Monte Cassino by Sven Hassel Read Free Book Online Page A

Apart from the driver, the entire crew was sitting perched on the outside.
    Mike's beret went sailing through the air.
    "Fire," ordered the Old Man.
    Sixteen heavy tank guns thundered simultaneously, the blast bending the bushes horizontal. Every shell went home. Bodies went flying through the air. There were flames everywhere.
    A second salvo thundered out, smashing more tanks.
    I swung the turret slightly. Tiny used his forehead to undo the safety catch. The sweat was pouring down his bare back. Shell after shell left the muzzle.
    The horses in the muck cart bolted. One of the men clung to the reins and was swept along with the clattering, jolting cart. The heifers burst in panic through their fence and ran straight into the field of fire.
    Every tank in the road was in flames.
    "Use the high explosives," Major Mike ordered.
    Then, shells started bursting among the screaming, desperate men. Those already killed were tossed up into the air and smashed all over again. Finally, we fixed S-shells and the road was transformed into an all-consuming sea of flames.
    "Start motors," ordered the Major. "Tanks forward."
    Then it was the turn of our machine-guns and flamethrowers. We drove along that blazing hell, turrets revolving, machine guns barking, while dead and wounded were lashed by our bullets. One man reared up out of a pile of bodies, crazily stretched out his hands as though to ward us off, his mouth wide open, eyes staring wildly. A flamethrower licked him with its tongue of yellow flame and he was transformed into a shrivelled black something.
    Mike signalled to cease fire, "Form column of march. Destination: Regiment!"
    Wireless contact was reopened. We laughed to each other. They had not fired a shot. We had not even had our paint scratched and we had destroyed a whole regiment, thanks to an American sergeant.
    Major Mike called up regimental HQ. We could hear the delight and pride in his voice:
    "Rhinoceros calling Sow. Over."
    "Sow here. Come in Rhinoceros. Over."
    "Rhinoceros, commander, enemy tank regiment liquidated. No prisoners. No own losses. Consumption 1500 armour-piercing shells, 800 high explosives, 300 S-shells. For air observation: Map 3, road 6, Point A2. Over. End."
    "Sow to Rhinoceros. Congratulations. Report back. Commander. End."

III
    " I prefer withdrawal to advancing," Barcelona said. "Here we can drink fresa, but if we go forward, we should have to dip our snouts in puddles of filthy water. When we go forward, they give us anything. And I'm tired of Ida's tarts."
    "Tomorrow," Porta said, eyes beaming as he held up two marrow balls for us to admire, "7 should like to sleep in the imperial bed and rape the queen and all the princesses."
    "Perhaps they would be glad to do it," Gregor Martin said dreamily. "Perhaps they would like being pawed by fists that smell of corpses."
    "We are just a phenomenon of the times," said the Old Man. "One day all this will be over, and we shall have to wash."
    "If there's time when I get to Rome," Heide said, "and if they aren't too close on our heels, I shall first fling myself into a great big four-poster bed with silk curtains. Keep all my rags on. Make a mess of it all. Then I'll sleep my fill, then go out and find myself some fine lady, with very superior underclothes, and I'll roger her again and again. Then I'll drink myself silly and carry on retreating."
    "More fresa," called Porta, "we'll carry on like this all the way; drink all they have, whore with all their women, mess up their beds. Rome, Milan, Innsbruck and end up in Berlin with the party to end all parties."
    A whistle recalled us to reality.
    "Take your arms, fall in in front of your tanks!" ordered Major Michael Braun.
    "I'm a bit too sleepy," growled Porta.
    We staggered up to the front of the No. 5; we were all exhausted for we hadn't slept for four days.
    "I'll fall asleep as we go along," Porta threatened.
    Mike swore at him. His own eyes were swollen and red-rimmed from lack of sleep.
    We