by Griff Hosker
"We stop here."
"Here sir?"
"Here, Lance Sergeant Hay. That is Paris and the first Allied officer who steps on to it will be French. We wait for Captain Dronne. Bill, go and fetch Poulson. See how the French Lieutenant is doing." I noticed Beaumont rooting around in the carnage of the machine gun emplacement. "What on earth are you doing?"
"Fletcher asked me to keep my eye open for good stuff." He flourished a Nazi flag. "Gold dust."
A Sherman pulled up behind me. Captain Dronne pushed up his goggles, "You could have been the officer who liberated Paris, my friend."
I shook my head, "The honour is yours. Besides I have wounded men to see to."
He saluted, "You, Captain Harsker, are a gentleman!"
The Sherman crossed to the other side of the Seine. There was nothing dramatic to be seen but the French resistance fighters who rushed towards him didn't care. He and his crew were mobbed. Sergeant Poulson joined me, he was limping, "Wounded?"
"Turned my ankle sir. Stupid injury!"
"How is the lad?"
"Hit in the arm sir. Hewitt has him fixed up but he refuses to go to hospital. He says he wants to be in at the finish."
"And I can understand that. As soon as Emerson arrives load up the half track. I will go and find out what we are doing."
The rest of the French column had now crossed and it was like a party. I saw Captain Dronne speaking on the radio. Then he hurried to me. "The General is heading for the Pont D'Austerlitz. He wants us to get to the Hotel de Ville. It is nine miles away."
"Through streets held by Germans."
He grinned, "There is a cease fire. Your young Lieutenant knows Paris well. Ask him to guide us through the back streets and we will get there unseen."
"With just a couple of Shermans?"
He shrugged, "Why not? Will you do it?"
"Of course!"
Lieutenant Lemay was already in the cab of the half track. I nodded, "You did well. The Captain wants you to take us to the Hotel de Ville. We have to use small roads but they have to be big enough for the Shermans. Can you do that?"
He smiled. "It is my city, sir, and I would be honoured."
"Emerson follow the Lieutenant's orders to the letter. I shall be up top."
I took my rifle and joined Poulson. There might be a cease fire but we would take no chances. I heard Gordy from the back, "Sir, you are not going to believe this but there are a bunch of civilians on the front of the Sherman!"
"They have been fighting the Germans all week with nothing more than rifles and hope. Let them enjoy a ride on a Sherman."
Julian knew his Paris. We twisted and turned as we made our way north and east. I was grateful when darkness began to fall and then there was the crack of a rifle and a cry from behind. "Sir, one of the civilians has been shot."
I took my Mauser and went to the back where it was open. A second shot rang out and another French resistance fighter fell. "Over there sir, in the trees by that little park."
I leaned my rifle over the side and moved it slowly from side to side. I could see nothing. Then the sniper fired a third time and I saw the muzzle flash. Before I could fire Sergeant Poulson had let fly with the MG 42. He took out the top of the trees and two Germans fell dead. "Well done Sergeant."
The French resistance took to sheltering behind the slow moving Shermans. I smiled when Fletcher said. "Is that the Eiffel tower there sir? It looks a bit bigger than Blackpool Tower."
"The answer is yes to both questions. It is the Eiffel Tower and it is bigger." I noticed that the tricolour now flew from it but the bridge across the river had been damaged. As darkness proper took over I saw flashes from the east and the west as the other two columns advanced on this historic city. I knew that the Hotel de Ville was close to the cathedral of Notre Dame and when I saw it loom up in the dark I began to hope that we would succeed.
A small German detachment in the Tuileries tried to spoil the party. They opened fire on the half track as we passed. The armour of the half track deflected the bullets but, before we could return fire, the two Shermans behind us let rip with their machine guns, augmented by the resistance fighters. It was the last obstacle before we entered the huge square by the Hotel de Ville. It was five to midnight, The two tanks parked on either side of us and I helped the Lieutenant from the cab. Captain Dronne waited for him and the two of them walked up the steps of the town hall to be greeted by the resistance fighters who had occupied it. A huge cheer went up and then, from behind us, we heard the bells of Notre Dame as they were pealed. Soon I could hear bells all over Paris. Against the odds we had succeeded. We had helped to liberate Paris.
Epilogue
We slept under the half track in the square although we did not get to bed until the early hours. The restaurants and bars brought us food and wine to celebrate the liberation of Paris. We were treated as heroes. The food and the drink helped us to sleep well. When I awoke I got on the radio and discovered that there were just two pockets of Germans left in Paris. There were two thousand Germans in the Bois de Boulogne and seven hundred in the Luxembourg gardens, The rest had surrendered. General Choltitz had disobeyed Adolf Hitler and refused to destroy Paris. The 2nd Armoured Division and the 4th Division were clearing the last pockets of resistance. Our orders were simple. We were to wait for the British contingent to arrive. Until then we were the representatives of Great Britain.
So it was that I met General Charles de Gaulle. General Leclerc introduced us and his natural distaste for all things English was mitigated by the work I had done for the French. He seemed to appreciate the gesture I had made in allowing Captain Dronne to be the first allied officer into Paris.
He spoke briefly to me, "I thank you, Captain Harsker. I have heard of you before and know that you are a gentleman and a good soldier. If ever you need my help then please do not hesitate to ask."
"Thank you sir but I am happy to serve my country."
He nodded, "As I serve mine. You will be present this afternoon when I make my speech. You will find it interesting, I think."
The square was packed and the atmosphere party like as the General spoke, "Why do you wish us to hide the emotion which seizes us all, men and women, who are here, at home, in Paris that stood up to liberate itself and that succeeded in doing this with its own hands?
No! We will not hide this deep and sacred emotion. These are minutes which go beyond each of our poor lives. Paris! Paris outraged! Paris broken! Paris martyred! But Paris liberated! Liberated by itself, liberated by its people with the help of the French armies, with the support and the help of all France, of the France that fights, of the only France, of the real France, of the eternal France!..."
I turned away at that point for he seemed to be saying that it had been the French who had been responsible for the victory. I thought of all those Americans, Canadians and British who had died on the beaches of Normandy, or at Bréville. I thought of the Poles who had defended their hill to the last. It had not been a French victory but an allied one yet his words were political. Was this war, fought for the right reasons, now going to degenerate into a political fight?
I turned to leave and Lieutenant Lemay said, "Listen to the end, sir, I beg of you. Stay for me."
"Very well."
I returned as he concluded his speech, " This is why the French vanguard has entered Paris with guns blazing. This is why the great French army from Italy has landed in the south and is advancing rapidly up the Rhône valley. This is why our brave and dear Forces of the interior will arm themselves with modern weapons. It is for this revenge, this vengeance and justice, that we will keep fighting until the final day, until the day of total and complete victory.
This duty of war, all the men who are here and all those who hear us in France know that it demands national unity. We, who have lived the greatest hours of our History, we have nothing else to wish than to show ourselves, up to the end, worthy of France. Long live France!"
Lieutenant Lemay
was beaming, "Do you see sir, he acknowledges you? You were the vanguard."
I shook my head, "You will learn, my young friend, that war is about every man doing their job. It is not just the vanguard but everyone. If Emerson didn't look after bertha we would not be here. If Beaumont wasn't a whizz with explosives we would not be here and we are the tip of the iceberg. I am proud to be here today but that is because I represent all those who can't be here. The job isn't done yet but, by God, I will make damn sure that I am there at the end!"
The End
Glossary
Abwehr- German Intelligence
ATS- Auxiliary Territorial Service- Women's Branch of the British Army during WW2
Bisht- Arab cloak
Bob on- Very accurate (slang) from a plumber's bob
Butchers- Look (Cockney slang Butcher's Hook- Look)
Butties- sandwiches (slang)
Chah- tea (slang)
Comforter- the lining for the helmet; a sort of woollen hat
Conflab- discussion (slang)
Corned dog- Corned Beef (slang)
Dhobi- washing (slang from the Hindi word)
Ercs- aircraftsman (slang- from Cockney)
Ewbank- Mechanical carpet cleaner
Fruit salad- medal ribbons (slang)
Full English- English breakfast (bacon, sausage, eggs, fried tomato and black pudding)
Gash- spare (slang)
Gauloise- French cigarette
Gib- Gibraltar (slang)
Glasshouse- Military prison
Goon- Guard in a POW camp (slang)- comes from a 19thirties Popeye cartoon
Hurries- Hawker Hurricane (slang)
Jankers- field punishment
Jimmy the One- First Lieutenant on a warship
Kettenhunde - Chained dogs. Nickname for German field police. From the gorget worn around their necks
Killick- leading hand (Navy) (slang)
Kip- sleep (slang)
LRDG- Long Range Desert group (Commandos operating from the desert behind enemy lines.)
Marge- Margarine (butter substitute- slang)
MGB- Motor Gun Boat
Mossy- De Havilland Mosquito (slang)
Mickey- 'taking the mickey', making fun of (slang)
Micks- Irishmen (slang)
MTB- Motor Torpedo Boat
ML- Motor Launch
Narked- annoyed (slang)
Neaters- undiluted naval rum (slang)
Oik- worthless person (slang)
Oppo/oppos- pals/comrades (slang)
Piccadilly Commandos- Prostitutes in London
PLUTO- Pipe Line Under The Ocean
Pom-pom- Quick Firing 2lb (40mm) Maxim cannon
Pongo (es)- soldier (slang)
Potato mashers- German Hand Grenades (slang)
PTI- Physical Training Instructor
QM- Quarter Master (stores)
Recce- Reconnoitre (slang)
SBA- Sick Bay Attendant
Schnellboote -German for E-boat (literally translated as fast boat)
Schtum -keep quiet (German)
Scragging - roughing someone up (slang)
Scrumpy- farm cider
Shooting brake- an estate car
SOE- Special Operations Executive (agents sent behind enemy lines)
SP- Starting price (slang)- what’s going on
SNAFU- Situation Normal All Fucked Up (acronym and slang)
Snug- a small lounge in a pub (slang)
Spiv- A black marketeer/criminal (slang)
Sprogs- children or young soldiers (slang)
Squaddy- ordinary soldier (slang)
Stag- sentry duty (slang)
Stand your corner- get a round of drinks in (slang)
Subbie- Sub-lieutenant (slang)
Tatties- potatoes (slang)
Thobe- Arab garment
Tiffy- Hawker Typhoon (slang)
Tommy (Atkins)- Ordinary British soldier
Two penn'orth- two pennies worth (slang for opinion)
Wavy Navy- Royal Naval Reserve (slang)
WVS- Women's Voluntary Service
Maps
Map courtesy of Wikipedia
Map courtesy of Wikipedia
Operation Tractable and Totalize- the breakout from Caen
Map courtesy of Wikipedia
The closing of the Falaise Gap
Map courtesy of Wikipedia
Historical note
The first person I would like to thank for this particular book and series is my Dad. He was in the Royal Navy but served in Combined Operations. He was at Dieppe, D-Day and Walcheren. His boat: LCA(I) 523 was the one which took in the French Commandos on D-Day. He was proud that his flotilla had taken in Bill Millens and Lord Lovat. I wish that, before he died, I had learned more in detail about life in Combined Operations but like many heroes he was reluctant to speak of the war. He is the character in the book called Bill Leslie. Dad ended the war as Leading Seaman- I promoted him! I reckon he deserved it.
'Bill Leslie' 1941
Author's collection
I went to Normandy in 1994, with my Dad, to Sword Beach and he took me through that day on June 6th 1944. He pointed out the position which took the head from the Oerlikon gunner who stood next to him. He also told me about the raid on Dieppe. He had taken the Canadians in. We even found the grave of his cousin George Hogan who died on D-Day. As far as I know we were the only members of the family ever to do so. Sadly that was Dad's only visit but we planted forget-me-nots on the grave of George. Wally Friedmann is a real Canadian who served in WW2 with my Uncle Ted. The description of Wally is perfect- I lived with Wally and his family for three months in 1972. He was a real gentleman. As far as I now he did not serve with the Saskatchewan regiment, he came from Ontario but he did serve in the war. As I keep saying, it is my story and my imagination. God bless, Wally.
I would also like to thank Roger who is my railway expert. The train Tom and the Major catch from Paddington to Oswestry ran until 1961. The details of the livery, the compartments and the engine are all, hopefully accurate. I would certainly not argue with Roger! Thanks also to John Dinsdale, another railway buff and a scientist. It was he who advised on the use of explosives . Not the sort of thing to Google these days!
I used a number of books in the research. The list is at the end of this historical section. However the best book, by far, was the actual Commando handbook which was reprinted in 2012. All of the details about hand to hand, explosives, esprit de corps etc were taken directly from it. The advice about salt, oatmeal and water is taken from the book. It even says that taking too much salt is not a bad thing! I shall use the book as a Bible for the rest of the series. The Commandos were expected to find their own accommodation. Some even saved the money for lodgings and slept rough. That did not mean that standards of discipline and presentation were neglected; they were not.
German Panzer Mk. 2 used in the Low Countries. twenty mm gun and machine gun in rotating turret.
Photograph courtesy of Wikipedia.
The 1st Loyal Lancashire existed as a regiment. They were in the BEF and they were the rearguard. All the rest is the work of the author's imagination. The use of booby traps using grenades was common. The details of the German potato masher grenade are also accurate. The Germans used the grenade as an early warning system by hanging them from fences so that an intruder would move the grenade and it would explode. The Mills bomb had first been used in the Great War. It threw shrapnel for up to one hundred yards. When thrown the thrower had to take cover too. However my Uncle Norman, who survived Dunkirk was demonstrating a grenade with an instructor kneeling next to him. It was a faulty grenade and exploded in my uncle's hand. Both he and the Sergeant survived. My uncle just lost his hand. I am guessing that my uncle's hand prevented the grenade fragmenting as much as it was intended. Rifle grenades were used from 1915 onwards and enabled a grenade to be thrown much further than by hand
During the retreat the British tank, the Matilda was superior
to the German Panzers. It was slow but it was so heavily armoured that it could only be stopped by using the 88 anti aircraft guns. Had there been more of them and had they been used in greater numbers then who knows what the outcome might have been. What they did succeed in doing, however, was making the German High Command believe that we had more tanks than they actually encountered. The Germans thought that the 17 Matildas they fought were many times that number. They halted at Arras for reinforcements. That enabled the Navy to take off over 300,000 men from the beaches.
Although we view Dunkirk as a disaster now, at the time it was seen as a setback. An invasion force set off to reinforce the French a week after Dunkirk. It was recalled. Equally there were many units cut off behind enemy lines. The Highland Division was one such force. 10000 men were captured. The fate of many of those captured in the early days of the war was to be sent to work in factories making weapons which would be used against England.
Freya, the German Radar.
Germany had radar stations and they were accurate. They also had large naval guns at Cape Gris Nez as well as railway guns. They made the Channel dangerous although they only actually sank a handful of ships during the whole of the war. They did however make Southend and Kent dangerous places to live.
Commando dagger
The first Commando raids were a shambles. Churchill himself took action and appointed Sir Roger Keyes to bring some order to what the Germans called thugs and killers. Major Foster and his troop reflect that change.
The parachute training for Commandos was taken from this link http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ww2peopleswar/stories/72/a3530972.shtml. Thank you to Thomas Davies. The Number 2 Commandos were trained as a battalion and became the Airborne Division eventually. The SOE also trained at Ringway but they were secreted away at an Edwardian House, Bowden. As a vaguely related fact 43 out of 57 SOE agents sent to France between June 1942 and Autumn 1943 were captured, 36 were executed!