Breakout (Combined Operations Book 7)

by Griff Hosker

  I turned as a company of Canadian soldiers appeared, "Captain Harsker?"

  "Yes sir."

  "I am Major Grogan. I have been told you know where Jerry is?"

  "I know where some are. They have the crossroads covered with at least one anti tank gun and machine guns. There are more to the north of the crossroads and, I am guessing to the south. There is a church tower with a sniper and an OP. We will take that out. It should make your task easier." I pointed across the road. "I have three men dug in over there. They can give covering fire. If you can get men across then I am certain they will give you information on the southern road."

  "If?"

  "They have a machine gun and it is aimed at the middle of the road."

  "Thanks."

  "You will know if we succeed."

  "How?"

  "You won't be able to see a church tower!"

  We ran back to the booby trap sight and then crawled to the chimney. The fire from the other side was more sporadic now. I guessed the Germans were saving their ammunition. I had a problem. I had to expose myself in order to get into position.

  "Beaumont, give me your Thompson. I will give you cover. If you make the sofa I used then you can't be seen by the sniper but you can see the tower. I will then use the Mauser."

  "Right sir."

  "Ready?"

  "Ready."

  I took a step to the right and emptied the magazine at the church tower. I saw the bullets chipping stone from it and then, as I dived back in I felt a tug on my right sleeve. I laid down the Thompson and picked up the Mauser. Hewitt and Beaumont had gone. They now needed me to keep the sniper and OP crew occupied. I dropped to my knees and then laid full length. I rolled to my left. A pair of stones formed a V and I laid the barrel between it. Two bullets in quick succession struck the stones. A splinter of stone struck my cheek. I peered through the sight. I could not see the sniper but I could see where he was firing from. I kept my right finger on the trigger and reached over to find a rock. I wanted to make a movement and attract his attention. I hurled the rock high. A bullet smacked into the stone close to where my left hand had been. I had seen the flash from his muzzle. I fired two shots then moved my rifle marginally to the right and fired another two. I sent the last one to the left. I jammed another clip in.

  I heard a whoosh from in front of me and watched the trail of the rocket head towards the tower. Although intended for tanks a damaged church tower was as good a target. The effect was spectacular. It hit slightly above where they intended but the flash showed those within and I snapped off another clip. I hit two. I could not tell if one was the sniper or not. I reloaded and then the second rocket hit. This time there was no mistake and the top of the tower tumbled and crashed to the ground. The sniper was dead now!

  Chapter 14

  I crawled over the rubble to join the other two. I took the Tommy gun with me. I could hear increased gunfire from the south side of the road. The wall of rubble which hid us from the Germans also meant that we could not see them.

  I carefully laid the rifle down. We would need that again soon."Well done you two. That was a fine shot. How many rockets do you have left?"

  "Two sir. Hey, your face! It is bleeding."

  Hewitt dived into his bag for his kit. I put my hand up to my face and it came away wet. Beaumont said, "Sir, you have been shot too! In the arm. It is bleeding!"

  I looked and saw that my battle dress was bloody. I remembered something hitting my right arm but thought it had been a rock.

  Lance Sergeant Hewitt took charge, "Beaumont, get his battle dress off." He held a dressing to my face as Beaumont stripped my battle dress off. "We'll have to get you back, sir."

  "This is a scratch and you know it. We will stay."

  Beaumont tore the shirt at the shoulder. "Keep this dressing pressed tightly against his face, Rog." My medic began to examine the wound. How he could I had no idea for it was still dark. "The bullet went through and if you aren't in pain then it missed the bone. You have been lucky." He poured water from his canteen over it and then used my torn shirt to dry it. He shook sulphanilamide powder on it and then applied a dressing. He fastened the bandage tightly.

  "Your face is a mess sir. We should get back and get it seen to. Your young lady won't be happy if you go back like Scarface."

  "Just do you best. I am not going to die am I?"

  "No sir."

  "Then just get it done. Time is wasting."

  He used a small dressing. I felt like a fool with what felt like an enormous dressing stuck to the side of my face but Hewitt seemed happier when it was done. I put my battle dress back on and then picked up my rifle. All this time we had heard fighting behind us and now we turned as we heard footsteps on the rocks. A dozen Canadians, led by the sergeant arrived.

  "Jeez sir, are you alright?"

  "Fine sergeant. I am just auditioning for the next Boris Karloff film, 'The Mummy Returns'." He laughed. "Keep your heads down. This is dead ground here but once you get over this next pile of rubble you will be within range of their machine guns."

  "Right." He turned. "You heard him boys. Spread out and crawl. You get killed and you are in trouble with me!"

  They were good. They used the cover of the dead ground and the damaged buildings. Even so a machine gun chattered and a soldier fell back with a line of bullet holes in his chest. One moment of carelessness had cost him. The angry Canadians began to fire back. Their Bren gun was the only machine gun they had.

  "Come on, let's give them some help here."

  "Sir, that dressing will make you stand out like a sore thumb!"

  I put my hand up and wiped it along the sooty wood from the fire which had destroyed this house. I smeared it on the dressing. "There. That good enough?"

  Hewitt shook his head and grinned, "Yes sir!"

  We made our way down to the end of the line of Canadians. This was the furthest north that we had been and the one we knew the least about. There was a broken house front. The remains of the window frame and the door broke up the outline. Smoke from guns and grenades now drifted over the town. It was all light arms. The sound of mortars from both sides and the crump of grenades was punctuated by rifle and machine gun fire. I glanced at my watch as we neared it. There was less than an hour until dawn. We had until then to clear the anti tank gun so that the armour could complete their mission. I raised myself slowly so that I could see over the edge of what had been the window frame. As I did so a mortar shell landed forty feet in front of me. I was protected from the blast by the remains of the wall but, by its flash, I saw that we were sixty yards from the Germans. The open road lay between us. It was a sixty yards killing zone. I could see the anti tank gun down the street. Opposite us was a German machine gun behind sand bags.

  I lowered my head. "Sixty yards away is a machine gun post. If we take that then the Canadians have a chance. See if you can get in the wrecked door. I will try to cover you from the window. Take out the machine gun and then see what you can do about the anti tank gun."

  "Sir."

  I made sure I had a fresh clip in the rifle and then slowly raised my head. The machine gun and the German defenders were firing at the Canadian gun flashes. The firing was sporadic from both sides. Ammunition had to be tight. The Canadians had cover as did the Germans. It was the machine gun which made the difference. If they had not been husbanding their ammunition it might have been a different story. However they were firing in short bursts when the Canadians fired in reply. I brought up the rifle and aimed at the gunner. In the sight, even at night, he looked close enough to touch. I fired one shot and then moved the rifle a touch to the left and fired at the loader. I dropped my head and pressed it against the wall as rifle bullets smacked into the bricks. I felt them as they struck. There was a whoosh from my right as the rocket was launched. I heard it strike and raised my head. They had hit the gun and it was broken beyond repair. Those around it had been laid low by the effect. I brought up the rifle and shot three
dazed Germans before they had time to recover.

  As I ducked to reload I shouted, "Hit the anti tank gun while they are still disorientated."

  "Sir!"

  I heard a German officer shout for his men to bring up a spare machine gun. I also heard the Canadian sergeant shout, "Come on boys!"

  I half stood and aimed my rifle. I saw the officer pointing at the Canadians. He had a pistol out. I shot him in the chest and switched to his sergeant. He saw me and was ducking when my bullet hit his shoulder. There was a whoosh close by as the rocket sped towards the anti tank gun. I spun around to the next broken window and dropped to my knee. It was not before time. Where I had just stood was hit by rifles and automatic gun fire. I heard an explosion further down the street and then heard the cheer as the Canadians charged. They were lucky. The attention of the Germans was on the rocket launcher and me. They made it to the edge of the road before the Germans saw their problem. I stood and fired my last three bullets from my magazine at the Germans. They were snap shots but they kept the heads of the Germans down.

  Slinging my rifle over my shoulder I drew my Luger. Firing I clambered through the broken window frame and joined the Canadians. Glancing down the street I saw the anti tank gun. They were trying to repair it. The rocket had damaged it. As we crossed the road the Germans began to fall back. I emptied my pistol at their backs.

  I dropped close by the sandbags of the wrecked machine gun post. My men joined me. I saw that the Sergeant and six men had survived. He grinned, "An officer who leads from the front! I like it, sir!"

  "I think we have pushed our luck enough eh Sergeant? Send a runner back to the Major and tell him that we have the north end of the road heading north. We need support."

  "Right sir. Hargreaves, you heard the officer. Now get back and keep your head down. The rest of you take cover and reload."

  I was already reloading my Luger. That done I crawled to the top of the sandbags. I saw that there were five dead Germans inside. Now that dawn was breaking I could see that they had another defensive line on the far side of the village. It was a hundred and fifty yards away behind the wrecked church tower. There was still fighting going on to the south of us by the crossroads. The village was not taken but we had the main road and that had been our primary objective.

  The sergeant crawled over to me, "What will they do next sir?"

  "It depends how badly they want this road. Have your men find any German guns and grenades. Until we are relieved this could get hot. They will have glasses on us and now that it is almost daylight they will see how few we are."

  My men had already started to gather equipment, They did not need to be told. Beaumont grinned as he held up an S.S. dagger. "Scouse is not the only one with one now eh sir?"

  We began to pile stones up in front of us. I knew they would soon try to dislodge us and it would take time to bring up the tanks and reinforcements. I had no idea how Sergeant Poulson and the others were doing south of us. Lance Corporal Hewitt put his arm across me to stop me working. "It is bad enough you staying here sir without undoing my work. If you start this bleeding again then I will have to look at it and that means I can't fight can I sir?"

  He was right and I smiled, "Point taken."

  I lifted the rifle and rested it on the stones in front of me. He had been right to chastise me for I felt blood seeping from my wound. My face felt like a balloon and it was beginning to hurt. To take my mind off the pain I peered through the telescopic sight. I saw that the Germans were keeping their heads down. To encourage them I fired at a helmet. I saw the helmet fall to the side when my bullet clanked into it and then every head disappeared. They had no high ground for their own sniper. We had that in our favour, at least. We had just finished our makeshift repairs when Hargreaves ran back. "They are on their way, sergeant."

  "Sir, Hargreaves, there is an officer present. Sorry sir. The Major is on his way. Company E are right behind me. They haven't taken the crossroads yet and there is still an anti tank gun. The Major is sending F and G to eliminate it."

  I turned to the sergeant, "If they are holding at the crossroads then they will come here next. If they can get rid of us then they hold their line and the S.S. can escape the trap."

  "Right sir, you are the expert, what do we do?"

  "They will come in pairs; one firing while the other runs. Have your men fire in pairs themselves. Until Company E gets here then the handful we have will have to do."

  "We have a couple of the German submachine guns."

  "Good, they are handy. Beaumont show them how to use the German grenades."

  "Right sir."

  I had four grenades ready; two of each. I could hear the firing to the south of us but there was ominously little movement ahead. It meant they were preparing. "Sergeant, stand to!"

  "Right lads, stand to! Jerry is on his way. Make the bastards bleed eh?"

  They began with mortars. Ironically their own defences worked in our favour. We had the sandbags they had used to protect our fore. Even so it was an effective barrage for we had to keep our heads down and they advanced while we sheltered. I shouted, "The second it stops up and fire at them. Their infantry will be coming behind the mortars." I laid down my rifle and took out my Luger and Colt.

  When the mortars began to fall behind us I knew they were coming. I raised my head and using the two automatics began firing. The sergeant shouted, "Right lads, let's join Billy the Kid here!" I heard both guns click empty.

  They rose and laid down a withering fire. The Germans took cover but not before I heard two shouts. "Sarge, Wyatt has been hit and Jorgenson!"

  "Hewitt!"

  "On it sir."

  I picked up my rifle and raised my head. "Here they come!" As I had expected they now fired and ran. I was glad that I had my helmet as a bullet ricocheted off a stone and struck the top of my tin lid. I fired at a German who was firing. Beaumont shot the one who was running. They were now within forty yards of us. "Beaumont, get a grenade ready." I smashed the porcelain top of the German grenade. The advantage they had was that you could get more distance with them. I pulled the cord and hurled it. I watched as it spun end over end. It travelled further that way. "Grenade!"

  "Grenade!" Beaumont's went a moment after mine. The two explosions were almost simultaneous.

  I peered through the sights of my rifle. I saw a hand rise and I fired at it. I saw the grenade it had been holding, drop and then there was an explosion. I saw a German with half his face missing fall forward. They stopped coming. I saw guns appear over stones as they fired blind to keep our heads down.

  "Watch for grenades and mortars!"

  A chorus of, "Sir!" came from my right.

  I scanned the enemy line with my scope. I saw the hint of a helmet and fired. I was so close that I almost hit it. I did hit the brick next to it. Shards flew off. Then the mortars began to track towards us. It was a creeping barrage as they increased the range. I tried to bury myself in the rubble. Lying with my back to the wall I saw the advancing Canadians. The mortars had thinned out Company E but I saw, with them, Private Fletcher. He ran faster than the Canadians. He was used to this and they were not. I heard Lance Sergeant Hewitt groan, "If he tears his stitches I will have him. I swear I will."

  He almost leapt over the road and showed how lucky he was by arriving between two mortar shells. He slumped next to me. "I'll have to give up the ciggies!" I had heard that before. Before I could say anything he handed me two smoke grenades. "Sir, Headquarters have been on the radio. They are sending some Hurries with bombs. They will make one pass and on the second they want you to pop smoke. They will bomb on the far side of the smoke."

  "Thanks Fletcher but why you?"

  "I was there when it came in. I had to do my bit."

  "You have done your bit and then some. Right, take cover. These mortars are getting damned close."

  I heard Beaumont shout, "Grenade!"

  I pushed myself on top of Fletcher. It was only when I heard an exp
losion behind me I realised that he had thrown one. I turned and peered into the telescopic sight. I saw a German half track making its way across the rubble. It didn't look to be as uneven on the German side.

  "Any more rockets, Beaumont?" I handed him the two smoke grenades. He had a good arm. He had played cricket for his school before the war.

  "All gone sir."

  Fletcher said, "There are some back at camp sir."

  Hewitt snarled, "Stay there Scouse. It will be too late by the time anyone got there and back."

  I aimed my rifle at the half track. They had the windscreen and metal visor up. However there was a slit through which the driver could look. I took aim and fired five bullets in quick succession. When the vehicle slewed to the left I knew I had hit something or worried the driver at the very least. I put a fresh clip in and, as the half track lumbered obliquely from us, took a couple of shots at the gunner. One must have wounded him for he disappeared.

  "Good shot sir."

  "Thank you Beaumont but I fear I have only sent it in the direction of the crossroads."

  We now had another forty men from Company E. They began to fill in along the line. Then I heard the familiar sound of Hawker Hurricanes. The flight of three came over. They waggled their wings as they did so.

  "Cover fire! Beaumont, smoke!"

  I reloaded my pistols as he did so. He stood, as we all opened fire, and hurled the two grenades. The red smoke drifted with the wind as the three fighter bombers came so low that you felt you could touch them. Dad had told me that was the sign of a very skilful and confident pilot.

  "Take cover!"

  The three fighter bombers had incendiary bombs and HE. The combination was lethal. One bomb must have hit the half track while the rest took out the mortar crews. When the ringing had stopped in my ears, I stood. I saw the wrecked half track and spied two Germans, wreathed in fire.