Triumph in the Ashes by William W. Johnstone

Author:William W. Johnstone [Johnstone, William W.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780786005819
Publisher: Pinnacle
Published: 1998-01-02T00:00:00+00:00

The Matebele, in turn, were defeated and conquered by the early white settlers who came in search of gold and diamonds-such as Cecil Rhodes from Britain, who later named the country after himself, calling it Rhodesia.

Marsh shook his head as he walked with his men through the dense jungle undergrowth. Such is the vanity of all men, to think they can conquer and not fear being conquered themselves.

Finally, on the outskirts of Great Zimbabwe, with its surrounding granite hills and massive stone monolith sculptures and stone dwelling places, he decided to give his troops a break and camp early, a few hours before dusk.

Captain Bob Warren found the CO. in his tent before dawn of the next day, as more ammunition and arms were being unloaded to the troops from the trucks accompanying their march.

"Our radar is clear," Warren said.

Marsh sat up, pushing his mosquito netting away from his bunk. "Keep the trucks under heavy guard," he said sleepily. "I don't want the local natives to get their hands on any of our materiel. The bastards would probably use it against us."

He hesitated as he rubbed his face, trying to come fully awake. "I haven't heard from General Raines. Some sort of radio problem, I hope."

"Should we wait?"

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"No. We proceed according to plan until we are notified of a change. Ben will get word to us, even if he is maintaining radio silence. Bottger may have broken the code on our scramblers by now."

"I'm emptying several trucks and plan to leave them behind. We're running short of all manner of supplies, including gasoline."

"I know. This keeping to the denser jungle trails has its tactical advantages, but it plays hell on keeping our line of supplies open."

"If we don't get in touch with Raines soon and arrange a rendezvous with the supply planes, we're gonna be in deep shit. And, let's hope they have parts for our Apache gunships and can get them to us soon."

"We almost don't have a chopper left without some sort of problem."

"I'm well aware of the problem, Captain. Just empty the damn trucks and leave the worrying to me. I'm good at it."

"We haven't seen any sign of mercenaries or any New World soldiers. The skies are clear. So maybe you shouldn't worry, Commander."

"Worrying about my soldiers is my job. Get the trucks going and stop trying to make me feel better. No one will rest easy until we are re-supplied and moving again."

Captain Warren wheeled and left the tent. Rows of transport trucks, many of them dented or otherwise damaged by the battles they had fought crossing central and southern Africa, sat near the campsite with drivers waiting.

"I hope Ben wants us to keep moving this direction," he said to himself, swinging his feet off the cot. "It would be a help if he sent word to us about what's going on in the other sectors."

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William W. Johnstone

"Colonel Marsh!"

He heard the voice and peered outside. "Yes, what is it?"

A private, whose face was sweating and flushed, stammered, out of breath from his run to the tent.

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