The order went out to a subordinate, and men piled from their barracks into waiting trucks. Truck after truck roared up the road through the Pass, heading north. If the commander of the Rangers, in hiding on the west hill above the German camp, had been able to see, he would have been pleased at the number of trucks that scurried away, crammed full of German soldiers.
It was only a few minutes later that Captain Marker, leader of the parachute troops, saw the first of the trucks on the road below, where it rounded a bend in the narrow valley. He counted them off eagerly, his smile broadening as the numbers increased.
The German Read the Report and Gave an Order
“It’s working!” he exclaimed to Scotti, who stood beside him. “They must be sending almost half the force off on this job. They don’t expect a thing from the flanks. Just think what a tiny bunch of parachute troops have been able to do, Lieutenant!”
Scotti agreed, but he smiled to himself at the irony of hearing a commander express happiness when his own troops were to be so greatly outnumbered.
“He’s not thinking of himself or his troops for a minute,” Scotti told himself. “He’s just thinking of the success of this operation to take the Wadizam Pass, no matter what it may cost. That’s a good soldier, all right.”
He watched as many of the trucks sped on out of sight.