Sitting on an ammunition box outside the barn with a dinner plate on his lap, Richard mopped up the last traces of thin gravy with a piece of bread. Other members of Mephisto’s crew had also improvised seats for themselves and were sitting around eating, talking and laughing. Richard noticed that they all had either a moustache or a neat beard. Barefaced, Richard was the only one without facial adornment. And if that wasn’t enough, all the men were years older than Richard, making him feel even more like the baby of the crew. In fact, some of his crewmates were old enough to be his father. Within hours of joining his new unit, Richard had decided to grow a moustache.

For supper, the crew had split into several groups. Most of the twelve machine-gunners and loaders, who’d all come from the infantry, sat together. Sergeant Heiber sat with Corporal Hartmann, the mechanic, and his assistant, Hess; they were from the transport corps. The gunner, Sergeant Eckhardt, sat on his own. Earlier, Richard had introduced himself to Eckhardt, but the balding gunner had merely grunted and walked away. Another crewman, Krank, one of the machine-gun loaders, also sat alone, away from the others. He was a morose man who, Richard came to notice, never looked others in the eye and never seemed to talk to anyone.

After cleaning his tin plate at the mill-house’s well, Richard went for a ramble along the bank of the stream. It was already dark and a silvery moon was just beginning to climb into the sky.

‘A newcomer, are you?’ said a voice from behind.

Richard turned to see an officer sitting on the trunk of a fallen tree. Quickly coming to attention, Richard saluted.

The officer, a second lieutenant, came to his feet and returned the salute, then ambled to where Richard stood. Richard could now see that the lieutenant was a middle-aged man, round-faced, with a narrow moustache and thinning hair.

‘At ease, Private,’ said the lieutenant. ‘No need to stand on formality for my sake.’ Looking down into the stream, the officer clasped his hands behind his back. With his eyes still on the water, he asked, ‘What is your name?’

‘Rix, Herr Leutnant,’ Richard replied, relaxing a little but still remaining at attention. ‘Private Richard Rix. Assigned as loader to Panzerkampfwagen 506, Mephisto.’

‘You seem very young for panzer service. Where are you from?’

‘Bavaria, Herr Leutnant. A farm just outside Augsburg.’ Richard didn’t add that he had spent some of his childhood years in America. With American troops known to be arriving in France to join the Allied armies, he worried that other German soldiers might question his loyalty if he were to mention his time in America.

‘Ah, Augsburg.’ The lieutenant nodded thoughtfully. ‘I myself lived in Lower Saxony for many years. At the outbreak of this war, I was living in Clausthall. Do you know it?’

‘No, Herr Leutnant.’

‘I taught there, you know.’

‘You were a teacher, Herr Leutnant?’

‘Oh, yes. A professor of chemistry.’

‘A professor!’

The lieutenant smiled. ‘I hear you thinking, “What is a professor of chemistry doing in a panzerkampfwagen unit?” Well, originally, our superiors thought that a professor of chemistry might know something about British technology, and they asked me to assess captured British war wagons. Then they put me in command of one. And now, here, I have charge of the panzer Siegfried.’

To Richard, the middle-aged lieutenant looked the most unlikely of tank commanders. ‘You are in charge of Siegfried, Herr Leutnant?’ Richard asked, only now noticing the prized Eiserne Kreuze, the Iron Cross gallantry medal, pinned to the lieutenant’s tunic.

‘Indeed.’ But the officer quickly changed the subject. ‘Tell me, Richard Rix, what do you think you will do after the war?’

The question took Richard by surprise. ‘After the war, Herr Leutnant? I hardly think about what might happen next week. I cannot imagine what it would be like after the war, or what I might be doing then.’

‘You should. This war will not last much longer, now that the Americans have arrived in France. That is why our High Command has launched this Spring Offensive, to try to win this thing before the Americans, with all their money and men, have a chance to influence matters. But that is like trying to stop the incoming tide. Think about a career in science after the war, Richard Rix. That is my advice – a career in science. The world needs scientists, not soldiers. Work for peace, not war.’

‘Er, yes, Herr Leutnant.’ Richard was surprised by the officer’s attitude. The lieutenant almost sounded as if he were expecting Germany to lose the war.

‘A good evening to you, my boy.’ The lieutenant turned to go.

‘Sir, may I know your name?’

The officer paused. ‘Biltz. Wilhelm Biltz.’

‘Leutnant Biltz, is it true that we will soon be going against the British panzers?’

‘Yes, I expect we will.’

‘Are our panzers superior to those of the British?’

Biltz paused, then replied, ‘Well, for one thing, the British outnumber us greatly. They have hundreds of panzers while we have only twenty A7Vs – too few to make a difference, I fear. Certainly, our panzers are larger – much larger – than theirs. The tracks on our machines are protected by the armoured sides, while the British tracks are exposed. And some might say that our panzers look more fearsome. But let me tell you, young man, don’t let appearances fool you. As a chemist, I know for a fact that the armour on our panzers is inferior in quality to that of the British vehicles. They use hardened steel, and we do not. Our A7Vs are top-heavy – pray that your driver does not get your Mephisto into a situation where it will topple over. I sometimes think that it is more dangerous for the men inside our panzers than for the enemy outside.’

Richard felt a chill run down his spine. ‘Oh.’

‘I urge you to wear the face mask that is issued to panzer crews. A number of lazy crewmen have discarded them, but once your vehicle starts taking hits from enemy bullets and shells, the mask will save your eyes and face from metal splinters.’

Richard nodded earnestly. ‘Yes, I will do that, Herr Leutnant.’

‘And your driver, Feldwebel Heiber – the men call him “Papa” Heiber, I believe – you could do worse, a young fellow like yourself, than sheltering under his wing. Heiber might just help you survive this war.’

‘Yes, Herr Leutnant.’

‘Goodnight to you, young man.’ With that, Lieutenant Biltz wandered away into the night.

Feeling a little disconcerted by Lieutenant Biltz’s morbid advice, Richard hurried back to the barns.

When he arrived at the enlisted men’s quarters, he found that several members of Mephisto’s crew were already settling down to sleep on the hay. He could see Sergeant Heiber writing a letter in the light of a candle.

Richard walked over to where Heiber sat with his back against the wall, and, squatting down in front of him, said, ‘Feldwebel, I was just talking with Leutnant Biltz, and he was saying that our panzers –’

‘Lightning Biltz?’ said Heiber, looking up from his letter-writing. ‘What did he have to say?’

Richard frowned. ‘“Lightning” Biltz?’

Papa Heiber chuckled. ‘That fellow Biltz is so slow and calculated in all he does, the men mock him with the nickname “Lightning”. To illustrate how slow he is – Biltz has been in the German Army for four years now, having entered as a leutnant. And still he is a leutnant! He will probably end up being the oldest leutnant in the army.’ Heiber smirked. ‘A lightning career, wouldn’t you say?’

To Richard, Lieutenant Biltz seemed an officer he could respect – even admire – despite Biltz’s pessimistic attitude to the war. ‘But he wears the Iron Cross,’ he responded, defending the lieutenant.

‘I didn’t say he wasn’t brave,’ Heiber came back. A questioning look now crossed his face. ‘But, tell me, what was he saying to you?’

Richard suddenly felt hesitant about revealing the lieutenant’s lack of faith in their panzers. He decided to keep Lieutenant Biltz’s advice to himself. ‘Nothing. Nothing important,’ he said, standing up. ‘Goodnight, Feldwebel.’

‘Goodnight, boy,’ said Heiber, returning to his letter.

Finding a clear space on the hay, Richard unrolled his blanket and lay down. Mental exhaustion quickly claimed him, and almost as soon as he closed his eyes he was asleep.