Toehold in Europe (Combined Operations Book 5)

by Griff Hosker

  Chapter 11

  We had to head east before the road turned south to the coast. We would be within a mile of Ragusa. The truck was not the fastest in the world. The Italians were not noted for their engineering. We only had half a mile to go before the turn. Suddenly there was a squeal of brakes and I heard Gordy shout, "Shit!"

  I took my Colt and moved to the back of the truck. I dropped to the side. I saw that there was an improvised road block and there were three Italians. They had two logs across the road and they had a motor cycle and side car combination. They spat Italian out at Gordy. He was not the best linguist in the world. Had it been me I would have shouted back at him in German. Gordy just reacted. He fired his silenced Colt at the speaker. I ran down the side of the truck and sent five bullets at the other two. They both fell.

  "Out of the back, four men. We need a road block moving."

  "Sorry sir!"

  "My fault Gordy. You best get in the back with Davis."

  "Sir?"

  "What if we meet more soldiers?"

  He nodded, "You are right sir!"

  He jumped from the cab and Sergeant Poulson and Bill Hay brought Crowe and Smith to move the barrier. As they passed me I said, "Tell Scouse to send the signal. This may get a bit dicey!"

  "Sir."

  The bang on the side told me that they were aboard. "Right Fred, drive!"

  "Should I use headlights, sir?"

  "I don't think it makes any difference. They will soon find those bodies. Go on!"

  The dimmed headlights did make a slight difference. The road we were now on was very narrow and very rough. The lights showed us the direction and the worst of the pot holes. Every jolt would be agony for Davis even with the pills Doc had given him. The condition of the road gave me hope for it meant it was little used. I took out the map and used the torch to work out where we were. I saw that there were no towns or settlements until we reached Donnafugata. It was an old place. It had an old, derelict castle but I guessed that there would not be many people in the place. We had not lost much time disposing of the bodies but it was now one thirty. We had eight miles of empty road and I hoped that we would make better time. The road, however, was like an English cart track. We were doing barely ten miles an hour. By two thirty we passed the eerie castle and then the truck decided to play up. We had just passed the castle when the lights went out and the engine stopped.

  I looked at Emerson, "Can you fix it or shall we take to our legs?" I saw the panic on his face and I smiled. "Come on Fred, give me the truth. If you can't fix it we can walk. By my reckoning we have five miles to go. That is just two hours. It is not a disaster."

  His face set into a determined grimace. "I'll get it going, sir!"

  He went to the front and I went to the back. "Well Scouse?"

  "The 'Lady' is on station sir."

  "Fred is trying to get her going but if he can't then we will have to walk. Doc, rig up a stretcher. It is only five miles to the sea from here!"

  I hurried back to Emerson. He had the torch in the engine. Being seen now did not matter. I looked at my watch. It was ten to three. Soon the hillside would light up when the demolition charges went off and the ants would be disturbed. I knew there was no point in hurrying Emerson. He was working as fast as he could.

  After what seemed an age he said, "Sir, grab the starting handle from under the seat and turn her over."

  He ran to the cab as I took the handle and began to turn the engine. The first two turns yielded nothing. Then, on the third there was a cough. Fred shouted, "One more time sir!"

  I gave it all and the engine fired. It struggled and then caught.

  "Get aboard sir."

  I jumped in the cab and he set off slowly. "It is the alternator sir. We can't use the lights. They are draining the battery. I will have to drive at walking pace."

  I used the torch to look at my watch. It was three o'clock. We would make the beach in an hour. Suddenly I heard the loud crack of an explosion from behind us. I looked in the mirror and saw a flash high above us. Then there was a second. I heard a rumble and felt the ground move. The demolition charges had worked but the enemy would know where we were! A heartbeat later the other two explosions sounded and I really felt the earth move as rocks, stones and earth slid down the mountain.

  I turned to Emerson, "I know you are doing your best but every second counts."

  "I know, sir and it is getting marginally lighter but you don't want me to turn this over, do you?"

  "No Fred. Just keep on."

  I took my silenced Colt out and wound down the window. I made sure I had a spare magazine in my top pocket.

  Suddenly we saw buildings and homes. We saw people. There were Arabs in bisht as well as Italians. This was a cosmopolitan island. The day's work was beginning. We were an Italian lorry and they were not surprised to see us. Then I heard a sharp crack from the north followed by another three or four. They had tripped our booby traps. They were less than fourteen miles behind us. I had to map read now. There were more roads and some of them were dead ends.

  "Fred! Take a right!"

  The wheels squealed, despite our slow speed as we left the main road at the quiet farmhouse. We were on a narrow track. It was not even a road but I could see that it led to the sea. I shouted, "Scouse, get on the radio. We are heading for the sea. Tell them to watch out for us!"

  Perhaps it was the noise of our engine or maybe our luck running out but when we could almost smell the sea we passed a guard house. Three Italian soldiers stepped out when they heard the engine and saw us. One of them walked in front of the truck and held up his hand. Fred was tired and he did not brake in time. He hit the Italian who fell to the ground. One of the other two raised his gun, aimed it at Fred and cocked it. I fired. He fell and then I fired at the second and he, too, fell.

  "Go! Go!"

  The two shouts and the dying shout from the man Fred had run over had roused the others in the guard room. A fusillade of shots rattled behind us. Then I heard the scything sound of three Tommy guns and all shooting stopped.

  "Sorry sir, he just stepped out and the brakes are rubbish on this truck!"

  "Don't worry Emerson we are almost there now."

  Ahead I could see that the houses ended and that meant the coast was close. I was getting ready to tell the others when the road took us left, north and away from the sea.

  "Stop!"

  I jumped out and looked at my map. There was five hundred yards of rough ground between us and the sea. We would have to walk. "Right Emerson. Leave the truck we are done with it." I ran down the side banging on it. "Right lads. We have to walk."

  As I reached the back I saw, in the distance, the lights of vehicles. Someone in the guard house had sent for help. Sergeant Poulson saw them as he jumped down, "That's buggered it, sir!"

  "Corporal Hewitt, take three men and carry Davis to the shore. Scouse, run on ahead and signal 'Lady Luck'. If you can't see her then use the radio. They know we are here now."

  I was left with five men. "Gordy, Shepherd, booby trap this truck." I handed them a half dozen grenades and cords. "You others come with me." We ran across the rough ground to the only cover I could see. Sixty feet from the road it was a large piece of rock covered with lichen and grass. It was only three feet high but it was six feet long. We could use it for shelter. I turned to Private Crowe. "Right Alan, you have lugged that grenade launcher all over this island. Now you get a chance to use it."

  "Sir!"

  I saw that the trucks were closer now. "Gordy! Move it!"

  He raised his hand and a moment later he and Ken Shepherd ran to join us. They threw themselves behind the rock. "We have to buy those lads ten minutes at least. It won't be easy carrying a wounded man over this stuff and Scouse has to get the ship close in." They nodded. "Crowe, when I give the word I want you to lob all the grenades you can at the enemy. They won't know where they are coming from. Then I will give the order for the rest of you. Empty your magazines and
then run when I give the order. Clear?"

  "Yes sir!"

  The vehicles all stopped when they saw the stationary truck. There were two trucks, one German and one Italian. I saw two Italians, with guns drawn, approach the abandoned truck. As one pulled on the handle of the cab the grenade went off and the two of them were thrown into the air. The German officer shouted orders and they machine gunned the truck. It triggered another booby trap.

  The officer took out his binoculars and scanned the land behind us. It was getting light. It was the thin light of early dawn. He must have see something for he pointed and shouted orders. The two groups began to move towards us. "Now Crowe!" He was ready and the first grenade sailed high. He loaded a second and traversed it to the right. It popped up into the air. He loaded a third as the first grenade exploded. He had sent the fourth one when the mechanism on the grenade launcher broke. They were prone to that. The four grenades sent shrapnel and smoke across our front. They made the enemy take to the ground.

  "Right chaps. Time for some fire power." As we raised our heads we saw that some of the enemy were still advancing but there were many writhing on the ground. "Fire!" Three of the men had Tommy guns while the rest of us had Colts. It took four of the enemy to fall before they fired back. It was a withering wall of fire which we threw up. After the Thompsons were empty I deemed we had bought enough time.

  "Back to the boat." I holstered my empty Colt and took out two Mills bombs. I threw them in quick succession as far as I could and then followed my men. I drew my Luger as I ran. The two sharp cracks behind me were accompanied by flying shrapnel. Something smacked me in the back. I had been hit by my own grenade. I ran as fast as I could; weaving from side to side.

  It was much lighter now and I saw the others were close to the shore but there was no sign of the 'Lady Luck'. Scouse had said she was on station. "Spread out and weave! We are a tight target for them!"

  I stopped and turned. I knelt to make a small target and aimed the Luger. The nearest Germans were just fifty yards away. They were firing as they ran. That was a mistake! Their bullets flew over us. With my arm resting on my knee I squeezed off four shots at the leading Germans. I hit two and the other two threw themselves to the ground. I squeezed off another four rounds and hit one of them as he raised his rifle to fire. I turned and ran. The others were two hundred yards ahead of me now and had almost caught up with the Corporal and his patient. Further ahead I saw Scouse with the radio. Like Crowe with the grenade launcher he had carried the radio since we had landed. Now it might be our lifesaver.

  I glanced over my shoulder. The enemy had learned their lesson and were approaching in a solid line. They were running but whoever commanded them had stopped the heroes from running too fast. When I looked back I saw that the others had reached the sea and were forming a defensive circle around the injured Davis. I ran directly to Scouse, "Well?"

  "They are just north of us, sir. They had a bit of engine trouble and drifted. They are coming…"

  "I know Scouse but so are the Germans!" I turned. "There is nowhere left to run. Use the sand and lie down. Make small targets of yourselves." I lay down and pushed a wall of sand before me. Sand could slow down a bullet. Enough sand could stop one. I put a fresh clip in my Luger. I squeezed off four shots at the advancing Germans. They were sixty yards from us. I saw one clutch his arm as I winged him. Gordy's Tommy gun tore into one of them and they went to ground. I saw three Germans bringing a heavy machine gun. "Get those machine gunners!"

  Everyone fired at the three of them. Although two were hit another two ran to help them to set it up. The rifle bullets were kicking up sand close to our position. If they used the heavy machine gun then we were dead men. I cursed the damaged grenade launcher. It would have eliminated the machine gun with just two grenades.

  The Germans had gathered their forces and were protecting the machine gun. I heard a cry from my left as Smith was hit. As Doc ran to him, he, too, was hit. I emptied the Luger at the machine gun. I managed to wing the gunner and delay the start of the slaughter. I saw a replacement gunner cock the gun and then the whole crew disappeared as the Oerlikon from the E-Boat began to fire. I turned and saw the 'Lady Luck' just twenty yards out.

  "Get on board, The wounded first!" Every gun on the E-Boat was dealing out death. The Germans and the Italians who had finally caught up with their Teutonic allies were taking whatever cover they could find. I waited until the three wounded men were hauled aboard and then I led back the rest of my men. I was the last to clamber back on board and Lieutenant Jorgenson helped to pull me up. Alan said, "Sorry, Tom! Damned engines and damned engineer!"

  As I rolled on to the deck I looked up and saw three black crosses in the distance. "Alan! Fighters!"

  He turned and ran to the bridge. "Hold on! Coxswain, full power!"

  I barely managed to hold on as we turned and headed south like a greyhound released from its trap. When an E-Boat moved at full speed it was a frightening sight. I managed to stand and I made my way to the bridge. I braced myself against the metal side and reloaded my Colt.

  I saw that the three aeroplanes were the old 109. They just had machine guns. The FW190 had cannon! We had had some luck at the very least. The gunners on the 'Lady Luck' now had their eye in. As the first of the fighters roared in they were met by a furious fusillade. It takes a brave man to fly into such a storm and an even braver one to be able to return accurate fire. The bullets from the first aeroplane went over our heads. Petty Officer Leslie was throwing the E-Boat from side to side. There appeared to be no pattern to it but his gunners knew his rhythm. They had practised this in the sea north of our cove. The second and third Messerschmitts actually struck the boat but they struck nothing vital and, as they banked to come around a second time I saw that one of them was trailing smoke.

  The German fighters climbed to attack us beam on where Petty Officer Leslie's manoeuvres would not have the same effect. Alan shouted, "When they attack we are going to turn and face them. I want every gun to open fire at the same time."

  I was aware that every second took us closer to Malta and safety. We just had to buy a little more time. The three fighters were coming in wing tip to wing tip. They would have a wide platform which they thought would blow us out of the water. Their attack negated our speed.

  Alan shouted, "Now Bill!" As Bill spun the wheel and we heeled over the three Germans fired. Alan shouted, "Fire!"

  The bullets from two of the German fighters blasted the empty sea while the bullets from the third tore through the Oerlikon crew and into the steel of the bridge. I emptied my Luger blindly by holding it over the bridge guard. As the fighter zoomed overhead I saw that it was hit. It did not rise, like the other two, but plunged into the sea some hundred yards astern of us. The sheer weight of bullets had done for the aeroplane and pilot.

  "Resume course, Coxswain!"

  As we turned a look out shouted, "Hurricanes!"

  Someone had seen the Germans on radar and scrambled the fighters. The last two Messerschmitts turned tail with the three Hurricanes in hot pursuit.

  "Doc!" We heard the shouts from the forward area. I peered over the bridge and saw that three men had been hit. Two were torn in two but the third might live. With Hewitt wounded that left SBA Johnson. I holstered my Luger and ran to the Oerlikon. It was Taff Jones who was lying wounded. He had been hit in the leg and he was unconscious. I took a piece of parachute cord from my battledress and tied it above the wound to staunch the bleeding. I checked him over to see if he had any other wounds. He had a gash to his head. I took off my Bergen and found my medical kit. As I did so I saw that one of the gunners had no head. His torso lay before me. I shook my head and found the medical kit. I had just applied a piece of gauze to the Welshman's head when the SBA joined me.

  "Thanks sir. I was busy with your lads. They are a mess."

  I had almost forgotten them. "They will be alright won't they?"

  "Smith and Doc will be out of action for a few weeks but
Davis has an infection in his broken ankle. He might die or lose his leg. We need to get him back as soon as we can."

  I stood and went to Alan. "Better set a course for Valetta. We need a hospital."

  "Righto. Full speed Petty Officer. Wacker, get on the radio. Tell Valetta we need ambulances at the harbour. We have casualties."

  I saw our island home ahead.. We would be in Valetta in less than twenty minutes. Would Davis have twenty minutes?

  Alan lit a cheroot. "I am sorry that we were delayed. I told you it was that engineer. We have had nothing to do for weeks and he didn't keep on top of the engines. Despite the recent overhaul they need cosseting. The Chief spent every waking minute down in his little hole. The new boy likes the sun too much. I am having him transferred."

  "Are you sure? Sleep on it. You are angry and people don't make good decisions when they are angry."

  He pointed to the Oerlikon crew. "Damned right I am angry. If he had done his job we would have been on station and been home before they could have scrambled those fighters. Your lads wouldn't have been shot at on the beach. It is down to him! You did your job and every other man did theirs. God knows those poor sods on the Oerlikon did their duty, right to the end. That's what we do. You can't have a weak link. He goes!"

  I caught Bill Leslie's eye and he shook his head.

  Wacker's voice came up from below, "Ambulances are waiting at the harbour sir. Head for berth ten, sir."

  Anticipating the order the Coxswain said, "Got it sir."

  I went below decks. Doc was awake but pale. "Johnson says it will be weeks before you are fit again, Hewitt."

  "We'll see sir. I still haven't trained my replacement."

  The SBA said, "Mr Harsker did a fair job, He saved Taff's leg."

  "There you are Doc." I looked over at Smith. He was out for the count. "How is Jimmy?"

  "He copped one in the leg, sir. I have cleaned it up and he will live but I am not certain what damage was done inside."