by Griff Hosker
We took the lead as we drove through the darkened forest. Dawn was not far away and we needed to be as close to our lines as possible. We took it steadily while making the fastest time that we could. Disaster came in the form of a laager of tanks which lay hidden in the forest. I saw the barrel of a gun jutting out. Hewitt saw it too and began to slow. This time the sentries did not have the benefit of a flare to see our German uniforms and vehicles. They heard the sound of the engines and they opened fire. Hewitt barely managed to stop the Kübelwagen as the front tyres were shredded. We were probably helped by the fact that two of them were hit.
"Out! Into the forest." Fletcher had the radio and Private Beaumont a Bergen. I just had grenades and my pistols. Those and my field glasses were all that I carried. We tumbled out of the Kübelwagen as quickly as we could. The small arms fired continued to rattle into the Kübelwagen even as we bailed out. I waved for the others to join us. Bill Hay led them from the second Kübelwagen. I just had time to jam a primed German grenade under the brake and then I followed my men into the woods. I did not fire back for the muzzle flash would give away our position. The Germans were firing blind. It was too dark to see us but soon it would be daylight and then the hunt would begin. When we were a hundred yards into the forest I whistled. The section stopped. We had run directly into the forest and were heading north but we had to make our way north west if we were to reach our lines. I tapped Private Beaumont's arm and handed him a German grenade. He opened his Bergen and began to take out grenades and cord. He and Shepherd made a line of them behind us. They would warn us of pursuit and slow it down. We were aided by the night. I pointed to Bill Hay and the rear. He nodded. I pointed to myself and led them north east. We stopped running and moved silently.
As soon as we set off I could heard the noise of pursuit. When I heard an explosion I knew they had found the booby trap in the Kübelwagen. I heard, too, the sound of a tank's engines being started. The noise of the heavy engine did not help us for it drowned out all the other noises. There could have been German soldiers all around us and we would not know. The silence of the night was shattered. I knew that the forest ended towards the north west and there would be open fields. We needed to cross into the fields in the night if we were to have any chance of escape.
As we hurried through the ever thinning forest I saw the black become a murky grey and knew it heralded dawn. Eventually we would need to ditch the German uniforms but I wanted to keep them for a little while longer. When we were spotted the slight hesitation when they saw German grey might just be the difference. I held my silenced Colt before me. It was fortunate that I did for otherwise when we stumbled upon the two Germans walking towards us, the sound of my shots might have drawn their companions to us. As it was I managed to lift the Colt and fire two shots into each of them before they knew we were there. I could not stop one of them crying out but I hoped that the sound of the tanks' engines to our left might mask his cry. The fact that there were men ahead of us now made caution even more imperative. Behind us was a double crack as two of Private Beaumont's booby traps were triggered. It was then that I saw the open fields ahead of us. There was a wire fence around the field and I saw dark shapes within. They had to be cattle. I took out my wire cutters and cut a hole to allow us through. We had less than twenty miles to go. On a good day we could run that in four hours. This was occupied France and it could take all day.
We sprinted across the field. The sun was rising behind us and was as good an indication of our direction as my compass. As it appeared over the trees I realised we were heading due west and I pointed to my right to take us in a more northerly direction. The cows obligingly moved out of the way. The farmhouse was to our left. I wanted to avoid that. I saw another hedge ahead and I put on a spurt to reach it. This time there was a farm gate and we clambered over it. Once on the other side I waved the men to the ground. I crawled back and lay beneath the gate looking back to the forest. The field we had crossed had been about two hundred yards wide. The cows moving back and forth helped to make it hard to see us but equally hard for me to see the Germans.
I took out the field glasses from beneath my German greatcoat. I saw the Germans as they found where we had cut the wire. One of them turned and shouted to his companions. Seven men headed through the field. I turned to the others and held up seven fingers. I pointed to my Colt. Fletcher, Hay and Shepherd all had silenced weapons. These were the last four in my section. If the Germans came close they would die silently. I watched the seven as they headed across the field. They were going to the farmhouse. Our booby traps came back to haunt me. The Germans did not bother to ask those within the farm questions; they used grenades and bullets. The fusillade and the cracks of grenades echoed to us. I could not see the result of the firing but the Germans would know we were not within. The French family whose cries we heard had paid the price for our sabotage.
I dared not move while the Germans were in the vicinity and so we waited. I was rewarded when I saw two heading back across the field towards the wire. That left just five Germans. I turned my field glasses back to the smoking farmhouse. I could not see the Germans. Then Emerson tapped me on the shoulder and pointed to our right. He cupped his ear. He was correct. There were Germans and they were walking towards us along the hedge. At first I could not make out their words but then I caught snatches of it.
".... Captain Sweinstiger."
"I know. He should have sent more men with us. Two Kübelwagens had to have more than four men in them."
One of the Germans laughed, "He said they might be deserters! The man is a fool. It was the resistance! Since the Amis came they have grown bolder. Shoot first boys. That is how you stay alive. When we have more men we can sweep up the rest of the locals and question them."
They were now almost upon us. I rolled over on to my back and held the Colt in two hands. As the first two Germans appeared I snapped, in German, "Drop your weapons!"
As the sergeant leading them swung his sub machine gun in my direction I fired two bullets at him and then swung to fire at the second. I heard the phut of the other's silenced weapons as my men fired through the hedge. The Germans died quickly.
"Get their grenades and let's get out of here quickly!"
I dumped my greatcoat. I would need it no longer and it promised to be a warm day. I kept my German field cap but jammed it in my battle dress. "We head north west and we need to run. They will miss these soon enough." Some of the others took the opportunity to shed their German greatcoats.
We ran. We kept to the sides of the fields. We had a start now and our running would extend that lead. They might have men on the roads but we would avoid them. Each time we reached another fence we halted to see if it was clear. We had two very small roads we crossed and they were both empty. It was eight o'clock when we heard the sound of aeroplane engines. It was a flight of Typhoons. They were diving to attack. For the briefest of moments I thought that they were attacking us but when I heard the whoosh of their rockets I knew they were attacking tanks. Their attack saved us for they hit something four hundred yards to the north of us. There was a loud explosion and a column of fire leapt into the air. We would have walked into them but for the arrival of the aeroplanes.
I heard, in the distance, gun fire and the sound of artillery and tanks. There was an attack. I wondered if it was Operation Totalize then I dismissed the thought. That was not due for at least five days. Whatever it was we were in the middle of it. "Ditch the Jerry uniforms. It looks like there is a battle ahead." The ones who still had greatcoats and caps threw them away.
Bill Hay shook his head, "And we are stuck in the middle of it! Every bugger will take pot shots at us."
"Corporal Fletcher as soon as we have an idea where we are get on the radio and tell Lieutenant Ross where we are."
"Right sir."
"Let's move. Hay, you can be rearguard."
I led them further west than we had been heading. The pall of smoke in the sky told me that th
ere were Germans there. I knew we would have to pass by Germans at some point. I just wanted to be closer to our lines when I did so. We scrambled across fields and hid in whatever cover we could find. Above us were aeroplanes; Luftwaffe and RAF. We heard the chattering of their guns when they met. We took cover whenever we heard engines above us. We were behind the lines and fair game for the RAF as well as the enemy. What saved us was the river. We almost stumbled into it. We were forced to take cover when a diving pair of Spitfires took us for Germans. We dived through a hedge and tumbled down the bank of the Dives.
After they had gone we rose, dripping, from the water. "We'll follow this for a while. I know it is taking us away from Caen but we have cover from the trees. Corporal Fletcher, see if you can get a signal and tell the Lieutenant where we are. The rest of you eat and drink. We can fill our bottles from the river." I finished off the last of my water and then refilled it. I slipped in the water purification tablet and shook it up. I took out the biscuits I had brought with me. They were largely crumbs but the sugar in them would keep me going.
"Sorry sir. There is too much other radio traffic and they are using our frequency. From what I heard it was Canadians and Poles chattering away."
"That makes sense. They were holding the sector. Right, follow me."
I headed upstream. We were able to walk in the water at the sides where it was shallow and when it became deeper we scrambled up the bank. We made half a mile before we hit trouble. I saw a bridge ahead and realised it was manned. I moved ahead using the cover of the trees. There was a gap of twenty yards before we could reach the cover of the bridge itself. We would have to move cautiously. I watched the parapet and when the sentries' attention was not on our side I waved pairs of my men through. It seemed to take forever but eventually they all made it. I knew we would not be able to continue upstream so long as they were there. I had counted four of them but I knew there could be more. I took one of the German grenades and broke the porcelain top. I rested the bottom on a piece of driftwood from the bank which I propped against the trunk and tied the cord to a branch of a willow. It balanced. The weight of the falling grenade would set it off. I just needed something to trigger it. Picking up a stone from the river I watched the sentries and, when they turned, ran to join my men.
The grenade, hanging by its cord, was thirty feet from me. I was about to throw the stone when Corporal Fletcher grabbed my arm. Shaking his head he took the stone from me. I nodded. He had a good arm and a better eye for this sort of thing than me. He threw the stone and it knocked away the prop. The grenade fell and we dived to the ground. Shrapnel rattled into the bridge as the grenade exploded and we were all deafened. I stood and ran upstream. My men followed me. As I emerged I saw that the Germans had left the bridge to investigate the explosion. The river looped to our left and we made the shelter of some more trees within forty yards of the bridge. I looked back through the trees. The Germans were now scanning both sides of the river. We had a lead again. But we had also notified the Germans that there were enemies close by.
Chapter 7
We hurried up the stream. Shaded by overhanging branches and shallow at the edges, it made perfect cover. We travelled another mile or so and I checked my watch. It was almost two o'clock in the afternoon. I took out my map and realised that our deviation up the river had added six miles to our journey. We still had fifteen miles to go. I knew we would have to hide up. We had used up all of our luck already. I saw, on the map, a Château, Venduevre. It was more than likely to be occupied by Germans but it looked to have extensive grounds and we could hide there. It would be the last place they would expect to find British soldiers and we could then use the river to get to a road and back to our own lines.
The trees were much thicker the nearer we came to the Château. I guessed they used it for hunting before the war and I risked walking in the woods. It was faster going and we made better progress. I saw, through the trees, the German flag above and knew that we were close to the Château. I circled my arm signifying that we should make camp. I headed towards the edge of the trees. I crept to the eaves of the forest and took out my field glasses. The Château had sentries but they were over four hundred yards from us across neatly manicured lawns. There were many cars parked outside and they looked to be staff cars although there was one armoured car. I deduced the Germans had used this as some sort of local headquarters. As I watched I saw a great deal of activity. Officers left the building and jumped into cars. Others shouted orders to those who were still within. Then two German lorries arrived and soldiers jumped out of the back. I wondered if they were coming for us and then I saw them run inside. I had intended just to check on our safety but now I was intrigued. As soon as I saw the soldiers emerge with boxes I knew what was happening. They were evacuating the building. We had a chance to escape sooner than I had expected.
I went back to the men, "We have had a bit of luck. Jerry is evacuating the building. We will keep watch and when they have gone we will be able to head back to Caen in the confusion. Joe, go back to the edge of the forest and keep watch. Let me know when the lorries have gone." I gave him my binoculars.
"Right sir."
"Corporal Fletcher, try the radio again." He set it up and charged it. He put on the headphones and turned the dial. "The rest of you get food and take on water. Check your guns. We will be in action soon."
I took my own advice and drank some water. Fletcher shook his head. "Still nothing sir. Just a lot of German and Polish.
"Keep trying. I will go and check out the Château again." I went to the edge of the woods and found a camouflaged Lance Corporal Wilkinson. He was prone and peering at the Germans. "Three or four cars have just gone, sir, and the crew has just got into the armoured car."
"That means they are leaving."
Private Beaumont ran up and whispered, "Sir, Scouse has Sergeant Poulson on the radio."
I ran back with Private Beaumont and Fletcher put the headphones on my ears and handed me the microphone, "Poulson?"
"Yes sir."
"We are at the Château Venduevre. It looks like Jerry is evacuating it. We are going to head into Caen as soon as they do. Have Lieutenant Ross warn the Canadians and Poles that we are on our way and we are back in British uniforms. It is likely we might be driving German vehicles."
"Right sir."
I took off the headphones and gave the microphone back to Corporal Fletcher. "Get ready to move. Jerry is on his way out of the Château. With any luck we can use the confusion to head back to our lines."
I rejoined Wilkinson. He pointed, "There is still one truck left sir but the armoured car has gone to the gate."
I looked at my watch. It was almost four o'clock. "You have good eyes, Wilkinson." I took my binoculars from him and scanned the vehicles. I saw that he was right the other truck and the armoured car were waiting with a Kübelwagen at the entrance. There were still four cars and another Kübelwagen in front of the Château. When I saw the flag being lowered I knew that they would not be long. As Corporal Fletcher joined us I saw the soldiers emerge from the Château and this time when they had filled the truck they climbed on board.
"Right lads, let's move. Keep low and let's be sharpish eh?"
We spread out and ran through the formal gardens. The topiary and hedges would give us some cover and yet allow us to keep an eye on the enemy. I saw the truck leave. It disappeared from sight behind a line of Cypress trees and then reappeared again by the gate. I hoped that the convoy would leave and we might be able to get our hands on a German vehicle.
When we were a hundred yards away I saw that there were just two vehicles left, a Kübelwagen and a staff car. The soldiers taking down the flag were urged on by an officer standing on the running board of the staff car. Glancing to my left I saw that the other vehicles had gone. I drew my Colt. As we neared them the officer saw us. He began to pull his gun and he shouted to his men. I dropped to one knee and took aim. The rest of my section drew their weapons and did
the same. I hit the officer with my first bullet. One of the soldiers managed to get a couple of shots off but there were eight of us with automatics and we rarely missed. All seven Germans fell.
"Sir, Wilkinson is hit!"
"Hewitt see to him. Emerson and Shepherd you two drive." I went with Hewitt to Lance Corporal Wilkinson. He had been hit in the shoulder.
"Sir, keep pressure on this will you while I get another dressing out."
I pushed the dressing into the wound. Wilkinson shook his head, "Just my rotten luck."
Hewitt said, "You'll be all right Joe. It just nicked your shoulder. It looks worse than it is."
"No, Sarge, it means they will send me back to Blighty and I like being with you blokes!"
"Sir, we are good to go!"
"We wait for Wilkinson!" Hewitt and I manhandled him to the staff car. It had more room in it. The building stood with doors swinging open. It had been truly abandoned. I shouted, "Have your guns ready. We are not wearing German uniforms but the car and the Kübelwagen might just slow their reactions." I patted Emerson on the knee, "Drive but remember the Kübelwagen will be slower than us."
"Aye sir. This is a nice little motor!" We drove out through the gates. I had seen the convoy head left down the main road. "Go straight across!" There was a minor road ahead and I had seen, on the map, that it twisted and turned but eventually it would take us to Caen.
It was a narrow road. The German staff car had a small flag on the front. It made the German lorry we met coming the other way pull to one side. As we passed I saw the look of surprise on the German faces as they saw the British passengers. One of them pulled out a gun but Bill Hay, in the Kübelwagen, sprayed him with his sub machine gun. Private Beaumont hurled a grenade and, as we disappeared down the road, I saw the lorry catch fire as the grenade exploded under the rear.