Chieftains

The woods appeared to be alive with green-clad infantrymen and there was little room for the Chieftain to manoeuvre. The driver hesitated as another grenade exploded against the thick armour below the main gun. Studley shouted: 'Keep going…and fast' He felt the Chieftain accelerate. Trees snapped beneath its weight as it crashed forward through the undergrowth. A group of men scattered thirty meters away and Studley followed them with a long burst of fire from the machine gun. He saw an infantryman run diagonally towards him from the left, the man's path curving through a patch of open ground as he ran to meet the Chieftain. His arm was already raised, and Studley caught a glimpse of a long-handled anti-tank grenade trailing its drogue towards the tank as the man threw himself flat. The grenade only fell short by a meter, exploding in the soft earth as the Chieftain reached the clearing where the APCs had been stationed; all that remained were their wrecked and smoking hulks, the crews dead, nearby.

'Don't stop…' There was no need for Studley's order, Horsefield was already pushing the Chieftain towards its maximum speed. It lurched and bounced across the open ground, crashing through a dense copse of young trees as the ground dipped towards the command position.

'Hullo Bravo Nine, this is Sunray Rover One…'Studley was being thrown around in his seat by the violent movement.

'Hullo Sunray Rover One this is Bravo Nine.'

'Where are you?'

'Four hundred meters south of Primrose…and still under attack, over.'

'Infantry?' questioned Studley.

'Armour. Two T-64s…wrong, three T-64s in position near derelict barn.'

'Barn?'

'It's on fire. There seem to be vehicles burning, too. The T-64s are downwind, in smoke.'

God, so that was why the RTO had sounded hysterical. The command post had been attacked, and by the sound of it, destroyed. Studley's immediate emotion was anger. 'Disengage, Bravo Nine. Russian infantry in woods to your left. Get through them Go to Firefly. Verify.' There was no response. 'Hullo Bravo Nine…Hullo Bravo Nine…verify, over.' Studley was dismayed to find he was directing his anger at his own men, and felt ashamed. He spoke again, more calmly. 'Hullo Bravo Nine…verify please, over…'

There was a lengthy pause, then a voice. 'Shit!' Another short break and then he recognized the voice of one of his junior lieutenants. 'Hullo Sunray, this is Colin…damn sorry, sir. We've lost Nine…lost contact…a lot of Soviet armour…Sunray. Go to Firefly, wilco…' There was a pause. 'It's getting warm here, Sunray…sorry, sir, over.'

'Roger Bravo…out.' The lieutenant was polite…terrible radio technique thought Studley. Still young for leadership of a squadron, he had sounded overwhelmed, temporarily confused. Keep your damned head, lad, Studley willed. There was no time for him to contemplate the destruction of the command post and the loss of the staff.

He called through to the Headquarters command Sultan. 'Hullo Ops, this is Sunray Rover One, have you been eavesdropping? Over.'

'Hullo Sunray Rover, this is Ops. Yes, we understand the situation.'

'Give me Amphora.' This was Max Fairly's code name. It was a small personal joke, a reference to the 2nd IC's slightly pear-shaped figure.

'Hullo Sunray Rover One. Reference Amphora; regret no can do. Amphora is MBK.'

Missing believed killed? Max? Perhaps he had misheard the Operations Officer. 'Say again. Over.'

'Hullo Sunray Rover One. Reference Amphora; regret Amphora is MBK. We have had a report on the incident from Kilo Nine.'

'Ops, take over. Send all to Firefly. I'll join you soonest.' He switched to the intercom. 'Horsefield…move us out.' He tried the group net a few moments later, but the Soviet jamming had taken over the wavelengths. It was more efficient than had been estimated, and was making communication difficult…at the moment impossible as the high-pitched whine cut deep into his head. He switched it off. Poor old Max…Max! Damn them! And how complete was the encirclement of the battle group? Total? If so, could the circle be broken? Studley realized he should have pulled back when his adjutant had suggested it earlier. Studley had erred in his decision that the group should hold its position longer. Everything had looked fine…no reason to suppose a breakthrough would happen so quickly. God, he had cocked it up, his first battle! He had made a mistake; a costly one.

The thought of the adjutant drew Studley's mind back to the overrun command vehicle. 'Horsefield…go right…more right…I want a look at the command APC's. And keep your eyes peeled…'