by Griff Hosker
The lights from their torches meant danger again. We crept towards the dunes. I gambled that they would not risk the mines. We had to get to our canoes and then risk the minefield. As we moved there was the crack of a Luger. I heard a German voice, no more than thirty yards from us, shout, "Weiss, do not shoot at shadows! You might hit one of us. They are not armed!"
"Sorry Sergeant. I saw a movement."
"It would be a rabbit! We hunt men not rabbits!"
We waited a few moments and then moved towards our canoes again. I took out the Luger and kept watch while the others dug out the canoes and emptied them of sand. It took a long time as they had to do it carefully. I heard another shot. This time it was further up the beach. Then there was a fusillade and a shout. It was too far away to make out.
Hay said, "Ready sir."
A pair of Germans rose from the dunes just ten yards from us and one said, "Who is there?"
I had no time to think. I fired four shots from my Luger and both men fell dead.
"What is that?" The voice came from further up the beach.
I shouted, "It is Weiss, Sergeant, he shot at rabbits again!"
"The both of you are on a charge. Get over here where I can watch you!"
"Right Sergeant."
I waved the others to the beach. Grabbing the rear toggle of my canoe I followed Hay. There had been no wind and our footprints were still visible. Hay followed them, risking the mines. When we stepped on to the damp sand I breathed a sigh of relief. We were through the mines. Behind me I heard a whistle as the two bodies were discovered. I heard voices. We quickly clambered into the canoes and began to paddle. If we would see our footsteps in the sand then the Germans could too. They would follow. This time we had not slipped in and out unseen. I just hoped they would think we were two of the Todt workers. The hidden Germans opened fire at the beach. They were firing blind. There was an explosion as they set off a mine. We were almost in the sea minefield and I hoped we were hidden. A German officer shouted, "Cease Fire!"
I had been so preoccupied by the enemy behind that I had almost forgotten the mines ahead. I saw the detonators of one just a paddle's length from me, to the right. I hissed, "Paddle right!"
One we had cleared it I steered a course between them. Now that the rogue one had detonated German efficiency and straight lines came to our aid. We kept paddling until we were clear of the field. "Crowe, send the signal."
I looked back to the beach. I could see torches as the Germans continued to look for the escaped workers. I hoped that our diversion had helped them. If they were caught then they would be shot. Perhaps they were so desperate to escape that was a the preferred option. As Crowe was facing to sea and the night was black he continued to send the signal. After half an hour he said, "Are they not coming, sir?"
Before I could answer I heard the sound of engines coming from the river. It was the R-Boat. They must have been summoned by the German hunters. A searchlight began to play on the water methodically sweeping from side to side as the ship gingerly approached the minefield. Eventually it would spot us. Now that we had cleared it we could paddle quickly. I gambled that the ship would move slowly so as not to miss us.
"Let's paddle."
As we paddled I wondered where the submarine was. Had they been scared off? A second searchlight was switched on. The two of them began to play upon the water. A fluke of the waves and the operator picked up the stern of Hay's boat. I heard a shout from the ship. We were seen. We could do nothing save paddle as the ship began to increase speed. The machine gun on the ship began to fire. Suddenly there was a flash of light followed by a huge explosion. Had the ship struck a mine? As it settled in the water and we continued to paddle away the answer became clear as the submarine rose from the water and began to head towards us. They had torpedoed the German. We had to move quickly for I knew that there were other boats in the port but we would not have to crash dive and await depth charges.
Lieutenant Dixon said, as he helped us aboard. "The Captain says to sink the canoes. We have no time to recover them."
"Right." Taking out our knives we hacked into the canvas and then threw them overboard. They would soon sink. We slid down the ladder into the forward torpedo room and breathed a sigh of relief when the hatch was closed.
We waited in the forward torpedo room as the captain took us away from the minefield. I think he gambled on the fact that we had only seen one vessel on our previous mission.
The Midshipman came for me. "The Captain can speak with you now, sir. If you would come with me."
Lieutenant Commander Reid looked pleased with himself as well he might. "We are going to go out on the surface and charge up the batteries. That was damned close. We had been watching for some time. We couldn't come in any sooner; we heard the engines of that minesweeper. We had to wait until you were clear before we fired."
"Well it was a good shot."
He grinned, "And we have a kill!"
Chapter 13
Although we managed to make good time sailing on the surface, it was still late at night when we docked in Southampton. I doubted that we would sail with 'Osiris' again and we said a fond farewell to the crew. There was no doubt that they had saved our lives. Had the German ship picked us out with his searchlights then we would have been an easy target for his machine guns.
Sergeant Poulson drove us back. "How was the French Beer, Bill?"
"We didn't get any!"
Poulson laughed, "You have to pick your missions, old cock!"
"We survived. I will live with that."
By the time we reached our digs it was the middle of the night. We were so exhausted that we crashed into our beds. My body, however, could not sleep beyond six and I was up not long after Mrs. Dean who was cooking breakfast. "Could you not lie in then sir?"
I laughed, "Believe me I wanted to but here I am up."
"Reg has the staff car if you want a lift up to the camp?"
"No I will run up after my porridge."
After two cups of Mrs. Dean's tea and a generous bowl of porridge I slipped my Bergen on my back and ran to the camp. It was a cold dry day and the icy air brought colour back to my cheeks. I needed the run to get the smell of the submarine from my nostrils. The sentries grinned as I ran through the gate, "Thought you were off camp, sir!"
"Couldn't keep away." As I ran through the gate there was a honk from behind me as the Sergeant Major brought the staff car back. He was waiting for me as I arrived at the office. "The Major said to take the car, sir and give you a lift this morning."
There was a hint of criticism in the Sergeant Major's voice, "I needed the run but I wouldn't mind a cup of tea while I write the report."
"Coming right up."
By the time the Major arrived I had had three cups of tea and finished the report. Major Rose looked bleary eyed. He was no action man that was for certain. "It went well Tom?"
"We were lucky again." I gave him the highlights of the mission and handed him the report. "And now I guess we prepare for the invasion. At least my team have an idea of what to expect over there. This will be no picnic."
"Lord Lovat wants you to give a briefing to the officers in a few day's time. He thinks it is important that they have the benefit of your knowledge."
"I take it he didn't approve?"
"He thought it was a risk that was unwarranted. I get the impression he doesn't get on with Colonel Fleming."
"Few serving officers do." I stood, "I'll take my men up to the mine and have practice assaults. We will use the new weapons and machine guns. It is time we became familiar with them."
We had not been issued with the standard Bren gun but the Vickers K light machine gun. Smith and Herbert were designated as its operators and they had practised with it. It differed from the Bren in two respects: it was not as accurate but it had a higher rate of fire, a thousand rounds a minute. With a tripod it would more than make up for the Thompson. We still had eight Thompsons and we still had enough amm
unition for them. The eight Colts were similarly prized. One weapon we did like was the Lee Enfield Number 4 sniper rifle with the telescopic sight. It could hit a target at three thousand yards. Peter Davis had proved the most accurate of our men and he had spent a fortnight training to use the deadly weapon.
We marched with full Bergens to the mine where we liked to train. After dropping our Bergens I addressed them. "We will be part of the assault team when we return to Europe." I saw nods and winks from them. They all had a fairly precise idea of where we would be landing but I still played the game of being vague. "When we land it will be in France. That means we can accurately replicate the land upon which we will be fighting." I pointed east where we could just make out a beach. "We will spend as little time on the beach as we can. The beach is a killing zone. Look around and see how you can blend into the background. Davis, if we are to use your skills and your new weapon well then you need to be camouflaged."
He nodded, "Yes sir. Sergeant Poulson suggested I make a cape from the camouflage netting."
"Good. Then I want you to hide yourself within half a mile of us. You have two hours and then we come looking for you."
He grinned, "Hide and seek! I love that game."
Gordy Barker growled, "The difference is here, old son, that Jerry will shoot you if he catches you!"
Unabashed he loped off to find a good hiding place. I did not doubt his skills with the weapon but that was only half of the story. "As for the rest of us we will be attacking strong points. That means grenades. I intend to take as many grenades as we can carry. Crowe you and your grenade launcher will come into their own. Remember those tobruks we saw? They are built to defend around and not from above."
"Yes sir. Beaumont has taken the charges from a couple of grenades and I am going to practise with those."
"Good. Now we have a mixture of weapons so let us use them wisely. The K gun can clear the enemy from before us so we use that and keep the Thompsons for those places where we have to be mobile. The Lee Enfield might not have the firepower of a Thompson but it is more accurate. You won't be firing at over a thousand yards like Davis will but you can kill at five hundred yards. That is your objective." I looked around. "Now make sure it is blank ammunition you load. Today is all about working in your teams. Sergeants!"
My three sergeants gathered around me. "You know your teams." They nodded. "I don't need to tell you that we will lose men when we go ashore. Gordy your lads have the K gun. You need to be able to fire that as well as they can."
"Aye sir."
"Sergeant Poulson you have Scouse and the radio. Up until now it has not been important but it will be in France. We can call in aeroplanes and armour. You may well have to make that call."
"Sir."
"And Hay, you have the grenade launcher. Make sure Emerson and yourself can use it as well as Crowe. As for me, well I will have to see how good I am with the sniper rifle. We have two weeks of training here. Major Rose tells me that the brigade will be moving to Southampton soon."
"Does that mean us as well sir?"
"No, Gordy. We are going to Devon. The French Commandos are there. We will be going in with them. We need to learn to work with them. We will be joining the Brigade in May."
They looked at each other. They were all bright lads and could work out that meant a late May or early June invasion. It was the middle of March. Time would fly.
"You have an hour. Gordy I want you and your team to play king of the castle. Hay and Poulson you will assault. My team will umpire. Then we go and find Davis!" I called over Hewitt and Beaumont. "We get to watch. If you think one of them is dead then tap them on the shoulder and tell them so."
"Sir."
Although Gordy had only two men under his command they had automatic weapons. With a rate of fire of almost seventeen bullets a second then they were a frightening prospect. The problem would come when they had to change magazines. Each magazine held ninety six bullets. Dad had told me they had a similar problem in the Great War when they had used the Lewis gun. I would be interested to see how Gordy coped with that.
Gordy shouted, "Ready sir!"
Sergeant Poulson and Lance Sergeant Hay needed no instructions from me. They worked in tandem. They needed to get Crowe close enough to drop a grenade close to the K gun. Gordy and his men had used the debris around them to make a defensive emplacement. It would take a lucky bullet indeed to take them out. While Sergeant Poulson sprayed his Tommy gun Fletcher and Shepherd tried to get around the back of the emplacement. Emerson and Hay tried a frontal attack. Crowe took advantage of the cover to get as close as he could.
The K Gun, when it fired, sounded like a buzz saw. Hewitt tapped Emerson on the shoulder, "Sorry, you are dead, Fred!"
Shepherd and Fletcher had got around the back. There was a ripple of Thompson fire and Beaumont said, "Dead, Shepherd."
As the magazine on the K gun was changed Sergeant Poulson tried to attack. Gordy rose above the gunners and fired a burst. Hewitt said, "You are dead Sarge."
If this was real life and an actual attack, then half of the attacking force was already down. I saw that Crowe had crawled and hidden behind Emerson who lay back smoking, feigning death. He carefully aimed the grenade launcher and fired. He had been chosen for the task as he was able to judge ranges well. Beaumont shouted, gleefully, "Boom! Sorry Sarge but you and your lads are dead!"
We all gathered at a flat part of the mine. Hay shook his head, "I wouldn't like to take on a German machine gun in a concrete tobruk. You have no chance."
Gordy said, "If I had had two more men then Crowe would not have been able to get that close."
Roger Beaumont was a clever lad, "Davis would have made the difference."
Gordy said, "Why?"
"When you stood up, Sarge then you were a target. You sprayed your gun around and that would have cleared the ground around you for a couple of hundred yards. Suppose Davis was a thousand yards away or even eight hundred. You would have been dead and then when the magazine needed changing Sergeant Poulson would have closed with you."
"He is right. Smith you need to change the magazine yourself. Herbert your job is to use your rifle to fire while the magazine is being changed. You have ten rounds; Smith I want you to be able to change the magazine by the time he has fired four rounds. Just get the old one off and the new one on. Don't bother about being neat and tidy."
We spent some time practising changing the magazine and Crowe demonstrated his skill with the launcher.
"Right, we have given Davis long enough. Leave the bigger weapons here. Rifles, pistols and Thompsons. Look for signs. We have one advantage we would not have in real life; we know he is within half a mile of us. Spread out in a long line. Gordy you anchor the line up here at the top, Sergeant Poulson down at the bottom. Watch for places he might choose to hide. He is one of us and we know the kinds of places we like to choose."
With fifty yards between us it was not as efficient a sweep as it might have been but my men were good. Even so it was a good four hundred yards until we found the first clue. Scouse spotted the footprint and held up his hand. He was like a dog on the scent. He pointed towards a small copse seventy yards from us.
Herbert, next to me said, "This will be easy."
Beaumont said, "Don't forget, John, that in real life, Davis would be firing at us. We have travelled four hundred yards. We would all be dead or hiding on the ground and then he could move off."
That set me to thinking. I would have to modify the exercise. It took us almost an hour to find him. The small copse proved a good hiding place. We searched the tops of the trees and every bush we could. It was Scouse who found him. He was on the ground. He had found a dell close to some tree roots and by using his camouflage net and dead wood, disguised himself well.
"If it was summer sir then it would have been easier. I had a bead on you from eight hundred yards away."
"But you were low down, Davis. You would have lost sight of us a few times."
"You are right sir but I thought I was supposed to stay hidden."
"You were but you need to pose a threat. We will try this again. I want you to use live ammo."
The whole section looked at me.
"And I want all of us to attach a piece of wood to our backs with a target on it. The wood will stand up two feet above your backs. If Davis hits it then you are dead."
Gordy said, "And if he misses then we could be really dead!"
I smiled, "Do you remember training and rock climbing, Gordy?" He nodded. "You trusted the Commando above you to belay you. Do the same with Davis. I trust him. Beaumont was right. This was too easy. We found him too quickly. German snipers are good. Davis find your spot. The rest of you back to the mine and we will eat."
As we ate I said, "When you are hit. Let the rest know."
The men were resourceful and with the use of tape and wood we managed to make the targets. While we ate Davis went to find another hiding place. As we began to move towards the hidden Davis I saw that having the target above our heads made us move differently. We all crouched more and moved less fluidly. This time we knew where he was when he opened fire. Gordy's target was hit, showering him with wood, "Bloody hell fire!" He shook his head. "I am dead sir."
I dropped to my knee as another bullet zipped through the air. I did not hear anything strike and I held my position. I dropped to the ground and crawled. Bill Hay was the next to be hit. As he sat down, feigning death he said, "He is in the wood four hundred yards away."
In real life that would not have happened but I could understand Bill. He was annoyed at having been shot. I found myself alone as I crawled. Sergeant Poulson and Scouse Fletcher were hit in quick succession. Then Hewitt and Beaumont fell. It was painfully slow crawling. I had to use whatever cover there was; rocks, bushes, longer pieces of dead grass. Davis was right. Late winter did not help us. In the summer we would have more cover and so would the German snipers. Emerson and Smith were the next ones struck. I moved obliquely to my left to take advantage of a bush. Herbert bought it. That left just three of us. Me, Crowe and Shepherd. I heard the sound of a bullet hitting wood as Shepherd was killed but I saw the flash from the muzzle of the bullet. He was no longer in a tree but behind it. As I raised my head to fire the target above me was hit and then Davis shouted. "That's me dead, sir! Good shot, Alan!"
