased with the success of the raid, but the beatings and imprisonments weighed heavily on his conscience. During the excitement of the planning and execution of a raid, its repercussions were pushed from his mind, but afterwards there was always the guilt and wondering if, in the end, it was all worth the suffering. This time Tony was also worried about Claude. His wound was healing well, but Tony wanted him out of the area as soon as possible and did not know how that could be accomplished. In the end it was young Theresa who came up with the only viable plan to get Claude to his sister’s without drawing too much attention to the fact that he was wounded.
Heronfield Page 48