Toehold in Europe (Combined Operations Book 5)

by Griff Hosker

  Leading Seaman Symons shook his head, "Just the usual coastal convoys. Mr Higgins has us well out to sea." He pointed to a squiggly line. "That is the coast of Italy sir. That bump is just south of Agropoli. We'll be at the landing site in under two hours sir."

  "Thanks. I will wake the lads."

  I shook Sergeant Poulson awake, "Right Polly, rise and shine."

  He was awake in an instant, "Right sir."

  I went to the bridge. Midshipman Higgins shuffled to one side as Tosh handed me a mug of tea and a corned beef sandwich. It was navy style. Thickly cut bread and corned beef and layered with mustard. It brought tears to your eyes. "Thanks Tosh!"

  Bill Leslie nodded to the sky, "Going to be another red hot day, sir."

  My mouth was too full to answer and I nodded.

  The Midshipman said, "Every day is hot out here." He glanced at the compass, nervously.

  Petty Officer Leslie said, "Don't worry sir. We are on course."

  "I know Petty Officer but this is an important mission."

  I washed the cloying bread from my mouth with the hot sweet tea. "Every operation is important, Middy, and they are all risky. The day that we stop taking them all seriously is the day we die because we will make a mistake."

  "Captain Harsker, I have been meaning to ask you, when you are behind the enemy lines do you never worry about being captured or killed?"

  "We could all get killed and I have been captured. If you are dead then there is nothing to worry about. If you are captured then at least you are alive and so long as I am alive then I will find a way to escape."

  He nodded. Bill Leslie said, "It's almost time to change the watch sir."

  "Thanks." He turned, "Tosh, go and give the skipper a shake and then rouse the starboard watch."

  I said, "I will go and get ready too." I pointed to the east where we could just make out the coast.

  We were only taking three Bergens with us. Hay, Shepherd and Beaumont would all carry the explosives. The rest of us had either our Colts or our Thompsons. The Italians and, we presumed the Germans, had cleared all the houses which lay in the flight path in and out of the airfield. We could land unseen. Gordy would take four men to scout out the beach north of the airfield while the rest of us would sabotage the airfield itself. After our experience at Dieppe the main purpose was to see what the sand was like and to ensure that the beach was not mined. If they had put in concrete obstacles then the invasion would be in trouble.

  After we have blacked up I led my men on deck. Alan nodded towards the coast. "We have made good time. Thirty more minutes and you will be ashore. I will get in as close as I can and anchor. It we have to leave I will just cut the cables." His teeth flashed in the dark, "Thanks to the Kriegsmarine we have spares."

  The spares meant we had four dinghies now. We could get in and out easier. We crouched at the side as Alan cut the engines a little and we edged in slowly to the beach. The surf was gentle and misleading; it could hide rocks or anything. Alan waved his arm and his men slipped the dinghies over the side. We were practised in this now and we boarded without fuss. Alan had done well. We were less than thirty yards from the beach and were soon ashore.

  Sergeant Poulson was ashore first and he located the airfield. Although three quarters of a mile away the windsock and the control tower marked its position. I pointed to Gordy and he and his men headed north. We jogged inland across the narrow beach. We soon found the road. We saw the demolished buildings along the side. They helped us as they gave us cover. Our rubber soled shoes made no sounds on the road. The night was not totally silent. We could hear noise from ahead. The airfield was preparing for the new day. In the distant hangars air crew were readying aircraft. As we neared the fence Polly waved us to the ground. We dived to the side of the road.

  I heard German. They were too far away to make out the words but they were sentries patrolling the perimeter. Their voices drew closer and then faded. I rose and waved the men forward. We soon reached the fence. It was a wire one and had been recently erected. Scouse, Emerson and Corporal Hewitt had their wire cutters out while Sergeant Poulson and I stood guard. The two sentries had moved five hundred yards down the perimeter. Unless they turned around they would not see us. I took in the airfield. The hangars were a hundred yards to our right. We would have to follow the sentries to avoid the open ground. I glanced to my left. I saw no more guards. The three wire cutters snipped through the wire. Ironically the new wire helped us. It cut easier than rusted wire. The three of them worked as a team and cut a large hole in the wire. We just needed to be in.

  Once inside I pointed to the runway. Shepherd and Corporal Hewitt ran in that direction. They would damage the middle of the runaway. I was thankful that there was no moon. They would be exposed in the middle of the runaway. The rest of us ran towards the hangar. When the two sentries turned the corner, at the far end of the field, there was a chance that they might see us. I took out my Colt. I would have to be ready if that was the case. As we ran across the grass I saw a large tank. Parked close by were two fuel bowsers. It was too good a target to miss. I tapped Beaumont on the shoulder and pointed to it. Sergeant Poulson nodded and went with him.

  I led the other two towards the hangar. We could hear someone singing inside. It was an Italian voice. Then a German shouted to him to shut up. I guessed that the garrison would be German but the mechanics would be Italian. We reached the wall. It was now up to Lance Sergeant Hay. He would have to decide the best place to set off the charges. We wanted maximum damage. I saw him hurry to a pipe which came from the ground and went into the hangar. It was services of some kind. He took off his Bergen. Fred Emerson helped him and I walked along to the end of the hangar.

  I saw that the two sentries had stopped their patrol and were heading for the hangar. They must have been due a break for I saw the glow from their cigarettes. I hoped that there was a back door into the hangar. If they were heading for the front then they would have to come past me. I lay on the ground and held my Colt two handed. They were a hundred yards from the end of the hangar. I was willing them to turn right and go into some unseen door but they did not. They kept on coming. I heard them talking. It was the usual complaints about their allies and their superiors. As much as I might have wanted to just incapacitate them I could not take the chance. Six other men's lives depended upon me. I took a bead on the nearest one. They kept coming.

  Then Emerson dropped something. It did not make much of a noise but it made a sound. The sentries' heads whipped around. They were just twenty yards from me. I fired four shots two at each. I hit one in the side of the head and the other, as he turned, full in the face. They fell to the ground. The Italian had begun singing again in the hangar and any noise their fall made was masked.

  I ran to Bill and made the hurry up sign. He nodded. We were on the clock now. If this was their break then their absence would be noted. Someone would investigate. As I looked east I saw the first glow of dawn. We had not long. Bill finished and stood. I waved them back to the fence. I watched while they ran and then followed. When I reached the fence all of my men were all there. We had barely made it through the wire when I heard a shout. A floodlight illuminated the area next to the hangar.

  "Go!"

  The klaxon sounded and I saw men rush in from the hangar. More guards appeared and a searchlight mounted on a half track played around the perimeter. It was a matter of time before it spotted the hole. We were a hundred yards from the severed section of wire when I heard the sound of the halftrack approaching the hole.

  "Right lads! It is a foot race!" We were lucky that we had little equipment to carry. The road we were on was straight and I caught sight of the sea in the distance. Behind me the half track's machine gunner opened fire. As the half track was bouncing across the broken fence it was an inaccurate burst. It would, however, alert the 'Lady Luck' to our plight. I stopped and risked a glance back. The half track was two hundred yards away. I took out a grenade, pulled the pin, threw it
and ran as hard as I could in the opposite direction. The chances that the grenade would do any damage were slight but, at the speed the half track was approaching it would distract the driver.

  I had run so hard that I outran the blast. The beach was now visible. It was less than three hundred yards away. The rest of my men were thirty yards ahead of me. I stopped again. The half track had turned to avoid any more grenades. I began running again but this time I ran to the right and the half demolished buildings. It was not a second too soon as the machine gun on the half track opened up and shredded the space I had just occupied. I kept to the right and heard the ship's Oerlikon as it duelled with the half track. The cannon shells tore into the engine of the German vehicle. I risked a look over my shoulder and saw smoke coming from the engine but, behind it were more. I had a hundred yards to go and the sun was now rising from the east. There was the first of the explosions from the airfield. I had no idea which one it was although as it did not sound large I suspected it was the one on the airfield. Bullets zipped around me and I dived to the ground as some chipped the remnants of a wall. It was fortunate that I did as the fuel on the airfield exploded and the concussion would have knocked me from my feet. I stayed on the ground, a little stunned, as dust and other debris floated down. A second explosion and a third came almost five seconds later. Then there were more smaller explosions.

  "Come on, sir!"

  Corporal Hewitt's voice sounded urgent. I staggered to my feet and lurched the last few yards to the beach. My men grabbed me and helped me towards the rubber dinghies. Every gun on the boat was firing. I did not hear too many in return. We paddled out to the boat and climbed up the net to the side. As I rolled on my side I saw that the airfield was ablaze. German vehicles littered the road.

  "Hold on!"

  The E-Boat spun away from the beach. As I rose I saw that we had no flag flying yet. "Captain Harsker, get your men below. We are about to become German."

  I noticed that he was heading north west towards the distant island of Capri. It was a clever ploy. Once he turned south again it would appear that we had come from Naples and, by then we would be flying the German flag and our men wearing German uniforms.

  "Right lads, below decks."

  Once there I took off my battledress and my khaki trousers. We had the German uniforms we had taken from Sicily. I donned mine. Alan might need a German speaker. I grabbed the cup of tea Tosh handed me and swallowed it down. It was too hot and burned my mouth but I needed the rush of sugar! As I clambered out of the hatch Alan swung the boat on his new course and I had to cling on to the guard rail. I looked up and saw the swastika flying. The boat began to slow as we pretended to be German. I glanced over to the east and saw the cliffs at Amalfi. They were even more intimidating close up. I saw a truck going along the cliff road and it looked tiny.

  Dawn had finally broken and Martindale, the lookout, shouted, "Aircraft at three o'clock."

  Alan shouted, "Remember we are German. Keep away from the guns. We are just a patrol boat from Sorrento." Our aerial photographs had shown that they had moved a squadron of E-Boats to Sorrento. The RAF had bombed the facility and damaged a couple.

  Wacker's voice came from below, "Sir, it's the flight commander. He wants to know who we are?"

  "Tell him, Schnellboote 175 from the Augusta flotilla now operating out of Sorrento. Ask what the fuss is all about. Keep your voice calm!"

  A few minutes later he said, "They are looking for British Commandos on an MTB. They have asked us to search west. They are heading south."

  "Tell him we are glad to cooperate with the Luftwaffe!"

  I looked at Alan, "MTB?"

  "They didn't get a good look at us and the ones who might have seen us we hit with the cannon. They saw your chaps and put two and two together. A fast boat carrying Commandos sounds like an MTB or a launch." He put the wheel hard over and headed west at top speed. It would delay our return but it would give us a degree of authenticity.

  "How far will you head west?"

  "We will head for Palermo and approach our base from the west. It will add eighty miles or so to our voyage but we will be safer." He turned to Bill Leslie, "Bill give the captain one of your pipes." He handed me one without question. "Tom, go up forrard and pretend to be smoking a pipe. If their fighters come over us they will take you for someone off duty. Wave if they come over."

  "Righto." I went and sat with my back to the Oerlikon. I put the pipe between my teeth. It tasted disgusting. I had no idea how Bill could smoke it. After a while, when no one had flown over, I took it out. Taff was back on his Oerlikon and half an hour later he said, "Ey up, sir. The fighters are back."

  I stood and pretended to be cleaning out the pipe. I walked to the fo'c'sle. I heard the sound of the fighter engines from the south and I turned and waved. One of them waggled his wings. I strolled slowly back to the bridge. When I reached it, Alan grinned, "They have asked us to sail as far as Santa Stephano. Apparently it is still in German hands. They say they saw a pair of MTBs there. They are low on fuel and have asked us to investigate. Suits us."

  "Have I finished with this then?" I held up the pipe.

  "Of course!"

  "Here you are Bill. It has persuaded me never to take up the pipe!"

  "Your loss, sir! Very relaxing it is; especially with a pint!"

  We passed the German port in the late afternoon. Alan had not wanted to attract attention by going too fast. We would not reach Augusta until after dark. As soon as we had passed the German front line we switched flags and uniforms. We became a Royal Navy vessel once more. At the same time Wacker sent a coded message to Hugo to tell him that the operation had been a success and that we were on our way home.

  My men had taken advantage of the last part of the voyage to sleep. The exception was Gordy. After I had finished writing up the first draft of my report I went to the galley and found him making a pot of tea. "Tea sir?"

  "Thanks. How did it go up the beach Gordy?" We went into the mess and found two unoccupied seats.

  "It will be a piece of cake. There are neither mines nor wire. It is shallow and the road runs along it. The high ground is so far inland that they would not be able to use machine guns effectively. If our job is to find a site to invade then we can stay home. We have found it!"

  "The trouble is we need a wide front. We will have to come back but I don't think we will have to tackle such a big target."

  He laughed, "It didn't half go up! Was that the fuel dump?"

  "I guess so. We obviously didn't manage to damage the airfield enough although they were just fighters who took off. Perhaps larger aircraft will struggle to use it." He nodded. "Did your lads do well?"

  "They all did. This is a good team, sir. We have been in plenty before but I can't think of a weak link here. Just so long as the brass leave us alone and don't interfere."

  After a little more chit chat about times past and friends lost we both fell asleep. A Commando can sleep on a clothes line. We were awoken by the E-Boat gently bumping into the harbour wall."Right lads, grab your gear. We have the morning off but we may be needed again tomorrow afternoon. Give any unexpended explosives to Lance Sergeant Hay. Well done!"

  "Thank you, sir."

  Hugo had a beaming smile on his face as Alan and I walked down the gangplank. "Major Fleming just sent the photographs over! Spectacular! But I am afraid he wants a report tonight, before you go to bed."

  I smiled and flourished my report. "It is done but I can tell you what you wanted to know in a couple of sentences. Amalfi is a no go. Only Commandos could get up those cliffs and into the high country. The land south of Salerno is perfect for invasion. You could go tomorrow and almost walk in."

  He nodded and Alan said, "But of course Major Bloody Fleming would rather risk the boat and Tom's men to check every inch of it."

  "Sorry."

  "How about this then Hugo. We go the day after tomorrow and examine the southern side." I had a sudden idea, "Could you get me
a camera, a good one and some film?"

  "Of course. The Germans left some of their Leica cameras around and we can get the film, Why?"

  "They say a photograph is worth a thousand words. Aeroplanes take photographs from a great height. We can do it from ground level, the way the soldiers will see it. We can sail down the coast, flying the German flag and photograph the whole of it. We don't need to go ashore at all."

  "What about the sabotage?"

  "We have already taken out the best target. The only other place to attack is a port and we found out at Dieppe how stupid that was." I could see he was not convinced. "Listen, get me the camera and the film. I will persuade Major Fleming!"

  "Right. You know I will do anything to help. I will take this directly to the Major and get you your camera."

  Chapter 16

  I slept late. I didn't get up until seven. I felt every bump and blow I had suffered the day before. I wandered to the small bar which was opposite the dock and bought myself a coffee and a pastry. It was indulgent but it was such a lovely morning I thought I would forget the war for a while. The Italian who served me was effusively friendly. I had not known what to expect. I had little Italian but I used the bits I knew like the numbers, please and thank you. It turned out that, like most waiters, his English was good.

  "You English are gentlemen. You try to speak our language. I like that. The Germans... they are pigs and they leave no tip! Tell me signior, will they be back?"

  "I doubt it but you never know."

  "I think we are all a little unhappy with Il Duce. He has made us dance to the Austrian Corporal's tune!"

  Another customer came in and I was left to enjoy my warm, sweet pastry and my strong, black coffee. I felt as though the war did not exist. If I had had an English newspaper then the world would have been perfect.