Behind Enemy Lines

by Hosker, Griff

  We headed back up the gorge and along the cliff. I needed to reconnoitre the guns and their defences. I doubted that they would need to mine this approach as the cliffs were enough of an obstacle themselves but I had no doubt that they would have sentries there. We would need to be invisible. When we reached the cliffs I saw that there was a piece of dead ground which would hide us from the guns. I spotted the German sentries before we entered the dead ground. I waited until they had finished one leg of their patrol and then we raced into the dead ground where we hid.

  After a moment we moved quickly along the safe piece of ground. I had spied a rocky formation which would afford us some cover and allow us to examine the guns closer. When we reached it I slowly raised my head. We were beyond the sentries. I used the binoculars to sweep the defences. Although, apparently unoccupied, I saw a line of pill boxes below the massive 150mm guns. I moved the glasses up to the guns and saw that they were manned. There were some of the crew enjoying a smoke outside them. Behind them I saw the barracks. I guessed that the numbers of guns would necessitate a regiment. In addition they would have guards. This would take many men to assault.

  I returned to Hewitt and we made our way along the cliffs. A movement arrested me. I saw the lighthouse. It was manned. More than that there were Germans all over it. I used the glasses and saw that they were using this as the fire director for the guns. If that could be knocked out then the guns would be less effective. It was a bonus. Aeroplanes could take this out. We had seen enough.

  When we reached the dead ground I stopped and sent Hewitt to keep watch. There was still light and I wanted to amend my map. That way if anything happened to me Hewitt and the others would have a record of what we had seen. It did not take me long. When we reached the edge of the dead ground we waited for the sentries to move off before hurrying back to the camp. The sun was already beginning to set. I had taken too long. We had to be at the pickup point as soon after dark as possible.

  We crossed the road. There was a culvert beneath it taking the stream down to the gorge. We were almost at the camp now. As we neared the woods I stopped. Something was not right. The woods smelled differently. We had come back a different way to the way we had gone and there were broken branches on the bushes. We had not done that. There was someone in the woods. The odds were it was Germans. I took out my Colt and Hewitt did the same. I shook my head and pointed to his bola. He nodded. We moved slowly along the trail. I could see where the men had gone. I heard, in the distance, the sound of voices. Although very faint they were English voices. If I could hear them then the Germans we were following certainly would. We had been found!

  Chapter 19

  There were three of them; three inquisitive German soldiers. I spotted their grey uniforms. There was a sergeant and two others. The sergeant had a submachine gun and the other two had rifles. Even as we approached I saw them raising their weapons. I tapped Hewitt's arm and pointed to the man on the left. I raised my Colt and then I shouted in German, "What are you three idiots doing?" I used my best sergeant's voice and, even as they turned to see who was shouting at them I shot the Sergeant between the eyes and the man next to him in the chest. Hewitt's bola had stunned the third who lay on the floor. Hewitt ran to him and drew his dagger across the man's throat.

  Sergeant Poulson and my section ran towards us. I put my fingers to my lips. I ran back to the camp and grabbed my Bergen. We had to move and move quickly. The others followed suit. I went to Scouse. I whispered, "Tell the boat we need them now!"

  I led Sergeant Poulson and Hewitt. "Hewitt take the Sergeant to the culvert. Sergeant Poulson, hide the bodies in the culvert and wait for us there. I will come with Scouse and Groves."

  When I reached my two signallers Scouse was speaking quietly, "Scouse to Wacker, Scouse to Wacker, over."

  His voice sounded inordinately loud to me but it was necessary. There was silence. Then the radio crackled, "Wacker to Scouse, on station, go ahead, over."

  "Scouse to Wacker, pick up now. Repeat pick up now! Over."

  "Understood, over."

  The two of them were packing the radio the instant they heard the word 'over'.

  I led them to the road. It had been a happenstance that meant that the radio operator on the 'Lucky Lady' was also from Liverpool and was known as Wacker. The codenames would fool any German while the accents would be impenetrable.

  When I reached the section waiting at the culvert there was no sign of the bodies. I led them down the road to the beach. The obstacles there reminded me of the ones we had seen at the gorge. Were there mines here too? I signalled for a defensive perimeter and then I used my Bergen to bridge the wire barrier. Once over I dropped to my hands and knees. There was soft dry sand for thirty yards. That would be where the mines were; if there were any. I used my dagger and my bare hand. I swept the sand in an arc on either side of me and then prodded with my dagger. I moved twelve inches forward each time I tested the sand. After ten yards I knew there were no mines but it would be stupid to stop the search. Eventually I reached the water and turned. I waved the others forward. They walked down the swept sand. Sergeant Poulson, who was tail end Charlie, used the stock of his Thompson to sweep away our foot prints. When they reached me we peered into the dark. There was no sign of the E-Boat. We were precariously placed now at the edge of the sea. A sharp eyed sentry might spot us.

  Then I heard, against the sound of the surf and the wind, the sound of the diesels. I began to wade into the water. Scouse had the radio held high above him and he followed me. The dark shape of the E-Boat's bow loomed up out of the black. Scouse reached up and the radio was plucked from his hands. We scrambled up after it and a few minutes later we began to back out. We all went below decks. We had much to do and little time to do it.

  I took out my map. This was the master one. Sergeant Poulson took out his and I copied my details on to the second one. A hand came with some hot cocoa and sandwiches. I felt the motion as we headed out to sea. Alan Jorgenson came below decks. I handed him Sergeant Poulson's map. "The defences are marked on here. We had a bit of bother before we came away. We had to kill three guards."

  "Then we abort the operation!"

  I shook my head, "We have to complete the mission. There were minefields, wire and pill boxes that we couldn't see from the aerial photographs. There will be as many on the north section you can bet. We stick to the plan Alan, my call."

  He nodded, "You live life to the full I will say that."

  "When we call for you we may have to be brief. If we say 'Everton' then come and get us as quick as you can."

  He frowned, "Everton?"

  "Scouse and Wacker are both Liverpool fans. They hate Everton."

  He nodded. "Eat. We land you in fifteen minutes. We scouted out the landing site before we came for you. There is a gully to the west of Berneval-le-Grande. It didn't look mined."

  I shook my head as I chewed the sandwich. "They are not marking them as mined. We found a minefield at Gorge les Moutiers and there were no signs."

  "Sneaky bastards!" He turned to go, "Best come up when you have finished."

  The others were all eating too. Sergeant Poulson came over to me, "Sorry about that, sir. Hewitt told me the Germans heard us talking."

  "It is a lesson learned, Sergeant and it didn't hurt us but next time just use hand signals eh?" He was improving all the time but one mistake was all it took to get you killed.

  I felt much better with something hot inside me. I made my way up to the deck. I saw that we were closing with the coast quite rapidly. The beach and the gorge were quite clearly visible against the darker cliffs. I felt more confident about our landfall this time. The radio had not been damaged the first time and I was hopeful that this time we would be even quicker. As soon as the leadsman dropped his arm I leapt into the sea. My trousers were still wet from our embarkation. It was a very narrow beach. I was at the cliffs in six strides. My reloaded Colt was out and ready to be used. There was no one in sight: I sme
lled no smoke and heard no voices. It was only when I looked at my men racing behind me that I realised I hadn't checked for mines. I suspect the narrow beach meant they thought it was unnecessary. The dry part of the sand was less than two paces deep. I saw that there were footprints in the gully. That suggested people had walked on it. It would not be mined.

  I waved the men forward and we headed up the gully. Aerial photography had identified a radar station to the north of us close to Berneval-le-Grande. That would need checking out first. There was also a battery and I guessed it was not far from where we were. After forty paces I stopped. I saw a trail leading from the gully. I took a chance and followed it. It climbed up the bank towards the battery which I assumed was to the right of me. I dropped to all fours when I saw the guns poking out. I turned left and headed down towards the cliff.

  Once again there was a patch of dead ground. I had worked out that this had been created when they had built the emplacements. They had excavated the ground to protect the guns. I decided to move along this and approach the radar station from the side of the battery. I was taking a chance I knew but it allowed us to see more in a short space of time. We were lucky. Half way along the path, which still appeared to be hidden from the guns, I stopped. Waving Sergeant Poulson and the section forward I took out my binoculars and crept up the slope. My uniform, hat and blacking made me invisible but I was just twenty yards from the line of the sentries' patrol. I was able to confirm that there were three 170mm guns and four 150mm. There were even more here than on the other side of Dieppe.

  I rejoined my men and we approached the Freja radar station. We had attacked enough of these to know that they were manned at all times and so we skirted it. I led my men due east. We had to explore this side of Dieppe. Once again we came to a road and houses. We smelled the smoke and heard voices in the houses. These were inhabited. Our rubber soled shoes came to our rescue again. We crossed the road silently and ran down a lane between two houses. I was close enough to smell the garlic soup and Gauloise. They were French. Once we had left the gardens behind I took us through the woods to skirt Le Petit Berneval. I avoided the tempting road. If there were soldiers at Le Petit Berneval then they might well use the road to go to the larger Berneval-le-Grande and the batteries.

  It took us longer to cross the fields but we found ourselves close to the hamlet of Belleville-sur-mer. Once we had passed it I took another chance and we ran the last mile to the outskirts of Dieppe. There was more wire. Without scouting it I knew that this would ring the town, The only way through would be at roads and they would have checkpoints. The photographs had not spotted it. We used our Bergens to cross it. I sent my sergeants away to search left and right and I led the rest of the section towards Dieppe. Almost as soon as we had moved towards the town I saw the anti-aircraft batteries which ringed this side of the town. We had to keep ducking and hiding to avoid the Germans who manned them. After a fretful hour I led us back to the wire. We crossed it and awaited the others. Sergeant Poulson returned with his men and then we waited for Harry and Groves. They seemed to take for ages.

  We were looking towards Dieppe and almost failed to see the two Germans walking along the road which led to a crossing of the wire some half a mile from us. I waved my arm and every commando found shelter. I took out my Colt. I thought they would pass and we would be safe but two things coincided to stop them. First one of them saw the flattened wire. By morning it would have sprung back but we had just crossed it. I heard one of them say, "Someone has crossed here."

  "Probably a poacher. The woods are full of game birds."

  "The Lieutenant said to report anything out of the ordinary."

  "That means we have to go all the way back to the battery."

  "It is our duty."

  "I have a duty to my stomach and it involves beer!"

  It was at that moment that Gowland and Groves loomed up out of the dark. I saw the two Germans react and I fired one bullet. Sergeant Poulson leapt up and grabbing the second one by his helmet so that he could not cry out and slit his throat. Gowland and Groves rejoined us. There was no convenient culvert here. I signalled for the bodies to be picked up and we headed back towards the cliffs. This was a disaster. I glanced at my watch. Dawn was two hours away. If we stayed here during the day then the five men we had killed would be missed and there would be a hue and cry. However the 'Lucky Lady' would be well on her way back to England. Now we would have to hide these bodies and then go to ground.

  I realised, as we hurried over the fields that there were few woods and trees on this side of the town. We kept heading towards the gully. We had to be close to that and ready to embark. If we had done this the other way around we would have more chance of survival. As we neared the road which led to the gully I saw there were woods on both sides. They were not as extensive as we might have wished. We would have little choice over our camp and we would not be able to get much rest; half of us would have to be on watch. I led us in nonetheless.

  We found a small clearing and the bushes at the sides afforded some protection. I pointed to the bodies. Take their ammunition, grenades and any papers. Then bury them."

  I took out my map and began to jot down what we had discovered. This side was easier for us to attack and the guns here were potentially more dangerous. I think the section realised our predicament for they camouflaged the camp so well that I was certain we would not be spotted. Dawn was just breaking when they had finished burying the bodies and disguising our presence. I waved over Polly. "Have the men work in pairs. One sleeps, one watches. I will stay awake. Make sure they have plenty to drink. We need them alert and ready to move."

  Sergeant Poulson nodded and went to tell the others. I took my own advice and drank sparingly from my canteen. We had embarked in relative peace the previous night. I hoped we would do the same again but I had to prepare for a hot embarkation. I decided to use the demolitions. We would use the German grenades as a trip wire booby trap and the charges close to the entrance to the gully.

  Sergeant Poulson came back. He said, quietly, "What is the plan sir?"

  "Roughly the same one we came up with before. We wait until dark and we leave but we need a contingency plan. We lay booby traps with grenades along the road to the gully. At the gully we use charges. We may have to leave hot."

  "I'll tell the lads. When do we lay them?"

  "Not until we know that there is a hue and cry. Those two Germans last night were on their way to town. They won't be noticed until ten or so and then they will look. The other three are a bigger problem. They will have missed them by last night at the latest and be searching on the yonder side of Dieppe."

  It was noon before we knew they were hunting us. The Fieseler Storch began to make circles high in the air above us. I recognised that he was flying a pattern up and down the coast. After an hour he descended to a lower height. You could easily see movement from the slow moving spotter aircraft. This was a test of our skills at camouflage. At two he left, probably to refuel. The gully and the trees afforded us cover but we would have to move down to the beach sometime. We had to slow down pursuit. Our new, temporary camp was the obvious place to lay booby traps as well as the narrow road down the gully.

  As soon as he had gone I summoned my sergeants. "Have the grenade booby traps laid at the entrance to the woods, close to where we came in and then the charges by the gully. Don't arm the demolition charges yet."

  "Right sir. They might not have seen us."

  "I don't think they have. If they had then there would have been Stukas here already but they are looking for us. Best be ready."

  I went to Fletcher, "We may well have to use the emergency codeword. If we are discovered then, no matter what time of day it is, send 'Everton'."

  "Right sir. But it won't come to that will it? I mean they have no idea we are here."

  "They wouldn't have sent up the search aeroplane if they weren't looking for us. We have some hope that they will search the other side first but if
we have to move then run like you have never done before."

  By four the charges and grenades were in place. Normally it would have taken a quarter of the time but my men had to lay them so that they were not easily seen. It was made harder when the Storch returned an hour after it had left. It flew much lower this time and seemed to be concentrating on the cliff top.

  Sergeant Poulson returned. "All the charges are ready, sir. I left Groves at the edge of the wood as a sentry."

  "Good thinking. I should have thought of that."

  He shook his head, "If you don't mind me saying so, sir, you lead from the front too much. Don't you trust us?"

  "Of course I do. This is the first operation; it has to go well!" He nodded. "Make sure that everyone is ready to go as quickly as we can and tell the lads to use grenades before their guns if we are attacked. I don't want to make it easy for them to find us."

  Each minute closer to dusk gave me hope. Those hopes were shattered as it drew closer to seven o'clock. The sun was lower in the sky, a warm red glow above the horizon but there was no way that it was dusk. Groves raced in, "Sir, Jerries. A couple of truckloads of them. They have dogs and they are heading in this direction."

  "Fletcher send the code word. Groves stay with him; get down to the beach when the signal is acknowledged. Sergeant Poulson, I want a skirmish line. Set some booby traps here where we camped. They will find this quickly enough. Then get the men to the beach. Leave one man to show us where the booby trap is. Harry, come with me."

  As we ran I said, "Get ready with your grenades. Wait for my command."

  I drew my Colt. The silencer would help. We waited just fifty yards from our camp. I wanted them to find it. Sergeant Poulson would make it a death trap. I heard the dogs barking. I drew my Luger. We knelt behind two of the slightly larger trees. The four German Shepherds made straight for me. I fired both pistols at the same time. Two dogs fell immediately and the other two swerved to come for me. I managed to hit one with a bullet from my Luger but the other leapt at me and fastened his teeth around my left hand. I hit it hard with my Colt and it fell stunned. I fired a bullet into its head. I holstered my Luger. My left hand was bleeding too much to be able to grip it.