off at one point leaving him dangling above the water. He groaned with the pain. For a moment he felt that his arm was going to be torn from its sockets but he managed to hang on, find his footing and continue climbing. All the while his left arm hung loosely by his side. Finally his head cleared the top and quickly checking he was safe he pulled himself over the edge and lay on his back panting up into the night sky. In the distance he could hear noise and he was unsure as to what it could be but the gunfire appeared to have stopped. He sat up and examined his shoulder putting his fingers into the slit in his jacket and shirt. When he pulled his fingers out there was fresh blood on them. He looked around. The faint streetlights extended away in both directions and he had no idea as to where he was. Then he heard the sound of a boat starting up and he saw a trail of smoke on his right as it drifted up into the starry sky.
Koenig reached forward and removed his boots, emptying water in a stream from each of them. Then rolling over onto his knees and pushing himself upright with his good arm he picked up his boots and squelched his way towards the German positions and safety.
Johnny and his team were just finishing up planting the explosives when Tosh saw the first of the SS as they ran into the warehouse and took up cover.
“Er lads we’ve got company.”
“Shit! Are we done?” Johnny asked.
“Just a second,” one of the men said connecting a wire.
Tosh fired at any German who moved, bullets smacking into crates.
“Come on faster,” Johnny egged on the man with the detonator. With trembling fingers the soldier inserted the detonator into the explosives, rotated it clockwise until he heard a click, then in a panic he did a terrible thing.
He pulled the pin too early!
The timer instantly began ticking. Counting down from thirty. The soldier desperately tried to put the pin back in.
“No time!” Johnny shouted “Tosh! Get out of here! It’s going to blow!”
Tosh heard the words. He fired at a German who was running between cover. The German pitched forward onto his face in mid run, dead.
“Tosh! You’ve got to move now!” Johnny shouted backing towards the exit with the other three.
“You go I’m right behind you.”
Tosh killed another German. Then his Sten jammed and he dropped it and pulled out his handgun. A bullet hit him in the upper arm.
“Damn it!”
A second bullet ricocheted off a crate and embedded itself in his leg. Tosh fell to the floor clutching his knee.
“Tosh!” Johnny shouted.
He started back for the S.A.S man but hands grabbed him and pulled him towards the exit.
“Wait! We’ve got to go back for him!”
“No! It’s too late. He’s dead.”
The Germans sensing a man down advanced on him. They would capture him and use him to catch the others. The Germans were arrogant now. Smiling they moved in closer. Wurtz pushing his way through them. As he got near Tosh, the Englishman opened his hand and the hand grenade rolled free. Wurtz dived to the side pushing two of his men onto Tosh. The grenade exploded amongst them, taking them down. Wurtz waited until the warehouse was still before getting up. The grenade had killed three of his men. Tosh lay there with his chest ripped open. His eyes lifeless.
Wurtz stood in front of his broken enemy. Tosh’s eyes started to glaze. Wurtz spat on the corpse then turned to his men. A few were dead heaps on the floor. The injured were slowly getting to their feet. Johnny and the others could see that Tosh was dead. They retreated through the fuel depot.
“Get after them!”
The timer on the explosives stopped.
There was a click.
There was silence.
Then the whole world seemed to explode.
The fuel tanks erupted with a screech. Johnny felt himself being picked up and thrown through the exit door with his companions. A huge fireball ripped through the warehouse as the flames rushed out of everywhere possible. Windows shattered and glass rained down. Huge pieces of cast iron tank ripped through the warehouse. Some of the SS men were turned into human torches. Completely engulfed in flames they screamed until they died. On the boat Alf watched the huge fireball as it rose into the dark sky.
“My God,” he said to himself aloud “Hope our boys are all right.”
Johnny opened