“He has asked to return to the Hampshires,to a battalion going out to India. I would be happy to get rid of him. Do Iwant to send him off to a place of safety? Is that fair?”
“Is it buggery, Baker! Transfer him, by allmeans, but not to India. Give me a couple of days. Let me talk to Fotherby andAtkinson – they won’t want him to stay and possibly end up making a scandal.Good chance they’ll be able to find some way of stuffing him! I’ll get onto themfirst thing in the morning. Fotherby will be awake and active by ten o’clock, I’msure!”
The other three captains arrived withtheir first reports and with their captures – badges from a regiment of Saxonsand a detachment of artillery.
“A small mortar, sir, on wheels, too bigto bring across. Stuffed a grenade into the training mechanism in the base,should have left it well broken.”
“Well done, Harris. We could use mortarsof our own. Word is that there is one in development – when we’ll see it, who knows?No casualties?”
“Two wounded, cuts and bruises, no more.We killed the sentries and the rest were asleep in their dugouts. They werewearing new uniforms – muddy, obviously, but not faded and old yet. At a guess,they had been in the line less than a week, maybe the same time as us, replacedthe previous men at the same time we did, after their battle.”
“Suggests they took high casualties, same asours did. Worth knowing. Well observed, Harris!”
Harris was one of those affected by hero-worship,blushed scarlet at the compliment from his magnificent colonel.
Captain Thomas reported losing one mandead.
“Unlucky, sir. Jumped into the trench andlanded square on the sentry’s bayonet. Stuck himself from front to back and sixinches showing out behind him. Young Purkiss, who was willing and never gotanything right first time. No second chance, this time round. Bright lad, had alot of potential, I thought. We brought him back, didn’t want to leave him forthe Germans to bury. Besides that, badges of a Saxon regiment – all of them thesame in the one section of trench. Put a grenade into a dugout full ofammunition as we left. Lucky we didn’t hit it going in. Killed at least a dozenHuns, might be more.”
Richard took quick notes, nodded his satisfaction.
“Only one loss, and that by bad luck. Agood raid, Thomas. Captain Holmes, how did you get on?”
“Got a prisoner, sir. He’s a bit cut upfrom dragging him behind us, tied up, through the wire, in the aid post at themoment. Nothing serious.”
“Well done! Intelligence are forever askingfor prisoners to talk to. Hawkeswill, can you telephone them for me?”
“Immediately, sir.”
Hawkeswill scurried off, making a show ofbeing busy.
“Makes us show up in a good light, Holmes,taking a prisoner. The news will go up to Corps, for sure, possibly to Army. I’llmake sure your name is attached, Holmes.”
“Thank you, sir. Apart from that, we tookminor cuts and bruises, nothing serious. My sergeant found what must have beena battalion rations store. He left it well alight.”
Richard had no doubt that he would havelooted it first – D Company would be chewing on German sausage for the next dayor two, and quite right that they should.
“Found their aid post, as well, sir.Looked like nothing more than another dugout and the men threw a grenade in first,checked it afterwards.”
“Bad luck, Holmes. Wouldn’t expect to findan aid post in the front line of trenches. Couldn’t expect the men to look forone or to examine each dugout before they bombed it. Sort of thing that happens.Don’t mention it in your report.”
“No warning to the men to be more carefulin future, sir?”
“No. Definitely not. Anything in the frontline is fair game, especially at night. As far as I am concerned, you actedperfectly correctly.”
Richard wrote up his report next day, madeno mention of the aid post, simply including the figures for dead in theestimated total.
Brigadier Braithwaite appeared in personthat afternoon, reaching as far as the second line of trenches and creating aprecedent – most senior officer to have penetrated so far forward.
“Your Captain Draper, Baker. He is to comeback with me. Promote up a man in his place and set Orpington into the vacancy.There is a battalion of Hampshires, the 11th, currently in Marseille,due to board a trooper for Mombasa in East Africa, to join the campaign there.In the bush, chasing German askaris, unsuccessfully so far. Not a lot of action,other than long marches though appalling terrain. The figures for fevers alone arehigher than we are losing here on the Western Front.”
“Couldn’t happen to a nicer chap, sir. Ishall have the greatest of pleasure in personally informing him that he is toreturn to his own people.”
“Do that, Baker. The bulk of the battalionis in Marseille already. He can join the baggage party which is entraining thisafternoon. No chance of him getting lost on the journey south, that way. Ishall have a word with their adjutant, who is with the baggage, just to makesure he does not wander off by accident.”
“Excellent! Thank you, sir.”
“Atkinson is pleased with the raids, Baker,the prisoner especially. He has instructed there are to be no more this month.He thinks the Hun will be too alert and in any case we should be preparing forthe big push, which now seems a certainty. Towards the end of September, aroundLoos, aiming to drive the Germans back out of France and set us up for thefinal victory next summer when Kitchener’s New Army arrives.”
“End of September, sir. Weather might notbe ideal just then.”
“The sun will shine on the righteous, Baker!Or so the staff hopes!”
Chapter Two
BlackPrince armoured cruiser made her way out of the Mediterranean on orders torejoin the Grand Fleet at Scapa Flow.
Christopher Adams stood on her bridge,calling the course change to take her through the Straits of Gibraltar and thenout into the Atlantic to go westabout Ireland and around the north of Scotlandthrough the Pentland Firth.
The big ship responded slowly to thewheel, turning in her own time, increasing to the set cruising speed onlyslowly, her four funnels giving off a huge black
