Page 40 of A Call to Home (Women of the Resistance #3)

Bari

September 1944

The phone on Leo’s desk rang and when she picked it up the operator said, ‘There’s a call for you from London. I’m putting you through now.’ There were clicks and buzzes and then Sasha’s voice, just audible through the interference.

‘Leo, have you heard?’

‘Heard what? What’s wrong?’

‘Peter has been forced to disown Mihailovic and back Tito. He’s just broadcast on the BBC ordering all his people to support Tito and saying that the stigma of treason will stick to those who do not.’

Leo gasped. ‘How did that come about?’

‘Subasic, the new prime minister he was more or less forced to appoint, went behind his back and disowned Mihailovic as minister of war and proclaimed that Tito’s forces were the only ones recognised by the government in exile. Peter was presented with a fait accompli.’

‘How is he?’

‘How do you think? He’s deeply depressed. But Churchill came to see him. He says he has got a guarantee from Tito that Peter will be allowed to return when the war is over.’

‘Well, that’s good news, isn’t it?’

‘If Tito can be expected to keep his word.’

‘Well, I suppose we shall just have to hope so,’ Leo said with a sigh.

‘Listen,’ he said. ‘I’ve been trying to pull some strings. It’s just possible I might be able to get myself on a flight out to Bari to spend a few days with you.’

‘Oh, that would be wonderful!’ she exclaimed. ‘But can you leave Peter alone?’

‘I don’t think it would worry him.’ Sasha’s voice sounded slightly dispirited. ‘He’s a married man now, you know. Doesn’t need an old man to nanny him.’

‘I’m sure he does, really,’ Leo said, ‘but if he can do without you for a few days it would be so lovely to see you.’

‘I’ll let you know if my plans work out. I’ll have to end this call now. See you soon, my darling. Bye!’

Leo put down the phone and sighed. Since missing her chance to catch up with Alix she had been feeling rather depressed. What she needed above all was to feel her husband’s arms around her. Please let it happen! she begged some unknown power.

Two days later Sasha walked into her office. She ran to him and put her arms round his neck.

‘Oh darling! What a wonderful surprise!’

He slid a hand round the back of her neck and kissed her. ‘I couldn’t let you know in advance. You know how these things work. When there’s a sudden opportunity you have to take it while it’s on offer.’

‘It doesn’t matter,’ she said. ‘You’re here. That’s all I care about. I’ve been worried about you in London. These new flying bombs Hitler is sending over sound terrifying.’

‘They are a trifle disconcerting,’ he agreed with a wry smile. ‘The first type, the doodlebugs we called them, weren’t so bad because you could hear them coming. They had a sort of throbbing drone that was unmistakable and when it stopped you knew they were on their way down. People said if you heard them stop you were in no danger, because they would glide for some distance before they hit the ground. But the V2s are completely silent. The first warning you have is the noise of the explosion.’

‘That’s awful,’ Leo said. ‘I thought the London Blitz was over. Now it seems to have started again.’

‘Never mind,’ he said. ‘The Allied armies are pushing forward. It can’t be long before they overrun the launching sites and put a stop to it. I want to hear about you.’ He looked down at her. ‘How are you? You look tired. Are they working you too hard?’

‘No. We’re busy, of course, but that is to be expected. There’s a lot happening on our patch, too.’

‘Was Simovic right to back Tito rather than Mihailovic?’

‘Yes, definitely. The Partisans control large swathes of the country now.’ She looked round at the papers piled on her desk. ‘Look, I shouldn’t really be spending time talking to you now. Can we leave it till later? Oh!’ She put her hand to her head. ‘I wasn’t thinking. I don’t know where you are going to stay tonight. I’m sharing a rather poky flat with three other women. There really isn’t room to fit you in.’

He smiled. ‘Don’t worry. I’ve booked a room at the Grande Albergo.’

‘The Grande? Oh, brilliant!’ Leo said. ‘I shall be able to have a bath in hot water without having to boil it up on the stove and then carry it up to the bathroom.’

‘Oh, you poor thing,’ he murmured. ‘Is it really that bad?’

‘Well, you know what everyone says? Remember there’s a war on.’

‘I’m sick of hearing that,’ he said. ‘It’s the same in London. All the things you would like to have, or do, are unavailable or forbidden. And if you complain you’re told “remember there’s a war on”.’ He stepped back with a smile. ‘Look, I’ll leave you in peace to get on. I’ll be at the hotel when you can get away.’

By the time Leo reached the hotel, Sasha’s mood had changed. She found him pacing the terrace, as the last rays of the setting sun turned the mountains of the Dalmatian coast pink.

‘I’ve just heard a bulletin on the BBC,’ he said, as soon as she appeared. ‘They are bombing towns in Serbia. There was a report of a massive attack on Leskovac.’

Leo sank into a chair, pulled off her hat and ran her hands through her hair. ‘I know.’

‘You know? You knew in advance this was going to happen?’

‘Yes.’

‘But why are they doing it?’

‘It is part of a combined operation with the Partisans designed to disrupt the German retreat.’

‘The Germans are retreating?’

‘Oh yes. They are being called back to reinforce the troops further north.’

‘So why not just let them go? Why launch this campaign of destruction?’

She looked up at him. ‘Can’t you see? The more troops he has at his command, the longer Hitler will be able to hold out and the longer the war will go on. But if we can disrupt the rail network it will stop him from bringing his men back from Greece and Albania, not just Yugoslavia.’

He sat opposite her and said more quietly, ‘But couldn’t it just be done by sabotage? If the Partisans are as good as you say, couldn’t it be left to them?’

‘They are doing their bit, blowing up railway lines and bridges and tunnels, but there are some targets that are just too big or too well protected and that’s where the bombers come in. Oh, and by the way, it’s not just us and the Americans. Some of the work has been given to the Balkan Air Force.’

‘So our men are dropping bombs on their own country, on their own towns?’

‘Yes. Because they see it as a way of bringing an end to the war.’

Sasha put his head in his hands. ‘I can’t bear to think about it. It’s our country, our people. These are the men I led, and you nursed, during the last war. Have the English forgotten that Serbia stood beside them then, to fight the Kaiser? We don’t deserve to see our country reduced to a ruin. And why does it have to be Serbia, not Bosnia or Croatia?’

‘Well, obviously because that is where the main routes to the north run,’ she said. ‘But it’s happening in Slovenia, too.’

He was silent for a moment. Then he said, ‘And this fellow Tito. Are we really going to hand the country over to him at the end of the war?’

‘It won’t be a question of handing it over,’ Leo said. ‘He will be in control whether we like it or not.’

‘I hate to think of Serbia being ruled by communists,’ he said.

‘It’s not just Serbia. It’s the whole of Yugoslavia we are talking about,’ she reminded him.

‘I know, but when I think of Yugoslavia it’s Serbia that I see in my imagination.’ He looked up at her, his dark eyes moist with tears. ‘I am a Serb, first and foremost, after all.’

She shook her head at him. ‘Can’t you see, that is part of the problem? That was where Mihailovic went wrong. He could only see the future from the Serbian point of view.’

‘So why is that a problem?’ he asked.

‘Can’t you remember what it was like before the war? The Croats hated the Serbs and wanted independence, the Roman Catholics hated the Orthodox Christians, and they all hated the Muslims. The Croats went over to the German side as soon as the invasion happened. How can they be reintegrated into a united Yugoslavia? That’s why we need Tito. The only way that can happen is if we have a strong leader who treats all the different nationalities and religions alike and can command their loyalty and respect.’

‘And you believe Tito can do that?’

She reached out and took hold of his hand. ‘I hope so, for all our sakes.’

‘And Alix is with him?’

‘Yes.’

‘Do you have any news of her?’

‘Fitzroy Maclean has seen her and he says she is well. That’s all I can tell you.’

He sighed. ‘I just want this war to be over so we can be together again… whatever the final outcome is.’

Vis. September 20th, 1944

‘So,’ Tito said. ‘Maclean has left us. Now it is time for us to go, too.’

‘Back to the mainland?’ Alix asked, with a tremor of nerves in the pit of her stomach.

Tito shook his head and smiled mysteriously. ‘Oh no. Not there.’

‘Where, then?’

‘You will see. But nobody must know what I plan. Be ready to leave at sunset tomorrow. And bring a warm coat, if you have one.’

As the sun went down next day Alix joined Tito in the cave. She had packed some essentials into her rucksack and dug out her old, smelly sheepskin coat, trying to imagine where they might be headed where such a thing would be needed. She was reassured to find that Milovan Djilas was with them. She always felt safe in his company. The party was completed by the faithful Tigger, who was never far from Tito’s side.

One of the jeeps they had been lent was ready and as it grew dark they headed down the mountain road. Alix was not surprised that they were heading for the airfield, but why, she wondered, was it all so secretive. The airfield, when they arrived, was in darkness except for fitful moonlight. There were no landing lights to illuminate the runway, so it seemed no flights in or out were expected.

They climbed out of the jeep close to the main runway and Djilas said, ‘Was it wise to bring the dog? What if he barks?’

‘I’ve thought of that,’ Tito said. He reached back into the jeep and pulled out a sack. ‘I’ll put this over his head when the time comes. That will keep him quiet.’

At that instant they heard the sound of a plane approaching and out of the darkness appeared the familiar shape of a Dakota. Tito produced a torch and flashed a signal and the plane came in to make a faultless landing.

‘Now, quickly!’ Tito said. He threw the sack over Tigger’s head and picked him up and they all ran towards the plane.

Lights were coming on all round the airfield now. There were shouts and the clatter of boots as a guard turned out, but the hatch in the plane was open and a shadowy figure leaned out to take Tigger and help Tito in.

‘ Dobro pozhalovat, tovarishch! ’

Alix had picked up enough Russian listening to Tito talking to the Russian delegation to know this meant ‘Welcome, comrade.’

Another hand pulled Alix up and Djilas followed. As they fell into the uncomfortable metal seats the plane was already swinging round ready to take off. Over the roar of the engines Alix turned to Djilas.

‘Where are we going?’

‘Where do you think?’ he answered. ‘Moscow, of course.’