Breakout (Combined Operations Book 7)

by Griff Hosker

  I nodded, "A machine gun took out a rocket crew. I don't know how badly yet but they have no anti tank guns left and they are falling back. Even if the air force doesn't get here for a while as soon as the tanks come then we pull out. The wood is not a dense one. They can get through."

  Leaving him to pass the message on I went back to my men. Sergeant Lee was with Sergeant Poulson, "Sir, they have fallen back! We could capture their positions!"

  I shook my head, "That is not our mission, sergeant. We have to draw their tanks here to allow the General to drive on. How are your men?"

  "They were just wounded sir. I sent them back to the Lieutenant."

  "Good. Your chaps are doing well. They will reinforce soon. I am guessing we can expect mortars soon enough."

  "Don't worry sir, the Lieutenant will be setting our own up over the wall." He tapped the stone wall with the butt of his rifle. "This is a good defensive position sir!"

  Polly said, "This isn't the first time we have done this."

  "I can see that."

  We watched the woods and fired at any grey we saw. They were having to move up slowly and, until their tanks arrived, we would have the advantage.

  A short time after 0630 a runner came towards us. "Sir, the bombers will be over us at seven. They are going to bomb the woods and the mined area. The Lieutenant said you should move back behind the road."

  I shook my head. "Tell him we will stay here until the bombers come over."

  He nodded and ran.

  "Isn't that a risk, sir?"

  "Not really, Sergeant Lee. You said yourself we have two walls, one on either side. We would have to be incredibly unlucky to be hit. Besides, have faith in the air force!"

  "I heard they killed Poles and Canucks at Falaise."

  "They did but they will have learned their lesson."

  Private Beaumont shouted, "Sir I can hear armour. Sounds like a Mark IV!"

  "Get your rocket launchers ready, Sergeant! This is the big one!"

  I looked through the telescopic sight. The lightening of the sky made it easier to see into the woods. The fact that it was an open wood made life easier for me. The mortars from B Company began to rain down, deeper into the undergrowth. I saw one German mortar team blown up as they set up their own mortar. I aimed at a German officer who was rallying and organising his men. I squeezed the trigger and hit him in the shoulder as he turned. I moved a foot to my right. The ones around him dropped. Bullets cracked into the wall before me but they were blind shots aimed at the muzzle flash. I would need to move between each shot to confuse the enemy.

  The American mortars stopped the fire from the Germans, briefly. Then I heard the sound of a French 75. The Germans had captured many in 1940 and they still gave good service. They were dependable artillery pieces. There was an explosion behind us and shouts. They had the range. I hoped that Lieutenant Cooper would use his mobility. I knew that Fletcher and Shepherd would. The Germans had no spotter to direct their fire and so they were just trying to disrupt what they thought were tanks. The M3 half track was a similar size to the old Lee Grant, M3 tank. The Germans reused old vehicles and they might think the Americans had done so too. The PIAT sticking out from the front would, in the dawn light, have looked like a barrel. With daylight would come the realisation that they had been duped.

  A cloud suddenly shifted and the brighter rays of the sun made me realise that time had passed. I looked at my watch. It was 0645. We had held out longer than I had expected. I knew that the men behind the wall had taken casualties but we only had four men wounded...so far. Then I heard the rumble of tanks. There was more than one. I peered through the telescope and saw them. There were at least four that I could see. Our plan had worked. These tanks had taken almost an hour to reach us. They had to have come from the road to the north of us. There would be fewer tanks, at least, for the French to clear. The tanks were still deep in the woods. Although the woods was open they still had to travel slower than they would have liked. This was not tank country which was why they had just used infantry to defend it.

  I moved the gun until the commander of one Mark IV, with his torso out of the turret, could be seen. It was long range but worth the shot. If the commander was buttoned up then his vision would be restricted and tankers did not like that! I let out my breath as I fired four bullets in quick succession. One must have hit for his body lay half in and half out of the turret. He was dragged back inside and the hatch closed. I moved my sights to the next one but he was safely buttoned up.

  "Sergeant Lee, there are some Mark IV tanks. Wait until they are at the edge of the woods. Three rockets for each one, if you please."

  "Sir."

  The Germans dared not fire yet because of the trees and their branches but they did send smoke up from their mortars. They area before the woods became filled with the smoke of six smoke bombs.

  "Watch out for infantry advancing."

  Gordy said, "Let's discourage them eh sir?" He aimed the grenade rifle almost vertically. That way he could send a grenade to land just forty yards from us. The range was too far for a hand thrown one but deadly against infantry advancing across an open field.

  Sergeant Poulson opened fire with the MG 42. Resting on the wall he traversed left and right, firing in short bursts. Emerson quickly changed the belt when it was empty. I heard the double crack as the two leading tanks fired. They had had to wait until they were close to the edge of the woods. Behind me I saw an M2 half track explode as a shell hit the engine. Machine gun fire scythed through the bushes and two more Americans fell.

  "Medic!"

  "Sir! My men can't see anything!"

  "Hang tough, sergeant. The tanks will appear any moment now. Look for the big shadows." Even as I spoke the machine gun began to fire above our heads as it tried to hit the half tracks on the other side of the road. The smoke which impaired our vision did exactly the same for the Germans.

  I fired at human shadows which headed towards us. Beaumont hurled a German grenade high into the air and then I saw the barrel of a Mark IV. The machine gun below it which fired marked its position. It was just sixty yards away. Four of the rockets slammed into it. It did not explode but it stopped and smoke and flames could be seen. Billy Hay sprayed the crew with his machine gun as they tried to bail out. Then Lance Sergeant Hewitt, who was standing close to me, fired the section PIAT. He was firing at an oblique angle and I saw his rocket hit the turret. One of the Americans sent his in the same direction and smoke came from the tank which was now, effectively, out of action. I saw the driver attempt to reverse it back to the safety of the woods.

  At that moment I heard the roar of aeroplanes. They were coming from the west. I looked and saw that they were Typhoons and a squadron of P47 Thunderbolts. Saner minds had decided not to repeat the mistakes of Operation Cobra. This would not be the sledgehammer of the Halifax or Handley Page but the surgical strike of two of the finest fighter bombers in the world.

  "Take cover! Incoming!" I was far closer to the rockets and bombs than I would have liked. I dived to the ground and covered my ears to protect them from the concussion. The proximity of the tanks, just forty yards away meant that the aeroplanes would target them. I took consolation in the fact that I would know nothing at all about it if I was hit by friendly fire.

  The explosions seemed to gallop from the west as the waves flew incredibly low to use their rockets and their machine guns as well as cannon to clear the ground. The ground on the other side of the wall seemed to shake as though there was an earthquake. The two tanks we had hit were struck again and their petrol tanks ignited. They rose in the air and struck the ground with such force that I saw a couple of American soldiers fall to the ground with the force of the explosion. The tanks which were deeper in the woods must have been hit too for I heard another two huge explosions. The attack lasted less than fifteen minutes. After they had bombed and used their rockets they returned for one last pass to empty their guns. Wave after wave passed over at tree
top height. Nothing remained alive in the woods before us. The smoke cleared slowly and it looked like a scene from Dante. There was nothing moving between us and the woods. Fires were burning and the ground was littered with charred and smoking bodies. The only ones who remained alive were us, on our side of the walls.

  "Reload and keep an eye out but I think our job here is done. At 0900 we will head back to the half tracks."

  It was tempting to go into the woods and see if we could advance in that direction but there was no point. The mission was to gain the road to Paris. Our job had been to create a diversion and we had done so. The medics took away the wounded and my men drank their canteens dry. We heard the rumble of tanks to the west of us at 0830. The General was keeping to his timetable. I stood and waved my arm, "Right boys, back to the half tracks! Well done!"

  The Americans went back in high spirits. That was soon dampened when they saw the blanket covered bodies and the burned out half tracks. The Germans had managed to hit two. I counted the blankets. Twelve Americans had died. Lieutenant Cooper had a soot covered face and his hands were heavily bandaged. His sergeant took the cigarette from between his lips so that he could talk. "That was hell Captain! I don't know how you guys survived the attack."

  "Your chaps did well, Coop. They didn't panic and they did their job."

  Coop smiled and gestured a thumb at our half track. It was a good fifty yards back from the wall, "Your guys had more sense than we did. As soon as the mortars began they pulled back."

  I nodded, "It is what I would have done. The mortars were firing blind." I pointed to the north. "We had better get after the General. I am not certain he has finished with us."

  We clambered aboard the half track. Emerson shooed Fletcher from the driver's seat, "I hope you were careful with her!"

  "I pulled her back didn't I? Gratitude!" He turned to Private Beaumont, "Did you manage to get anything worthwhile?"

  Beaumont shook his head, "They were line troops. I felt sorry for them."

  I nodded, "I know what you mean."

  Lieutenant Lemay said, "I hate them! They have despoiled my country for five years now! I wish them all dead!"

  As I settled into the cab I realised that was the difference between fighting in your country and for your country. We had been bombed and burned in England but Germans had only claimed the tiny Channel Islands. For Lieutenant Lemay it was like being violated.

  We had to travel a long way to reach the support vehicles and it was gone noon when we saw the end of the battle. The Germans had fought hard but the heart had been torn from them by our surprise attack and the air attack. The French had lost six tanks and a self propelled gun. I saw Americans of the 4th Division deploying from their vehicles to go and mop up. We halted at the medical vehicles where doctors were dealing with the wounded.

  It was early afternoon when I saw the M3 of Colonel Lanham heading in our direction. It had taken damage and his gunner had his arm in a sling. He dismounted and walked over to Lieutenant Cooper, Sergeant Lee and me. He smiled, "You guys did your job and then some! Well done. What is the body count, Coop?"

  "Twelve and we lost two vehicles."

  He nodded, "Well you will be pleased to know that Major General Gerow has ordered us to stop here and recuperate for a few days. We are not going on to Paris. At least not yet."

  "Does General Leclerc know this?"

  The American Colonel shook his head, "He will find out when he returns. He is losing too much armour. We need to take it slower."

  I glanced over at Lieutenant Lemay, he was one of many Frenchmen who would not be happy. I remembered the French General's plans. They necessitated Captain Raymond Dronne racing ahead with his armoured company to liberate Paris. I had no idea how he would react to his superior's orders. I had not met the Major General. He was with the main army and that was ten miles behind us. I had no doubt he had good reasons for his decision but it would not sit well with our French allies.

  I left the Americans and joined my men. "We had better re-equip ourselves. Fletcher you and Beaumont go on the scrounge! It seems a task for which you are eminently suited."

  "If I knew what eminently meant I might be insulted. Come on Rog let the master get to work."

  "I thought I heard the Colonel say the advance was halted."

  "You did but let's keep that to ourselves. We don't want to upset Lieutenant Lemay We obey orders, as always."

  Polly grinned, "Sir, we bend more orders than we actually obey!"

  "If this operation is cancelled then it may well be that we go back to Caen. When Fletcher returns I will have him get in touch with Major Foster. In the meantime get as much fuel as you can and replace the ammunition we used."

  He turned to go and then smiled, "We managed to get more grenades for the grenade launcher. Gordy is happy!"

  "If we have put a smile on that curmudgeon's face then that, in itself, is a cause for celebration. I think we will finish off Petty Officer Leslie's rum tonight."

  We had no showers and so I went to the water bowser to wash off the blacking and clean myself up. Lieutenant Lemay said, "Sir, would it be all right if I went to see the General when he returns. I wish to congratulate him on his great victory."

  "Of course. You had a victory yourself today, Lieutenant. You did well and held your nerve. That is to be commended. When you return to your company you can tell them how you fooled the Boche."

  "Thank you sir. When this war is over I shall dedicate myself to making my company the equal of yours. You are lions!"

  Beaumont and Fletcher returned, laden. They had, not only more .45 ammunition, but also a tin of pork chops. Fletcher shook his head, ruefully, "If you had sent more lads sir, we could've had a ton of stuff! Them Yanks are well looked after!"

  "When you have put the ammo in the half track see if you can get in touch with Major Foster. If this operation is postponed what are our orders?"

  Fletcher looked crestfallen, "Postponed? But I had plans for Paris!"

  "Get on the radio!"

  "Sir." He went off cheerfully. He was a hard man to put down. He returned later with the news that he could not reach Major Foster, "Interference sir and too much traffic. I might try after we have eaten eh sir? A bit quieter then."

  I had just started to eat the pork chop when Lieutenant Lemay found me, "Sir, General Leclerc wishes to speak with you."

  I was enjoying the chop. We had even found some apples. They had not been ripe but pork and apple sauce was to be savoured, no matter how tart they were. "Now?"

  He looked at me in surprise as though he could not understand why I was not running to the General. "Yes sir. He said it was important."

  I stood, "Sergeant Poulson, keep your eye on that chop! I am not finished with it!"

  My men laughed, "Yes sir."

  There was a heated debate when I reached the General's tent. Colonel Lanham was there too and he looked to be agitated. General Leclerc saw our approach and shouted, "Silence! I will speak and you will all listen!"

  There was silence. I saw Colonel Lanham stiffen, "Sir, we have had orders from Major General Leonard Gerow that we are not to advance on Paris. The orders are that we wait here for him."

  Some of his officers began to shout and the General said, "Silence." He looked at me and smiled, "Thank you Captain for what you did today. I have already thanked Colonel Lanham but he assures me that it was you who made it work. You saved many lives today."

  "Thank you sir, I had good men under my command. Lieutenant Lemay is a credit to the Fusilier-Marins."

  "Sit, please. Thank you for your comments. They show that you are a gentleman." The look he flashed Colonel Lanham suggested that he was not included in that description. "Napoleon once asked if a general was lucky. He said, 'I know the man is good but is he lucky?' You, Captain, appear to be lucky and that is not to be ignored."

  "Thank you for the compliment sir." I waited. I knew he had not finished and had used his conversation with me to calm himself dow
n and to give himself thinking time. Dad had told me of officers in the Great War who had used a pipe for the same purpose.

  He turned to face Colonel Lanham, "I will not be heading for Paris tomorrow. I will wait here for Major General Gerow." His officers jumped up and began to shout. He held up his hand and they subsided. "Captain Dronne, however will go ahead with the plan we outlined yesterday. The difference is that the 22nd will not be with him."

  "Sir, you are disobeying orders!"

  "Then I will take the consequences! But I will not allow my countrymen to bleed for my city while I sit less than twenty miles away twiddling my thumbs!" Colonel Lanham nodded. "Captain Harsker I will not order you to go with Captain Dronne but I will ask if you would accompany my flying column. They might need your luck and you also seem to have skills which we need."

  I nodded, "Of course sir. I would be honoured to help Captain Dronne."

  "Then we need detain you no longer. Lieutenant Lemay will bring your orders. I am sorry for having to interrupt your dinner."

  Colonel Lanham stood too, "I will leave now, General. I am sorry if I offended you."

  "You did not but your General is a different matter."

  As we walked back he said, " General Leclerc flew the other day to meet with Bradley. He was told he could advance to here but no further. That was why we camped the other day. Then we heard that the Germans in Paris are hurting the resistance. The General was not happy. You could be heading for a court martial here, son."

  "I doubt it. I am just obeying a general's orders sir. We English are very pragmatic. You fight when you have to. If there is no point then go along with it and make the best of a bad job. I understand the French. If this was Washington, say the British had captured it, wouldn't you want it back in your hands, sir?"

  He grinned, "I guess I would but I understand what the Major General means. We are out on a limb here. We have out run our supply lines and there are Germans all around us. We could be like the Germans in Falaise, surrounded and cut off if the Germans chose to attack us. You will have to fight your way in."