Crusader (A Novel of WWII Tank Warfare) by Jack Murray (important of reading books .TXT) 📗

the anticipationwould diminish with the pain, the fatigue and the overwhelming desire to besomewhere else.

A gentle breeze carried faint murmurs of a sea far off. Theyturned and strolled back to the laughter, the coughing, the cursing and the melancholicchat of men warming their hands on small campfires.

Of late Kohler had become closer to Manfred. They were the twomost junior members of the tank. The least experienced, the most likely to bepicked on. Manfred as the loader held the lowest position in the tankhierarchy. He had no problem with this. His time would come. He was as sure ofthis as he was unprepared to consider any thoughts of death. The fear wasalways there but it never developed into full blown anxiety about his impendingdemise. Instead, its recurring motif was how well he would carry out his duty. Beingkilled was the least of his worries.

Incompetence and cowardice were his twin enemies. Both would haveto be overcome. But he could only confront them in the midst of battle. Wouldhe be found wanting? His innocence would protect him at first. The lack ofexperience would shield him for a while. But after that? Who knew?

A tall figure came into view, walking along the middle of the tworows of Panzers. As he passed each group, he saw fires extinguished. He arrivedat Manfred’s tank. It was Lieutenant Basler. He glared down at the Manfred andKohler. He didn’t have to say anything. Kohler was already kicking sand overthe embers. He moved along without saying anything,

Manfred crawled over to the side of the tank and threw himselfunder a blanket, still clad in his overcoat. By now he had hardened himself tohunger. He was no longer distracted by the need for food. This detachment madehim feel as if he was winning the battle against his body. Other battles layahead. If he’d ever had it, he no longer felt a wide-eyed commitment to thecause they were fighting for. Survival and courage were his goals. Perhaps inbattle he would regain the moral purpose he was losing in the ennui of waitingday after day and night after night. His feeling of discontent would only beresolved when the day came that would give him a chance to prove his courage,not just to others but to himself.

-

Sleep usually came quickly. It was rarely deep. The cold made sureof that. Discomfort made it a fitful night. Manfred often woke at strange hours.He fell asleep again to the sound of snoring all around him. The next morning,he would still be tired. The eyes of his comrades always told a similar story.

As it turned out, the early morning alarm was the sound of anaeroplane overhead. Manfred sat bolt upright, too much sleep in his eyes tomake out the shape in the sky.

‘Ours?’ he asked hopefully.

Kastner looked at him and said slowly, ‘You need to learn thedifferent sounds that planes make. It might save your life. Yes, one of ours.’

Manfred nodded and listened for the next few minutes as the planeflew directly overheard and then off into the distance. He focused on the humof the engine, committing it to memory. He ignored the amused looks of Fischerand Kohler. They could laugh all they wanted. They’d probably had to do thesame.

The sky was clear and blue. It was warm but nothing like thetemperatures he’d endured upon arrival four months previously. This wasbearable. It would have been uncivilised to have to fight in the midst ofsummer.

-

It was just after three in the afternoon. It was hotter inside thetank than outside. The atmosphere in the tank had the stale reek of engine fumesand the sweat of five men; the hot sweat of heat and the cold sweat of fear. Itwas something Manfred doubted he would ever grow accustomed to. He tried not toinhale to deeply of the stench. They’d been travelling for over an hour and ahalf when a halt was called. Overath ordered Manfred and Kohler to check thefuel and the guns. Manfred sensed Overath was on edge. His sombre expressionrevealed so much more than words. There was only one thing that this couldmean.

Manfred risked a glance towards the horizon. The haze was lessintense but, still, he could see nothing threatening. Even Kastner seemed tightlipped. Manfred noticed the occasional exchanged glances. The sharedunderstanding between the two men. The significance all too clear. Kohler cameup alongside Manfred.

‘I think this is it,’ whispered Kohler.

‘What do you mean?’ replied Manfred.

‘I’ve been listening to the communications. The Tommies are makinga bigger push than we expected along the front. They’re coming for Tobruk. We’veto hold them off. There are too many tanks for us to do it with theeighty-eights. We may have to go in, too, especially if they have infantry.’

Manfred nodded; he felt his stomach turn somersaults and fought hardto control the rising wave of nausea. It was interesting how much he’d wantedthe chance to prove himself up until the moment arrived. Now he felt likerunning. Running as far away as he could. He wondered how the others felt. Theyknew what to expect. Hell, they even knew what to do. He was untried. Untested.But this would change now.

Back inside the tank, they started moving forward again. The setfeatures of Fischer below and Kastner beside him required no explanation.Kohler had called this correctly. They were heading into battle.

Over the last few months everything he’d heard told him that theywere in a superior vehicle. The fifty millimetre gun was bigger, and theirfront armour was thicker. The Crusader tanks of the enemy had to get close to hurtthem. Manfred felt sure it would be all right.

The tank trundled on. Despite his fear, Manfred found himselfcaught between exhilaration and anxiety. Oddly, the course of his fear waschanging. His thoughts lay with things like the engine which sounded like itwas straining, a fear that the torsion-bar suspension would break on the roughground over which they were travelling. Every sound in the tank was a sign ofsomething that could go wrong. He’d never thought of this before.

They reached a ridge and slowed down. Manfred noticed anotherexchange of looks between Kastner and