Breakout (Combined Operations Book 7)

by Griff Hosker

  "It's for Scouse. He has an idea that they might be worth a few bob after the war."

  He was probably right.

  None were alive and we headed back to the half track. I climbed into the cab with Emerson. "Let's see if we can get into Dreux. I haven't heard any tank guns for a while. Fletcher, get on the radio and tell them that we will be the German half track coming from the east. Don't hit us!"

  "Right sir."

  It took some time to negotiate the track but once we were on the road we made better time. As we neared the Paris road we saw the burned out vehicles and corpses. Many were blackened and burned. It was a grisly sight.

  As we turned on to the main road I said, "Take it steady, Fred. We don't want to give these Americans a shock."

  "Righto sir."

  As the road turned right, after some trees we found ourselves facing the business end of an American half track and a fifty calibre machine gun manned by the 22nd Infantry regiment. As Emerson stopped I opened the door and stepped out, "Captain Tom Harsker of Number 4 Commando."

  A grey haired Colonel in a leather jacket climbed down from the half track. He had a big grin on his face. "Colonel Buck Lanham!" He pumped my hand. "I have heard of you guys but until I saw the half track I thought you were some sort of myth!"

  "No sir. We would have been down sooner but we thought that the fly boys might see us as a soft target."

  "You are right. We are the spearhead. We are camping here tonight. If you and your boys make camp in the woods I will take you to meet the French General. He is keen to meet you too."

  "Sir, do you have a doctor? We have a wounded man."

  "Of course. Lieutenant Higgins fetch the doctor to the half track will you?"

  A civilian, who had been standing close to the American half track, stepped forward, "Can I come too, Colonel? This might need recording for posterity."

  The Colonel gave a wry smile, "Why not. I think you two might get on. Captain, this is the war correspondent and writer, Ernest Hemingway."

  He shook my hand, "Pleased to meet you, Captain."

  "And you Mr. Hemingway."

  The Colonel whistled and an American jeep raced up and spun around. We climbed on board and we sped off down the road. The noise from the engine and the speed at which we travelled made conversation impossible. I saw tanks with the French tricolour as well as American half tracks and trucks. This was a fast moving column.

  The flamboyant driver spun the jeep around to stop in front of the command tent. The French officers wrinkled their noses at the smell of burned rubber and the noise. The American colonel grinned, "Davis here fancies himself as a racing driver. Isn't that right Davis?"

  "Darned tooting Colonel! There are no Sheriffs out here!"

  The Colonel stood to attention and saluted. I did the same, "General, this is Captain Harsker. He is the Commando we were told to watch out for. "

  The General did not smile but held out his hand. He spoke in French, "I am General Philippe Leclerc de Hauteclocque. I have heard much about you."

  I answered in French. "It is an honour to serve with you sir. You and your men were legends in North Africa."

  Then he smiled, "Commander Kieffer spoke highly of you. He was right, you do not butcher our language!"

  "That is kind of you to say so, sir. I spent many summers here in France."

  "Ah yes, your father, he was an ace in the Great War was he not?"

  "Yes sir. He is in command of the airfield in Caen."

  "Good. Now I hear that you have a German half track and are not afraid of going behind the enemy lines."

  "Correct sir."

  "Then I want you ahead of us tomorrow. I will send one of my aides to act as liaison with you. Our countrymen are dying in the Paris streets yet we trundle down this road while old men wonder if it is safe!" He shook his head. "Thank you for your intelligence. It would have been bloody had we walked into their defences. We would have won but it would have cost too many of my men." He nodded, "Perhaps with the three allies working together we might achieve something eh? Nice to have met you."

  "And you sir." I saluted and turned.

  Colonel Lanham grinned, "I guess you and Hemingway here can chatter away in French. I didn't get any of that."

  As we walked back to the jeep I said, "He wants us as point. He is sending me an officer to act as liaison."

  "Then let's get up the road. Davis, get us there in one piece eh?"

  "Right sir!"

  He pulled up next to the Colonel's vehicle. "If you come with me to my tent we can examine the map and you can tell me what you have seen. We both know that aerial photographs don't give the whole picture."

  The reporter tried to follow us. The colonel shook his head, "Now you know you can't come in here, Bumby. You are a correspondent and this is not your remit."

  "But Buck, how the hell will I be able to give the full flavour of the excitement of the chase if I don't know the full picture."

  "Go and talk to the Captain's men! They must have tales to tell!"

  "Good idea."

  As we went into the tent he said, "Hemingway is a good guy really but he pushes the boundaries. I had to take a carbine from him. If the Germans caught a correspondent with a gun he would be shot!"

  There was a large map laid out on a portable table. "There are two routes into Paris. There is this northern one but that goes through too many places where we can be held up. The General wants us to go this way, in the south through this forest, by Rambouillet. We can bypass their towns and get to Paris without fighting a major battle. We like that. It suits my guys. There are three armies following us. They can mop up the pockets of resistance. What do you think?"

  "At the moment the German armour is scattered. We found some of the crews from the 1st S.S. in the forest east of here. The tanks that were waiting for you were just the ones which couldn't escape."

  He nodded, "The Air Force say that they are preparing to gather at the Seine."

  "And that helps you, sir."

  "How so?"

  I swept my hand in a line below the Seine. "That means there will be no armour here. If the General sends his Shermans in they should be able to sweep through the suburbs."

  "That's what he says. My guys wanted to be the first into Paris but I guess it makes sense to allow the French to do it. So, you will run interference for us?"

  "Interference?"

  "A football term. You stop the Krauts getting close to us."

  "Yes sir, I guess that is what we will do. The German half track gives us the slightest of edges. The Germans hesitate. Battles are won and lost by such margins."

  "Well good luck, Captain. I will have my adjutant bring over the passwords and frequencies. I hope you have a good man on the radio?"

  "We do sir. Sometimes hard to understand but he is good. I think I was supposed to liaise with a Major Connor."

  "Sorry, son, Mike was killed this morning in the attack. You two would have got along real well."

  When I reached my camp the men were sat around the correspondent and he was scribbling away. My men looked up when I approached, "Don't stand for me. We have an early start so when Mr Hemingway is finished get some food on the go."

  The writer shook his head, "It's Ernie, Papa or Bumby! Mr Hemingway was my father! You Brits are always so damned formal."

  I smiled, "It's just the way we are."

  "And so understated. Your guys just told me about your V.C. and your old man's too. I never would have guessed. You seemed so quiet. I have to get to know you a little more. I could use you in one of my books."

  "I am afraid that we will be ahead of the main column. We don't fight a conventional war..." I hesitated, "Ernie. We are more like guerrillas."

  "That would be for me too." He turned, "So, Scouse, isn't' it?"

  "Yes sir."

  "Tell me how you acquired so many S.S. daggers."

  I saw Fletcher shrug. He would spin a yarn. I waved Sergeant Poulson over. "We are he
ading through the forests. See if you can get some camouflage netting and use some of the undergrowth to disguise the half track. We will be at the sharp end tomorrow."

  "Right sir."

  "And how is Shepherd?"

  "He is fine. The American doctor wanted him evacuating but Shepherd said he was just sitting in the half track and so it would not hurt his wound." That was my men all over. Some soldiers would have taken the opportunity of getting out of the war. Commandos were different.

  I heard a vehicle pull up and turned. A young French officer walked over to us. He was short enough to be a jockey. He had, under his left arm, a clip board. He snapped to attention and saluted, "I am Lieutenant Julian Lemay of the Fusiliers-Marins Commandos. I am your liaison officer."

  I saluted, "I am Captain Tom Harsker. You can speak French, Lieutenant. It might make life easier."

  He answered in French. "I am keen to speak English though, sir."

  "Then speak English to my men. Their French is appalling!"

  Beaumont looked at me indignantly. He had been listening and he spoke in French. "Sir, I object!"

  "I apologise Private. This, Lieutenant Lemay, is the exception." He nodded and smiled. "Is that the information we need?"

  "Yes sir. I have the details of where the Resistance is fighting and we will, hopefully, liberate them soon."

  "Good, well if you let me have a look at them you can go and meet the chaps. Beaumont, if you would do the honours."

  While they were away I sat with my back against the front wheel and looked at the plan. Once we left the relative safety of the forest then, it seemed to me, that the Germans would have many places where they could slow us down. I knew that there was a war going on in Paris. The Resistance had risen but there was only so long that they could hold out. Speed was of the essence. The American motorized infantry could make headway and then it would be down to the French armour to blast a way through. They had been lucky hitherto. I could not see their luck lasting.

  When the lieutenant returned it was amusing seeing Beaumont translate Fletcher's Liverpudlian into English which the Frenchman could understand. However they seemed to get on and that was more important. We set him up in the half track so that he was close to Fletcher and I made sure that Beaumont was also nearby. His engineering skills might not be needed. We also rigged the second MG 42 at the front so that we had two machine guns there. The battlefield yielded even more ammunition. We amused the Americans. They only searched the battlefield for souvenirs and not usable weapons.

  The Colonel invited me to eat with his officers. I noticed that Ernest Hemingway was not present. I asked about it and the Colonel frowned. "It seems the war correspondent has decided to find some resistance himself. We won't let him fight and so he hopes the Resistance will! He can't do that. It is against the Geneva convention."

  "So far, Colonel, I have seen little evidence that the Germans pay much attention to the convention."

  "Really?"

  "Have you not seen the Hitler Commando order?" He shook his head. "I tapped the flashed on my shoulder. "If we are caught then German soldiers are ordered to shoot us. They don't take Commandos prisoner."

  "A different enemy then, Captain."

  "It certainly is. What time is the kick off tomorrow?"

  "Kick off?"

  "When do we start?"

  "0500."

  "Then we will be on the road by 0400. We will push on to Montfort. It is a long drive but as it is mainly through the forest there should not be a problem. If we hit trouble we will get on the radio to you."

  One of his Captains, Captain Miller, said, "You like going out on a limb, Captain Harsker?"

  "I am afraid that your motorized battalion makes a lot more noise than we do. Jerry will know you are coming. If there is an ambush they will hear a half track and they will wait. That gives us an edge. Sometimes we can bluff our way through and at other times we fight but the element of surprise is worth being on our own. My chaps are good at what they do and they don't panic."

  I declined the offer of French brandy and cigars. I needed my wits about me and I left for our bivouac. After checking and loading my weapons I added a little more to my ongoing letter to Susan and then curled up under the stars.

  Chapter 19

  It was dark when we set out. We ate cold rations. We had plenty of fuel and ammunition but we were heading into the unknown. We passed a large Château at Grandchamp. It had been deserted but the sandbags outside told us that it had been recently occupied. I wondered if the Germans had abandoned all the land before Paris. It seemed unlikely. Fletcher kept a dialogue going with both Colonel Buck and General Leclerc. After the first transmission to the French command vehicle Lieutenant Lemay took over. It made for better understanding!

  Sharp eyed Hewitt spotted the guns up ahead before we reached them. They were just beyond the small village of Le Hallier and they were close to the forest. They were well camouflaged. We stopped half a mile from where Hewitt said he had seen them. The houses disguised us. I took out my glasses. Hewitt was right. There were two anti tank guns; I saw their barrels. The German infantry on either side had machine guns but I had no idea of their number.

  "Scouse, get on to the Americans. We have an anti tank ambush ahead."

  "Sir."

  "We could take them out, sir."

  "I don't want to risk being hit by those anti tank guns. The beauty of the half track is that it is German. We won't get another."

  "That's right sir! We don't want Bertha damaging!"

  Gordy said, "You do know Emerson that you can't take this thing back to England with you!"

  "You don't know that, Sarge!"

  Lieutenant Lemay said, "I am not sure I understand this. He wants to take this German vehicle back to England?"

  I shrugged, "He has grown attached to it."

  After Fletcher had spoken with the Americans he said, "They are on their way sir."

  "We can give them a hand. Gordy, bring the grenade launcher. Bill, you and Beaumont bring your sub machine guns. Lieutenant Lemay, you are in charge." I grabbed my rifle and we slipped out of the back and headed along the buildings which lined the road. I was not worried that they would fire at us. They did not have a clear shot. The road bent a little. They would be alerted but so long as their attention was on the half track then we had a chance.

  As we trotted along the backs of the houses and outbuildings of the farms Gordy asked, "What have you got in mind sir?"

  "Find somewhere you can lob grenades into the gun emplacements. We are just here to protect you."

  He grinned, "That's nice of you." He pointed ahead, "There's a nice wall and by my estimate that would be about a hundred and fifty yards from the guns. Someone will have to check."

  We crawled the last fifty yards. We could see the forest but the Germans had not used the trees to observe. They were just intent on stopping armour coming down the road. I slowly pulled myself up the stone wall which was at the top of a bank. It looked to be ancient as though some other structure had stood here in days gone by. Gordy was right. We were about a hundred and sixty yards from the intersection and the gun emplacements. I saw that they were debating what to do about the half track.

  I slid back down. "One hundred and sixty yards, Gordy. You two come up with me and we will open fire on the machine gunners when the first grenade explodes. We will direct your fire."

  "Right sir."

  When the three of us reached the top of the remains of the wall we slowly moved our guns to rest on the ancient stones. With just our arms and head exposed we would be presenting the smallest of targets. I knew that machine guns tended to fire high at first. I aimed my rifle at the nearest machine gunner. I heard the sound of the grenade being launched. It exploded twenty yards in front of the guns. As I fired I shouted. "Short twenty yards!"

  The machine gunner fell and then I was deafened by the sound of the two sub machine guns next to me. The next grenade exploded between the two guns. The
far machine gun fired and, as I had expected was high. Leaving the nearest one to the other two I fired five bullets at the far crew. I must have hit something for it stopped firing. I heard orders being shouted as Gordy's next grenade had a direct hit on one of the anti tank guns. Then the infantry burst from the woods firing. I saw Bill's cheek laid open by a stone splinter as Beaumont dropped two Germans, one of whom had a grenade. "Grenade!"

  We dropped to the ground as the grenade exploded.

  "Right lads we have done enough. Throw grenades over the wall and then leg it!"

  The four of us pulled pins, hurled our grenades and then rolled down the bank before running back to the half track. The four explosions sounded almost simultaneous. We did not stop to look we kept running. When we reached the half track we saw the motorized infantry arriving.

  The Colonel leaned out of the cab. "We saw the smoke. What happened?"

  "We thought we would buy time sir, we lobbed a few grenades. There is just one anti tank gun now and the crew have been hit by shrapnel."

  He shook his head, "Leave us some of the war, eh Captain!"

  The half track moved off and I saw that they had a PIAT on the top next to the machine gun. It made the half track into a small tank.

  "Hewitt, Hay needs some work."

  "Another one going back like Frankenstein's creature."

  "Emerson when this is cleared we will head off again."

  The Americans went in fast. A second M2 was echeloned just behind the Colonel and the two PIATS sent rockets towards the guns. With every machine gun firing they were like whirling Dervishes! The Germans who survived surrendered.

  "Right Emerson. Into the woods!"

  Gordy chuckled, "Be gentle with him sir, it is his first time!"

  All of my men laughed at the crude joke. Lieutenant Lemay looked puzzled. Beaumont leaned over and explained it to him. He coloured and then laughed. He turned to me, "Your men are like the Fusiliers-Marins. They make such jokes with each other."

  "I think it is fighting men all over, Lieutenant. We have to do some fairly horrible things. This is just one way to cope with them."

  As we passed the Colonel he shouted, "We are a good team Captain!"