Jean Claude had the presence of mind to grab his crystals, codes, and schedules before leaping through the hut’s rear window and hiding in the underbrush. There was no time to do anything about the wireless set. German soldiers jumped down from the truck yelling “Raus! Raus!” and stormed in through the front door.
Jean Claude was close enough to hear the soldiers’ happy exclamations when they found his rice and “schokolade.” He lay still while they ransacked the hut. It didn’t take them long, as the place was so small. Jean Claude saw them hustle back to the truck with his wireless set and all the loose papers they had found.
When the truck had driven away, Jean Claude got to his feet and went deeper into the woods. He thought he should head for the DZ, to find Philippe and report to Baker Street, but in his shaken state he wanted to avoid roads and trails. He made his way slowly through the trees, circling the Sussac village, in the direction of the plateau.
In the forest, he came across a group of about twenty Salesman maquisards. They were on their way to help another group that had ambushed a German armored car and wanted to use the wreck to set up a roadblock.
Jean Claude joined them, and before long they came to the site of the ambush. The armored car, destroyed by bazooka fire and Gammon grenades, lay tipped on its side across the road. A couple of corpses lay amid the mangled mess inside. As the guerrillas rummaged around for souvenirs and talked over the assault, Jean Claude learned that two German soldiers had survived and were being held prisoner in a clearing at a little distance. He thought he might interrogate them about the enemy’s movements, using the very little German he had studied as a college freshman.
After a short hike down a forest trail, accompanied by a few Sussac maquisards, Jean Claude found the prisoners in the custody of some of the Spanish Republicans. The captives were seated on the ground, hands and feet bound, with Primacord explosive wrapped around their necks. The Spaniards sat about a hundred yards away, drinking wine. Between the Germans and their captors crackled a long, slow fuse, spitting sparks.
Jean Claude protested. He suggested offering the men a chance to live, in exchange for information. The Spaniards resisted. The confrontation became heated, but in the end Jean Claude, backed by his Sussac men, prevailed.
He cut the fuse and removed the Primacord from the prisoners’ necks. In rudimentary German, he told them that he was an American soldier, and that they would be protected if they answered his questions. They were clearly shocked—they couldn’t imagine encountering an American so deep in occupied France. But as it turned out, they had little information of any use to share.
No sooner was the standoff settled than they heard the sound of an engine. It was a feldgrau truck, heading up the road behind them toward the spot where the shattered armored car lay. Jean Claude and the maquisards raced back to join the ambush that was being hurriedly assembled. A guerrilla who had picked up a German Schmeisser machine pistol handed Jean Claude his carbine.
The truck came around a curve and its driver spotted the ruined armored car. He skidded to a stop immediately, much farther away than the guerrillas had anticipated. As troops jumped out, the maquisards opened fire. The truck backed up out of sight around the curve. The German troops gave very heavy return fire, retreated to the truck, and jumped aboard. Under a final burst from the guerrillas, the truck turned around and drove off.
The engagement lasted only a brief moment. When it was done, the maquisards went to work setting up a strong roadblock with the armored car as its centerpiece. It occurred to Jean Claude that this was a new kind of combat for them—defending a set position—a departure from their usual fluid, guerrilla tactics. It was a type of warfare for which neither he nor the maquisards had trained, but it would be necessary if they were to keep the enemy from overrunning the DZ on the plateau.
Jean Claude handed the carbine back and set off for the DZ on foot.