The Spider and the Rats

By: AliasCWN

Chapter 1

The German halftrack circled around in front of the lead truck. Hit by an earlier shell, the truck was immobilized, a sitting duck for another shell. The driver and several other soldiers abandoned the crippled vehicle, seeking cover between two other trucks. The halftrack cut the distance between them, ignoring the truck to target the fleeing men.

One of them fell as bullets cut his legs out from under him. Two others paused long enough to grab his arms and drag him behind another of the trucks.

The German forces closed in, surrounding the beleaguered Americans.

The Americans, a resupply convoy headed for a dug in battalion, had little chance against the German column of halftracks and tanks. Seeing the futility of their resistance, the commander of the convoy conceded defeat. Calling to his men, he ordered them to lay down their arms. The drivers and their escorts watched as their commander raised the white flag.

The German commander ordered his men to cease firing and round up their new prisoners. He watched with satisfaction as his men collected the prisoners and searched the trucks.

"Captain." A lieutenant approached and saluted his officer sharply. "Congratulations Sir, your plan worked perfectly."

The Captain nodded absentmindedly. "Do you have a report for me Lieutenant?"

"Yes Sir." The Lieutenant smiled widely. "We have captured fourteen trucks Sir. Seven are carrying munitions, two are filled with rations, two carry medical supplies, and three are loaded with fuel. Three of the trucks are too damaged to drive but we can divide the loads among the other trucks."

"Very good Lieutenant. What about our losses?"

"Two halftracks were destroyed Sir. Two more were damaged. We have nine dead and four wounded Captain, but none of those are serious." The Lieutenant reported proudly.

"Not even the dead Lieutenant?"

"Excuse me Captain?"

"Never mind Lieutenant." The Captain sighed. "What of the Americans?

"There are thirty prisoners Sir; nine of them are wounded, one appears to have serious injuries. They also have six dead."

"Very well Lieutenant. Have our medics care for the wounded prisoners as soon as they are finished with our own wounded. For now, we'll leave the supplies we can't carry. We'll need one truck to carry the prisoners. I will radio the base and have them send some trucks out to retrieve the supplies. Have the guards supervise the prisoners while they bury their dead. I want to be on our way within the hour."

"Yes Captain, I'll see to it immediately."

"You do that Lieutenant." The Captain murmured under his breath as his subordinate hurried away.

Scanning the desert around him, the Captain searched the dunes for any sign that they had been observed. The heat shimmered off the light colored sand, giving the distant hills a wavy appearance. The only movement he saw in the distance was the occasional dust devil swirling along the desert floor.

Turning to the activity around him, the Captain walked among his troops encouraging them to finish their tasks. Everything was progressing exactly as planned but he was still restless. He was eager to move on to the next phase of the operation; it made him uneasy to be sitting in the open.

The trucks carrying rations were to be left behind until other trucks could arrive from the base to pick them up. They crammed the supplies from the third truck into the others. He moved his men around until he had one of his own trucks empty to transport the prisoners.

Less than an hour later the Lieutenant returned to inform him that the convoy was ready to roll.

"Thank you Lieutenant. Assign one driver to each truck and two extra men to guard the prisoners. Everyone else will remain with me. Send only one halftrack with the convoy, I will need the others to carry out the remainder of our plan."

"Yes Captain."

"Did you find me a working radio from one of the American trucks?"

"Yes Sir."

"Very well. Tell the men to be ready to stage the distress call. Cracking their code yesterday has proven to be very fortuitous timing."

"Yes Sir, I will tell the men to get in position." The Lieutenant rushed to set the stage for the fake distress call. Even as they prepared their ambush, the American trucks were heading for the German base with the prisoners.