The Cadet Corporal (19 page)

2 Platoon was the first to move. As they marched across the Sandy Ridge track and down into the gullies near where the 4 Platoon latrine had been 1 Platoon were only lining up and 3 Platoon were still milling around in their area with Sgt Yeldham shouting angrily.

The platoon moved on a compass course. Their route took them northwards down past the rocky dyke and through the area where the dry gullies came together, then along beside the dry creek to near the Burdekin Plum Tree which had been a check point for both the day navex and the treasure hunt.

Halyday, who was walking in the middle of the section, called out to Graham as they crossed the dry creek and began climbing the slope to the cattle grid near the shed. “If we'd known we could have stayed here this morning.”

“Or at least brought our packs,” Andrews added.

All the way along members of the section had been making little jokes and none had really grumbled, despite the heat. That lifted Graham's spirits even more and he knew he was really starting to enjoy himself. There were problems however. CUO Masters halted the platoon and walked back to investigate. It transpired that several cadets were having trouble carrying their packs in the heat.

Graham took the opportunity to walk back along his section to check on each one and to get them to drink. “Anyone need a hand?” he asked.

A couple did. Lucy was visibly wilting in the heat so Graham took her pack and hung it on his front. To his surprise Halyday took Dianne's pack and Roger took Andrews'. CUO Masters came back wearing a second pack as well. “Let's move it,” he said “Here comes One Platoon and we don't want them to beat us.” He then got the line moving.

The steep little slope up to the cattle grid really tested Graham and he found he was puffing and perspiring by the time he reached it. However not for anything would Graham have slowed down or admitted he was having difficulties as he could see Capt Conkey and CSM Cleland were standing there. 1 Platoon was now visible only a hundred paces back.

As the platoon stepped carefully across the steel rails of the cattle grid Capt Conkey congratulated CUO Masters on how well the platoon was doing. But then Graham heard Capt Conkey mutter angrily, “What the devil is Three Platoon up to! They shouldn't be walking along the road like that! Heatley will see them from miles away if they have a patrol in the area.”

Graham glanced over his shoulder and saw what Capt Conkey meant. From the grid he could see well over a kilometre back up the road all the way to Sandy Ridge and 3 Platoon were tramping down the road in clear view.

At the shed twenty metres further on CUO Masters turned left and led the platoon up a rough vehicle track. This ran up a long, open spur. The ground was studded with football sized rocks and almost bare of grass. Only a few scattered ironbarks gave any shade or sign of greenery. As Graham sweated and puffed up the slope he caught sight of their objective 300 metres away: Black Knoll.

CHAPTER 19

BLACK KNOLL

The ridge up which the platoon was trudging was not very steep but it went on and on. Close on the left was the fence line which ran up from the grid near the shed and vanished over the wide, flat crest ahead. On the right was a rock-studded re-entrant with a similar long ridge running up parallel beyond it. The actual ‘knoll', a pile of black coloured rocks and boulders, was at the top end of this second ridge. Between the flat crest ahead and the actual knoll was a gentle saddle across the head of the re-entrant.

By the time they were half way up Graham was gasping and wondering if he could make it. The sheer weight of the second pack was dragging painfully at his shoulder muscles but he did not want to give up and admit in front of the others that he was too weak to carry it. He glanced back and noted that Halyday had been unable to carry his second pack. It was now being shared with Roger, who was walking beside him.

As they neared the top of the flat crest Graham saw three vehicles parked there, just over the rise. Lt Hamilton, Lt Maclaren and Lt Standish were busy unloading a Land Cruiser. A row of water jerry cans and a pile of kitbags stood beside it. Lt Maclaren directed the platoon to turn right. They headed for the main knoll.

As they trudged across the low saddle along a cattle pad Graham noted that the main knoll was about ten metres higher. The saddle was over a hundred metres wide. A second fence ran North-South over on their left. It came from behind the knoll over on their left and ran to meet the first fence at right angles beyond the parked vehicles.

The climb up past several piles of rocks to the side of the knoll was a final sharp test of Graham's grit. It took an effort of willpower but he made it, to arrive gasping on a relatively flat area at the top of the second ridge. To Graham's great relief CUO Masters told them to drop their packs and to sit. Gwen was ordered to post two sentries facing east down the second ridge. The platoon then relaxed and waited.

As they waited Lt Maclaren's Land Rover and Lt Hamilton's Landcruiser both drove back down the first ridge and away towards Sandy Ridge. Graham could see where Sandy Ridge was but the trees on its slope hid the ground. 1 Platoon came puffing and sweating around the pile of boulders and past 2 Platoon. They dropped their packs on the far side of the flat area along what Graham knew to be the top of a steep drop below which was the Canning River. About a kilometre away, clearly visible over the tops of the trees lining the far bank of the river, was the homestead and outbuildings of ‘Canning Park' station.

Capt Conkey, CSM Cleland and Cadet James, a signaller with a radio, came walking around from the saddle and stopped on a small flat area right below the main boulders. All were wearing packs which they dropped. Capt Conkey then checked his watch and looked impatiently back towards the first ridge. That prompted Graham to glance at his own watch. It was almost 1500 and he marvelled that it had taken nearly 40 minutes to walk only 2 kilometres. Because the four friends did hikes almost every month he was more used to covering a kilometre in about 12 to 15 minutes.

CSM Cleland walked over and spoke to CUO Masters who set off over to where Capt Conkey waited. CSM Cleland then walked on to 1 Platoon and collected CUO McAlistair. The two walked back to join Capt Conkey, who was now looking distinctly grumpy. The reason became obvious when 3 Platoon at last straggled into view.

“CUO Mitrovitch, leave Sgt Yeldham to look after your platoon and come here for orders,” Capt Conkey called.

CUO Mitrovitch looked embarrassed and stepped out of line, pointing to the fence line along the western edge of the flat. As she made her way up to join Capt Conkey and the others, Graham saw Lt Maclaren's Land Rover come back up the first ridge. Capt Conkey seated the CUOs and CSM facing him and began giving Verbal Orders. As he did Lt Maclaren, Lt McEwen, Lt Standish, Staff Sgt Bates and the three ‘sick' cadets arrived to join them.

Halyday became restless “What are we doing now?” he asked.

“Waiting for orders,” Graham replied. “So don't complain. Just get all the rest you can because we could be awake most of the night. Don't forget we are going out on patrol.” As he said that Graham's gaze travelled down the slope to where the shed was just visible, then up to the tree-covered crest of Sandy Ridge. A tingle of excitement ran through him and he was amazed at how his imagination could suddenly invest Sandy Ridge with an aura of the unknown and of hostility. But just being told that it was now ‘enemy territory' for the exercise had that effect.

This was reinforced when Cadet James called to Capt Conkey that the Hutchie Men had sighted about sixty cadets with yellow shoulder flashes moving up onto Sandy Ridge from the highway. ‘That will be Heatley,' Graham thought. He found he was really looking forward to the inter-unit exercise. It was, he knew, to be followed by a second exercise in a couple of days time but the details had not been explained yet.

Graham's attention then wandered back to Kirsty, who had begun talking to him and was quickly recovering from the march. She joked and smiled and he knew she was teasing and flirting. ‘She must still like me,' he decided. That both boosted his ego and aroused his interest, but also raised his concerns about having enough self-control not to let things get out of hand. At that moment he was more interested in the ‘military' situation. However he talked to her while they waited. While they chatted the others lay back and tried to sleep, using their packs as pillows.

There was a stir as the Company Orders Group broke up. Graham expected CUO Masters to called the platoon together but instead he made sure that each section had someone awake and watching ‘out', then called the Platoon ‘O' Group together: Sgt Grenfell and the three section commanders. For the next twenty minutes CUO Masters explained the orders for a company defence. To Graham this was really interesting and he wished that he was actually a real soldier on active service somewhere. In his imagination the unit really was preparing to dig in to make a desperate defence of the hill.

At the end of the orders CUO Masters led the four NCOs around and pointed out exactly where he wanted each section to be, and where the flanking sections were to be placed. He also indicated where each section was to have its night sentry post. Graham noted that his section was astride the ridge leading down towards the causeway. 1 Platoon was to be on his left and 5 Section on his right. ‘It should be easy enough to defend,' he thought, staring hard at the almost bare slope. There was almost no cover for hundreds of metres, just a few clumps of rocks and an occasional tree or bush.

When CUO Masters was finished showing them where to put their troops the three corporals went back to their sections to pass on the orders. Before he could do this Graham had to wake up Pat and Roger, both of whom had slipped off to sleep. Then he had to overcome the negative scepticism of Andrews, who just thought the exercise story was a load of bunk.

“It's just those Townsville jerks,” he sneered.

“Then let's do this properly so they can't tease us for not being good enough!” Graham snapped back. He had vivid memories of seeing patrols from Heatley during the annual camp at Speed Creek the previous year.“They are good and we don't want to look like a mob of useless bloody drongos.”

The orders complete, Graham led the cadets to their allotted area and placed them in position. This led to a difficult decision. His first idea was to put them in pairs with himself and Roger at the rear in the proper ‘depth' position for the section commander. But the uneven number of girls then led to him wondering who to put Kirsty with. For a short while he wrestled with the strong temptation of placing Roger with Pat and having Kirsty with him. However prudence decided him to group the three girls together in the centre. His decision making was assisted by knowing that CUO Masters and Sgt Grenfell would be only twenty paces behind him, and that both Capt Conkey and CSM Cleland could clearly see him from their position. That put Pat and Roger on the left and Halyday and Andrews on the right. That meant he would be on his own at the rear.

Having placed the cadets in position Graham went to where 1 Platoon were also deploying on his left. Their right hand section was 1 Section and Graham was not amused to find that Erika Goltz and Magda were the two cadets on his immediate left flank. 1 Section extended across the remainder of the ridge to the top of the bluffs. From there 2 Section and 3 Section were lined out facing north. While he was there Graham had a look at the steep slope and at the dry river bed below. It was about 50 metres down to a tangle of rubber vines and trees. The slope was not exactly a line of cliffs but was still bluffs that were dangerously steep in places so 1 Platoon was placed well back and had a rope tied across their front for safety. 1 Platoon's left flank met up with 3 Platoon.

3 Platoon was lined along the fence facing west. In front of them was a deep re-entrant that was to also to be the latrine area. The left flank of 3 Platoon was on the rocks of the knoll and linked up with 2 Platoon's right (Stephen's section).

Having spoken to Cpl Brown Graham walked back to the other end of his section. Here Gwen had positioned LCpl Bert Lacey and Cadet Dan Russel so Graham was content that at least that flank was secure. He waved to Barbara and gave her a grin as he spoke to Dan and Bert.

Satisfied with the arrangements, Graham walked back to his pack and sat on it. For the next fifteen minutes he prepared a sentry roster, allowing for the time they would be out on patrol. He did this by drawing a time line and marking the hours, then writing in the names alternately on either side to give a staggered 2 hour roster.

While he was doing this Halyday walked over to him. “Hey Corp, where do we put up our hutchies?” he asked

It took a moment for Graham to realize that Halyday did not understand. “We don't,” he replied. “We are going to just bivouac here in our defence positions.”

Halyday looked appalled. “But... but but what if it rains?”

Graham gave a wry grin and pointed at the clear blue sky. “It won't rain.”

Looking quite unhappy Halyday went back to pass this news on to Andrews. As they did Dianne and Lucy came over and wanted to know where they could go to the toilet. That annoyed Graham. “I just told you in the orders. Over in the gully past Three Platoon. And don't get lost, and don't leave anything unburied. Be back in ten minutes.”

Kirsty hurried to join them and the three girls walked off out of sight. Graham looked to check that Roger and Pat were both still alert then went on with his writing. The next interruption was from Cadet James. “All corporals up to company HQ for orders,” he said.

The CUOs were wanted as well. Graham joined the other corporals and Capt Conkey told them to seat themselves in a semi-circle. He then checked that all had a map photocopy before giving them a set of patrol orders for the night. As the details were revealed Graham felt his excitement rise, along with apprehension. ‘This will be a bit of a challenge,' he thought. The patrol was only to the bottom of the hill to provide local security but Graham was still looking forward to it.

As Capt Conkey explained, “If this was a real operation we would not be swapping patrols over every two hours. One patrol would go out and stay out and they would be supported by mortars and so on.” He then went on to explain that what he did not want was for the enemy to follow a patrol back in. That led to some detail instructions on what to do if the enemy tried to do that. “If you have a real problem then call us on the radio,” Capt Conkey said. “But remember the enemy can monitor everything you say on the CB radios.”

All of the section commanders and platoon commanders had the small hand-held radios and so did all of the officers but as Graham knew they were only civilian ‘Citizen Band' sets so had no security or dedicated frequencies. The few army radios available for patrols and platoons were away with the raiding parties over near the airfield.

Capt Conkey went on, “In any case I want you to keep radio silence except for medical emergencies or when an enemy patrol is likely to catch the company by surprise.”

The corporals were told that each patrol was only to be four strong so Graham had to choose who to leave behind. In the end he decided to make a fair split. He decided to take Kirsty, Pat and Halyday.

The next twenty minutes were taken up by giving the patrol orders to those of the section who had been selected to go. The others sat and faced their ‘front'. Giving the orders really made Graham feel important and he felt his confidence rising. Next he briefed the whole section again on their field routine. While he was doing that Andrews asked why they didn't hide.

“We stick out like country dunnies here,” he said. “Anyone down along the road or river must be able to see us. This is stupid.”

“No it isn't,” Graham retorted, blushing hotly and feeling the need to justify Capt Conkey's plan. “If we were really defending this hill we would have moved here in the dark last night and dug weapon pits and camouflaged them. As it is the enemy are going to find it very hard to sneak up on us, even at night.”

Andrews accepted that but shook his head with dismay at the idea of digging trenches in the rocky soil. Graham remembered something Capt Conkey had said once and repeated it. “If you don't like this then don't ever join the army!”

By then it was 1700 hrs. Sgt Grenfell came along and told them to get back into their allotted positions. “I need a work party,” he added. It was for rations and water so Graham looked at Roger who nodded and told Kirsty, Lucy, Pat and Andrews to come with him. They moved off in a grumbling line behind Sgt Grenfell. Graham told Halyday to act as sentry while he amended his sentry roster and made a copy. This he taped to a rock at the tree where the night sentry post was to be.

The work party returned fifteen minutes later with a jerry can of water and eight one man Combat Ration Packs, plus hexamine stoves and hexamine tablets. These were distributed and Sgt Grenfell came along again and told them to eat by 1800 to be ready for ‘Stand-to'.