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No.4355
£1.45
Captain James Ramsey
Operation
HAMMER
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Operation
HAMMER HE VICTORY AT EL ALAMEIN HAD PROVED A TURNING POINT IN THE NORTH AFRICAN CAMPAIGN. BY THE SPRING OF 1943, BRITISH FORCES WERE ADVANCING STEADILY WESTWARDS. NONETHELESS, FOR THE SENTRIES AT BAREG HAMA, A GERMAN FUEL DUMP LYING DEEP BEHIND THE LINES IN THE TUNISIAN DESERTS, LIFE WENT ON AS NORMAL.
T
ALL CLEAR, OTTO.
JA, AS USUAL. DIDN’T I TELL YOU THIS WOULD BE AN EASY POSTING, HANS?
STORY FERG HANDLEY ART KEITH PAGE COVER IAN KENNEDY
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4 UNFORTUNATELY FOR THE GERMANS, THOUGH, DANGER WAS LURKING NEARBY – IN THE SHAPE OF RAMSEY’S RAIDERS, A BATTLE-HARDENED JEEP TEAM FROM THE BRITISH ARMY’S SPECIAL RAIDING FORCE.
IT LOOKS PRETTY STRAIGHTFORWARD TO ME, BOSS. NOTHING WE CAN’T HANDLE.
AYE, BUT YOU KNOW THE RULES. WHERE JERRY’S INVOLVED, DON’T TAKE ANYTHING FOR GRANTED.
WITH THE OBJECTIVE LOOKED OVER, THE S.R.F. MEN RETURNED TO THEIR JEEPS, WHICH LAY AT THE FAR SIDE OF THE RIDGE. THE TEAM LEADER, CAPTAIN JIMMY RAMSEY, GRABBED SOME WATER AND SPOKE WITH HIS WELSH NUMBER TWO, LIEUTENANT GARETH “LUCKY” EVANS.
WE’LL GO IN TWO HOURS AFTER DARK, LUCKY. THAT SHOULD GIVE US PLENTY OF TIME FOR THE GETAWAY.
SOUNDS ABOUT RIGHT TO ME, BOSS.
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5 AFTER WOLFING DOWN SOME RATIONS, THE TWO DRIVERS – PRIVATE BERNARD “MONTY” MONTEITH AND HIS AUSTRALIAN COUNTERPART, CORPORAL BILL “OZ” ORWELL – GRABBED THEIR TOOLS AND BEGAN THEIR ROUTINE VEHICLE CHECKS.
I SAY, OLD, CHAP, HAVE YOU GOT A HALF-INCH SPANNER HANDY? THIS NUT’S COME LOOSE.
STREWTH, MONTY. TRY TIDYING YOUR KIT UP, THEN YOU’LL ACTUALLY BE ABLE TO FIND THINGS!
THE SQUABBLING WAS NOTHING NEW AND WAS IGNORED BY SERGEANT DEREK JARVIS AS HE PREPARED FOR THE RAID. JARV, A DEMOLITIONS EXPERT, WAS JIMMY’S BEST FRIEND, AND THE TWO SCOTSMEN WERE THE BACKBONE OF THE TEAM.
I’M GIVING THEM A FIVE-MINUTE DELAY, BOSS. THAT OUGHT TO BE PLENTY OF TIME FOR THE GETAWAY.
AYE, SOUNDS FINE, JARV.
MEANWHILE, LANCE CORPORAL LIAM “FITZ” FITZPATRICK, THE RAIDERS’ SNIPER, CAREFULLY ROLLED HIS RIFLE UP IN SOME PROTECTIVE OILSKIN. THERE WOULD BE LITTLE USE FOR IT IN CLOSE QUARTERS FIGHTING, FOR WHICH THE STEN GUN WAS THE WEAPON OF CHOICE.
I CLEANED THIS THING YESTERDAY, AND IT’S FULL OF SAND AGAIN, BEGORRA.
WHAT, IN THE DESERT? WONDERS WILL NEVER CEASE!
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6 SIX HOURS LATER THE RAIDERS EMERGED AWAY FROM THEIR LYING-UP POSITION. THE DRIVERS KEPT THEIR SPEED DOWN TO THIRTY MILES AN HOUR FOR THE APPROACH, TO PREVENT THE GERMANS FROM GETTING SUSPICIOUS.
ALL SET THEN, JARV?
AYE, BOSS. ALL LOCKED AND LOADED, AS THE YANKS SAY.
AS PLANNED, THE SENTRIES THOUGHT THE VEHICLES WERE A COUPLE OF THEIR OWN KUBELWAGENS COMING IN TO REFUEL. AS THE VEHICLES DREW CLOSER THEY FINALLY BECAME SUSPICIOUS.
FELDWEBEL, THERE’S SOMETHING WRONG HERE.
JA, YOU’RE RIGHT, BAUER. SOUND THE ALARM!
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HAMMER Ramsey’s Raiders are back!
In this never-seen-before, declassified adventure, Captain Jimmy Ramsey and his Special Forces unit face one of their toughest challenges yet when the team are split up after a dangerous mission. Things look very grim indeed as Jimmy and Co. search the hostile North African plains for their missing comrades.
9 770262 262188
01
www.commandocomics.com
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