Not one of the men waiting in the darkness of that tunnel was unafraid. Each felt the fluttering in the stomach, the trembling of the hands that meant stark fear had taken over.

Were these a pack of cowards, then?

No. Every man present was a hero, brave and full of fight. Picked men – British Commandos and the cream of the French Resistance, the Maquis.

But they were waiting for a train with a deadly cargo, and each man knew that in a few seconds he might have an appointment with death!