by Griff Hosker
We were ordered up on the last day of August. The Tommies had been fighting close to Delville Woods and had finally secured the Flers Road. We were to ascertain what the Germans were up to.
This was the first time we had taken up our new boys and I put Lieutenant Gerard in front of Freddie. I could not ask for a better rear pilot than Carrick. He never panicked and he was as reliable as Charlie, Gordy or Ted.
My flight was allocated the area around Longueval. As soon as we reached the front we saw German aeroplanes. For the first time in my experience they were not flying high they were low and obviously identifying our weak spots. They had taken a leaf out of our book and were machine gunning and bombing the ground. I pointed down and began to dive into the attack.
We flew west to east so that we would fly over the whole flight of four aeroplanes. Sergeant Hutton opened fired and I watched, almost mesmerised as the tracer arced towards the German. The sergeant was able to adjust his aim and the first aeroplane began to flame and fall. As we came up to the next aeroplane I fired a burst. I saw that my bullets were going to miss and so I took my finger off the trigger and lifted the nose a little. This time when I fired the bullets struck the engine and, as we flew over the German, they stitched a line along the middle of the aeroplane. The pilot died.
We were beyond the last aeroplane and I lifted the nose. I saw that only one of the Fokkers had survived intact while a second was smoking so badly it would not survive. As I banked around Hutton shouted, “Sir, there are large numbers of Germans waiting in the lanes near to the village. They are going to attack!” He pointed to the north east and I could see the grey uniforms.
“Let’s go!” I banked to the left and swooped down. The Germans popped at us with their small arms but we were moving too swiftly. They hit the wings but their bullets did little damage. I pulled the trigger when I saw the columns of Germans. Even though the range was further than I would have liked they were so densely packed that I could not miss. The tracer meant I could watch my bullets actually killing men.
Sergeant Hutton fired to the side. When I glanced in that direction, I saw that he was firing at German cavalry. To my horror I saw not only men but also horses being scythed down. I felt my heart sink to my boots. It was like killing Caesar all over again! I forced myself to concentrate on the infantry and I continued to fire. As we reached the end of the column I began to climb. I looked back and saw that the survivors had taken shelter in the few buildings which still stood. I could barely bring myself to look as Giggs and Dunston dropped their bombs. The cavalry regiment ceased to exist!
I led the flight over the German artillery positions. We had used our bombs but I had Hutton mark them on the map. As we were running out of fuel we would head back and report to Captain Marshall and Wing. This was a major German attack. The use of their aeroplanes at a low altitude was testament to that.
When we landed I could not join in the elation and celebration of the others. At heart I was still a cavalryman and the slaughter of the horses broke my heart. The adjutant did not notice my demeanour when I entered the office.
“Bill, get your flight refuelled. You are going up again this afternoon. Your attack this morning slowed up the German advance but Wing need you to see where the Germans are and, if possible slow them down.”
I nodded, “We saw their artillery. I’ll get the armourer to fit the bomb racks.”
I ran to the mess. My pilots were just getting food. “No time for that! Sergeant, make sandwiches and bring them to the field. We are going up again as soon as we have refuelled.” As they ran after me I said to Freddie, “Get to the Sergeant’s Mess and tell them the same.”
Flight Sergeant Richardson was just heading to the mess. “Percy! Get the bombs fitted to my flight’s buses. We are going up again this afternoon.”
Senior Flight Sergeant McKay was enjoying a cigarette in the anticipation of a leisurely afternoon. My shout ended that hope. “I want them rearmed and refuelled Sergeant McKay. Chop, chop!”
The pilots and confused sergeants gathered around me. “Right lads. We have to go back and bomb those German guns. I don’t want to risk their machine guns so we will try bombing from two thousand feet. We should still be reasonably accurate and they would have to be bloody lucky to hit us with machine guns. Then we have to see where the advance has got to. Sergeants, make sure you have your signalling mirrors.” Half a dozen orderlies arrived with sandwiches and a huge teapot. “We eat and drink on the hoof today. As soon as we are refuelled we are off again.”
The other flights arrived. Archie ran over when he saw the unusual sight of aircrew eating next to their craft. “What’s up Bill?”
“We stumbled upon a German attack. Randolph is sending us up to see how far the Germans have got.”
He nodded. “Mr McKay, when you have finished with Captain Harsker’s flight, refuel and rearm the rest. Orderly, we’ll have the same!” The orderlies put their trays on the ground and ran back to the mess. “How bad does it look?”
“Pretty bad. The Germans even had Fokkers flying at low level. They mean business. It is close to the Flers Road and Longueval.”
“We will come in high in case they send fighters after you. When you have finished then you can give air cover for us.”
“All done, Captain Harsker.”
“Thanks Flight. Right boys. Get on board.” I saw my flight grabbing handfuls of corned dog sandwiches and throwing the last of the tea down their throats.
We had the benefit, on our return flight of knowing exactly where we were going and we made much better time. I could see that our earlier attack had merely slowed down the grey flood. They were moving resolutely forward and the German creeping barrage was driving the defenders back to the woods. We were in danger of losing the gains and sacrifices of the past months.
“Right Sergeant Hutton, whenever you are ready. I will fly north west to south east. Let me know if you need a second bombing run.”
“Righto sir.” I could hear that he was still chewing. Flight Sergeant Hutton liked his food; even if it was just sandwiches. The new anti-aircraft guns puffed smoke around us. I saw a hole appear in the lower starboard wing. It was annoying rather than worrying.
“Right sir. Hold her steady.”
Lumpy Hutton was an efficient bomber and he did not waste any time. He watched the flight of his first bomb which told him the effect of the wind and the altitude and then he threw his other three bombs in quick succession.
“Bombs gone!”
We continued on the line I had chosen. “Watch for fighters!”
“Sir.”
I could hear the bombs of the others as we continued through the puffs of anti-aircraft fire. I saw Lumpy hold out his mirror. “That’s it sir. Mr Carrick has waggled his wings. All bombs are gone.”
I banked to starboard and saw the destruction we had wrought. There were fires and the damage to the artillery was obvious. More importantly there were no more shells falling in front of the advancing Germans. We now had to stop the advance.
“Here we go, Sergeant. You take the right and I will fire ahead!
We screamed down to a hundred feet above the ground. The noise of their own small arms fire hid the sound of our Rolls Royce engines and the first that the German infantry knew of our presence was when I opened fire with my right hand Lewis. The tracer showed me the corrections I needed to make and the Germans flung themselves into the pooled craters to seek shelter. Hutton’s gun and those of the other gunners scythed down the advancing Germans. When my first Lewis clocked on an empty chamber I fired my second. Once I reached the Bapaume Road I pulled up the nose and banked to port.
I levelled out so that we could reload our guns. I could see the smoke coming from them. The three Lewis guns had given good service this day. The armourers would have to give them a good clean when we returned.
I glanced up and saw the soldiers waving in the woods. “Sergeant, signal them and tell them we have destroyed the artillery.”
“Sir. If you could slow down a bit it will make life easier.”
“Will do.”
He began to flash. It took some time for a reply then he flashed the longer message. I turned and flew back down. “Incoming message sir.” I saw the flashing light. I could read Morse but not as quickly as Hutton. “Thanks for bombs. Could you hang around? Will try to retake trenches.”
“Tell them, yes.”
After he had sent the signal I began to climb. “Tell the other aeroplanes what we are about.”
“Sir!” He began to flash with his mirror.
I checked our fuel. We had forty five minutes left before we needed to head back to base. It took fifteen minutes for the infantry to begin to move forward. Hutton suddenly shouted, “Sir, they have some flame throwers!”
I saw, to my horror, the dreaded Storm troopers with their flame throwers moving forward. No soldier will advance into such fire and, almost before it had begun, the attack began to stall. We zoomed down and opened fired. The mud had helped us for the Storm troopers could not move swiftly and Hutton killed six of them before they began to flee back. As we climbed Hutton shouted. “There sir, to the west and high. The rest of the squadron.”
We climbed to meet them. We would have to turn back soon but I wanted Archie to know the situation. “Signal the Major and tell him what the infantry want.”
The message was soon flashed back and Lumpy said, “Righto sir. It is acknowledged.”
“Then let’s go home.”
I took us back by the northern route. That was determined by the prevailing wind which made life easier. We had to pass the Ypres road. Close to Beaulencourt Hutton shouted, “Sir, German reinforcements.”
“Damn!” We were low on fuel and ammunition but an attack on the flank of Delville Woods could be disastrous. ”Right Sergeant we’ll attack. If you have any grenades then drop them, if you please.”
“It will be a pleasure sir.”
We zoomed down with two Lewis guns chattering death. While firing with his right hand Hutton casually lobbed first one and then a second grenade over the side. The two waves of concussion threw us up a little. The sergeant said, “That’s it sir. Out of ammo; no more bullets and no more bombs.”
I finished off the magazine in my second Lewis and I too was out of bullets. “That’s it sergeant. Let’s go home.”
If it had not been for the following wind we would have been forced to crash land. As it was we barely made it to the field before we had used every precious drop of fuel. The aeroplanes were a mess. The wings were riddled with bullet holes and shrapnel damage. Poor Sergeant McKay shook his head as we trudged back to the mess. It had been our longest day.
Chapter 18
We had but one day respite before we were ordered into the air again. The German attack had been repulsed but the lost ground had to be regained. Once more we were spotting for the artillery. This time we were to fly to the south of Delville Woods and the village of Guillemont. The artillery had been brought closer so that they could see our signals.
It was Randolph who briefed us at five a.m. on September 3rd. “The artillery has been taking lessons from the French and we want to minimise friendly casualties. Consequently the ground troops will, when you fly over them, lay out white sheets to mark the forward positions. You will direct your battery’s fire to any Germans ahead of them. You will then signal, by mirrors, to let the infantry know when the area is cleared in front of them.”
“That is a lot of signalling for our gunners isn’t it?”
Captain Marshall spread his arms, “It is but Wing and the brass seem to think it will work. The infantry will keep moving their white sheets forward as they progress.”
“We will only be able to be over the front for an hour.”
“I know and so we will use A and C flight first. They will be relieved by B and D. We will continue to do so until the attack is finished.”
I saw the look of disbelief on Ted’s face. “The pilots and the buses will be wrecked!”
Archie’s tone was not conciliatory in the least. “The men in the trenches do not have the luxuries that we do Lieutenant Thomas. Don’t whinge to me about having to fly for eight hours a day. Those poor sods on the ground could well be fighting for twenty four hours.”
Ted’s face tightened, “He is right Ted. When the colonel and I visited the trenches it made me realise how well off we are. We might be tired but we get to sleep in clean sheets and eat hot food every day. And we don’t have Germans dropping shells on our heads and threatening to bury us alive in our own trenches.”
He nodded his agreement. He would not admit he had been defeated but we all knew what we had to do.
When we were in position, high above the ground, Hutton signalled to the ground troops. After a few moments the sheets could be clearly seen. Hutton flashed an acknowledgement and we turned to inspect the German positions. There were hurriedly dug trenches with some sandbags. The rapid advances of the other day had meant they had not had time to consolidate their defences.
“Right sir.”
We turned and flew back to signal to our battery. I could see, as Sergeant Hutton flashed out his instructions, that the rest of the flight were spread out in a line and doing the same as we were. Below us the Tommies were waiting behind their white sheets.
“All done sir.”
We turned to watch the fall of shells. The four guns we were directing were straddling the German defences. Even so they were causing damage. Sergeant Hutton said, “I reckon that will do sir. Look.”
As I watched I saw a machine gun and crew blown into the air. A handful of Germans tried to run back and were hit by a shell which was long. The guns kept firing and soon there were no German defences; there were just the dead and the fled. Sergeant Hutton signalled the cease fire and then signalled the soldiers below us. The battalion rolled up their sheets and moved forward. When they reached the dead Germans they laid out their sheets again. We repeated this for forty minutes until I heard the drone of Rolls Royce engines and our relief arrived.
We waved cheerily to the Tommies below. It looked to me as though it was working. It was slow going but it was progress. The Germans were being forced back. However, as we headed west we heard the German 10cm K14 guns. They were firing blind but they were hitting the positions that their troops had occupied. The infantry had suffered no casualties when they had advanced but, as they dug in they were. I hoped that Gordy and his flight would be able to direct our artillery to target these deadly German guns.
When Major Leach heard our news he was troubled. “We need those guns silencing. You will need to take off straight away. We can’t guarantee that the two relief flights will understand the ramifications of the shelling. I will fly with Lieutenant Sharp’s Flight and that way I can make more informed decisions.”
“Right sir.”
This time the food was waiting for us and I grabbed a handful of sandwiches and a mug of tea. I had half eaten my sandwich when the mechanic waved to tell me that we were refuelled. I swallowed down the hot tea and threw the tin mug to the surprised mechanic.
As we began to climb Hutton grumbled, “We’ll get indigestion if we keep doing this!”
When we reached the front I was surprised to see that Gordy and his flight were not there. Hutton shouted, “There sir, to the south!”
I could see what looked like insects in the distance. It was Gordy and his flight. They were engaging German aeroplanes. The Tommies below us were sheltering where ever they could. Even as we watched I saw a handful begin to run back to their own lines.
“Sergeant Hutton, signal the guns we have a new target.”
“Yes sir, but we can’t see them yet.”
“We will do soon.”
I climbed higher and I could see, beyond the ridge, the ten guns which were causing all the damage. “Signal their position, sergeant.”
“You will have to get higher sir. I can’t see our forward observation post
.”
It took a frustratingly long time to reach a position where we could see both our observers and the guns but when we did so Sergeant Hutton wasted no time in sending out the coordinates. This time we needed to be accurate. It took three salvoes for our four guns to strike gold. As soon as they were on target they pounded the 10cm guns into submission. Hutton signalled to the infantry first and they began to move forward once more. Once we saw that they were heading for the small ridge we signalled the artillery and they stopped firing.
“Keep your eye on Mr Hewitt, sergeant.”
Out of the corner of my eye I caught sight of a Gunbus approaching. It was Major Leach. His gunner began signalling. “Sergeant Hutton, we have a signal coming.”
The mirrors flashed between the two sergeants. “Sir, we are to go and help Lieutenant Hewitt. The Major will stay here with A flight.”
“Acknowledge and we will pick up the others.”
The rest of the Flight had anticipated the move and we were soon in line astern and heading south. I could see that there were just five Gunbuses. Either one had returned home or was down.
There looked to be eight or nine Germans. They were zipping around Gordy and his flight. I could see that he was attempting to form a circle but one of his aeroplanes suddenly began to descend and I watched in horror as the smoke poured from the engine. It seemed to scream as it headed towards earth and destruction. The debris thrown up and the explosion told me that no one would survive that impact. The sun was just behind us and we still had the height we had gained to observe the German artillery. I led my flight directly into the heart of the unsuspecting Germans. With no rear gunner they were as vulnerable to an attack from the rear as we were.
I had time, as we sped towards them, to see that Gordy’s aeroplane had many holes in its wing and cockpit. We needed to strike quickly or it might be too late for the remaining four aeroplanes. Hutton opened fire first and he caught a Halberstadt just behind the propeller. The aeroplane juddered and then began to slowly spiral towards the earth. I took a snap shot at a black cross which zoomed in front of me. The tracer showed that I had hit it but it continued to fire at Lieutenant Charlton. As it left my sights Hutton fired at it and he hit the tail. He must have damaged the rudder for the aeroplane began to swing towards a Fokker which was heading for me. The two Germans hit each other and both aircraft tumbled from the sky.