by Griff Hosker
Gordy came over, "Sarge, you need to get your head down." He flashed a look of irritation at my dad.
I held up the mug of tea, "Just as soon as I have finished this, mother!"
He went off shaking his head.
"I remember when my men treated me like that. I didn't know it at the time but it is a mark of the respect they have for you. Your boys would follow you to the ends of the earth and beyond you know. I heard them talking about you when we were in the lorry. Every time there was a problem they knew that you would find a way to get them out of it. But he is right." He took the mug from me. "Give me your cup. Get a couple of hours sleep. I don't envy you getting us a safe route home. You have the Sand Sea to one side and German and Italians to the other."
I lay down next to the Kübelwagen beneath the shelter of the netting. It would be cooler in the heat of the day. It actually took me a few minutes to get to sleep as I ran through the momentous events of that day. Having my father in my care scared me more than the prospect of the sand or the SS. If I allowed anything to happen to Dad how could I face Mum and Mary?
I awoke naturally in the middle of the afternoon. I had had more than enough sleep. I rolled out from under the netting. There was no sign of anyone. I smiled. I had told them to keep hidden and they had done just that. I went to the back of the lorry. The General and the others were there. I took the top from the jerry can and sniffed it. It was water. I filled my canteen and then the empty mug I saw there.
"Everyone all right?"
The General nodded, "The lieutenant here was telling us of some of your exploits young man. I can see why they chose you for this mission. I am grateful."
"How is he?"
Bill lifted his head and rubbed his eyes, "He is much better, Sarge. I have been keeping him asleep and the wound well cleaned. He won't be running a five mile run in full kit any time soon but I reckon he could walk in four or five days."
Dad was leaning against the back of the lorry smoking his pipe. Ken had salvaged some tobacco from the dead Germans at the hotel. He gestured to the skies with the stem. "Jerry has had aeroplanes up all day. I am guessing they haven't seen us. That is a good thing. It means they have to widen their search. It gives us a chance."
"We have three hundred miles to go. I think we will be lucky to make thirty miles an hour over this terrain. The odds are we will be crossing the front lines just after dawn. There will be no hiding place then."
The General nodded, "And the front line is such an imprecise thing. It ebbs and flows."
"Well I will go and check the vehicles."
George Lowe was awake and busy under the bonnet of the truck. "They are good machines these, Sarge. Solid."
"Make sure they both get as much water as they need. We can always go on short rations if we have to. Are they all full of fuel?"
"Yes Sarge. How far do we have to go tonight?"
"Three hundred miles."
"Then we will need to stop at least once."
"Make it twice. When we get close to the front line I want to be able to keep going."
"Good idea sir and that will be better for the engines."
Gordy appeared behind me with a mug of tea. "Well Sarge, it is going better than we thought."
"We have a long way to go but I am hopeful that they will be too busy up north to have this little road either patrolled or with a road block. They might be looking for us but their priority must be driving our lads back to Egypt. My biggest worry is that our troops have begun to retreat. That would be a disaster. We would be playing catch up."
As the afternoon wore on the wind velocity increased. It whipped the sand from the south. Our location afforded us protection but it made the sand begin to build up on the road. The good news was that it stopped any German aeroplanes from flying over our position and even if they had flown over they would have seen nothing such was the size of the sandstorm.
The wind abated towards dusk. We left as soon as it was dark. Things began to go wrong from the start. We had driven no more than forty miles when Ken said, "Sarge, we have lost the lorry."
We reversed two hundred yards down the road. The heavy vehicle had become bogged down in soft sand. Gowland said, "Sorry Sarge, that was my fault. I should have taken it slower but I was trying to keep up with you."
"Then I should have realised that you are heavier than we are. Are there any sand tracks?"
Gordy said, "No Sarge. That was the first thing we looked for. There are shovels."
"Then we dig."
It took twenty minutes but eventually, with much pushing and shoving from everyone but the two wounded men we managed to get going once more.
"We will drive slower from now on Lowe."
As we drove at a ridiculously slow speed I realised that we would not make our lines before dawn. Could we risk another day hiding beneath nets? We might not find such a good spot the next time? Would we be as lucky a second time? I was also aware that we would be closer to the front lines. Even with the slower speed the lorry became bogged down on two further occasions. We used the opportunity to fill up the two vehicles each time we stopped. We would not need a fuel stop.
Disaster struck again just before dawn. I had been using the odometer to estimate how far we had to go. I reckoned we were just twenty miles from the front line. Sporadic flashes of gunfire to the north confirmed this. The lorry stopped again. When we returned Harry had the bonnet open. "It's not the sand this time Sarge. There seems to be a blockage. The engine was hunting."
Lowe looked inside. How he could see anything I had no idea. He nodded as though he knew what it was. Striding to the tool box he returned with a couple of spanners. "It is a blocked fuel line. The German fuel has not been filtered. It is either that or sand got in when we filled from the jerry cans."
It took him an hour to clean the blocked line by which time it was dawn. "Keep your eyes peeled for aircraft. We are like sitting ducks here."
Sure enough our Storch returned. This time there was no doubt that he had seen us for he high tailed it north quickly.
"Get a move on Lowe, or Jerry will be on us."
"Almost done sir. Two minutes." He tightened something and said, "Turn her over Harry."
The engine spluttered a couple of times and then banged into life. "Well done." There was a hatch in the cab of the lorry. "Ford, take the spare German machine gun and brace it on the cab. If Jerry sends aeroplanes you are our first line of defence." Norm might be wounded but he would not have to move and I wanted the rest of my men ready to fire their own weapons and to move quickly if we had to.
"Righto Sarge."
The one benefit of daylight was that we could see the sand. It meant Lowe could slow us, and therefore the lorry, down when we came to larger drifts. He could also take us over the more solid rock. We managed to get through the sand drifts, albeit slowly. Ten miles down the road we hit more sand and this time the lorry did become bogged down once more.
As we got out the shovels dad said, "Just a thought but if we put the canvas from the lorry in front of the lorry it would be like a carpet. It would be quicker and we would get better traction."
Anything which would speed things up suited me. "Right lads, get the canvas off."
It came off far faster than I had expected although it took everyone but the wounded to do so. We had just laid it in front of the front wheels when we heard the sound of aero engines. Ford shouted, "To the west! Stukas. Three of them!"
"Get everything off the lorry. Get the Lieutenant to safety, Doc. Harry, as soon as we are empty move forward slowly. Everybody, if you wait until the Stukas are close and all fire at once you have the best chance of bringing them down. General, go and shelter behind the Kübelwagen. It will be safer there." He and his two staff officers left.
Dad said, "Have you a spare gun?"
Norm threw down his Thompson, "Here you are sir, use mine!"
Even Lieutenant Marsden propped himself against a rock and pointed his gun at the s
kies. The German lorry moved inexorably slowly. It was a race against time. Would the dive bombers reach us before the lorry managed to get a grip on the canvas? As the first Stuka peeled off I realised this was one battle we would lose.
He screamed down. The moment we fired had to be carefully judged. There was little point in wasting bullets. It was a split second decision. The retreat to Dunkirk had taught me the right time to open fire. "Now!"
Every gun opened up at the same time as the German fired. Lieutenant Graham collapsed in a bloody heap as the two German machine guns ripped him in two. A heartbeat later the wall of fire we had sent up tore through the engine and the Stuka hit the ground just a hundred yards from us. The explosion knocked us all to the ground.
Norm Ford shouted, "Sarge, Harry has been knocked out."
"Doc, get him out of there. Lowe, as soon as the Stukas have made their run get behind the wheel."
The next two Stukas decided to attack together. They would divide our fire.
"You lads on the far side take the left hand Stuka. Norm, you take the left hand Stuka. The rest, we have the other one."
The death of the RAF pilot had made everyone find somewhere to shelter. The naval officer and one of the General's aides cowered beneath the lorry while the other one was close to the Kübelwagen. My men were using their Bergens and rocks as cover. Ford took a bead on the leading Stuka. He opened fire first and I saw his bullets strike home. The Stuka juddered.
"Fire!"
Our fire was not as effective as it had been. We had to divide our bullets between the two targets. Even so one of them began to smoke and then their bombs dropped.
"Cover!"
I buried my head beneath my Bergen as the bombs both struck on the far side of the lorry. The concussion totally disorientated me. It rushed over me like a wall of heat. I forced myself to struggle to my feet. The lorry was on its side. Beneath it lay the bodies of the Commander, Lieutenant Graham and one of the general's aides. I had not even had time to find out his name. I just knew that he was a major. Poor Norm Ford had been cut in two as the lorry had been blown over.
I saw the two Stukas limping home. Both of them had smoke pouring from them and one looked to be descending. Norm had had his revenge.
"Anyone else hurt!"
Gordy said, "Just Norm and the three captives. We didn't do them much good did we, Sarge?"
"This is no time to feel sorry for ourselves. Jerry will be back. Put the Lieutenant in the Kübelwagen."
"I am still giving orders, Harsker!" Lieutenant Marsden tried to struggle to his feet.
"Yes sir I know but we have one vehicle. We are going to have to run the last fifteen miles to our lines. Do you think you can manage that, sir?"
I saw a smile cross dad's face. The Lieutenant shook his head, "You are right, Sergeant Harsker."
"Dad can you drive?"
"Of course."
"You have a full tank. We will bury these poor sods and then follow on foot." He nodded, "If you could send some help for us when you reach Torbruk then it would be handy."
Dad climbed into the driver's seat. He gestured to the passenger side, "Right General, do you want to operate the machine gun?"
"Damned right I do. I am fed up of being shot at!" He settled himself in the seat and began to examine the German machine gun.
Lieutenant Marsden said, "I promise I will send help as soon as we reach Torbruk or our lines."
I turned to my men. We had to move but we could not leave the dead to be ravaged by wild animals. They deserved more than that. "Gordy, get four graves dug. Ken, scavenge anything we can save from the German lorry."
I went to the bodies and took their identity tags and the papers from their pockets. I had no time to examine them in detail. That would come later but I would not leave it for the Germans. I suspected they were letters home. The Royal Navy Commander had a watched inscribed, 'To my darling, Come home safe'. The watch might help some young lady in England. It was a grim task but I had to do it. The burial was a hurried affair. I mumbled some words. They did not do them justice but I now owed a duty to the living.
I tightened the straps on my Bergen and hung my Thompson around my neck. With the extra ammunition and weapons we had taken from the lorry and the dead we were well laden down. The Germans knew where we were and they would be coming down the road as quickly as they could. They would be delayed when they reached the lorry for it blocked the road and there was shifting sand on both sides. If they had half tracks or tanks then we were dead men walking!
"Right lads we are going to have to move. We run for half a mile and then walk half a mile. Gordy, you lead. Ken and I will bring up the rear. And just before we go I have to tell you that no other section could have done what you have done. I am proud of each and every one of you. Now let's show these Krauts how Commandos can move!"
Chapter 16
As we ran east along the sand covered road I contemplated singing as we had done when I had first become a Corporal. It was not the time with Norm so recently buried. My words must have had an effect for I had to shout to tell them to walk. They would have kept on running otherwise. It was now a case of counting the miles. The map had indicated roughly fifteen miles to safety but I knew not where the front lines were. All I knew was that when we began running again we were a mile closer to safety. I counted each step as we walked and then as we ran.
In front of me Moore began to slow a little as we ran. "Come on Moore. Pick up the pace."
"I'm sorry Sarge but another fourteen bleedin' miles will kill me!"
"It isn't fourteen miles. You only have to run for half a mile. You can do that can't you? Imagine you are running to the pub before last orders!"
"Now you are talking Sarge. Running down to the Griffin for a pint of Watneys. Lovely!"
"I like a nice pint of mild myself. Lovely and refreshing."
"That's a northern drink Sarge. We don't have that in London."
Ken snorted, "Flat warm beer in London! Give me a pint of Theakstons from Yorkshire any day of the week."
"Walk!" I winked at Ken who grinned back at me. "There you are Moore. You don't need to run again for at least half a mile!"
We managed another two miles before we heard the sound of an aeroplane. "Cover!" We dived to the side of the road and swung our Bergens in front of us. There was no cover and we would have been spotted. The Bergens gave us the illusion of protection. We were perilously short of ammunition. Firing at the aeroplanes had eaten into our supplies. I had half a magazine and one spare. "Don't waste your ammo on the aeroplane. He is spotting anyway."
The 109 opened fire but the bullets just splattered into the sand and he banked away. He made a couple of circles and then headed west. His presence and the circling meant that mobile infantry were coming. As his engine receded I stood and, taking out the binoculars, I peered down the road. I saw, in the distance, sand from someone following us. I focussed and saw the two German half tracks. They looked to be more than two miles away but they would be upon us within ten minutes. I looked east. If we were going to fight then we needed a better position. Less than half a mile away a ragged mound of rocks rose from the desert. They looked like we could hide there. If we could make them then we would stand a chance. It was far enough from the road that we would be able to create a killing ground.
"Gordy, take the section to those rocks and set up a defensive perimeter."
"You heard the Sergeant, move yourselves!"
"Curtis, take out the last of the stick grenades. We will make a booby trap here. There is a dip in the road and we are hidden from view. They will come over the top and not see it… I hope."
I took some more of the parachute cord and tied it to the grenade. Ken piled as many small stones around the grenade as he could. It would hide it and it would add to the effect when the tiny stones were hurled through the air. We tied the other end to a small scrubby bush. We strung the cord across the road and tied it to another bush. We had four grenades and
we spread them out in the hope that one would work. We had just finished and I saw the half tracks were less than a mile away. "Let's run!" It was the first time I had had a foot race with a vehicle. This was not a gentle jog; this was a full blown sprint with a heavy pack on my back. I found myself trying to suck in air. When I got the stitch I had to ignore it and run through. Gordy waved us into the safety of the rocks and I collapsed.
Gordy opened his canteen. "You are a mad bugger Sarge! Drink this!"
The warm stale water tasted like Champagne. "Here they come, Sarge!"
Polly's finger pointed to the spot we had just vacated. There were two half tracks and soldiers marching along the side. With the crew in the vehicle we were outnumbered by four to one at least. I was wondering if they had avoided the grenades when there was a sudden crack and four men fell to the ground clutching their wounds. Another two cracks on the far side told me that at least three grenades had worked. The half tracks stopped and men jumped out. As they did so the last grenade exploded. I caught the glint of light on glass as the officer scanned the road ahead.
Ken said, "That has eased the odds, Sarge."
"Don’t forget we are almost out of ammo. I would pray for dark but it is too far off." I suppose we could have tried to run further away but the half tracks would have caught us. We had one chance, hold them off until dark, and then sneak away in the night. It was a long shot but it was hope at least. "Conserve your water and your ammo."
Gordy said, "I have plenty of .303 Sarge and I have the scope."
"Can you hit them from here?"
"They will fire accurately up to three thousand yards, Sarge but the effective range is just six hundred yards."
"All you have to do is hit the half track. Any kind of ricochet will cause damage. Give it a go!"
He leaned the rifle on a rock and took aim. I used my binoculars to see the effect. There was a crack. The soldier on the machine gun next to the officer suddenly disappeared. The red explosion of flesh told me that Gordy had hit him.
"Well done!"
As soon as the bullet hit the German, soldiers all piled back into the half tracks and every head disappeared. I saw then that there were six bodies. Our grenades had done their work. I watched as the half tracks began to move and then one stopped. As two men jumped out Gordy's gun cracked again. We heard the ping as it hit the half track and the two men dived for cover. I focussed on the half track which had stopped. The grenade or the stones had thrown a track. The second one came forward down the road. The odds had been halved.