Redemption - Leon Uris [274]
We agreed.
“Keep Reconn in A and B sections. Jeremy take the left wall. Rory, go to the right chimney. Stop at the base of the cliff and wait for naval gunfire. If they are shooting straight tonight, then creep the platoon as close to the plateau as possible and hit it at dawn. Push in no more than fifty yards and make a defensive perimeter to give us time to get the rest of the battalion up.”
“Got it.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Who needs Willumsen most?” Jeremy asked me.
“You do,” I lied.
“You take him. One of my squad leaders is a cat burglar.”
0230
Maybe it was because this was the big push or maybe the Navy was throwing extra hurt at the Turks, but nothing was ever to compare with the orange balls that erupted offshore turning the entire front into bursts of flashing sunlight, waves of blinding heat, shaking the ground under us, nearly sweeping us off our feet. They were blasting Chunuk Bair Plateau dead-on.
“The Turks have got to pull back off the plateau,” Malone said.
“Colonel, the shelling is giving us enough light to travel by,” Willumsen said.
“Chris,” Malone said.
“Sir.”
“Start up Reconn A and B. Have the Maori Company on standby. Daybreak is 0455. Maori starts their ascent at 0400 and waits at the base of the cliff.”
The Major gave two thumbs up, one to me and one to Jeremy. Up we started. Willumsen moved only by bursts of light, a few yards at a time. We were very good at picking out the next hand-and foothold. As the bombardment continued our confidence grew. Navy was absolutely saturating Chunuk Bair. If the Turks didn’t back down, they’d be in a state of shock for certain or, at the very least, their communications would be knocked out. Easy Rory, I told myself, don’t get cocky. You thought you had walk-overs before.
0400
We reached the bottom of the cliffs. Beneath us we could see the Maori Company begin their ascent.
I made the mistake of looking up at those last three hundred feet. I’ve got to share the last secret of my life. Even though I’m a South Island lad known for acts of derring-do, when I get beyond a certain height and I’m climbing upwards, I have to constantly gather myself. In other words, I was fucking frightened.
“Up we go, buddy system.” Willumsen said. Good enough for him, he was a mountain goat with snake eyes. My bloody knees were knocking and weak. We wormed our way up ninety-degree crevices each time a shellburst lit our way. It was the buddy system. The man above offered his hand to me and the man below pushed my ass up.
…And don’t look down anymore!
…I wish I was in Dixie…hooray, hooray…Christ, man, your hand is sweating. None of that. Little wee hand and foot grips made for midgets and straining against gravity…
…Sorry, Georgia, not now. I’ve got to pay attention to what I’m doing. Some rock broke loose and skittered down under my feet. I felt Willumsen grab my shirt and hold me steady.
“Okay?” he asked.
“How much more?”
“We’re about halfway up.”
The other time Willumsen and I climbed this ascent, I was so exalted I almost ran to the top without thinking. The higher we got the more my legs ached and the ache began floating up my entire body. Gulps of air had to be fought for. My chest was too tight….
Rory, you’re aching and puffing because you’re locking yourself up. The lads below are waiting. You’re their leader. LEAD, DAMNIT, LEAD.
I stopped the line and told everyone to find something to sit on, and signaled Willumsen to come down to me.
“Do we hole up here or hit the top?” Willumsen said.
“You and me. We’ll go up and have a look. Serjeant Duneen!” I called.
“Right below, I hear you, Landers!”
“I’m going to the top with Willumsen. I’ll signal you by torch. Three dots repeated means stay put. One long flash of ten to twenty seconds and you come up!”
“Righto.”
You know, the last fifty yards had so much work and urgency attached to them, I forgot to stay afraid. God in heaven, though,