Beyond the Rhine

by Griff Hosker

  The Germans were being rallied by an officer. Davis’ bullet spun him around and when the four of us fired short bursts then the rest fled.

  “Grab grenades and then back to the house.”

  We had no sooner reached it than Ashcroft shouted, “Sir! Germans! And they are coming from the west!”

  We were surrounded!

  Chapter 13

  “Beaumont, Fletcher, Ashcroft, White and Foster, with me.”

  We ran to the east end of the house. We ran out of the back door and threw ourselves behind the small wall which ran along it.

  “Where were they, Ashcroft?”

  He pointed along the road to Wesel. “Along there sir. They were running.”

  “Then that means our lads are behind them. Hold your fire until I give you the order.”

  We had the crossroads covered. The bridge was blown and they could not go that way. Soldiers, especially those fleeing, would take the line of least resistance. I had seen it in 1940 when we had raced through the Low Countries. I moved so that I was on the edge of my men. I saw the grey and Ashcroft was right. They were running towards me.

  I saw that there were eight men together. A sergeant led them. They still had their weapons. When they were forty feet from me and, as they slowed at the crossroads I stood and fired a burst into the air. I shouted, in German, “Sergeant, surrender. You are surrounded.” In English I said, “Stand and point your weapons at them.”

  My men rose as one. The sight of five sub machine guns carried by Commandos had the desired effect. They looked down at the ground despondently. I saw one of them look down the road towards the bridge. “You are welcome to try to run over the bridge, my friend, but your artillery has blown it already. Drop your weapons, sit on the ground and you will live. The war is almost over. Do not be foolish.”

  The sergeant nodded, “Do as he says! These devils are the Commandos! They must have the ability to fly!”

  As they sat I said, “White, Foster, keep them covered, the rest of you disarm them.”

  As other Germans ran down the road they were greeted by the sight of their comrades sitting in the road with their hands on their heads. I smiled at them and said, “Join your friends.”

  They all did so except for one Colonel whose hand began to raise his pistol. If I had fired I would have risked killing those who had surrendered. Suddenly Davis’ rifle barked and the Colonel gained a third eye. It had a sobering effect. Thoughts of an heroic escape evaporated. Everyone within sight of the dead Colonel surrendered. I turned and saw Davis leaning on the remains of the upper floor of the stronghold. I waved and he waved back.

  It was 1750 hours when the first men of Number 4 Commando marched down the road. The captain who led them looked at the prisoners, there were over three hundred by then, and shook his head, “We were told that some of our chaps were here! We didn’t expect this.” He turned, “Sergeant, take charge of the prisoners.”

  The sergeant saluted and grinned, “Yes sir. You know who that is don’t you Captain Wilberforce? It is Major Harsker. He is a legend in Number 4 Commando! We could have had a lie in this morning if we had known it was him and his ghosts holding the crossroads.”

  I laughed, “A great compliment, sergeant, but we were hanging on by our very fingertips.” He went off grinning. “Pleased to meet you Captain Wilberforce, sorry we can’t offer you a cup of tea but the neighbours have made rather a mess of the place. We will have to get the decorators in I fear!”

  Just then the Typhoons roared overhead. We all looked up to watch them. They would be the final nail in Germany’s coffin. There would be no more attacks on the crossroads. A jeep roared up and Captain Wilberforce shouted, “Ten shun!

  A brigadier and a colonel got out. The brigadier grinned and walked up to me, “Brigadier Peter Young! I seem to have spent this damned war following you, Major Harsker. First Dieppe, then Sicily and finally Normandy!” He held out his hand, “Good job,” He nodded to the prisoners, “Yours?”

  “Ours!”

  “Well, we shall take it from here. Major Foster told me you would be here.” He suddenly looked serious. “Did you lose many?”

  “Just two sir but that was two too many.”

  “Quite. I understand you will be ahead of us from now on?”

  “Yes sir.”

  “Your jeeps will not be here until tomorrow. I intend to hold here until then.”

  “You might want some Royal Engineers sir. Jerry blew up their own bridge.”

  “Good and tomorrow we should find things a little easier. Operation Varsity begins. Our northern flank should be more secure.”

  I was tempted to ask what Operation Varsity entailed but I was aware that there were too many men around us. I didn’t need to know what it was, just that it would make our life easier, “Yes sir.”

  “I take it you are a little hungry?”

  “We could do with something, sir, yes.”

  “Things have moved on since Sicily and Normandy, Major. We have hot food following us. Captain Wilberforce see that these chaps are fed first.” He turned to Colonel, “Let’s go and see what the young Major has left for us to do.”

  As they drove off I said, “Beaumont, fetch the rest of the lads and then McLean and Richardson. We’ll bury them here at the crossroads.”

  Hot food was courtesy of the Commando cooks who had a trailer. The Brigadier was as good as his word and we ate first. He joined us just as we were wiping our plates dry with some bread. He took his own plate and gestured for me to join him in his jeep.

  “I am glad it is one of our own who will be on point but I want you to pace yourself. With air superiority we can let the R.A.F. do more of the spotting. We just need you and your chaps to be a mile or so ahead of us so that if there is trouble then you can call in the cavalry.”

  “That suits me sir. Our backsides have been left out to dry more than enough.”

  “I know, Major Foster told me about your last two little jaunts into Bavaria and Austria. Very resourceful.” He took a couple more mouthfuls. “You know that the plans have changed?” I nodded. “Hamburg is Monty’s target.”

  “It is flatter land there and, to be honest, the fanatics are further south.”

  “You mean easier?”

  “The Germans are never a pushover, sir. I just think that there will be fewer problems going north.”

  He finished his plate and handed it to his driver, “You have a radio , of course?”

  “Yes sir and a good operator.”

  “Excellent. I will send over my adjutant, Captain Jenkins. He will have the frequencies and call signs. There will be five jeeps for you. You might have to scavenge for fuel but then you are used to that.”

  “It will be a change, sir, to be vaguely attached to an advance. I am looking forward to it.”

  “Well, Harsker, I shall just take a quick tour of the chaps. See you in the morning.”

  Once he had gone we gathered in the garden of the house McLean and Richardson had defended. We found spades and we all dug the graves. I took their identity disks and Gordy their personal papers. After we had laid soil on top of them and planted a rifle in each one topped by their beret, Emerson played last post on his mouth organ. Somehow, it seemed even more haunting than when played on a bugle.

  We retired inside. Unlike the others we had a roof.. Captain Jenkins had delivered the information we needed as well as more maps to help us. We had the luxury of an oil lamp. We did not have to sit in the dark. “There are five jeeps. Fred you will drive one. Lieutenant Poulson, Sergeant Major Barker, Sergeant Hay and myself will drive the others. Fletcher and White, you will be with me. Davis you and Foster will ride with Freddie. Private Betts with the Lieutenant. That leaves Beaumont and Ashcroft with Sergeant Major Barker. Hewitt you will ride with Sergeant Hay”

  They all nodded. We were a team but I had tried to spread the younger ones around.

  “Beaumont, take some of the lads out afterwards and see if you can find a co
uple of machine guns for the jeeps. Freddie, I doubt they will have full tanks. Take a couple of lads and see if there is any left in the wrecked German trucks. They were just shot up. Even a couple of gallons might help. Roger, we need more grenades for the grenade rifle and shells for the mortar. I doubt we can get a bazooka but we need something.” The mortar was our heaviest weapon but the grenade rifle was far more mobile.

  Three of them nodded.

  “We need to sort out our Bergens. We have travelled in jeeps before now. They are nice little motors but they don’t have much room in them. I want the Bergens used as protection for the front of the jeeps. It worked in Antwerp and I see no reason why it shouldn’t work now. And if you find any ammo for the Colts or Thompsons then grab it. There will be no friendly quartermaster where we are going.”

  There were just three of us left around the table. Lieutenant Poulson, Gordy and me, “We have lost six new men. I want to take these four home. Look after them eh? I am going to have Freddie on point. Davis has shown us what he can do with a rifle and he has good eyes. I will be second in the column. Gordy, you will bring up the rear.”

  “Sir, how do we get ahead of the column? Our jeeps aren’t here yet and the brigadier will be heading off first thing.”

  “We use side roads to get ahead. Besides there will be some German opposition ahead of us. They will have set up some sort of defensive line.”

  My foragers came back with more than I had expected. They had two MG 34 machine guns. They used the same ammunition as the MG 42 and although those two guns had been destroyed we still had their ammunition. Emerson would fit one to his jeep and one to Bill Hay’s. Fred had also managed to salvage a large jerrycan of fuel. That would travel with Gordy at the rear. We also acquired another dozen grenades which Beaumont distributed.

  Brigadier Young had his men up before dawn. They had a couple of Hobart’s Funnies with them; the Sherman tank with the flame thrower called a Crocodile. That would enable them to deal with any strongpoints in Schermbeck just up the road.

  As the sun came up we heard the sound of Dakotas. We looked to the west and saw the sky filled with the C-47 and their Horsa gliders. It was the 6th Airborne. We watched the sky to the north of us fill with parachutes as Operation Varsity got under way. Gordy smiled, “A lovely sight that sir. I feel happier knowing that the Paras are to the north of us.”

  “And I am guessing that means we can head due east. Give me the maps and I will see what the roads are like.”

  I had studied the maps the night before. “We head for Holterhausen and then Hervest. The furthest I think we can get in half a day is Haltern am See. There is a large lake there and it may be a bottle neck. The Brigadier wants us to keep probing to the north and east along the flank of the Americans.”

  “It is Yanks to the south of us sir?”

  “Yes Lieutenant Poulson, their 16th Corps.”

  “Then we should have plenty of air support sir and they have armour too.”

  I pointed to the skies. “I am guessing our armour will be racing to get to those lads. The last time they landed, at Arnhem, they were left isolated for too long. That might explain why we just have two tanks.

  Soon the air to the north of us was filled with the crack of small arms fire, the crump of grenades and the occasional heavier sound of an 88. The Brigade was taking Schermbeck. I did not envy them their task. The defenders had had more than twenty four hours to prepare. I had wondered why no one had come down the road from the north. The Germans were obviously trying to use our crossroads to reinforce the town. We packed everything away and waited, rather forlornly at the crossroads. The support vehicles from the Brigade kept us company. Ambulances brought back the wounded to the temporary hospital which had been erected. The Germans were not going away quietly.

  Our five jeeps arrived at 1100 hours. The drivers were part of the Brigade’s support companies and, after handing them over, joined their units. It took an hour or so to load the vehicles and fit the two machine guns. The Brigadier was with his men at the sharp end. I went to see Captain Jenkins, the adjutant, who was with the Headquarters company monitoring the progress.

  “How is it going, Captain?”

  “Forward elements have linked up with 6th Para, sir. The Brigadier asked if you are ready.”

  “We are just off now. My aim is to get to Haltern am See by this evening.”

  “That is sixteen miles.”

  “I know. If we can we will push on to Selm. We will keep you informed.”

  “Good luck, sir.”

  I went back to the jeeps. “Davis, keep a sharp eye open. We hurt Jerry the other day but they are tough soldiers and they might have dug in.”

  “Don’t worry sir, I have had one brush with death. I don’t want another. Right Freddie off we go!”

  I drove and White was next to me with his Thompson and grenades at the ready. My Tommy gun was in the back with Fletcher and the radio. We had managed to tie the Bergens in front of us. We had flattened them so that they did not obscure my view. They would not stop much but we had learned to do what we could to preserve our lives.

  We passed the wrecked Panzer tanks. The Typhoons had made a mess of them. The sides of the roads were still lettered with bodies. Rats, crows and foxes had already begun to feast on them. I saw Sam pale. This was the reality of war. He was a clever man and he had an imagination. That could be us lying there. I saw Davis wave his hand for us to slow as we approached Holterhausen. It was not a large place but it had been demolished. There were many wrecked vehicles there. This was where the Typhoons and Marauders had attacked their reinforcements. We drove through slowly. Fletcher and White had their guns ready in case of ambush. It was a graveyard of men and vehicles. Once through we speeded up.

  We had to drive around a couple of trucks which had been hit in the middle of the road. They had been strafed. Our air superiority had hurt them. There were people in Hervest but they stayed indoors. Wrecked houses lined the road as we drove slowly through.

  Scouse said, “Sir, it looks like the war is over eh?”

  “Fletcher, we are ten miles from our front lines there will be Germans ahead, we just haven’t see them yet.”

  The road was rising and I saw the tops of the trees of the forest of Haltern. Davis stopped just two hundred yards from its edge. The other jeeps stopped in the dead ground. We were just a mile from Haltern and that was a couple of miles from Haltern am See. I checked the map as he left his jeep to walk back to us. There was a railway line to the south of us and then the Lippe. Just beyond that was the canal. I took out the binoculars and climbed up on the seat. I saw that a train and its wagons had been hit by an air strike. I saw no sign of barges on the canal.

  “Sir, I don’t like the looks of the forest up ahead.”

  “What can you see?”

  “Nothing sir and that is what is worrying me. I didn’t expect any opposition in the last two places. They were too exposed but here? This is perfect for ambush. If our armour tries to come through here then they can use mines and Panzerfausts as well as their 88s to destroy them one by one. The trees are too narrow to allow them through.”

  He was right, “But we can go through. Fletcher, you take charge of this jeep.”

  “Sir!”

  I circled and pumped my arm three times. My men left their jeeps to join me. “Davis thinks there may be trouble in the woods and I am inclined to agree with him. I am leaving Emerson and Fletcher with the jeeps. The rest you grab your guns and grenades.”

  “Sir.”

  “ Fred, Scouse, move the jeeps out of range of small arms. Davis, I want you to move to within a hundred and fifty yards of the woods. Find cover and keep watch.”

  “Right sir.”

  When my men arrived I said, “We go in two teams. I will take the south side of the road, Lieutenant Poulson the north. Hay, Hewitt, White, Foster and Beaumont, you are with me. The rest go with the Lieutenant. We go in pairs. White you are with me. One moves one watches
. Get into the woods and let’s see if there is any danger there. Let’s go.”

  Hay said, “Foster, you are with me.”

  I cocked my Thompson and ran across the scrubland to the right of the road. It was undulating. I guessed it had been used for grazing at one time. There was a low wall just forty feet from the road and behind it was lush grass. If we ran into danger then I would leap over the wall. I stopped a hundred yards from the edge of the trees and I knelt. “Sam, I am going to run forty feet and drop. When I wave my arm you come. Cover me while I run. Watch the edge of the wood for movement. If you see any then open fire. It doesn’t matter if you don’t hit anything, the bullets will warn me quicker than a shout.”

  “Sir.”

  I rose and ran. The beauty of my team was that we had done this for years. I was not worrying if Hay and Beaumont were moving when I did; I knew that they were. I kept glancing at the ground and at the wood. I was looking for grey but if the Germans were any good then they would be heavily camouflaged. Suddenly there was a crack from within the woods. I saw a flash and then heard the explosion as an 88 tried to hit the jeeps. I stopped, dived into the long grass and glanced around. Emerson was just moving the last jeep into dead ground. The shell covered him and the jeep with soil and stones. Then the machine guns started.

  Sam barely made it. He hurled himself to the ground just as the bullets zipped over my head. We had triggered the ambush. Fletcher would, even now, be on the radio to summon the cavalry. Sam began to rise. “Stay down. They might think they have shot us and we have Davis, remember.”