The Case of Mistaken Identity Raid
By: AliasCWN
Chapter 7
"What's wrong Troy?" Moffitt stepped in front of the other sergeant as Troy stomped away from the jeep.
"That was Captain Boggs." Troy answered, pointing toward the radio he had just turned off. "Headquarters has another convoy they want us to go after. It's going to keep us busy for another couple of days."
"And we won't be able to go after Hitch until after we complete this assignment too?"
"That's right."
"And you're worried that we might be too late?"
"Yeah."
"Tully is worried too," the Brit added. "He wants to go back now."
"We can't!" Troy groaned. "We have to get that convoy. There is evidence that it's supplying the munitions for that offensive that we discovered. Hitch is just going to have to wait."
"Do you want me to explain it to Tully?"
"No, I'll do it." Troy looked over at the private in question. "We're going to have to leave right away if we want to get there in time to intercept the shipment. Tully will understand." At least Troy hoped that he would. It would be hard to accept, by any of them. Troy crossed the camp to where Tully and Andy were busy cleaning their weapons. "Mount up, we have another assignment."
Tully looked up expectantly and waited for the sergeant to explain.
"What kind of assignment Sarge?" Andy asked.
Troy looked at Tully as he answered. "Another German convoy. Headquarters is trying to prevent supplies from reaching their bases so they can't take part in those plans we photographed. If those supplies get through, a lot of our guys are going to die."
Tully stared at Troy for a moment before he nodded silently and looked down at the ground. Troy saw his jaw tighten as he bit down on his ever-present matchstick. When he spit it out, it was bitten in half. Tully got to his feet and carried the rifle he had been cleaning to the jeep. He dropped it into the holder and slid into his seat without a word to anyone.
Moffitt gave Troy an encouraging look before following Tully to the jeep. He sat next to Tully and tucked his long legs under the dash. He took a moment to adjust his goggles on his face. He didn't look at his driver as he offered encouragement. "It will only take us another couple of days."
Tully nodded again and reached for his helmet. He settled the hard hat on his head and covered his eyes with his goggles. He reached for the starter without commenting on the sergeant's statement.
Moffitt looked over at Troy and shrugged. Troy sighed and ordered Andy to move out.
They were moving so fast that they ran into a German patrol before they had a chance to evade discovery. The resulting battle was short but it gave them a chance to work off some of their frustration. The two jeeps made quick work of disabling the first of the patrol cars. Tully charged at the car, getting Moffitt close enough to lob a grenade into the passenger compartment. Troy and Andy kept the gunners ducking for cover until Tully and Moffitt could get away from the coming detonation.
Troy and Andy took on the second car. Andy was doing his best but Troy was having trouble getting his big gun in line with the target. The German driver, gun-shy after what happened to the first car, wasn't letting Andy get close. The two vehicles were driving circles around each other, neither getting the advantage they wanted. When Tully and Moffitt joined the dance, the driver decided that the odds weren't in his favor and he took off. Both jeeps chased him but he was desperate enough to ignore the rocks he was driving over. Tully and Andy didn't want to tear the bottoms out of their jeeps so they held back. Troy finally called a halt and allowed the car to get away.
Tully and Moffitt were checking the first car when Troy and Andy pulled up next to them. "Any survivors?"
Moffitt shook his head. "They were ducking down behind the seats when the grenade exploded. Shrapnel went clean through the seat and hit the driver too."
"The we don't have to worry about prisoners," Troy replied with little emotion. "They would have slowed us down anyway."
The Brit nodded his agreement.
"Then let's get out of here. That other car got away. They'll be on the radio calling for help about now." Troy sent Andy ahead, leaving Tully and Moffitt to follow.
"It's unfortunate that we were spotted," Moffitt offered to the silence. He looked over at Tully. "That patrol got lucky."
"Only half of them got lucky," Tully answered.
"You took quite a chance charging that car the way you did."
"It worked, didn't it?"
"Tully," Moffitt sighed, "we can go back after this assignment is over. The mission always comes first. Getting ourselves killed is not going to help anything."
"You scared Doc?" Tully's question was more of a challenge than a question.
"I'm worried about Hitch if that's what you mean. I'm worried what will happen to him if we don't get back soon enough." The Brit stared off across the desert. "He's a friend, but he's also a soldier. He'll do what he has to do until we can reach him."
"Is that what Sarge thinks too?"
"Troy hasn't said much of anything. You know him Tully, he keeps things to himself. He's worried about Hitch too. He feels responsible for all of us. He'll do what he can to help, but even he knows the mission comes first."
"We're all expendable."
"Yes, put simply, yes we are. The problem is, with a unit this size, even one loss seems huge. We will lose one quarter of our number if anything happens to Hitch. It's not just losing a soldier, it's losing a friend, a brother."
Tully nodded again.
"We will get through this Tully. I can't predict how it will turn out, but we will survive it." Moffitt glanced over at his driver. "I have had some experience in this sort of thing Tully, I lost a brother. I will make one promise though, I will do everything in my power not to lose another one."
"Okay Doc, I'll try to be patient."
Moffitt chuckled. "You are quite likely the most patient person I know Tully. It is your unruffled calm that has helped me through some of the hardest times of my life. I think even Troy has leaned on that calm at times."
"I don't feel so calm right now."
"It doesn't show," Moffitt answered.
Tully rolled his eyes at the sergeant and concentrated on his driving.
In the other jeep, Troy was thinking about the second convoy. Even if they drove all night, they would still have to find the convoy. He knew it could take as long as twenty-four hours to locate the German trucks. They knew where it was going to be at a given time, but not how to locate it earlier. That meant they would have to wait for it or risk missing it in the vast desert. He knew Tully wasn't happy with this assignment and he suspected that Moffitt felt the same. For that matter, he didn't like it either. The problem was; headquarters was right, if those supplies got through, a lot of guys, on both sides, were going to die. If they were going to stop the attack, they had to stop the convoy.
Later that day they fought it out with another patrol. This time both patrol cars got away, but Troy wasn't willing to take the time to chase them down. He ordered the jeeps to break off and continue toward their destination.
"Are we driving through the night?" Moffitt cornered Troy when they stopped to cool the engines.
"No, too dangerous. There's no sense in our getting there early because that convoy won't be there yet. Hanging around waiting just gives Jerry a chance to spot us before we can get the convoy."
"It would be a shame to come all of this way just to miss our target," the Brit agreed.
"We can't afford to miss it," Troy growled. "If we miss it the first time, we'll have to find a way to try again."
"Then we won't miss it," Moffitt answered. "I had another talk with Tully." Moffitt moved closer to Troy and lowered his voice. "I think he understands why we have to do this. He's still worried, but he won't repeat the reckless actions of earlier today."
Troy shook his head. "It's affecting all of us Doctor. I should have seen that first patrol long before they saw us. That second one should never have gotten away. We're sloppy."
"Then we will have to do better. We are better."
"Yeah."
"The jeeps should be ready. I suggest we get that convoy so we can go back and do what we need to do." Moffitt tried for a smile. "I, for one, would like to go get Hitch."
"Yeah, me too," Troy answered.
By nightfall they had covered most of the distance to their destination. They made a cold camp since they knew the two patrols would have reported their presence in the area. Troy vowed to take more care in avoiding the Germans.
His resolve was tested by midmorning. A German column appeared in the distance, headed in their direction. Troy spotted their dust and called a halt to check it out. He briefly considered taking them on just to help release some of the tension they were all feeling. He reconsidered after looking down at Andy. Andy did fine against patrols and convoys, but Troy wasn't willing to risk taking him against a column with their mission so close. They took measures to avoid the column, hugging the hills for protection.
It was late in the day when they reached the coordinates that headquarters had given them. There was no sign of the convoy so Troy had them find a wadi for shelter.
"We're a little early," Troy told the others. "We'll wait here until we see a sign of them. We should have plenty of time to find a good site for our ambush." Thinking that the others needed to be kept busy, he ordered Tully and Andy to go over the jeeps.
Troy climbed the slope around the wadi and used his field glasses to survey the desert around their position. He located the road the convoy was supposedly using. As he followed the road through the hills with his glasses, he spotted the wreckage of a German truck. A closer look revealed several more abandoned vehicles. There was even the shell of a fighter that had apparently ploughed into a dune. To Troy it looked like a vehicle graveyard. He shook his head at the direction his mind was taking him. Thinking of graveyards wasn't going to solve his problems. He focused the glasses on the wreckage to take his mind off of his troubles. As he scanned the burned and shattered hulks a plan began to form.
"Troy."
He turned as Moffitt dropped onto the sand beside him.
"Here, I thought you might kike a drink." The Brit held out a canteen.
Troy took the tepid water and took a few sips. He recapped it and handed it back.
"Do we have a plan yet?" Moffitt searched the desert for any sign of the convoy.
Troy nodded. "I think I have an idea that will get us close. They'll be wary, those patrols probably warned them that we were in the area."
"I was wondering about that. What do you have in mind?"
Troy explained the beginning of his plan. "What do you think?"
"It might work. At least it gives us a little more of an advantage. We'll have to make sure we can't be spotted too early."
"Yeah," Troy nodded. "That could ruin everything."
"You'll work it out, I have faith in you."
Troy shook his head and stared off across the desert. "Do you ever wish you had never gotten involved in this war?"
"Every day," Moffitt answered with a nod.
"Before this war, I had no one to worry about but myself. Nobody died if I made a mistake. Nobody counted on me to save them." Troy shook his head again.
"You must have had someone who counted on you. You're a natural leader Troy."
"Counted on me, yeah, maybe for some things. Nothing life or death." Troy shook his head again. He licked his lips before he continued. "Hitch counted on me to keep him safe."
"No, he didn't," Moffitt disagreed. "He counted on you to make the right decisions, but even Hitch knew that making the right decisions doesn't keep us safe. In fact, it usually does the opposite. Making the right decisions isn't about playing it safe, it's about getting the job done in the best possible way. Doing it in the best way is how you keep us safe, or as safe as we can be in the middle of a war. You make good decisions Troy, it's just that sometimes they don't work out the way we hope. Too many things are beyond our control, even yours. Hitch is a soldier, he knows that."
"Did I get him killed by breaking off our rescue attempt?"
"You saved the rest of us. You made a command decision."
"But did I get Hitch killed?"
"If you must blame someone, blame the Germans. I don't know what happened to Hitch, and neither do you. What I do know is that we may have all been killed if we had continued. We wouldn't have been much help to Hitch if we were dead. Only time will tell Troy. We have to get that convoy, then we can think abut going back for Hitch."
Troy nodded without looking at Moffitt.
"Do you want something to eat? Tully is going to dig out cold rations. We may not get much of a chance to eat after we announce our presence in the area."
"I'm not hungry," Troy answered.
"All right, I'll tell Tully to leave a packet in your jeep." The Brit turned to go back to the jeeps.
"I'll be down in a minute to explain what I want to do to Andy and Tully. That convoy should be here soon."
"We'll be ready."
When Troy returned to the jeeps, he sent Moffitt up to watch for the convoy. He called Andy and Tully to him to explain his plan.
"There are some wrecked trucks, halftracks, and even a plane pushed off the road down there. Some of them have been stripped of parts but some of them are still intact. I want to use them for cover."
"We're not using the jeep Sarge?" Andy looked at Tully as he asked the question. "How are we going to get clear without the jeeps?"
"We're using the jeeps Andy," Troy explained. "What I want to do is hide the jeeps behind the wrecks. The problem is going to be finding the exact spot where they won't be visible to the convoy until we begin our attack. We can't be discovered early. We'll go down now and take a look at what is available. We need to be ready when the convoy arrives. I want to make one pass at the convoy. Hopefully we can do enough damage that we won't need a second pass. If we do, we'll switch sides so they have to sawing around to aim at us."
Both privates nodded in understanding.
They climbed into the jeeps, collected Moffitt, and went down to the road. As they drove along the wrecks Troy again thought of a graveyard. Some of the trucks were too close to the road to be used, but others met Troy's specifications. Tully found a spot behind a halftrack that would also be shielded by one of the trucks. When he backed the jeep in, he found it was still exposed to sight as the convoy passed. He used the tattered canvas from the truck to further conceal the jeep. Moffit gave his approval after checking the hide from all directions.
Andy found a spot behind a truck but couldn't get into a position that allowed him to stay hidden while still giving him a quick escape. They didn't want to get trapped between the wrecks and the line of trucks that made up the convoy.
Troy was looking at the placement of the wrecks with a thoughtful frown.
"Something wrong Troy?"
"I was just thinking Doctor. If someone was to hide in the rear of this truck, they could lob a grenade right into the lead halftrack as if passes."
"But they would be exposed to fire from the trucks."
"They could jump out and run for a jeep. The other jeep can begin its run as soon as the grenade exploded."
"But that someone would be taking a huge risk that he could reach the jeep unharmed."
"The truck would offer protection."
Moffitt looked at the truck in respect to the position of the nearest place a jeep could be hidden. "That would be a very dangerous run."
"But worth it if we took out the halftrack. It would give us better access to the convoy. We could get most of the trucks in the first run."
"And the second halftrack?"
"We'd avoid that one. Make our run and get out before it can get into action."
"Who do you have in mind to throw the grenade?"
"Me."
"Troy, you can't keep taking the greatest risks for yourself. This team needs you. Let me do it."
"No Doctor, my idea, my job."