by Griff Hosker
Before I could emulate them I heard the sound of a German MP 34 and, as I turned I saw Ashcroft clutch his chest and he fell into the river. Davis killed the man who had slain him. White and Hewitt jumped into the river to save Ashcroft. I had seen the hole in his chest. He was dead.
The field telephone rang and I picked it up. Hay had the MG 42 firing and the crew of the 88 as well as the officer fell. Davis ran to the second MG.
“Allo!”
“The British are about to breach the first line of defence. Tell Oberlieutenant Gruber to blow the bridge.”
“Yes sir!”
“Davis swing the machine gun around. Jerry will be along that road in a moment or two.”
“Sir.”
I shouted to Lieutenant Poulson, “We are going to get company very soon. It is up to the four of us.”
“Where are the other three?”
“Ashcroft is dead.”
Billy Hay stood and hurled a grenade across the bridge then he jumped up and ran. I saw what he was intending. The gun crews were all dead but the guns still functioned. Before more men could arrive he ran up to them and dropped two grenades into the 88 mm. Then he turned and ran back. He barely made it before the grenades exploded amongst the ammunition. It was like the biggest firework display I had ever seen. Flying shells and debris filled the air. We buried ourselves in the sandbags. Whoever had ordered the destruction of the bridge would think they had succeeded. When the explosions stopped I looked across and saw that the buildings behind the gun had been set on fire. The flames licked higher and suddenly took hold of the roof. It was an inferno. I saw Lieutenant Poulson swing his gun around to face the north.
All through the explosions and the fire I had heard the Firefly’s gun as it drew closer to us. Now that the explosions had stopped I could hear the small arms fire as well as the tank’s Browning. Then the Germans appeared. To our left I saw them streaming across the wooden bridge. They were in range of us but they were not a threat to us. The sixty men who ran down the street were. We opened fire. The two initial bursts hit twelve men and the rest took cover. We used the guns sparingly. We just had to keep them pinned down and Captain Wilberforce and his men would do the rest.
The Germans began to get desperate. Four broke from cover firing their submachine guns as they ran. Although we hit three one hurled a grenade. It exploded just twenty feet from us. Had we not sheltered behind the sandbags we would have been dead. However, in that moment another twenty ran. By the time we had raised our heads they were just thirty feet from us. Davis kept his fingers on the trigger of the MG 42. I swung up my MP 40 and opened fire with that. One German took eight bullets but still kept coming. As I clicked on empty I went to draw my Luger when I heard an MP 40 from behind me. It was joined a moment later by a second. That did it. They were broken and they threw down their weapons and shouted, “Surrender! We surrender!”
I turned around and saw a dripping Lance Sergeant Hewitt and Private White with their machine guns still smoking.
I nodded, “Thanks! We were dead men but for you.”
Sam pointed to the river, “We tried to save Stephen sir, but he was already dead.”
“And it isn’t over yet. White join Hewitt on the MG 42. Davis, sniper time.” I gestured towards the small wooden bridge. Eventually they would realise how few we were and try to retake the bridge we had captured.
Suddenly, to the north of us was a huge explosion. Lieutenant Poulson had a better view of it and he said, “Sir, there was another bridge. They have blown it.”
“Then load your weapons and prepare to endure the firestorm when they attack!”
Machine gun and rifle fire struck our bridge but, just as we could not fire directly at them they could not fire at us either. They would have to change the angle of attack. Davis shot the ones who tried to race across the road to begin to attack us. I went on to the bridge and saw that they were going to use the same method we did. They were going to use the barges. I grabbed four grenades and hurled them as far down the barges as I could. I could only reach the second barge from us. As I recalled it had been empty. I threw three grenades. They hit and exploded in quick succession. The blast hit the four Germans who were attempting to reach us and, more importantly, they destroyed the barge. The superstructure disappeared and then the hull sank into the river.
“Sir, the Sherman!”
I saw the Sherman leading the half-tracks of C Company. I went to the middle of the bridge to wave. It would be ironic if they shot at us.
“Shift the barrier. I want him on the other side as soon as possible!”
I walked backwards and waved Sergeant Dixon towards me. When I saw him nod I held my MP 40 in front of me and headed across the bridge. The fire had burned the wood and was now slowly dying out. The buildings on the far side would have to be demolished but Sergeant Hay’s quick thinking had secured the bank for us. When I reached the wall the bricks and stone were still hot. I waved the tank to within a few feet of the wall.
“Sergeant if you use your tank you might be able to push this wall over. It will enable us to see into the rest of the town.”
“Righto sir, stand clear.”
I walked to the middle of the bridge. The sergeant closed the hatch and swung the gun around to face the rear. Then he reversed a little before engaging the gears and edging forward. He managed to do it delicately. He pushed slowly. At first I thought he had not done anything and then the whole wall leaned, first towards the tank and then, thankfully, away from the bridge, the tank and me. I clambered up on the back of the tank and stood on the turret. If they had had snipers then we would have been in trouble. As it was, with dawn breaking, I saw the grey uniforms streaming east. They would rally again but not here. We had achieved our objective and it had been paid for by Stephen Ashcroft.
Chapter 16
The Germans who were still trying to get across the river did not cause us many problems but we had to be vigilant. It was 1000 hours before the Brigadier and the rest of the Shermans arrived. There was palpable relief on his face when he saw that the bridge was still intact. While the Shermans crossed to head further into the town he came over to greet us, “Well done Major Harsker, Captain Wilberforce. Were there charges?”
I nodded, “Yes sir and they were going to blow them.” I pointed to the north. “They blew that one. The one to the south can be used by men on foot but this is the only one that can be used by vehicles. You might want to get engineers to remove the charges. My men just cut the wires.”
“Good thinking. How are you fixed for moving on?”
“We could do sir but we are tired and tired men make mistakes. As far as I could see the Germans were retreating. I think we could continue with the advance.”
He shook his head, “There is thick forest ahead and the road twists and turns. It is perfect ambush country. So far we have escaped heavy losses because you have sniffed out trouble. We can wait half a day for you to recover. It will give us time to get the column across this bridge. The exercise will take some time over just one bridge. Take your jeeps and head for Rüsteberg. It is, according to the map, just a mile and half from the outskirts. I intend to make it my headquarters. Get some sleep and then we will send you and your men out again.” He must have seen the pained expression on my face, “Tom, what you and your men do saves lives. If I thought you would come to harm then I wouldn’t ask this of you.”
I nodded, “Sir.” He climbed back into his jeep and followed the Shermans. “Right lads, when the jeeps come get on board. Pack the MG 42s. They may come in handy.”
Sam asked, “Sir, what about Ashcroft?”
John Hewitt said, “His body will have been washed downstream, Sam. The river is fast flowing here.”
He nodded. He was unhappy but there was little we could do about it. Emerson screeched to a halt, “Where to sir?”
“Head for Rüsteberg. It is just outside the town. We are going to get some sleep and then set off again this afternoon.”
He looked around, about to make some comment and then he noticed that one of us was missing, “Ashcroft?”
“Dead.”
“Poor little bugger. Reg Deane will be upset. He used to drink in his dad’s pub.”
Mine was now the only jeep with three of us in it. We followed Emerson. White was also quiet. Fletcher drove and he sensed the mood. “From what Johnno said it was quick, Sam. He would have felt nothing and you showed guts diving into a river with a battle jerkin on.”
“I am a good swimmer. I teach swimming at the school.” I could tell he was just speaking to stop himself thinking about Ashcroft.
Fletcher nodded, “I only learned a month before joining the Commandos. I had to or else I might not have got in and I wanted to be a Commando.”
“Are you still glad you joined, Scouse?”
“Are you kidding, sir? It is the best thing to have happened to me. Do you reckon I would have had a posh mate like Beaumont if I had joined a regular outfit? No chance. And the stuff we have done.” He shook his head. “I’ll never have to stand my corner after the war. I can live off what we have done. The trouble is folks won’t believe it. I sometimes don’t. And from what the Sarn’t Major said about the Ardennes, that was even more unbelievable. How about you sir? Are you going to talk about all the things you have done? I mean you were doing stuff like this long before the rest of us.”
“No Fletcher. I shall keep it to myself. I am proud of you all. I will talk of the courage of the men I led but there are too many deaths for me to talk about it with any joy.”
White said, “I know what you mean, sir. I have only been in it for five minutes. Like the Sarn’t Major says, I am still wet behind the ears but there are now just three of us left from the original draft who joined the section. We trained together. You get closer to people that way. I have no brothers or sisters. Tom and Ralph are like family to me. The others were.”
Fletcher drove in silence. We were all lost in our thoughts. The radio operator on the ‘Lucky Lady’ had been from Liverpool. He had been called Wacker. We did not know if he was alive or dead. We just knew that ‘Lucky Lady’ had been sunk. Wacker was probably dead. We all had someone to mourn.
Rüsteberg was a tiny place. A dozen houses and a church were all that were there. There were people in the houses but they peered from behind curtains. Mum would have called them ‘twitchers’. We found a piece of solid ground on which to park. We laid out camouflage nets for beds and then covered the top of the jeeps with more of it.
“Gordy you are in charge. The lads who went into the attack will need the sleep the most. When the column comes then the rest of you can get your heads down.”
Gordy said, almost gently, “You just get some rest, sir. It’s time someone else put in a shift.”
Normally I would be out like a light but the conversation in the jeep had set my mind going. I was thinking of all those who had died since I had joined up. It was worse than counting sheep. Sheep did not haunt your dreams. Dad had said the same. He had also told me that the one thing that had kept him going was the thought of returning home to Mum. I had Susan. When I was finished in Germany then I would marry her. The last thing I wanted was to be sent half way around the world to fight for God knows how long. I must have drifted off to sleep for I was woken by Scouse.
“Sir, cup of tea and some ham.”
I sat up, “Ham?”
He grinned, “I went and sweet talked the lady in the house opposite. I swapped a couple of pans I found for some slices of ham.”
“Fletcher!”
He held up his hands, “Sir, she was well happy. Seems the pans and other stuff was taken to make aeroplanes and bombs. I don’t think she was a fan of the Fuhrer!”
The ham was delicious. It would have been nicer between two pieces of bread with some cheddar cheese and a smidgen of Coleman’s English Mustard but it would do. The tea also had real milk in it rather than powder. As I sipped it I heard the moo which told me that my men had managed to barter for it. It had been inside a cow that morning!
“Have the rest of the column arrived?”
“Captain Wilberforce arrived an hour since and the Brigadier was with him. The rest of the column is still making its way through Kassel.”
“I wondered why it was so quiet.” I finished the ham and then washed it down with some tea. “How is White?”
“Better since he was able to chat to Betts and Foster. It hit him hard. He’s a nice bloke sir. If I had had a teacher like him then who knows what I might have achieved.”
“I think Fletcher, that you will do very well for yourself, no matter what happens. You are one of life’s survivors.”
“I dunno sir. The original section is getting mighty thin on the ground.”
“Are you getting twitchy?”
“It’s like I can see the end. You now, like one of the runs we did in Falmouth. I know the camp is just around the corner, but can I make it? Will Sergeant Major Deane step out and trip me up and tell me I am too cocky?”
“Scouse, just do what you have done for the last few years and you will get through this.”
He nodded, “ You are probably right sir. This must be because my oppo got a Blighty one. Lucky bugger.”
“You know he would rather be here.”
“You have got that right sir.”
Lieutenant Poulson arrived, “Sir, the Brigadier wants us.”
“Right.” I handed my mug to Fletcher, “Thanks for the tea and the ham. They were just what I needed.”
“No problem sir, we have to look after you. You are our lucky mascot.”
That was a burden I could do without. I followed Lieutenant Poulson. “Emerson managed to scrounge more fuel and we have been given more rations.”
“Then things are bound to go wrong soon, Polly.”
“Not you too, sir. The lads are all a bit morose. There is only Gordy who is cheerful.”
The Brigadier smiled when we entered his caravan. “Coffee, gentlemen? This is the real stuff. An American colonel gave me some beans.”
I had enjoyed my cup of tea but the thought of coffee made me nod. Polly shook his head and said, “Sir it would be wasted on me!”
The Brigadier handed me a cup of black coffee. The smell alone was intoxicating. I sipped it as he spoke. “The R.A.F. felt guilty because they didn’t manage to attack Kassel for us. Low cloud or something. They have made up for it by harassing the retreating Germans. The roads between here and Göttingen are narrow and they managed to hit a couple of the lead vehicles and then shot up the column of retreating vehicles. I think we can make Göttingen by dark.”
“How far is it sir?”
“Less than forty miles.”
“But sir we have already taken three days to cover that distance. How can we do forty miles in a few hours?”
“I am giving you four tanks to accompany you. You travel at their speed. They can shunt any vehicles off the road.” I nodded and studied the map. “I am assured that they can do twenty five miles an hour along roads. You and Captain Wilberforce could so it in three hours without any stops. Even if the Germans make a stand then four Shermans should be able to shift them.”
I nodded, “We will give it a go, sir.”
I went back to my men and told them of our mission. They seemed quite happy about it. Sergeant Major Barker said, “Four tanks sir? We have never had that sort of firepower before.”
Lieutenant Poulson added a word of warning. “We are going into forested country with hills, twists and turns. They might not have much armour left but they do have anti-tank rockets.”
Fletcher nodded, “And that is why we need sharp eyed Davis here.”
The presence of the Shermans inspired a more confident mood amongst my men. White still brooded about Ashcroft but the others had put that thought to the back of their minds. He was not forgotten but he was parked somewhere safe until they could revisit him. I knew that because it was what I would do. I had had my to
rmented sleep. I would force the image of his broken body falling into the water until I had time to mourn him properly.
I went through the details of our task with Captain Wilberforce. It was as we were talking that the three new Shermans arrived. This time Sergeant Dixon had an officer of his own to lead him. Lieutenant Richard Cunliffe came from Nottingham. He had been promoted from the rank of sergeant and he was a good leader. He knew his men and he knew his vehicles. More importantly, he had studied the maps and knew the problems and issues we would face.
“The Brigadier seems to think that the Sherman is some sort of racing car. The speeds he is talking about are attainable, sir, but that is on the flat and when it is straight.”
I held up my hand, “Don’t worry, Lieutenant, I am with you. We will do our best but if we have to stop short of Göttingen then we will.” I looked at my watch. It was time for us to be moving. “We had better mount up . I will have two jeeps in front of you and the other three behind the tanks. Captain Wilberforce will be behind the jeeps. The roads look narrow. What we cannot afford is for us to be blocked by one of our own broken down vehicles. Let’s go.”
The two MG 42s we had captured were in the jeeps driven by Sergeant Major Barker and Lieutenant Poulson. The grenades we had liberated were spread out amongst all five jeeps. White was driving. The concentration he would need would make him forget Ashcroft.
The first few miles were easier than I thought. We needed to move two broken down lorries from the roads. That took time as we had to move the jeeps off the road to allow the tanks to act as bulldozers. Once we passed Staufenberg the forest seemed to close in on us and the danger of ambush increased. I used my glasses to look into the forests. I knew that Davis was scanning the road ahead.