A New Kind of War

‘ Arminius liberator haud dubie Germaniae – ’ So Fred waited patiently to be liberated in his turn.

‘We started out . . . trying to pick up certain of the pieces, much too late . . . amongst other things. But now we’re living on borrowed time, I fear – even after last night’s famous victory.’ Clinton continued to study the inscription.

Fred waited again, until his patience exhausted itself.

‘How so, sir?’

Clinton turned quickly, to his surprise. ‘Don’t be downcast, major. Last night did go according to plan . . . except for your poor devil.’

Fred thought for a moment. ‘And he was set up as a target?’

‘Not a target, as such.’ Clinton shook his head. ‘But there was a risk, I cannot deny that. But in this instance I did not expect it. And . . . there was always the chance that they would miss.’

Fred didn’t know quite how much of that to believe.

‘Who would miss?’

‘The Russians, major.’ Clinton nodded, as though this dummy4

had been the expected answer. “The Americans didn’t need to, because they had the men on the spot to take what they wanted. And, to be fair, their well-developed sense of self-interest ... or patriotism, as it used to be called ... is not yet so ruthless. Even though I seem to recall that it was an American who first said ”Our country, right or wrong“ . . . yes, it was. But not here, not now, and not yet, I think. And the French ... they are undoubtedly capable of anything, since the very mention of ”France“ obviates the need for moral debate . . . But in this instance they are safely out of the picture – they’re much too busy pursuing their own very successful enterprises.‘ He nodded, at first almost to himself but finally at Fred. ’You see, major, there have been a great many people – and interests . . . and commercial interests as well as national, too –

concerned with acquiring the details of German technical and industrial and scientific development.

And with getting their hands on it before anyone else.

Which you can call ”loot“ if you like ... or ”spoils of war“. But strictly speaking it’s ”reparations“. And it’s really the only worthwhile reparation that’s to be had here – knowledge.‘ He paused deliberately, as though to let the word sink in. ’Oh ... I know the Russians are carrying off whole factories. And you can’t really blame them for that. And, in spite of what the bomber fellows say, because they claim to have destroyed everything, there’s still a lot to carry off. In fact, dummy4

there’ll still be a lot after they’ve had their pick ... So there is equipment. But it’s the research that really matters. And some of it’s so damned far in advance of anything we’ve done that we need the researchers themselves to go with it, to explain it. Do you see?‘

‘The savages need help with the screwdrivers?’

‘Huh!’ Clinton repeated his brigadierial growl. ‘The trouble is, some of our savages don’t believe in the existence of the screwdriver: they think it’s some sort of blunt chisel. And some of our chiefs don’t want to know. Or they can’t bring themselves to talk to the screwdriver-makers, anyway, either because of their stupidity, or because of their tender consciences.’

‘Because the screwdriver-makers are Nazis?’ The unplesant truth beneath the imagery made Fred uneasy in spite of the Brigadier’s earlier honest recognition of it. ‘Is that so wicked – not to want to do business with Nazis?’

Clinton’s coldest stare returned. ‘Are you about to lecture me on the nature of Fascism, major? And what our attitude should be?’

‘No, sir. But – ’

‘I should hope not. Because I’ve forgotten more about that subject than you are ever likely to know.’ The stare continued. ‘So what were you going to say?’

Fred felt himself backed into a corner. The wide circle dummy4

round the Hermann monument was silent and empty behind him, and the forest was silent and empty behind that – empty even of birds, judging by its silence. And the whole of Germany might be ruined and empty behind the forest. But he was nevertheless in a corner.

And the bugger of it was that he hadn’t even had the chance of taking Kyri’s good advice, he had simply had the soldier’s choice of no choice at all. And Devenish had summed that up for him.

The thought of Kyri reminded him of Audley’s words in Greece. ‘It’s a new kind of war. And I can’t say that I like it. I suppose I expected it to be different, that’s all. But now I shall have to get used to it, just like I did with the other kind.’

Clinton considered that non-answer in a silence which lengthened uncomfortably out of time. ‘Well, I suppose that’s as much as I have any right to expect from you.

Although you are almost entirely wrong, major, as it happens.’

‘I am?’ After that silence the man’s not-unkind tone surprised him. ‘Almost?’

‘Yes. It’s exactly the same war, in essence. And you must never get used to it – never, never, never, major.’

The stare became uncompromising. ‘You must hate it with all your heart – always, no matter how long you have to soldier in it.’ This time the silence was mercifully shorter. ‘Do you know where I was eight dummy4

years ago?’

Eight years ago – ? 1937? ‘In 1937, sir – ?’

‘ You were in the middle of your first long vacation from Oxford, major – August