Chapter 4
Hearing the plane coming their way, the team lit a series of small fires to guide the pilot in. Even before it had touched down, Garrison was running forward. A man in an RAF uniform stumbled out of the plane, while Garrison grabbed one of the man's bags, then quickly passed the film to the co-pilot, before the plane took off again. Urging the technician to make for the field boundary , Garrison turned to check his men were stamping out the fires they had lit earlier.
''That could've been our transport home,'' bemoaned Goniff as he kicked the last of the embers into the ground. He had hardly finished when Chief came running over.
''We got company!'' he shouted, indicating over his right shoulder, then turned away towards some trees. The rest of the team scattered just as a shout in German was heard, quickly followed by the sound of machine guns.
Garrison hightailed it after the technician. When they reached the edge of the field, their way was blocked by a dry-stone wall. Both men skidded to a halt, then fell to the ground as a shower of bullets hit the wall, ricocheting in all directions and covering them in shards of stone. They drew their guns and began to fire back across the field. Having nowhere to go for now, Garrison hoped his men were having more success.
With bullets kicking at their heels, Goniff had followed Actor through a gap in the hedge. They both threw themselves into the ditch beyond before grabbing their guns and returning fire.
Casino had raced after Chief, knowing the scout would probably have a pre-planned escape route. Hearing occasional shots from the direction they were heading, Casino realised Gina was giving them cover. She quickly joined them and, as they listened, it became obvious that the Germans were concentrating on the other two positions across the field. Conscious of the fact that their team mates only had hand guns and were probably carrying limited ammunition, something needed to be done urgently.
''How many?'' whispered Casino. Chief held up five fingers. ''We need to get behind 'em. Pick 'em off somehow.'' Chief nodded in agreement. Looking around, he pointed and then set off in that direction, the others following closely behind, as they all crept through the trees and shrubs towards the gunfire. Just as Casino was beginning to worry that they may get caught in the crossfire, Chief stopped and indicated the area ahead of them.
In the gloom they could just make out three German soldiers, using a fallen tree as cover. Then the sound of more gunfire erupted from a position further beyond that. Chief indicated they should wait five minutes before shooting, giving him time to work his way round and attack from the other side. The others nodded and he slipped away into the darkness.
Creeping closer, Gina grasped Casino's arm and pointed. In the dappled moonlight, another soldier could be seen lying prone on the ground, his hand still clutching a machine gun. He was tantalisingly close to their position. Gina was just about to inch forwards but stopped as Casino dropped to the ground and began slithering through the undergrowth, any sound he might have made hidden beneath the gunfire ahead of him. Gina held her gun ready, half expecting one of the soldiers to turn at any moment. Reaching the body Casino paused to check the man was dead, before stretching over him to grasp the machine gun and prise it from the soldier's hand. Glancing back at Gina he saw her raise her hand, telling him to wait while she scanned the trees to check her brother's position.
As her gaze returned to Casino, she nodded as she lowered her hand. Praying it hadn't jammed, the safe-cracker steadied himself then swung the gun up and opened fire, taking out the three soldiers with one sweep. A movement at the far end of the fallen tree caught Casino's attention. Before he was able to alter his aim, he saw a man rise and then fall to the ground. Silence ensued, everyone listening intently. Once Chief was satisfied, he whistled into the night, before retrieving his blade from the fallen man's body.
''Thanks,'' declared Casino when Chief arrived with some of the abandoned rifles. ''Your timing was a little off though.''
''Could've waited longer, I 'spose,'' grinned Chief as they moved off to join the others.
GG
Apart from a few bumps and bruises, the team appeared to have emerged relatively unscathed from their recent brush with the enemy. Garrison and the technician had sustained a number of cuts from the fragments of stone dislodged by the bullets but these were easily treated.
Garrison introduced the technician, Mike, to his team, then left them to get to know each other, while he spread out his maps on the table. Mike seemed very easy going and the men were soon all chatting away happily. When asked what he did, Mike replied, ''You could say I'm a sort of boffin, seconded to the RAF for the duration of the war, hence the uniform. Up till now I've been helping to keep their radio network up to scratch, amongst other things. I speak French and a little German. I've done some military training, square bashing and the like, but I didn't expect to be in the thick of it quite so soon. By the way, who's the pretty little French mademoiselle I saw earlier?''
''She is our contact,'' stated Actor matter-of-factly. He was aware Gina was keeping out of the way for now and had reverted to using her French accent. The less people who knew about her connection to the team, the better.
GG
Once there was a lull in the conversation Garrison drew their attention back to the mission. ''Did you manage to get any of the equipment we requested?'' he asked Mike.
Mike grabbed the larger of his bags and proceeded to unload grenades, ammunition and explosives onto the table. ''Didn't know what we might need, so I brought a little of everything that the Quartermaster suggested,'' he grinned at them. ''I also have a number of aerial photographs which should be useful.'' He placed these on the table too. While Chief stayed by the window, prepared to just listen for now, Actor, Casino and Goniff got up and joined the others around the table.
''I was given a briefing on the photographs before I left,'' explained Mike. ''It appears that the main defences of the site are on the seaward side facing the Channel. The Germans seemed to have assumed that any attack will come by sea or air from the Home Counties or the southern coast of England, not inland France. You can see barbed wire across the beach, a gun battery near the base of the cliff and machine gun emplacements either side. The reconnaissance planes reported coming under attack from these positions. The building near the top of the cliff has only recently appeared, as you can see on the last two photographs.''
''And being such a small target, an aerial bombardment would have to get very close to achieve any damage,'' surmised Actor.
''Exactly,'' agreed Mike. ''The RAF have tried bombing other structures along the French coast but they are either heavily defended on the seaward side or built with layers of reinforced concrete, which is why a land attack was deemed to be a better option in this case, I guess.''
''Not from where I'm standing it ain't,'' moaned Casino. Goniff nodded in agreement
Ignoring both men, Garrison pointed at one of the photographs and asked ''What are these dark patches around the base of the cliff?''
''Command thinks the Germans have built some sort of bunker or dug-out for the guards to shelter in. After all, the building on the cliff is in a prominent position and prone to attack, so they wouldn't want all their guards to be based there at any one time,'' Mike replied
''Let's hope it doesn't include a tunnel from the beach to the building,'' thought Garrison, knowing how keen the Germans were in creating underground tunnels.
''So what's so important about this place?'' Goniff wanted to know.
''We're not really sure, yet. We know the Germans have developed radio controlled bombs to be carried by the Luftwaffe. These are controlled by radio signals from inside the plane once it is in sight of the target, usually a ship. The bomb's trajectory can then be adjusted if the ship tries to veer away. But both the target and the bomb need to be in view at all times, fairly easy if you are in a moving aircraft following the release of the bomb. However, your message suggested the Germans intend to control bombs from a static site on this side of the channel, meaning they could potentially pinpoint specific locations in the south of England from the French coast. How they hope to do that without being able to see their target is uncertain. We need to know more about the technology so we can jam it or even deploy it ourselves. I'd rather like to see the apparatus for myself and, if possible, take some essential parts of it back to England.''
''And just 'ow we supposed to get big chunks of metal and wires 'ome. The Jerries are gonna be scouring the countryside looking for us once we raid the place. Assuming we get out in one piece that is.'' Several of the team silently agreed with Goniff, remembering the fiasco with the coffin on one of their early missions.
''Command reckoned that if you let them know when you're going to attack they will deploy gun boats to keep the enemy on the beach occupied and then send in a small landing craft to pick us up from a cove further up the coast.''
''As easy as that, huh?'' Chief had little faith in those in charge, military or otherwise.
Goniff was not convinced either. ''But we still need to get into that building. Surely, if it's that important, it'll be well guarded.''
''Yes Goniff, we do need to know how many soldiers we could be dealing with. But we can take a closer look tomorrow,'' Garrison looked at his watch ''Make that later today. For now we ought to get some rest. It's been a long night.''
GG
That morning, the distant sound of a vehicle coming down the farm track had everyone grabbing their guns in readiness. Chief and Garrison, who had been on guard duty, hid themselves outside, on either side of the track. Moments later a truck came into view and drew to a halt several yards from the building. Cautiously six men, dressed as local workers, climbed out but remained close to the vehicle.
Inside, Actor thought he recognised the driver. ''It looks like the group we encountered yesterday.'' He glanced at Gina, who nodded her agreement.
Actor warily opened the door and called to the men in French, asking what they wanted. The driver stepped forward and replied that he had a message for Garrison. Hiding his surprise, Actor glanced to his right as Garrison emerged from his concealment, machine gun pointed at the group.
''I'm Garrison,'' he stated. As the group turned in his direction, Chief also made his presence known, his gun ready, effectively deterring any opposition from the men.
The man briefly explained, ''Last night we received a message from London, to contact your group and offer assistance if possible. Later, some of our men heard the arrival of a plane and the following gun battle but were unable to get there in time to help. That was several miles from here but, having followed you yesterday, we wondered if the two were linked.''
Garrison was still unconvinced. ''How do we know that what you say is true?''
Carefully the man extracted a scrap of paper from his pocket. ''I was told your radio operator would know this code word.'' Actor stepped out of the building and took the scribbled note, going back inside to show Gina. She recognised it straightaway and confirmed it was accurate, knowing the code was changed regularly.
Garrison invited the man inside, though his companions elected to remain by their truck. With the conversation inside continuing in French, Casino and Goniff left the building, joining Chief outside. The two groups acknowledged each other but kept their distance.
The driver looked around at the three men and a woman with interest. ''My name is Alain,'' he said. Nodding at Actor and Gina he continued. ''And I see we have already met two of your group. I assume that you are not just passing through after all, especially as you seem to have acquired another member. Flown in last night, maybe?'' Alain looked pointedly at Mike in his RAF uniform.
''What did London tell you?'' Garrison asked, not wanting to get side-tracked.
''Very little. Just your name and that you were in the area. For us it is important to know when there are Allied troops around here, as any actions taken against the Germans can have terrible consequences for the locals once you have left and returned to England.''
''I understand that,'' agreed Garrison
''Do you?'' Alain replied angrily. He strode to the doorway and beckoned to a man by the truck. ''You have met Bernard I believe.'' Bernard joined them. Having remained in the background, no one had immediately recognised him. ''Bernard found his way to our camp last evening. He told us that while some of the men were away scavenging for food, the Germans found their encampment. They killed everyone there. Men, women and children.''
The silence in the room said it all. Everyone was shocked and stunned, appalled at the senseless killings.
Bernard turned to Garrison. ''I realise their actions had nothing to do with you. You left as you said you would,'' he stated. ''But some of us have lost everything we hold dear and if we can, we intend to make a stand against the invaders of our country. I wish to help in any way I can.''
Garrison could understand their anger and decided these people, particularly Bernard, had suffered enough and he was prepared to outline what he was intending to do, knowing there may well be repercussions after they left. Their local knowledge would be useful too. Then if they were still keen to help...
GG
Having explained his mission, Garrison had put forward a suggestion to Alain and Bernard relating to creating a diversion in the village. ''We don't want you to burn your own houses,'' assured Garrison. ''But setting fires around the village, especially if you are able to destroy the fuel and vehicles, that will create a distraction and keep the German soldiers occupied. We can show you how to use explosives and timers, and they will allow you to get away from the village before the soldiers know what is happening or who is responsible.''
''Even if the facility on the cliff is destroyed and the soldiers killed, we will not get our village back,'' declared Bernard. ''The Germans will just return and punish anyone who dared to return to their homes. I would rather it all went up in flames than was left for the Hun to live in.''
GG
With more men available, it was decided to go ahead with the mission that night rather than wait another twenty-four hours. Gina radioed London and confirmed the gun boats would be in position at midnight local time. For the rest of the day, explosives were prepared and timers explained.
Alain took Garrison close to the place he had investigated yesterday, pointing out an easier ascent to the cliff top building. While they watched, only two guards were on duty outside, though it was impossible to tell who was inside the building.
By evening, their plans were set and an escape route to the cove for their pick-up had been organised. Then it was just a case of waiting, impatiently for most, until the start of their mission.