Behind Enemy Lines

by Hosker, Griff

  As we made our way along the side of the submarine basin I glanced to my left. We had sheltered there last year in a building. We had blown up the building. I wondered if they had cleared it. When we reached the railway lines and crossed them I saw that they had not. They were a jumble of broken bricks and debris. I ran towards them. This part of the port was quieter for no Commandos had reached this section. The rest were contained on the far side of the port. We needed somewhere to lie up. It would be dawn in a few hours and the Germans would sweep the countryside looking for those commandos who had escaped. It was obvious to me that many commandos would be stranded. I had seen too many MLs destroyed. I knew my fellow commandos. Surrender would be the last thing on their mind and they would try to get somewhere; perhaps even Spain! We were tough, resilient and resourceful.

  I led them over the pile of bricks and debris from the demolished buildings. It was a mighty pile of uneven rubble. I wanted a nest similar to the one we had used the night before. The bricks shifted beneath our feet as we moved. That was good. We would be warned of any search. When we reached what would have been the back of the house there were fewer bricks and we found a depression. I guessed this had been where the yards of the three story buildings had been.

  "Clear a space and rig the nets. Use the brick coloured ones. We are going to hide out here for the day." Despite the strange order they complied. I went back across the bricks and lay on the highest part of the bricks keeping watch. I saw squads of Germans as they hurried along the roads but they all headed for the Normandie dock. The flashes and bangs showed that Colonel Charles and his men were still fighting. Part of me told me that I should go and help but another part convinced me that our escape was of more importance. I was not certain if the raid had been a success or not. Until the dock gates were blown then it was a failure but even if the gates were blown I had seen enough dead commandos to wonder if the price we had paid was too high.

  Polly's voice came from behind me. "Done, Sarge."

  "Better pee now while we have the chance! Do it away from the camp in case they use dogs." If they used dogs to search they would home in on the smell of human urine and excreta.

  Once relieved the two of them hunkered down and I viewed our den. We were hidden unless someone came right up to the edge and even then they would struggle to see us. I slid down next to them. We used our Bergens as sandbags in case we were attacked although, in that case, they would merely delay the inevitable. "Eat now. Check your magazines. There are spares in my Bergen."

  "Right Sarge." I ate some of the composite rations, husbanding them as I did not know how long they would have to last. I refilled my magazines, using the half empty ones to give me three full magazines. I had four clips for my Colt and four for my Luger. I had not managed to acquire any more German ammunition yet. Poulson and Gowland kept the potato mashers.

  "Do we stand any chance of getting out, Sarge?"

  Harry Gowland was worried. "I have been here before, Harry, and we got out. Until they stick us behind barbed wire just believe that we will get out. So long as we are alive we have a chance."

  "What is the plan, Sarge?"

  "Lay low tomorrow. There will be a hue and cry. It is like a game of hide and seek. If you hide close to the den then there is a risk that you will be found but if you hide well enough then the searchers move away. That is what I am counting on. This is a good place to hide. The bricks are treacherous and we will hear anyone coming close. As soon as it is getting on to dark we leave here and make our way north and east towards the coast." In my head I had the map. We either needed an airfield or a small port; both would afford us the chance to escape. "We will avoid the coast around here. They will be searching every inlet and beach for miles, if only to find the dead bodies of our mates. The further north we go the less chance we have of detection."

  There was silence save for the sporadic gunfire from the other side of the submarine basin. Harry said, quietly, "But how do we get across the Channel!"

  Polly laughed, "Once the Sarge stole a German aeroplane and back in the day he stole a French fishing boat. He will get us out alright. I just don't know how."

  Polly had more confidence in me than I did, "You lads sleep. I will wake you in two hours Polly."

  "Right Sarge."

  They were good commandos and they were asleep in next to no time. I crept up the bricks to peer over the top. If we were attacked we would have some protection from our brick parapet. In the port the fire fights had ended. There were now just single shots which we heard occasionally. I shuddered. Was that the sound of commandos being executed? I looked at my watch. It was four o'clock in the morning. When I woke Polly it would be light. I began to second guess myself. Perhaps I should have taken the first watch in daylight. No, I should trust my men; I had trained them well.

  At five thirty I heard the tramp of feet. As it was still largely dark I risked a glance over the top. I saw Germans marching prisoners along the road which flanked the submarine basin. Many of the commandos appeared wounded. I recognised Jack Johnson who was supporting a commando I did not recognise. Jack was a prisoner of war. Part of me wanted to leap out and rescue them. I knew that would be doomed to failure. At least, if I got home, I would be able to tell Jack's family that he had survived. Poor Jack had had no luck since Waller. First a broken jaw and now he suffered imprisonment.

  They had not been gone very long when a patrol of Germans arrived at the gates opposite us. The Sergeant pointed over to our side of the road and I heard him shout, "You two search the derelict buildings."

  The others began to search along the road where there were places a man might hide. The two Germans headed towards us. For some reason they appeared to be heading directly for me. I knew that I could not be seen. I was just another lump. Perhaps it was an illusion but I took out my Luger and cocked it. Suddenly one of the Germans slipped as his foot found a hole in the bricks.

  "Shit!" His friend laughed. The German was stuck in the bricks. "Stop laughing and get me out of here! There might be rats!" They managed to get him to his feet. "There is no one here!" He turned and shouted. "There is no one Sergeant."

  "Get over here then. There are some commandos in the cellar of a house at the other end of the town. Come on!"

  I breathed a sigh of relief as they ran off. That had been close but I saw how lucky we had been the previous night. That could have happened to any of us. We were camped in an unstable pile of rubble. It would make our departure doubly hazardous. Polly opened his eyes and I put my finger to my lips. A short while later a second column of commandos was marched past heading for a future ringed by barbed wire and watch towers. We had paid a high price.

  At eight I shook Polly awake and curled up in a foetal ball. I fell asleep. In many ways it was miraculous but a commando learned to be stoical; so long as we were alive there was hope. When Polly woke Harry I also woke up. The two hours sleep had been more than enough. I rinsed my mouth out with water and rubbed my teeth with my finger. I resisted eating more rations. We had a limited quantity of those. Polly rolled over for his sleep.

  I let Harry watch while I took out my map to study it. There were many small ports to the north and west of us but we had to get further away before we risked stealing a ship. Lorient was a large German base and we would have to avoid that. It left us with a short area from Damgan to Plouharnel. If that failed we would have to skirt the German Naval base and head for the Channel ports.

  I glanced at my watch. It was ten thirty. Dusk would come after five. The sun was so bright that I suspected it might be late. It would be a fine day. I had just put my map away when there was an enormous explosion from the other side of the submarine pens. I had never experienced such a loud bang in all my life. The concussion washed over us and made my ears ring. We were showered with bricks and pieces of metal. Luckily none actually hit us but I heard a thump as a solitary brick slammed into the net just a foot away from my head.

  Polly woke up, startled, "What
is that?"

  Harry grinned and slapped him on the back, "The ship has blown up! The raid was a success."

  I nodded, "Right and that means the Germans will be doubly desperate to get to round up every commando who was on the raid. It has not made things easier for us. It will be harder."

  Chapter 13

  We heard the sound of German soldiers and vehicles all morning. There had been casualties as we heard ambulances. That would not endear us to them. The afternoon dragged on and still we waited in our bunker. I was right about dusk and it was later than we had expected. It also promised to be a chilly night. We sipped our water and husbanded our rations and we hid. As soon as it was beginning to darken we removed the nets and packed them away. Who knew when we would next need them. In our secure hollow we slung our Bergens. I rose, gingerly from the depression in the bricks. We would not be heading towards the submarine pens, rather we would be heading to what had been the back alley. There were boarded and shored up buildings along that side of the rubble. When we had first come they had been occupied. Now they had been abandoned and gave us hope that we could use them to leave unseen.

  I scanned all around three hundred and sixty degrees and saw no one. We were below the highest level of the demolition. I crawled north, towards the alley. Here the bricks were fewer but I was acutely aware of the danger of air pockets which would not support our weight. Just as bad was the prospect that an avalanche of bricks would alert the German patrols to our presence. With no one in sight I stepped towards the cobbles just thirty feet away. The hardest part was the first few steps where we had to climb. Once on the solid cobbles I took out my Luger. It was a handier weapon than the Thompson.

  I signalled for Polly to bring up the rear and we headed along what had been the alley. At the end I stopped. Glancing around the corner I saw a German armoured car heading in our direction. It was going towards the submarine pens. I flattened myself against the wall. The other two did the same. I did not move my head as the vehicle passed. If anything my face was even better camouflaged. The brick dust had joined the black make up. I looked like a sooty wall. So long as I didn't move I would remain invisible. At the end of the road the armoured car turned left and headed along the road adjacent to the submarine pens.

  Once I could no longer hear its engines I peered around the corner. It was empty. I used the doorways of the derelict shops as cover and we made our way north. I remembered from my last visit that St. Nazaire was smaller than one might have expected. However that meant they would put road blocks and checkpoints at the main points of egress. I kept taking left turns and then a right turn to keep us heading north and west. As I turned one corner I almost tripped over the body of a commando. I turned him over. It was Fred Harris from Wolverhampton. His war had last one raid and no more. I felt for Fred Harris who had been so keen to see action and continued to negotiate the treacherous streets.

  It was more commandos who saved us. We were silently creeping along the dark, rubble filled streets when we heard a commotion ahead. Peering around a corner I saw six commandos being dragged from a cellar. There was a road block at the end of the street and the six stood no chance. Now that we knew were the road block was we backtracked to the last right turn and headed up that street. When I looked down the intersection I saw that the German's attention was on the six commandos. I waved the other two across the road and I followed. We ran down the next road and then turned left. To my horror a German sentry stepped out from a doorway. He saw me and tried to bring up his rifle. I reacted instinctively, I fired one shot into his face. He died instantly. The only saving grace was that it was the sound of a Luger that the road block would have heard.

  "Run!" We raced like gazelles. Crossing the road we darted into an alleyway behind terraced houses. Half way down I led us left and it brought us out at another road which led north. I saw trees. We were almost out of the town. However, behind us I heard the whistles and shouts of alarm. They had discovered the body of the sentry.

  "Run straight and get to the woods."

  This was where all the training paid off. We made it to the woods and collapsed in a heap. We had run the last mile in a speed which might have won us a gold medal at the Berlin Olympics. We stopped in the eaves. "Drink! And get me out a couple of potato mashers." It was important that we remained hydrated. You thought better. I took out some cord and, when Harry had given me the two grenades I made a trip wire across the path. It would alert us to pursuit and slow down the Germans. I took my own advice and drank from my canteen. We had a spare now, thanks to Ken. I heard shouts and the clatter of boots in the cobbles. They were following. We were now hidden in the woods and they would have to close with us to see us. We ran through the woods.

  The day had been bright sunny and warm. The night was clear and cold. Thankfully our exertions warmed us up. I remembered this area. We had booby trapped a German truck here but, as I recalled, the wood soon petered out and we would be on a road again. There was little else to do but keep going and pray that we would lose them. We had left the woods and were making our way through the tiny huddle of houses that was Brais when we heard the distant crump of the booby trap going off. That gave us an idea of where they were. It would slow them down and we had a chance to extend our lead. I know we could have asked the French there for help and shelter but I was loath to involve innocent civilians. I would get us out of this. I saw a curtain flicker as we passed one of the houses. If it was a collaborator then we were done for.

  At the next junction I turned left. I saw fields and I took us across them. The pursuing Germans were too far away to see us and we risked the open. The cold night and the dry day had hardened the ground so that we made no prints as we ran across to the next field. We made a mile by taking this cross country route. We crossed another road and I saw, to the left, a German airfield. Hope sprang in my breast. Perhaps we could steal an aeroplane. I had done it once before. I led my two weary men to the barbed wire fence. It was a small field with one wooden building and tents. To my disappointment I saw that they were Focke Wolf 190s. I could escape in one but I would have to leave my two men behind. That was not an option.

  Just then I heard a German lorry coming from the direction of St. Nazaire. There was a drainage ditch at our feet and we dived into the foetid water. I heard the brakes on the truck as it stopped just twenty yards from where we lay hidden.

  I heard voices. "Are you certain you saw them crossing the field, private?"

  "Yes Lieutenant. I thought we would see them on this road."

  Just then I heard a voice which seemed to be coming from above us. It was a sentry in the airfield. "Who are you looking for?"

  "Tommies. British Commandos. They raided the port and destroyed the gates of the dock. Have you seen anyone?"

  "No one came this way."

  "Well you keep watch for them. Come. They must have headed up the road." I heard the truck start and drive off. Then there was the sound of a match being struck and the smell of smoke. The discarded match fell and hissed into the water close to Poulson's foot. When the cigarette butt followed I willed the sentry to continue his patrol. I heard him move off his feet on the gravel path which ran along the fence. After five minutes I rose and peered left. He was not in sight. I tapped the other two on the shoulder and back to the other side of the road. We slipped over into the field.

  We had a dilemma. There was a lorry between us and the coast. However if we retraced our steps we might run into others. "We stay in the field next to the road. When the German lorry comes back we hide."

  "Right Sarge."

  We moved ever north and west. We moved slower than before because we had to use the fields. We dared not risk the road or the open. We had been careless crossing the field and it had nearly cost us. An hour later I saw dim lights along the road. We dived to the ground as the German truck came back down the road. We continued along the fields for another mile or so. We were so close to the sea that I could smell it. I took a decision. "We r
isk the road. We can move faster. Be ready to dive into the hedge if we hear anything." I hoped the lights of a lorry or the sound of the engine would carry to us before we could be seen.

  I checked my watch as we set off. It was midnight. We would need to lie up in four hours at the most. Depending upon the sun it might be earlier.. I wanted as much distance between us and the port as possible. We used the darkness and the roads to make good time. We ran, our rubber soled shoes silent on the tarmac. We would hear any vehicles and I gambled that we were far enough away from any German soldiers to avoid the patrols.

  We were eventually stopped by nature; the Marais. It was an area riddled with tidal creeks and marshes. We would need some time to cross it but it was too good an opportunity to miss. We could lie up here and no one would ever find us. The map in my head told me that the village of Le Poulprio lay to the north of the swampy area. We crossed a footbridge and found ourselves in treacherous country. We moved through stunted trees and bushes. Beneath our feet the ground went from a relatively solid footing to leg sucking mud. Gowland went into one such hole and disappeared up to his waist. We pulled him out.

  We were deep enough now and I did not want to risk a major accident. "I reckon we will be safe here. Set up the nets, Harry. I'll scout around and make sure we are safe."

  I dropped my Bergen and Tommy gun. I would not need them. I back tracked to the village. It seemed quiet. To the east I saw the faintest of glimmers. I returned to the place we had entered the Marais. Dawn was not far away. I walked fifty yards in each direction and saw that there was no buildings close by. I returned to the path we had taken. I saw that it was not a path as such but one of a number of routes across the soft ground. It was tidal and I suspected that different areas flooded at different times. I was just forty yards from our camp when I had a shock. A flurry of ducks took flight as I almost stepped into their nests. I knelt down and pocketed the four eggs I found in the two nests. I could not see the camp but I knew that come daylight it might be a different story.