Edward Wilson - Portrait of the Spy as a Young Man

Catesby gave a bleak smile. ‘Instead, we took it out on our families. I could give you a long list.’

Leanna looked at her notes. ‘What did you think of Violette Szabo going to fight with the Resistance and leaving her infant daughter behind?’

Catesby could see that it was a difficult question. His granddaughter’s own mother had gone back to Africa to become a human rights activist. She had on occasion been arrested, but the actual cause of her death still remained a mystery. She died when Leanna was fourteen.

‘Violette,’ said Catesby, ‘wasn’t the only woman who left young children behind. But I’m not going to judge them.’

‘I love my mother for what she did, but I’m not sure that Dad felt the same way.’

‘I’m sure he didn’t.’

‘But if she hadn’t gone to fight for a cause, you and Granny wouldn’t have shared the parenting.’

‘We were both retired and looking for new challenges.’

‘And you found them.’

‘Indeed.’

‘And now I’m discovering a grandfather that I never knew existed.’ She looked at her notes. ‘Last time, you started telling me about the American who was leader of the Jedburgh team.’

‘He was the beginning of a whole new chapter. It began after the war when he joined the CIA.’

‘You didn’t get along very well.’

‘No, but in an odd sort of way I liked him and was fascinated by him.’

‘But he was so awful and boorish.’

‘The boorishness was largely an act, but he was awful. In fact, he was a criminal.’

‘Did he commit crimes in France?’

‘Not in occupied France. He cynically used the war to build an honourable and heroic reputation. As American career officers say, “You have to get your ticket punched.” This means you need to see a bit of action and win a medal or two before you can settle down to being a corrupt and power-grabbing bastard.’

‘What did Lester end up doing?’

‘You’re jumping too far ahead, let’s get through the war first.’

Trois-Chevaux: 14 July 1944

Lester’s plan to celebrate the French national holiday infuriated Guingouin, but there was nothing Lo Grand could do to stop it. It was the first parachute supply drop to be delivered in daylight – a security breach that Guingouin regarded as utterly stupid – and it was going to be the biggest airdrop of the war. Realising there was nothing he could do to stop it, Guingouin assembled hundreds of Maquisards and helpers on the drop zone to carry away the masses of supplies and equipment that would soon rain from the sky. The fighters were heavily armed because a daylight drop would attract the Germans and the GMR.

As soon as the first wave of American B-17s passed over the drop zone, it was clear why Lester had insisted on a daytime supply. As the parachutes unfolded they formed an enormous tricolour. The canopies had been dyed blue, white and red – and the riggers stacking the loads organised the coloured parachutes to unfold in the correct order. Lester yelled, ‘ Liberté, égalité, fraternité ’ at the top of his lungs. Guingouin couldn’t repress a reluctant smile. Three more waves of B-17s passed over. The supplies had landed and the Germans were on their way. Guingouin decided to hold his ground and confront the Germans. It would be the first time that his Resistance fighters and the Wehrmacht faced each other in a pitched battle.

The first day of the battle found Catesby hiding behind a chestnut tree on the slopes of Mont Gargan. They all wanted to revenge Oradour-sur-Glane, but the best way to kill Germans was with tactics and discipline. Giving into rage and embarking on suicidal charges would play into the hands of the enemy. A group of Maquisards was stretched out on either side of him. The fighter closest to Catesby was pointing a Bren light machine gun at a golden field of unharvested wheat at the bottom of the slope. A Maquisard on the other side of the Bren gunner was observing the wheatfield through a pair of binoculars.

‘Whenever one of them moves you can see the wheat oscillate.’ He passed the binoculars to the Bren gunner who looked and passed them back.

‘I’ve got him lined up,’ said the gunner. ‘Tell me when he moves again.’

Crouching behind the chestnut tree with Catesby was a Jewish doctor who had come out of hiding in Saint-Léonard-de-Noblat to join the Maquis. The doctor was carrying a rucksack full of medical supplies. ‘I wish,’ he said, ‘they would let me have a gun, but they say my job is looking after casualties.’

‘If I get hit,’ whispered Catesby, ‘take my Sten.’

‘The waiting is nerve wracking,’ said the doctor.

They didn’t have to wait any longer. The Maquisard with the binoculars said, ‘Now.’ The Bren opened up as did the entire line of Maquis. The Germans in the wheatfield fired back. The fusillade was withering and the Maquis leader gave an order to fall back. They didn’t have to withdraw far. There was a ravine behind the chestnut tree which provided protection. The position had been chosen with care. The German bullets stripped leaves from the lower branches of the tree and churned up the ground and vegetation below it. After another minute the German fire lessened, the Maquisards crawled out of the ravine and opened fire on the German soldiers who were now advancing. They again took cover and started returning fire at full pelt. The same pattern continued for another hour. The Germans attempted to pin down the Maquis, while a platoon advanced under the covering fire. But the camouflaged Maquisards were difficult to spot and kept changing position. The Germans finally fell away. An hour later, there was the sound of armoured vehicles moving into the field of wheat. A heavy machine gun mounted on a halftrack began to sweep the Maquis positions. Another halftrack appeared mounted with a 37mm flak gun whose heavy calibre fire began to uproot trees and earth. Meanwhile, the German infantry advanced under the cover of the halftracks. The Maquisards dispersed into the wooded hills.

The next few days were full of confusion and chaos, but the Maquis were accounting for many Germans. They must have killed or wounded a dozen of them when Catesby’s unit ambushed a column of trucks bringing reinforcements to Surdoux. The German response to the ambush was fierce and they had to beat a quick retreat to Mont Gargan where, unexpectedly, they met the Jedburgh team. Lester was strutting around with a .45 automatic in his hand and seemed to be enjoying the action – but unaware that the Germans were coming up the hill in force.

The plan was to fight a series of delaying actions so that the bulk of the Maquisards could disappear into the countryside. Catesby found himself in a group of six that included the doctor, the Bren gunner and the Maquisard with the binoculars. The latter had climbed the wall of the ruined chapel that marked the summit of Mont Gargan to get a better view of the advancing Germans. He continued to shout updates about German movements from his precarious perch in a Gothic arch, despite the fact that rockets and heavy machine-gun bullets were impacting into the stonework. Meanwhile, the Bren gunner fired bursts in response to his directions.

The binocular man’s next report sent a chill down Catesby’s spine. ‘There’s a platoon coming up on the left side of the road. They’re about forty metres away.’

Catesby was about to tell the observer to get down from the ruin, but he was already well on his way. Catesby crawled forward to tell the gunner it was time to withdraw, but the Bren had fallen silent and the Bren gunner had rolled over on his back and was moaning. The doctor was now next to Catesby and they pulled the wounded gunner to a more protected position. Two more Maquisards rushed forward to provide covering fire. The doctor cut off the Bren gunner’s shirt and wrapped a dressing around his chest.