WC02 - Never Surrender by Michael Dobbs Page A

with the war against Hitler; give them not a moment for their war against me." Churchill was panting with emotion, struggling to keep his breath. "And if we are to go down in flames, then they too shall shed tears, share the toil, be drowned in sweat. But if we are to survive, it can only be together."
    So they had gathered in the Admiralty later that evening, Bracken and Margesson in one room while Churchill buried himself with his papers and maps in the inner sanctum. Bracken and the Chief Whip had bickered and debated, weighing dubious merits against more certain sins, moving from one to the next, pricking a few names, moving others to more minor posts, getting Colville to telephone the news through to the victims while they themselves congratulated the victors. In the end two-thirds of the existing members of the Government were reappointed, only twelve senior offices went to newcomers. Chamberlain remained prominent on the poop deck while Margesson continued in service as the master-at-arms.
    But even as they worked, the boat was to be rocked far more brutally than ever they imagined.
    Churchill heard it first, on the radio, from an American, a respected CBS correspondent named William Shirer who was based in Berlin. His broadcasts were inevitably filtered through the coarse gauze of the German Propaganda
    Ministry, but what squeezed past the censors was often useful, helping to know the enemy.
    Good evening. This is Berlin .. .
    The voice was flat, reedy, its tones stripped of emotional emphasis as it wowed and fluttered its way through the ether. Churchill tapped a dial; it made little difference. But the message did.
    Liege fallen! German land forces break through and establish contact with air-force troops near Rotterdam! Those were the astounding headlines in extra editions of the Berlin papers that came out about five, our time, this afternoon.
    "Colville. Mr. Colville!" Churchill first muttered, then roared. There was a sudden scrabbling in the outer office.
    Today was a holiday in the capital Whit Monday and there were large crowds strolling in the streets. They bought up the extras like hot cakes. The announcement by the German High Command on the fourth day of the big drive that the citadel of Liege had been captured, and that German well, the Germans call them "speed troops " had broken through the whole southern part of Holland and made contact with the air-force troops who 've been fighting since the first day in and around Rotterdam on the west coast, caught almost everyone by surprise. Even German military circles seemed a bit surprised. They admitted that the breakthrough to Rotterdam, as one put it, came somewhat sooner than expected .. .
    Colville was standing aghast on the other side of the desk. None of this had been mentioned in the night's situation briefing. To be sure, the Dutch had been talking of 'modifications' and 'confusion' in the military position, but this .. . "Get the Chiefs of Staff back here. Every man jack of 'em. And find out whether m'Lord Halifax is in the land of the living. If he's not, drag him out of bed. Tell him there's a war on!"
    FOUR
    Tuesday 14 May. The Reverend Chichester rose before dawn, turning his back on his bed. Sleep had been elusive and, when at last it had come, a river of troubles had run through his dreams, destroying his peace and reminding him of so many unanswered prayers. It had been his birthday on the previous day, his fifty-second, a time for reflection, although it had passed unnoticed by anybody else, apart from a card from his sister. Nothing from Donald.
    Everything in his mind kept moving in circles and coming back to the same point. Donald. Even Jennie stared back at him in reproach from the mantelpiece, as if to say there should have been another photograph of their son alongside her. But he hadn't any recent photos of Don.
    The vicarage seemed empty, the hallway too tidy; the kitchen had an unaccustomed echo; even the driveway taunted him. Not so