'I'd guess no more than seventy, at most eighty. If you bring forward number two and three sections, that should be more than enough to hold them off until reinforcements arrive.'
A third volley followed, but after Giles had scanned the horizon, he once again gave the order, 'Hold your fire.'
'I'll send up Two Section under Sergeant Harris to support you,' said Fisher, 'and if you keep me briefed, I'll decide whether to join you with Three Section.' The phone went dead.
A fourth volley quickly followed the third, and this time when Giles focused his binoculars, he could see a dozen men crawling across the open ground towards them.
'Take aim, but don't fire until the target is in range, and make sure every bullet counts.'
Bates was the first to squeeze his trigger. 'Got you,' he said as a German collapsed into the desert sand. As he reloaded, he added, 'That'll teach you to bomb Broad Street.'
'Shut up, Bates, and concentrate,' said Giles.
'Sorry, sir.'
Giles continued to scan the horizon. He could see two, possibly three men who'd been hit and were lying face down in the sand a few yards from their dugouts. He gave the order to fire another volley and Giles watched as several more Germans scampered back to safety, like ants scurrying down a hole.
'Cease fire!' shouted Giles, aware that they couldn't afford to waste precious ammunition. He looked to his left and could see 2 Section already in position under Sergeant Harris, awaiting their orders.
He picked up the field phone and Fisher came back on the line. 'My ammunition won't last much longer, sir. My left flank's now covered by Sergeant Harris, but my right flank's exposed. If you were able to come forward, we'd have a better chance of holding them off.'
'Now that you've got Two Section to strengthen your position, Barrington, I'd better stay back and cover you, in case they break through.'
Another volley of bullets flew in their direction. The Germans had clearly worked out exactly where they were positioned, but Giles still instructed his two sections to hold fire. He cursed, put down the phone and ran across the open gap to join Sergeant Harris. A volley followed his trouble.
'What do you think, sergeant?'
'It's a half-company, sir, about eighty men in all. But I think they're just a reconnaissance party, so all we have to do is bed down and be patient.'
'I agree,' said Giles. 'What do you think they'll do?'
'The Krauts will know that they outnumber us, so they'll want to mount an attack before any reinforcements arrive. If Lieutenant Fisher brought up Three Section to cover our right flank, it would strengthen our position.'
'I agree,' repeated Giles as another volley greeted them. 'I'll go back and speak to Fisher. Await my orders.'
Giles zigzagged across the open terrain. This time the bullets were a little too close to risk that trick again. He was just about to call Fisher when the field phone rang. He grabbed it.
'Barrington,' said Fisher. 'I believe the time has come for us to take the initiative.'
Giles needed to repeat Fisher's words to be sure he'd heard them correctly. 'You want me to lead an attack on the Germans' position, while you bring forward Three Section to cover me.'
'If we do that,' said Bates, 'we'd be like sitting ducks on a rifle range.'
'Shut up, Bates.'
'Yes, sir.'
'Sergeant Harris thinks, and I agree with him,' continued Giles, 'that if you bring up Three Section to cover our right flank, the Germans will have to mount an attack, and then we could - '
'I'm not interested in what Sergeant Harris thinks,' said Fisher. 'I give the orders and you'll carry them out. Is that clear?'
'Yes, sir,' Giles said as he slammed down the phone.
'I could always kill him, sir,' said Bates.
Giles ignored him as he loaded his pistol and attached six hand grenades to his webbed belt. He stood up so that both platoons could see him, and said in a loud voice, 'Fix bayonets and prepare to advance.' He then stepped out from behind his cover and shouted, 'Follow me!'
As Giles began to run across the deep scorching sand with Sergeant Harris and Corporal Bates only a stride behind him, he was greeted with yet another volley of bullets and wondered how long he would survive against such overwhelming odds. With forty yards still to cover, he could see exactly where the three enemy dugouts were situated. He snatched a hand grenade from his belt, removed the pin and tossed it towards the centre dugout, as if he was returning a cricket ball from the deep boundary into the wicketkeeper's gloves. It landed just above the stumps. Giles saw two men fly into the air, while another fell back.
He swung round and hurled a second grenade to his left, a definite run-out, because the enemy's firepower suddenly dried up. The third grenade took out a machine gun. As Giles charged on, he could see the men who had him in their sights. He took his pistol out of its holster and began to fire as if he was on a shooting range but this time the bullseyes were human beings. One, two, three went down, and then Giles saw a German officer lining him up in his sights. The German pulled the trigger just a moment too late, and collapsed on the ground in front of him. Giles felt sick.
When he was only a yard from the dugout, a young German dropped his rifle on the ground, while another threw his arms high into the air. Giles stared into the desperate eyes of the defeated men. He didn't need to speak German to know they didn't want to die.
'Cease fire!' screamed Giles, as what was left of 1 and 2 sections quickly overwhelmed the enemy positions. 'Round them up and disarm them, Sergeant Harris,' he added, then turned back to see Harris, head down in the sand, blood trickling out of his mouth, only yards from the dugout.
Giles stared back across the open terrain they had crossed and tried not to count the number of soldiers who had sacrificed their lives because of one man's weak decision. Stretcher bearers were already removing the dead bodies from the battlefield.
'Corporal Bates, line up the enemy prisoners in threes, and march them back to camp.'
'Yes, sir,' said Bates, sounding as if he meant it.
A few minutes later, Giles and his depleted band headed back across the open ground. They had covered about fifty yards when Giles saw Fisher running towards him, with 3 Section following in his wake.
'Right, Barrington, I'll take over,' he shouted. 'You bring up the rear. Follow me,' he ordered as he led the captured German soldiers triumphantly back towards the town.
By the time they reached the Majestic Hotel, a small crowd had gathered to cheer them. Fisher returned the salutes of his brother officers.
'Barrington, see that the prisoners are interned, then take the lads off to the canteen for a drink; they've earned it. Meanwhile, I'll report to Major Richards.'
'Can I kill him, sir?' asked Bates.
17
WHEN GILES came down for breakfast the following morning, several officers, some of whom he'd never spoken to before, went out of their way to shake hands with him.
As he strolled into the mess, several heads turned and smiled in his direction, which he found slightly embarrassing. He grabbed a bowl of porridge, two boiled eggs and an out-of-date copy of Punch. He sat alone, hoping to be left in peace, but a few moments later three Australian officers he didn't recognize joined him. He turned a page of Punch, and laughed at an E.H. Shepard cartoon of Hitler retreating from Calais on a penny farthing.