Angels Don't Die (Madeleine Toche Series Book 2) (24 page)

             
“And to me,” Madeleine said.  “Very well then, I am a member of the
SOE
.  I operate in France.”

             
“What is your mission?”

             
“My orders are to kill the enemies of France and to see her free of the Nazis.”

             
“We share that mission.   Why did you come to Bir Hakeim?” Amilakvari said.

             
“I came by some important information.  Rommel is planning to attack on May 26
th.”
             

“We have been waiting for that for three months.  We are well provisioned and prepared, but have had no idea as to when the Desert Fox would commit and attack us.  How did you find out this information when we have had no information from allied command?”

             
“I was sent to interrogate a British agent, embedded within Rommel’s command.  My superiors began to suspect the agent was feeding us false information and supplying correct information to the Germans,” Madeleine said.

             
“He was a double agent?” Amilkavari said.

             
“Yes.”

             
“Did this double agent give you the information concerning Rommel’s plans, voluntarily?”

             
“No sir, he did not.”

             
“May I ask where this agent is now?”

             
“Under the sand,” Madeleine said, meeting Amilakvari’s gaze.

             
“I see. Then he is where he should be.  When you are able, I would like to discuss this matter more fully before you leave us.”

             
“When I decided to come to Bir Hakeim, I planned to make my way through to British command and seek passage back to France through Gibraltar and the Spanish frontier.  But if Rommel pushes the allies into the sea, I’ll have a long swim.  Colonel, I would prefer to stay and fight,” Madeleine said.

             
“You are remarkable, Mademoiselle.  The men will find it odd, fighting alongside…”

             
“A woman?”  Madeleine interrupted a challenge in her tone.

             
“No, with a soldier who is not a Legionnaire,” Amilakvari smiled.  “Besides, what French soldier has not heard of
L’ange de la mort
?”

             
“Do you think I’m she?”  Madeleine answered.

             
“I’m not sure, but we shall see,”  Amilakvari said over his shoulder as he walked toward the door.

             
“I must say, Colonel you seem to be dressed in your parade finest,” Madeleine said.

             
“One never knows when he will have to go before the almighty on short notice,” he said.

             
Madeleine regained her strength steadily and drank more water over the next few days than she thought possible.  She promised herself that she would never be thirsty again. She knew she had come close to death.  The desert had almost accomplished what the Gestapo had been unable to.

             
The second day after she was rescued from the desert, Madeleine was able to leave the infirmary.  That morning she awoke to find her pistols on the table next to her bed and a single rose.  Where in the desert could anyone find a rose?  She suspected the Colonel had left the rose. How was it possible in the blasting sand of the desert that anyone could look so polished and handsome?

             
Madeleine spent her time regaining her strength by alternating periods of walking with rest.  She was able to reconnoiter throughout the old fortification.  She learned from the medics that the Turks had originally set up the fort at an oasis that had since dried up.  Its position at two cross roads made its location strategic.  Much of what Madeleine saw, she came to understand, had been dug or built by the Free French garrison during their long wait for battle.

             
After she was rested, Madeleine began to familiarize herself with the layout of the Legionnaires’ entrenched position.  She learned that the men had been digging in and fortifying every aspect of their defense.  Battle in the desert was defined by heavy artillery and tanks.  The men had ample time to lay mines between themselves and the anticipated enemy advance.

             
The news of Madeleine’s arrival and the message she brought was a relief to the men of the garrison.  Legionnaires are fighters; Madeleine knew inactivity weighed heavily on the troops.  Battles were punctuated with violent periods of terror.  Rommel was sure to throw everything he had against the Legionnaires in his attempt to swat them aside, push the allies into the sea and establish German dominance and control over the area. 

             
Madeleine walked throughout the compound and spoke to many of the men.  They treated her with respect although she could feel their eyes and caught the low tones of whispered conversations.  She liked the hard edge the Legionnaires all seemed to have.  They were not young boys or recruits, and most of the men were not French.

  They came from every part of Europe, Russia, England and the United States.  Each had a story of a struggle; many had been part of the military in other countries.  There were German soldiers who had come to the Legion after their defeat in the First World War. The dashing Colonel Amilakvari was a Russian Count.  He’d fled the Bolsheviks in 1917 when the Tsar was deposed and the aristocracy murdered.

             
Within a few days the Legionnaires’ long wait was over.  On May 26
th
, 1942 Madeleine awoke to the sound of artillery.  Madeleine ran to the command center and was among the first to arrive.  Shells were raining down on the fort and in the early morning sunlight it was clear to see that Rommel’s tank and motorized infantry divisions were attempting to encircle the fort from the southeast.

             
“Toche, make yourself useful.  Find a gunnery team and see what you can do,” Colonel Amilakvari shouted, ducking as an Italian shell whistled harmlessly to the rear of the fort. Madeleine moved towards the forward entrenched positions, a grim smile pasted to her face. Several of the other Free French officers looked with surprise at Amilakvari.  He met their gaze, resplendent in his white coat, cape and Kepi.  He was a favorite of General Marie Pierre Koenig, the leader of all of the Free French battalions defending the fort.  Amilakvari’s expression was clear and didn’t invite challenge.  The British Special Operation agent would fight alongside the Legion.

             
Madeleine found her way to the forward most line of .75 mm guns.  She found the team she was looking for, grabbed a heavy shell from the carefully arranged pile and passed it to the next man.  Her training included the operation of heavy artillery and tanks.  She lacked the honed experience of the gun crew but intuitively fit into the rhythm of loading and firing, keeping well back from the recoil of the weapon.

  The French guns pounded into the advancing Italian armor. The area surrounding the fort had been heavily mined and all of the field weapons were directed right where an advancing army would be most vulnerable.

  In less than an hour of a sustained barrage by both sides, the Italians had lost more than half of their tanks and ninety of their men had been captured.  The first wave of Rommel’s assault withdrew; but the defenders at Bir Hakeim knew the worst was yet to come.  The entire complement of Free French numbered 3600, while Rommel commanded many times that number. Given their superior and well-defended position, they would be able to hold Rommel back from his march to the north for a long while.

             
The Free French held Rommel off for more than two weeks.  Madeleine marveled at the bravery the Legionnaires displayed.  Colonel Amnilakvari seemed to be everywhere at once, his cape flowing in the wind, his face set in grim determination.

  The battles became a blur for Madeleine whose bravery was openly applauded.  Casualties among the defenders were surprisingly few given the huge losses among the enemy.   She and several others had repeatedly driven the open topped lightly armored Bren Carriers out to meet the German heavy tanks.  Madeleine’s aim with the machinegun and anti-tank rifle was devastating, and more than once she pulled wounded men to safety when their vehicles were hit by enemy fire.  When the fighting stopped for brief periods the men spoke to Madeleine as one of their own.  She kept to the Legionnaires.  When other Free French soldiers attempted to engage her in conversation, the murderous looks they received from the Legionnaires kept the other soldiers away.  Madeleine shared their food, tobacco and the misery that low water provisions occasioned.  There was no water for bathing or washing clothes.  Sand was everywhere and in everything.  Madeleine shared in every task, cleaning weapons, removing the dead, treating the wounded.  She shared in their ribald jokes, having earned their respect.

             
At the end of the second week there began to be discussion of moving out.  The British high command had sent word that they were to begin an orderly retreat to fight again another day.  The Free French had demonstrated to the world that they were an effective fighting force, and the Legion had proven while some of their brother Legionnaires were commanded by the German controlled Vichy government, the defenders of Bir Hakeim bled and died for France, as they had done since 1831, and not for a puppet government controlled by their enemies.  Madeleine was summoned to the command center for an officer’s briefing. 

             
Madeleine looked around the small room.  Every man was caked in sand and dried sweat, their eyes were red from dust and from the smoke of battle and the constant barrage they were subjected to by the Luftwaffe and Rommel’s field artillery.  She motioned for a cigarette from the man standing next to her.  At least cigarettes were in ample supply; unfortunately food and ammunition wasn’t. Madeleine and the other officers stood quietly, each considering the severity of their situation.  Colonel Amilakvari walked into the room, and although he had spent most of his time moving back and forth between the trenches immediately facing the enemy, his uniform was free from sand and sweat.  He appeared refreshed and ready to fight on.

             
“Legionnaires,” the Colonel began, “I have good news.  While many of you may like our new accommodations here at Bir Hakeim, we have been ordered to evacuate.  I am informed that we have carried out our mission heroically and with distinction.  We are considered too valuable to lose to Rommel.”  Amilakvari turned towards Madeleine, “Toche, we are to meet up with the British Eighth Army in the north, somewhere in the vicinity of Tobruk.  Unfortunately, I have no authority to order you to assist in our evacuation and I expect your superiors might want you back in France.”

             
“Yes Colonel, I’m sure they do, but I’d like to travel with you to Tobruk and seek my passage to Gibraltar and home that way.”

             
Amilakvari was clearly pleased and said, “We couldn’t ask for a better companion.  Now I have something of great importance to ask you.  You are a French citizen and an officer, so I am completely within my rights as a Colonel in the Free French military.”  As he spoke, the other officers drew near. “I know that France is your home, and the Legion is mine. If you will join us, then the Legion will be your home as well.”  Amilakvari gestured to the other Legion officers in the room.  They had each witnessed Madeleine’s bravery, her savage fury in combat and her devotion to her fellow soldiers.  They each nodded their approval in turn.

             
“I don’t understand, Colonel,” Madeleine said.  “Am I being offered a chance to join the Legion?  I thought that women couldn’t serve in the Legion.”

             
“We made one exception before, and I can assure you she doesn’t fight.  Quite frankly, there are few that fight like you do.  You are a wonder to behold.  The Legion should be your home.  Only happenstance placed you in the British army.  You belong to the people of France and their defenders. Join us,” Amilakvari said.

             
“I will,” Madeleine said, without a moment’s hesitation.

             
“Then accept these,” Amilakvari said, holding out a full uniform and Kepi.  “We might get separated in battle; I would feel better if you are wearing a uniform.  I do not want you shot as a spy.”

             
“I will not be captured and I cannot surrender,” Madeleine answered.

             
“Then you are a Legionnaire already. Our moto, ‘Legio Patria Nostra’, means the Legion is our fatherland,” Amilakvari said.

             
“I understand, and I accept. I believe the response is, the Legion is our strength,” Madeleine responded in a firm voice.

             
“You fight like a Legionnaire, you kill like a Legionnaire, and you are a Legionnaire.  Wherever you go, whatever you do, from today until the hour of your death, the Legion owes you a great debt.  We are family and we will come to each other’s aid in times of need.  We will fight together to the death, with honor if that is our destiny,” Amilakvari said.