Beyond the Rhine

by Griff Hosker

  Amidst the cacophony of bullets ahead of us I heard a single shot from behind. The manic noise diminished slightly. A heartbeat later there was a second shot and then I heard just one machine gun.

  “On my count half rise. Give a long burst at the woods from left to right and then drop again. When I shout then zig zag closer to the woods.”

  “Sir.”

  I smiled, “Don’t worry. You will do fine.” He nodded. To my left I heard my men returning the German fire. I could still hear Davis’ rifle as he picked off visible targets. “Now!”

  I stood and, firing from the hip I ran to my left. White rose from my right and sprayed from left to right. When he stopped I ran right and my gun clicked on empty. Bullets zipped to my left. I was now fifty feet from the edge of the wood. I dropped to the ground and, pulling out my Luger, raised it and fired blindly in the direction of the wood. I used half a magazine. That would buy me the time to reload. I holstered the German gun. Lying on my back I reloaded and then rolled six feet to my left. I took out a Mills bomb and pulled the pin. I quickly stood and hurled the grenade high before dropping and shouting, “White, run!” The grenade had a four second fuse and it exploded in the air.

  White dropped next to me. I slowly rose. The smoke was clearing and I could see that I had blown a hole in the camouflage netting. I fired half a magazine and said, “Run!”

  We ran the last fifty feet to the wood, firing as we went. There had been a machine gun position. The gunner and loader lay dead. Each had been shot by Davis. The grenade had scythed through the others. The gun had been wrecked in the explosion. I saw the Germans fleeing through the trees. Then I saw the guns. There were two 88s and a couple of half-tracks with 20 mm cannon. Even as I saw them the two guns traversed towards us.

  We had done enough. I blew my whistle three times. “White throw a grenade and then leg it back to the jeep.”

  I picked up a German grenade. I had found I could throw them further than a Mills bomb. Even when it was in the air I propelled White out of the emplacement and into the open. I saw my other men running back. Hewitt and Hay were helping Beaumont who had been hit. Our two grenades went off. The 20 mm cracked and I heard them hit the trees. It was the trees which saved us. They would have to move closer, now, to the edge of the woods. We kept zig zagging. White must have glanced behind us for he fell. I turned and ran back. I saw the Germans as they returned to their emplacement. I opened fire and emptied the last of my magazine. I grabbed White’s arm and helped him to his feet. I ran towards the road and when I saw the jeeps, I threw myself down into the hollow where Emerson and Fletcher had hidden them.

  We were the last to arrive. I saw that Emerson and Beaumont had both been wounded while Betts was limping. He shook his head, “Twisted my ankle, sir.”

  I nodded, “You can man the gun on the Sergeant Major’s jeep. Ashcroft you are with the Lieutenant.”

  “Sir.”

  “Fletcher, did you get a message off?”

  “Sir.”

  “Well tell them that there are at least two 88s and two half-tracks with 20 mm.”

  “And Panzerfausts.” I looked at Lieutenant Poulson. “We were going to grab them but they counterattacked. They had two half-tracks with MG 42 machine guns. I did not want to risk it.”

  “You did right. Tell them Fletcher.” I turned to Hewitt. “How are Fred and Roger?”

  “Cuts and bruises for Emerson. Beaumont took a bullet in the leg. I have stopped the bleeding but he will need surgery.”

  I shook my head, “Base hospital for you Roger.”

  I saw him hang his head, “And that means I won’t be there at the end. I so wanted to be there when we finally won.”

  I knew what he meant. None of us enjoyed what we were doing but none of us wanted to shirk our duty. “You never know. You may be back. Make the nurses’ lives a misery and say we need you!”

  He brightened, “You know I think I will, sir.”

  “The rest of you load up and then make a defensive line at the edge of the dead ground. Bill, go and fetch Davis. I don’t want to risk him. White and Foster, use the grenade rifle to keep their heads down.”

  “Right sir.”

  I went to see Fletcher. He had just finished. “They are sending down a couple of Kangaroos and a company, sir. Our orders are to hold. If the light holds they are going to try to bomb it.”

  I looked up. It was overcast and getting late. It would be unlikely that would happen. I heard the crump of the grenade and then sporadic fire. My four men came racing back.

  “Well done Davis.”

  “I had better make myself a suit sir out of the camouflage netting. I was fortunate there. There was grass, rocks and bushes. We won’t always be that lucky.”

  “What did you see through your scope?”

  “They look to be in company strength. Just before the Sergeant pulled me back I saw more movement in the woods. They are reinforcing.”

  “That was to be expected. We had better make ourselves cosy. We will have company soon enough.”

  It was dark when the two Kangaroos and the lorries arrived with the company of Commandos. The officer saluted. It was the one who had led the advance guard the previous day, “Captain Wilberforce sir. I have brought C Company.”

  “My men are in the safe place to watch. The woods are a couple of hundred yards away and they have brought up their guns. The next vehicles that move down the road will be destroyed before they can get twenty feet. They have two 88s. It is a company in there.”

  “Should we try a night time attack, sir?”

  “We could but they may have booby trapped the woods. It is what we would do. Let us wait until they have called in the air strike.”

  “What if they start to shell us here, sir?”

  “In that case, Captain, we will launch an attack. They haven’t yet which leads me to think that they are low on HE. I believe the half-tracks are there to protect the 88s and pull them out if we get close. Me and my lads are going to get our heads down. Wake me if there is any movement.”

  “Sir.”

  The Captain seemed to know his business. He used the two Kangaroos to anchor the flanks and he had his men dig slit trenches.

  We sent Beaumont back in the lorry. The company only had a couple of medics and could do no more than Hewitt had done. The men all bantered with Beaumont as he was carried aboard the lorry. Those who had them gave him letters to post. Fletcher and he were close. I saw them shake hands firmly. They had totally different backgrounds but they got on like brothers. Beaumont would be safe in a hospital for a while but the rest of us could all be dead inside a week. Our farewells were meant. The Vera Lynn song we had sung in Strasbourg suddenly seemed more relevant.

  We ate rations and checked our weapons. Emerson went around the jeeps and topped up the tanks. We had the luxury of a company to guard us and we slept well.

  I was up before dawn. I went to the slit trenches. There was a sergeant on duty. “Sir!”

  “Is it quiet?”

  “As the grave, sir. The lads we relieved said there was some noise around midnight and then all quiet.”

  “That does not bode well for us, Sergeant. The Germans are very good at making traps.”

  “I know, sir. We helped to clear Walcheren. It was a bugger sir, if you’ll pardon my French.”

  “We were just there for the Westkappelle part of the operation and that was bad enough. We lost a couple of good lads there.”

  “Aye, so did we. That’s why I hope they just bomb the bastards in the woods. We have lost enough good men. Jerry has lost! Why don’t they surrender?”

  I remembered the terror weapons, “Because, Sergeant, the men at the top still think that they can win.”

  He nodded, “Aye sir and they say that when this is over they will send us to Japan. The Nips are still fighting. We could be fighting until 1950 at this rate, sir.”

  The thought depressed me beyond belief.

  By the time the sun c
ame up my men were all washed, fed and ready to go. Captain Wilberforce was all for attacking the woods. “That would be a mistake Captain. Your men heard them hard at work last night. That means they are making it dangerous for us.”

  Just then we heard the sound of armour coming up the road. It was the two Sherman Crocodiles leading the lorries with the men of the 1st Commando Brigade. Brigadier Young led them. He stepped out and pointed to the skies. “The R.A.F. are going to help us out this morning. Twelve Typhoons are going to clear the wood before we go in.”

  I nodded to Captain Wilberforce, “There you are Captain. We can watch the show instead of being part of it.”

  “Come here, Harsker, let us have a look at the map.” Others gathered around but the Brigadier waved them away. “This is to do with your mission in Austria.” He jabbed a finger at the mountains in Thuringia. “This is Nordhausen. The Germans have been producing their V-2 rockets at a factory in the mountains to the north of it. It is an underground factory. If you are able Churchill would like you to get there and see if you can capture the blueprints for the rockets and the scientists.”

  I shook my head, “Impossible. That is two hundred miles away. We were held up just twenty miles from our jump off point.”

  He smiled. “That is what I told them. Still, we are heading to Bielefeld. That is less than a hundred miles from our target. Let’s see how long it takes us to get there, eh?”

  Just then we heard the throaty roar of twelve Typhoons as they screamed in to attack the woods. We were close enough to see how devastating their rockets and cannons were. They tore through the woods. We saw vehicles, guns and ammunition exploding. The noise of the aero engines and the explosions was deafening. The three aeroplanes which had attacked at Schermbeck had been terrifying enough but twelve was horrific. When they peeled away they left a smoking wood with flames flickering within.

  I said, “Right lads, mount up!”

  The Brigadier said, “Don’t be so keen. Captain Wilberforce, take the Kangaroos in first. Major Harsker, your jeeps can follow.”

  I was not going to argue with a brigadier., “Yes sir.”

  I slipped behind the wheel. Fletcher and White had their guns at the ready. We had to wait until the two Kangaroos filled up with men. They had two Bren guns at the front. The gunners and driver were protected by steel. I waved Emerson forward as they passed us. It was a sedate pace. We could see little at first because of the huge armoured personnel carriers in front of us. As soon as we entered the wood we saw that nothing could have survived. There were blackened lumps which had been men. There was twisted and contorted metal that had been guns and vehicles. The tyres on the half-tracks were still burning. Then there was a the sound of a small explosion. I saw the lad Kangaroo move.

  Sam said, “What was that, sir?”

  “I am guessing, White, that they laid anti-personnel mines. The Kangaroos are safe but they could have damaged the jeeps.”

  The explosions lasted for fifty yards and then there was nothing. We came to the clearing where the Germans had bivouacked and the two Kangaroos pulled over. The driver, a cheery sergeant said, “All yours sir! I reckon that is the last of the mines.

  Captain Wilberforce pushed his tin lid back and said, “We will be a bit close behind you this time. I have my radio operator tuned in so if you have any bother sir, we’ll be right on it.” Our jeeps could move much faster than the Kangaroos.

  I waved, “Thanks, Captain. Freddie! Foot down!”

  I expected to be held up at Haltern am See. There was water and it was a town. A detour would have added days. However, as we approached I saw neither grey nor guns. I overtook Emerson, “I will go first Freddie. I don’t think your German is up to it.”

  “No sir!”

  I drove cautiously, ”Don’t point your guns at them and smile. Fletcher get on the radio and tell them what we are doing.”

  “Sir.”

  This was neither France nor Belgium. We were not liberating these people, we were conquering them. There was no band to welcome us. No flags were waved and we were greeted by silence and stares. It was unnerving. It felt as though we were a funeral cortege heading through the town. Perhaps we were and the coffin was Germany itself. This was the surest sign yet that the German people had given up. It was resignation and not resistance on their faces. We were through the town and into the countryside once more.

  Fletcher said, “I told them, sir.” He shook his head. “That was weird.”

  Sam said, “Is it always like that sir?”

  “I have no idea Sam. This is the first German town we have liberated.”

  As we headed east we saw in the distance more bombers as the Allies continued to harass the Germans. Eisenhower was keeping them off balance. We had another, smaller forest through which we had to pass but it was uneventful. We had learned from the first one and drove through cautiously. There was no point in getting too far ahead of C Company. The next town we struck was Lüdinghausen. It was a beautiful little place with three castles and like Haltern am See we were greeted by stares and silence. Perhaps the aeroplanes overhead showed what they might have received.

  We hit trouble by Rheda-Wiedenbrück. I had expected it. This was larger than the last two towns and there was a major river, the Emse. They would hold us up if only to prepare more defences deeper in Germany. Freddie was leading and, as we approached the outskirts someone fired from the third storey of what looked like an old school. Freddie spun his wheel and led us into the shelter of what appeared to be a park. There were trees and a wall. It was shelter. Our sudden move took the shooters by surprise but, even so, chips of stone and road surface clattered against the jeeps.

  Once inside the shelter of the park I jumped out and grabbed my gun, “Fletcher!”

  “On it, sir.”

  “White, find Foster and get the rifle grenade. I want you to take out the men on top of that building. “

  “Sir.”

  “Bill, get Ashcroft and set up the mortar. Davis, shin up that chestnut tree and tell me what you can see.”

  “Sir.”

  “The rest of you get ready to move. Betts, you still have the bad ankle. You guard the jeeps.”

  “Sir.”

  White and Foster brought the grenade rifle. “Sir, I think the range is too great sir. It would be a waste of a grenade.”

  A month ago he would not have spoken up. The rookies were becoming veterans. “Bill, it is up to you two.”

  He grinned, “I have been looking forward to using this.” They set it up behind the wall. The bullets still ricocheted off the wall as they tried to make us move. Davis shouted, “Further down the street sir, two hundred yards away, they have a road block and an anti-tank gun.”

  “Do you have a shot?”

  “Yes sir.”

  “Then make them nervous.” I turned to Lieutenant Poulson. “As soon as we have cleared the building take Bill, Freddie and Foster. Clear the building. We will head for the tank trap.”

  Fletcher said, “They are on their way sir! The captain says he is less than an hour away.”

  The first of the mortar shells landed. It was short but it shook the building and I heard cries from those who were sheltering in the lower floors. Bill adjusted it and sent another one. This one hit the parapet and, as part of it fell, some German soldiers were exposed. Gordy fired a burst with his Tommy gun. He missed but it made them duck. The second and third shells were right on the money. Bodies flew over the side.

  “Go Lieutenant!”

  They ran at the now wrecked building. There was fire from the anti-tank position in the street but they escaped unscathed. My men knew how to run and use limited cover.

  Davis’ rifle was still firing. The Germans were trying to locate him but he was outside the range of their sights and rifles. “Get down Davis, you have done enough. Bill turn the mortar around. You are firing blind but I want six shells laying down as a barrage. Three hundred yards should do it.”

  “Si
r.”

  “The rest of you with me.”

  We began to run. We headed to the corner of the street. Two shells had been fired by the time we reached it. As we turned I saw that Bill was short. It was not by much and, as the mortar heated up it had a tendency to send them further. Besides, Bill and his mortar were a distraction. As each shell exploded the defenders took cover. Stones and debris flew through the air and the shells appeared to be creeping ever closer to the defenders. By the fourth shell we were just a hundred and fifty yards from them. I was using the cover of the doorways and only running when the shells exploded.

  The sixth shell hit the barricade. Splinters of wood and metal acted like a giant shotgun and men reeled. We opened fire at sixty paces distance. Our Thompsons fired short bursts. The Germans had rifles. When Lieutenant Poulson and his men joined us it was all over. The survivors surrendered.

  I heard the sound of Kangaroos and I sent four men back to bring the jeeps. Captain Wilberforce shook his head, “Very selfish old chap. How about leaving something for us next time?”

  “This time isn’t over yet, Captain.” I pointed to the town. The towers of a castle could be seen. “Unless I miss my guess that is Schloss Rheda. The river runs around it and I think there will be a bridge. They will defend it. You might get your chance yet. Have some of your men guard the prisoners and then follow us.”

  “Do you want the Kangaroos to go first?”

  The jeeps arrived. I shook my head, “Too many high buildings. They can drop a grenade into them and that would be the end of that. We will go first.” I turned before I clambered aboard my jeep. “Davis, keep your eyes peeled for men on the roof.”

  “Yes sir.”

  “Off you go Emerson.”

  I got a stiff neck driving the half mile through the old town. I kept looking up for snipers. Bombers had ruined some fine old buildings but they were close enough to the road to be a serious threat. Davis rifle cracked and a body tumbled from the roof of a two story building.