Italian Colony of Libya, 1942
81 Miles from Tobruk
Feldwebel Erich 'Der Hauptmann' Oster
14th Panzer Division

German soldiers attached to the Afrika Korps under Panzergeneral Rommel; along with Vichy French and Italian colonial troops have successfully pushed British forces out of the territory gained in the initial success of Operation Compass. As of now, a column of Panzer tanka and trucks were making their way down a dirt road towards the formidable fortress of Tobruk. In temporary command of the armoured group was Feldwebel Erich Oster; known to his subordinate troops as 'Der Hauptmann'.

Removing his goggles, exposing his eyes to the arid dust of the North African desert. Erich Oster surveyed the empty landscape of Libya, miles of rock and sand in all directions. Oster envied the troops still in the European mainland, especially those in his home city of Königsberg. Meanwhile, fighter planes from Luftwaffe battle groups zipped overhead to pursue, survey and harass the retreating allied troops. The appearance of German planes gave the troops riding on the sides of his Panzer III a boost of morale, cheering as the BF 109s disappeared into the horizon ahead.

German Soldier: "Gib der Britischen Hölle!" (Give the British hell!)

One shouted, raising his fist in the air. Followed by cheering from his fellow soldiers.

Erich Oster on the other hand stayed silent, the might of the Deutsches Luftwaffe was surely a sight to behold. However it wasn't enough to provide some escapism of their current situation. Mussolini's fronts in North and East Africa respectively have served as an inconvenience which Axis manpower had to be diverted to. Some of Germany's best troops and armoured formations were currently in Africa while they were needed elsewhere, especially against the Bolsheviks in the East. What use was Libya to Germany!/ interests anyways? A couple acres of sand? A stepping stone for the 'great' Il Duce to call himself a mighty conqueror?

There was no other way of interpreting it, North and East Africa was a waste of time, materials and valuable German men. A situation brought on by a man who stands atop countries like Albania, Ethiopia, not to mention Greece; and calls himself the modern Julius Caesar.

Oster: "Äthiopien, Libyen, hmpf... Verdammt wüsten." (Ethiopia, Libya, hmpf... Damned deserts.)

Oster's column came to a stop when he sighted a few figures crowding around a wrecked vehicle. One of notably British origin.

Oster: "Alle panzeren halt!"

He called into his headset, the tank column then ceases it's movement. The trucks following behind did not have a headset and almost collided with the last tank, luckily they were able to brake in time. Oster then immediately climbed and hopped out of the hatch, his boots making contact with the dry, gravelly land. He approached the two figures who both saluted him. An Italian and a Vichy French soldier.

Vichy Soldier: "Bonjour et Heil Herr Kommandant. Ich sehe... dieses Auto. Et... uh."

The French soldier struggled to communicate in German. Fortunately Der Hauptmann could speak Italian, so he just eased the quite nervous Vichy soldier and turned his attention to his partner in arms.

Italian Soldier: "Abbiamo visto questo relitto durante il nostro viaggio verso Tobruk. Potrebbe esserci intelligenza."
(We saw this wreck on our way to Tobruk. There may be intelligence.)

Erich nodded, ordering some of the German soldiers riding on his tank to dismount and search the wreck. Some kept an eye out for British raids. For a couple of minutes, they searched through the rubble. Turning over mangled pieces of metal and rubber.

German Soldier: "Hauptmann, ich sehe etwas."
(Hauptmann, I see something.)

One of his soldiers informed, Erich headed over to him. He was crouching and pointing under a heavy looking panel of metal. The officer; alongside the Italian and Vichy soldiers helped him lift the plating up, which allowed Erich to reach under the panel and grab the item of interest.

German Soldier: "Was ist das? Ein buch?" (What is that? A book?)

The Axis soldiers crowded around Der Hauptmann as he opened the book. Inside was an assortment of text, at seemingly random arrangements. The Italian soldier realized it first.

Italian Soldier: "Non è solo un libro... È un libro di codici!" (It's not just a book... It's a codebook!)

Vichy Soldier: "Qu'a t'il dit?" (What did he say?)

The french soldier asked, struggling to interpret the Italian's speaking.

Oster: "Ein britisches codebuch... Zehr gut, Albert!" (A British codebook... Very good, Albert!)

He closed it, keeping it by his side as he quickly headed back into his tank. He was followed closely by his soldiers.

Oster: "Alle Panzer gehen weiter nach Tobruk, ich muss zurück nach Paris." (All tanks will continue to go to Tobruk. I have to go back to Paris.)

He ordered to the second tank behind his.

Tank Commander: "Jawhol, Herr Hauptmann."

Oster clambered back into his Panzer III. The tank did a U-Turn off of the main road to allow the rest of the convoy to continue their journey. The soldiers that were previously on Oster's tank, along with their new tag-alongs had to squeeze into what little space was available on the tanks and trucks. Lest they find themselves having to walk almost a hundred kilometres of arid desert. Once the convoy was further away, Oster's Panzer III then began to make it's way back to the nearest Axis encampment and on the next transport back to Sicily.

5 Hours Later
Tobruk, British Occupied East Libya

Trucks were quickly transporting weapons and material to the front, where the distant sound of artillery could be heard. Meanwhile, Royal Engineers were constructing entrenched positions for soldiers and anti-aircraft guns to hold back the Luftwaffe swarm overhead.

Two British officers hurriedly entered a tent, in it was the commanding General of the North African Front. Sir Claude 'The Auk' Auchinleck.

Officer #1: "General Auchinleck, How are you today sir?"

The both of them salute, The Auk looks up from his map at the pair of soldier. He then removes his glasses.

Auchinleck: "Good Afternoon, gentlemen. Whatever's the rush, it's not like Rommel and his Eye-Tie friends are inching closer and closer by the day. What in God's name is more important than the defense of Egypt and the Suez?"

Officer #2: "It's Lieutenant Killian, he and his platoon were ambushed while they were scouting for Jerry. Likely Italian and Vichy French forces, some have returned. They say they saw the Lieutenant himself annihilated by dive bombers."

He sounded urgent, the Auk didn't seem all too concerned about the loss of the platoon. Nevertheless he would mourn for them when the proper time came.

Auchinleck: "That's a shame... We could've used him and his men. But, there are bigger matters to attend to."

Officer #1: "General, the defense may not be worth much. We have intercepted a transmission via the Jerry's radio frequency, we believe that they've retrieved a certain item of interest."

Auchinleck: "What?... What kind of 'item'? Will you please elaborate?"

The General pressed for answers, one of the officers nudged the other. The second man nodded and stepped forward to deliver the explanation while The Auk sat down on a nearby chair.

Officer #2: "Lieutenant Killian had a knack of bringing along a book containing codes. He was a man who liked to spend his spare time memorizing it back to back, in his words 'maintain the highest combat effectiveness'. He believed that information was just as if not more important than tactics."

Officer #1: "That must be why he was done in by Vichy French and Italian forces."

Auchinleck: "So you're saying... that blasted idiot brought along a codebook on a recon mission and now it's in Jerry's hands!?"

General Auchinleck slammed his palm on the table, pencils and analytic tools shook in fear. The two officers just allowed the General to vent, until one of them then spoke up.

Officer #1: "As of now it's in the hands of one Erich Oster, his troops call him 'Der Hauptmann'. If it's taken to Berlin, or even German-occupied Paris the results could be disastrous... They could find out that we've broken Enigma, they could use it to bypass defences, Germany would gain a substantial advantage over us.

Auchinleck nodded a little, clearly understanding what was at stake. A few seconds passed as he contemplated what to do, until he decided.

Auchinleck: "I will have to take this to London, only they can authorize such an extraction..."