Crusader (A Novel of WWII Tank Warfare), Jack Murray [top romance novels .txt] 📗

would he find theatonement he sought, not from other men, but from himself.

For now he was the new boy and he was made to feel it. Overath andKastner, in particular, directed a steady tirade of insults in his direction.The humour rarely rose above crude and Manfred never took offence. Herecognised it as a conditioning of sorts as well as a sign of their acceptance.

-

‘Don’t move,’ whispered Overath one morning.

‘What do you mean?’ breathed Manfred.

Overath pointed to a scorpion on Manfred’s makeshift pillow. Outof the corner of his eye Manfred saw the malevolent black shape. His face frozeand he turned white with fear.

‘One sting from that,’ said Overath. He motioned with his handacross his neck. The meaning all too clear.

‘Kill it,’ urged Manfred.

‘Shhh,’ replied Overath, finger to lips.

By now, Kastner, Fischer and Overath were looking on. Concernetched over all three faces. For a minute they all sat around Manfred insilence. This became too much for Manfred.

‘What’s happening?’ he whispered.

‘It’s sleeping, I think,’ said Fischer.

Kohler began coughing at this point while the others shushed him.He ducked his head away while his coughing fit continued.

‘Can’t you use a stick to swat it away?’ asked Manfred, nowthoroughly confused at the inactivity of the others.

‘Too risky,’ said Kastner. ‘They’re too quick. It could sting youbefore Fischer has swiped it away.’

‘Me?’ said Fischer, somewhat put out. ‘I’m damned if I’m doing it.You do it.’

Kastner pointed to the insignia indicating his rank.

A stick was produced from nowhere and handed to Fischer. Overathlooked meaningfully at the young driver and put an arm on his shoulder. Fischernodded and looked seriously at Manfred. By now Manfred was frantic but equallydesirous not to show this. Through gritted teeth he snarled, ‘Get a move on.’

Fischer slowly moved to the rear of the scorpion, gently loweredhis stick onto the pillow. Then with a jerk he flipped the scorpion ontoManfred’s face and screamed.

Manfred screamed also and bolted up beating his face and chest toget rid of the fearsome beast that was about to kill him.

The fearsome, and very dead beast.

It had expired some weeks previously. This critical fact wasunknown to Manfred. In fact, the scorpion had changed hands many times havingbeen used in a series of practical jokes around the camp over the previousweek. Victims were sworn to silence. This had been Manfred’s turn.

Manfred stared down at the deceased arachnid. Finally he lookedup, grinned sheepishly at his comrades who were in varying states of hysteriaand uttered one word.

‘Bastards.’

-

Lieutenant Basler walked through the row of tanks and called themen to make ready. Overath spied the Lieutenant making his way along the thinstrip separating the two rows of twenty five tanks. He glanced at Kastner whohad also noticed Basler’s arrival.

‘Holiday’s over, boys,’ said the sergeant, throwing a cigarette tothe ground. The others needed no other instruction. They were on their feet andstanding to attention as Basler passed them. It was clear that both Overath andKastner were keen not to get on the wrong side of the SS lieutenant. Manfredwondered why he was not in his own separate regiment. Various hypotheses hadbeen proposed, the most popular of which was that he was there to keep an eyeon the men and inform senior officers of any dissension in the ranks. Thereality was that the rest of the detachment had been killed a few monthspreviously. He’d neglected to ask to be transferred back to Germany.

With a click of his fingers and a jerk of his thumb, Manfred andthe tank crew immediately climbed onto the tank or entered via the hatch.Manfred crawled down the body of the tank to the bow where the wireless wassituated. His position was front and right in the tank. He had plenty of room,and it was not uncomfortable, at least on short journeys.

His only concern, unvoiced, was the lack of an escape hatch. Bothhe and Fischer were particularly at risk. They were situated to the front andexposed to any shells that were fired within close range. The lack of a quickescape hatch was an additional point of vulnerability. However, the armour atthe front was thirty millimetres thick. This was more than enough to stopbullets from any range and shells from at least a kilometre or more away.Manfred avoided thinking about what happened in closer combat. If the menoperating the anti-tank guns did their job the Allied tanks would not get soclose. Even when they managed to get closer, the Mark III and Mark IV tankguns  outranged them.

Despite their close proximity in the tank, the two boys did notcommunicate much during exercises beyond relaying information or instructions.Manfred was surprised by this initially. His initial overtures towardsfriendship were unreciprocated. He gave up by the second day. There would be nocomradely friendship in the manner of Overath and Kastner. Manfred was finewith this even if it was disappointing.

Overath and Kastner sat in the cupola of the tank. Overath, thetank commander, rested on the cupola, the small turret set on top of the mainturret. The position was relatively exposed, but he was fortunate in that hehad almost a three hundred and sixty degree view from this position when not incombat. Kastner, as gunner, sat forward and below Overath.

The two men, unlike Manfred and Fischer, kept up an ongoingconversation throughout any manoeuvres, none of which was complimentary to theother tanks, their driving or their combat effectiveness. Manfred enjoyed theshow immensely, but Fischer and Kohler had long since grown tired of it.

The tank patrol drove out along the edge of the escarpment thatwas Halfaya Pass. The pass ran from the near the Mediterranean Sea down throughEgypt. Situated close to the Libyan border, the pass represented a naturalblock to any attempt by the Allies to thrust forward into Libya. The only wayof taking the pass was through directly assaulting or to outflanking it. Theformer risked a high cost to life, the latter meant that supply lines would bestretched, and a wedge could be driven between any attacking forces.

The strategic importance of the pass was recognised by both sides.For the moment it lay in the hands of the Afrika Korps. The landscape washilly,