Beyond the Rhine

by Griff Hosker

  One older man said, “Yes but we are Poles. What will happen to us?”

  It was sad but they would probably all be recaptured. “We are going to blow the factory up. Then we will leave. Upstairs is a bakery.” I switched to English. “Davis, take these to the bakery. If there are any coats there then give them to them and let them take as much bread as they want. Have White tell them to get as far away as they can. The Swiss border is just forty or so miles away. They might make it.”

  “Sir.”

  I turned back to the man, “Davis will take you to the bakery. I am sorry we cannot do more for you.”

  He smiled, “We were doomed to die and you have given us a slight hope. If one of us survives then that is a victory. I was resigned to die here. Thank you!”

  Davis led them away.

  I saw that one of the Germans had a packet of cigarettes which had fallen from his tunic. I picked them up. “How long, Beaumont?”

  “Almost done, sir. As soon as you are all out I will set a charge by the door. It looks like there is just one way in and one way out. Those poor sods must have had to lug everything up and down those stairs.”

  “Can we destroy this facility?”

  “Oh yes sir. There are plenty of weak points down here and when we bring down the door it will take them months to clear it. Eventually they could get it going again but they will never use these machines again. That is for certain. I am using fifteen minute fuses in here. That means we will have ten minutes once I am out.”

  “Right, the rest of you leave Beaumont to it and get up to the lorry.”

  I followed Fletcher and Hay. When we stepped into the yard the wind, snow and sleet hit me. It was a shock to be in the cold again. I saw that Lieutenant Poulson had the bakery workers lined up. There were just six of them. The engine of the German truck was running and Emerson stuck his head out of the cab. “Half a tank, sir. Should get us home.”

  “Right. Stick your German field cap on.” I saw that Sam White was talking to the Poles in the bakery. “As soon as Beaumont gets here tell the bakers to go and the Poles too. We will have ten minutes to get as far to the west as we can.”

  Lieutenant Poulson said, “Right sir. Cutting it fine.”

  I shrugged, “Beaumont knows what he is doing.” I threw the packet of German cigarettes to Freddie. “Here, these might come in handy. Have you got an escape route worked out?”

  Emerson nodded, “Yes sir. Head north west through Rangendingen. There are lots of small roads along the route, sir. If Jerry comes after us we can slip down one.”

  I looked at my watch. It was after midnight. We had seventy miles to the front line. The easiest part would be the first part. The closer we came to the front line the more troops we would have to face. I saw that Foster and Scott had a couple of baskets of bread they had liberated. They were in the back of the lorry. Davis had managed to take two MP 34 guns from the dead Germans and he had one in the cab and one in the back.

  I looked up as the Poles came out. I saw that some of them had managed to take old coats from the bakery and they all had loaves in their hand. They ran past us through the open gate, “Thank you, English! Long live the King!” The Poles were a defiant lot. I had met Polish pilots. If anyone could survive a forty mile hike through a German winter then it was the Poles. The thick forests would hide them. The Germans would be more intent on catching us rather than chasing slave labour.

  David handed me some papers. “Here sir. The papers from the S.S. in the factory.” He took one out. “This is the one belonging to the S.S. Officer.”

  “Thanks Davis.” I examined it. He was Hauptmann Franz Dietrich. I put it in the pocket of the snow suit.

  Beaumont appeared. I turned to the bakers, “Run. We are going to blow this up and you do not want to be here then!”

  They needed no further warning and they ran.

  Bill Hay shouted, “Right everyone in the back. Major Harsker and Freddie will be in the front!” He handed me two loaves. They were made with rye wheat. “Here y’are sir. For you and Emerson. They are still hot. I guess the town will go hungry tomorrow!”

  I waited until Beaumont reached the truck before I clambered aboard. “Take it steady through the town and then when this lot goes up give it all she has got.”

  As we drove through the gates and two dead Germans he said, “That won’t be very fast sir. This bugger is slow as. God alone knows what they are using for petrol!”

  As we descended the hill, towards the town, we had an inkling of what the journey would be like. The roads were slick with recently fallen snow and it took all of Emerson’s skills with the clutch, brake and steering wheel to keep us on the road. A crash into a building would be a disaster. We had reached the square in the middle of the town when, in the side mirrors, I saw a huge flash and then, a heartbeat later heard the explosion. It seemed like the whole building rose and then fell. I heard, from the back, Lieutenant Poulson say, “Well done, Beaumont!”

  We were starting to climb up the other side of the valley when I saw lights on the road from the south. They were some way away and, through the driving snow hard to estimate how far away they were. I guessed that had come from the castle. That was three miles from the bakery. They would get to the bakery first and then chase us. I had no doubt that the bakers would be ready to tell the soldiers where we were. That meant we had, at most, a fifteen minute lead. The Germans’ vehicles would begin to catch us. We would have to turn and fight them at some point. The trick would be to find the best place to do that.

  I handed a loaf to Emerson. He picked it up and bit a chunk out of it, “Be nice this sir with butter and me mam’s strawberry jam!”

  “I nodded as I tore off a piece to eat it. “Yes indeed, or a nice cheddar with a pickled onion.” The flour was not the best but it was hot food and it was unexpected. What was it Colley Cibber had said, ‘Stolen sweets taste best’? He was right.

  We were not moving fast, at all. The road twisted and turned, rose and fell. Road maintenance was not a priority in the Third Reich and there were potholes as big as baths! Emerson said, “Sorry about this, sir. I daren’t risk going any faster sir. I don’t want to turn her over.”

  “You are doing fine, Freddie.” As I looked out of the cab I saw that the snow had slowed and was no longer a blizzard. It was stopping. Soon it would no longer cover our tracks and when daylight came they would find us.

  “Something ahead, sir.”

  I took off my beret and put my field cap on. “Heads up! Something ahead. If you have to speak then use German.” I saw a light slowly swinging across the road. It was a road block. There were two German motorcycle combinations. I took out the Hauptmann’s papers. I held them in my left hand and took out the silenced Colt which I kept hidden. “Slow down, Emerson and smile. Look casual. Be ready to put your foot down.”

  “Jawohl!”

  I almost laughed at his accent. Emerson had not taken well to the language lessons. He could understand more German than he used to but when he spoke you knew he was English. I wound the window down and leaned my head out. The wind was still icy even though most of the snow had stopped. I saw that there were four men at the road block some sixty yards from us. It was a sergeant and three others. They had one MP 34 and the rest were holding rifles. The sergeant appeared to have a holstered weapon. I risked speaking to the others as Emerson brought us to a slow and dignified halt.. “Four men in the road. I will try to bluff our way out.”

  Freddie stopped us and took a cigarette out from the packet I had given him. He had a German lighter from an earlier raid and he lit the cigarette. The familiar smell would allay the German’s suspicions. I decided to play the arrogant S.S. officer. The four Germans were just line infantry.

  “What is it? We are on important business!”

  He saluted, “Sorry sir! But there has been an attack by British paratroopers. Have you papers?” He shone his torch in my face.

  “Get the torch from my face! Here!”
As I handed them over I felt the truck move slightly. Someone had got off. I slowly raised the Colt until it was just below the window.

  “I am Hauptmann Dietrich and I work at the Uranverein facility in Hechingen. It is vital I deliver the case I have in the back.”

  I saw him frown and then he looked up at me, “You are not…”

  He got no further for my Colt was pointing between his eyes, “Sergeant, do not make me shoot you. Tell your men to lay down their weapons.”

  I saw him about to argue and then saw Hay, White and Lieutenant Poulson rise behind his three men. Guns were pressed into their backs and Sam White said, “Do not move, gentlemen or we shall shoot you! Now drop your guns!”

  The guns were dropped.

  “Fletcher, get round here with Foster. Clear this roadblock. Lieutenant get the prisoners on board. Take off their boots!”

  Suddenly Freddie jumped out of the cab and ran to the motor cycles. He removed the two cans of petrol from the back and held them triumphantly. “This might be better petrol, sir.”

  “Well don’t fill it now. Let’s get out of here!”

  After he had placed them in the back he climbed back into the cab and threw out the cigarette. “I like a fag sir but these are horrible!”

  We now had a problem. We had turned off the main road a couple of times in an attempt to lose our pursuers but now we had told them where we were. Nor did I want to take the four Germans back with us. We had to ditch them. I had grabbed the sergeant’s torch and now I used it to examine my map.

  “Take the next left!”

  “Bloody hell fire, sir!” The next turn was almost upon us and Emerson threw the truck over so fast that we almost toppled over. The back wheels skidded along the road acting like a snow plough. “Drive down this road for one mile or so.” It was a smaller road than the one we had left. I saw tracks in the snow where someone had taken a wrong turn and then turned around.

  “They will see where we skidded sir.”

  “I know!” I shouted so that the others could hear me. “Blind fold the prisoners and tie their hands behind their backs. Use the parachute cord.”

  I heard Lieutenant Poulson shout, “Sir!”

  “Next left! Slowly this time and then stop.” I had seen on the map that there was a road which headed up through the forest. It was a narrow road. When Emerson stopped we were at the bottom of a slope. “Drive half way up the hill and then stop and turn off the engine. You are going to have to reverse down the hill without an engine.”

  “Righto sir.”

  When he stopped I jumped out. “Get them out.”

  The Germans were helped out. I pointed up the road and gestured for the others to walk behind them.

  I said, loudly, “Walk up the road. We have run out of petrol.” We walked them until we reached a slight turn. We were about four hundred yards from the truck. “Stop. Wait here!” I turned the sergeant around and around. The others caught on and did the same with the other three. I had my men spread them out.

  “What is going on? My feet are freezing!”

  “Better you have frozen feet than you are dead.”

  I signalled for my men to go back down the road. I walked backwards. They nodded and did the same. When we reached the truck I waved them back on board.

  “Right Emerson. Slowly roll it down the hill and when you come to that part where someone else turned around in the road follow their tracks. Drive slowly and then take the first left.”

  I was aware that I was losing time to our pursuers but I hoped that this little detour would have them hunting in the wrong place. Emerson manged to get us to the turn off and we headed down another narrow road through the trees. This time the sides of the truck knocked snow from the trees and disguised our tracks. After half a mile we rejoined the road. We were less than a thousand yards from where I had left the skid mark.

  “Now drive steadily and, if we are not followed take the turn off to the right after Kniebis. We are going to hold up until tomorrow night.”

  Chapter 4

  Kniebis was just coming to life as we drove through. I waved at the only person I saw. They stared back at me. Half a mile from the village and just as the first grey appeared in the eastern sky, I had Emerson turn off and head down a small track. We stopped forty yard in. I told the men to climb from the back and, using a couple of branches, we covered our tracks. “Freddie, drive on a little further. We will catch up.” We swept our tracks until we came to a turn in the trail. There it was so narrow that we would cover our own tracks with the snow we would knock from the trees above us. I was not certain a truck had ever been down the road. There appeared to be too many branches still intact. I used the map to find somewhere well hidden. The hills to the north towered over us. There were no roads there. As we stopped Emerson said, “The engine was overheating. She could do with a rest.”

  There was a German dixie in the cab. I handed it to him. “Fill this with water and stick it on the engine. We might as well use that extra heat. It will make a brew!”

  He beamed, “Cracking idea sir.”

  “Right lads. We will lie up here for the day. Put on your German field caps. Foster, have you seen to Scott’s arm?”

  He climbed down, “Yes sir. He broke the forearm. I have given him a couple of painkillers.”

  Private Scott shook his head, “I can’t believe it sir! First mission and I smack my arm off a bloody great branch! There’s no piggin’ justice!”

  “Never mind, Scott, it didn’t cause any bother.”

  “Can we smoke, sir?”

  “Yes Emerson but no fires.”

  The smokers lit up. Private Scott asked, “What was that with the prisoners, sir? Why didn’t we just shoot them?”

  Polly shook his head, “We don’t kill unless we have to.”

  I nodded, “Besides I used them to our advantage. I had Emerson skid so that they couldn’t miss where we turned off. When I saw that turning place it seemed perfect. By making them disorientated they would spend longer freeing themselves and making the tracks hard to spot. I have no doubt that they will free themselves and escape. They will either go down the hill to the nearest house, it was more than a mile away, or, more likely, the Germans following us would find them. They would lead them back up the hill. As we have neither heard nor seen them then I am guessing we lost them. They will have an aeroplane up when it is daylight and they will search the road. There are plenty of turnoffs along this road.”

  Bill Hay asked, “Aren’t you worried that someone will come down the road sir?”

  “That is possible but as there are no other tracks I am not particularly bothered and Emerson has the bonnet up so it would look like we have broken down. Lieutenant Poulson. I want a rota. Everyone apart from Scott pairs up and has a two hour duty. The rest can sleep.”

  “But sir I can watch.”

  “Scott, you have been on painkillers! You sleep!”

  “Sir.”

  “Freddie is making a brew. Make sure you all have a cup. I want no one suffering from the hypothermia.”

  Scott asked, “Hypo what sir?”

  Bill Hay shook his head, “The bleeding cold! Did you not pay any attention to the lectures when you were training?”

  “I couldn’t concentrate, Sarge. It was too bloody cold!”

  For some reason that made my men all laugh uncontrollably.

  Freddie brought me my tea, “The engine was still hot sir so I put another dixie on. It will take longer but it should still boil. I have filled up the tank from the two petrol cans, sir. There is a drop left in each one. I filled our tank.”

  “We might need them yet. Make sure the lids are on tightly.”

  “Sir. Bombs?”

  I nodded, “You never know when we might need them.” As I sipped the tea and ate the biscuits from my ration I studied the map. This road trailed around the mountains. There were a couple of roads leading off it. I guessed that they were summer roads. Then we would come to Oberkirch. It
was just fifteen miles from the river and the closer we came to the river the more likely we would be to run into Germans. I knew that there were no bridges over the Rhine; either the Germans or our bombers had knocked them out. That meant we needed a boat. As I studied the map I saw what looked like a cut and some docks. The rivers were used by the Germans like the railways were at home. Even if they were the big Rhine barges they might have a dinghy on board. It was a possibility. My plan was to get to the river and then work out how to get across.

  That done and the tea finished, I curled up in a ball and went to sleep. Billy Hay woke me up at noon. I had asked for that shift. “Anything?”

  “A spotter plane was up but it seemed to be going over the road. Lieutenant Poulson had us rig the netting over the lorry.”

  I should have thought of that. “How is Scott?”

  “Not so much in pain as feeling embarrassed.”

  I shrugged, “It happens. Landing at night in a forest? I am surprised we didn’t have more injuries.”

  “So, how do we get over the river, sir?”

  “I spotted a dock on the river. When I looked at the aerial photographs back in the hangar I saw some barges and small boats. I thought to dump and booby trap the lorry and then cross the river by boat. It is the only way I can see. It will be too icy to swim and the Rhine is a bit wide.”

  “Then we just have the problem of getting ashore without our own side shooting at us!”

  “Let’s get across the river first.”

  I woke them all up at dusk. No more snow had fallen and the clear skies bespoke ice. Emerson was happy enough with the lorry and we boarded it again. With just fifteen miles to go we did not need to rush. I had various routes in mind but I thought we would try the Oberkirch one first. It was harder going than I had thought. The lorry got stuck a couple of times. The snow had frozen and the back end fishtailed around too much. It took us almost two and half hours to reach the main road.

  I had Fred wait in the trees and I went to check for traffic. There was none and I waved him out, clambering up into the cab as he slid and slipped his way on to the road. The going was much easier. There had obviously been traffic heading up to the front. As we approached the outskirts of Oberkirch I realised that we would have to find a better route. There was a road block. I was not certain it was just for us. There was a line of pedestrians as well as vehicles. They were checking the papers of women and children as well as men.