The Different Battles Raid
By: AliasCWN
Chapter 7
"There they are." Jack Moffitt announced as he located the German column. The Germans were still maintaining the same course and speed that they had been traveling the previous day.
"Any changes?" Troy asked from his side.
"Looks like they put out some patrol cars as a security measure." Moffitt lowered the glasses and smiled at his American counterpart. "Do you think we made them nervous?"
Troy smiled, "We can hope."
"So what's the plan?"
"We hit the column and lead them off in a wild goose chase, in a circle. As soon as they break off the chase we'll regroup and re-evaluate. All we have to do is keep them chasing their tails for a few hours, then we'll set them up for the ambush."
"Sounds simple." The Brit observed dryly, fully aware of the dangers involved.
Troy laughed shortly. "Yeah." The sergeant looked down at the jeeps to check on the two privates. Both young men were alert and keeping an eye on the desert around them.
"Are you worried about them?" Moffitt asked, following Troy's gaze.
"They're tired."
"It's not the first time we've gone into battle suffering from lack of sleep. They're tired but they'll do their jobs." Watching the young men scan their surroundings, he had no doubt that he spoke the truth.
"I know, but reflexes are slower; we're going to need to be at the top of our game. Them, maybe more than us; we can shoot from wherever they take us, as long as they avoid the shells. That takes split second decisions and quick reflexes."
"I guess we'll just have to do our job and trust them to do theirs." With a shrug of resignation, Moffitt stated the obvious. "They've never let us down, I'm not worried."
Troy glanced at Moffitt, trying to gauge the limit of his confidence. Dark eyes looked back at him calmly, the picture of composure. Troy nodded slowly, ready to accept Moffitt's assessment. "Okay, let's do this."
Moffitt smiled, ready to take the next step of the plan. The two sergeants slid down the hill to join their drivers, taking the jeeps out to harass the hapless Germans in their own special way.
The two jeeps roared around the end of the hill and hit the first vehicles in the column. The Germans, surprised by the appearance of the two tiny vehicles, were slow to respond. By the time the gunners in the halftracks primed their weapons, the two jeeps were racing along the line behind them. The gunners pulled their heavy weapons around to aim to their rear but their own vehicles and troops were in the line of fire. The attackers fired a final burst before the drivers took their vehicles around the side of the dunes and out of sight.
The patrol cars made awkward turns and gave chase as the halftracks regrouped and tended to the wounded. The tanks stood guard, their crews staying safely behind their thick armored plates. Anyone who had survived the attack hid behind whatever cover they could find, expecting the Americans to launch another lightning strike.
The patrol cars returned to the column minus three of their number, bringing their wounded back for the medics to treat.
The wounded were loaded into trucks while the dead were buried in a mass grave since the column was not yet returning to their base and bodies decomposed too quickly in the desert to take them along.
The column lined up in single file and continued on their way.
"Now what?"
Troy and Moffitt lay on their stomachs and watched the column from a distance.
"We need to get the two columns to join together." Troy watched as the column began to move. "Let's go hit the other one and see if we can lead it back this way."
With Moffitt navigating, Tully led the way toward the second column. When they got closer they realized that the first column had radioed a warning. The patrol cars were running wide of the main column, watching for any sign of trouble.
Troy smiled when he saw the patrol cars. "We can hit them without having to worry about the tanks or halftracks. They're making it easy for us." At his orders, the jeeps jumped the dunes and splattered the unfortunate patrol cars with very little warning. Despite the presence of his own cars, the column commander ordered his tanks to open fire on the attackers.
The shell hit the ground to the side of the jeep. Troy yelled, telling Hitch to break off the attack. Another shell dropped behind them as they sped away. Tully saw the first jeep break off and he followed suit. The jeep took a few hits but they managed to escape unharmed; the Germans, however, were not as lucky. Again the Rat Patrol made their escape and left the Germans to lick their wounds.
Sam Troy glanced at his watch as his driver took them further away from the German column. He figured that the Major would be about ready with his surprise. Leaning forward, he tapped Hitchcock on the shoulder, indicating that he should stop. Troy turned to locate Tully and saw that the other driver had already closed the gap between the two vehicles.
"Time to lead them where we want them." Troy called to Moffitt.
"Who gets to play crippled?" Tully asked around his matchstick.
"Who wants it?" Troy asked, looking between the two drivers.
"Tully can do it." Hitch announced as he blew a large bubble. It deflated with a satisfying pop as Hitch looked to Tully for an agreement.
"No problem," Tully said mildly, "you guys can cover us."
Troy nodded. "Good luck. Don't take any unnecessary chances. We'll be right beside you."
Moffitt nodded solemnly, giving Tully the signal to go. Bracing himself against the bucking of the jeep, he loaded a new belt of ammo into the 50 and cleared the chamber.
Hitch followed close behind while Troy copied Moffitt's preparations. Alert for an ambush in case the Germans had spotted them returning, the two jeeps attempted to sneak up on the column again. This time however, instead of coming in from the front, the two jeeps attacked from the rear. Since the guns were usually aimed forward during travel, this was the more dangerous option. The Germans, although surprised by the second attack so soon, reacted more quickly this time. Bullets pinged off the frames of the little vehicles, barely missing their occupants who had very little protection from the flying projectiles.
Troy growled in surprise as a bullet cut across his forearm. Swinging the 50, he sought out the gunner who seemed to have better aim than the others. The jeep jerked to the side throwing off his aim and he missed his intended target. He was still pulling himself back to his feet when a shell exploded just in front of them. Hitch dodged as another shell came close to hitting the vehicle.
"Hitch, go!"
The jeep swerved again in response as the blonde broke off the attack and headed for open desert.
The second jeep dodged cannon fire and swerved violently. Tully fought to keep all four wheels on the ground so they wouldn't lose any traction. A thin stream of black smoke trailed from the rear of his jeep as he raced after Troy and Hitchcock.
A cheer arose from the German column when they saw the smoke.
Tully allowed his jeep to slow down once they were out of range of the guns. The smoke rose steadily from his vehicle which now seemed to be sputtering and jerking.
Hitch circled back to give Tully cover as the smoke continued to pour from the rear of his jeep. He matched his sped to Tully's and trailed behind the other jeep. The blonde glanced back once to see the column change course to follow their trail.
"Not so fast Tully," Troy called, "We don't want to lose them."
"We don't want to get caught either." The lean driver from Kentucky muttered under his breath.
"Did you say something Tully?" Moffitt called from the rear of the jeep where he still held onto the 50.
Tully shook his head, concentrating on his driving; trying to stay far enough ahead to avoid capture but not far enough to discourage pursuit.
