And it was not only refugees who had hindered their progress but Wehrmacht soldiers - troops on their way to the front. Timpke had personally seen Brigadefuhrer Eicke stand up in his command car and berate footsore German soldiers, yelling at them to clear off the road and let his superior, mechanized Waffen-SS division forge ahead. Timpke had smiled: Papa Eicke was an example to them all.
They had reached their concentration area at a village west of Philippeville earlier that afternoon and Eicke had immediately called together his staff officers and unit commanders in an orchard beside a river. There he had read out the sitrep that had just arrived. It had already proved a morning of dramatic advance for General von Rundstedt's Army Group A. General Guderian's 2nd Panzer Division had captured St Quentin earlier that morning, while just after midday, the 1st Panzer Division had reported having crossed the river Somme; 6th Panzer was engaging French armour at Le Catelet, while Major- General Rommel's 7th Panzer Division had recently taken Le Cateau and was now pushing towards Cambrai.
Timpke's heart sank, and he couldn't help turning away to rest his head despondently against the trunk of a gnarled apple tree. A breeze ruffled its leaves and the lengthening grass beneath them. Nearby, wood pigeons cooed rhythmically, as though they hadn't a care in the world.
'Don't look so despondent, Otto,' said Eicke. 'It's not all bad news.'
Suddenly, Timpke was aware that the division's senior officers were all staring at him. He gazed at Eicke, at his cap with the death's head above the braid, the peak so low it almost covered those pale eyes of his. His thin- lipped mouth was turned up at one side - a half-smile that signalled to Timpke that he was a favoured son, a man after my own heart.
'Forgive me, Herr Brigadefuhrer,' said Timpke. 'I just want there to be something left for us to do.'
Eicke smiled. 'As do we all. Otto. And, as it happens, we have been asked to help Panzer Group Hoth who are concerned that Major-General Rommel is overreaching himself. In Seventh Panzer's rapid advance to Cambrai they have simply swept past a number of towns, and we are now to follow up behind and secure them. I want your reconnaissance battalion and Infantry Regiment 1 to carry out this role. Yes, it's a limited operation, but trust me, even the feeble-hearted poilus will counter-attack at some point. They've been knocked off balance, caught with their trousers down, but they'll get back on their feet. An army of that size has to. In a moment, I want you and Standartenfuhrer Simon to sit down with the 04 and he will brief you about what I want your reconnaissance boys to do. The rest of us must be patient a short while longer. That's all, gentlemen.'
As Eicke strode towards the manor house that stood beyond the orchard, Timpke made his way to the division's 04 staff officer, Obersturmbannfuhrer Geisler.
'Follow me,' said Geisler, leading Timpke and Standartenfuhrer Simon towards the house. 'Hopefully, we've got an operations room set up by now.' They crossed the orchard and passed through an old door, half falling off its hinges, which led to a courtyard and the manor house. Trucks and other vehicles had been parked in the orchard and all along the road, but more trucks and staff cars were now crammed in front of the newly requisitioned house. Inside, Geisler showed Timpke and Simon into what, until an hour before, had been the dining room. Generations of the owners' family looked down on them, several soldiers from centuries past. One, in an eighteenth-century wig and blue velvet jacket, clutching the hilt of his sword, appeared to sneer, his lip curled with contempt. Ha, thought Timpke. Well, we're here now.
Geisler rolled out a large map across the table. 'We're here,' he said, pointing to the tiny village. 'Here's Avesnes, Le Cateau and St Quentin,' he added, placing a finger on each in turn. 'And here's the Somme. This is where General von Kleist's panzers are leading the charge. Up here are General Hoth's two panzer divisions. Rommel's is now here at Cambrai.' He turned to Simon. 'Herr Standartenfuhrer, we need your Regiment 1 to clear these towns.' He pointed to the map. 'St Souplet, L'Arbre de Guise and Catillon. Enemy troops are still dug in around Mauberge, but you are to bypass them.'
Simon peered through his wire-framed round glasses at the map, then busily made notes.
'And the reconnaissance battalion?' asked Timpke.
'Also avoid Mauberge,' said Geisler, 'but probe north between Cambrai and Valenciennes and be on hand should the Standartenfiihrer need you.'
Timpke nodded. 'So I'll spread out my companies.'
'Exactly,' said Geisler. 'Have a look around - get the lie of the land. See which bridges are still available, and what damage has been done. We need to know the best routes to the front. The boss wants us to move very quickly the moment we're ordered to do so.' He pulled out his pocket watch. 'It's not quite a hundred kilometres from here to Cambrai, so it would be best to move straight away. Get near to the front tonight, and the boss wants you to use your time well from the moment it's light enough tomorrow morning. Clear?'
'Perfectly, Herr Obersturmbannfuhrer.'
Within half an hour, the Totenkopf's reconnaissance battalion was on the move, heading west in company formation, motorcycles and armoured scout cars leading, followed by motorized infantry, half-tracks towing their 37mm and 50mm anti-tank guns, and the Skoda tanks of the panzer squadrons.
It was with the 1st Company that Timpke now travelled in his staff car, following in the wake of the motorcycles as they sped north-west along the French- Belgian border, the roads, for once, blissfully free of refugees. He drummed his hand against his leg, bit at a nail, then glanced back at the column of armoured cars and trucks behind, swirling clouds of dust following in their wake. I'm leading them into combat, he thought, with satisfaction. At that moment, he felt invincible.
A young couple lived at the farm with their three small children and the farmer's mother. Although they were quick to sell the Rangers some food - cheese, bread and even two pigs - it was clear that the farmer and his wife were terrified, and within an hour of the Tommies' arrival they were gathering their family and a couple of suitcases into their truck.
Seeing this, Lieutenant Peploe went over to them. The farmer, with an agitated expression, casting anxious glances at the men now crowding the yard, spoke animatedly, then put the vehicle into gear and drove out through the archway.
'Scared, is he?' said Tanner, as he joined Peploe. Above, clouds were building and a cool breeze now blew across the yard.
'They saw the Germans earlier too,' Peploe told him, 'and they've heard the sound of battle for the past two days. They're going to keep out of the way until the storm passes. He said he didn't want any Germans finding out he'd helped the British.'