Bob Carruthers - Tiger Command!

Wendorff explained that to be inside the cloverleaf was to be safe. If any enemy tank managed to get himself within the imaginary outline, then you most certainly were not safe, and it was time to turn the vehicle quickly to one of the meal times!

The “Goetz theory” was another expression developed by Wendorff for Wohl’s benefit. It was a straightforward bit of arithmetic for Wendorff, but a difficult concept for Wohl, which was made clear by a comparison involving the popular fictional knight, Goetz, and his mighty reach.

“Look,” said Wendorff, patiently poring over the diagram, “the Goetz reach lies between your cloverleaf and your maximum range. So, for example, if you are facing a T-34 at 12 o’clock, you know that your cloverleaf extends to 500 metres◦– you are safe within this distance. But you also know that, like Goetz, you can kill him at 800 metres. Therefore, the Anti-Goetz is between 500 metres and 800 metres. This is the key, the decisive factor, you see?”

“Ah, I get it! That’s simple. So, if he comes at you from 12 o’clock, turn the tank towards lunch so that he stays within the cloverleaf, then hit him before he reaches 500 metres! Easy! Why didn’t you say so earlier, instead of all that angle stuff?”

“They both say the same, Wohl. One is in the language of mathematics and the other is pure Wundertüte,” said Wendorff, without a trace of sarcasm.

“Well, on behalf of the great unwashed and untutored, let’s say it in Die Wundertüte style, highly effective and absolutely deadly!”

“Well,” von Schroif said, “perhaps there should be an exception. I shall also stay up and tutor Knispel on the relatively unimportant role of the commander, perhaps the easiest of all the functions!”

So, while Bobby Junge and Karl Wendorff tried to get as much sleep as they could, Hans von Schroif and Michael Knispel went over diagrams, tactics, and the order to shoot.

“Motor cover closed, engage lock, Funker’s hatch closed, Fahrer’s hatch closed, lamps removed, track clear for shot,” Wohl read and then, exclaiming out loud, “Of course, why didn’t you just ask that!” However, as he read further, despite his tiredness, he now felt emboldened, his confidence growing. Despite all his enemies, he may just pass this exam after all!

The disconcerting news of the successful night attack outside Rostov had not yet reached von Schroif and his crew. They were still immersed in the anxiety-provoking business of passing examination papers and gave little thought to events on the now-distant front.

As the crew waited nervously for the results, there was a small crumb of comfort to be taken from the fact that Major Jurgen Rondorf appeared less stern than usual. Fortunately, he didn’t keep them waiting long before letting the anxious crew know the results.

The marks that day were not as high as the day before, with the exception of von Schroif, who had excelled in the gunnery paper, but which now appeared irrelevant against the welcome news that Otto Wohl had passed both papers. It had been a close run thing and, even with Wendorff’s help, the 51% pass mark seemed to stretch generosity to the limit.

Major Rondorf’s new-found praise and encouragement masked a little inner smile which indicated that he knew exactly what had been going on, especially in light of Wendorff’s lower than expected results, which were passable, but, in Rondorf’s opinion, not as high as one of his obvious intellectual abilities should have attained. The men were clearly dog-tired and Rondorf appreciated the effort. He had seen the lights burning long into the night. He could have called lights out, but he had been lenient. There were no points for camaraderie, but it was noticed and approved of.

Walter Lehmann did not take kindly to the new request. “Ensure Tigers diverted from Rostov to Leningrad? Did the Soviets have any idea how complicated and dangerous that would be?”

Hitler was taking a close personal interest in the subject. Every fool knew that the deployment of the Tiger would be his decision. How on earth was he supposed to influence Hitler’s thinking? The man was renowned for his tendency to meddle in the minutiae of operational affairs. Even his generals and the chiefs of staff found it impossible to bring him around to their way of thinking◦– and let’s give the monster some credit, his grasp, his research, his photographic memory and his ability to be ruthlessly decisive set him well apart from ordinary mortals◦– once his mind had been made up, God himself would have had difficulty persuading him to decide upon an alternative path.

The only possible way to get Hitler to change tack would be to introduce credible new information, but it would have to be compelling and significant. Hitler did have the ability to change his own mind on reacting to new operational information and that would be the key◦– not to have others change his mind for him, according to their own opinions, but to allow Hitler to believe that he had changed his own mind.

The Soviets had prepared for this with a new piece of misinformation regarding heavy tank build ups in the Leningrad area, but Lehmann knew this would never be enough. What he needed was a second bit of intelligence that was independent and that gave credence to the first. He could then forward this to i.G Borgmann, who could then pass it on to Hitler himself. That way, they may just have a chance of getting inside the mind of Hitler, allowing him to rearrange the old facts in accordance with the new.

But he was beginning to have doubts about Borgmann. Oberstleutnant i.G Borgmann was an army liaison officer attached to Hitler’s HQ at Rastenburg. Lehmann and Borgmann had been in the SS together. Lehmann had always had him in his pocket, so to speak, but since his move to Rastenburg, Borgmann did not seem as receptive to RHSA communications as he had been before. Perhaps it was the sway and pull of the Wehrmacht, perhaps because he was so close to Hitler, maybe even because he did not need Lehmann to advance his career any further. Whatever the reason, the centre of gravity in their relationship had changed. Getting to Hitler had never been a problem before, Borgmann being the perfect conduit for any information Lehmann needed to pass down the line, but that last link was not as strong as it had once been.

Dressed for the part in immaculate double-breasted black wool jackets, matching trousers and boots, the five men strolled through the streets of Paderborn, catching the eye of every girl who passed.

Were they not warriors? Had they not lifted the veil of shame that hung over their countrymen since the Treaty of Versailles? Was Germany not now at ease with itself?

To von Schroif, the memory of his hard times in the Freikorps seemed distant◦– a torn and divided country◦– as did the times of economic hardship, but now look at it! The streets bustled under the warm May sky, shopkeepers busily selling their wares, children playing safely in the streets◦– this was what they were fighting for! They were fighting for peace! This glimpse◦– this was not just a snapshot of what Germany had become through its own striving, but what it would become◦– this was not just part of the present, this was a vision of the future!

The local cinema was screening the latest Wochenschau newsreel as the Tiger men called in and surreptitiously took their seats. Each feigned nonchalance, but each was secretly excited. After a well-cut sequence of tank combat, the narrator began his frantic commentary.

“The Eastern Front! Outside Rostov, a fierce tank battle results in the destruction of twenty Soviet tanks. These fearless fighters have become known as the Lions of Rostov. Their heroic deeds were recognised by the award of various decorations from the hand of the Führer himself.”