‘How can you do that if he does not know we are meeting each other?’
‘I will tell him I have obtained the information from our agents in Belgrade.’ He gave a brief smile. ‘As I have, have I not?’
The two men glared at each other, then Wassermann said, ‘I will tell you what dispositions your general will need to make. It is our intention to liquidate the Partisans. We intend to attack and recapture Uzice. Will they attempt to defend the town?’
‘I cannot say. Would you like the general to command them to evacuate it?’
‘Would they take any notice of his command?’
‘Probably not. They have invited us to support them.’
‘Well, make them think that you will, without actually giving them orders either to stand or to flee. As you say, they are unlikely to obey your orders anyway. Now, if they stand, we shall blast them out of existence. If they evacuate the town, they must be stopped from escaping into the mountains. This will be your business.’
Matovic gulped.
‘Stragglers can be arrested and turned over to my people. Large bodies must be checked and held while you report their position and enable my people to come up.’
‘But … that will be open civil war.’
‘Did your general not forbid the Partisans to occupy Uzice in the first place?’
‘Yes, he did.’
‘But they went ahead anyway. That was in fact an act of mutiny, in defiance of his orders. Their rash action has brought, or is going to bring, great hardship on his own people. He is entitled to take action against them.’
‘But not to hand them over to you, Herr Major.’
‘What happens to them after you arrest them is of no consequence, and in any event can be explained. So, you arrest and disarm, say, three hundred men retreating from Uzice. What to do with them would be a problem, would you not agree? While it is still under consideration, you are informed of the approach of a German unit. It will then be your duty to abandon your prisoners, making sure they have no weapons, and escape with your own people. This is standard military procedure.’
‘I do not think this Curtis will approve.’
‘Who is in command, General Mihailovic or Major Curtis? Anyway, you can always dispose of him. He could always stop a stray bullet.’
‘That would make London suspicious.’
‘Well, handle it your own way. Just do it. There is one more thing. Should your people capture Tito or his chief aides – I am thinking principally of the Englishman, Davis, or the Frenchwoman, Fouquet – we wish them handed over to us, alive. You know these people?’
‘I was there when they first joined our forces.’ Matovic gave another smile, this one sinister. ‘They refused to accept General Mihailovic’s orders. He had them locked up, but they broke out. I tried to stop them, but they hit me on the head. I would very much like to capture them. Especially that woman. She is very beautiful.’
Wassermann snorted. ‘Well, Captain Matovic, you will have to restrain yourself. We want them alive and unharmed. Remember that.’
‘If my people capture either Davis or Fouquet they will wish to collect this reward you are offering.’
‘They will receive it. But we want the principals. Remember, alive. And preferably unhurt.’
‘I will remember. When is the attack to take place?’
‘There is no need for you to know that. Just keep your men on alert, and when the shooting starts, cover all the escape routes from the town. Do not fail me in this, Captain Matovic. You know the penalty I will exact if you do.’
Matovic looked as if he would have said something more, but changed his mind and rejoined his bodyguard, who had been waiting just out of earshot. Together they faded into the darkness.
‘Can we trust him?’ Ulrich asked.
‘As long as his parents are living in Belgrade, yes,’ Wassermann said.
‘And do you think he will be able to persuade Mihailovic to cooperate?’
‘I think there is every chance. Mihailovic is desperate to regain control of the movement, and to do that he must get rid of this fellow Tito, so I imagine he will play along with us. I see a great victory looming, Ulrich. The end of this Tito.’
‘And the capture of Davis and Fouquet.’
‘Oh, indeed,’ Wassermann agreed. ‘Do you know, I sometimes think that is what I want more than anything else.’
After having let them escape in the first place, Ulrich thought, all in pursuit of your tortuous ambitions. But he kept his thoughts to himself.
‘What have you got for me?’ Tito asked.
Curtis looked apprehensive. ‘General Mihailovic has asked me to tell you that it must be your decision as to whether or not you defend Uzice. Regretfully, he is not in a position to render you any positive assistance at this time.’ Tito glanced at Tony, who was standing beside his desk. Tony shrugged. ‘However,’ Curtis went on, ‘General Mihailovic told me to inform you that, should you determine to retreat, or should the anticipated battle go against you and force you to pull out, if you make your withdrawal to the mountains to the north-west, he and his people will render you all the assistance in their power.’
‘That is very reassuring,’ Tito said. ‘Thank you, Major. And thank General Mihailovic for me.’
Curtis hesitated. ‘What reply do I take to General Mihailovic?’
‘That I have not yet finalised my plans. These will depend on how and when and in what strength the Germans move. He will know of them in good time.’
Curtis looked at Tony, but received no encouragement there. ‘Very good, sir. I should tell you that we have information that the German corps has crossed the frontier, and will be in Belgrade tomorrow. We anticipate that they will commence the operation as soon as their people have regrouped and a plan of attack has been formulated.’
‘That is exactly in line with our own appreciation of the situation. Again, thank you.’
Another hesitation, then Curtis saluted, and left the room.
‘Well,’ Tito said, ‘at least we know where we stand.’ He went to the table on which a map of the region was spread. His staff officers crowded round. ‘Now,’ he said, ‘the sensible thing for us to do, as we know that the Germans intend to move against us, would be to get out now. But to do that would be to admit defeat without firing a shot, and the Germans will trumpet it as a great victory, which it will have been, certainly in propaganda terms. Our people support us, and in time the world will support us, because we have proved our determination to fight, and that determination must be displayed time and again.’
He looked round at their faces. ‘I do not wish anyone to be under any false illusions about this. We are going to lose this battle, simply because they will come at us in overwhelming strength. We are going to have to retreat. But before we do that, we are going to give the Nazis what our English friends’ – he smiled at Tony – ‘will call as bloody a nose as we can. And to do this, we are aided by everything we know of the German war machine, based on their manoeuvres in France and in Russia; this indicates that they will seek to envelop us in their well-known pincers. They will bomb us first, here in Uzice. Immediately after that, they will launch a frontal attack, but only on a limited scale, to pin us down. When we are committed, their two flanks will seek to fall upon our rear. This is classic military history, eh? Hannibal used these tactics against the Romans at Cannae. The Zulu impis did the same. However, each situation is slightly different, as is ours now.’ He pointed at the map. ‘Belgrade is north-east of us, and it is from there that the Germans will advance, using the one good road between the two towns for their wheeled transport. Their pincers will therefore have to move left and right of that line, which is to say that their right-hand pincer will come at us from the north. But that is broken, hilly country, interspersed with streams. This right-hand swing will travel more slowly than the other, and it is not good country for panzers. The left-hand pincer will have a much easier time of it, for the country down there is r
easonably flat, and there is at least one good road, which comes to us by way of Kragujevac. That is therefore the more dangerous swing.
‘Now, as you know, I have had our people prepare a defensive line behind the town, and it is to this line that our main body will withdraw as soon as the bombardment starts. Again, I wish you to make no mistake: this is only a temporary measure. We cannot hope to stop this force, much less defeat it, with our limited weaponry and ammunition supplies. But we must inflict as many casualties as is possible before, during and after our retreat. So, Colonel Asztalos, you will take your regiment into the hills to the north. You will harass the enemy right-wing pincer, but do not get drawn into a full-scale engagement. You, Colonel Davis, will take five hundred men down to the town of Kragujevac, here.’ The town was south-east of Uzice. ‘That is ideal panzer country, if only because they will be able to use the road. However, there are also streams and ravines. I am thinking especially of the one outside Kragujevac, which is crossed by a bridge. That bridge is essential for the panzers to make any quick progress. If it is blown, they will be held up for a considerable time.’ He gave a quick grin. ‘If it could be blown with a tank or two actually on it, that would be even better. In any event, you will harass and delay the enemy advance as far as you are able, but again without being sucked into battle. Hit them hard, and then retreat quickly. Both of your forces will withdraw as necessary back to Uzice. Then our entire force will evacuate south-west into Bosnia, and let the Germans attack an empty town.’
‘Are we not going to link up with the Cetniks?’ Asztalos asked. ‘Is not their main strength concentrated in northern Bosnia?’
‘Yes,’ Tito said. ‘Mihailovic’s headquarters is situated on and around Mount Ravna. That is, north of Sarajevo. We will not go in that direction.’ Another look around at their faces. ‘Because that is what we have been invited to do.’
‘You think they would betray us?’
‘I do not wish to find out.’
‘But,’ Tony said, ‘that means you think Curtis is a traitor.’
‘No, I do not,’ Tito said. ‘But I am sorry to say that I think he is a dupe. He was sent here to liaise between Mihailovic and the Allies, but also to try to bring about a rapprochement between Mihailovic and myself. He is carrying out his allotted task to the best of his ability. He has no idea – because the idea has never been presented to him – that Mihailovic would like to see us destroyed every bit as much as the Germans. We shall have to see what develops. If the Cetniks come down from their mountains to engage the Germans, then we will change our plans. If they do not – and frankly I do not expect them to – then we will operate on our own. Our retreat will be south-west, as I say, into southern Bosnia. Our rendezvous will be Foca. Here.’ He touched the map. ‘I have been in contact with the people there, and they will welcome us.’
‘You do not suppose the Cetniks would attack us?’ someone asked.
‘I think it would be best if we did not put temptation in their way. In fact, I think it would be wise for you to treat any Cetnik units with whom you come into contact as hostile until they prove to be otherwise. This applies especially to you, Colonel Davis, as you will have the furthest to go to rejoin us.’ Tony nodded. ‘Now, are there any questions?’ Tito asked.
‘What of the inhabitants of Uzice when the bombers come?’ someone asked.
‘I have spoken with the mayor. I have told him that evacuation would be the best course, but that such evacuation must not in any way hinder our operations, and would therefore have to take place to the north-west. However, he has told me that most of his people would rather remain, and take their chances in their cellars.’
‘Does he realize that they will be at considerable risk, less from bombs, perhaps, than from reprisals?’
‘He understands this, but the decision is his and his council’s. Thank you, gentlemen. Time is running very short. Colonel Davis, a word.’
Tony remained as the other men filed from the room. ‘You said I must take a regiment of men to Kragujevac.’
‘I am replacing your regiment, yes,’ Tito said.
‘My girls won’t be happy about that, sir.’
‘Do you think they are ready for close combat?’
‘They think they are, and they are desperate to engage the enemy.’
‘Do they have any idea what it is like to be hit by a bullet? Or perhaps more importantly, to see a comrade, maybe a close friend, hit by a bullet?’
‘Not as yet, sir. But it has to happen some time.’
‘And do they have any idea what will happen to them if they are taken prisoner?’
‘Sandrine holds seminars on that subject.’
‘And she should know. Very well. I wish you fortune. Get rid of that fellow Curtis as quickly as you can.’
‘Then you really don’t trust him.’
‘I trust him as an officer and a gentleman, Tony. But for that very reason he will feel duty-bound to report to Mihailovic everything he has seen and heard here, and I do not wish Mihailovic to know anything of our plans. Both you and Asztalos must move out by dawn tomorrow, and Curtis must be gone long before that.’
Tony saluted.
Curtis had waited for him. ‘You realize this is pure suicide.’
‘All war is pure suicide, Major.’
‘But you will go along with this.’
‘Of course I will. Wouldn’t you go along with it, if these were British soldiers?’
‘Yes I would. The point is—’
‘That these are not British soldiers? They are fighting for us.’
‘Are you sure of that? Can you be sure they are not fighting for some sinister plan of General Tito’s?’
‘From where you are standing, Major, that comes very close to treason.’
‘Why?’
‘I have already explained that Tito is concerned with the present rather than the future. The present is the business of fighting Nazi Germany. As long as he is doing that, with all his might, I am going to support him, with all my might. Now, Major, may I suggest that you have something to eat, catch a couple of hours’ sleep, and then leave.’
Curtis’s brows drew together. ‘Am I being expelled?’
‘You are being requested to leave Uzice. We have a great deal to do …’
‘And you do not wish me to see you doing it. I get the message.’ Curtis turned his somewhat sour gaze upon Sandrine, who had joined them. ‘And you will follow blindly, mademoiselle.’
‘I will follow, Major.’
‘Then I will wish you good fortune, and hope to see you again.’ As there was obviously not going to be another invitation to dinner, he summoned his guides, and walked into the gathering gloom.
‘Is he right?’ Sandrine asked.
‘Surely,’ Tony said. ‘But we have survived a few suicides in the past. Get your people together.’
One of the things that always disturbed Tony was the youth of his command – and even his various commanders. Obviously, to fight in the guerilla army, even more than in a regular force, fitness was a high priority, and this was thin on the ground where ordinary Yugoslav women were concerned. Apart from the city chic, they were educated to be beasts of burden and mothers, and by the time they were thirty were invariably overweight and permanently overtired. Thus recruiting a female fighting force meant aiming at young girls and women, either unmarried or only recently so.
The remarkable thing was the numbers who had come forward. Partly, Tony supposed, this was peer rivalry – if you can have a gun, why can’t I? But there was also a genuine desire to fight; almost every member of his regiment had seen her home and family destroyed or broken up. And equally he needed to remember that Yugoslavia itself had only a very thin veneer of civilised behaviour spread across centuries of viciously brutal dominance by, and resistance to, the Turks; thus there was not a member of his command who did not have a relative, often only a couple of generations back, who had been executed or forced into a Turkish harem. He co
uld not help but wonder how English womanhood, and more especially maidenhood, would respond to such a situation, which presumably could still happen. He remembered reading a comment by some foreign visitor to the effect that English women had the innocence of belonging to a country that had not been invaded for nearly a thousand years.
There was no innocence in the faces of his company commanders as they assembled before him, even if not one of them was older than Sandrine – and at least two of them were very nearly as handsome as the Frenchwoman. But their faces were at once strong, and hard, and enthusiastic. They handled their weapons exactly as did Sandrine, with loving anticipation of using them, and there was quite an assortment. Most possessed a variety of somewhat ancient rifles, but several had tommy-guns, and quite a few sported revolvers or automatic pistols, either holstered round their waists or slung over their shoulders nearly all were also armed with frightening-looking knives. He was glad they would be fighting for him, and not against him.
‘This is going to be your first action,’ he told them. ‘I know you will do your best, and hit the enemy where it hurts. Now alert your people, and then get some rest. We move out at three.’
There was a little rustle, and the women exchanged glances. ‘Do we take prisoners?’ asked Sasha Janitz. She was one of the handsome ones, tall and strongly built, with aquiline features and long black hair, which, unusually but sensibly, she wore tucked inside the collar of her jacket. He had a sudden insight that to be captured by Sasha Janitz would be the most horribly exciting way to die.
‘No,’ he said. She gave a charming little pout. ‘Just kill them.’
‘What of our own casualties?’ asked Anja Wroch.
‘You will not have the time to bury your dead. They must be left. But any wounded who can move must be brought out.’
‘And those who cannot move?’ Sasha asked.
‘Must be left. I am sorry, but there it is. They will be given a grenade and advised to blow themselves up rather than be captured.’
Again the women exchanged glances, but they still had the confidence of inexperience, that perhaps that situation would not arise. ‘And our dispositions?’ asked Draga Disilivic. She was a blunt-faced, heavy-set young woman, with large hips and breasts and powerful legs. Having seen her training, Tony reckoned she was as strong as any man.
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