them if their own men were so close to their lines? But the shells were coming from a German artillery battery close behind them. The first salvo devastated the row of advancing Americans. They crumpled and faltered, and as more shells began to fall they turned and ran.
Axel’s squad could not believe their luck. The barrage stopped almost as suddenly as it had begun, and in their excitement some of them began to storm out of their foxholes and ditches and chase after their fleeing foe. The Feldwebel shouted angrily that they should remain at their posts, but caught up in the moment, they ignored him. Axel was one of the few who stayed.
Eddie Hertz had been covered by waves of falling soil and stones. He marvelled at how he escaped that bombardment. Maybe, like lightning, shells never fell in the same spot twice. He dragged himself forward with his elbows, further into the crater. It was against all logic but it made him feel safer. But the further he moved into its centre, the more he found himself pulled down by the wet, crumbling earth. And now the shell fire had stopped and the air began to clear, he could smell something hideous. There was a body close by – a German soldier, by the look of it. He had been there for a while and rats had already eaten away at his face. The teeth were bared in a macabre grin. The skin protruding from the sleeves of his jacket was starting to turn black. Eddie choked at the stench and placed a sleeve over his nose. Breathing through that made him feel momentarily better, but he had to get away from that corpse.
He scrambled further down the crater, not realising that the bottom was filled with thick mud. Eddie turned around in the quagmire – desperate to escape its oozing grasp. He started to climb up again, but his wounded legs began to sink beneath him. The more he moved, the more he sank into the boggy earth. Eddie froze and fought back a mounting despair. He had felt lucky to have escaped his plane. Now he wasn’t so sure.
CHAPTER 14
10.00 a.m.
The sniper had shaken them all. Will could see it in their faces. And now they could hear shooting and explosions in the middle distance, somewhere over to the south. That didn’t help.
Jim was being extra terse with his commands. He needed to be stern. He sensed the men’s fear too. The last thing he wanted was to have them panic and flee like frightened rabbits. Then they could be picked off one by one. Together they could concentrate their fire on any threat.
‘I’ll carry on at point,’ said Jim, continuing to place himself in the most exposed position and putting hope and courage back into his patrol. ‘Now keep those ears flapping and no unnecessary talking. We’re going t’make our way back to the platoon. Fritz probably has several snipers in these woods. We’ll report back and get the artillery to blow this place to splinters.’
Will felt a huge sense of relief when Jim announced they were going. He was desperate to be away from this gloomy forest. He was convinced that hostile eyes were watching him, or worse, even at that moment, someone had him in the cross hairs of a telescopic sight. He had to force himself to stop wondering if these were the last thoughts he would ever have.
He tried to cheer himself up. There were still seven of them left. That gave Will a sense of security.
As they trudged back, steady rain trickled down through the trees to add to their misery. The forest was dark at the best of times. Now it was almost like patrolling at dusk. Jim held up his hand, bringing them all to a halt. He beckoned Will forward and pointed to a black shape in the undergrowth close to the path, indicating he should have a look. It looked like the sole of a boot.
Will moved forward cautiously, then flinched at the sight before him. Two skeletons, bones bleached by the elements, were lying on their backs close to each other. Both still had their army boots on their feet, but there was no evidence of any other clothing or weapons. Will beckoned the others to come and look. ‘Watch out for booby traps,’ whispered Jim to them all as they gathered round the macabre spectacle.
‘Maybe they were sunbathing,’ sniggered one of the men.
‘Glad someone