Crusader (A Novel of WWII Tank Warfare) by Jack Murray (best finance books of all time TXT) 📕

later they were joined by Craig whodecided to give it a commentary in a faux B.B.C accent.

‘Shaw moving slowly on the outside. He looks done in and there’sstill a long way go.’

The rest of the crew collapsed into hysterics. Craig had to pause inorder to stop laughing himself and for his audience to recover.

‘This horse looks like his race is run. Oh look, the jockey istaking out the whip.’

Reed took this as his cue to spur the Danny along.

‘Move your arse, you lazy little bugger,’ shouted Reed between hischuckling.

Danny looked sourly at his tank mates.

‘Funny f…..’

The response was lost in further laughter from the group.

‘Some signs of life in this tired old mare but too little, toolate. I think this old girl is bound for the knackers yard or the charms ofsome Arab stallion.’

The last comment caused the group to collapse completely. EvenDanny joined them. Breakfast, inevitably, was delayed while the group regainedsome form of composure. Of course, once they did, Danny came in for yet moreabuse for delaying their grub.

-

Around eight in the morning they heard the first rumble of guns inthe distance. For the previous two hours, Danny and the tank crew had made thetank ready. In the day- light it was possible to see the pounding that the tankhad received the previous day. The front had been hit a couple of times but,thankfully, nothing had penetrated. There were a few dents; nothing more. Allalong the sides of the tank was evidence of the small arms fire that had struckthe tank.

‘Bloody lucky to be inside this bugger,’ pointed out Craig.

Danny nodded. He couldn’t agree more. He felt for the infantry whowould have been exposed to this intense fire. He was pretty sure his time wouldcome, and soon. If this was what battle looked like with infantry and a few,distant, big guns, then close contact was going to be hellish. The thoughtprompted one last check of the tracks, the engine and the ammunition. Sergeant Reedglanced at him but said nothing. Danny suspected he’d just read the sergeant’smind.

When he’d finished the final check, he quickly rustled up anotherbrew after getting the nod from Reed. The extent to which hunger was an issuewas not something Danny had realised until yesterday. Halting for a quick cupof tea mid-battle was, unsurprisingly, out of the question. Meanwhile, thesound of gunfire and explosions intensified. He glanced at Felton. There was nomistaking the trepidation on his face. By now, even Holmes seemed even surlierthan usual. He knew why. They were going ‘over the top’.

It was a phrase he’d heard before. His father had never used it,but other dads had. It was the moment when a soldier left the relative safetyof their dug in position to face the full wrath of bullets and shell from theenemy. So far, Danny had faced limited enemy fire. This morning he faced theprospect of experiencing what his father’s generation had gone through. Reed,Holmes, Craig and Felton had undergone this baptism. The tension in the tankwas a testimony to the danger that lay ahead.

-

Lieutenant-Colonel Lister listened to the wireless. His faceremained impassive but inside he was in turmoil. His fears regarding theoriginal Crusader plan and its slow disintegration were now being realised.

The news was not good. There was confirmation that one, possiblytwo, Panzer divisions were heading towards them from the south. This could onlymean one thing. The Germans wanted their airfield back. Hardly unreasonable,thought Lister. An airfield was a bloody useful thing to have in the middle ofnowhere, especially when you needed fuel, supplies or just wanted to take a popat the enemy.

It was now clearer than ever that his men were going to besandwiched between the enemy guarding the outer perimeter of Tobruk and thePanzer divisions heading their way from the south east. Oddly, the enemy wouldalso be sandwiched by the British divisions to the south of the Panzer groups.

It was shaping up into one bloody mess. However, his orders wereclear even if they were not necessarily sensible. His men and Campbell’sSupport Group were to advance towards Tobruk. By the sounds of it, Campbell,the indestructible pirate that he was, had already started. There was somethingreassuring knowing that Campbell was the man General Gott had entrusted to leadthis attack. He was the stuff of fiction. A man quite literally larger thanlife.

Somehow, thought Lister, with a man like this, there was hope. Butone thought nagged him like his old doubles partner when he missed an easyvolley. What sort of armour was approaching from the south east? Lister hopedto God that that the 4th Armoured Brigade could intercept them. Otherwisethe consequences would be catastrophic.

-

At 0830 they were riding towards battle. And a battle it was bythe sounds of it. Reed confirmed that Campbell’s Support Group had encounteredthe enemy and had even overrun some of their positions.

Danny was under no illusions about the day ahead: this would bevery different from the previous one. Like a boxer, it would be hit and move.They would face anti-tank guns certainly and, potentially, tanks. Theatmosphere grew noticeably more tense as they neared the battle. Still, it feltbetter to be inside the tank than sitting on the outside or in the back of atruck.

The tanks progressed slowly up the ridge that lay between the SidiRezegh airfield and the road to Tobruk. Behind the ridge, in the valley belowwas the Trigh Capuzzo, the desert track that ran from near Sollum on the coastthrough Libya, parallel to the Mediterranean.

 ‘Slow down,’ ordered Reed as they headed up the slope of theescarpment. Danny thought the order funny as they weren’t exactly breaking anyspeed limits as it was. Then he realised that Reed was waiting for thesmokescreen to thicken. Explosions rocked the tank as the German anti-tank gunsmade their presence felt.

Holmes gave Danny a nod and soon the tank began to retaliate. Itwas difficult to be certain, but Danny sensed that the enemy was primarily composedof infantry, artillery and anti-tank placements. The tank moved slowly forwardunder the cover of the smokescreen. Firing shells towards where they could seethe enemy guns. Still no sign of any