by Griff Hosker
"Gordy, take your section on the other side of the road; to the east. Bill you go to the other side of the road, to the west. We will cover this section. Have grenades ready,"
"Sir!"
Suddenly there was an explosion to the west of us. I saw Bill's face light up. That was his bomb. The road to the west was now, probably, cut. "Bill you better stay on this side, go to the east."
He cheerfully shouted, "Yes sir!"
The explosions from the north were louder. There were six of them. We must have set the timers close to each other for there was a ripple effect. The sky lit up."Find some cover and wait!"
I had my Thompson ready. We needed no subtlety now. We would need maximum firepower. Eerily there was silence for five minutes or so and then I heard, in the distance, the sound of trucks and, I detected, tanks. The enemy were mobilising. I settled down in the drainage ditch and took out two hand grenades. I knew the manuals said to take on liquid and to eat but I was too much on edge for that. We were alone, behind enemy lines and, any moment now, all hell could break loose. The coast was but a mile away; however, thanks to the nature of the ground we could not see the sea. I just had to hope that the landing craft were on their way in.
At three thirty we heard a couple of dull cracks to the north. Polly chuckled, "I am guessing that they found the booby traps!"
"And now they will start to look for us. You and Scouse go back up the lane and set an ambush."
"Sir. Right, Fletcher; on me!"
I was now alone. That suited me. If we had to retreat then I wanted it to be towards the twentieth division who would be coming ashore. I heard vehicles from the east. They had sent someone to investigate the sudden explosion. I cocked the Thompson. Within an hour it would be light but now it was that half light murk which suited us and not the enemy. The engine noises drew closer and I saw the two faint pinpricks of dipped headlights. I took a bead on the middle of the road and then placed a grenade within my eye line.
It was Lance Sergeant Hay and his section who opened fire first. They waited until the Italian truck was less than thirty yards away and then they let rip. Someone must have thrown a grenade for I heard a shout of, "Grenade!" I buried my face. Then there was a dull crump and I saw the truck lurch towards the drainage ditch. It was covered in flames. Bullets hurtled in our direction but we were in the ditch and we were camouflaged. They were firing blind.
A second vehicle, a half track tried to get around the burning truck on the seaward side. Gordy and his men were prepared and I heard the three of them shout, "Grenade!"
I buried my head in the ditch and the three Mills bombs went off almost together. The concussion washed over me and shrapnel filled the air. I heard screams and shouts from the east. I could hear nothing but I peered over the top and saw the half track was on its side. Gordy half stood and sprayed the survivors with his Tommy gun before ducking back down. The moans stopped and it went quiet. Then I heard the sound of a naval bombardment as the invasion fleet pounded the beaches. Hugo had assured me that it would not last long but I felt vulnerable as we were just a mile from where their shells were landing. I hoped they were accurate.
"Take shelter until they stop!"
"Too bloody right I will!"
The shelling lasted twenty minutes and then all went quiet. The silence did not last long for, behind us, to the north, I heard the distinctive sound of Thompsons. Sergeant Poulson and Private Fletcher were under fire. "Bill! I am going to see how Polly is!"
"Right sir."
I left the safety of my ditch and ran, couching up the lane. I saw the muzzle flashes from a fire fight. My two men did not return fire. They would not give away their position. I guessed they had gone to ground. I lay in the middle of the road, a hundred yards from Bill and the others. I watched for muzzle flashes. I saw four and rifles barked. I raised my Thompson and gave a burst. I was rewarded with a few cries. As I had expected fire was returned but they aimed at the muzzle flash and the bullets pinged off the road ten yards ahead of me. The sky was lighter now, despite the clouds, the wind and the rain. I discerned shadows. I knew that Poulson and Fletcher would be off to the side. I rolled on to my back, took a pin from a grenade and then threw it down the lane. I heard it land and rattle towards the Italians. I turned back on to my stomach and covered my head with my hands. The shrapnel tore through the Italians and then over my head. I grabbed my Thomson and fired the rest of the magazine before rolling to the ditch at the side of me.
I heard moaning up the lane and saw two soldiers writhing. Then Scouse stood up and fired his Colt at the two of them. My two men returned to me. "That's it sir. The last grenade and burst took them all out."
I looked at my watch. It was five a.m. and the soldiers would be coming ashore. "Let's get back to the road. It could get interesting now. Our lads will be jumpy when they land and could shoot at us!"
The intersection was quiet but I could hear, from the south, and east, the sound of gunfire and explosions. I took the opportunity to reorganize. "I want a perimeter around this intersection. We will have more men trying to reinforce those at the beach. They have two ways of doing that, from Syracuse or from the north. Gordy, reposition your men to face Syracuse and the beach. Hay, you take your men to the left of this road and face north. Sergeant Poulson we will link the two." As my men took up their new positions and used their Bergens to make a protective wall I said, "Scouse, come with me."
I led him to the burnt out half track. The Italian crew were spread around in various poses of death. "Find any grenades we can." It was a grisly task but we eventually managed to find six. "Take them up the lane and make some booby traps.
He sprinted off and I dropped down behind my Bergen. Sergeant Poulson had made a parapet of our three bags. The colour would help to camouflage our position whilst the contents would give us protection from shrapnel. Behind us I heard the sound of tanks. That was a good sign. The tanks sounded like Shermans. We had seen no anti tank defences. I began to become hopeful.
Scouse ran back and threw himself behind the barricade of Bergens. "Done sir. I trip wired the sides of the woods too. I used my last Mills bombs."
I handed him two of my last four and put the last pair close to hand. I had barely done so when I heard the sound of men running down the lane. Their boots rang off the surface. "Heads down! I hissed. Suddenly there were four or five explosions and screams. Then another couple of explosions. Some shouted a command in Italian and there was a rattle of rapid rifle fire. The branches at the top of the trees were shredded. "Don't return fire yet! Wait until you see them." Dawn had finally broken. It would be a grey day but we had visibility.
I risked a peek over the top of the Bergens. I had a clear view for about fifty yards and I saw a huddle of bodies in the road. I heard more orders shouted and then shadows began to move through the trees, avoiding the road. It was a pity we had not found more grenades. We could have made them even warier of the woods. I saw a pair of grenades rise up and drop thirty yards from us. We dropped our heads. The Bergens protected us from the concussion. The air above our head was filled with deadly pieces of flying metal. Then I heard an Italian order. This time I worked out that it must have been ,'Charge!' for I heard a cheer. I lifted my head and placed my Thompson on the top of my bag. The Italians were forty yards away. A line of them advanced quickly.
"Fire!"
I dropped the officer and sergeant with the first burst. Six Thompsons sent out a hundred and twenty bullets in less than ten seconds. We reloaded and fired blind. The smoke from the weapons made our view hazy. When I had emptied my second magazine I took my grenade and hurled it high in the air. As I did so a survivor from the attack appeared above me with his rifle raised. He had a bayonet poised to plunge into me. I grabbed my Bergen and rolled back. Two things happened at once. The grenade I had thrown exploded and he lunged at me with the bayonet. The grenade tore into him and the bayonet struck my Bergen. His body tumbled over my head. I replaced my Bergen, drew my Luger
and began firing. When the magazine was empty I suddenly realised that there were no more Italian bullets.
"Cease fire!"
I raised my head sand saw that the only Italians ahead of us were dead or dying. Then I heard Gordy. "Sir, they are coming from the beach! Eyeties!"
"Quick lads turn around and support Gordy!"
We jumped up and dived on the other side of the bags. The dead Italian who had tried to kill me now lay before us as an extra barrier. Sergeant Poulson nodded at him, "That bugger almost had you sir."
"I know. Thank God for the Bergen." The holes in the Bergen told me that its life as a bag was finished but it had saved my life.
Italians, in ones and twos appeared from the direction of the beach. Gordy's section opened fire. Others began to spread in our direction. We fired. Then they tried to go around us but Bill Hay's team fired. An officer shouted to his men to take cover. They hid in the drainage ditch Gordy had recently occupied. They began to fire blindly at us.
"Hold your fire lads. Let me try something." The rifle fire diminished and I shouted, "Italians, surrender! We have you surrounded. We have machine guns!"
I had no idea if they understood me but I had to take the chance. There was silence and then a hurried conversation in Italian. A voice said in broken English, "My Capitano says for you to surrender!"
"The whole British Army is about to catch up with you. They are tanks you can hear. You have lost. There is no point in throwing your lives away is there?"
There were heated voices as my words were translated. Polly said, "Do you think they will surrender sir?"
The sound of the tanks was much louder now. "I think they will."
Sure enough the Italian voice said, "We will surrender. Do not shoot."
"Stand with your hands in the air. Lads, cover them." I risked standing. I held the Thompson in my hand. The Italians stood. There were thirty odd of them. "Gordy, take your men and disarm them. Bill cover the right flank."
I saw a young Italian whose mouth opened. "There are nine of you? You said you had us surrounded!"
Sergeant Poulson held up the Thompson. "Son, these would have slaughtered you! The Lieutenant did you a favour. He saved your lives!"
Some of the Italians began to lower their arms. "Tell your men to keep their hands up. Our lads from the beach might be a little trigger happy!"
The young soldier nodded and rattled out some Italian. The hands were all raised. I walked through the Italians. I saw that the Captain glowered at me as I passed him. I found myself beyond the prisoners. I could see a Sherman. It was fifty yards away and its gun traversed towards me. I raised my hand. A huddle of men ran towards me. I saw that they had the Commando flash on their shoulders. A captain strode towards me with a grin on his face. "You chaps did well to get ahead of us!"
I smiled, "That's because we have been here for two days. "I held out my hand, "Lieutenant Bill Harsker, Number Four Commando!"
Captain Jack Durrant, Number Two Commando. I heard we had men on the island but I thought they were all paratroopers."
"We were sent to blow up a few bridges." I pointed to the west. "The bridge over the culvert yonder is blown and the one over the railway to the north is too. There is a road into Syracuse here and if you follow that lane you will find another road next to the railway."
The Captain shook his head, "You fight a different war to us, Lieutenant."
"No, sir. It's the same war we just fight it differently. With your permission we will try and get a ride back to Malta." I turned, "Right chaps. Let's leave the war to these blokes eh?"
Scouse handed me my Bergen. The Captain shook his head when he saw the damage. "It looks like you have a tale to tell. Look me up when you get the chance."
"I will do, sir."
We began to trudge towards the beach head. There were other units advancing now. I saw us getting strange looks. We were dirty, bedraggled and we all still wore the remnants of the boot polish on our faces. When we reached the beach I saw that it was being organised. There were medics and doctors treating the wounded. There looked to be mercifully few of the latter. The landing craft were still unloading men. They marched ashore looking for an enemy who had retreated. All up and down the coast we could hear the sound of gunfire but in this section it was quiet.
We sat on the sand. "Well sir, how do we get home?"
I pointed to the wounded, "They will transfer them to landing craft. Malta is the closest place. We will hitch a ride with them."
Just then Fred Emerson said, "Sir, is that an E-Boat? It looks like 'Lady Luck' to me."
Four hundred yards offshore, sailing amongst the destroyers and cruisers was our ship. "Scouse, get on the signal lamp and ask them for a lift eh? We might as well go home in comfort."
Scouse took out the lamp he always carried. It had survived. I am not certain how. As he unwrapped it from the bisht he shook his head, "Good job we didn't have to wear these sir. It looks like the mice have been at it."
The voluminous garment had indeed done its job. It had protected the lamp and taken much of the shrapnel from the grenades. I peered out to sea and when I saw the flash from the E-Boat, I knew they had seen us. "Right lads, to the waterline. I guess we are going to get a little wet!"
Gordy chuckled, "We are alive sir and, with respect, we haven't been dry since we landed on this island. I thought Sicily was supposed to be a hot place."
"So did I."
Fred Emerson snorted, "Scarborough in winter is drier than this." We began to wade into the sea. "Mind the water is a damn sight warmer here. You freeze your bits off in the North Sea, even in summer!"
The E-Boat negotiated its way through the landing craft. Bill Leslie turned it and Tosh threw down the net, "All aboard the Sky Lark. Trips around the bay, sixpence a head!"
As we climbed up Polly said, "Just so long as there is some Stoker's Cocoa then I am happy."
Lieutenant Alan Jorgenson shouted, "That is the least we could. Well done lads!"
Polly led them down to the mess deck and I joined Alan on the bridge. "What brings you here?"
"We couldn't sit at home. I thought you might need a lift and the chaps were all keen. Weren't you Petty Officer Leslie?"
Bill grinned, "All part of the service sir. Good to have you back and intact." He skilfully navigated the smaller boats and, as we passed the last destroyer he opened her up.
I looked astern, "It went better than Dieppe."
Alan pointed to starboard and shook his head, "Not for some." I saw the half sunken fuselage of a glider and bodies floating in the sea. "The Airborne part didn't go according to plan. We heard that half of the aeroplanes never even reached Sicily. The weather conditions were too bad."
The sweet taste of success which had been in my mouth now turned sour. I had assumed that it had all gone well. The handful of casualties on the beach had suggested that but, as we headed back to Malta the drifting bodies told a different story.
Chapter 14
Over the next few days, as the advance across Sicily gathered momentum, the full story of the invasion began to emerge. Our success had been offset by the appalling losses experienced by the Airborne Brigade. It was a disaster for that newest of arms. Many of their aircraft and men had crashed into the sea. The terrain had taken their toll so that objectives which were planned to be held by five hundred men had had to make do with twenty or thirty. If we thought that we would gain any respite we were wrong. Hugo gave us the news just four days after our return.
"Our little holiday camp is about to move. Major Fleming wants us on Sicily. It seems they want to use the momentum of Sicily to springboard into Italy and Major Fleming thinks that we are needed again." He shook his head, "Sorry."
"Not your fault and besides when I think of all those paratroopers who didn't even get to see action but died on the way there it puts our job into perspective. Any news on our wounded?"
"Davis has been invalided back to Britain. He will need months to recover. The oth
er two will be back before we leave."
"And when will that be?"
"The end of the week. We are going to be based in Augusta, north of Syracuse. It has just been taken by the Marine Commandos." He tapped the map. "It looks like your attack on the road paid dividends. The Americans have been attacked by the Herman Goering Division. They couldn't reach the British lines. It explains why Monty had such great initial success.
"It is a pity they couldn't have blocked the other road too. We are on the same side you know."
"I know, Tom, but we can only fight our own war. We can't do it all. No matter how much you want to."
He was right. That evening as Alan and I enjoyed a glass of whisky after dinner I said, "At least nothing went wrong this time. All the obstacles we met were predictable and the men dealt with them well."
"You have a good team. It has balance." He waved an airy hand towards the E-Boat. "We have it now too. As soon as Taff returns we will be complete." I gathered from that he was happy with his new engineering officer.
Hugo hurried over. I guessed he had been speaking with the galloping Major. He had that look in his eye. "The Americans have made huge advances. They have cut off the German fifteenth Panzer Division."
I shook my head. Major Fleming was so predictable. "And he wants us to go to Augusta early."
Hugo looked amazed, "How did you know?"
"Major Fleming has two wars: one against the Axis and the other against the Americans. The little man wants to score points over our allies. You can tell him that I am not leaving until my men are returned."
"But..."
"What is the worst he can do, Hugo? Have a hissy fit? There is nothing we can do yet anyway. We have nine men. There are two Commando Brigades on the island already. I suspect our Major is looking ahead to Italy. We have time."
