by Griff Hosker
The weather on Thursday was awful. It didn't just rain. It was a storm of Biblical proportions. The only good news was there were neither Doodlebugs nor bombers! Nature decided to bombard us! Dinner, however, was delightful. Everything seemed to come together as though it was meant to be. Dad loved the restaurant and became an instant fan. Both Dad and Susan got on well too. She loved his sense of humour and laughed at his lame jokes. When she went to the ladies' room he confirmed it, "Your mum was right! You had better marry her. I can tell you now there won't be a better one than Susan. You are like me, Tom, a one woman man. I only ever took out your mum and that didn't turn out so bad did it?"
I knew he was right and, as I walked her back to her quarters I said, "I know you think I am a little shy and reserved. I am and I can't help it but I do love you. I want you to know that in case..."
She stopped and faced me, "Now listen here Captain Tom Harsker! You are going to survive this war! I am not going to wear black for the rest of my life! I am not going to be like your Aunt Alice and remember the hero I lost."
"I know and when this is over we will get married."
She stopped again, "Is that a proposal?"
"I thought you wanted to get married."
"I do but a girl likes a proposal!"
I shook my head, "Sorry. I am not very good at this am I?"
"No but I forgive you because everything else is perfect. And we will wait until this madness is over because I know that you will survive. It will be worth waiting for!"
I headed for Operations the next day with mixed feelings. My leave would soon be over and the briefing was reminder that I would soon be at, as Reg Dean often said, 'The sharp end of the war'. However I would, possibly, have the chance to see Susan for she began work at noon. I would still be there when she was.
Security was even tighter now than it had been. Intelligence had discovered many more German agents landing in Britain. Most were caught but some were thought to have escaped capture and so there were more checks than ever. It was reassuring. I was taken through the labyrinth of corridors to the room I had visited before. This time there was neither Colonel Fleming nor Hugo Ferguson there. Instead there was a sergeant who was laying out papers.
"Nice and prompt sir. You would be Captain Harsker. I am Sergeant Reeves. If there is anything you want then let me know. I know I wear these stripes but my real title is 'General Dogsbody'!"
I smiled, "Thanks Sergeant. I am fine." I noticed a map on the wall. It was a familiar one. It was Normandy. I saw Caen ringed and arrows pointing at it. I knew what that meant. The Sergeant had finished and he sat down. He was obviously responsible for keeping a record of the meeting.
"The Major said you were over there, sir. Was it rough?"
"Getting ashore wasn't as bad as we expected but when they counter attacked we were hanging on by the skin of our teeth."
"I thought as much when we got the reports. They just gave numbers. You will have seen the faces though, eh sir?" I nodded. "I am afraid the Major and the others will be a little late. There is some sort of conflab. Between you and me sir there has been a problem I reckon."
"I can wait. Any chance of a cup of tea Sergeant?"
He grinned, "Just the job sir. I could do with a brew myself!"
He left and I stood to study the maps he had pinned to the cork walls. I recognised the targets which had been set. It looked to me as though there was a sudden need to capture Caen quickly. I wondered if that explained the delay. It was noon by the time that the Sergeant and I were joined by Major Foster and the three officers with him. One was a colonel and the sergeant and I snapped to attention.
"Sit down, please, sorry to have kept you. I am Colonel Waring, Major Foster's superior. This is Lieutenant Wilson and Lieutenant Ross. They are the ones who deal with the minutiae of this operation. Major Foster and I have the bigger picture to contend with."
He looked at me as though expecting a response, "Yes sir."
"Now I dare say you are wondering why we called you in during a well earned leave." He glanced at Major Foster which told me that my outburst at dinner had been noted. I nodded. "You performed above and beyond the call of duty as did your men. The medals on your chest tell me that is not an unusual event." He stood and went to the map. "Caen. We thought it would fall easily it has not. The storm we had yesterday and today was the last part of one which has wrecked the beaches. The Mulberry harbour has gone! We have eight hundred ships stranded on the beach. There is a problem with supply and we had intelligence that the Germans are planning an offensive." He sat down and lit a cigarette. "Cup of tea please, Reeves. Anyone else?" We all shook our heads.
Major Foster spoke, "We are in great danger of being thrown off the beaches and back into the sea. If that happened it would make Dunkirk look like a minor inconvenience. I am not certain we would get back as easily."
Lieutenant Wilson who looked as though he was still at school said, "I don't think so sir. We did it once. Should be easier the second time around."
I would not have dignified that with an answer but the Colonel snapped, "Wilson do not try to pull the wool over Captain Harsker's eyes. He has been fighting the Germans since before Dunkirk as has Major Foster. Our job is to see that the Germans do not throw us off the beaches!"
"Sorry sir."
The Colonel smiled, "And that is where you and your chaps come in. Field Marshal Montgomery has devised a plan which will, we hope, release the Americans to the south while attacking Caen from the north. In effect we will surround it and, hopefully, trap a large number of Germans between us."
I stood, "Do you mind sir?"
"Help yourself Harsker."
I went to the map. "The attacks would come here and here?" I used my hands to represent the two allied corps. He nodded. "Then I can see three major problems. The Americans would have to capture the high ground between St. Pois and the River Sarthe and British and Canadians would have to cross the River Dives. I was at the Orne and if the Airborne hadn't captured the bridge we would not have crossed."
Major Foster smiled, "You said three, Tom."
"The elephant in the room, sir, is the Second Panzer Division. They are S.S. and they have Tigers and Panthers. We found it hard enough to stop their reconnaissance vehicles at Bréville. God knows how you stop a Tiger."
Major Foster smiled again, "That is simple, we use your section." For once I was stuck for words. "You are right we have no tanks which can face the Tiger in a tank battle. We are outgunned and they have the best armour of any tank but they do have an Achilles heel. Their fuel. They drink it like water and we know that the Germans are running out." He stood and went to the map. "They are all supplied through Trun. It is on the main road from Caen to Cambois and a cross roads from the north and south of Normandy."
He paused. "So why not have the RAF bomb the hell out of it sir?"
The Colonel said, "We have been but they have a ring of anti aircraft guns around it. They are the eighty eights that can be used against tanks too. Besides it is not the crossroads themselves which are important. They have built a huge underground fuel dump. Their lorries come at night to fill it up and then the bowsers from the Panzer Division fill up there. We have a rough idea where it is, thanks to the underground, but our attempts to bomb it have failed."
I could see how that would be apparent. "So you want us to go in and blow it up? That is a lot of explosives."
The Major stubbed out his cigarette, "Not really, Tom. They have pumps to serve the tanks. They can be blown up and that will, effectively disable it. We hope that there will be a chain reaction and the dump will be destroyed but even a short timeout of action would help to run the tanks dry and give our Shermans and Churchills a chance."
"And when is the off?"
"Operation Totalize is due at the start of August. Operation Epsom will be starting in the next day or so. This operation is Operation Thirsk." He smiled, "Not as grand a racecourse as Epsom but important nonetheless."
/> "We couldn't get there by then sir! I don't have the men."
"We know. Operation Epsom is the encirclement of Caen. If the Germans were stupid enough to use open country tanks in the wasteland that is bomb torn Caen then we would have won and we wouldn't need to send you at all. Totalize is the big one. Epsom is Monty's brainchild and is only the British and Canadians. Operation Thirsk only begins when Epsom is over. You have three weeks to get there and get the job done."
"If I have most of my men then we should be able to manage that. How do we get in?"
"We will drop you by parachute."
"Sorry Major Foster, that won't work. It would be suicide. D-Day showed them that we can land airborne troops and there will be Germans crawling over the countryside. Besides there are too many opportunities to miss the target. Better to sneak in."
"Sneak in?"
"Yes sir. We have German uniforms. I can speak German and some of my men are not half bad. We pass through their lines."
Lieutenant Wilson said, "But if you are caught you will be shot!"
I tapped my Commando flash, "If we are caught wearing these gets us shot. Herr Hitler does not like us." The young officer looked stunned. "Besides we can take more equipment that way."
"How?"
"There are Kübelwagens all over Normandy. I know because we shot enough of them up. If we get one or two that are repairable I have a genius with engines. We will drive the thirty miles to Trun."
The Colonel smiled, "So your time waiting for us was not wasted then, Captain?"
"No sir. A Commando is always prepared!"
"Well we need detain you no longer. Major Foster and Lieutenant Ross will come down to Southampton at the end of next week. By then you should have all your men. If you need any more then Major Foster will expedite that." He touched my shoulder, "This has come from the top, Captain. The Prime Minister himself wishes it to happen." He smiled, "I believe your name was mentioned."
"I am honoured sir but I don't think we need any more men. We are a tight team and that is how we have survived as long as we have."
The look he gave left me in no doubt who was running this operation. "Nonetheless this operation is too important to risk failure over a missing man. Major Foster will make the final decision about the personnel you will take."
"Sir."
Chapter 3
As I sat on the train heading for Southampton I reflected on the end of my leave. I had not seen enough of Susan but there was a war on. I had, however, got to talk to Dad for longer than I could remember, and that was an unexpected bonus. He would be based in London until the airfield at Caen was in our hands. That was partly dependent on me. As for Susan and our future we had made plans but there was nothing decided. We would marry but that would be as soon as the war was over. I was lucky. Susan knew as well as any that the war had a long way to go before it was over. I had taken her to Bond Street one morning before she went to work and bought her an engagement ring. She said I had spent too much while I did not think it was enough. I didn't say anything to her but in my mind I knew that if anything did happen to me then she would have something from me. It was little enough.
We had no digs at Southampton. Instead there was a warehouse which had been commandeered and we would be staying there. The advantage it had was that it was close to the harbour; the disadvantage was that meant it was quite likely to be the target of German bombers. We would not have long there. We had just a week before the final briefing and then we would be trying to get to Normandy. Until we had a port in our hands, getting ashore would have to be the way we did it on D-Day, by landing craft. I doodled plans and ideas all the way to Southampton. We made two unscheduled stops to allow trains the other way. The Germans had damaged one of the tracks. The delay helped me to formulate my plans.
The Colonel had given me the approximate start times of the operations. We had until the first week of August to damage the fuel dump. As he had escorted me from the building Major Foster had said there would be secondary targets too. That did not surprise me. If we were behind the lines then we would need to cause as much mayhem as possible. We would need at least a week in Normandy to get the vehicles and to gather as much recent information as we could. I did not like the vague nature of the information. A hidden fuel dump could be as big as a large village but the pumps could be small. It was another reason I had chosen to go in by land rather than by air. We would have more chance of finding it that way. I sketched Trun, without names of course, and studied the sketch map. We would take full maps with us but it was often easier to have a small piece of paper at which to glance. When I got my Bergen I would transfer the sketch map to my small notebook.
As the train pulled in to Southampton Central I knew that my biggest problem was not knowing who I would be taking with me. The only one I was certain of taking was John Hewitt. I needed explosives experts as well as mechanics. At the moment it felt like trying to pick a lock wearing mittens!
It was Corporal Hewitt who waited at the station with the staff car. "I didn't expect to see you! You have a far longer journey than I do."
"I came back early, sir. Mam and Dad were having to live with Gran. The house was bombed. There were eight of us living in a two up and two down." He shook his head, "Rationing is hurting them sir. I felt right guilty. I mean I let them have me ration book but there was nowt in the shops. I got back yesterday morning."
"Well I am sorry about your family but glad that you are here. We have an operation in the next month."
He slammed the door shut and sat in the driver's seat, "Good! I'd like to get back at Jerry for bombing my home town and me Mam and Dad!"
"Anyone else back?"
"Private Beaumont and Fletcher although they are both limping. Sergeant Major Dean said the Doc passed them as fit for light duties. He reckons it will only take another week for them to be back to normal. Although what normal is for Scouse I have no idea."
I sat back. It was a start. I had my radio man and Private Beaumont was a whizz with both explosives and engines.
We had to pass through a barrier with heavy security to get to our digs. I was happy about that. The last thing we needed was saboteurs. Hewitt pulled up outside a functional looking building. He took my bag from the boot and then rapped on what I took to be a wall. It was a huge door and it slid back. Inside it had been transformed by the clever use of canvas and wood into a series of rooms. "Funny looking isn't it sir? Follow me. There's officers' quarters. At the moment it is just you and Major Rose."
We went through a curtain and there was bare room with eight camp beds and eight metal foot lockers. I took my bag from Hewitt and put it on the bed nearest to the door. "Thanks Corporal. I will go and find Reg and see if he knows any more about the missing men."
"I'd better take you sir, this is like a rabbit warren. You ought to leave a trail of bread crumbs to make sure you get back here!"
Reg looked harassed. His in tray was higher than his out tray and that was not Sergeant Major Dean's style. He managed a weak smile when he saw me. "Good to see you sir." Shaking his head he said, "We are so short handed here you wouldn't believe it. The Brigade is due back in ten days. There is so much equipment to replace... and I only have two clerks. There are four of us trying to do the job of a headquarters' company."
"Well we shall be out of your hair in ten days."
He stopped what he was doing and said, "Going back then, sir?"
"Looks like it Reg. Back behind enemy lines. Is Daddy here?"
"Aye sir and he is as shorthanded as I am. He has one corporal to help him."
"Well I shall see him next. We need everything he has and a bit he will have to find! What I need from you is the SP on my men."
He took a manila file and began to read, "Fletcher and Private Beaumont have been passed fit by the doc but I reckon they need another week or so of light duties. Fred Emerson should be back by the middle of the week. He is in London so if they say he is fit he will be. Poulson, Shepherd
and Hay might be ready by the end of next week but their doctor, they are here in Southampton, says they need a week's leave after that." He closed the file.
"And the others?"
"Crowe is still critical. Gordy and Davis will need a month at least. Sorry sir."
"Not your fault, Reg. Well I shall go to the base hospital tomorrow and see those three for myself. I can't afford to take crocked soldiers with me. Better to go with a smaller number of fit men than with a full section of walking wounded!" I turned to leave, "Oh, by the way, I'd like Hewitt promoting. See what you can do about that eh?"
"Will do." He scribbled something on a piece of paper. "This operation must be important if they aren't letting the wounded recover."
"It is and it won't be easy. Major Foster and a Lieutenant Ross will be coming down at the end of the week to brief us. We will have to have the final numbers by then. The Major has said he will draft in replacements."
"Which you don't like, sir?"
"I think I am becoming an old stick in the mud, Reg. I don't like change."
I eventually found Daddy Grant and the new Quartermaster's stores. It was in a separate building which he shared with the armourer. Neither were happy about it. They were both territorial! Daddy was pleased to see me. He had been my sergeant and regarded me as his own personal success. "At last a face I am pleased to see. Good leave, sir?"