My Blog: Part 4 - Trouble Ahead

The 'Trouble at Zero Hour' Trilogy was published in August 2016. I felt on top of my game, my book was on the high street and I was a full bloodied, copper bottomed Author. Not many Authors can say that, and it is a tragedy that some great stories seldom get the recognition they deserve.

The actual kudos of being published did not really hit home until I was in a WHSmith at Luton Airport bound for Edinburgh. I was doing the usual parent thing of buying sweets, fizzy drinks and what not, where in the queue in front of me were a number of customers buying my book. I could not help but feel very proud of what I had achieved, but also felt like a right wally. I suppose I was having a bout of what some call 'imposter syndrome'. Paying for my sundries, I returned to my family and explained to Vicky what had just taken place.

'Why didn't you tell them it was your book?' She asked, I blushed at the very thought. With no picture of me inside the cover, they could well think I was some deranged traveller who needed escorting from the airport. I just took comfort that strangers were actually buying my work. It felt good. Strange...but good.

Returning from my holiday, I was tying up the loose ends for the fourth 'stand-alone' novel that Quercus had commissioned me for. The publishers already had the title they wanted...'Trouble Ahead'. Since they were writing the cheques, I had little sway over what they felt was good marketing. I wanted to call it 'The Furthest Shore'.

That's publishing for you I suppose.

'Trouble Ahead' is set during the Battle of Crete, May 1941. It was to be a duel protagonist story. One British, the other German. The former would be Captain Bentley Paine, an Infantry officer thrown into the cauldron that was the Greek Campaign, and the latter would be Captain Martin Bassom, a Fallschirmjager company commander, already bloodied from a parachute assault onto a vital bridge for Panzers over the Corinth Canal on mainland Greece. Paine having come from a privileged background, the son and heir of an Equestrian retail empire, and Bassom from a more humble background. The son of a dairy farmer.

In disarray, the British and Commonwealth troops fighting in Greece evacuate to Crete with more or less, just their shirts on their backs. They are ad-hoc units put together and take the opportunity to catch their breath. The Germans, with offensive spirit as well as tactical momentum in their favour exploit their enemies situation and launch a large airborne assault onto the island of Crete. Hitler, not caring much for the operation, since he had his sights set on the Soviet Union is reassured by his Airborne planners, the Crete operation will deliver the knock out blow in not only the Mediterranean, but also the Balkans. Hitler gives the Crete assault the green light.

In a daylight assault, the German airborne drop onto a bloodied and prepared enemy almost destroys Germany's entire parachute capability. The parachutists take grievous losses in not just the drop at the hands of the British and Commonwealth troops, but in the immediate aftermath. Cretan locals, armed with all manner of axe, scythe, cleaver and kitchen knife hack wounded paratroopers to death as they are caught up in their own parachute rigging among the olive groves.

Bassom rallies what men he can find and continues on with his mission objectives. Paine feels his confidence returning after the evacuation from the mainland. His men have scored a high number of 'kills' as the enemy parachutists drifted down under canopy.

Historically, as well as in the story, the Battle for Crete is short but considerably vicious. The story coming to a head with Paine and Bassoms men fighting it out in the recently abandoned Greek army barracks.

It was this very action in May 1941 that inspired Prime Minister Winston Churchill to begin talks regarding the creation of our own Airborne Forces.

By the end of the battle, it was the German paratrooper that carried the day. Despite Crete being a German victory, the high casualty numbers among the Fallschirmjager encouraged Hitler to never deploy them in a mass drop for the rest of the war. Small unit drops were employed rarely, but as a rule the German paratroopers would remain employed in a 'light infantry' role, their parachuting days now over.

'Trouble Ahead: The Battle for Crete' by Rob Lofthouse.