Sergeant Greely snapped, "That's a Hun!" He turned and ran back to the intelligence tent. Willy and the others came out of the tents to stare at the buzzing black cross high in the sky. The Germans were scouting. The solitary aeroplane allied to the four Germans we had spotted in the woods put us on high alert.
We were set to improving the defences of the camp. We already had slit trenches and sandbags. Lieutenant Ashcroft had us conceal the Bren gun and Vickers' emplacements. Sergeant Jennings took our squad to dig some hidden pits beyond our perimeter. The next day we were issued more ammunition and another four Mills Bombs. Our patrol had changed the war. To us it no longer felt phoney.
For a day nothing happened, nothing that is except that Captain Foster disappeared. That sounds dramatic but one day he was there and the next day Lieutenant Ashcroft was beaming like a cat that had the cream. He was acting company commander until the return of the Captain. The following morning we were awoken in the early hours by the drone of bombers passing over towards the west. The numbers were hard to estimate but I guessed that there were at least two squadrons. Stand to was sounded and we hurried to our rifle pits.
A few hours later we heard their drone as they headed east. This time we saw that they were twin engine bombers. Corporal Higgins took Willy and they fetched us a dixie of tea from the mess tent. "Keep your eyes peeled, lads, the colonel is out and about. It seems Jerry has started something over in Holland."
Jack Jones spat and said, "That's miles away Corp. We are safe enough here."
I was not so certain. I thought I heard something and I cocked my head to one side. I hated these helmets. Sergeant Jennings asked, "You hear something?"
"I thought I heard an engine. I could be wrong."
Sergeant Greely appeared from nowhere. "Let's trust your ears eh? Stand to. Eyes front."
The engines not only became louder they were augmented by the noise of aeroplane engines. I looked up and saw single seaters. They were gull winged. I pointed and Sergeant Greely shouted, "Stukas! Take cover!" We were all in our trenches anyway but we tried to get as deep in them as possible. I suddenly wished that we had dug them another foot or so deeper.
The noise of the dive bomber's engines became a high pitched scream as they dived. Sergeant Major Campbell roared, "Open fire!"
I raised my Lee Enfield. I had hunted birds before and knew that you aimed ahead of them. The ducks I had shot, however, had not been diving at me. I squeezed five rounds off. In the time it took to fire the Stukas had begun to open fire with their machine guns. Before I could fire again Sergeant Greely shouted, "Bombs! Take cover!"
I buried my head into the trench. Willy's back was in front of me and Nev's helmet rammed into my back. I felt the concussion from the explosion before the wall of heat rushed over us. I heard the clang of shrapnel on metal and then the screams and shouts of those wounded began. I don't know how long we had to endure the bombs but I do know that something clanged off my helmet and made my already deafened ears ring. In the maelstrom of flying metal, branches and soil which fell like rain I heard, "Medical Orderly!" I did not envy the poor sods who would have to leave the safety of a trench to brave the bombs and tend the wounded.
And then the bombing stopped. It was bizarre. Our deafness made it seem like a silent world. As if from far away I heard a voice shout, "Stand to!"
I raised my head. The sky was lighter because most of the trees had gone. I looked to our right and saw a crater where there had been a trench with four men before the Stukas had struck. Medical orderlies were carrying bloodied bodies back to the medical tent. I reloaded as quickly as I could. Nev snarled, "Bastard Stukas! I had enough of them in Spain!"
I found my hearing returning and I caught the sound of engines coming from the east. "Tanks!"
My shout grabbed everyone's attention. Sergeant Jennings, in the next trench shouted, "Get some Mills bombs ready!"
I felt the ground vibrate as the tracks of the tanks drew closer to us. We could see nothing. Then a spout of flame erupted from the woods ahead as the first of the tanks fired. It was not a big gun but it sounded big to us. The crack followed and I felt the force of the explosion as the shell exploded some way behind us. Then I saw the flickering flames of the machine gun as it chattered out. Our own Vickers fired in reply but I knew it would be a waste of ammunition. The bullets pinged off the shell of the tank as it drew ever closer. There was one slit trench ahead of us. As the next five tanks emerged two of the lads in the trench tried to clamber out and flee. Reg Johnson and Welsh Paul stood no chance. The bullets of three machine guns tore into their bodies making then dance as though they were puppets. Their shredded corpses fell feet in front of us.
Corporal Higgins shouted, "Stay in your trenches!"
That was easier said than done as the German tanks drew ever closer. By the standards of later in the war these were not particularly big tanks and their guns were not enormous but they were big enough. There were only six of them but they cut a swath through our defences. All of our traps and fallen trees were no obstacle and they climbed them easily. I saw the leading tank as it rose above the trench ahead. The survivors screamed as the weight of the tank came crashing down and crushed them.
"Grenades!"
Sergeant Jennings' voice gave us something to do. We could fight back although I knew that our death was inevitable. We could not stop tanks with grenades and rifles. I pulled the pin and released the handle then I threw. Some of my comrades threw as soon as they had pulled the pin. The result was that the grenades went off in succession. Miraculously they tore the left hand track from the tank and it slewed to the right. It was just forty yards ahead of us and its angle stopped the other tanks from being able to fire at us. I ran from the trench as fast as I could. I had another grenade in my hand. I saw behind the tanks the grey uniforms of the German infantry. I saw the turret as it traversed. I was in a race now. Could I reach the tank before the machine gun fired?
I pulled the pin as I ran. I reached the side of the Panzer as the barrel of the cannon appeared above me. I put my rifle against the tank and hauled myself up. The hatch began to open just as the German infantry began to fire at me. Had the hatch not opened I would have been dead as bullets struck the metal. A head appeared and I punched it with my right hand. As it disappeared I dropped the grenade and slithered from the tank as a hail of bullets smacked into the hatch cover. I grabbed my rifle and ran. I suspect they were seeking the bomb and that saved me for they did not fire the MG 42. I had just dived into the trench, head first, when there was a crump from behind me and I heard a cheer as the tank was disabled.
I looked up and saw Nev and Willy grinning at me. "You mad bugger!"
I scrambled to my feet. My sudden charge appeared to have invigorated the rest of the company and hand grenades were thrown towards the German tanks. The others were further away but two lucky blows disabled two machine guns. We were learning that the machine guns were more deadly than the cannon they carried. One of the tanks with a disabled machine gun ran afoul of a broken branch. The hatch opened and a head appeared. We all fired our rifles and the German slumped half way out of his turret. Suddenly, Sean McGuire, one of those who had joined up with me stood and pulled the pin on a Mills Bomb. Sean had been a gifted cricketer and he pulled his arm back and lobbed the grenade. It struck the dead German and trickled down into the turret. Poor Sean just had time to cheer before the other tanks' machine guns scythed him in two.
The tank spewed metal and smoke as the bomb exploded inside. There were two tanks which were disabled but, more importantly they were almost together. Sergeant Jennings shouted, "Right lads, shelter behind the tanks." We sprinted to the shelter of the tanks. They formed a V, there was a small gap between them and Smith and Jones set up the Bren. I leaned against the back of the tank I had destroyed. We could now see, less than thirty yards away, the advancing German soldiers.
"Fire!"
The smoke from the second tank was blowing towards the Germans
and they had no idea that we had advanced. The first line was cut down as the Bren and our Lee Enfields shredded them. Away to our left the company Vickers still barked away and I realised that we had halted them. Only two of the Panzers had escaped damage and they began to back towards the shelter of the trees as more grenades were hurled at them. We had shown that we could blow their tracks off.
Sergeant Greely pointed, "Look, Tom, there is a German officer trying to rally his men, can you hit him?"
I looked. He was well over two hundred yards away and partly hidden. "I can give it a go Sarge."
"Even if you don't hit him you can worry him! Do your best, son."
I licked my finger and thumb and moistened my sight. I breathed slowly and took a bead on him. I aimed at his chest, even though it was partly hidden by the undergrowth and I squeezed off four shots. The second one struck him and he spun around. I switched to the man on his left and hit him with my fifth shot. The whole line halted.
More of the battalion raced to join us and more Bren guns added their firepower. It became too hot for the Germans who pulled back. "Cease fire!"
Chapter 6
We all stood in silence, wreathed in smoke and surrounded by the sour smell of spent cordite. We had held them. I turned and saw Sergeant Jennings. He was looking at the crater where half of his men, the rest of our section, had died. Our squad was all that remained of his section. Sergeant Major Campbell shouted, "Reload and await orders."
Sergeant Jennings and Sergeant Greely went around our dead and took their dog tags and any papers they might have had. Corporal Higgins said to the rest of us, "Collect any spare ammo and use the knapsacks from the lads to carry them."
Mike Carr said, "That's like robbing the dead, Corp!"
Jack Jones snorted, "If you were dead, Sonny Jim, would you give a bugger if your mates had your spare ammo?"
Once we had done that we were ordered to collect the dead, our dead, and lay them out. While we were doing that Lieutenant Foster came over to us. "Sergeant Jennings, take your squad and see if the Germans have gone or if they are regrouping. If you find any German maps or papers then grab them eh?"
"Sir. Right lads leave the bodies where they are. Harsker," he pointed and I trotted off to head the line of nine men. Just then we heard the drone of aeroplanes and we looked up to see another two squadrons of twin engine aeroplanes heading west. I recognised them this time. They were the Heinkel 111. I heard Jack Jones say, "Some poor bugger is going to cop it!"
"Shut it Jones, you should know better."
I found the first German body. He looked to be the same age as me and had been hit by a number of bullets. I bent down to check his tunic when the sergeant snapped, "You keep looking ahead, Harsker, you are our eyes and ears!"
I waved to show I had heard and I moved a little quicker. I did not move in a straight line. The Germans might be regrouping and waiting for me. After the first ten or twelve bodies I found fewer until I came to the German officer I had killed. I saw that I had hit him twice. The other soldier was not there. They must have carried off their wounded. I impulsively grabbed his Luger and jammed it in my battle dress. A hand gun always came in handy, at least that was what my dad had said.
The ground rose and I heard the noise of diesel engines. I dropped to all fours and clambered up the small rise. I found the German tanks. Already they were refitting and repairing the damaged machine guns. Some of the assault troops were drinking from their canteens while others were having their wounds dressed. I had seen enough and I slithered down the bank. The rest of the squad had almost reached my dead German and I waved them back. Sergeant Jennings halted them, "What is it?"
"The Germans are over that rise and they are refitting the tanks. I reckon they will be coming back soon."
"Right. Back lads."
We returned much quicker than we had left. The rest of the battalion had worked quickly and we saw the line of graves each draped with a helmet. We had buried our dead and there were thirty men who would never walk the streets of Manchester again. Lieutenant Foster approached us, "Well?"
"Harsker spotted them regrouping. They are coming again. Do we dig in?"
He shook his head, "Apparently we are the only ones who held. We are surrounded. We have been ordered to pull back. The battalion is the rearguard. Keep your squad at the back. I'll send Sarn't Greely and the remains of his squad to help you." He looked at me. "If we get out of this Harsker, I'll see that you and McGuire get medals for what you did. Between the two of you, you saved our bacon. Well done."
"Thanks sir." I took my helmet off to scratch my head. I saw a hole and a large dent in the tin lin. As I scratched my head I found a tiny piece of shrapnel caught in my hair. I had been lucky. I put the grisly souvenir in my battle dress pocket.
When Sergeant Greely reached me he slapped me on the back of the head, "What's that for Sarge?"
"For being a dozy bugger and almost getting yourself killed."
"But the Lieutenant said he is putting me in for a medal."
He shook his head, "Forget being a hero and keep your head down!"
Corporal Higgins and Willy arrived with a dixie of tea and a tray of sandwiches. "Cooks had this all ready but they are pulling out. Seemed a shame for it to go to waste."
Mike Carr asked, "What kind are they?"
"Are you choosy or what? They are corned dog now eat them while you can. I reckon we will be scavenging from now on."
We ate the curling sandwiches and drank the lukewarm, sweet tea. It was a feast. By the time we had finished were almost the only soldiers left. We heard the sound of tank but they were in the distance. "Right lads let's go."
"Sarge, how about leaving a few booby traps. It will slow them down." We all looked at the veteran of the Spanish Civil War, Nev Wilkinson. "It takes two shakes and if the lads watch me then they will be able to do it too. I reckon we will need tricks like this if we are the rearguard."
"Righto. Show us but make it quick. Holden keep a good look out."
We watched as Nev took a Mills bomb and threaded a piece of cord through the pin. He jammed the grenade in the tracks of one of the tanks. He ran the cord between the tanks and tied it to the broken wheel. "That's it."
"Right lads, each of you leave a present for Jerry. Holden?"
"Nowt yet Sarge."
Nev said, "Let's go and find some German potato mashers." We ran to the first of the German dead. He took the stick grenade and unscrewed the porcelain cap. There was a cord. "When you pull this there is a five second fuse. Lift the body." I raised the body and he carefully put the cord around the button of the tunic. "Now lower it. When Jerry comes to check his kamerad the fuse starts and Jerry dies for the Fatherland."
We had rigged four bodies when Willy shouted, "Krauts at twelve o'clock."
We picked up our rifles and we ran. We were both exposed and bullets zinged around us. We had almost reached the two brewed up tanks when Nev fell to the ground. I turned and sprayed five random shots at the advancing Germans. He had taken a bullet in the leg. I picked him up and pulled him into the shelter of the tanks. Harry Mac was the medical orderly from Sergeant Greely's squad and he tore open the trousers as we fired at the advancing Germans.
"You are lucky. It passed through." He quickly applied a dressing.
Sergeant Jennings said, "Get a move on, I don't fancy spending the war in a prison camp!"
"Done!"
"Right get Wilkinson back we will buy you five minutes." He turned to the rest of us. "Pair up. One man fires and one falls back." He paused, "We are the rearguard if you fall no one comes for you!"
Willy appeared at my side, "I reckon your German will come in handy, Professor!"
I nodded, "Ready?"
"I was born ready, old son."
"Run!" As he ran I aimed at a Feldwebel urging his men on. I clipped his shoulder and he fell. I fired a second shot at the man who was aiming at me. I missed and so did he.
"Run, Tom!"
I t
urned and ran. I saw Willy firing as I passed him. I stopped twenty yards beyond him and was aiming when I heard the crump of a grenade beyond the tanks. It was followed by two others. They had found our body booby traps. It halted the pursuit. We jogged after the others and were gratified to hear more explosions as more of our booby traps were triggered.
We heard, but didn't see the German bombers as they returned east. Once we cleared the trees and found the road we saw the devastation caused by the Stukas. The road was littered with damaged vehicles and bodies. They were not the 1st Loyal Lancashires. It was getting on towards six o'clock when we heard the high pitched engines of the Stukas again.
"Take cover!
Willy and I threw ourselves into a ditch. I saw, to my horror, that there was the headless corpse of an engineer there. I forced myself to concentrate on the dive bombers. I aimed my rifle at the engine. This time we could see their flight. The whole of our rearguard squad opened fire. I heard the two Bren guns as they added their chatter to the crack of the rifles. I saw smoke appear from the first Stuka. It billowed against the cockpit and I knew that the pilot would be struggling to pull up the nose. It was a vain hope. It zipped over our heads to explode in a fireball just fifty yards down the road. The shock wave made my head buzz. The column of debris threw off the aim of the other Stukas whose machine gun bullets and bombs hit the adjacent fields. As the remaining five aeroplanes climbed for another attack, Sergeant Greely shouted, "Fall back!"
We clambered from the ditch and sprinted down the road. We had to take a detour into the field around the burning aeroplane. The two charred corpses were still in their seats. I glanced over my shoulder and saw that the Stukas had turned. Their bombs had been dropped but they could still strafe us.
"Cover!"
Willy and I took shelter in the ditch. This time it was mercifully free of the dead. The machine guns and the rifles all threw up a wall of lead but we did not bring any more of the dive bombers down. They turned and headed east when their ammunition was depleted.
Commando Page 6