Opposite Sides (48 page)

“
Quite so.
Nurses from the Imperial Military Nursing Service. We do have one
or two British doctors and they work alongside our own. All the
nurses here are British.”

“
I am
surprised they were so close to the main line.” Hans cast a glance
over the camp and out beyond its borders to where the stone desert
stretched as far as the eye could see.

“
They weren’t
at one stage. Our forces moved so quickly they were overwhelmed.
Generalleutnant Rommel certainly gave the British a
whipping.”

In the
background, Hans’ ears picked out the words:
Prisoners dismiss
! given in snappy
English. Chatter followed as the prisoners dispersed, guards’
voices could be heard barking out orders to make sure prisoners
were left in no doubt as to whom was in charge.

“
This way,
Hauptmann.”

Specht held
out his hand and indicated the way. Hans turned and took hold of a
small black case that had been handed to him by his driver. The two
men walked into the largest building which appeared to have
sustained the least damage and which had been modestly furnished
but sufficient for the main office. The rough walls had been
decorated with several large photographs of the
Führer
together with a large red
swastika flag which had been suspended from high up near the
ceiling. It was obvious that obedience would be demanded here, just
as if one were still in the Fatherland. One lived only to impliment
orders from above. The Hauptmann had come to do a job and it was
expected that the job would be done well.

“
I believe
you have some papers for me, Hauptmann?”

Hans reached into the
case and handed over a large brown envelope. The Oberstleutnant
quickly flipped through the papers and returned them to their
container. Hans produced a letter of instructions and handed that
over.

“
These are my
instructions. Their authority comes directly from Abwehr
headquarters in Berlin.” Hans waited a while while Specht scanned
the document. “As you see I am to act as required and send my
report to them.”

“
Most
impressive, Hauptmann. You will have my complete co-operation.
Please let me know if you need anything clarified.”

However, Specht was not
relaxed about this new posting for he had already been made aware
that the Hauptmann had connections with some very influential men.
The Foreign Section usually sent a lower ranking man to them as the
camp inmates were not considered high risk here and an Abwehr
officer with the Hauptmann’s experience would not normally be
wasted on gathering information from such prisoners. Specht was
certain now that their army must be getting ready for a major
thrust and that they could expect to capture some with vital
information. Yet, he could not be one hundred percent sure and
neither could he put his finger on anything specific to allay his
concerns. He was, however, relieved that he would be working with
an officer of the Wehrmacht rather than one from the SS.

Later that
evening in the tent used as the officer’s mess, a communication was
received that Hitler had made a decision to thrust through the
Bulgarian states and into Greece. The Hauptmann was at liberty to
tell them that
Operation Punishment
was poised to take place on April 6th but he
would divulge nothing more. Hans already knew the generals hoped
for a victory before the Führer’s birthday on the 20th.

“
What the
hell will this do for us out here?” Specht asked soon after the
radio operator had handed Hans the message and the two had walked
out of the mess.

“
It is hoped
that if we can control the gateway to the Black Sea, then it’ll
block up the Russians there and keep them out of the Mediterranean.
Also, if we can hold that area, our supply planes will have other
airports to fly out from.”

“
But most of
our supply planes leave from Southern Italy. Our ships are targets
for the British planes. Should we not try to stop that?”

“
I agree,
Oberstleutnant. We know that the British control Malta and
Gibraltar but we do not have the capacity to do anything about it.
But if we can keep the Russians away from the Baltic and out of the
Mediterranean then we can use routes closer to Greece and Crete. We
can then keep a closer eye on the British. We do not want them
sneaking up through the Suez canal as well.”

When the evening meal was
set, Hans was invited to sit next to Specht so that they could
continue with their discussion. The table had already been set for
the five senior personnel who saw to the smooth running of the
camp. Several privates were in the process of bringing in food and
wine as the officers started to take their seats..

“
There’s a
real problem with British ships and aircraft, Herr Oberstleutnant,”
explained Hans as he began to help himself to the hot, steaming
soup from the large pot. “At the present time, they could bring in
reinforcements through the Suez. After all, that appears to be
their back door for Australian, New Zealand and South African
troops. Now they’ve regrouped in Egypt there is very little we can
do. They have landing strips in Malta and the RAF based there,
together with their navy keep managing to sink our supply ships. It
means reinforcements may not come through.”

“
I know all
about that.” Specht rearranged his cutlery as he spoke. “Medical
supplies are the only things affected.”

“
Quite so.
Those planes of theirs seem to pop up everywhere. It was dangerous
for me to fly across the Mediterranean. Several times even we had
to either dodge flak from one of their ships or fly so low my
backside was almost in the sea. If we could fly further east, even
though it is a longer flight, it could prove to be safer. We’ll be
further away from Gibraltar and Malta and that means further away
from those infernal battleships and fighters.”

The camp commander tucked
his napkin into the top of his uniform. He picked up his soup spoon
and nodded to those present that the meal could begin.

“
Yes.
Supplies are difficult to get through.” Specht waved his spoon in
Hans’ direction. “Take this camp, for instance. We don’t have an
abundance of supplies . . . sufficient, yes, but only for our own.
As for the prisoners, we’re at capacity since the Tobruk campaign
began - barely enough to feed all those extra mouths. Too much food
and they become a bloody nuisance and not enough, and we have the
Geneva Convention on our backs. It’s a no-win situation and Berlin
doesn’t want to know. How on earth does Berlin expect us to get
those prisoners to Italy? I really don’t know at this point. In the
meantime, we just do our duty and battle on until we’re relieved or
directed elsewhere.”

“
I agree. A
soldier’s job should be keeping the front lines moving forward, not
keeping an eye on troublesome prisoners. We need all the soldiers
we can get at the front. I agree with Generalleutnant Rommel that
it’s imperative we keep pushing the front lines forward. The sooner
one of us reaches a victory, the sooner this madness will
end.”

“
Be careful,
Hauptmann, or what you are saying may be misconstrued. Those damn
Gestapo boys have ears everywhere, listening to in to misplaced
words is a hobby of theirs.”

The two men continued
their conversation well into the evening. It was agreed that some
time during the following morning, Hauptmann Resmel would be shown
around. After that, he could begin his duties as soon as the new
prisoners arrived later in the afternoon. Six Tommies had been
captured during a skirmish that had taken place two days ago and it
had been decided that at least two of the men were holding valuable
information that could prove most useful for an attack Rommel was
planning.

At precisely ten the next
morning, the prisoners were lined up for another roll call and
inspection. Hans noticed the small group he had seen the day before
were not part of this roll call.

“
Tell me,
Herr Oberstleutnant Specht, why are the medical prisoners not
here?”

“
These are
fighting men and as they are able to walk, they must attend roll
call. We do not insist the medical prisoners attend roll call every
time. The army doctors and the nurses are needed to attend to the
sick and injured and those duties must be paramount.”

“
It surprises
me that women are so close to the front line.”

“
They are
part of the Auxiliary Territorial Service. The British army accepts
women as part of their front line forces. They are expected to work
along side the men.”

“
I do not
agree with placing women in such situations,” Hans commented with
force.

“
Most of the
nurses we have here originally came from hospitals in Cairo. They
were sent here when the fighting got worse and I am told, they
elected to stay with their patients, rather than leave them when
our forces pushed forwards.”

“
They take
their duty most seriously then.”

“
Yes,
Hauptmann, they do. Brave women. When our forces broke through, the
hospital was still functioning. What else were we to do with them
but make them prisoners of war? So, they continue to save lives and
patch men up but now they work in our camp hospital. Because of
that we’ve become the main military aid station for this region
which stretches from here through to the coast. Not only bodies to
put together but there are also infections and illnesses to deal
with. The result of this terrible climate. Wait ‘till you get a
bout of the raging dysentery. Screws up your insides so violently,
you wish you were dead on the spot. Men are useless. They stink.
And there is very little can be done. And do you know what the
worse thing about it is, Hauptmann?” Specht screwed up his face at
the very thought. “The worst things is, nearly everyone gets it!
One time or other.”

“
Sounds
disgusting. What do you do about it?” Hans screwed up his nose as
the image of some poor soldier bent double with diarrhoea crouching
over one of the basic latrines one found in the desert..

“
Not much.
Wait for the infernal thing to pass. The medics can’t help other
than give them water. If there is enough to spare. A few never make
it. Poor bastards. They just lie on the stretchers and die on the
stretchers. There is not a lot we can do. Dehydration. It saps the
body until it can no longer hold out.”

Hans remembered the
terrible conditions he had seen on the eastern front. Men who had
been reduced to living like savages.

“
Lice and ice
in Russia. Dysentery here. Seems there’s something to get you
wherever you are.”

“
That’s about
it. But you won’t find any of it in the reports. The leaders are
only interested in numbers.”

The two men walked
between the tents, ruffling the sand dust and leaving footprints
behind them. They were like the Bedouin tents: low slung roofs with
rolled up sides. They were as hot as ovens during the day and
exceedingly cold at night. A foursome sat crossed leg on the ground
just inside where the shade provided some protection and played a
game of cards. A wide dark wet line on each back clearly marked the
sweat line on their shirts. The men hardly looked up as the two
German officers walked into and out of the tent.

“
Where are
these medics . . . the doctors and nurses housed?” Hans glanced
around the thick, stone walls that made up part of the enclosure. A
platform of grey tent roofs spread in all directions. No sign of
any red crosses.

“
Way over
there. We’ve given them the luxury of stone rooms. We need to take
care of them. They are like gold to the bank.”

After they had inspected
the medic’s quarters, Hans could see why disease could spread so
rapidly in the hot climate. Even the condition of their quarters
was dismal. Camp beds were crammed together in the two small dusty
rooms, each with one squashed, tired pillow at the head and a
dark-coloured grey army blanket folded across the foot of each bed.
In each corner was a canvas bucket and spade, the only indication
of toilet needs for the men once the nightly curfews were in place.
The two square window openings and the empty doorway had no cover
to keep out any wind so that the sand on the floor, was constantly
being whipped into miniature whirls and scattered throughout the
air. Sand grains were layered over everything in the room until,
over time, every item took on the same rusty orange-coloured hue In
the first room, a rough canvas curtain was all that separated the
men from the women.

“
Is this the
best that can be offered?” Hans’s tone suggested he had been
shocked. “It isn’t very satisfactory. The Geneva Convention states
that certain conditions must be met. I do not see these conditions
here.”

“
Herr
Hauptmann, this is a battle zone. I , I don’t think . . . Compared
to other camps this is good.”

“
But you
expect these medics to heal the sick and repair the injured,
especially when they are expected to deal with our own men. Should
they, therefore, be expected to work and live under such trying
conditions?”

“
When you
have been here long enough, you will see things differently,
Hauptmann Resmel. None of us like the conditions but that is how
things are.”