“Can Brigette and I go, then?” asked Henri.
For a moment Mother looked unsure, as though letting Henri go meant she might never see him again . . . but then she smiled and nodded. “Very well. I think you’ve earned it, my little soldier. Just be home by four. I love you.”
“Love you too,” he said, and gave Mother a hug. Then Henri ran off into the crowds, Brigette barking happily at his side, both of them filled with hope and excitement knowing what they’d done, all they’d lost and regained.
Ace walked Elle out to the car. The little girl stooped to scratch his head for the fourth time, and once again, Ace let her. He could hear by the beating of her heart that she was nervous. He wanted to comfort her in any way he could. After all, he couldn’t blame her. From what Ace could gather, this was her first time in an airplane. He remembered how scared he’d been on his first training flight—and how scared he’d been during the mission.
There was no shame in being a little frightened of a new experience.
Or a little sad, Ace thought, about saying goodbye.
Jake waited in the street for them, holding open the car door. He smiled warmly at Elle and gave her a big last hug before putting her in the backseat. It warmed Ace’s heart to watch them together. Since he’d rescued her, Jake had treated Elle like his own pup.
Jake looked down at Ace. Ace whimpered without planning to. After all this time, after everything they’d been through, their mission together was at an end. He could see that he wasn’t the only one feeling down about it—Jake’s eyes were wet, and his smile was pulled tight at the edges.
He was a fine human, Jake was. Ace would miss him terribly.
Jake leaned down to pick him up . . . but just for old time’s sake, Ace jumped out of the way and barked. When Jake put his hands on his hips and said, “Aaace . . .” he jumped up on his hind legs and waved his front paws in the air. Jake laughed and bent down again. This time, Ace let himself be picked up, and let his human friend give him one final hug before putting him in the car with Elle.
“Good boy, Ace,” said Jake before closing the car door.
Ace watched him through the back window as they sped away.
Good boy, Jake, thought Ace.
As the car drove off into the future, Ace put his head down on Elle’s lap and let her pet his back. He had a long journey ahead of him, he knew, but it would be worth it. Elle was a sweetheart, and she would take good care of him. And she would fit in well with the Cleveland family. Ma and Pop would treat her right, and Reggie would be a good older brother. They would be happy together.
His eyes began to drift closed . . .
When the smell hit him.
Ace sat up and went to the window. It had only been a shred of scent, but it had been enough. Perhaps he’d imagined it—
No. There, in the alley. It was only a glimpse, a blur of sharp black, but it was enough.
So they hadn’t caught her after all.
Krieger stood in the shadows, watching him. For the brief instant they saw each other, Ace could sense the anger behind her gaze. She was a street dog now, living in a free city, with no masters of her own . . . but that hate had become a part of her. And she hated no one more than Ace, the dog who escaped her clutches.
Ace growled. He should jump out of the car and go after her. He should tell Elle or Jake that she was still out there. He should let them all know that she’d somehow stayed alive—
“Ace?”
Ace looked back at Elle. Her sweet face looked surprised and a little scared.
No.
Ace laid back down and put his head on her lap.
Yes, Krieger was still out there—but so was the enemy, in some form or another. A boy would be cruel to Reggie. A master would kick at Ace on the street. A neighbor would threaten to call the pound on him. There would always be evil and anger out there, waiting to bite you if you weren’t careful.
But there was also kindness, and hope. For every enemy shadow, there was a good person. Like Henri, the boy who saved him out on those wet, rainy hills that fateful night when everything changed. Like Jake, who had trained him, taught him, and taken him on the mission. And like Elle, this sweet girl who now ran her hand across his fur and whispered, “Good boy, Ace.”
Ace had a new mission now. He’d return to the family and look after this little girl pup. And if evil ever came looking for them, Ace would be ready. He would protect them. That’s what good soldiers did.
Picture Insert
Battle Facts
The invasion of Normandy, France, was one of the most important turning points of World War II. Here are a few things you should know about it:
Q. What led up to the invasion of Normandy?
A. By 1944, World War II had been going full force for some time, and the world was growing weary. Nazi Germany, led by racist dictator Adolf Hitler, had invaded Poland, Denmark, Norway, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Northern France. The Nazis had begun rounding up everyone they considered inferior to Hitler’s “master race” ideal—specifically Europe’s Jews, homosexuals, and people of color—and sending them to concentration camps.
The British, Canadians, and Americans had fought against Germany as well as its allies Italy and Japan, but resources were running low. London was in shambles after considerable bombing by the Germans, and both America and Great Britain were suffering from shortages of food, metal, and rubber.
Q. How did the invasion of Normandy occur?
A. The area of coastal France called Normandy was invaded by British, Canadian, and American troops in the single largest amphibious assault in recorded history.
The invasion began in the early morning of June 6, 1944, with paratroopers dropping into Northern France along the English Channel. Then Operation Neptune (named after the Roman god of the sea) began, in which ships carrying Allied troops landed on the beaches along Normandy and attacked German troops stationed there.
All of this was part of Operation Overlord, the grand Allied plan to reclaim Western Europe. This plan would take longer than just one day of battle, but the beach invasions of Operation Neptune were the first step to reclaiming Europe from the Nazis.
Invasion Stats
Date: June 6, 1944.
Original dates: May 1 and June 4, but delayed by weather on both counts.
Length of Normandy coast invaded: 60 miles.
Sea invasion: 4,126 amphibious assault craft.
Air invasion: 11,000 aircraft.
Allied troops invading France: Approximately 156,000.
Paratroopers: 13,000.
Countries involved in invasion: United States, Great Britain, and Canada.
Beaches landed: Five, codenamed Omaha, Utah, Gold, Sword, and Juno.
Q. Where did the term “D-Day” come from?
A. “D-Day” is a military term used to refer to a day on which an armored battle is taking place. While the invasion of Normandy has become synonymous with the term, it is not technically the only D-Day in military history.
The “D” in D-Day has been given several meanings—due to the loss of life and chaos that often come with battle, many believe “D-Day” is a shortening for “Doomsday,” which means the end of the world—but the most commonly held one today is that it also means “Day,” so D-Day is a shortened version of “the Day of All Days.”
Depictions of D-Day
Because of its military importance and the intensity of the battle, it has been depicted in various pieces of media. Here are some of the most famous:
The Longest Day (film, 1962): This classic Hollywood war film shows an idealized depiction of the D-Day invasion, and it is famous for performances from classic actors like John Wayne, Robert Mitchum, and Richard Burton.
Saving Private Ryan (film, 1998): Steven Spielberg’s epic World War II film opens with a realistic depiction of the invasion of Omaha Beach.
Sabaton, Primo Victoria (album, 2005): Swedish heavy metal band Sabaton wrote an entire album about Worl
d War II, and its opening track, “Primo Victoria,” is a rollicking battle cry describing of the events of Operation Overlord.
Q. How did the invasion of Normandy change the course of the war?
A. D-Day gave the Allies entrance into France so they could continue bringing in soldiers, weaponry, and infrastructure. It also gave the Allies a fresh understanding of German military tactics. Many people believe that the high level of German bureaucracy and their focus on the ethnic cleansing of Europe allowed for their defeat at Normandy.
More important, D-Day changed public morale about the war. For many, the Nazis had an invincible stranglehold on Europe, and the fear that they might invade North America was very real. D-Day showed the world that the Nazis could be beaten, that Europe could be invaded, and that the tide of the war might finally be changing.
Timeline of World War II
Timeline of D-Day
Q. Were the characters in this story real?
A. Some of the historical figures in this book were real people. Henri Tardivat was a celebrated French freedom fighter, and General Charles de Gaulle was a French politician who helped defeat the Nazis (though he later became a controversial figure in French history). Henri and his mother, Linda, are not real, but Linda was based on an actual freedom fighter named Nancy Wake.
Q. Who was Nancy Wake?
A. Nancy Wake, aka the White Mouse, was a secret agent and freedom fighter in France during World War II. She was born in New Zealand but spent most of her childhood in Australia. She became a journalist in New York and London and married a French industrialist in Paris. There, she saw the Nazis rise to power and take over France. She became a pivotal part of the French Resistance, and by 1943 she was the Nazis’ most-wanted person, with a five-million-franc bounty on her head—approximately $6,700,000 today!
Wake was famous for both her beauty and her bravery. One minute, she was flirting with German guards to get past checkpoints with secret documents, the next she was leading armed assaults with teams of freedom fighters at her disposal. Wake was instrumental in fighting sexism during the war, proving that women were just as capable and powerful on the battlefield and behind enemy lines as they were in the mess hall or the infirmary.
Q. Did dogs actually parachute into war?
A. Yes! The British military really did have dogs on the planes that flew into Normandy at D-Day. These “paradogs” were trained to jump out of planes wearing parachutes. When they landed, they would search for booby traps and tripwires, suss out groups of enemy soldiers, and find escape routes for the soldiers they were working with. They were also big morale boosters for soldiers who felt a little run down by a long war!
Many paradogs were actually household dogs who were donated to the army and trained to be soldiers and paratroopers. Because of food shortages caused by the war, many British households couldn’t afford to feed themselves AND their dogs, so the military gave these dogs both a job and a home. Today, these dogs are regarded as heroes by the British government.
Q. Who was a famous paradog?
A. One specific paradog of some note was Bing, an Alsatian-collie mix who parachuted into Normandy during the D-Day invasion. Like Ace, Bing was a great paradog in practice, but on D-Day itself, she got scared by the gunfire and had to be thrown out of the plane. Like Ace, she was later found dangling from a tree, having suffered injuries in her landing. However, she proved invaluable to soldiers by helping them sniff out traps and find provisions in enemy territory. Bing is considered a hero by the British government.
French and German Words and Terms
Since this story is set in France and involves German soldiers, both the French and German languages come regularly into play. Here are some translations of the terms we use in this book, as well as how to say them.
French:
monsieur (miss-YOU): Mister.
vive la France (VEE-vuh lah Fronss): “Long live France.” This was a common slogan for French Resistance fighters during the war.
mon Dieu (mohn DYOO): My God.
renard (reh-NAHRD): Fox.
blanc (blonk): White.
voilà (vwa-LA): There it is! (the French version of “Tada!”)
merci (mehr-SEE): Thank you.
German:
guten Tag (GOO-ten TOGG): Good day/good morning.
Krieg (creeg): War.
Krieger (CREE-gerr): Warrior.
Hund (hoond): Dog.
Blitz: Lightning.
Stielhandgranate (SHTEEL-hand-greh-NOT): Stick hand grenade. Specifically, a form of hand grenade used heavily by Germany in World War II.
Tollpatsch (TOLL-pach): Klutz, oaf, or clumsy person.
mein Freund (mine frOYnd): My friend.
Führer (FYOO-rerr): Leader. A term commonly used by Nazis to refer to Adolf Hitler.
Excerpt from Soldier Dogs #1: Air Raid Search and Rescue
Chapter 1
JUNE 1, 1942
2:33 A.M.
CANTERBURY, ENGLAND
Twelve-year-old Matt Dawson hunched in the darkness as bombs fell outside the half-collapsed movie theater. He hugged his knees in the cramped space beneath a fallen balcony. His breath came loud and panicked. He was trapped.
He could hear his ten-year-old foster sister, Rachel, trying to stifle her crying nearby, but he couldn’t see her. Rubble surrounded them both. There was no way out. Sweat pricked Matt’s skin, and the air was clogged with smoke and dust.
He heard the shriek of air-raid sirens and the groan of a wall collapsing. How long before the rubble fell on him and his sister?
He wanted to give up, but he needed to be brave for Rachel, just like his brother, Eric, used to be brave for him. He didn’t feel brave, though. All he felt was scared. Still, he stretched his arm through the rubble until his fingertips barely touched Rachel’s.
“It’s going to be okay,” he told her, but he didn’t really believe it.
Matt was American. His parents had brought him to England so his father could help with the war effort. Then the entire family had moved to Canterbury to escape the air raids in London. But the raids had changed targets, and now he and Rachel were trapped inside a ruined movie theater and the bombs were still falling.
Nobody could find them. Nobody could save them.
“Do you think the raid is over?” Rachel whispered into the darkness.
“Maybe. Or maybe there are more waves coming.”
“There can’t be! When will it stop? When will— Oh!”
“What?”
“I think I heard people!” Rachel took a breath. “Help! Help!”
“We’re in the movie theater!” Matt yelled, even though he didn’t hear anyone. “We’re trapped!”
He heard a shout from the street, muffled by the rubble. A bunch of voices that sounded like firemen, desperately battling a blaze. Firemen like his brother, Eric.
“Help!” Matt yelled. “We’re trapped!”
“There’s nobody in the movie theater,” a man’s voice said.
“Are you sure?” another voice asked.
“In here!” Matt called. “Hello?”
“We’re trapped!” Rachel shouted, in her accented voice. “Help!”
The men couldn’t hear them through the rubble. Not with the sirens screaming and the fires roaring.
“It’s all clear,” the first man said. “Move out.”
“No!” Matt shouted. “WE’RE IN HERE!”
The voices faded away . . . then Matt heard a distant barking.
“Chief!” Matt shouted. “Chief!”
Chief’s barking grew more urgent.
“Chief!” Rachel yelled.
“What is that mutt doing?” the first man said. “We’ve got a situation around the corner. Get a wiggle on!”
“Drag him along,” the second man said, when the barks became sharper. “There’s nobody in the theater. The mangy fleabag just wants to watch a movie . . .”
Matt and Rachel screamed and shouted, but the voice
s grew fainter and fainter.
Until they disappeared—even Chief’s.
And Matt and Rachel were alone. Again.
About the Author
MARCUS SUTTER is a former military brat who collects model planes and ships from the WWII era. He lives on a ranch in the Midwest with his family and their three-legged mutt, Mike.
Discover great authors, exclusive offers, and more at hc.com.
Books by Marcus Sutter
#1 AIR RAID SEARCH AND RESCUE
#2 ATTACK ON PEARL HARBOR
#3 SECRET MISSION: GUAM
#4 VICTORY AT NORMANDY
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Copyright
HarperFestival is an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers.
SOLDIER DOGS #4: VICTORY AT NORMANDY. Copyright © 2019 by HarperCollins Publishers. Flag artwork here and photo here, used under license from Shutterstock.com. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, nontransferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse-engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.
www.harpercollinschildrens.com
Cover art © 2019 by Mike Mayhew
Cover design by Rick Farley
Library of Congress Control Number: 2018968508
Digital Edition MAY 2019 ISBN: 978-0-06-284410-1
Print ISBN: 978-0-06-284409-5
1920212223PC/LSCH10987654321
Soldier Dogs #4 Page 8