The Dardanelles Conspiracy by Alan Bardos (best ereader for pc TXT) 📗

forced himself around. The skipper was lying against the side of the trawler’s superstructure holding his stomach together. He nodded at the back of the boat. ‘Square it off, before it does for poor old Daisy as well.’

Johnny couldn't make out what the old man was jabbering about, but assumed he meant the mine was going to hit them. Johnny struggled to his feet. He couldn't die here, not after everything he'd been through.

'Good lad, I'll see there's a tot of rum in it for you,' the skipper called, while Johnny made his way to the back of the boat. The wonky propeller was churning the water to a white frothy cream, but they weren’t making any progress against the tide.

Johnny knelt and scanned the sea in the direction Dud had been aiming, and saw the mine, a large spiked mace glinting in the sun. It was drifting towards a cruiser. His first thought was that it would hit them rather than his boat. However, at the speed they were going, he couldn't be sure.

Johnny lifted his rifle and fired at the mine. A spark flew off it, but nothing happened. He steadied himself, waiting for the boat to tilt upwards and fired at it as rapidly as he could, frantically working the bolt before the mine started to drift towards him. He saw a glint on one of the spikes and the mine exploded in a 100-foot-high splash that lifted the trawler and threw Johnny against the back of the boat.

Johnny got up and thought he heard cheering from the cruiser. He bowed and made his way back to the skipper.

‘How are you?’ Johnny asked, he took off his coat and pressed it against the skipper’s wound.

‘Don’t worry about me, boy, you done ’em right and proper, time to call it a day.’ The skipper grinned.

‘I’m sure there must be a few more mines out here yet,’ Johnny said.

‘No, reckon that be it. That shell done for me and took the cable. Got nothing to tow with now.’

Johnny saw that there were just blasted pieces of metal and wood left where the sweep had been.

‘It don’t matter none now, all the other trawlers have buggered off,’ the skipper groaned.

Johnny glanced round. The other trawlers were hurrying away as best they could. ‘Can you hang on for a moment, skipper? I better report to the Sub and try and find a medical kit.’

But when Johnny turned back to the skipper, he was gone.

***

‘Irresistible’s been hit!' de Robeck exclaimed in shock, as one of the ships in Line C started to list, then dropped out of formation.

‘It's hopeless,’ Keyes remarked. ‘They're getting a pasting.’

'We must silence their guns,' de Robeck shouted, there was a sense of growing frustration in the conning tower as the battle rage between the shore batteries and the battleships. Despite earlier appearances, the shore batteries had not been silenced.

Sir George watched the trawlers slowly retreat in dismay. They’d hardly made a dent in the minefield and were running home. What was worse, all the boats were coming back. So the chances were Swift had survived.

Sir George went back to studying the jagged rock formation of the peninsula. The muzzle flashes were starting to mesmerise him and blurring time into a series of bright intense flickers through the smoke.

‘Oh my god, they’ve hit Inflexible,’ Keyes voice cut through Sir George’s trance.

The news came like a hammer blow to de Robeck. The loss of another battleship was a disaster. Sir George was glad to see that the Admiral maintained his reserve in the close confines of the conning tower.

‘What do you think’s causing it, Roger? Are they that good a shot or are they launching long range torpedoes at us from the shore?’ de Robeck asked.

‘There are reports of them, sir. I believe Admiral Limpus recommended long range torpedoes when he was the Turk’s naval adviser. And the area has been swept for mines,' Keyes replied.

‘There could also be floating mines down from the narrows on this bloody current,’ de Robeck said. The truth was he had no idea what was sinking his ships. It could be mines, torpedoes or fire from the shore batteries, or all three.

HMS Irresistible had started to swing out of control, a hapless target for the Turkish gunners, while her crew gathered on the deck waiting to be picked up.

‘This is doing no good. We’re just throwing away good ships. Issue the recall.’ de Robeck added in a whisper, ‘the whole thing has been a disaster.’

‘We’ll come back tomorrow and finish them off,’ Keys said. ‘One more good shove and we are through.’

‘We will press on,’ de Robeck agreed.

Chapter 37

Breitner helped clear the guns. He was dirty and exhausted but keeping up with the men. Everyone knew they had to make the gun serviceable. The other batteries along the Straits were taking the brunt of the assault and they had to get back in the fight.

‘You can pack it in boys, they’ve had enough for now,’ Dolly called down from the observation post. The gunners looked bewildered for a moment, and then let up a wild cheer. All around the fort their cheers were echoed.

Dolly put his hands up to quieten them. ‘That’s enough – they’ll be back. Sergeant, get the men fed, then be back here in an hour. There is a lot to be done before tomorrow.’

Breitner climbed up to join Dolly on the parapet to watch the Allied ships retreat. The romantic view was now a scene of devastation, covered in oil slicks and burning wreckage, but the field belonged to the defenders.

‘Quite a mess, isn’t it?’ Dolly said, indicating their fort. The damage looked tremendous, vast craters dotted the ramparts and the parade ground behind them. Some of the buildings had been totally smashed. ‘All