On the Edge of Darkness

by Anthony Molloy

  The enemy crew offered no resistance, confronted with the heavily armed patrol boats, bewildered by the presence of the two E-boats and facing men who seemed to be everywhere at once, they could have done little else. Hogg took a long look at his new command, it was only then that he realised why there had been no resistance. A red flag fluttered at the foremast’s yardarm, she was carrying something nasty.

  It was a similar story on the other prize, no shots fired, no resistance offered.

  * * *

  The crews from the two German coasters sat, subdued, crammed shoulder to shoulder in their bobbing lifeboats, drawn up in the lee of the ‘Ethel’. Hogg leant over the bridge screen and shouted down something in German, pointing ahead as he did so. Two English seamen threw the head ropes down into the boats. They slowly drifted away to windward. Then with a powerful growl, a shower of sparks from their triple exhausts the patrol boats raced off after the two coasters.

  “Why have we taken the oars from the lifeboats, sir?” asked the troubled Midshipman.

  “Don’t worry we’ll be back to pick our prisoners up later. We haven’t the room or the men to spare for guarding prisoners. We don’t want them to get away to inform the authorities of our presence. Keep the bastards guessing…always the best policy. Anyway I’ve a feeling they would rather be where they are than where we are about to be.”

  * * *

  Hogg’s Command

  Hogg had always thought that Drill Three was a kind of joke, something Barr had thought up after a gin too many, never meant to be taken seriously. It just went to show how wrong you could be when dealing with a C.O. of Barr’s calibre. It looks as if the time to deliver the ‘punch line’ was very near. He was now Captain of an enemy coaster, and had been for the best part an hour, and now, ahead of his new command, he could see the rest of the convoy.

  “Coxswain!”

  “Sir!”

  “Steer for the stern of Tail-End Charlie.”

  “Aye, aye, sir.”

  He swept the horizon to their front, no sign of the escort yet, presumably she’s still out in front leading the way home, hopefully she was oblivious to the mortal danger her charges were in; and long may it remain so.

  He took a quick glance astern. Through salt-stained bridge windows he could see no sign of the flotilla. Out to port the other captured coaster was keeping station, under the steady hand of Petty Officer Stone. According to Drill Three she should be steering for the next to last coaster in the enemy convoy.

  The convoy ahead seemed unaware of their presence; there was no sign of the crews, no sign of flashing lights. They could be under orders not to use lamps for fear of giving away their position, or it could simply be merchant seamen’s legendary failure to keep a proper lookout astern.

  “Coxswain are the First Armed Guard ready?”

  “Aye sir, they’re keeping a low profile, aft of the funnel, as you ordered.”

  Hogg looked across at Stone’s coaster, rolling lustily as she forged ahead. He could see a group of three or four men moving about just aft of her bridge structure; Petty Officer Stone’s First Armed Guard were also in place. He peered ahead into the darkness, somewhere out there, Grant and Crosswall-Brown should be about to cross swords with the enemy destroyer, rather them than me, he thought, guiltily.

  “I’ll take the wheel now, Coxswain, you get down with your mates.”

  * * *

  Grant and Crosswall-Brown sighted the enemy escort, almost simultaneously, it was a little before one o’clock. On the edge of the darkness, they matched her speed, biding their time, waiting for the diversion to begin at the rear of the convoy.

  * * *

  Hogg’s Command

  The bow of Hogg’s coaster smashed into the rudder post of the enemy coaster, there was a grinding, tearing screech and the entire mechanism, wrenched from its fixings, dropped into the sea. The coaster’s bow careered on, burying itself deep into the stern planking. Immediately the enemy coaster began to founder. The klaxon on her bridge belched forth and her crew made their first appearance on deck. Not to resist, but to panic, running for the lifeboat, shouting and pushing each other aside. Completely ignoring Hogg’s coaster, they began frantically to cut the lashings away. Hogg could see there was no need to board her, her after decks were already awash. She was obviously going to sink unaided and very quickly. He shouted for his men to stay back out of sight behind the bridge.

  Amid the scream of metal on metal and the crack of splintered planks, at full astern, the boat dragged her way astern and the two ships wrenched and tore themselves apart. He rang for full ahead and spun the wheel hard over. She gathered speed, clearing the other ship’s stern they passed rapidly down her port side.

  On a madly tilting deck, the stricken vessel’s crew were labouring to launch her boat, they looked up as one. The hope of rescue on their faces was short lived, it turned rapidly to bewilderment as they caught sight of the White Ensign snapping at their consort’s yardarm. Hogg felt a tinge of pity, they were not going to free their lifeboat from her chocks, not with the list that was already on her. It was a long, cold swim to shore.

  But he was having problems of his own, the old coaster, initially handling well, was now sluggish, answering the wheel slowly. Something was amiss.

  * * *

  ‘Wagner’

  Leutnant Ankar, had the watch on the bridge of the Maas Class destroyer, ‘Wagner’. He jumped hastily aside as his captain rushed by and out onto the bridge wing. It was only then that he heard the wail of a coaster’s klaxon blaring out from the starboard quarter. Under cover of the dark Anker pulled a face; Freggatenkapitan Linz had been in a reasonable temper only seconds before, now, he was his usual furious self.

  “Now, what is the matter with these verdammt stupid merchantmen they have been a bloody nuisance ever since we left Bremerhaven. They are disobeying orders again! Standing orders clearly state that silence must be maintained unless we are under attack.” He swept the horizon astern once more, dropped his binoculars onto their lanyard in a show of impatience and raised both hands, dramatically, above his head. “I see no signs of an attack! No explosions! No flares! They are like old women.”

  Back in the bridge he slumped into his chair, calmer now, he sighed wearily, “I suppose we had better go and see what the matter is.” Reluctant resignation apparent in his shrill voice he added, “I expect one of them has run out of coffee! Come to starboard, Leutnant, we will circle these dummkopfs, that call themselves a convoy, and see if we can find out who is making that infernal racket… Signalman! See if any of the dolts can read Morse, make ‘What is the matter now’.”

  Ankar passed the necessary orders and stayed at the compass as the warship began the fast turn, signal lamp flashing.

  “Mein Gott! Herr Kapitan, Look flames!”

  * * *

  To the north, ahead of the German escort and her irate captain, the banshee wail of the siren was also heard on ‘Eddy’s’ bridge.

  Grant’s gamble, that the escort would pass to seaward of the convoy to keep herself between it and the open sea, had paid off. He had positioned Crosswall-Brown’s 34 to the south ready to receive the escort as she turned to go to the aid of her charges. “Switch on navigation lights, hoist the German flag, half ahead both engines.”

  * * *

  Crosswall-Brown’s ‘Dirty Four’ came bouncing in from the southeast, leaping the troughs between the waves like a steeplechaser clearing fences.

  The ‘Wagner’ spotted her almost immediately. The two vessels were closing at a combined speed in excess of sixty knots.

  With a roar like thunder the destroyer opened fire, a full broadside from her main armament. The extremely accurate first salvo fell about the speeding M.T.B., spouts of water twenty-foot high, adding to the watery turmoil about her. Still she came on, weaving in at high speed, sending great sheets of green water shooting from her glistening sides with every turn. />
  The destroyer was altering towards, changing her attitude to the attacking enemy, preparing herself for the expected torpedoes. Now bow on she was ready to comb their tracks, to present as small a target as possible. Her after turrets, unable to bear on the target, fell silent.

  * * *

  ‘Wagner’

  On the bridge of the ‘Wagner’, Leutnant Ankar was truly amazed, Kapitan Linz was actually ecstatic. It was the first time in two years the Leutnant had seen his Kapitan show any emotion, other than anger that was. He knew what had brought about this abrupt change. This was Linz chance to get to grips with the ‘accursed’ Royal Navy since the acute embarrassment with that E-boat off Vikjord.

  A signalman appeared at Linz’s side, he had to shout to make himself heard above the crash and the roar of the for’ard guns, “Patrol Boat signalling to starboard Herr Kapitan.”

  Kapitan Linz tore his eyes from the fall of shot, a haunted look on his face, “Ours?”

  “Affirmative, the S342, sir.”

  “Are you sure?…You’d better be sure! You understand me? Do you hear me! I don’t want any repeat of that…that last fiasco.” The Freggatenkapitan voice was ascending an octave with each clipped word.

  “The call sign is correct, Herr Kapitan,” said the young signalman, a touch indignantly, after all the Kapitan’s ‘Grobe Scheibet’, as it was known, had nothing to do with his branch. “We’ve double checked Fleet Movements, Herr Kapitan, she is part of the 5th Schnellbootflotille,” he added reassuringly.

  “All right, all right! What’s the verdammt message!” Linz raised his glasses to watch the fall of shot. “Over! Over! Down one hundred! Not up! Must I do everything myself! Get me the Gunnery Leutnant!

  “Message reads…” started the signalman.

  “Give me the gist of it, boy, the gist! Can’t you see I’m busy here!”

  The signalman took an involuntary step backwards, “She… erh… She offers us assistance, sir.”

  “Does she, well, tell her to get the hell out of my war!” … He took a deep breath squeezing his lips together to regain control… “No, tell her to check out that fire to port.”

  He dismissed the signalman with one irritated wave of a gloved hand, his eyes still glued to the glasses. “That’s better! That’s better! No need for that, no need for that.” He waved the gunnery telephone aside, “Good shooting! Good shoot…” The words died on his lips as the enemy boat shot clear of the curtain of water unharmed, springing from its saturated folds, like a glistening silver dolphin, its White Ensign snapping at the tiny masthead.

  * * *

  Hogg’s Command

  On the bridge, a bell rang abruptly and, above the voice pipes, a red light began to flash intermittently.

  Hogg stepped across, unable to read the brass label under the light, he quickly raised the lids on all the voice pipes. It was the engine room.

  “Sir, we’re making water fast… permission to get out.”

  “How deep?”

  “Over a foot now, sir.”

  “Very well…Get up on deck, leave the engine at full ahead, how long do you think we’ll have power for?”

  “Difficult to say…twenty minutes…less.”

  “Alright, get out of there, join the First Armed Guard abaft the bridge.”

  He looked quickly round. The nearest undamaged coaster was still about a cable away, on the port bow, she was low in the water, heavy with cargo.

  He spun the wheel hard over and the bow began a sluggish turn to port. He eased the wheel as the swing increased and then rapidly put on opposite wheel to stop her. They began slowly to overhaul their new target. Suddenly, ahead of her, there was a massive explosion, it split the blackness apart in a vivid burst of light. In its dying after-glow Hogg could just make out Kendel’s ‘Dirty Five’, under full helm, swinging clear of her blazing prey.

  He put on ten degrees of port wheel, then had to increase it to twenty, she was very slow to answer, her head was noticeably down with the weight of water she had already taken onboard. He swore and hit the wooden helm in frustration; she had the manoeuvrability of a fat tired cow. He left the wheel, ran to the after bridge window and shouted down to the men gathered in the warmth from the funnel. “Prepare to board!…we’re going in… starboard side to.” He turned back to the spinning helm, grabbed at it and looked across at the target, his blood ran cold. In the light from the blazing coaster, he saw the target’s swaying decks were crammed with enemy soldiers.

  * * *

  ‘Eddy’

  Grant was gripping the bridge windscreen hard, teeth clenched as he watched Crosswall-Brown’s heroic attack on the destroyer. “Signalman make to the enemy destroyer ‘Do you need assistance?’.”

  The ‘Eddy’ was rapidly overhauling the enemy warship, coming up from astern, all going according to plan. It was all very well on paper, but would he be in position in time to save his friend from those terrible guns. The consequences of failure did not bear thinking about. He was the senior officer, it was his action… his responsibility…and it was Charlotte brother, of all people.

  * * *

  Hogg’s Command.

  Hogg rubbed at his forehead, desperately trying to think…A bloody troop carrier…he couldn’t have chosen worse…but it was too late to change plans, if they didn’t get off this old tub and pretty damn quick, they were going down with her. With the engine room abandoned, he couldn’t even slow the old girl down, give himself time to think. He spun round looking for another target. There was nothing! Bloody nothing! There seemed to be coasters everywhere, but nothing near enough that wasn’t either on fire or already sinking.

  Counting the two men that had been down below in the engine room, he had eight men against, what appeared to be hundreds of soldiers on the target’s deck. Impossible odds!

  Shielding his eyes from the blaze of the coaster they were passing, he took another look at the troop carrier, as he did he caught sight of the red flag his own coaster was flying …If only the new target had been carrying something else, even explosives anything other than bloody troops…it was then that it hit him, Ammo!…Blazing!…Of course! He yelled down to the men by the funnel. “Coxswain! Send two men aft with oil and rags, light a fire on the quarter deck, a big one, and then get up here at the double.”

  In less than a minute the burly leading hand appeared at his side, “Rummage through that flag locker, see if you can find a yellow and black striped flag…hurry man…that’s it… and… that one,” he pointed, “no that one, the red and white one!…now get them both hoisted quickly, as quick as if your life depended on it…because I think it does.”

  * * *

  ‘Eddy’

  The ‘Wagner’s’ lamp was flashing its reply as the ‘Eddy’ steadily overhauled her. Range half a mile. Hopefully steering the same course would convince her skipper of his ‘good intentions’.

  “What are they saying now Middy?”

  The middy looked up from his crib sheet. “They seem to have fallen for it, sir. They want us to check out a fire in one of the convoy’s ships, told us to leave the ‘English upstart’ to them…. oh! And they bid us welcome!”

  “Jolly nice of them! Let’s hope we can repay their hospitality in a manner unbefitting their cordiality.”

  They slowly crept up the destroyer’s starboard side, range about two thousand yards. The midshipman was taking compass bearings all the time and relaying them to Grant. He waited impatiently…Now, he thought… now’s the time.

  “Full ahead all engines. Hard a port!…Steady. Action torpedoes! Signalman! Pull down that rag!…Hoist our colours! The bow steadied, pointing directly ahead of the charging destroyer as the men rushed to their stations.

  He took a quick bearing himself, squinting across the compass, bracing himself against the bucking of the madly accelerating E-boat. Just about right, with the turn to port he would be in the classic attacking position with a perfect, fat, beam-on
target.

  * * *

  Hogg’s Command.

  The Coxswain bundled the flags under one arm and, running across to the ladder, began to climb quickly to the flag deck above the bridge.

  Hogg looked aft, he could see black smoke already billowing across the water. He yanked on the whistle lanyard above his head and the klaxon on the funnel screamed its alarm.

  A hundred yards ahead he saw the faces on the coaster turn sharply in his direction. He could see a figure on the bridge looking up at the newly hoisted flags; ‘Dangerous cargo’… ‘Keep clear’… You are standing into danger’.

  On the other vessel’s bridge he could see a man frantically shouting down to the soldiers. Whoever it was he knew his flags, men began to panic, there was a visible surge towards the fore end. The crowded deck became a death trap, men were trampled underfoot, suddenly a guard rail gave way, men poured from the gap in a human tide. Fifty yards to go and he could see that men were jumping over the side of their own free will, abandoning their fire arms, helmets, back packs anything that could weigh them down, some even struggling with their heavy boots. The water was alive with men.

  Through his glasses he could see the looks of horror on their faces as the blazing coaster bore down on them, flying the flags that showed it was loaded with explosives, on fire and out of control.

  The starboard side of Hogg’s coaster ground into the port side of the troop ship, he ran from the bridge, calling to his men to follow him. He led them in a mad charge for’ard. Drawing his revolver, he jumped up onto the gunwale, balanced momentarily and then leapt over onto the enemy’s deck. His men were not far behind.

  A soldier appeared from behind a ventilation shaft rifle raised, Hogg squeezed off a quick shot, it missed and the man disappeared from view. The coxswain, at his side, put five rounds through the thin metal of the shaft and the man stumbled out from cover, crumpling to the deck.