The War Magician by David Fisher

Author:David Fisher
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Blackstone Publishing
Published: 2023-04-06T21:39:06+00:00

Ten

Like a legion of serpents awakening from a long sleep, Eighth Army emerged from beneath camouflage netting and uncoiled gracefully into the desert. Operation Crusader was launched by sections. Twenty-Fourth Armoured was not scheduled to pull out until 0830 hours, so the men sat by their vehicles watching the wave of tanks and trucks and Bren Gun Carriers and armored cars sweep across the morning plain. It was an awesome sight. Maskelyne glowed with pride and tried to see everything and store it in his memory. The Empire was on the move.

Graham counted thirty-two new American Stuart tanks—nicknamed “Honeys” by their British crews—before the line was broken by a yellow Rolls-Royce armored car, one of a handful of relics from the Great War still active in the desert. “How many tanks do you think there are in all?” he asked Knox.

The desert seemed spotted with them. The professor shook his head. “Enough, I should hope.”

The 24th got underway as scheduled. They followed the desert track for ten miles, then broke off and turned south. Within minutes all that was visible of the main force was a giant dust cloud rising into the gray sky, and even that settled onto the horizon after a while. The cardboard brigade was alone. After spending months in the crowds and clamor of Cairo and days camped with the army, everyone in the Gang found the sudden isolation unnerving.

In the afternoon a dust cloud raced toward them, and the column paused until its source could be determined, but it was simply a dust devil, and it swirled past in the distance as if late for an important engagement.

The men tried to hide their nervousness with small talk. “You know what Churchill said when they told him that Italy was in on Germany’s side?” Graham asked no one in particular. “He said, ‘Why, it’s only fair. We had them the last time.’” Everyone laughed a bit too hard.

The 24th maintained radio silence throughout the day, waiting for confirmation that the enemy had been engaged. The code word did not come. Crusader’s initial phase was a complete success. The camouflage effort, particularly the sunshields, and improved communications security had paid off. Panzer Group Africa had been caught by surprise. Eighth Army moved unimpeded toward Tobruk.

At 1500 hours, as scheduled, 24th Armoured stopped for the night and made its first camp. The Magic Gang’s cardboard tanks were snapped together and set up in laager position surrounding the trucks. Bedrolls were spread out for the two hundred mythical crewmen of the canvas tank force, and at dusk, dozens of fires were lit to keep those nonexistent men warm. As Robson rubbed his hands by one of the fires, he pointed out that they made the 24th sleeping targets. Knox reminded him that that was their job.

“Like the decoys in a duck hunt,” Graham explained.

The professor chuckled. “More like the ducks, I should think. They’ll be shooting at us.”

After the cooking fires had been extinguished and the night watch posted, Maskelyne strolled through the bivouac checking his men.

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