by Griff Hosker
I saw a fleck of white ahead and used that as a guide. It identified the sea wall. We were less than half a mile away. The presence of the ship and the proximity of the sea wall made me dig even harder with the paddles. Soon the sea wall became clear. I could see the flatter water of the canal and river mouth to my left and I turned us more to the right. This was the most dangerous part of the whole mission. If they had an eagle eyed sentry and we were spotted then this would all be over before it had started. The weather helped us. The actual wall was only narrow and I could see sand on the right of it. The wall came at us far quicker than I had expected and we had to back water and turn beam on to it. It was hard getting hold of anything. Each time the sea surged we cracked against the rocks. Then I spied an old piece of rope. It must have had something attached to it for it was jammed between the rocks. I grabbed hold of it. It held us tightly against the stones at the base of the wall. Fletcher leapt out of the canoe and then held on to the side of it so that I could get out.
I saw that Poulson and Beaumont were having the same problem. I pointed further along the rocks and Fletcher and I carried our canoe so that the sergeant could land too. I held the canoe under the water while Fletcher gathered smooth rocks and began to put them in the bottom of the canoe. As the water filled it then it began to sink. We did not need many; just enough to keep it below the surface on the bottom part of the sea wall. One of us would have to strip off and empty the rocks when it came time to leave but we would deal with that problem when we came to it. As the water filled the canoe I watched anxiously. It disappeared. I lay down on the rocks and put my hand below the water. I could feel the top of the canoe. It was just two and a half feet below the surface. As the tide came in the canoes would be in deeper water. When it came time for us to leave it would be low water again.
We waited while Poulson and Beaumont sank their canoe and then we began the difficult job of climbing the sea wall. It was made harder by the awful conditions and, for the first few feet, the sea weed. I had the easiest task as I had no rifle to encumber me. As I neared the top I slowed down. I did not risk putting my hands over the top. Instead I slowly raised my head. There was a sentry hut. It was next to the mouth of the river and canal. The mole was just fifteen feet wide and they sentries were just ten feet away. There was a brazier and I saw the backs of two sentries. The fire would have ruined their night vision and I gambled that we had time to move beyond them. I quickly clambered over and waved the others up. We moved towards the beach as quickly as we could. The sentries were watching the sea and not this stone mole.
Our mission began now. Our job was to find the beach we would be assaulting and then a way through the town to the bridge over the canal. We found, to my surprise, that there was nothing to stop us getting down to the beach. As we dropped to the sand I quickly looked for signs of any mines. I saw twenty yards away barbed wire and to the right of it a darkened sign. I guessed that the minefield was there. I led us up the beach, keeping the wire to our right. The sand was soft and I did not think the tide reached this high.
I stopped for I had spied a tobruk. These were concrete foxholes the Germans used to protect machine guns and heavier pieces. Occasionally the Germans embedded the old turrets from tanks captured from the British and the French in the early days of the war. This one had a machine gun in it. It was unmanned at the moment. I saw a second thirty yards to its left separated by a concrete bunker. All of them were aligned towards the beach and not the river. I was about to move off when I saw the snout of a 50mm gun. They were surrounded by wire. I waved my men forward.
I almost fell into the anti tank ditch. It ran from the side of the mole into the distance. It was too dark to see how far. We clambered down and then climbed out. It was intended to stop tanks not infantry. Once we had passed the ditch we were in the town. I saw a huge building to our right. That, I already knew, was the command centre for the beach. It would be manned. I did not want to risk passing it in the middle of the night and I took us along the canal. Every building we saw was sandbagged. I spied a hotel with a German flag hanging from it. That would be a barracks for their troops. I headed for it. I did not run but walked as though I was heading back to our quarters. As luck would have it we saw no one.
I was feeling confident and would have walked past the command centre until Beaumont tugged on my sleeve and pointed to the glow of the cigarette. There was a sentry in the doorway. That route was barred. We ducked between the hotel and the Command centre. It took us down a residential street but the doors and windows were boarded up. The civilians had been moved out. We kept moving into the small town of Ouistreham. It was quiet. After a couple of hundred yards we passed a couple of cafes. They were closed but I stored their location for later. The roads had no concrete barriers. Tanks could move down them. Then I stopped for I saw a large empty square. I guessed it would be where the market was held. I waved left and we headed back towards the canal and river. I had found a route for the brigade. There were no obstacles once we had passed the ditch and command centre. We now had to get to the bridge over the canal.
When we turned left the wind abated for there were shops and houses to our right. It meant we could hear better and I heard the stamp of boots. It was a German patrol. I saw an alley leading behind some shops and we dived into it. There were dustbins and empty boxes. We sheltered behind them as the eight man patrol, led by a sergeant, marched past the end of our hiding place. Their heads were down as they tried to avoid the snow flecked rain. I gave them five minute and then we emerged, cautiously. We had seen one patrol and I doubted that we would see another any time soon. We made the canal and we halted. I could see derricks and bollards. There was the shape of a ship tied up too. I stopped. We would march down the road which ran along the canal as though we were a patrol.
I tugged Fletcher next to me and we began to march. As we turned down the road I saw a sailor on one of the boats. He was throwing something into the river. I did not wave. A German would not do that and when the man disappeared quickly I knew he had been doing something he shouldn't have. We marched down the road and passed more vessels. Most of them looked to be without a watch. The odd one which did have a watch just watched the German patrol heading along the canal road. The houses thinned out and we were marching down a tree lined road which began to move away from the side of the canal. I stopped. To our left was a well worn path. It stood out in the rain. I headed for it and found that it led to the canal and ran alongside it. This was a bonus. It had not shown up on the aerial photographs. Trees overhung it. We had our way to the bridge. We reached the canal. This was a deserted section. Half a mile later I saw the cafe which stood next to the canal and the bridge. It was a swing bridge. We stopped two hundred yards from it. I could see that it was heavily defended. We could have turned around and gone back to the canoes. However we had to wait now until the next night. I stopped. We needed some shelter from the rain and from observation.
It came to me that if they had boarded up the houses close to the beach they might be good places to hide. We had managed to do something similar in St. Nazaire. I whirled my hand above my head and began to retrace my steps. It was probably the safest route as the German patrol we had encountered probably had a circular route. They would be looking for French Resistance and, no doubt, Commandos. The rain and sleet showed no sign of letting up. Occasionally it became marginally lighter but then another squall would bring a heavier downpour. Our greatcoats were already soaked.
The open square was the most dangerous section but we walked up the side confidently as though we had every right to be there. It was, however, with some relief that we entered the street with the cafes and bars. When we entered the residential street I glanced at my watch. It was almost four. Although still some hours from dawn it was getting close to the time when the Germans would be up and about.
We stopped and, leaving Beaumont on watch, we entered the overgrown garden of one of the houses. The front door had a piece of wood hamme
red over the lock. Leaving the other two to search the front I went around the back. I saw that the rear garden was not overlooked. Garden trees had been allowed to grow unchecked. The French normally copsed them for firewood. Here there was an overgrown climbing rose on the side of the house. Whoever had nailed the wood across this door had not risked the rose thorns and there was the slightest of gaps behind the wood. I had a German knife. I took it out and slipped it between the wood and the lock. By levering back and forth the wood began to move away from the frame. As soon as I could get my hands in the gap I pulled it away.
Fletcher and Poulson appeared. I stepped away to allow Fletcher to gain entry. I pointed to the front and the Sergeant went for Beaumont. It did not take Fletcher long to force the lock but the door had been closed so long that it took almost as long for us to force it open without making too much noise. Poulson and Beaumont joined us as we entered the house. It smelled musty and dusty but it was dry. I waved Fletcher and Beaumont upstairs while the Sergeant and I checked down. The windows had their shutters closed and so the house was pitch black. We checked by touch. There was a cellar door. I did not investigate; who knew what obstacles lay in the dark. The kitchen had been cleared of all food. The Germans were efficient. We met the other two in the hall.
"All clear upstairs. There are beds but no bedding."
"And no food either."
"The tap still works. We have water."
"Good. We can refill our canteens before we leave. Sergeant, you have the first watch. Wake me in two hours."
"Right sir."
We were safe to talk in the house but we still used German. It was good practice and if anyone actually heard us they would not be alarmed. I went into the first bedroom I found. The bed was an old fashioned one with a metal frame which creaked when I sat on it. The mattress was old and lumpy. I took off my greatcoat and hung it on the frame at the bottom of the bed to allow it to dry. I also took off the German tunic. It too was damp. Putting my gun beside me I lay down and tried to sleep. We did not have enough information yet. We had seen much more of the town of Ouistreham, in the rain filled night, than I could have expected but there was more we needed to know. We would be landing in daylight. If we were to be Lord Lovat's pathfinders we needed to inspect the beach and that would not be easy. I finally fell asleep running through the different idea in my head.
Chapter 11
When Poulson shook me awake I had no idea how we would achieve our ends. As the Sergeant took my place on the bed he said, "All quiet sir. Still as black as."
I took my tunic and greatcoat along with my Luger and headed downstairs. A fire would have been good but that was impossible. My coat would not dry out completely. I went into the kitchen and put it on the table. I emptied my canteen and refilled it from the tap in the kitchen. After putting on my tunic and holster I wandered around the house. It was more to keep me occupied rather than from any need to investigate it. As I neared the front windows I realised that getting out of the house would be harder than getting in. If there were any Germans in the street then we would have some explaining to do.
Although there were shutters on the windows they were old and as a grey dawn broke they allowed a few thin shafts of light to penetrate the darkness. I had decided that I had had enough sleep and I allowed the others to get their rest. I explored the downstairs. I risked going outside. The garden was not overlooked. After donning my field cap I opened the back door as quietly as I could. The rain had actually stopped but the air still felt damp. The house might have been unheated but it was warmer than the outside. I regretted not putting on my greatcoat.
I saw that there was an outbuilding. I went over to it and rubbed away the cobwebs and dirt from the window. Inside was an ancient Citroen. When we had had holidays in France I had often seen them. Suddenly I heard footsteps and German voices outside the house. I froze. The gate creaked open and I heard footsteps. Were they coming to investigate the house? Had we been seen?
The footsteps stopped and I heard the hiss of the men urinating. One must have finished before the other for he said, "Hurry Karl or the sergeant will have our bollocks for this."
"When you need to pee you need to pee. I will be glad when we are back on day patrols. At least we can use the toilets in the bars!"
"Do not worry. It will soon be eight and then we can go off duty."
The footsteps receded out of the garden. I had taken enough chances and I returned to the house. I had been given an idea. The Germans obviously used the cafes. I had been worried that they might be off limits to German soldiers. We could use them now. I let the men sleep until eleven. I reasoned that the German shifts looked to be twelve until eight, eight until four and four until midnight. If we made our move at twelve noon there was a good chance that the Germans would be having a meal break. We could not stay in the house until night time. We still had much to do.
I shook them awake not long before noon. Fletcher looked at his watch, "Sir, you let us sleep."
"I needed to think. Come on we are going to move." When they were gathered in the kitchen I explained my plan. "Right now let's smarten ourselves up. Sadly it has stopped raining but our damp clothes might make it look as though we have been on duty and are ready for our meal break."
We fastened buttons and tightened belts. I made sure that their field caps were straight and then led them into the garden. Rather than sneaking we marched purposefully towards the gate and then opened it. To my relief there was no one around. We turned right and then we marched towards the beach and the defences. This time we would be able to walk past the command centre. As we emerged on to the road which ran along the beach I saw how impressive the defences were. They had looked good on the aerial photographs but, looking beyond them to the sea, I saw that it would be a bloodbath getting through them. Those in Sicily and Italy were like sandcastles compared with these.
We turned left to march down the road towards the end of the defences. There was a road which ran along the beach. Glancing to my right as I did so, I saw that the wire was like the maze at Hampton Court. An attacker would see it as an impenetrable barrier but I saw the Germans using paths hidden from the sea. In an ideal world we would investigate them. Poulson hissed and I looked ahead. A patrol of four Germans was coming the other way. It was led by a sergeant.
I began to talk to Poulson. "The letter from my wife has disturbed me."
The Sergeant caught on, "Really, sergeant, why?"
"I think there is something wrong with the house but she is not telling me." The German patrol was almost next to us. I nodded to the sergeant as we passed but kept on talking. "I know that the roof had a leak but I thought she had had it repaired."
Then we were passed them. I did not risk looking around. That would have been a mistake. When we reached the end of the section of wired off beach we stopped. There were two machine gun tobruks close by. They were forty yards from us. I saw the two crews were closed up and watching out to sea. I saw, close to the beach itself were a pair of seventy sixes.
I looked back towards the canal and the river. The German patrol had reached the Command Centre and were turning down the street. I saw a ship, it could have been the one we saw the previous night, as it sailed across the mouth of the estuary. I wondered what they were doing and then I saw a spout of water. They were dropping charges off their stern. I guessed they were making sure there were no frogmen or miniature submarines hiding beneath the sea. I was glad that 'Osiris' would be further out at sea and lying safely on the bottom in much deeper water.
I said, quietly. "We will walk down to the road and then along the front of the beach defences."
Poulson said, "Risky sir. What if we are stopped?"
"We march. If we are stopped I will think of something."
I had already seen that there was a road which led to the beach along the wire. The defences were concentrated around this end of the Riva Bella site. We would be marching the perimeter. Having seen the other patrol I guessed i
t would be normal for the Germans to be vigilant. As we passed the two machine gun tobruks one of the gunners shouted, "Are you off for a paddle, Sergeant!"
His mate thought that was funny. I turned and snapped, "Unless you want to spend the next week on night duty I would get back to watching for the English and Americans!"
"Sorry Sergeant!"
I turned to my men, "And you can all take that smile off your faces! March!" I quite enjoyed playing Brian Donleavy in Beau Geste.
We reached the end of the wire. I saw footprints leading around the perimeter of the wire. They looked to be German boots. I risked following them. Perhaps, by luck, we had ended up following the right path. We passed in front of the Russian 76mm guns and a personnel casemate. Behind it I could see mortar tobruks. I saw a larger one ahead and there were German soldiers there. They were without their tunics and hats. They looked to be cleaning it out. The Sergeant who commanded stood with his hands on his hips as we approached. Two of his men stopped cleaning and he snarled, "Get on with it! Just because the patrol is early is no reason for idling! Captain Schwarz will have my stripes if this is not spotless when he inspects." He turned to us. "Are you early or late?"
"Neither." I gestured with my thumb at my men. "These were getting a little lazy. I took it on myself to stretch their legs. It will do them no harm to wait for their lunch! They are getting fat here! It is all that cheese!"
The Sergeant laughed, "You are right there. Have you tried the 'White Horse'? They have beer which is almost drinkable. Better than the French muck they serve elsewhere."
"No, we only arrived yesterday! We have not found our feet yet."