succeed. If only his artillery commander had been a man of equally
steely nerves, he would have succeeded in luring the entire enemy
armoured column to its total destruction. It was no fault of his that
the artillery lost their nerve and opened fire prematurely.' The
General paused to focus his reading glasses on the large glossy
photographic print which depicted Colonel Count Aldo Belli standing
like a successful big game hunter on the carcass of the Hump. The
shattered hull was pierced by shot and in the background lay half a
dozen corpses in tattered shammas. These had been collected from the
battlefield and tastefully arranged by Gino to give the photograph
authenticity. Against his better judgement and his strong instincts of
survival, Count Aldo Belli had returned to make these photographic
records only after Major Castelani had assured him that the enemy had
deserted the field. The Count had not wasted too much time about it,
but had his photographs taken, urging Gino to haste, and when it had
been done he had returned swiftly to his fortified position above the
Wells of Chaldi and had not moved from there since. However, the
photographs were an impressive addendum to his official report of the
action.
Now Badoglic, growled like an angry old lion. 'Despite the
incompetence of his junior officers, and there my heart aches for
him,
this man has wiped out half the enemy armour as well as half the
opposing army.' He hit the report fiercely with his reading glasses.
'The man's a fire eater no question about it. I know one when I see
one. A fire-eater. This kind of example must be encouraged good work
must be rewarded. Send for him. Radio him to come in to headquarters
immediately.' As far as Count Aldo Belli was concerned, the campaign
had come upon a not unpleasant hiatus.
The camp at the Wells of Chaldi had been transformed by his engineers
from an outpost of hell into a rather pleasant refuge, with functional
amenities, such as ice making machines and a water-borne sewerage
system. The de fences were now of sufficient strength to give him a
feeling of security. The engineering as always was of the highest
quality with extensive covered earthworks, and Castelani had laid out
carefully over-lapping fields of fire, and barbed-wire de fences in
depth.
The hunting in the area was excellent by any standards, with game drawn
to the water in the Wells from miles around. The sand-grouse in the
evenings filled the heavens with the whistle of their wings, and
wheeled in great dark flocks across the setting sun, affording
magnificent sport.
The bag was measured in grain bags of dead birds.
In the midst of this pleasantly relaxed atmosphere, the new commanding
officer's summons exploded like a 100 kilo aerial bomb.
General Badoglio's reputation had preceded him. He was a notorious
martinet, a man who could not be sidetracked from single-minded purpose
by excuse or fabrication. He was insensitive to political influence or
power considerations so much so that it was rumoured that he would have
crushed the very Fascist movement itself with force if the issue had
