by Fred Allen
The French Resistance, the Maquis, would be awaiting their arrival and would provide guides to the objective. The Maquis also planned a few diversionary actions that they hoped would attract the attention of the small German detachment in Le Treport.
Sharkey and Peter would accompany the Major and the three marine radar experts and they would move quickly onto the site. Sharkey would set timed explosive charges and Peter, accompanied by five Royal Marines, would provide cover for the Major and the radar experts as well as maintaining communications with the RN detail who would wait off shore. Hoping to take advantage of the element of surprise, the Major was going to try and seize one of the German officers. H-hour would be about one hour after the time at which the major Canadian force hit the beaches at Dieppe and it was reasonable to expect that the assault on Dieppe would provide an additional distraction for the troops in the Le Treport area.
Very early in the morning of D Day their landing craft moved quietly into the channel. There had been reports of E Boat activity near the French coast. The low profile of the landing craft took advantage of a light haze arising a few metres above the water as they moved close to the coast and zeroed in on the faint flashing light from the Maquis who had taken up position on the outskirts of the village. The small inflated landing craft had been put over the side earlier in the crossing and the groups quickly disembarked and, on the signal of the Lieut-Commander, broke away and headed for shore.
Peter was aware of the adrenaline pumping through his veins. No amount of training could prepare a soldier for this actual moment of truth. The landing was uneventful, their Maquis guides met them and the small groups moved out on their appointed tasks as other members of the Maquis hid their small inflated crafts with camouflage nets prepared for the occasion.
In the distance they could hear the muffled sound of the naval bombardment of Dieppe in support of the Canadian landing force and this continued as they moved through the half light of the early morning.
The estimated time to the objective was 90 minutes and they arrived about five minutes early and each group took up its designated position. On Major Jeffries’ prearranged signal, a short coded sequence sent by Peter over a short range hand held wireless set the assault began. They were aided immeasurably by the element of surprise and the failure of the German commander to observe one of the first principles of defence; always schedule a “stand to” at any of the times at which you are the most vulnerable. First light was one of these times at which units must be most vigilant. The Commando encountered only night sentries paying more attention to what was happening in the distance at Dieppe. Two of the guards died silently each after one expert swipe of a marine’s assault knife but the third got off a shot at shadowy figures closing in on the bunker behind the installation. A second shot, this time from the sharp eyed Sharkey, armed with a sniper rifle, dropped the sentry in his tracks. But the damage had been done and the German defenders were now awake. A fierce firefight ensued with the Commando enjoying the advantage of having a definite plan and the initiative.
Totally disregarding the withering fire, Sharkey moved quickly onto the installation and planted the timed explosive kits and Major Jeffries moved quickly to the bunker. Peter was completely amazed at the cool competence of the marine officer. As they reached the fortified entrance to the bunker a German officer emerged pointing his Luger pistol. Jeffries quickly shot the German but in the shoulder causing the officer to drop his pistol with a stream of guttural epithets. “Grab him Sergeant!” the major ordered Peter,” that’s the one we want. Keep him alive!”
After a few grenades exploded in the bunker, all was silent and the marines who had been briefed for the task went quickly about their work in collecting designated components from the radar control console. They were out of the bunker in minutes as the sound of approaching vehicles announced the imminent arrival of reinforcements.
The timed charges set by Sharkey were for seven minutes and they knew that they had to be clear of the site within that time. There was also the reasonable hope that the German reinforcements could be drawn onto the site as the timed charges exploded causing casualties and adding to the confusion. The timed charges went off on schedule and, while there was no accurate assessment of casualties, the three major explosions totally destroyed the installation and brought about the desired level of confusion.
The groups from the Commando moved quickly towards the beach as the Germans regrouped. The Maquis now provided another diversion by opening fire and retreating at right angles to the path followed by the Commando. This tactic gave the Commando just a little more breathing space but it was not long before the Germans identified the direction that the real assault force had taken and set off in hot pursuit.
The Commando was under fire all the way to the beach. Major Jeffries was hit in one leg and leaned heavily on Peter as they approached the beach. Peter was hit but in the excitement of the action did not realize how or where. Sharkey was everywhere but his greatest contribution was as a fearless and deadly rearguard when combined with the Marine Warrant Officer and a handful of marines. On the beach, Major Jeffries was hit again this time in the other leg. Sharkey arrived on the scene and carried him the remainder of the way to their camouflaged rubber boats while the Major continued to issue orders on the withdrawal of the Commando.
It was only when they were back on the RN Landing Craft that Peter was aware of his wound. When he tried to sit down on one of the benches that had been lowered from the wall of the craft, he found the pain near unbearable. He had received a flesh wound in what was surely the fleshiest part of his body, right in the ass. In addition the wireless silence of the past thirty minutes was explained. His wireless set had been shot right off his back.
One of the images that would always remain fixed in Peter’s mind was the sight of the rather elderly RN Lieut-Commander standing completely exposed on the highest point on the craft-probably this was his bridge-coolly directing his crew in getting all of the Commando on board with particular concern for the wounded. And during all of this time, the entire craft was under heavy fire from the shore. This fire was being returned by RN personnel on the gunwales of the landing craft. When the Commander was satisfied that he had everyone on board, he gave a terse order to his Boatswain “Make smoke, Chief! And let’s go home. I’d like to be home for tea.”
The return journey was very deliberate. Fortunately, the attention of the E-Boats now seemed to be concentrated on Dieppe. It was only when they reached mid-channel that the Commander considered it safe to open up the power plant with the order for “Full speed Ahead!”
For the remainder of the return crossing, the priority was treatment of wounds including the shoulder wound of a still highly irate German officer who found that the lighthearted camaraderie of the returning troops was just adding salt to his wounds. They were just a little worried about Major Jeffries who had been severely wounded in both legs. There was no question but that he was in severe pain but as two of his marines did what they could to administer field treatment or first aid, he maintained what could only be described as a “stiff upper lip” as he pronounced to his men “Good show, men, jolly good show!” He had particularly warm words for Sharkey and Peter. He admitted that he had some misgivings when he had been informed that his Commando would include five Canadians. He had nothing but praise for all the “Colonials” and now told them they would be welcome on his Commando at any time.
Casualties had been surprisingly light. Six marines were unaccounted for but in subsequent debriefing it appeared that only four had been killed in the assault and it was possible that the other two had been taken prisoner. The final count would await the confirmation of Allied intelligence where the input of the French Resistance would be of significant value. All the Canadians were safe although three had been wounded including Peter who was already being subjected to merciless ribbing from Sharkey for having “got his as
s shot off.” Sharkey had been grazed on one leg just enough, as he told Peter, to qualify for a wound stripe.
When they landed they were greeted by a number of staff officers who wanted to conduct the debriefing while everything was fresh in their minds. Major Jeffries’ Commanding Officer was there to add his compliment of “Jolly Good Show”, and the RN Lieutenant-Commander claimed the right of the Senior Service to be first in the debriefing line and, thus, met his stated objective of being home for tea.
The visit to a hospital was mandatory and there they found the staff working to capacity treating the wounded from Dieppe. Peter would have been hospitalized except there were no beds available. So they just stitched him up making a few remarks that the Doctor regarded as humorous but on which Peter could not quite appreciate the humor. Peter got some pain killers and was offered a pillow for a little comfort in sitting down and advice to sleep on his stomach for a few weeks. Two of the three wounded Canadians would be hospitalized, but Sharkey did not need any treatment. He merely wanted to ensure that the wound was recorded in his documents so he could mount one of those attractive gold wound stripes while proclaiming a belief that the Americans did things the right way; they gave a wounded soldier a medal-a Purple Heart.
The battalion had been bloodied at Dieppe and was now returning to the lines it had occupied before moving to the staging area on the coast in preparation for the Dieppe raid. The heavy casualties had included the Commanding Officer who had been taken prisoner and two company commanders who had been killed on the beach. The new CO arrived from Brigade Headquarters and it proved to be the Brigade Major whom Peter had worked with during his employment at there. A wave of reinforcements arrived from the reinforcement units and frenzied activities followed in an attempt to restore the unit to combat readiness.
The Company Sergeant Major of Support Company had been seriously wounded and Sharkey had been promoted despite his reluctance to leave his beloved Recce Platoon. Peter was now promoted to Sergeant from Lance Sergeant and appointed platoon sergeant for the Recce Platoon.
About a month after Dieppe a special battalion parade was called to present honors and awards. When the battalion was formed up, Sharkey and Peter noticed that Major(now Lieutenant-Colonel) Jeffries was on the reviewing stand seated in a wheel chair. They noted later that he was now wearing a bar to his Distinguished Service Order, and it was he who made the presentation to the five from the battalion who had participated in the highly successful raid on the radar installation.
Through a sound system set up by the brigade signals platoon, he told the battalion of the success of the radar installation raid. Not only had the installation been completely destroyed and its commander captured, but vital components had been seized for analysis by our own Boffins.
Colonel Jeffries told the battalion that the long term results of the raid might very well save thousands of Allied lives by shortening the war by many months.
The highly prized German radar was now “kaput” as the Allied Boffins could prescribe effective counter measures. He went on to express his appreciation of the five members of the battalion who had participated in the raid. He told them about the serious misgivings he had felt when advised that these Colonials would be added to his Commando (loud boos from the assembled troops) but he had been delighted with the contribution they made (loud cheers from the assembled troops) and it gave him great personal pleasure to present Sergeant Shawkey-to all of you “Sharkey”-with a bar to his Distinguished Conduct Medal. Sharkey had demonstrated courage and skills of the highest order and, in addition, the Colonel announced, “he saved my ass”. He next called Peter forward and awarded him the Military Medal also for the skill and courage he had displayed during the raid. The Colonel added, “It was unfortunate that Sharkey was so busy saving my ass he was unable to do the same for Sgt. Marshall” (loud laughter from the assembled troop who had been informed of just where Peter had been hit). The other three battalion members who had participated in the raid were awarded Mention-in-Dispatches.
In the weeks following the special parade the subject of officer training came up again and Peter recognized the hand of his new Commanding Officer-formerly his boss at Brigade Headquarters-in this process. He gave the matter some very serious thought before declining politely. The decision was his alone but did not come without a long talk with Sharkey. While never anything but loyal to his commanding officers, Sharkey was not overly impressed by the stream of young officers who passed through the unit. “It’s no fault of theirs,” said Sharkey, “It’s the method of selection and the way they train them. Boyo, you’d make one hell of a fine officer but you’d be lost in the big shuffle, and if we ever get into action you wouldn’t last a week. The really good ones don’t survive because they are always doing something and that’s just what the snipers love. They pick them off like flies. Most of those who stick around survive for the most part because they don’t do anything; they never expose themselves. The longer they survive, the greater their seniority, and the more chance of promotion.”
Peter recognized an element of truth in Sharkey’s opinion of officers but this was not his principal reason for declining officer training. More important was the fact that Peter was becoming very comfortable in his role as Platoon Sergeant in what was still one of the best platoons in the brigade. He found himself becoming known and admired by all ranks in the battalion. Officers of all rank, and members of the rank and file recognized him and many would stop to talk to him. His original fame had been established by the ever expanding account of his now epic battle with Sharkey but was now confirmed by the little striped ribbon he wore on his chest.
His continuing association with Sharkey further enhanced his reputation for just being Sharkey’s buddy. His sense of humor was often tested by junior officers inquiring just how his wound was coming along, and the sincerity of these solicitations was always made just a little suspect by the hint of a smile on their faces.
Peter and Sharkey continued to visit their favorite spots in London. Their first visit to the Guards’ Depot Sergeants Mess after the raid was a special occasion. A picture of Sharkey had now been mounted on a long wall reserved for depot members and former members of distinguished service. The Depot RSM noted the bar which had been added to Sharkey’s DCM and would arrange with their official photographer to have this item added to Sharkey’s picture. Such amendments were quite common with depot members and alumni.
Sharkey appeared to have mellowed a bit. They were rarely involved in punchups. Of course, by this time, he had established himself both within the brigade and in the pubs and other institutions which he regarded as his “turf”. There were few challenges even during the infrequent “Night Patrols” now devoted to what Sharkey called “perimeter defences”.
Then came the invasion of Fortress Europe, and the long months of stultifying garrison life and painfully boring repetitive exercises were forgotten in the actual engagement with a determined and skilful enemy. Peter added to his laurels in a bitter action in the Falaise Gap and was awarded a bar to his Military Medal. Later, as the Canadian forces participated in the Allied rush to the Rhine, Peter and his platoon rescued a small Free French unit from being wiped out by a German ambush and Peter was advised a few weeks later that he had been mentioned in dispatches and the Free French Commander had conferred on him the Croix de Guerre.
The paths of Peter and Sharkey crossed regularly. Both had narrowly escaped disciplinary action after a lively punchup with a group of Americans during a weekend in Paris, but the next military mission which brought them together again was early in January in the Hochwald Forrest.
The Allied advance was going very well but more cautiously after stubbing its toe at Bastoyne. The Germans were desperate to delay the Allied advance in the hope that newly developed rockets aimed at London would provide a little leverage when it came to peace negotiations.
After the action at Bas
toyne, a very receptive intelligence branch at Allied Headquarters picked up rumors that the Germans were training and deploying what they referred to as “Hedgehogs”. These represented small armoured forces consisting of three or four medium tanks, bristling with firepower, that would try and go to ground in well camouflaged positions and let the rapidly advancing Allied Troops pass them by. Then, the “Hedgehog” would cut a swath through the soft underbelly of the rear echelons of the advancing formations and create complete havoc.
The only additional intelligence on the “Hedgehogs” was that they were commanded by veteran Panzer officers but staffed largely by Hitler Youth. Allied formation commanders were instructed to maintain active patrols to ensure that effective contact was maintained between units on formation flanks.
The Support Company Commander was given the task of maintaining contact with a British unit on the battalion’s left flank and instructed Sharkey to set up the patrol based on Recce Platoon. The Recce Platoon commander had just arrived with a group of reinforcements and the OC asked his CSM (Sharkey) to assist in setting up the patrol and give the young officer the benefit of his experience. Because of the danger of encountering heavy enemy armour, the OC instructed Sharkey to take along three of the new anti-tank weapons PIATs-Projector Infantry Anti-Tank-a few packages of plastic explosives and half a dozen anti-tank mines. While the patrol would consist of mostly Recce Platoon personnel, other men would be added as required. Sharkey added three members of the Pioneer Platoon because of their training in handling mines.