Distant Thunder
The Novel
by
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The soldiers packed the equipment and ammunition crates into their truck, and embarked. As it rumbled through the para-school gates towards their barracks, most broke into chatting about the days’ events, comparing opinions about the weapons. With the inquisitiveness of youth, a private asked the smouldering question that was foremost in their minds.
‘Where do you think we’ll be going, sergeant?’ The men stopped talking.
‘Now you should know better than to ask that particular question, private,’ answered Ravenstein archly, ‘- this is all under wraps - but the Ami weapons are a clue aren’t they? It could be the Pacific, couldn’t it, eh?’ It went very quiet after his answer - just the grind of gear changes, the swish and growl of the truck as it whirred along.
Major Schneider drove the captain back to Berlin.
‘We have the makings of a fine unit there - they’re good - regular sons of guns. I don’t think we’ll have a problem with selection,’ said Kriebel. He enthused about the skills, accuracy and athleticism of the candidates. Schneider had realised that, but was glad to hear it confirmed by a man of the captain‘s knowledge - and consequently was less worried about his role. They began earnestly discussing aspects of the plan, filling the gaps in each other’s knowledge as far as they knew. They felt good about each other.
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In his quarters that evening, sipping a glass of wine, Colonel Hartmann felt relieved that the plan had at last seemed to be off the ground and starting well. He was beginning to feel some pride in the fact that he had been chosen to direct the operation. He cast his mind back over the surprising chain of events that had got him to this position. It had originally started with an instruction from a senior member of the high command, directing him to analyse scientific reports and material that had been sent to him from several sources, adding to the information that he was already known to possess. The final high-security dispatch had finally arrived for him on May 20, 1942.
s
Sergeant Bauer emerged from the signals office clutching his dispatch case. Under his steel helmet his low brow furrowed as he tried to decipher what his superior officer had meant when just instructing him: “Dispatches are a critical element in the operation and efficiency of the Wehrmacht - off to your duty.”
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About the Book
What would have been the consequences for the free world had the In 1942, at the height of Nazi domination of A test film of a planned attack on the An assault group is formed, led by Richard Schneider, a German-American, who having returned to the Fatherland in 1933, begins to harbour doubts about the integrity of the Nazi regime. A series of far-reaching action events develop as they carry out the attack - culminating in a bizarre twist in the story as the protagonists’ scepticism about the Nazis corkscrews into absolute denial - and ‘Distant Thunder’ finally reaches its dramatic climax. (“Not the least compelling aspect of this gripping novel is the seamless blending of fact and fiction. The reader is launched on a roller-coaster of a military adventure that has a shocking ring of truth.".........Cosmo Brown.)
About the Author
James C. Baker served in the Royal Marine Commandos in the closing stages of WW2. A period at sea in the Merchant Navy followed. He embarked on a career in the British film industry, where, after designing feature titles, he became a director and producer. Subsequently he produced documentaries and television commercials where the work took him to many locations around the world, and this combined with his long-time interest in military history has led to ‘Distant Thunder’ - his first novel - uniquely written from the German perspective.