deep into the woods and stay put,’ Henderson said. ‘The 108th is a mechanised battalion. They’ve got no infantry to chase you into the woods and they can’t stick around long enough to starve you out.’
Jean grunted as Henderson slung a backpack and the leather map-satchel over his shoulders. Before Henderson ran, he realised that there were probably decoded notes and plans in his tent, so he rolled a grenade between the tent flaps and shouted, ‘Fire in the hole.’
Meantime, Paul had found Joel and Sam and relayed Henderson’s order to head for the truck.
As more artillery shells burst over the clearing, Henderson caught the pair up. ‘Where are the others?’ he demanded.
‘Two dead,’ Sam shouted. ‘No sign of anyone else.’
‘Either ignoring orders or they got hit by something,’ Henderson said.
Everyone who could had left the clearing. Henderson looked back at the writhing bodies and desperate moans of those who weren’t able to. It would take forever to reassemble his team in the dark, and the longer they stuck around the more chance there was that one of them would get speared in the next blast.
‘Looks like it’s just the four of us then,’ he shouted. ‘Let’s move out.’
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
While Henderson’s squad got halved before it even left the forest, PT and the rest of Team A cleared the worst of the blast zone and shed their entourage.
‘They’ll need help,’ Edith pleaded, scrambling over the undergrowth as Daniel looked forlornly back at the screams and smoke rising out of a clearing that was now almost a kilometre behind them.
‘Cower in the woods while others do the fighting and you get what you deserve,’ Luc said. ‘End of story.’
PT and Marc’s responses were more tactful, but Henderson had instilled military discipline in his trainees. They were determined to pursue the 108th, not head back into the woods to administer first aid.
Occasional shell blasts continued as Team A neared the point where the woods turned to farmland. Unlike the Morels’ large farm, this remote area comprised small peasant farms linked by narrow dirt tracks. Most were farmed by a single family and ringed by hedgerows several metres high.
This warren was one reason why the Maquis found it relatively easy getting in and out of the forest without being seen. PT’s team heard German activity a few fields over as they headed towards a barn stashed with bicycles. When they got close they found part of the road churned by metal tracks and a farm gate that had been bulldozed.
PT studied the tracks before whispering, ‘They’re too narrow for a Tiger. It’s some kind of half-track truck, or motorised artillery.’
The shelling had slowed after the initial barrage, so they all jolted when they saw the muzzle of an artillery gun light up a couple of hundred metres away.
‘We should go after them,’ Edith said, though she was still keen to help the people stuck in the woods. ‘Our job is to wipe the 108th out, isn’t it?’
PT didn’t answer, but stepped cautiously over the twisted iron gate. A couple of disinterested cows looked his way and there were ruts where the tracked vehicle had crossed the field before exiting by demolishing another gate on the far side.
‘Christ!’ Daniel said, loud enough to make PT turn around to shush him.
But PT was equally shocked when he saw the horrifically smashed body of an old man. It seemed he’d come out to investigate the noise and been run over by the tracked vehicle. The body was a real mess, but the worst part was that the tracks through the mud swerved towards him.
‘Looks like he wasn’t armed,’ Marc said. ‘But the driver went straight for him.’
Edith headed towards the little farm cottage. It was unlikely that any Germans would have stuck around, but she unholstered a pistol before moving inside.
It was a typical peasant home, with one internal wall separating the living area from a tiny bedroom. A gas lamp flickered and a small dog hid in the darkest corner. Edith backed out as the artillery piece fired again. She found the rest of her squad moving briskly across the manure-caked pasture.
Luc reached the second smashed gate first and a muzzle flash gave him enough light to see the German set-up at the centre of the next field.
‘Wempe hundred-and-five millimetre,’ Luc said. ‘Motorised artillery gun. It looks like there’s a support truck on the road as well.’
PT looked at Marc and Luc, as Edith, Daniel and Michel caught up.
‘Is that gun doing all the damage