by Griff Hosker
He threw away the cigarette and placed the palms of his hands down his legs. He flicked his head around, "Sir, with respect, you aren't our officer."
"I can see you have only been in five minutes so I will be a little more lenient with you. Perhaps you are a little slow, I am not certain. You look like you sat at the back of the classroom but I will say this once. You do not have one officer; you have every officer! Understand?" I tapped my pips. "You salute and obey these. This is the British Army and not some rag tag bunch of malcontents!"
"A problem Captain Harsker?"
"No, Captain Marsden. I was just reminding this Private that he obeys the orders of every officer who wear's the King's uniform."
He saw who it was, "Private Osborne! I might have known. Insubordinate again!"
"No, sir, I was not. I was..."
"Sergeant Curtis put this man on a charge."
"What charge?"
Ken Curtis growled at Osborne. "Sir."
"What charge, sir?"
Captain Marsden pointed to the still glowing cigarette at Osborne's feet. "Smoking whilst on duty for a start." He put his hands on his hips and roared, "Now get your gear stowed and stop embarrassing the Sergeant and me!"
They turned and hurried to their tents. Sergeant Curtis said, "Sorry about that, sir."
"These aren't the men we led in Africa, Curtis. You will have to be a bit harder."
"Captain Harsker is correct, Curtis but it is my fault. I have tried to mollycoddle some of them. Better we break them now or they might break us on the big day!"
I turned and saw my men watching. Gordy Barker said, "What he needs is a good old fashioned hiding."
Bill Hay shook his head, "He is a barrack room lawyer. That is just what he wants. He knows King's Regs inside out and he will use them! I served with a bunch like that. I am just glad we have none in our section!"
The incident created a foul mood. The weather suddenly seemed worse. When we went to the mess tent I could see that Captain Marsden's section was divided. There was a small group who obviously supported Osborne while the rest were behind Captain Marsden. It was not a good situation.
The next day we were taken to Dartmouth to embark the landing craft. We saw them in the harbour. They were big ships and designated LC(I). With a couple of Oerlikon guns and a crew of twenty four they were substantial vessels. At a hundred and sixty feet in length and almost twenty four feet wide they were nothing like the E-boat we had been used to. We disembarked from the lorry carrying our equipment. We still carried our Bergens. Their replacements had not been issued yet. We were in no hurry to change them. Two detached themselves from those bobbing about in the icy water and headed for the quay. They were numbers 523 and 527.
I turned to make sure that my men were ready to board in an orderly fashion. In truth I was not worried but the behaviour of some of Captain Marsden's men had planted seeds of doubt in my mind. When I turned back the coxswain of 523 waved cheerily. It was Bill Leslie.
Lance Sergeant Hay said, "There is a cheery and familiar face!" The two Bills had been friends when we had served in the Mediterranean.
Lieutenant Redmire was the skipper. He looked young and wore the RNVR flash. I suppose for such a small boat that was the norm. He shook my hand, "Welcome aboard, sir. We are your taxi for today and, I have heard for the big show. Exciting, what?"
I smiled at his enthusiasm. "It certainly is. We will rattle around a little in here I am afraid. How many do you normally carry?"
"Rammed to the gills we can manage two hundred but it is normally one eighty. You are our first passengers so to speak. Today will be our first little jaunt."
I turned to my sergeants, "Have the men sort themselves out. Any chance of a tour Lieutenant?"
"Delighted!" He took me to the bridge. "This is the business end. We are lucky to have Petty Officer Leslie. He is very experienced."
"I know, Bill and I have served together before."
"That's right sir. How is the 'Lucky Lady'?"
"I am afraid her sailing days might be over but Wacker and the Lieutenant are still around."
"Good. I miss my old shipmates. This is a fine ship sir. Solid as a rock. We'll get you ashore safely."
The Lieutenant was keen to show off his command. I suspect it was his first. "Quite. Now we have two Oerlikon guns. They are not manned at the moment. There is a mess and we can accommodate some men below decks but I am afraid most will have to suffer the elements." He took me to the bows.
To my surprise there was no ramp. "No ramp Lieutenant?"
"No sir, you go down these two gangplanks at the side. They get lowered at the last minute I believe."
He did not sound confident. "You haven't tried them yet?"
He shook his head and said, quietly, "I think that is what the next couple of days will be about sir. Trying things out and seeing what problems arise."
"Good. Better than finding out when Jerry is firing at us. Well I am looking forward to this. I have taken up enough of your time. I shall go and talk to my chaps." When he had returned to the bridge I waved my sergeants forward. "It seems they lower these two ramps and we disembark either side of the bow."
"Interesting sir. I am glad we are having a play with these over sized bathroom toys." Sergeant Poulson always enjoyed new challenges. He had not changed much since he had first joined my section as a keen young private.
I nodded, "Today I will lead one half down the left hand ramp and Barker you take the right. Poulson and Hay, you chivvy them up."
"A bit like jumping from an aeroplane sir."
"With the added delight of Germans firing at us."
"All ready Captain?"
I turned and waved, "Whenever you are, Lieutenant!"
As we left the harbour for the short journey around to the sands we would be using my sergeants began to arrange my men into some kind of order. I could see that we could not possibly simulate the real thing. There were just thirteen of us for one thing. Getting off would be easier than when jostling with a hundred and eighty others. I could see why this exercise had been arranged. If Lieutenant Redmire was new to this too it was better to iron out the smaller problems. I looked over at the other boat. Captain Marsden had twenty one men in his section. He would have slightly more problems than I would.
The men were carrying their new Lee Enfield rifles. Crowe and Davis had the two Bren guns. Smith and Herbert would be their loaders. No matter what the orders when we went in the day of the invasion we would take any Colts and Thompsons we still had. If we could get our hands on the ammunition then we would also take the American rocket launcher we had been given by Colonel Darby. We respected the enemy too much not to take as much advantage as we could. For this exercise however, watched I had no doubt from the shore by senior officers, we would play the game.
We were used to travelling by E-boat or motor launch. Sixteen knots was not slow but it was compared with our other mode of travel. We did, however, have steel bows. We knew the effect of German heavy machine guns. We would have some protection. I saw now that these had an advantage over the smaller landing ships which had a ramp. They would be far slower.
Lieutenant's voice sounded, "Ready Captain; we land in ten minutes!"
I raised my hand to show that I had heard. Fletcher, Crowe and Smith stood behind me. "Let's make this as realistic as possible eh lads. If there were Germans waiting for us then they would have guns firing at us. Zig-zag up the beach and when I hit the deck you follow on either side. Crowe, I want that Bren ready to fire as quickly as possible."
"Yes sir."
Fletcher's Scouse drawl always sounded vaguely disrespectful somehow. "Aye sir, we'll need to put on a good show for the brass." He pointed to the high ground above the beach. I saw a huddle of khaki. It was as I had thought. The new ships and men were being evaluated. My inside knowledge from my meetings with the General had given me a better insight into the whole operation. The general and the planners were keen to avoid any kind of
disaster. By beginning training early and using small scale operations then minor problems could be identified. When we had the whole brigade involved it would be a logistical nightmare.
I put those thoughts from my head as I saw the beach grow closer. Four sailors ran alongside us to prepare to lower the ramps. I saw a problem right away, "Fletcher, watch those sailors and see what they do. In the real assault they might get shot. They are brave men!"
"Yes sir." He nodded for he had seen the problem too. They would be exposed to enemy fire while they lowered the ramps into position.
I frowned when I saw them joking as they went forward. As we had learned at Dieppe and St. Nazaire, if you did not take training seriously then it cost lives when you went into action.
The Lieutenant was using a loud hailer. "Lower ramps!"
The two ratings began to lower the ramp. It was too slow. I moved behind them. One looked behind me with surprise on his face. The ramp was beginning to lower. They let the ropes slip through their hands quicker. The front of the ship bobbed up and down in the surf. Even before it was down I ran down the ramp. One of the sailors was knocked into the water. I jumped clear of the surf and jinked to my right and then my left. Lyme Bay swept around us. The headland and low cliffs were over a hundred yards away. I ran for forty yards and then dropped; the shingle and sand were soft. I cocked my Lee Enfield and aimed it up the beach. I pushed sand and shingle up before my face. My men did me proud. They dropped next to me seconds after I did. My line of men spread out along either side. Technically the exercise was over. We had only been sent to practise the landing but this was too good an opportunity to miss. I spied the twelve officers on the low cliffs a hundred and fifty yards away.
"Sergeant Poulson take half the men right. The rest follow me left. We will take those officers prisoner!"
Fletcher chuckled, "That's great sir!"
"On three! One, two, three!"
I leapt to my feet and ran left for ten yards and then right. The shingle and sand gave way to some rocks, more sand and shingle before the low cliffs rose gently up to the vantage point the officers were using. As an obstacle it would merely slow us down. I turned right and ran. When I turned left and ran up the slope my feet slipped slightly on the slick stones and grass. If we had been wearing boots then we might not have found our footing. We ran obliquely beyond the officers and when I turned and shouted, "Charge!" the noise of our collected shout made some of the officers start.
We levelled our guns at them. I saw one older officer with a white moustache open and close his mouth. Beyond them I saw Sergeant Poulson and the rest of my section.
General Marlowe began to clap. Major Foster, grinning, joined him. I lowered my gun and my men did the same.
The General stepped forward. "I am not certain that was in the orders for the day, Captain."
I nodded, "It seemed a waste just to land on the beach and build sandcastles. We are Commandos. This is what we do."
"The officer with the white moustache pointed to the beach. "Not all Commandos, it seems." He pointed down the beach. Half of Captain Marsden's section appeared to be sitting on the beach and smoking. The other half were advancing towards us.
I shrugged, "My section, sir, has been in action longer than most."
"And they follow you no matter what." General Marlowe nodded. "Well done gentlemen. I think we can safely say that you do not need to practise the landings any more. I believe you will have other tasks to complete but well done. Major Foster here has told me already of your exploits and your reputation. It is well deserved."
I turned, "Take the men back to the beach, Sergeant Poulson."
After they had gone General Marlowe said, "How are the landing craft then Harsker?"
"Fine sir but when the ratings stand to lower the ramps they are exposed. I think we could lower them if the ratings fell in action."
Major Foster laughed, "Or if they are pushed out of the way by over eager Commandos."
"If there are Germans firing at you, and I guarantee there will be, then you stay still as little as possible."
"I can see that. Thank you Captain."
I walked down the beach. I saw Captain Marsden and Troop Sergeant Curtis berating the men who had sat down. I was not surprised to see that Osborne and his cronies were amongst them.
When we reached the landing craft I saw the rating I had pushed into the water, "Are you all right?"
I saw, behind him, Bill Leslie. When the rating spoke I guessed that Bill had had a word with him. "Yes sir. Sorry about the delay. I thought it was just training. You were right to shove me." He glanced behind at the Petty Officer. "I'll be quicker next time."
I nodded and shouted to the Lieutenant who was standing at the top of the ramp. "Could my men have a go at lowering the ramp, Lieutenant?" I pointed to the headland, "If there were guns there then your men might be hit. Another practice eh?"
"Fine by me! To the helm, Coxswain."
Bill winked at me with a grin on his face, "Right sir! All aboard the Skylark! Trips around the bay a penny a passenger!"
As we climbed up the ramp I said, "Fletcher, Smith let's see how fast you could do it."
Fletcher pointed as we passed the top of the ramp. "If we ran down when we reached here sir then the ramp would fall faster. Mr Bird our Science teacher taught us that. It is called gravity!" He seemed proud that he remembered something from school. From what the others had told me those occasions when he had been in school had been rare!
By the time we had headed back to Dartmouth we had made four more landings and each time the lowering of the ramp had been better. The ratings quickly adopted the methods used by Fletcher and took to sheltering beneath the ramp. Bill Hay had pointed out that they had more protection from bullets there than on the top of the ramp.
Back at camp Captain Marsden came over to me. He had a troubled look on his face. I had felt bad all the way back to Dartmouth. I had not wanted to embarrass John. I had been concentrating on my part of the operation. As he came towards me I said, "Sorry about that John. I was not trying to show off or anything."
He nodded and lit a cigarette. "I know. It did take me by surprise but Curtis said he expected something like that from you. No, it was the right thing to do and, in many ways it has helped me."
"Helped you?"
"Well you saw Osborne and his cronies. I saw the problem right away. If it was just one man I might be able to do something about it but there are seven of them."
"You could have them transferred to other sections. Give Osborne to me. My lads will sort him out."
"Thanks Tom but it is my section and I will sort them out."
"Remember Waller, John."
He nodded. Waller had been a really bad apple. I had been forced to shoot him after he had gone on the rampage during a training exercise, taking Captain Grenville hostage in the process. "I know. I think I will enlist the help of Reg Dean."
"I think that is a good idea."
He laughed, "I remember when you were my Lieutenant. I saw then that you were a real leader and look at your section now. I would take those twelve against any other fifty Commandos. They are a good team."
I nodded, "I know."
The practice attack spurred my men on and we were out in all weathers and times. We ran before dawn and after dusk. The incident with Osborne seemed to have galvanised them even more. As the month of January began to pass I summoned my sergeants.
"Next month we have two or three operations planned."
Sergeant Poulson said, "Three sir? I thought you said there would be just two."
"Now that we are closer to the time and the operation I can give you more detail and you will see why it might be three. We are to land at the Orne river in Normandy. We will scout out the town on one visit and, on the second a week later, the west side of the river. We will be going in by submarine and we will be dressed as Germans. If we do not manage to get what we need in those two then we will have to return for a third."
Bill Hay said, "German uniforms sir?"
Gordy shrugged, "They will shoot us if they catch us anyway."
"Precisely so, with that in mind I have an operation for us here in England. We are going to scout out Plymouth dockyard with weapons but without papers."
"The sort of thing we had to do as part of our training?"
"Right Bill. When we go over to Normandy we will be in teams of four. I will be one of the four. I intend to take those who evade capture." I looked at them. "That includes the sergeants."
They nodded.
"I want proof that you got into the dockyard." I smiled, "Other than your capture of course. There are thirteen of us. You each pick three men to be in your team. I will choose one of the teams to accompany. Regard me as an umpire." They laughed. "When we go to Normandy I want us to be able to walk around in German uniforms observing and recording but we also have to evade capture."
Gordy asked, "Are we dropping this time sir?"
"No Gordy. Submarine."
"Sergeant Poulson shuddered, "A steel coffin then, sir."
"I am afraid so Sergeant. At least our extraction should be easier."
"Are we going to go in to Plymouth by boat?"
"That is up to you. We will be making the attempt tomorrow night. The first raid is scheduled for two weeks from today." I could see they were eager to be away. "Off you go then. Submit the names of your teams to me by tonight please."
I went to the adjutant's office and told him what I had planned. "A risky strategy. Suppose they get caught? Won't that ruin the morale?"
"If they do get caught then we can modify the plan. Better to fail here rather than in France. Here we would be embarrassed. In France we would be dead!"
Sergeant Major Dean was summoned. We told him what we had planned. "I will take the lorry down to the docks then, sir, in case anybody does get picked up. If you ask my opinion, sir, I think it is a damned good idea. And it will ginger up the dock guards when they find out we have been inside their fence."