Blood of Honour

had deftly darted between the rocks to join Tanner. ‘I’ll wait for you at the cliff,’ Alopex told Tanner. ‘Good luck, my friend.’

Tanner watched him go, then turned to look for any movement up ahead. An occasional shot rang out, a glimpse of the enemy among the rock and gorse, but that was it. A lull had settled on the fighting, but further down towards the sea, he saw figures moving, and then, as several Germans opened fire, a single crack of a rifle responded. Just the one – that’ll do, thought Tanner. Good lads.

A short distance ahead he saw movement and then a machinegun opened fire. So the enemy was moving forward, just as he’d hoped. Peering through a crevice in the rock Tanner could see the Spandau, and two men crouched amid the gorse only fifteen yards or so from another block of TNT. That was close enough, he reckoned.

‘They’re starting to move up!’ whispered Sykes.

‘And I’ve got an MG team in my sights. Get everything ready, Stan – grenades out, the lot.’

Tanner pulled out his four grenades from his pack, and although his heart was hammering, his hands were no longer shaking. Really, he felt quite calm. Aiming through the crevice, he sighted the block of TNT, then said to Sykes, ‘I’m about to fire, Stan, all right?’

‘Go ahead,’ came the reply. ‘I’m ready.’

Quickly checking that the MG team was still in the same place, Tanner focused on the explosives and fired. A deafening boom – more flame and debris erupted into the air, then bits of rock and earth were pattering back around them, but Tanner had pulled the pins from two grenades and had hurled them towards the rustle and movement ahead of him. Bullets smacked into the rock in reply, but then a further explosion erupted from his left, followed by another grenade blast. Good lad, Stan, thought Tanner. His ears were ringing shrilly, the stench of cordite and smoke was thick in the air, but he now brought his Schmeisser into his shoulder and, moving around the rock, sprayed an entire magazine in a wide arc in front and to the right of him. More men cried out as Tanner brought his rifle back to his shoulder, watching for any movement to the right of their position. A figure was running a hundred yards away, but Tanner quickly drew a bead, picked out the man through his scope, fired and saw the paratrooper drop. Bullets continued to zip and whiz off the rock to the front of them, but although a splinter of stone pinged off his helmet, Tanner was unscathed.

‘How are you doing, Stan?’ he asked.

‘All right. I got a machine-gun.’

‘So did I.’ He glanced back briefly and saw what looked like a canoe moving towards the waiting submarine. ‘Go on,’ muttered Tanner, then further movement away to his right caught his eye. Two Germans were hurrying forward. He aimed and fired in quick succession and saw one knocked over for sure. He glanced back at the canoe and saw it had now nearly reached the submarine. How far was it to that sub? he wondered. Six hundred yards? Seven hundred? A machine-gun could hit it, he knew, but still none was firing. Perhaps they really had got them all. Now his spirits began to rise. He took out the empty magazine from his Schmeisser, replaced it, then called to Sykes, ‘If those lads get to the sub, we make a run for it. What do you say?’

‘They just have, sir – have a dekko.’

Tanner looked back as two men were helped out of the canoe and onto the back of the sub. Liddell and Vaughan?

‘Hold on,’ said Tanner. He looked out, using his scope. There were three more blocks of TNT to explode, one further away to the right, one away to the left and another not far from Sykes. Spotting the first through his scope, he aimed, fired, and immediately the block exploded with another deafening blast of flame, rock and smoke. He shuffled around to Sykes. ‘Stan, cover the right flank, will you, while I get these Jellies?’

He had carefully memorized their location earlier and soon spotted them. The furthest was more than a hundred yards away and only just in his line of fire. A single shot and the block exploded. It was the shards of rock, many of them razor sharp, that were so lethal, he realized, the blast sending them in a wide radius. He heard more men cry out, but was already drawing a bead on the last block, no more than thirty yards to his left and slightly forward. Good, he thought, as he saw movement in the thicket nearby. Again, his aim was true and this time he saw a paratrooper flung into the air by the blast. The slopes were thick with smoke and he grabbed Sykes.

‘Right, iggery, then, Stan,’ he said. He took another grenade, pulled the pin and hurled it, then clambered from his perch, and slid down a steep rockface.

Sykes was already there, crouching at the base of the outcrop. ‘Ready?’ he said.

‘After you.’ Tanner grinned. Crouching, they scurried between the rocks and gorse, using the broken ground to mask their withdrawal, so that it was not until they had made more than a hundred yards of ground that a single bullet whistled near them. Tanner hurried on, following Sykes and sliding down over the lip of the cliff.

Peploe was there, with Alopex and his andartes.

‘I’m pleased to see you two,’ he said. ‘That sounded like a pasting you gave them.’

‘I think we’ve nailed those MGs,’ Tanner said.

‘Liddell and Vaughan are aboard.’

‘Good. I thought it was them. What about Commander Pool?’

Peploe smiled. ‘He’s coming back with us to Alex. Feels his mission has been compromised. He says he’ll try again in a few weeks.’

‘I suppose it has. Can’t say I blame him.’

‘How many do you think are left – up there, I mean?’ Peploe nodded in the direction of the rocky slopes above.

‘God knows, but not that many, I’d have thought. We’ve certainly pinned them down. I think those that are still up there are lying low. I suppose it must be unnerving to think a big block of TNT might go off in your face at any moment. A bit like walking through a minefield – no one wants to do it if they don’t have to.’

‘Have you seen that bastard Balthasar?’ said Alopex.

‘No – not since the trip wire blew. Maybe he was killed then. Maybe that’s why they’re not exactly hurrying forward.’

‘In any case, let’s get the rest of these men on board,’ said Peploe. He waved down to Lieutenant McDonald on the beach below and indicated to him to get the men to start swimming. Tanner watched as Hepworth, Bonner, Hill and Lieutenant Timmins stripped off their webbing, packs and helmets, then saw Hepworth wade into the sea and begin to swim.

An occasional bullet fizzed near, but otherwise it was now quiet. One by one, the men clambered down onto the beach, stripped off their equipment and headed into the water, until, apart from Alopex and his men, only Tanner, Sykes and Peploe remained.

‘Go on, Jack,’ said Peploe, ‘your turn.’

‘No, sir, it’s all right,’ said Tanner. ‘You go.’

‘Very well.’ He turned to Alopex. ‘Thank you,’ he said. ‘Thank you for everything. And good luck.’

‘Long live Crete.’ Alopex grinned. They watched Peploe slide down the cliff, then dash across the beach to the water’s edge.

‘And now it’s your turn,’ said Alopex, to Tanner and Sykes. He shifted his position and then raised himself slightly above the lip. ‘It still seems quiet enough,’ he said. ‘I told you, get them all and you’ll get away. I think maybe you have killed more than you think.’ He turned – but in that moment his expression changed. ‘Balthasar,’ he muttered, and a split second later a single rifle shot cracked out, blood spat from his neck and he slumped beside them on the edge of the cliff. Blood was gushing from his neck, thick and dark, and running from his mouth.

‘Christ, no!’ muttered Tanner. Another shot cracked out and this time the shot was aimed at Peploe now swimming out to sea. Tanner saw him dive then emerge again. ‘Damn! Damn!’ The andartes were now crowding around him and he pushed them away. ‘Stan!’ he hissed. ‘Have you got any grenades left?’

‘No, but I’ve got a stick of Polar.’

Grimacing and cursing, he looked back down at Alopex.

‘Get him,’ Alopex gurgled. ‘Promise me.’

His teeth clenched, Tanner said, ‘Yes. I promise you I’ll get that bastard.’ He gripped Alopex’s shoulders, then saw the Cretan’s eyes flicker and his head loll limply to one side.