'Damn it all,' Tanner muttered. He scrambled back from where he was crouching behind the rubble, hurried behind the barn and along to the other end. There was no sign of Sykes. Gingerly, he peered round the corner. He was looking out on to a small yard and a track that ran between the barn and an old brick farmhouse, which also gave them cover from the battery on the other side of the house but not from the vehicles some two hundred yards away down by the cemetery. Sykes was at the far side of the house, peering towards the back of the battery, when suddenly he turned and scuttled back to the cover of the barn.
'Blimey, that was close!' he gasped. 'They've got two prisoners. And there's some big cheese with 'em, too.' Sykes turned towards the rear of the battery, Tanner following his gaze. Four men were striding towards a gate below the farmhouse that joined the track leading to the cemetery: the general, then an NCO with silver chevrons on his sleeve holding a sub-machine-gun, and two British prisoners - tankmen wearing black berets.
Tanner glanced back towards Peploe and the others, motioned to them to keep low and out of sight, then brought his rifle to his shoulder once more.
'He was out front a minute ago,' he whispered to Sykes. 'The silly sod moved just as I was taking a shot at him. Got the man next to him instead.' He pulled back the bolt, and peered through the scope. A British prisoner was blocking his view. 'Get out the bloody way,' he muttered.
'Bit risky, wasn't it, Sarge?'
'Not really. I fired in time with the guns. No one had a clue where it had come from.'
'Sarge,' said Sykes, urgency in his voice. The general was now slightly behind, and Tanner could see half his head.
'Sarge,' said Sykes again, 'if you fire now you'll blow our chance of surprise. And those prisoners will probably end up getting killed an' all.'
'He's a sodding general, though, Stan. Might be a really big cheese.' The German commander's head now filled his sight. He curled his finger around the trigger.
'Sarge, our orders was to destroy the guns.'
'I've got a clear shot.'
'Don't do it, Sarge. Please. You'll scupper the mission.'
A split second. That was all it would take. His finger was on the trigger, the general's head still in his sights. The four men had now reached the gate.
'Let him go, Sarge,' whispered Sykes. 'If he comes back, shoot him then.'
Tanner closed his eyes a moment, then lowered his rifle. 'All right, Stan.' The four men were through the gate now and striding down the track towards the vehicles. The general signalled and the engine of the eight-wheeled armoured car roared into life. Tanner watched the four men slipping below the ridge and the armoured car drove slowly up towards them, its high profile dominating the track. It stopped and they clambered on. Tanner watched the general step onto the turret, the guns still booming on the far side of the farmhouse, although at a less frenetic rate of fire. I could get you now. He raised his rifle once more, but a moment later, the big beast was reversing down the track. At the cemetery it turned, then headed off in clouds of dust towards the smoking village.
Tanner cursed, then signalled to Peploe to bring the men over.
'You did the right thing, Sarge,' said Sykes.
'Maybe. Anyway, what do you think? What did you see from over by the house?' He looked at his watch. Ten to six. They needed to get a move on.
'The house is in an L-shape,' Sykes told him. 'There's some outbuildings the far side, a few bushes and small trees beyond it.'
'Before the copse?'
'Yes. They'll give cover, I think. But 'ere's another thing. That copse is just a circle of trees that overlook a kind of dip, but the land falls away to the right where there's a track leading into it. There's a bank again the far side, though. I reckon it was a quarry once. Grassed over now, but there're two 'owitzers in it. It's a brilliant position unless your attackers are right on top of you.' He grinned. 'Then it's a bloody death trap.'
'What kind of field guns?'
'Quite big. Like the ones they had in Norway when we were outside Lillehammer.'
'105s,' said Tanner. 'There are two big anti-tank guns at the edge of the copse and a smaller one.' The rest of the platoon were now hurrying, a line of ants, towards the cover of the barn.
'No one saw me, Sarge,' said Sykes. 'They're just gunners, I reckon, and bloody busy they seem too. They're firing at an 'ell of a rate.'
'There's an MG team somewhere. The far side of the copse, maybe.'
Peploe joined them. 'What was going on?'
'Just waiting for the coast to clear, sir,' said Tanner.
'Have you got a plan, Sergeant?'
'Yes, sir.' Tanner felt hot, suddenly, and wiped his brow, then tried unsuccessfully to suppress a cough - the cordite was irritating his throat. Peploe beckoned the section commanders to gather round.
'Sergeant Tanner's got a plan of attack,' he said to them. 'Sergeant?'
Briefly, Tanner explained the layout of the farm and copse. 'Rosso,' he said to Corporal Ross, 'you head out first and put your section in the bushes in front of the farm. Make sure your Bren has a really clear line of fire. Stan, I'll come with your lads round the back. Hopefully we can cross the gap without being spotted, but if we are, Rosso's section can keep them busy. At the same time, sir, you lead Cooper's section around the other side.'
'Like Hannibal at Cannae,' said Peploe. Seeing Tanner's puzzled expression, he said, 'A pincer movement. Hit hard at the front and envelop either side.'
'Exactly, sir. But, Rosso, it's important your boys don't open fire until Stan and I have got past. Sir, your lot must move under the cover of Rosso's fire - but you can use the bushes and there are some outbuildings that'll give cover. Speed and weight of fire is the key to this.'
'Good,' said Peploe. He was pale, his eyes darting from one to another. 'Brief your men and then let's go. Corporal Ross, as soon as you're ready.'
'One minute, sir,' said Tanner. His heart was hammering again. Shaky hands undid the clips on his ammunition pouches. From his respirator bag he produced half a dozen hand grenades, which he stuffed into his deep trouser pockets for ease of access. 'Then he walked down the line of men. Knuckles showed white around rifles, eyes stared at him. Men bit their lips. 'You'll be fine, lads,' said Tanner. 'Now iggery, all right? Once the shooting starts, keep moving. They're only bloody gunners so they'll all be deaf as posts and won't hear you coming.'
It was nearly six o'clock. He looked at the lieutenant, who nodded to him, then patted Ross's shoulder. He watched the corporal breathe in deeply, then turn the corner of the barn and sprint across the yard to the edge of the house, the rest of his section following. Tanner winked at Corporal Cooper, then said to Sykes, 'Right, Stan, let's go.'
Clutching his rifle in his right hand, he ran across the open yard, the dust kicked up from Ross's section catching in his mouth. As he rounded the end of the house he was relieved to see Ross's men already diving for cover among the bushes that perched on the lip of the hollow. He could now see the route into the quarry. Sykes had been right - it was quite a drop, some ten or twelve feet deep, and they'd have to scramble down and up the other bank. He breathed out, then waved at the rest of the section to hurry.