Unfortunately for Steiner, the driver didn’t react in as calm as manner as he might have hoped.
Inside the tank it was hot and noisy and driving the tank took substantial effort.
The driver, who was busy squinting ahead to follow the narrow lane was instead surprised by the tapping on his shoulder.
He jumped at the unexpected contact and ended up releasing one of the levers that controlled the power to one of the tracks.
The tank immediately slewed to the side, the one track effectively acting like a massive iron anchor on the heavy vehicle.
This dragging effect moved them off the road and directly into the path of a dry stone wall.
Though the driver quickly released the other lever the change of the direction couldn’t be avoided.
The mass and power of the tank simply ploughed the vehicle through the wall until it came to rest against a piece of farm equipment.
Steiner was immediately thrown from the tank, his wine bottle following him.
He had no clue as to what was happening as he sailed through the air.
Before he could even consider what was going on he hit the ground with a heavy thump that sent a shock of pain up through his body.
Incredibly he was still conscious, he shook his head and then moved his hand to his side.
It was bruised and hurting but he slowly lifted himself up into a sitting position, forcing open his eyes he could see the tank wedged into the wall.
He looked at his hands, spotting the neck of the wine bottle still there.
Scanning around where he’d landed he spotted the wine bottle, or what was left of it, smashed on the ground around him.
“Shit!” he muttered as he looked at all that was left of the bottle, then passed out, dropping back to the ground.
* * *
With the loud smashing sound coming from the lane the two girls forced themselves down to the ground, as low as they could get.
Adrienne popped up slowly, spotting the crashed tank quickly.
She lowered herself down, whispering to Madeleine.
“They’ve crashed...I can’t see anybody moving...let’s keep going.”
Madeleine nodded in acknowledgement.
There was a faint sound coming from the area of the tank, it sounded like the steam hissing.
The girls ignored it and continued onwards.
Climbing quickly over the gate they were now out of sight of the vehicle.
With the tree line on one side and the lane to the other they walked quickly to the houses in the distance.
As they approached they moved into the trees following a lightly used trail.
This path took them slightly away from the houses and towards a thickly wooded area.
As the wood thickened the houses and lane disappeared.
This area was well known to the girls, it was where they had played for years.
They ran past some stone ruins, part of a collapsed tower.
There was little left other than the lower level and heaps of rubble, the telltale signs of its collapse perhaps centuries earlier.
Moving on the girls reached a part of the wood where the trees thinned out.
A light flashed ahead.
“Down!” called Adrienne, immediately taking charge.
They moved into the shadows as they carefully watched the area near the light.
The light flashed once, then three times, then once more.
“It’s okay, that’s the signal, answer it.”
Madeleine nodded and then proceeded to pull out a flashlight.
Pointing it in the direction of the light she flashed a different sequence.
Almost immediately it was answered with a three, two, one signal.
“Let’s go,” ordered Adrienne.
The girls went forwards cautiously, watching to their sides and occasionally behind them as they approached.
With both sets of lights off it was now possible to make out the shapes of two people, one a man, the other not so clear.
A little further and they were close enough to see.
The tall man was in his fifties and wore a thick coat, a hat and had a stick.
The younger man next to him was short and scrawny and was carry a bag on his shoulder.
“Adrienne,” called the tall man, “you had us worried, you should have been here twenty minutes ago.”
Adrienne stood before him, looking taken aback.
“Look at this,” she spoke, handing him her notebook, “the Germans have brought extra men and also these vehicles.”
The man looked at the notebook, especially the images of the tanks.
He turned to the younger man to examine the contents.
“The Germans have been bringing in large numbers of these trucks, something is going on,” she said.
He looked again at the picture of the tank, “Do these look familiar François?” he asked.
François looked carefully at the illustrations.
He spoke directly at Adrienne.
“Were they marked exactly as you’ve drawn?”
She nodded.
Turning back to the older man, François exclaimed, “If these are accurate they are definitely some of our infantry tanks, probably captured when these bastards first came here!”
“François!” voiced the older man.
He was firm but keeping his voice low, to avoid any additional attention.
“Watch your language,” he added.
“Sorry Pierre,” he responded.
They stood quietly for a moment as the men continued their examination.
François took out a book from his knapsack, it contained diagrams and silhouettes of vehicles.
After comparing the images for a while Pierre was convinced.
“That’s good work Adrienne, your drawing is excellent, look here,” Pierre turned around the paperwork so she could see some technical drawings.
“Your drawings are exactly right, these are indeed captured tanks, and more precisely these are our old R35 tanks.
We need to let our British friends know…and quickly.”
“Agreed,” said François, “these tanks could be a real problem if the British don’t know of their existence.
A couple of these could stop infantry for hours, maybe even be used against beach landings, if they ever happen.
Hey, we may even be able to turn them on the Germans ourselves!”
“No François!
We will watch, observe and let the soldiers know what we have seen.
Nobody is fighting and nobody is dying.
Leave that to the soldiers.”
François looked defensive.
“Understood?” repeated Pierre.
“Yes…sir,” he answered finally, though with a miserable tone.
“Better…now, there’s one more thing I’m not sure about,” Pierre turned the sketch around for François.
“What do you make of this?” he asked.
“Strange, I don’t know,” he replied.
“Maybe they’ve fitted a larger main gun.”
Pierre nodded in agreement, “We need to get this information to our friends…and fast.
What about the anti-aircraft gun?
Is it still manned?”
Both men looked to the girls for their answer.
Adrienne answered immediately, “Yes, the gun is still in position and there are men near it at all times.
I watched them three nights ago and also tonight.”
Madeleine joined in, “I was watching the farmhouse and also the yard where they keep the extra ammunition.
It’s always guarded but they seem to spend most of the time drinking or sleeping.
The drinking is one of the reasons why were took so long.”
Pierre looked confused, “I don’t understand.
You were drinking with them?
You know what I have told you about spending any time with them.”
“No, no, you don’t understand,” pleaded Madeleine.
Adrienne spoke quickly, “When we were coming back we thought we were being followed by one of those tanks, you know, the one you said is a captured one of ours.”
“Well, what happened?” asked François excitedly.
“I will if you’ll let me finish,” Adrienne answered impatiently.
“The men in the tank must have been drinking because they were shouting loudly and then crashed into a wall!”
“Crashed?
Are you sure?” asked Pierre.
“Yes, of course we’re sure, we’re not stupid you know!” answered Madeleine impatiently.
“They crashed, they are still there on the road and the tank is making a very strange noise.”
Pierre stepped up closely, hugging the two with his huge arms.
He released them.
“You have both done extremely well, this information is exactly the kind of thing we need.”
He signalled towards François.
“We need to get moving so we can pass on what is happening.
We’ll meet at the drop point in twenty minutes.
I’ll get the radio and weapons; you get the torches and meet us there.
Okay?” he asked.
Both girls nodded and disappeared off into the night.
Pierre turned back to François whilst putting the notebook in the knapsack.
François was about to start walking when he was stopped by Pierre.
“François,” he spoke, “I think we should check on the crashed tank before we go any further.
We need to know if they are a problem or not.”
François nodded in agreement, the two turned back along the path the girls had recently come from.
They were obviously familiar with it so it took very little time for them to retrace the girls’ steps.
“What do we do if the Germans are still alive?” whispered François anxiously.
Pierre answered in a stern voice, “Under no circumstances will we have any contact with those men.”
“But what if,” answered back François.
“No!
They are vicious, evil men and we will not go near them.
You’ve seen what they can do,” Pierre stopped and put his hand on François’ shoulder, “do you understand?”
François nodded.
“What happens if we start trouble just because we think the British will be here soon?
We could be killed before help arrives.
Even worse, what if they fail?”
François look disappointed, “I just don’t want the war to be over before I can do something.”
“Look François, we’ve talked about this before.
We could end up shot as spies or as members of the resistance.
We must wait until the time is right,” said Pierre.
He double-checked the pathway and then spoke quietly back to François. “Come on then, we need to check on them and then meet up with the girls.
We don’t have much time.”
As they left the safety of the cover they approached the gate and both kept low, almost in the same place that Madeleine and Adrienne had waited previously.
The gate was a sturdy object, many years old and built of solid wood.
It was chained shut and the hinges were heavily rusted, it made an excellent hiding place for them to watch from.
With Pierre staying low, François lifted himself up but kept below the highest part of the gate. He looked intently at the lane.
“What can you see François?” asked Pierre.
François was silent for a moment, and then looked over to Pierre.
“I’m not sure.
It looks like the tank is the one that the girls described.
It’s definitely an R-35, though the turret is not like the ones I saw on parade a few years ago.
Something is different.”
“What about the Germans?
Where are they?” whispered Pierre.