Darkest Hour

men be caught out not once but twice.

'Evening, chum,' said Tanner.

'Who are you?' said Timpke, slowly, in English, his face red with fury.

'Tell your men not to make any attempt to shoot,' said Tanner. He saw Timpke glance up the road towards the rest of his column. Tanner dared not take his eye off him, so he called to Lieutenant Peploe, 'Sir, are we all secure?'

'Yes, Sergeant,' Peploe replied. 'Can he speak English?'

Tanner nodded. 'I told you, sir. The clever ones like this fellow always can.'

Tanner pushed Timpke down against the side of the car and said, 'Now order the men inside this car to leave their weapons and come out.' Timpke looked at him with hatred in his eyes. 'Now!' snapped Tanner.

Timpke barked an order and the two men appeared.

'Tell them to get down on the road and put their hands in the air.'

Again, Timpke did so and the men did as ordered.

'Right, Stan,' said Tanner. 'You can go down and do interesting things with their radio equipment.' He grinned, then cursed as his lip split yet again.

'Has someone got this joker covered?' he called.

'Yes, Sarge,' said Hepworth, from behind him in the Krupp.

Tanner now allowed himself to glance back to the second Krupp. As he had planned with Lieutenant Peploe, it had waited behind the small SS column. The Bren, resting on the wooden side of the Krupp, had the men in the three half-tracks and armoured car covered, while others were now hurrying over to disarm them. Not a bad haul. Tanner scanned briefly for another of their sub-machine-guns.

'Give me your name and unit,' he said, to the German in front of him.

'Sturmbannfuhrer Otto Timpke, commanding officer of the reconnaissance battalion, Waffen- SS Totenkopf Division,' replied Timpke, through clenched teeth.

'Storm-ban-what?' said Tanner. 'What kind of rank is that?'

'Sturmbannfuhrer,' said Timpke. 'In the Wehrmacht it would be the same as a major.'

'I see.'

'I do not know what you think you can achieve by this,' hissed Timpke. 'Your attack has failed. The Tommies have fallen back. Most of our division is advancing from the south and west and a panzer division is pressing forward to the east of here. You are surrounded. You might have a pistol pointing at me now but, believe me, very soon it will be you who have to put your hands in the air.'

'I don't think so,' said Tanner, taking the cigarettes from Timpke's breast pocket. 'You see, you lot are going to help us get back to our lines.' He took a cigarette, felt for his matches and, with his spare hand, struck one. Aaah, he thought, the swirling cloud of tobacco briefly overpowering the smell of burning that hung in the air, I needed that.

'Help you?' said Timpke. 'You must be mad.'

'A bit, perhaps,' said Tanner, 'but not as mad as you lot with your bloody goose-stepping and heil-Hitlers.' He grasped Timpke's neck tightly. 'Now, listen to me, Otto. We're all going to drive on through Berneville, dodging those potholes made by your mates in the Luftwaffe, and we'll keep going over the ridge and back down to Warlus until we find our own side again. And if we get so much as a single shot fired at us, I'll kill you all. Understand?'

Timpke glared at him, the veins at the side of his head pulsing, the muscles on his jaw flexing. Tanner tightened his grip, then said, louder, 'Understand?'

'Yes!' gasped Timpke.

Tanner relaxed his grip. 'Good. Then let's go and tell your men.' He pushed Timpke roughly so that he fell onto the road. Jumping down beside him, the Luger still in his hand, he pulled the German roughly to his feet. 'Come on, then, Otto. Be quick!'

Sykes emerged from the armoured radio car and hoisted himself into the first of the Opels, while Corporal Cooper climbed into the second. Quickly, they manoeuvred them into position between the three halftracks. Peploe then ordered half a dozen men into the trailer of each, with a Bren and a captured Spandau pointed at the prisoners in the half-tracks.

'The motorcycles and scout cars should lead, don't you think?' Peploe said to Tanner, as he and Timpke returned to the lead vehicle.

'Yes, sir. You'll follow, will you?'

Peploe nodded.

'And shall I go in the scout car with Otto here? If we spot any of our lot we'll simply put our own helmets back on and push one of the Opels in front.'

Peploe breathed out and smiled nervously. 'Christ, Tanner,' he said, 'if I'm still in one piece by midnight, I'll be a happy man.'

Tanner grinned. 'We'll be fine, sir.' He turned to Timpke. 'I'll get in first.'

The inside of the armoured car was hot. Tanner had shoved the radio operator into one of the Opels but even with just Timpke and the driver the smell of oil and petrol was almost overpowering. Sweat ran down his neck and back; the thick serge of his trousers rubbed scratchily against his legs. When they rolled forwards, though, a breeze through the vents brought relief. To one side, the radio, with the connection leads to the transmitter, receiver and power units, had been disconnected. Good for Stan. He hadn't destroyed but deactivated