Tramp in Armour - Colin Forbes

7/22/2019 Tramp in Armour - Colin Forbes

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Tramp in Armour

Colin Forbes served with the British Armyuring the war, mostly in the Mediterraneanone. After 1946 he had variousccupations before writing his first book in965, and within two years of its publicatione left the business world to become a full-

me writer. His books have been translatedto ten languages and all have beenublished in the United States as well as inritain. Tramp in Armour, The Heights ofervos, The Palermo Ambush, Targetive, Year of the Golden Ape, The Stone

eopardandAvalanche Express are allublished by Pan.

His main interest apart from writing isreign travel and this has taken him to

ost West European countries. Married toScots-Canadian, he has one daughter.

Colin Forbes

Tramp in Armour


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Pan Booksin association with Collins

Author's note

I wish to record my thanks to Mr M. J.Willis and to Mr P. Simpkin of the ImperialWar Museum for their invaluable technical

ssistance.

rst published 1969 by William Collinsons & Co Ltd

his edition published 1971 by Pan Bookstd,

avaye Place, London SW10 9PG

association with William Collins Sons &o Ltd

th printing 1978

Colin Forbes 1969

SBN 0 330 02686 0

rinted in Great Britain by

ichard Clay (The Chaucer Press) Ltd,

ungay, Suffolk


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This book is sold subject to the condition that it shall not,

way of trade or otherwise, be lent, re-sold, hired out, or

herwise circulated without the publisher's prior consent in

y form of binding or cover other than that in which it isblished and without a similar condition including this

ndition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser

o Jane


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ONE

hursday, May 16th

he war had started.'Advance right, driver. Advance right. Two-pounder,

averse left, traverse left. Steady...'

he tank commander, Sergeant Barnes, thought that should

o the trick - when the tank emerged from the ramp on to

e rail embankment, in full view of the German troops ofeneral von Bock's Army Group B, the turret would rest at

angle of ninety degrees to the forward movement of the

hicle, the two-pounder and the Besa machine gun aimed

raight at the enemy. The tank crawled upwards at aeady five miles per hour, still invisible to the German wave

vancing across open fields to assault the embankment

hind which the British Expeditionary Force waited for

em, while overhead the sun shone down on Belgium outa clear blue sky, the prelude to the long endless summer

1940.

arnes' squadron of tanks was positioned on the extreme

ht of the BEF line, and the troop of three tanks which

rmed his own unit was stationed on the extreme right of

e squadron. Somewhere beyond this troop the Frenchrst Army, the next major formation which faced the

tacking German army group, reached out its left flank to

k up with the BEF, but this vital link was not apparent,

hich was why Barnes had just received his urgent wirelessstruction from Lieutenant Parker, his troop commander.

'Find out where the hell the French are,

arnes, and report back immediately, if notooner.'


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The natural route to the French, the road below the

mbankment, had been blocked by dive-bombers, and now

hat had once been a road was a barrier of wrecked

ildings, so Barnes decided there was only one way to go

p to the top of the embankment and along the rail track in

l view of the enemy. The prospect of exposing his tanke a silhouette on a target range didn't greatly worry him:

e armour on the upper side of the hull was seventy

llimetres thick and none of the light weapons the Germanvance troops carried could do more than scratch the

rface. As for the big stuff farther back, which was already

bbing shells into the BEF rear areas, well, he'd be off this

mbankment before they could bring down the range of

eir artillery. Any moment now, he told himself, pressing hise to the periscope.

our men crewed the tank: Trooper Reynolds inside his

wn separate driving compartment in the nose of the tank,

hile in the central fighting compartment Barnes shared the

nfined space with his gunner, Trooper Davis, and hisader-operator, Corporal Penn. The fighting compartment

the centre of the tank was shaped rather like a conning

wer, the upper portion protruding above the tank's hull; the

or, only a few feet above the ground, comprised arntable suspended from the turret, so that when the

ower-traverse went into action the entire compartment

tated as a single unit, carrying round with it the guns and

e three men inside, the traverse system controlled by thenner at the commander's instructions. They were very

ose to the top of the embankment now, but still the view

rough the periscope showed only the scrubby grass of the

scending slope, while outside all hell was breaking

ose, a hell of sound infinitely magnified inside thenfines of the metal hull: the horrid crump of mortar bombs

ploding, the scream of shells heading for the rear area,

hile the permanent accompaniment to this symphony of

ath was an endless crack of rifle shots, a steady rattle of


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achine-gun fire. It was only possible for the crew to hear

arnes' sharp instructions because he gave them over the

ercom, a one-way system of communication through the

crophone hanging from his neck which transmitted theords to earphones clamped over the crew's heads.

arnes screwed up his eyes, saw the wall of embankment

sappear. They were over the top.

he view was much as he had expected, but there wereany more of them - long lines of helmeted Germans in

ld grey advancing like the waves of a rising tide, running

wards him across a vast field. Some carried rifles, some

achine-pistols, and there were clusters with light machine

ns. The tank had reached the embankment at the veryoment when the first assault was being mounted.

'Driver, straight down the railway - behindose loading sheds. Two-pounder. Sixundred.' Davis set the range on hislescope. 'Traverse left.' With a hiss of air,rret and crew began to swing round, the

nk still moving forward. 'Traverse left.' Therret screamed round faster, the guns ande fighting crew now at an angle of forty-

ve degrees to the tank hull. 'Steady,'arnes warned, his gaze through theeriscope fixed on the anti-tank gun hi the

stance as a fusillade of bullets rattled one armour-plate. 'Anti-tank gun,' henapped, pinpointing the target.

ire!'

Davis squeezed the trigger. The tank shuddered undere recoil, the turret was swamped with a stench of cordite.


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arnes didn't hear the explosion but he saw it - a burst of

hite smoke on the gun position, a brief eruption of the

ound. Then they were moving behind the loading bays

hich the ramp served, out of sight of the enemy for swiftlyassing seconds, emerging again as Barnes gave fresh

ders.

'Besa...'

he destroyed anti-tank gun was the onlymmediate menace to Bert, as they called

eir tank. Now for the German troops. Thenk had scarcely moved beyond the

heltering wall of the loading bays when theesa opened fire, the turret traversing in anrc from left to right, pouring out aurderous stream of bullets which cut down

e first wave of Germans like a scythe.he turret began to swing in a second arc,e Besa elevated slightly to bring down the

econd wave, and all the time the tankoved forward down the rail track whileenn, who had already re-loaded the two-

ounder, attended to his wireless. Parker,e troop commander, was speaking toarnes now.

What's the picture, Barnes?'

German assault waves just coming in -ey'll be over the top in your sector any


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econd now. They stretch as far as I canee, sir. Over.'

He pressed the lever on his mike which controlledreless communication and waited. Parker sounded

asperated.

'But the French, Barnes - can you see theoody French?'

Nothing so far, sir. I'll report back shortly.

ff.'

All the way up the ramp and along the embankment so

r the turret lid had been closed down, so Barnes had

ied on the periscope to let him know what was

ppening outside, a method of sighting which he foundstricted and unsatisfactory. Now that he could no longer

ar the clatter of bullets ricocheting harmlessly off themour-plate, he risked it, pushing up the turret lid and

ing his head above the rim. For once, he was wearing hishat. A quick glance told him that no Germans were close

the section of the embankment they were advancing

ong. Instead, the troops in that area were running back

ross the field away from him: they had seen what had

ppened to their mates. To encourage their flight he gave

ders to fire the two-pounder twice and then called for arst from the Besa. If he was really going to see what was

ing on he would have to lift his head well out of the turret.

e clambered up and stood erect, half his body above them, gazing all round quickly as he gave Reynolds

structions automatically.

river, full speed ahead down this railway. All the speed

ert will give.'


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he tank began to pick up speed, one caterpillar track

tside the railway, the other travelling midway between the

o iron lines, while inside the driving compartment

eynolds had his eyes glued to the slit window in front, andow protected by four-inch armoured glass. Normally,

sat on his jacked-up seat with his head protruding clear

the hatch in the front hull, but now this seat was

pressed so that he sat inside the hull and a steel hoodas closed over the hatch above his head. He vaguely

ondered what Barnes was going to do next, a line of

ought which was occupying Barnes himself at the same

oment.

o the left the fields of Belgium stretched away tosappear inside a curtain of black smoke, the result of

AF bombing and BEF heavy artillery fire. In front of the

rtain small figures moved like the inhabitants of a

sturbed anthill, but always the apparently chaotic

ovement was forward, except in the sector ahead of thenk. They were now perched a good twenty feet above the

rrounding countryside and to Barnes' dismay he realized

at the embankment was gradually rising all the time the

rther south they progressed, the sides growing steeper,aking their descent from the railway more difficult every

rd they moved forward. His eyes scanned the ground on

e Allied side of the embankment and saw nothing which

mforted him. As he had anticipated when he had

cided to mount the embankment and make a dash alonge railway, it gave him an excellent view of the battle area.

he outskirts of the Belgian town of Etreux had been badly

ttered by the Stuka raids, but even at this early stage ofe campaign he was becoming used to these scenes ofvastation. What he had not expected was that the desert

rubble would be unoccupied, and as his eyes searchedd searched again for signs of life a chill began to crawl his spine. The wireless crackled: someone was coming

the air again.

'Hullo, hullo! Troop calling. Parker here.nything to report, Barnes?'


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arnes here, sir. No sign of our friends yet.epeat, no sign of our friends. I am auarter of a mile out and no sign of themet. Repeat, at least a quarter of a mile.ver.'

'Are you quite sure, Barnes? I've got to report to Brigade

once. I must be quite sure. Over.'

uite sure, sir. I'm twenty-five feet up here and the place

s been flattened, so vision is good. I'm a quarter of a milet at least and there's no sign of them ahead. Do I

oceed farther or return? Over.'

'Proceed a farther quarter of a mile if youan, then report again. Over.'

arnes OK. Off.'

At least it was a convenient distance. The tank was still

oving ahead along the railway line, the embankmentraight as a ruler, and about a quarter of a mile farther

ong the line disappeared into a steep hillside. Barnes

uld see the arched opening of a tunnel clearly now. Soe distance was all right, but the timing probably wasn't. Heanced at his watch and calculated that within the next two

three minutes the Germans would have wirelessed back

r artillery support to lay down a barrage along the top of

e embankment. Soon the first ranging shots would beling, a spotter would be reporting their fall, and unless

arnes was very much mistaken they would hardly have

mpleted their quarter-mile run before the shells began toacket the tank. The fact that the embankment was so


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mned straight would make the German gunners' work

at much easier. He wondered how the others liked being

uck up silhouetted against the skyline and glanced down

side the turret. Davis had the shoulder-grip tucked intoosition and he couldn't see the gunner's expression, but

enn happened to look up and on his thin, intelligent face

arnes thought he detected signs of worry, but then it would

ways be Penn who worried first because Penn had theagination to think of all the things which might happen.

oo much intelligence could be a distinct disadvantage

hen you were locked up inside a tank. He spoke briefly

o the mike, urging Reynolds to keep up the speed.

elow him the ruins of Etreux glided past while he

ntinually watched for the first sight of a gun position, forench troops. There had been a muck-up, the certainty of

s was growing on him. First, there had been the hectic

sh forward on May 10th when news of the German

vasion of Holland and Belgium had come in, a rush fromhind prepared defences on the Franco-Belgian frontier

t into the open to meet the German onslaught in head-on

llision. And now it was Thursday May 16th, only six days

er. To Barnes it felt more like six weeks later, but at leastey were stuck into them. For a brief moment he glanced

ck to where the line of German dead lay, victims of the

esa's murderous sweeping arcs. He felt not a trace of

ty, but he also felt no exultation, only perhaps a certain

tisfaction that one of the few British tanks with the BEFas already proving its worth.

The railway tunnel was very close now,arely two hundred yards away, the blackrch coming closer every second as thenk ground forward. And still no sign of therench, no sign at all. He'd have to report

ack soon now. Even in this sector thereas a lot of noise - the heavy boom of the


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g artillery, the whine of shells - and thisas why Barnes failed to detect the arrivalf the enemy. Also, in his concentration ontreux, he had neglected to search the skyr the past minute. It happened withrrifying suddenness - the appearance of aane above his head screaming down in aower dive. He looked up as he divedside the tank, saw the Messerschmitturtling earthwards, its guns blazing straightt Bert, and rammed down the lid, almost

rushing his fingers in his haste. But heas just too late - one bullet whistled innder the closing lid, missing Barnes byillimetres, and terror entered the tank.

With the driver's hood closed and with the turret lid down,

e occupants of a Mk II Matilda tank in 1940 could feelemselves reasonably secure against everything except arect hit. On the other hand, if by some mischance a bullet

om a rifle or a machine gun were able to enter the

moured confines of the tank, then what had once been a

ven of comparative safety immediately became a death-

ap. Entering the mobile fortress under the impetus of itswn tremendous velocity the bullet has to spend its velocity

mewhere, and it does this by ricocheting back and forth

f the armour-plate hull of the interiorof the tank, flyingout unpredictably in all directions until its force is spent -

rmally by its entry into human flesh. As soon as the bullet

tered, the three men knew what they were in for, and

ew that there wasn't a thing they could do about it -cept to wait and pray. The biting sound of bullet tearing

om one metal surface to another only lasted for a briefriod in time, but nerves stretched to breaking-point by the

ear and tear of battle reacted to screamin itch as the


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nger flashed into three battered minds, drawing from

em in seconds reserves of physical and mental strengthey would normally have expended over hours. Then there

as a momentary silence while Reynolds drove at top

eed towards the tunnel. Penn was the first to speak.

'I think it went into the wireless set.'

Barnes checked his communications and banged the

crophone while he looked at Penn, who was examining

e set. Then suspicion flooded into his mind and he

rambled up the turret, pushing the lid back and staring up

o the clear morning sky. The clever bastards! They'd sente Messerschmitt down not hoping to hit anybody but to

t him to close the turret. In this way his vision would bestricted and he wouldn't see what was coming next, but

could see it now coming from the east - an arrow-

aped formation of ugly, thick-legged birds - Stuka dive-

ombers coming for Bert. He spoke into the mike, his voice

y and harsh, using his driver's name.

eynolds, we're going to be dive-bombed unless you getinto that tunnel first.'

e stayed in the turret to check the course the Stukas were

king, remembering that these were the planes which had

ttered Poland. He might well die in this war, he knew that,t not yet, not yet! He wanted to see Germany smashed

st. With narrowed eyes he watched the tunnel draw closer

the Stukas came over at a bare thousand feet. Yes, he'd

en right - they were coming for Bert. They'd change

rection now and he waited for the first one to peel off,aited for the hair-raising shriek of those screaming

ombs which would put fear into the dead.

'Lights on,' he ordered, automatically as


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ert thundered towards the tunnel.

he first Stuka was peeling off now, fallingdeways, ejecting black eggs from its belly.arnes slammed down the lid, dropped toe turntable floor and rotated the periscope

o that he saw the tunnel moving towardsem.

Wait for it,' he warned the others, butainly to warn Reynolds who was driving.

They heard it coming., a high-pitched whistle growing to

piercing shriek which easily dominated the engine sound,

netrating the armoured walls as though they were papier-

ache. It's a direct hit this time, thought Penn. He looked atavis, but the gunner's eyes stared fixedly at the turntable

or, his jaw muscles clenched, his forehead moist with

dden sweat. Penn looked at Barnes, but the sergeant

d his eyes glued to the periscope as he watched thennel coming closer. God, thought Penn, he's got no

rves at all. The thing was screaming like a banshee now.

ould it never land? Up in the nose of the tank Reynolds

uld hear it coming, too, but he was wrestling with twoparate fears. Reynolds had no imagination but as he saw

e mouth of the tunnel looming towards him through the slit

ndow he remembered a story he had once read in a

wspaper. It had happened in Spain during the Civil War -scout car racing towards a tunnel to escape bombing hadet an express train coming out of the tunnel at high

eed... But nobody would be running trains in the battle

ea. The tunnel mouth yawned towards him and the bomb

ploded.

The shock wave dealt the armour-plating


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uch a blow that it rattled the plates,eeming for a moment about to blow thenk off the embankment. Fitments clatteredown on to the turntable floor and theetonation reverberating inside the metaloom was so loud that they were alleafened. Then they heard the next oneoming. First the whistle, then the scream.his time Barnes felt fairly sure they wereoing to get it: the scream was muchuder, its aiming point seemed to be dead

entre down the turret. It had to happen toomeone during the war - a bomb deadentre through the lid, exploding inside thatonfined space... The bomb hit, detonated.rocked the tank like a toy, smashing ate plates with a hammerblow, the acrid

mell of high explosive seeping inside theghting compartment. That one had beenose! He glanced at Davis, who still staredt the floor as though his life depended onPenn had gone as white as a sheet, his

mall neat moustache quivering before he

enched his lips together and thennclenched them to speak.

Knock, knock. Who's there?'

Nobody laughed, nobody smiled. They just

oked at each other strangely, as they


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eard the next one coming. In the driver'seat Reynolds kept the tank going full out,onjuring up reserves of speed from Bertat even he hadn't known existed. Thennel mouth now filled the breadth of hisit window. He had forgotten all aboutains coming out of hillsides. His handsolding the steering levers were as wet asough he had ^dipped them in water. Sweatreamed off his broad forehead andripped into his eyes, but he kept them

pen, seeing the beams of his headlightsside the tunnel now. Then the third onearted to come down. The tunnel rushedoser and closer as the bomb fell lower andwer, louder than its predecessors.lease, Bert,please!Reynolds whispered

himself. The walls of the tunnel rushedrward and they went inside as the bombetonated. The force of the explosioneemed to take hold of Bert's rear andhove him inside the hill, followed by anppalling clattering sound, a low rumble

ehind them, then the ground under theacks shook and they felt the vibrationside the tank. Barnes swore, swivellede periscope through one hundred andghty degrees, and stared back to wherehould have been an arched frame of

aylight, seeing nothing but pitch blackness.he last bomb had caught the top of the


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ntrance, blowing the hillside down over theack and sealing off the outside world.

Halt,' Barnes rapped out into the mike, 'buteep the engines revved up.'

The last thing he wanted inside this tunnelas an engine failure. He looked at thethers and they stared back, stunned nowy the nerve-racking silence. Except for thengine sound it was uncannily quiet. No

hells whining past, no projectilescreaming down from above.

Cautiously, he climbed into the turret and pushed backe lid on its telescopic arms. It was like emerging into an

derground cavern, a subterranean cave weirdly lit by

ert's headlights. Barnes felt a tightening of his stomach

uscles as he swivelled his torch beam into the dark

rners, moving it slowly over the enormous rock pile.hrough the intercom he told Reynolds to switch off the

adlights and at the same moment he doused his own

rch. Not a glimmer of light anywhere: the entrance was

ell and truly blocked. He climbed down off the tank and

ed his torch to guide him to the rock wall. Still no sign ofylight. The only way out was forward to the far end of the

nnel. When he climbed back into the tank he found Penn

as still examining the wireless set. He put on his headset

d ordered Reynolds to switch on the headlights. Therporal looked up and pulled a wry face.

s hopeless. Two valves went when the bullet charged in.nd you, I'd sooner have it nestling in there instead of in


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y pelvis, but I haven't any spares so we'll have to wait till

e get back to squadron HQ.'

arnes tested the intercom again. At least that was still

orking, but being cut off from Parker was serious. Thankod, he had sent out one warning about the gap in the

ench lines. Taking the map case out of the rack he

mbed down on to the hull and Penn followed, watching

er his shoulder as he spread out a large-scale map ofelgium and Northern France over the engine covers at the

ar of the tank. His torch focused on the area round Etreux.

his tunnel's a damned long one, Penn. We'll just have to

g through it and then make our way back as best we can,

rry permitting. At least we'll have a pretty good report one area when we do eventually land back.'

s going to be a long way round, isn't it?' queried Penn.

s soon as we get out of the tunnel that canal bars the

ute back for miles. We'll have to go over that bridge, then

low this road...'

His finger traced a wide semi-circular

ourse which would take them back into theear outskirts of Etreux. Barnes agreed thatis was the only way and he cursedwardly at the breakdown in wirelessommunication. Parker would be wonderinghat on earth had happened to them and

eanwhile he'd have to fight the Germannrush with two tanks instead of three. Itouldn't be helped, but they'd better getracking. Climbing back inside the tank hexplained the position to Reynolds andavis, giving Reynolds a word of caution

ver the intercom.


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his tunnel won't be straight, you can betour life on that, so keep your speed down five miles an hour or less and watch forends. I'm going up into the turret to helpuide you. What's the matter, Davis?'

The burly gunner with the squarish face and red hair hadhunted look and an air of tension radiated from him. He

ened his mouth and closed it again without speaking.

ome on, spit it out, man,' snapped Barnes.

ou'll think it's stupid, Sergeant, but I've always had arror of tunnels. I was a miner once, as I told you. I was in a

lliery disaster in 1934 - we were locked in for five days

d we thought we'd been buried alive ...'

Well, Davis, this happens to be a railway tunnel and we'll

through it in ten minutes, so get your mind on your guns.

ou never know,' he smiled grimly, 'we might meet aanzer division coming up from the other end.'

He had reached the turret and given therder to advance when the hollowness ofs joke struck him. If the Germans had justappened to break through at the other end,

might seem a very good idea to sendnks along the tunnel in the hope of takingtreux on the flank. He decided that he'detter keep a close lookout ahead and hisind began to calculate the possible effectf two-pounder shells exploding inside the

ailway tunnel. The powerful headlights


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enetrated some distance into the tunnelnd soon Barnes was warning Reynolds ofcurve in the line. Now that they wereway from the battle area the driver hadolled back the hood from the hatch andcked up his seat so that his headrotruded above the hull like a man in aurkish bath cabinet. The journey along thennel was eerie and strange, the grind ofe tracks and the throb of the engineschoing hollowly, probably very much like

ding through a mine shaft, Barnes thought,nd he glanced down into the compartmentelow. Penn was still fiddling with theireless set as though hoping to perform anct of faith, but Davis sat rigid as a stoneehind his guns, his body thrust hard into

e shoulder-grip, his hand on the two-ounder's trigger. Undoubtedly, Trooperavis' idea of a private hell was meeting aanzer column deep underground.

The engine noise sounded far too loud with its

verberations hemmed inside the tunnel and the grind and

atter of the steel tracks conjured up the advance of the

ggest tank in the world. Barnes looked at his watch againd then gazed ahead. They should be seeing daylight

on now if the map was anything to go by, and leaving the

nnel was going to call for some pretty careful

connaissance. Barnes had absolutely no idea what theosition might be on this sector of the front: what he had

en from the embankment gave him little cause for

timism as to what might face them once they reached the


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r end. One part of his mind concentrated on the probing

eams while another considered the various possibilities

ey could encounter - calling on the one hand for a swift

sh out into the open or, on the other, for a more cautiousssage. As far as he could tell from the map, the railway

merged into open country with no sign of an embankment;

ere should be fields on both sides with the canal barring

e way to the west, the way they wanted to go. They'd justve to see. The headlights were now beginning to sweep

und a gradual bend. Somewhere round this bend they

ould see daylight, probably a first glimmer, then a distant

chway. What that happens, Barnes told himself, I'll halt the

nk and go on foot for a recce. Just so long as we don'tve any trouble with Davis. He glanced down again and

w that Davis was sitting in exactly the same position,

pping the two-pounder as though his very life depended it, a posture of such implacable rigidity that Barnes wasne too happy about his gunner's likely reactions.

We'll soon be there, Davis,' he said down the intercom.

erm, get back to your seat just in case. Be ready to halt,

eynolds, as soon as I give the word.'

he tank ground on, the left-hand track rumbling over

ooden sleepers while the right-hand track scatteredbbles, so that the tank was tilted very slightly to the right,

e three sounds complementing each other - the throb of

e engines, the grumble of the tracks, and the slither of

bbles. Abruptly, Barnes gave the order to halt, saying

thing more while he wondered how to break it to them.he headlights penetrated the darkness and then halfway

ong the full extent of their beams they splashed out over

lid surface, a wall surface with boulders protruding from a

ree of soil and rubble which resembled a landslide. Thisd of the tunnel was blocked, too. They were sealed off

side the bowels of the earth.

n May 10th the BEF had moved from France into Belgiumd Barnes' unit had moved with it. On May 10th, four hoursarlier at 3AM, General von Bock's Army Group B had


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vanced across the frontiers of Holland and Belgium with

e express purpose of tempting the BEF and three Frenchmies to leave their fortified lines. Before the end of the

y the movement of these vast forces was quite apparent

London and Paris, but a third movement of even more

assive forces had so far gone unnoticed.

At the point where Belgium, France, anduxembourg meet lies one of the leastnown areas of Western Europe - theassif of the Ardennes range, a remote

one of high hills enclosing steep woodedorges along which snake second-class

oads. This was the sector of the huge frontom Belgium to Switzerland which therench High Command had long agoeclared 'impassable', and it was oppositeis sector that they had placed theireakest forces.

uring the early hours of May 10th Generalon Rundstedt's Army Group A began itsecret forward movement through thempassable' Ardennes, an army group more

owerful than any the world had ever seen.comprised a force of forty-four divisions,cluding the main mass of the Panzervisions which contained over twoousand armoured vehicles. All night longe army group penetrated into the twisting

efiles, drawing ever closer to the Frenchorder. The tanks drove in close formation,


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ach vehicle guided by the hooded rearght of the tank ahead, an exercise theyad practised over and over again. Seenom the air through the eye of an infra-redamera the German host would indeedave resembled a snake, or rather a seriesf snakes - armoured snakes threadingeir way through the darkness towards theeuse near Sedan.

The leading Panzer division was commanded by a thirty-

o-year-old general who had won his spurs - and hisomotion - in Poland. His unit had led the Wehrmacht into

rning Warsaw and now he looked forward to leading it

o burning Paris. Without aristocratic connections, on

eer ruthless ability, the general had risen in a few brief

ars to command the very tip of the spearhead aimed ate heart of sleeping France. His was, in fact, the first tank,

d now he stood in the turret erect as a fir tree, night field-

asses dangling over his chest, the Knight's Cross

spended from his neck, his eyes fixed on the motor-cycletrol ahead.

Under his high peaked cap his hawk-likece was calm and without a trace ofmotion. His gloved hand rested lightly one turret rim, without tension, to correct hisalance as the huge vehicle made its wayong the insidious road. He might well haveeen on manoeuvres, looking forward to theongratulations of the umpires later and arink with his fellow officers in the mess.xcept for the fact that the general neither


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moked nor drank, and except for therther fact that he was leading the advanceuard of the coming onslaught, confidentat he was about to play a decisive part ine total annihilation of the British and therench.

The tip of the German spearhead reached the Meuse onay 12th, crossed it on May 13th, and by Thursday May

th, the general was in Laon, deep in the heart of France.

e led the advance still erect in his tank, still wearing the

eaked cloth cap in spite of the earlier entreaties of

olonel Hans Meyer, his GSO, to exchange it for a steellmet.

won't be necessary, Meyer. You will see,' the general had

id, 'we "shall cut through them like a scythe.'

Meyer withdrew the helmet as he sourlyecalled a conversation he had had with theeneral,a month earlier during the final waranoeuvres near Wiesbaden. To Meyer itow seemed that the conversation hadken place at least a year ago since

ready the Panzers were pouring over theontoons across the river Meuse.

here will be two or three major battles,'e general had said, 'and these will take

ace soon after we have crossed theeuse. We can expect the fiercest


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esistance for two or three weeks and thentotal collapse of the enemy.'

wonder,' Meyer had replied dubiously.

The general was a little too confident for Meyer's liking,

rticularly when he remembered that this commanding

ficer was a nobody whereas Hans Meyer was descendedom one of the oldest families in East Prussia. One must

ove with the times, of course, and Meyer was only forty-

ree years old. As he watched the endless Panzer column

vancing into the fields of France, Meyer remindedmself that he expected high promotion in this war and that

s largely depended on the general's good-will. So he

ust compromise, keeping his doubts about the general to

mself.

Once beyond the Meuse the Panzers metith only sporadic resistance - the franticring of a few shells from artillery pieces, a

attle of machine guns, an irregular thump ofortar bombs falling somewhere. Theeneral drove his division forward non-stopong the main road, thundering acrossrance in a cloud of dust while the earlyummer sun beat down on the iron column.

way from the road, women working in theelds stopped to watch that dust cloudhich rose like a smokescreen against theot blue sky. It was a beautiful morning, theky cloudless, the sun building up thetense warmth which suggested leisured

ase rather than total warfare. Some of the


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omen thought that the dust cloud markede progress of a French column, although itas travelling in the wrong direction. Othersood and wondered, a feeling ofepression and fear clutching their hearts,ut still not able to accept the fact that theerman army had broken through.

or this is exactly what it had done - it hadroken clean through the French lineshere the Ninth and Second Armies met -e least defensible point along any

ontinuous front. And so far, since the dive-ombers had smashed all resistance on theest bank of the Meuse, there had been noerce battles, none at all. Because the

eneral was young, in the prime of life andndowed with enormous funds of energynd optimism, his sixth sense waseginning to tell him something. It was aatter of keeping going, of not stopping fornything. This mood was not shared by

olonel Hans Meyer.There was an ugly scene when the general's tank halted

efly in the centre of a French village. Behind him four

ore heavy tanks rumbled into the square and halted, their

ge guns revolving slowly round the upper windows of the

d square, menacing even the thought of resistance.eyer climbed down from his tank and approached the

neral, who remained in his turret, still standing erect, hisce expressionless as he handed down his map.


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eyer, the patrol has taken that road,' he pointed with his

oved hand, 'but is it the right one? They have assured me

at it is - what do you think?'

eyer examined the map quickly, looked round at the exits

om the square, consulted his own map, and handed the

her back to the general.

'I'm sure they are right, sir.'

'We'd better check with the locals. You speak French.hat man over there - ask him.'

he general took off his glove, unbuttoned his holster flap,

tracted his pistol, and pointed it at a middle-aged man

th a grey moustache. It was an astonishing scene: the sun

ining down so that it was almost hot, the inhabitantsanding in the old square rigid with fear, like waxwork

ures out of a tableau. Only five minutes earlier they haden going about their daily routines with a touch of anxiety

t with no real fear. Then it had happened - the scared boy

nning into the square shouting something about a hugest cloud. He had hardly finished telling his story when the

otor-cyclists had flashed across the square, tyres

reaming at the corners, vanishing as they raced off to the

est. People had come out of their houses at the

mmotion, completely bewildered. A woman had seenerman soldiers in the side-cars, helmeted figures carrying

achine-pistols. Arguments had broken out. She must be

ad, must be seeing things. And while they argued and

ondered the general had arrived with five tanks. Theage was paralysed as he unsheathed his pistol and

med it.

The man with the moustache steppedrwards and sideways, presenting his body


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the pistol muzzle, shielding a womanstinctively. His wife. A hush of horror felln the sunlit square. Even Meyer wassturbed. He spoke quickly.

hat won't be necessary.'

Ask him, Meyer.'

The gun remained levelled at the man's chest. Meyer

epped forward, his face stiff with anger. He even placed

s own body between the man and the pointed muzzle as

addressed him in excellent French.

Which is the direct route to St Quentin? You see what weve with us, so think carefully before you reply. The direct

ute to St Quentin.'

The Frenchman moistened his lips andanced sideways as an Army truck droveto the square. Before it had pulled up menere jumping out of the back, Germanoldiers armed with rifles and machine-stols. Their sergeant held a map in his

and, a detailed map of the district. Heanced around quickly, pointed, and aetachment ran into a building. Outside ine square, the moustached Frenchmanad taken his decision: he had his wife toonsider, and the other villagers. He

ointed in the direction the motor-cyclistsad taken, his hand wobbling.


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'That is the way to St Quentin - the only direct way. I

wear to God.'

eyer nodded and turned round, his body still shielding the

enchman while the general put away his pistol.

e says the route is down that street. He's telling the truth,m sure of it.'

ood, good. As long as we're sure.' The general turned

und in his turret and called out to the sergeant who stood

the truck with several of his men.

ell them we come as liberators. Tell them also that at theghtest sign of resistance they will all be shot.' He broke

f impatiently. 'You know what to say, I should hope. We

e pressing on.'

He issued the order to his driver and the

nk rumbled away from the square, leavingeyer to scramble up inside his ownehicle while the villagers stood perfectlyill, not yet able to grasp the nightmarehich had arrived in brilliant sunshine.

I'm right, the general told himself as the tank advanced

o open country beyond the village, I do believe I'm right.

e allowed a little of the exultation to well up inside him.

here isn't going to be any real resistance. Those peoplethe village were symbolic: the shock of the armouredmmer had smashed French morale, had brought on a

ate of psychological paralysis. We must keep moving, on

d on. And on and on raced the German spearhead, aearhead tipped by the 14th Panzer division, commanded


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General Heinrich Storch.

he tank crew had been entombed inside the tunnel for

er twenty-four hours and the strain was telling. In spite of

e fact that they had spent over two-thirds of their time in

ck-breaking toil, removing large boulders with their bare

nds, carting away hundredweights of debris with theovels they carried on the tank, their state of near-physical

haustion still couldn't prevent them from thinking, and the

nger they remained trapped inside the hill the more theygan to wonder whether they would ever leave the tunnel

ve. Barnes paused to lean on his shovel, wiping sweat

om his dripping forehead as he looked at his watch in the

adlights. Seven o'clock in the evening of Friday May

th.

They had driven into the tunnel at elevenclock on the morning of the previous daynd there was still no sign that they hadore than scraped the surface of the

ndslide. At the rock face, its impenetrableolidity, only too apparent in the pitilesseadlight beams, Davis and Reynoldsrestled to haul out a massive boulder frome left-hand side of the wall. The two menere working together as a team while

arnes and Penn wielded the shovels - aensible division of labour since the twooopers were easily the strongest men ine crew. Barnes stood back and watchedem working while he began his fifteen-inute break. He had organized the work

outine so they had fifteen minutes off invery hour, and he had further arranged


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at the breaks should be taken in pairs, soat each man had someone to talk to, butt the same time he was encouraged by stilleeing the work in progress. Four menesting at the same time, all voicing theirars, could have a disastrous effect onorale.

'Time for a break, Penn,' he called out.

n a tick - I'll just finish shifting this lot.'

Thirty-four years old, Barnes was not only the oldest

ember of the crew, he was also the smallest. Barely five

ot seven inches tall, he was small-boned and slim, but his

ame was wiry and on a long-term endurance basis heuld probably outlast the other three on sheer will-power

one. His face was lean, clean-shaven, and aboveominent cheekbones his brown eyes were still alert and

atchful as he studied Reynolds and Davis. In size there

asn't a great deal to choose between them; they wereth large, heavily-built men, but there was an enormous

fference in temperament. Whereas Davis, the ex-miner,

as subject to moods of melancholy, Reynolds could be

ied upon to carry out any task he was set until he

opped, showing neither enthusiasm nor depression aty stage. As for thirty-year-old Corporal Penn, he was

sily the most intelligent and best-educated of the four

en. At the outbreak of war he could have obtained a

mmission but he had turned it down for reasons whichere never quite clear. Slim and tall, he was the most light-

arted of the crew, and at the same time the most

nsitive. Dropping his shovel, he wobbled over to Barnes

an exaggerated manner.


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here should be extra pay for this, there really should.

orking underground doesn't come within my agreed

here of duties, you know. I'll have to look it up in King'segs. Mind if we take a stroll along the promenade?'

ong the promenade was Penn's version for walking

rough the tunnel, so Barnes got up off the hull where hed been sitting and walked with Penn, his torch beam

owing the way. As soon as they were out of earshot ofe other two men Penn began talking.

don't like the look of Davis. I don't think he can stand much

ore of this.'

'He'll have to - it's the same for all of usnd we may be through to the other sideny moment now.'

'Do you really think so? That wall could be twenty feetck. I imagine the Germans blew in the entrance.'

ooks like it - or they might have been bombing the

lway and dropped one which started a landslide. It

oesn't make much difference now - we've just got to get

r enough through to be able to use the two-pounder.'

'The two-pounder?' Penn stopped in theiddle of the rail track. 'You're joking, of

ourse?'

'Look, Penn, by the time we see daylight we're going to

pretty tired. And in any case we've been away from the

oop for well over twenty-four hours. God knows what'sen happening on the outside but our job is to get back as


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st as we can - and the way to do that is to shoot our way

t when we can. We'll wait until we have a hole big enough

r me to crawl through and do a recce. Then Davis can

ke his mind off things by shelling the rest out of the way.'

ust so long as Davis lasts out the course - and always

suming we ever reach your little hole.'

ow you're beginning to talk like Davis. It doesn't seem to

ve struck any of you that being cooped up inside here is

damned sight safer than being bombed by Stukas.'

Penn glanced at Barnes in amazement.

e had really meant what he had said,enn felt sure of it. The idea that they mighte trapped inside this tunnel until they wereut of water, out of food, out of lightinghen the batteries ran down - none of thiseemed to have crossed Barnes' mind. In

s usual way he just assumed that theyould make it, that it was only a matter ofme before they broke through that terribleall. Well, if faith moved mountains, Barnesas likely to move that wall, and their tankommander had a habit of backing up bis

ith with planning and forethought: theyere still enjoying meals of bully beef andscuits because of Barnes' insistence thatey should always carry provisions for

ne" week. He turned and followed Barnesack to the rock face, sensing trouble as

oon as they arrived. Davis had apparentlyeen waiting for their return and now the


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urly gunner was glaring at his sergeant, hisoice an insubordinate growl.

We'll never get through this bloody wall.'

'No, we won't - not if you just stand there,' Barnes agreedldly. 'So get on with it.'

'We're wasting our time.,.'

No, Davis - we aren't. At the moment youre the one who is wasting time, so get onith it.'

Barnes' voice was still very mild. He stood close to his

rge gunner with a relaxed air, his eyes never leavingavis'.

We're going to die down here - die, did you hear me? Ande day they'll open up this bleedin' tunnel and find fourrpses - four skeletons.' His voice was close to hysteria

w, his mouth and hands working as though on the edge

a complete breakdown. 'I'm a miner - I know what this

eans. I've...'

avis!' Barnes' tone was sharper now. 'You haven't by anyance thought yourself into thinking that this is a mine

aft, have you?'

'No, but...'


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'So, instead of being hundreds of feet below the surface

e're actually at ground level - right? The fact is, Davis, that

ur being a miner is just about as relevant as the fact that

enn was once a draughtsman. Now, do you expecteynolds to shift that boulder all by himself or are you going

give him a hand?'

may take a fortnight to shift that lot,' Davis persisted

ubbornly. 'There could be hundreds of...'

avis, I'm beginning to lose patience with you. It's justossible that it will take all four of us to break through, so

e can't afford any spare wheels round here, and that's

hat you are at the moment. For the third time, I'm ordering

u to get on with it.'

'Why not have a go at the other end - theall may be thinner there.'

Barnes' face tightened. He prodded a stiff finger hard

o Davis' chest, punctuating his words with prods.

'You have been given an order threemes and three times you have refused toarry it out. As soon as we get back you're

n a charge. In the meantime you will doour bit with the rest of us, and sinceou've wasted five minutes gassing, yourext break period will be ten minutesstead of fifteen. Give Reynolds a handith that boulder at once.'


38/388

He turned away and went back to sit on the tank hull,

ecking his watch to see whether his fifteen minutes was

arly up, putting his hands flat on either side of his body as

watched Davis start work again. Beside him Pennnned and whispered, 'He thinks he can be Bolshie now

e're on our own.' But Barnes made no reply and his face

as grim. It had been a close run thing. They only needed

e rotten apple in the barrel for the infection to spread,d the most contagious infection of all is fear. Outwardly,

arnes remained perfectly confident, his every word and

sture indicating clearly that it was only a matter of some

rd slogging before they reached the outside world, but

wardly he didn't like the look of it. They were marooned ine centre of a battlefield and the war could rage

ckwards and forwards over the front for weeks as it had

ne a quarter of a century earlier. While that went on thereould be a certain shortage of people to go round digging

t buried tunnels, even supposing that the idea seemedportant to them. There was no real problem of air - the

nnel was long enough for them to breathe inside it for

eeks - but their water and food supplies would only last for

veral days, to say nothing of Bert's batteries. And whene batteries went they would be plunged into darkness,

hich would make working on the wall face almostpossible. For the first few hours of their entombment

arnes had mainly fretted about being cut off from his

oop, but as the hours passed and they entered on a newy he found his mind beginning to think like Davis', and

e analogy of the mine disaster was only too apt, which

as why he had shut up Davis at the earliest possible

oment. He glanced at his watch again, nodded to Penn,

d went forward to pick up his shovel.

Twenty-four hours later, in the evening ofaturday May 18th, they had removed ancredibly large mass of rubble and rock, but

ill the wall face was intact. They workedow by the light of the oil lamp which


39/388

arnes always carried inside the tank, ande reason for this was not only to saveert's headlights: Barnes foresaw that later,hen morale was sagging, switching on theeadlights again might just keep them going

while longer, but he kept the real reasonr this decision to himself. In the middle ofe afternoon there had almost been a fatalccident when part of the wall suddenlyame away and slid forward of its ownomentum. Only Reynolds' speed and

rength had saved Davis when he hadrabbed the gunner's arm and hauled himdeways out of the path of the tumblingoulders. It was a measure of their anxietyat even when Davis had just experiencedis shock he was the first to recover,

nning away from Reynolds to gaze up ate centre of the wall in desperate hope, hisoice hoarse and strained.

Maybe we're through now.'

Keep back. I'll see,' snapped Barnes.

ingerly, he had climbed up the rubbleope, expecting at any moment a fresh fall,ut when he had reached the rock face andushed it was like leaning against the side

f a fortress. So they had started again,arnes and Penn working furiously with


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eir shovels to remove the fresh rubble soat the other two could reach the rock faceith their crowbar. It was just after sevenclock in the evening when Penn made his

emark during their rest period. Barnes satongside him on the tank hull, watchingeynolds prising out a fresh boulder whileavis sought to give extra leverage byulling with his bare hands.

's funny, but ever since we've been inere we haven't heard any sound of the

attle.'

'We've probably driven them back a bit - besides, thereasn't so much going on this side of Etreux.'

He left it at that, wondering why thebvious and macabre conclusion had noteen drawn by the others long ago. Thect that they could not hear even faint

ounds of the huge bombardment takingace in the outside world demonstratedore clearly than anything the immenseickness of the wall which barred theirscape. The thought had occurred toarnes twenty-four hours earlier and hado worried him that he had waited until thethers were asleep before walking backown the tunnel. When he reached the farnd he had listened carefully at the blocked


41/388

ntrance but no sound had penetrated frome outside world. They were well and truly

ealed in at both ends. Taking a sip ofater from his mug, he frowned.

hen, very carefully, he put the mug downn the hull and walked over to whereeynolds and Davis were working. Heced the wall and then turned sideways asough listening. It was a dramatic momentnd Penn instantly guessed that somethingad happened because he got down off thenk and walked forward. Something inarnes' attitude had attracted the attentionf Reynolds and Davis and they stoppedorking.

What is it?' asked Penn.

Barnes shook his head and faced the wall again, his

nds on his hips, his eyes searching the surface carefully.

hen he spoke his voice was quiet. 'I think we're nearly

rough.' 'Why?' Penn asked quickly.

can feel a faint current of air - come and stand here.' 'My

od! You're right! You're right!' They began to workverishly at the point where Barnes had traced the air

rrent's entrance, a point about four feet above the level of

e tunnel floor. A quarter of an hour later they experienced

other heart-lifting moment when Barnes told them to stoporking for a minute while he put out the lamp. For a short

me there-was no sound in the darkness of the tunnel whileur pairs of eyes strained to see any sign of daylight in the


42/388

all. It was Barnes who spotted it first - a narrow, paper-thin

t along the upper surface of one large boulder.

We're through,' shouted Davis. 'We're really through. Dear

other of God, we're through!'

ake it easy now,' warned Barnes, 'this could be tricky.

here's still a solid mass of rock up there.'

e relit the oil lamp and when he turned round Davis was

ready inserting the crowbar into a corner near the end of

e slit they had seen, his hands gripping the iron with arocious intensity as he drove the end deeper into the wall

d began to twist and turn for leverage. Barnes opened

s mouth and closed it again without speaking. The poor

vil must have gone through even greater agonies than

e rest of them with his memories of the mine trap he hadcaped from. Barnes had realized this when he had

eated Davis roughly, but any display of sympathy at that

me could have destroyed the morale of all of them, and

arnes never forgot the dictum of Napoleon - morale is toe material as three is to one. So now he let Davis break

ose as he dug and rammed the bar into the remaining

rrier, punishing his hands with the force of his efforts and

ver even noticing the punishment. Penn spoke as heovelled debris to expose the base of the remaining

cks. 'I'll tell you now, I never thought we'd make it.' 'We'll

ce tougher things than this before this war's over.' Within

n minutes Davis had prised the boulder loose and

eynolds was helping him to haul it back out of the wall, aoulder as large as the oil stove they carried inside Bert for

mergency cooking arrangements. It came away suddenly.ne moment Davis was leaning his full weight against the

owbar, sweat streaming down the sides of his face, anden the rock was shifting inwards, swaying gently before it

ppled back into the tunnel, so unexpectedly that the two

en had to jump sideways to avoid it. Picking up the oil

mp, Barnes held it behind his back and they all stared at

e oblong of daylight. It was a memorable moment. Four-

en, each of whom had secretly felt that they would neverake it, knew now that they would live. There was a pause


43/388

hen no one spoke, no one moved. Then Davis went

erserk.

Seizing the crowbar which had fallen withe boulder, he rammed it behind the rockbove the opening and began heaving and

wisting with all his strength. Barneshouted a warning, but Davis either didn't orouldn't hear him. He felt the rock movingasily and dropped the crowbar. Reachingp to his full height he pushed, both handsat against the rock, which fell outwards,

nlarging the window considerably,nlarging it enough for Davis to climb upto it, crouching inside the alcove on hisnees as he pushed with his hands at theosened rock above. Barnes was still

houting when disaster struck.

The upper rock was held in position over the opening by

dges on either side of the aperture, but it moved loosely the ledges so that when Davis again pushed his full

rength against it the rock wobbled and then fell outwards

der the fierce pressure of Davis' hands. As it fell away it

hinged the centre of gravity of the wall above. Davis was

ll crouched in the aperture when there was a low rumblingund. The whole upper wall began to quiver and

sintegrate. Barnes was running forward to grab Davis

hen Penn grasped his arm firmly and hauled him backainst the side of the tunnel. A second later an avalanche

rock and rubble poured down over the floor where

arnes had been standing, spilling tons of debris along the

ntre of the rail track, filling the tunnel with a roaring sound

hich deafened them. Then they were bending over andoking and spluttering as the dust invaded their lungs and


44/388

nded their eyes.

was only when the dust began to settle that Barnes saw

hat had happened. On the far side of the tunnel, his back

ainst the wall, Reynolds was safe. Beside Barnes, Penn

as wiping his eyes to try and clear bis vision. But it was

e entrance to the tunnel which was the most awe-inspiringght. The new landslide had completely cleared the upper

rt of the tunnel, leaving a great gap above the rubble

ope which now stretched deep inside the tunnel, a gaprough which they could see the blessed evening sky, a

p through which-Bert could be driven once he had

ounted the slope.

It took them several minutes to locateavis, and they found the gunner only a fewet away from where Barnes had beenanding after Penn had jerked him back outf the path of the falling wall. At least, theyund Davis' head. The rest of his body was

uried under the fall and it needed only aecond's examination for them to realizeat he was dead.

WO

aturday3 May 18th

Something very strange had happened to the world in

s part of Belgium. The war had gone away.

efore they drove the tank out of the tunnel, up the rubbleope, and down the other side, Barnes had made a


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rsonal reconnaissance in the brilliant warmth of early

ening. The first thing that struck him was the incredible

ence, a silence which was intensified by the only sound,

e peaceful twittering of an unseen bird. Beyond the tunnele railway stretched away across open country, the track

mpty, the green fields deserted, not a sign of life

ywhere. Etreux, or what was left of it, must have petered

t farther along the hillside, because over to his right thereere no buildings, no people. Only the still waters of the

oad canal which barred their easy way back to Etreux.

e found the silence, the absence of gunfire, so disturbing

at he climbed a little way up the hillside above the

ecked tunnel entrance, but still he heard nothing, sawthing. The war had gone far away - to where? And which

ay? He sat down for a moment on the grass, his nervesrangely on edge as though the peaceful landscape were

l of sinister meaning. He sat there blinking against therong sunlight, drinking in the fresh air, then he got up

ickly, went back to the tank, and gave the order to

vance.

here had been no question of burying Davis, for Davis

as already buried under a ton of rock, so they wrote hisme, rank, and number on a piece of paper and left this

der a rock close to the head. Then they drove away, too

hausted to feel much emotion other than shock at the

ddenness of the gunner's death. The thought uppermost

Barnes' mind now was that his crew was reduced fromur to three. They were all capable of firing the guns in an

mergency and he told Perm that when the need arose he

ould act as gunner. As they moved along the rail trackarnes stood in the turret, map in hand, and his mindeighed up the situation grimly. At least they had almost full

el tanks, which meant that they could travel one hundred

d fifty miles along the roads, a distance which would be

duced by fifty per cent once they began moving acrossuntry, but this was the only credit point he. could muster.

ne crew member short, the wireless out of action, no

owledge of where Parker might be: they almostsembled a warship sailing into uncharted seas with no


46/388

eans of communicating with its base. Half his mind

ondered the dubious likelihood of rejoining his troop while

e other half toyed with the glimmer of an idea which was

grow. Whatever happened, they must find a really

orthwhile objective.

A mile from the tunnel the track reached a

vel crossing and it was at this point whereey turned off the railway line and began toove along a second-class road which ran

etween low hedges bordering fields ofoor grassland. Six miles farther on theyhould turn right along a road which would

ke them into the rear area behind Etreux.ut where were the armies?

Standing upright in the turret Barnes strained his ears for

unds of gunfire, strained his eyes for sight of smoke or

anes. The fields stretched away, empty; the sky, a vault of

le blue, stretched away uninhabited. The uncanny feelingew, a feeling of men moving into unexplored territory. The

nk tracks ground forward at top speed, the engines

robbed with power, as though determined to enjoy to the

l this race across open country after the confinementside the tunnel, and then Barnes saw the first traces of

ttle - the faint marks of tank tracks in the fields, the

casional crater where a shell or bomb had exploded, and

they proceeded along the deserted road the tracescame more frequent, less reassuring. At one point

arnes ordered Reynolds to halt while he got down

examine wrecked vehicles by the roadside. They were~

rnt-out tanks, five of them, and they were French Renault

nks which looked as though they had fought the entireerman Army on their own, A little farther along the_road

stopped again and Penn climbed but with him to look atmess of French equipment. In the ditch, rifles lay there as

ou h the had been thrown down in anic fli ht from


47/388

mething awful and overpowering. When Barnes picked

e up he found the weapon was still loaded. A few yardsrther along there were abandoned Army packs,

andoned helmets, all French. Search as he might,

arnes could find no German equipment. Two of the

lmets were occupied, the bodies lying on their backs

cing the sky. Then more rifles, all of them loaded.

don't like the look of it,' said Barnes. 'The loaded rifles, Iean. It looks as though they just ran for their lives. Tanks

ainst men, probably.'

hey've retreated, then,' remarked Penn quietly. 'Looks like

A helluva lot must have happened while we were bottled

in that tunnel. According to the map there's a villageout five miles farther on - we should get news there. I may

lt Bert outside and go in on foot. I don't like the look of

s at all.'

'It could be Jerry who has retreated,' saidenn thoughtfully. 'Parker may be on the

hine now.'

Wars don't move at that speed, Penn, noteither direction. As to Jerry retreating, I

ill don't like the look of those loaded rifles

the ditch - they smell of French retreat.We'd better get on.'

s they moved along the road Barnes sawore and more evidence that the scythe ofar had passed that way, more and more

urnt-out Renault tanks, smashed guns, stillgures lying sprawled in the fields, helmets.


48/388

nd always they were French helmets. Heas still waiting to see even one sign oferman casualties in either men orachines, and he had not found it when he

aw in the distance the first indication of lifethis eerily empty landscape - a horizontal

ne of smoke. The line crossed the sky justbove the ground and it hung perfectly stills though drawn in with charcoal. But atne end, the end which was approachinge road half a mile farther on, the line was

rowing and he realized it was smoke fromtrain's engine, a train which was stillvisible below the level of an embankment.e scanned the sky and stiffened, his handghtening on the turret rim. High up in theue vastness a formation of planes was

ying on a course which seemed to parallele direction of the train. He raised hisasses and focused them. It was

mpossible to be sure but they looked like aquadron of British Blenheim bombers ands heart lifted at the sight of them.

As the tank trundled forward he watched the planesming closer and then, focusing his glasses along the

ad, he saw the level crossing which the train would pass

er within the next minute. He swivelled his glasses backthe aerial formation and caught his breath. They were

oving into line now -coming in for a bombing run. Heve the order to halt and warned his crew over theercom.


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hink there'll be some bombs dropping in the vicinity

ortly. Don't laugh - but they'll be coming from our chaps.'

o one laughed as they waited in the stationary tank, thegines still ticking over. Should they reverse, wondered

arnes, and then he rejected the idea. -They might just as

sily reverse into a bomb. He prepared to slam down the

but for the moment he waited, curious to see whether theenheims hit their target.

'What are they after?' Penn called up.

A train, I think. It's just about to cross the

oad farther along, so get ready for it.'

His glasses brought up the road ahead now and he saw

e smoke line emerge from behind the embankment. The

ain began to move across the road into the fields beyond.wo engines, drawing a line of goods coaches. He sucked

his breath as he saw tiny figures clustered round a long

rrel on a flat truck. A Bofors? He could hear the gun now

it began pumping shells into the sky. When he looked upe first bombs were falling, small black dots against the

arm blue, too far away to menace Bert, thank God, but

ey were going to be close, mighty close, to that train. The

ck of dots vanished behind the smoke and he waited for

e detonations. As he stood there, his eyes glued to themoke line, a colossal explosion murdered the evening, far

ore enormous than it should have been. The first shockave swept along the road as a coach went hump-backed.

he wave buffeted against the tank hull and Barnes startedscramble inside, the words screaming through his brain.

mmunition train! The second, more devastating shock

ave hit the tank when he was halfway down, his hand

side the turret, the lid still open. The tremendous force of

e wave unbalanced his footing and his head smashed

ck against the steel rim. At that very moment thedetected Messerschmitt swooped in a power dive, all


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ns blazing, but Barnes was already unconscious.

Saturday evening, 7 PM. The 14th Panzer Division was

cing deeper into France, now well beyond Laon, coming

ose to the Somme. General Heinrich Storch not only hade nose of a hawk, he also had the eye of that predatory

rd, and this eye was now fixed on a hump some distance

way across the fields. Whipping up his glasses, he

cused on the object, letting out his breath in a hiss. He

oke briefly into the microphone hanging from his neck asshell screamed across the field towards the tank, column.

75-mm gun, Storch told himself, the best artillery piece in

e whole French Army, probably the only gun capable of

king on a German heavy tank. He looked back as theell exploded over the road and in the field beyond. A

nging shot. The column was already obeying his

mmand.

Storch's tank increased speed, rumblingong the road like an angry dinosaur while

e gunner followed Storch's orders,aversing the turret which carried the barrelf his heavy gun towards the Frenchrtillery position. Behind him four tanksere moving at different speeds, so that inss than a minute they were well spaced

ut, making the French gun-aimer's taskfinitely more difficult. He could now aim atnly one target, while at the same time fournks were firing back without fear of

etaliation. The Panzer column stopped, fiveng barrels aimed across the field towards

e camouflaged hump. A second shellcreamed towards them, fell just short of


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e centre tank, and exploded in the grass,cattering a rain of soil over the hull. Theanzers replied.

One hand gripping the turret rim, the otherolding his field glasses, Storch felt theecoil of his own heavy cannon. This shellso fell short of its target, sending up aoud of smoke in front of the 75-mmosition. Storch spoke briefly, confident that

e next shot would be on target, but hisunner never had the opportunity to fireecause a shell from the tank behind landedquarely on top of the French position. Itxploded, smoke blotting out the target,en there was a second explosion as the

5-mm ammunition went up, hurling theangled bodies of the gun crew across theeld. Two more tanks fired, as thoughncouraged by the marksmanship of theireighbour, both shells landed inside thellowing smoke, scattering the relics of the

mashed gun. Storch issued the order toease fire, his field-glasses on the target,s voice quiet.

'Congratulations, Meyer. Your duck-shooting experience

bearing fruit.'


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Inside his own tank turret Meyer tighteneds lips. It was typical that Storch could notat him on the back without in the samereath digging him in the ribs. The duck-hooting remark was a slighting reference

his aristocratic background, he had nooubt about that. While they waited, Meyerolished his monocle and screwed it backto position. He wore it on every possibleccasion simply because he knew that itnnoyed Storch, who regarded the eye-

ass as a badge of caste. Then he hearde general's high-pitched voice through therackle of his earphones. They were on theove again.

torch's sense of exultation was growing. his mind's eye he was already racinghead to the distant objective of Amiens,nly twenty-five miles from the sea. Hisanzer division was in the lead of thextraordinary advance and he was

etermined that it should maintain thatosition. Speaking into the microphone, herdered the driver to increase speed, evenough there was a danger that they mightvertake the motor-cycle patrols, but thepotter plane had just radioed back to say

e road ahead was clear.


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ollowing up in the second tank, Meyeriped his face clean of the dusk kicked upy Storch's vehicle, his mood very differentom that of his commanding officer. Sooney were passing through yet anotherrench village without stopping, witnessingnce again the same astonishing scene:nother church, another village square, thehabitants standing petrified against thealls, too scared or too astounded to rushdoors as the Panzer column thundered

ast. This can't go on much longer, Meyerld himself grimly. They had already farut-distanced the infantry and he was going have a word with Storch about that at the

ext stopping point. All Meyer's professionalstincts revolted against this wild headlong

ush into the blue.They left the village and emerged once again into the

en French landscape, a sea of fields stretching away for

er, the sunlight shining down on dry pasturelands. And

hereas Storch saw every evidence of a French collapse in

e deserted view ahead, Meyer saw a panorama full ofdden dangers. He was well aware that the Manstein Plan

visaged a. tremendous encircling sweep which would cutf the northern group of Allied armies from the French

rces in the south, a sweep which would be completedhen they reached the sea, but it seemed to Meyer that this

an was based on the extraordinary assumption that the

ies would sit back and let this happen. From his Great

ar experience Meyer knew this to be the assumption of a

adman. At any moment the enemy counter-attack would

upt, rolling like a tidal wave against the armouredlumn's stretched out far ahead of the main German army.


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e only hoped to God that the counter attack would not

aterialize behindthem. Another instruction came as theypproached a crossroads. Storch was waiting in his

ationary tank as Meyer arrived. Climbing down out of bis

wn vehicle he walked over and stood looking up at his

neral, who spoke first.

he spotter plane reports something on the road ahead -s investigating.'

know.' Meyer took a deep breath, wishing that Storch

ould come down out of his turret. 'I've been expecting this

ere'll be a heavy counter-attack at any moment. May I

ggest that we wait here until the infantry catches us up? It

ght even be wiser to withdraw a few miles - tonsolidate.'

'Why?'

Storch's voice was silky. He leaned over the turret to

amine Meyer, who was at a further disadvantageecause the general's peaked cap shaded his face and he

uldn't see his expression.

ecause we have no supporting troops to hold the ground

e have taken.' He took another deep breath. 'In fact, what

e have taken may mean very little without troopscupying the ground we are rushing over like the Berlin

xpress.'

As soon as he had spoken he felt that head gone too far, but having spoken he wasetermined not to back down and he

repared to defend himself. In any case, ifings did go wrong this might well be a


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seful conversation to repeat at a militaryourt of inquiry. The general did not replymmediately. Instead, he turned his headdeways, cocking his ear as though

stening to something almost beyond theange of human hearing. Storch did havexceptional hearing powers and hettributed these to his total abstinence.ooking up, squinting against the sun'sare, Meyer had a view of Storch's profileow - an arrogant curve of nose, the thin

ide mouth, the sharply pointed jaw-line.

'It sounds like bombing,' the general commented. 'Ourukas must be taking out the next town. So, you think we

ght to stop here do you, Meyer?'

'Or withdraw to a less-exposed...'

May I remind you, Colonel Meyer,' Storchaused, still listening, 'that this Panzer

vision is under my command, and I, inrn, am responsible to the Corpsommander, General Guderian*, who takess instructions from General vonundstedt?'

General Guderian, who had carefullyudied General de Gaulle's work, 'The


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rmy of the Future', was chiefly responsibler the development of the Panzer divisions.uderian later took the armoured host toe southern approaches of Moscow.

eyer was appalled. What on earth was

oming? Surely Storch was notontemplating sending him back to base?e stood stiffly as the awful realization ofs tactical error dawned on him. For Storchould easily interpret what had just beenaid as faint-heartedness in the face of the

nemy. Meyer said nothing as Storchontinued in the same silky tone.

'And may I also remind you of General Guderian's ordersat the Panzers are to be let off the leash - to push forward

far and as fast as they can while their petrol lasts out?'

or the first time the general looked down at his GSO as he

lled down his earphones in position, listened, and then

ed them again. His voice was harsher now.

may interest you to know that the spotter plane hascated and identified the obstacles in our path - two

ench farm carts. I don't imagine, Colonel Meyer, that we

ould allow ourselves to be troubled by such opponents.'

e stood up in his turret, erect as a ramrod. 'Meyer, please

turn to your tank - the advance will continue in the generalrection of Amiens.'

Barnes sensed that something wasrong, that this was no normal waking, so

e resisted the temptation to open his eyesmmediately. He listened. His mind felt


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uddled and he was vaguely aware that head been dreaming, dreaming somethingnpleasant, something to do with the war,ut it had receded from his realms ofonsciousness. He always woke up quickly

nd now he pushed the dream, theghtmare, away, struggling to grasp wheree was.

Where the hell was he? It was very quiet inside the

ilding and he was lying stretched out on his back staring

at a beamed and raftered ceiling far above his head,arm gripping him as memory surged back. The

enheims, the long smoke line, the ammunition train, the

rrible explosion, a feeling of something tearing into his

ht shoulder, then oblivion. Still lying on the blanket, hisgers reached up and explored the shoulder, contacting a

ck dressing, sticky plaster. Yes, they'd got him, all right.

ut where was he now - and where were Penn and

eynolds?

He tried to sit up on the blanket andopped back as a wave of dizziness rolledver him. His head was aching horribly and

e felt weak and washed-out, hardly able tooncentrate.

nder the dressing his shoulder throbbednd at the pit of his stomach was a

ensation of sickness. Tentatively, still lyingown, he tested his legs by crooking them


58/388

t the knee; first the right knee, then theft. They seemed to be in one piece. Nowr the arms. He worked them round overe blanket, clenching and unclenching his

ngers. As far as he could tell his mainandicap was an appalling weakness whichad reduced his normally wiry frame to theonsistency of a jelly. Turning his head tone side, he saw his boots standing a fewet away, placed neatly together, theecaps gleaming like black glass. He knew

ey were his own boots because heecognized a tiny scratch on one toecap,nd the sight of these boots heartened himecause they had recently been cleanedith great care, which meant that Reynoldsust have cleaned them. To take the

eight off his shoulder, he moved his bodyver sideways, lifting his head to examines quarters. He was inside some kind ofutbuilding, probably part of a farm. Yes, ine far corner he could see an old ploughnd beside it some of their Army kit - a dixie

upported on an improvised tripod,uspended over the ashes of a fire, andwo enamel mugs. Then he saw somethinganding against the wall which gave him aad turn. A German machine-pistol with theagazine protruding below the barrel, its

rap coiled in a neat loop.


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e tried to stand up to reach the loadedeapon but his legs gave way, so herawled from under the blanket over hisody and wobbled his way across theooden floor on his knees, naked from theaist upwards. He collapsed as he reachede weapon. Gritting his teeth, he forcedmself up on to his knees again, grabbede pistol by its long barrel and then crawledack to his blankets. Sitting up, he began toxamine the machine-pistol, extracting the

agazine before he fiddled with the firingechanism. As he found out how the gunorked it came back to him. Someone hadttended to his wound, a man with redheeks and a bushy white moustache. Theame man had given him an injection, he

ould remember the prick of the needle ins right arm, and later the stranger hadome back to re-dress his wound. He couldemember that very clearly because he hadesented being woken up. But how long hadey been inside this place? Six hours?

welve hours? He looked at his watch ande face was cracked, the hands stopped at45. That would be about the time whene ammunition train blew up. Through aindow high up in the wall he could see thatwas broad daylight, another glorious day

ith the sky blue and hot. It must be Sundayorning or afternoon, Sunday May 19th.


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hen he heard someone coming. Re-serting the magazine, he pulled a blanketp over him and sat still, the gun concealednder the blanket, his left hand under thearrel, his right hand round the triggeruard.

Two men walked in through the huge door at the far end

the building. Penn and a stranger, a lad no older than

ghteen, who wore a blue denim jacket and trousers, bis

irt open at the front. He looked the picture of health, tall,ell-built, his manner radiating an air of vitality. His fair hair

as combed neatly back over his head and his blue eyes

oked down at Barnes with curiosity. Penn lookedrprised as they stopped near his bedside.

'You're awake, Sergeant.'

What did you expect to find - a corpse?Who's this?'

'This is Pierre. He speaks English. Pierre, meetergeant Barnes.'

'I am happy to meet you, Sergeant.'

The lad bent down and to Barnes' embarrassment he

lemnly shook hands. Then he stood up and waitedthout saying a word.


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'Where's Reynolds?' demanded Barnes.

He's on guard outside.'

Guarding Bert, you mean?'

Yes, Bert's in the next shed. Don't worry -e's well out of sight.'

And what does that mean - why should Iorry?'

How are you feeling?' Penn inquired.You've had...'

'Well enough to wonder what the devil is going on. How

ng have we been in this place, Penn?'

'You've had concussion. When the Jerryghter dived at us you caught a bullet in thehoulder and banged your head a fourpennyne on the turret.'

can remember that,' Barnes snappedritably. 'Do get to the point and answer myuestion. How long have we been here?'

our days.'

The answer hit Barnes like a thunderclap. For once in his

e he was speechless as the implications of Penn'satement raced through his brain. Where was the troop?


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ome to that, where was the BEF? Sitting up was making

e throbbing of his shoulder wound worse: he would have

ved to lie down again but that was out of the question. He

nked away the muzziness of his vision as Penn spokeain.

'You'd better listen to what Pierre has toay - he knows more about it than I do.'

arnes looked up at the lad, his voice politeut firm.

'Pierre, would you mind going outside and staying with

ooper Reynolds for a few minutes?'

e saw Pierre's face drop and Penn frowned. When the lad

d gone out and shut the door Penn protested.

wish you hadn't done that - we may need him. You don'tow the position here.'

'And I won't until you tell me.' Barnesropped the blanket and laid the machine-stol on its side.

What did you want that for?' asked Penn.

'I'd no idea what was happening when I woke up - a

uple of Jerries might have walked through that door.

ow, what's the position?'


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enn paused and then burst out with it. 'We're a helluva

ng way behind the German lines. Maybe twenty miles or

ore.'

'We can't be...'

'The Germans have broken through along the whole front.

hey've torn a tremendous gap in the lines and it's a bloody

eat mess - just how great it's hard to tell because theree so many rumours...'

'It could be a rumour that they've brokenrough, then.'

No chance of that - I heard this morningat the Panzers have reached Arras. Theuftwaffe has the whole show to itself - ourt and the French Air Force were shot outf the sky in the first few

Tramp in Armour - Colin Forbes

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Transcript of Tramp in Armour - Colin Forbes