by Griff Hosker
Lieutenant Redmire shouted, "Open fire!"
The range was extreme but it would give heart to the crew. The tracer showed the trajectory of the shells. Seaman Grant was either lucky or good. His first burst struck the Command Centre and must have showered the gun crew with stone. Certainly it stopped firing, briefly. That didn't matter as every German gun appeared to be targeting our ship. I knew it was an illusion. The two gunners shifted target. I wondered if Sergeant Eisner was firing back. Perhaps Captain Schwarz was bellowing out orders too.
I had just glanced back to check on the progress of the other landing ships when a shell took the head of Seaman Grant. The loader and Bill Leslie were showered with blood and brains. His dead fingers were on the triggers as his body fell backwards and the shells fired high into the sky. The loader started sobbing. I heard Bill Leslie shout, "Pull yourself together son. Get Grant out of the harness. It is your turn now!"
I turned back to look at the beach. The first tanks were edging ashore and we were less than four hundred yards away. We were arriving too fast or the tanks were too slow. They were supposed to have cleared the beach before we went ashore. Plans changed. "Are you ready Commandant?"
The French were using the starboard ramp and we would use the port ramp.
I saw him grin and shake a defiant fist at the shore, "I have waited five years for this! Of course I am ready!"
The first Crab tank crept up the beach. Its flails exploded mines. I identified its path. That was where I would lead my men. Then the tank was struck by a shell. As the crew tumbled out they were machine gunned. Still we crept closer but more tanks were arriving. The problem was that there was less space than the planners had expected. I saw two landing ships grind together. A couple of Commandos were thrown from the ramps to their deaths. It was a waste.
Another ship lowered its ramp and I saw Commandos from Number Three race ashore. Our orders were to wait at the water line until the beach was cleared. I suppose they were enthusiastic or perhaps the joy of battle was upon them. A whole section ran forward across the minefield. Machine guns cut some of them down while two struck a mine. The rest dropped. To my horror a Crab landed and began to approach them. The driver would not be able to see them. As his flails whipped forward the whole section, wounded and dead were blown up. I punched the side of the LC in frustration. Plans always looked wonderful on paper. Real life was different.
I took out my Colt and went to the end of the ramp. Bullets zipped past my head. I focussed on the section of beach which had been cleared. It was just forty feet wide and twenty feet deep. It would have to do! The Crab which had accidentally slaughtered the Commandos kept moving up the beach. It reached the wire and then threw a track. The crew kept firing the machine gun. The ramps hit the water and I raced straight down it. I saw Commandant Kieffer leap into the surf. I knew that the French were supposed to be the first on the beach but the dead Commandos already had that honour. I landed in water up to my waist and I began to wade towards the three tanks I saw just beyond the waterline. They would give me cover. I was inordinately proud of my men that day. We hit the sand beyond the water as one group. We had made it. We were on Sword Beach in Normandy. Then the killing began!
Chapter 16
I saw that the cleared mines were closer to the part of the beach where I knew there were no mines. As I heard Lord Lovat's piper, Bill Millins, begin to play his bagpipes I shouted, "Follow me!"
We had thirty yards of protection from the damaged tanks. The smoke from one of the burning tanks also gave us some protection but bullets zipped over our heads and clanged off the tanks. I turned at the wire and ran up the sand. I know that those on the ships would have thought I was reckless and expected an explosion but we had walked this narrow strip of sand. Rifles and machine guns turned their attention to us. Fred Emerson fell clutching his arm. John Hewitt dropped next to him his medical kit already out.
"Drop your Bergens! Make cover." I holstered my Colt and shrugged off my own Bergen. As I pushed sand in front of me I shouted, "Concentrate your fire over there!" I pointed to the two tobruks which stood next to the 75mm. "Crowe! Grenade!"
I could still hear the pipes from Bill Millins as the Brigade came ashore. The Free French dropped close to us followed by Captain Marsden and his section. We were a tightly packed group of Commandos on the beach. The tanks were clearing the beaches further down the beach but the mortars, machine guns and rifles were causing too many casualties for them to make serious inroads.
I unslung my rifle and as Crowe began to lob grenades into the pits I fired at any flesh I could see. It only took Crowe four attempts to destroy the two machine guns close to us. Commandant Kieffer saw the danger had diminished and shouting, "Viva La France", he leapt to his feet and ran up towards the town firing from the hip as he went.
"Cover them!" My men poured bullets, blindly into the enemy emplacements.
Captain Marsden thought that the way was clear and he raced up the beach after the hundred and seventy Frenchmen who followed the Commandant. I looked over to Emerson. He was grimacing but he was alive. "Are you okay to be left?"
He turned the grimace to a grin. "I'll be fine sir. John has done a good job. I'll be right as rain in no time." He nodded over to the Bergens. "I shall keep an eye on them sir!"
"Right lads, smoke grenades and then after the others!"
Eight of my men hurled their grenades and, after they had exploded over the German foxholes and as the smoke began to drift down the beach, we jumped up and ran. Bullets hit the sand we had just occupied but we made it safely to the anti-tank ditch. We sheltered there with the other Commandos. I saw that some of the French Commandos had been bit but they had taken out the last two tobruks at this end of the beach. Two of Captain Marsden's section lay dead.
The anti tank ditch was filled with our men. There was no order. Fire from the unoccupied buildings kept up a withering fire at every head or hand which appeared. I shouted, "Captain Marsden, have you a grenade launcher?"
"No, Tom!"
"Right Crowe, it's up to you. Keep firing them at those buildings until you run out. Sergeant Barker, get the K gun set up. The rest of you keep your heads down."
This was the nightmare I had feared. The buildings afforded a good view of the beach and they could fire at us at will. The K Gun was set up so that the barrel pointed at the buildings. Smith kept his head down. He would have to fire blind and traverse the barrel. I counted on the fact that the prodigious rate of fire would make the German defenders fear for their lives and hang back. We needed respite from their bullets. One of Captain Marsden's men peered over the ditch. A single bullet struck him in the head. We were wearing berets. A helmet might have saved him. Two French Commandos tried to move and they were hit by the snipers. More Commandos followed up the beach behind us. Eight died before the rest made the safety of the anti tank ditch. That safety was an illusion as the snipers were able to fire at the concrete behind us and the ricochets sent sharp splinters of stone into our backs. The wounds they caused were slight but they were wounds, nonetheless. The K Gun worked but each time they withdrew it to change a magazine then the fusillade began again.
"Davis, bring your rifle and follow me. Sergeant Poulson, take charge!"
I didn't wait for the reply but zig zagged back to the mole. Private Davis didn't say a word he obeyed orders. He was a good Commando. When we reached the end of the wall I slung my rifle and began to climb. If there were any guards at the top I relied on surprise to take them. There were sentries but all seven of them lay dead. Their defensive position had not saved them from the naval shells. Their bodies ringed a crater on the other side of the sandbags. I dropped behind the sandbags and unslung my rifle. Davis joined me. The buildings were only eight hundred yards away but, more importantly, they were on a level with us. I scanned the building until I saw the first sniper. He was aiming at the easy targets just three hundred yards from us. I was used to my weapon now and I squeezed slowly. The bullet took him i
n the side of the head. I moved my rifle right and saw a machine gun poking from the window. The gunners were hidden. With no one able to fire at them they could depress the barrel and fire with impunity. I fired at the barrel. The heavy bullet smashed into the barrel. It did not hurt the gunners but the gun fell to the ground.
A bullet struck the sandbags as the defenders saw the danger we represented. I heard Davis say, "No you don't you bugger!" He squeezed the trigger and another sniper fell tumbling to the ground.
We had distracted the men in the buildings as they tried to eliminate our threat. The German sandbags and dead Germans made an effective barrier. I looked at the top of the building. I saw an officer. My bullet caught him in the chest and threw him from the top of the building. Suddenly I saw a tank shell strike the building and then another. Oerlikon shells began to pepper the building as those off shore saw the danger the building represented.
It was time to move. There were more sandbags at the end of the mole closer to the anti tank ditch. "Right Davis, run!"
The tanks had distracted the gunners and snipers in the building. I had never covered three hundred yards as quickly. The rest of my men sheltered still in the ditch. Sergeant Poulson looked up and waved. I saw more dead Commandos. I hoped that none of them were my men.
We were now much closer to the building which the enemy had made into a strongpoint. The tanks had weakened it and made it less sound. Crowe sent a projectile sailing into a hole made by a tank shell and the building bulged alarmingly as the grenade went off. I fired three bullets in quick succession. A sergeant, an officer and a sniper fell. They were much closer to me now and I had the feel for the weapon. I was in a rhythm. I heard a cheer and looked down as John Marsden rose from the ditch and led a valiant but foolish charge with his men. The fire from the building had diminished as the defenders reorganized. The withering fire from a heavy machine gun which was in the street, two hundred yards away and close to the command centre, cut them down to a man. Davis and I emptied our magazines into the gunners. They fell, pulling the gun with them. It was too late for Captain Marsden and Sergeant Curtis. Their bullet riddled bodies lay with their men in the streets of Ouistreham.
I heard the pipes coming closer which told me that Lord Lovat and his men were approaching. I slung my rifle. "Cover me Davis!
"Sir."
Drawing my Colt I burst from behind the sandbags. I ran down the mole which ended at the street. I did not fire blindly but aimed and squeezed at every German head I saw appear at a door or window. Davis did me proud. I saw four men fall to his bullets and I made the wall of the building. Just thirty yards from me lay Sergeant Curtis, Captain Marsden and their men. I holstered my Colt. I had four grenades on my assault jerkin. I took out two of them. Keeping hold of the handles I pulled the pins. There was a window six feet above my head. The barrel of a heavy machine protruded. To my left was a door. One of Crowe's grenades had damaged it. I threw one grenade through the window and then ran along the street. I hurled the grenade through the damaged door and fell flat on the roadway. My hand touched Sergeant Curtis' boot. The two explosions sounded simultaneously. I heard screams. I stood and drew my Colt. I ran into the damaged door. It was like a charnel house. I caught sight of a movement coming down the stairs. I dropped to one knee and fired three shots. Two Germans fell at my feet.
Bill Hay burst through the door, Thompson at the ready. Outside I heard a cheer as the Free French burst from the tank trap and into the village. The strongpoint had fallen. They ran for their target, the Casino! The rest of my men joined me. "Gordy take some men and clear the rest of this building."
"Sir!"
Davis burst through the doorway. "Well done Davis. Sergeant Poulson, any more casualties?"
"Just cuts from the stones. Nothing too bad."
We heard the crump of grenades and then the sound of Thompsons as Barker, Herbert and Shepherd cleared the building.
As I spoke I took German grenades from the dead close by me. "Right, it is time for us to do our job. Hewitt, you are tail end Charlie. Take care of any who fall and keep in touch with the rest of the Brigade. We are the breadcrumbs they will follow." He nodded. I looked at my watch. It was eleven o'clock already and I knew that the Airborne troops were expecting us at one o'clock at the latest. We had the whole of Ouistreham to get through and then the canal.
Barker returned, "All the enemy are dead sir!" I didn't ask him how they had died; this was war.
"Right we have to move quickly. There are a hundred and fifty men holding out at the canal bridge. If we don't get to them and relieve them then the Germans will blow the bridge and all of this will be a waste. Shepherd and Fletcher you both have Thompsons, you come with me. Gordy keep the K gun at the rear. Poulson and Hay, if we meet opposition you take them out. I intend to keep going until I reach the bridge." They nodded. The three men I had brought with me the first time knew the town as well as I did. "I intend to head down to the square and then cut across to the canal. Let's go!"
As we turned the corner to run down the narrow street I heard the sound of the guns of the French Commandos as they attacked the Casino. It now held the German Headquarters. As such it was heavily defended. The brave attack of the French would buy us enough time to burst out. My rifle was slung and I had reloaded my Colt. With a Luger and a full magazine I had enough firepower. We ran down the narrow street. Some might have said recklessly but we did not run in a straight line. We kept dodging in the doorways and the experience of the last few years meant my men constantly scanned for danger. Fletcher's Thompson barked and two Germans who had burst from a doorway fell. Shepherd fired in the air and a German tumbled from a first floor window. Behind me I heard grenades as my men dealt with isolated groups of Germans who had been sheltering in the buildings.
Once we reached the square I halted. A German tank and a squad of grenadiers was approaching. "Crowe!"
Alan Crowe appeared. "Sir."
"How many projectile grenades do you have left?"
"Just three sir."
"Then use them well. I want them fired at the tank and the grenadiers. We need it disabling."
"Right sir."
"Fletcher and Shepherd throw two smoke grenades, now!"
Crowe fired the first grenade as the pins on the smoke grenades were thrown. It was a good shot. It landed close to the right front track and exploded. I saw the tank slewed around as the track came off. The smoke began to fill the air as a second grenade soared. "Move! Follow me!" The tank's machine gun and cannon fired. Next to that the two crumps of the grenades sounded inconsequential. The fragments from the grenades would still be devastating to the infantry and the tank was held up. I hoped that Lord Lovat and his men had a rocket launcher with them.
The defences were geared to stop an attack from the beach. As we ran down the narrow side street it felt like a sudden place of calm. No one fired at us but I knew that wouldn't last. As we emerged from the side street a light machine gun in a sandbagged emplacement across the road opened up. The canal was defended. I shouted, "Back!"
"Davis!" I said, "Shepherd, Fletcher, give them a burst from your Thompsons."
"Sir."
As they did so Davis appeared. "Take out the gunners!"
"Sir!" He unslung his rifle and slid forward as Shepherd and Fletcher took it in turns to poke their guns around the corner of the building and fire. The German machine gun began to hack away at the corner of the building. Davis appeared to be taking too long but I knew that it was an illusion. His gun bucked and he worked the bolt. He fired again and then a third time. He shouted, "Go!"
I trusted my sniper and I ran from the safety of the side street with my Colt held before me. He had hit the gunners. Another two men were trying to move the bodies from the gun and begin to fire. A Thompson from behind me stitched a line across the chest of one of them. I dropped to one knee and took aim. The second fell. I took out a German grenade. Twenty yards from the position I dropped again, smashed the porcelain top an
d, shouting, "Grenade!" hurled it.
I fell flat. There were screams from behind as the grenade went off and then I raced to leap over the top. The Germans were dead. The canal lay to our left and I could see the path. Bullets began to fire from the next position down the road.
"Gordy, set up the K gun here. Keep those Jerries down the road busy."
"Sir!"
"The rest with me!" Even as we ran and before Gordy could set up the gun Ken Shepherd was hit by a stray bullet. I did not know his fate. Hewitt would have to deal with him. Suddenly Beaumont was at my shoulder. He held a Thompson. He grinned, "Fred Emerson asked me to look after it, sir."
"Good lad!"
The trail was undefended but, as we burst out of the thin trees a barge moored in the middle of the canal began to fire. We had taken them by surprise and they fired high. We threw ourselves to the ground.
"Open fire!"
Fletcher and Beaumont sent round after round at the flat wooden boat. It was less than thirty yards from us. All that saved us was the fact that the canal was slightly higher than we were and we had shelter from the bank. Above us the branches were shredded as the German machine guns traversed.
"Davis!" I holstered my Colt and managed to take my rifle from over my shoulder without exposing myself. I rolled to my left. I kept rolling and as I turned I saw that Davis was copying me. My men held their guns over the top of their cover and fired blindly. It was unlikely they would hit anything but it distracted the Germans. When we were twenty yards away I stopped rolling and carefully lifted my head. We were fifty yards from the boat. It looked to be an old barge they had converted. There were steel plates running along the side but I could see grey. If I could see grey then I could kill.
I did not wait for Davis. I raised my rifle slowly so as not to make too much disturbance and poked it through the long grass. I aimed at a gunner and I squeezed. His head exploded and I worked the bolt and fired at the next gunner who had been exposed. He too fell. Even as I worked the bolt Davis fired at the officer who turned to shout orders. They had no guns facing this way. They were there to guard the canal. I knew that the fire on the bank had diminished. I fired at another German who tried to turn his gun. He fell wounded. As I aimed for another shot I saw an explosion on the barge and then another. Suddenly the whole barge seemed to lift out of the water as more grenades were thrown. We were showered with pieces of debris. I risked rising. There were no more boats. We ran back to the others.
