ABSTRACT
In the Major’s office, soldiers of all ranks came in and looked at maps and front elevations. There were sketches from prisoners’ information and drawings of mined areas given by deserters. At the end of the balcony a captain was briefing his group. On the railings of the courtyard steps was a group of strange GIs. There were flashes from delayed action bombs buried in the earthworks. Machine gun fire belched from the end pillbox - the men fell flat stumbling and crawling into the shelter of shell holes - some crept on, others sweeping back to the left of the guns’ angle, one man reaching the top. The telephones were set up in the lounge writing room of the Hotel Univers - the concierge’s desk housed a couple of soldiers - the glass-roofed hallway to the dining rooms was somewhat broken and the palm trees were sere and disheveled.
