Twenty miles south west of El Imayid, in the command tent of L Detachment, Special Air Service Brigade four unique individuals are planning to steal a tank. It is early August 1942 and the co-conspirators are Mademoiselle Mimi Dubois, La Résistance fighter and mistress of skills; Miss Madeline Forsyth, SOE operative and a living shadow; Sven Hyse, Norwegian Resistance soldier and shapeshifter; and Doctor Jackal, timid physician with his less than timid friend Mister Hades.

El Imayid, Egypt, August 1942

Discussions went on into the night, with ideas and barriers being thrown around like a storm tossed boat. Eventually, we decide to head behind enemy lines and carry out a full reconnoiter of the base before we risk going into the camp undercover. As always, the sensible heads of Madeline and myself prevail over the slightly more bullish men.

With the decision made, we set about pulling together a list of the items that we believe that we will require for the mission. We request German military uniforms, matching those of our cover story, a German vehicle, an MP40 for Sven and several German stick grenades. We also put in a special request for eight demolition packs and several land mines, just in case we have to get creative. Our last request is for a meeting with a British military auditor.

The following morning over breakfast we discuss our plans with Captain Stirling, he is happy to follow our lead and informs us that he will be sending two vehicles from his detachment, with nine men to act as an escort. He pulls out one of the maps and says that he believes that we will be able to set up a base camp in the foothills ten miles from the German base. That will give us a good overview of the camp and will allow for us to sortie in for the reconnoiter. The ten miles between the foothills and the base is undulating but devoid of large amounts of cover and so it will be difficult to get a vehicle closer unseen. Our escort we pull out when we go in and will move to our extraction point.

Western Desert, Egypt, August 1942

Four days after that breakfast Madeline, Henry, Sven and I are hunkered down in a camouflaged observation post ten miles from the German encampment. Further back, hidden within the foothills is our Kübelwagen and the two jeeps manned by Captain Stirling’s troops. In the final days of preparation we had trained once more as a tank crew and Henry and myself had met with the Military auditors, during which I ‘borrowed’ the auditors administration knowledge.

Madeline, Henry and I watch the camp through binoculars from our hide, the great distance does not allow us to see any great detail but we can make out people moving about the camp. As we rotate watches, Sven slips away behind a rocky outcropping. Not long afterwards there is a desert hawk winging its way towards the German’s base.

I can make out four Panther tanks inside the large vehicle compound, I comment that I can’t see the fifth tank and Doctor Jackal corrects me that there are only four tanks. I know better than to argue with Henry’s memory, and besides, I really don’t wish to upset him. It is obvious that it is a busy camp and there are lots of people moving about their duties as we watch.

Around eighteen hundred hours things in the base begin to quieten down and most people move towards the east side of the camp where we know all of the barracks and mess blocks are located. Not long afterwards we begin to see what look like patrols carrying out a circuit of the inside of the perimeter fence, it looks like it takes about twenty minutes for the patrol to complete a circuit.

Just before nightfall Sven reappears in our watchpost. He sketches out a map of the camp in the dirt and tells us what he has found out during his avian investigations. He has managed to identify most of the buildings, including where the fuel and ordinance are stored. The four Panther tanks are parked up outside one of the vehicle maintenance sheds and one of them is definitely having some kind of work done to it. Sven also confirms that there are definitely two man patrols and that he also saw a patrol with a guard dog.

We agree to watch through the night and the following day, if nothing has changed in that time then Madeline and I will head in and investigate our options. At around dusk lights come on around the base, while they do illuminate the corners of the buildings and some of the main areas there is more than enough shadow for Madeline and I to move within. During our nocturnal observations it is obvious that, as well as the main and rear gates, some of the buildings are constantly guarded. We continue to feed this information to Doctor Jackal who builds up a mental schedule of activities and duties.

We continue our watch into the following day and observe very little of difference with the exception of the occasional steam train passing through the base’s station, but most importantly the Panther tank that is being worked on is taken for a run inside the compound.

Having ‘borrowed’ Madeline’s powers of shadow and ability to see in the dark, the pair of us begin the long trek to the German’s base at around nineteen hundred hours. We arrange to rendezvous in the dry canal to the south eastern corner of the perimeter fence, while Sven adopts the guise of a raven and places himself atop of the German’s headquarters to watch.

Madeline and I flow west along their bottom of the dry canal and slip across to the fence at it’s south western corner. We then move half way along it’s eastern edge and slide under heading for the back of the vehicle maintenance sheds and eventually to the four parked Panther tanks. We slide up the outside of the first tank and in through the drivers view slot. All of this has taken several minutes and, based on Doctor Jackal’s analysis of the timings, we sit tight and wait for the next patrol to pass us by.

Once the coast is clear I flick on the tank’s ignition and run a very swift systems check. While all of the dials are in German, they are very clearly labelled, and so I have no trouble discerning the information in front of me. The most important being that the vehicle only has half a tank of fuel, not enough to get us to our extraction point. Following the same procedure we move through the four Panther tanks. Finally we get to the tank that has been receiving attention from the German mechanics and find that it has a full fuel load.

Madeline suggests that we check out the vehicle shed and see if there is any information on what work was being carried out. We slide under the door of the vehicle shed and discover what you would expect in a tank mechanics workshop. We find several blackboards showing the details of all of the vehicles that are currently being worked on and current state of repair. I spend a few minutes studying the information and ascertain that three of the Panther tanks have been passed as ready for deployment but one of them still requires it’s final long run. I also spot that several of the scheduled repairs to other vehicles are overdue. Interesting!

We spend the next few hours moving through the shadows of the base identifying the buildings that Sven’s initial investigations had not covered, and once we had a full picture of the base we retreated back to the relative safety of our observation post.

Once we have regrouped we discuss our next move. Doctor Jackal believes that we should enter the base under the guise of the auditor and insist that we are there to observe the long run test on the Panther tank. We all agree. We instruct Captain Stirling’s men to blow up the rail line to the west of the base once they see a Panther leave the base and then all turn in for some rest. By oh nine hundred hours Major Himmelsdorf, his driver Corporal Ludwig and his secretary Miss Angela Kaupf are pulling up to the main gate in their Kübelwagen.

As we pull up to the main gate there is a truck in front of us having their papers checked. Doctor Jackal, or rather, Major Himmelsdorf says in a very loud voice;

What seems to be the hold up?

The gate guard lazily looks up from what he is doing, but when he sees a major sat in the car he quickly waves the truck through and snaps a very crisp salute as Corporal Ludwig pulls the car up to the gate. The Major tells the gate guard that he wants to speak to someone in charge immediately. The guard says that Captain Erline is the duty officer and he directs us to the base’s HQ building.

Sven, in his role as Corporal Ludwig, parks the car outside of the HQ and jumps out to open the door for Major Himmelsdorf and his secretary. The Major and I, for it is me in the role of secretary, enter the base’s HQ and are quickly met by Captain Erline who welcomes us to the base on behalf of Colonal Schmidt. He asks to see our orders, which I hand over, and quickly glances through them. He seems satisfied and asks how he can be of assistance.

Major Himmelsdorf asks to see the days maintenance schedule, and in particular that of the new Panther tanks. The Captain looks surprised and asks if there is a particular issue. Himmelsdorf says that he has been led to believe that they are running late on several projects, but in particular the Panthers. Captain Erline looks taken aback and says that things are almost ready with the Panther’s, that is his first mistake. Doctor Jackal, settling comfortably into the role of a German officer, says in a loud voice;

Almost is not good enough in this war! Would you like me to tell the Führer that we ALMOST won?

That sets the tone, and the base staff begin to rush about in the hope of not angering the Major any further. A staff car is brought around to the front of the HQ and we are driven to the maintenance sheds to inspect the Panthers and the maintenance orders. If anyone had of been paying attention, instead of trying not to look the Major in the eye, then they may have seen a dark shadow separate itself from the underside of the Kübelwagen and slide beneath the staff car.

I remember being very amused watching everyone being scared around Doctor Jackal, just imagine if they had met Mr Hades. Upon inspection, it becomes obvious from the paperwork that things have not been carried out as quickly as possible. Not slow by any means, but not as quickly as they could have been. Major Himmelsdorf jumps on this point and is told that the last Panther is due for it’s long run tomorrow morning. The Major insists that we will observe the final long run and that it will happen this afternoon.

They are worried looks between the German mechanics and Captain Erline, but eventually the Captain agrees. The long run is carried out by the two mechanics and the Panther goes out without any ordinance onboard. The tank will be followed by a supply truck carrying spares and again manned by two mechanics.

We spend the next hour being given a tour of the base and making notes about efficiencies that we have suggested, we have to make the visit look good. Eventually we are left on our own and we stand near the car discussing what we are going to do. Madeline, speaking from the shadow below the car, points out that we do not know the route of the long run. So I head for the base’s HQ and request an itinerary for the long run. It tells us that the tank only travels along the local road leading out from the rear gate of the camp, which means that it will never be any more than nine miles from the base.

At fourteen hundred hours Sven, or is that Corporal Ludwig, pulls the Kübelwagen up alongside the Panther tank. Yet again, no one spies the unusual shadow that seems to flow from car to the underside of the tank. We exit the compound via the back gate in convoy. The Panther followed by the supply truck and then finally our car. We head slowly along the track for the first couple of miles and then the Panther picks up speed as the road swings to the west, we pass another trackway leading south towards one of the local settlements and then the road begins to swing north back towards the main road and the railway track.

By this time the lay of the land is hiding us from being observed, and right on cue the tank skids to a halt at the side of the road. The truck pulls up forty foot behind and Sven brings the car to a halt just behind the truck. Within the blink of an eye both myself and Sven are out of the car and walking alongside the truck. Sven heads up the drivers side and I move towards the passengers door. As I move forwards I slowly slide my knife from it’s sheath in the small of my back. I hear the driver of the truck say to Sven that we should give it a minute and they will probably get it going once more. If I know Madeline, I very much doubt it.

Suddenly the tank hatch is opened and a German cap is waved from it. As soon as they see it, the truck driver and his passenger jump down from the truck. Once the passenger has his back to me I plunge my knife into it up to the hilt. I must have missed his vitals as he managed to turn and try and put up a fight. I stabbed again, this time at his throat, and this time he goes down. As soon as both of the mechanics are down Madeline appears from the top of the tank, she is using the German cap to wipe her knife.

We quickly remove the two bodies from the tank, and along with the two from the truck we dump them in a roadside ditch. As I am moving the body of the truck driver, I notice that he appears to have been mauled by some kind of animal. I shudder a little.

Sven and Madeline jump into the tank, while myself and Henry take the truck. With the Panther leading the way we head east as quickly as the terrain allows. We hug the foothills and try and stay out of sight of the German base, once we believe that we are beyond the base Sven swings us north east so that we can converge with the main road. Three hours after we stole the Panther we are back on the main road heading east, it is a tense couple of hours and we see very little but local traffic on the road. When we are thirty miles from the base we see a small village on the road ahead, it has a German checkpoint on it’s east side.

The Panther continues to roll into the village and I follow on in the truck, as we get closer it is obvious that there is a motorbike and sidecar parked up behind the checkpoint hut and on the other side of the road is a machine gun nest pointing to the east. We slow to a stop and then suddenly the tank lurches forwards at full throttle and smashes through the checkpoint hut and runs over the motorbike and sidecar. There is a moment of confusion, during which I quickly draw my Browning 9mm and shoot the machine guns nest’s gunner in the back.

The Panther rolls forwards and lines up it’s tail with the machine gun nest, I gun the trucks throttle and we shoot past the rear end of the tank just before Sven slams it into reverse and utterly destroys the nest. As we are speeding away Doctor Jackal hears the sounds of rifle fire bouncing off of the tanks thick armour plates. The tank falls in behind us on the road and we continue to race east.

After another half an hour of travel Henry informs me that we are coming up on another, larger, village. I signal to Sven that we are pulling off of the road and he follows. We stop and use the extra fuel in the truck to refuel the Panther. After a brief discussion we agree to ditch the truck and carry on in the tank and circumnavigate the village to avoid any unnecessary checkpoint excitement. I jump into the tank’s driving position to allow Sven to scout ahead in the form of a raven.

We rejoin the main road around nineteen hundred hours and continue east, after an hour we see a massive convoy heading west towards us. It is to late for us to hide or run, so we decide to try and bluff our way past them. I drive as casually as I can towards them. The two motorbike outriders continue past us and I start to believe that we will be ok, that is until the car at the front of the convoy stops and an officer steps out and into the road.

I begin to slow the Panther down and as I do, the scale of the convoy becomes clear. In addition to the outriders and the staff car there are ten troop trucks, a halftrack, and more worryingly two Panzer IV tanks. I look back into the Panther’s main compartment in time to see Sven’s clothing begin to change colour and shape. Within a few seconds, Sven is sat in the tank’s command chair wearing one of the German mechanics uniforms. He even seems to have a grease stain on his cheek and ground in dirt on his hands.

I bring the tank to a halt in front of the German officer and Sven opens the top hatch and stands up. He snaps off a crisp salute and smiles at the officer. Sweat begins to trickle down the nape of my neck as the tension inside the tank mounts, we are all feeling it, except Sven who seems to be calmly discussing the merits of the Panther over the older Panzer IV. The officer then questions Sven about the damage to the front of the tank, Sven quickly answers;

That is why we are having to deliver the vehicle to Major Himmelsdorf sir. He wishes to ascertain if the tank will still be ready in time. Audit Sir! Very important Sir!

The German officer agrees and says;

Well! I better let you get on your way. If I could just see your order?

Sven panics a little, and then grabs the orders that we are carrying. In spite of the fact that they are for a Major Himmelsdorf, his driver and secretary, Sven thinks that it is worth the chance. We all hold our breath. The officer gives the paperwork a brief glance, but he seems far more interested in looking at the new Panther. He hands the papers back and Sven snaps off another quick salute. We pull away slowly and all start to breath once more. That was way too close.

By twenty thirty hours we are only a couple of miles from the final checkpoint before the bunker. We pull the tank off of the road and hide the tank, Sven turns into his guise of a desert hawk and scouts ahead. He returns just before dusk and tells us that the checkpoint is only manned by two guards and that the bunker is a much tougher nut to crack.

With Sven driving the tank, myself and Madeline cling to it’s outside in shadow form. The Panther slows to a halt in front of the checkpoint and Sven passes a couple of words with the two guards, just enough to distract them so that they do not notice the two shadows slide behind them in the dark. Moments later there are two dead guards laying on the floor as the Panther slowly crawls towards the gun bunker.