'Bloody hell,' said Tanner, looking northwards, 'that's Duisans, isn't it?'
'And east of there too.' Peploe rubbed his eyes and cheeks. 'Look, we've got to move into position, back up the road towards the water-tower. Then we'll dig in around the hedgerows along the edge of the village.'
'All right, sir, let's go. Shall we leave the trucks?'
'Yes, they'll be safer here, I hope.'
Tanner called to the rest of the platoon, who had been waiting by the vehicles, and they hurried back up the road that led to Berneville. Past the last of the houses, up ahead, they saw an anti-tank crew bringing their gun into position against the bank at the side of the road, men unloading shells from the carrier beside them. Away to their left, from the direction of the wood, shots rang out, while behind and to the east, guns continued to boom intermittently.
A short way forward from the anti-tank crew, a hedge extended either side of the road.
'Is anyone dug in along here?' Peploe asked one of the DLI gunners.
'No, sir. We've got forward posts in the wood but that's
it.'
'All right,' said Peploe. 'Cooper, take your section and position them to the left of the road, behind the hedge. Ross and Sykes, your boys take the right. We're missing a few men now so we'll have to spread out a bit - five or six yards apart. I want one Bren by the road here opposite the gun and the other two at the end of our defensive lines giving covering fire across the whole of our front. Sykes, your section can be at the end. Ross, I want you a dozen yards in from the road. We need to watch out for any enemy infiltrating from the west but our primary task is to defend the village from the south.' He cleared his throat, then turned to Tanner. 'Happy with those dispositions, Sergeant?'
'Yes, sir.' The lieutenant's learning fast.
'Good - all clear? Then let's go.'
As the men shuffled along the hedgerows, the drone of aircraft thrummed away to the east. Tanner counted a dozen black crosses against the pale evening sky. In no time they were directly overhead, and then they were gone, this time to bomb some other target. To the north, fighting continued, but at Warlus, although desultory mortars continued to hit the village, it was suddenly quieter to the south and east. Tanner moved along the line, checking the men were in position correctly and that those manning the Brens had enough ammunition.
They had lost four men during the attack on the battery, all killed, leaving Sykes's section only eight men strong and the other two with nine each. The shortfall had been made up by men from Company Headquarters, which left himself, Peploe and Smailes.
'All right, Mac?' he said, as he reached McAllister, manning the Bren at the end of their small line.
'No, Sarge. I'm bloody hungry.'
'Me an' all,' agreed Bell.
'And me,' said Tanner. He'd barely thought about food all day but now he remembered they hadn't eaten since morning. His stomach immediately began to grumble. 'Try not to think about it,' he said, to himself as much as to them.
And he was tired. For the past few hours he had barely had time to think of anything but the task in hand. Now, as the battle appeared to have died down and they lay waiting patiently, his remaining energy was ebbing. He found Peploe by the road, took out one of Timpke's cigarettes and lit it, inhaling the smoke deeply. Dew was falling. The day's warmth was seeping away as rapidly as his energy.
'Where's the rest of the platoon, sir?' he asked.
'I'm not quite sure,' Peploe admitted. 'Somewhere to the east of the village. I'm afraid we're a bit of a scratch force here. Two companies of the Eighth DLI never left Duisans - there were some enemy forces to the north-west of there - so it's only A and D Companies here, plus a carrier platoon and a few mortars, and they've lost a fair few during the day. Lieutenant Bourne-Arton is missing and we're down a dozen men so far today - and that's not including the four from this platoon. The Durhams have had it worse - half their number are gone.'
Tanner shook his head. 'Mostly to dive-bombers?'
'You would have thought so, but no. Only about ten went in that. The worst casualties happened when they tried to push forward earlier, and since then there have been others - mortars, small arms and so on.'
'Not good. How long are we expected to stay here, sir?'
Peploe shrugged. 'Colonel Beart's missing too, and so is Captain Dixon. One of the advance-guard motorcycles went back to Duisans to try and get information but hasn't been seen since.'
'It's ridiculous, sir, trying to fight mobile battles with no radio. These SS-wallahs we picked up today, you should've seen their kit. Sykes disabled a beauty in the scout car.'
'I know. I'm beginning to think we're not really prepared for this war. That gun was something, wasn't it?'
'Actually, sir, I found out what it was. An ack-ack gun, all right, but it seems they use them in an anti-tank role. It's something called a Flak 36, 88mm calibre. I think we should take a leaf out of their book and start using our ack-ack guns in that way.'
'Beasts to move around but they certainly make our little twenty-pounders look a bit feeble.'
'The twenty-pounder's all right, sir, just so long as you use it over short distances. If anything comes over that ridge tonight, I'd back those boys to see it off, but over longer distances - well, that 88 caused mayhem, and we were firing more than two miles.'
'And the pair of them saw off our tank attack,' added Peploe.
They were silent for a moment, and then Peploe said, 'I know we did what we were asked to do today, but that it was all for nothing sticks in my gut. Four good men lost. To think they were eating and breathing and living their lives this morning and now they're lying beside some copse on a French hill.' He sighed. 'I can't help feeling responsible for them - guilty, even. It wasn't something I ever considered when I was at OCTU.'
'You might have lost more men if we'd stayed here, sir. And we learned a lot from that attack. Do you remember our conversation when we first got to Manston, about experience being the best training? Don't you feel a better soldier now than you did this morning?'
'You're right.' Peploe smiled. 'But another thing they don't teach you at OCTU is how confusing battle is. Most of today I haven't had the faintest idea what's going on. I still don't.'
Tanner grinned. 'I don't think anyone does. You just do what you can in your own part of the battlefield. Try to deal with whatever's flung your way.'
It was quiet now on their front, although to their rear gunfire still thumped intermittently.
'Did you see the CSM?' asked Peploe.
'He's looking after the prisoners. He had Slater with him and another lad from Company Headquarters.'
'Dangerous job.'
Tanner smiled wryly. 'Like I said, he's a coward. All bullies are,' he said. 'He won't get in the firing line unless he absolutely has to.'
'Did he say anything to you?'
'Not really.'
'Tanner, I'll make sure this rape charge is forgotten, you know.'