Sword Beach (Combined Operations Book 6)

by Griff Hosker

Oik- worthless person (slang)

  Oppo/oppos- pals/comrades (slang)

  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

  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

  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

  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 523 was the one which took in the French Commandos on D-Day. He was proud that his ships 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 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 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. 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 twenty12. 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 three hundred,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!

  The details about the Commando equipment are also accurate. They were issued with American weapons although some did use the Lee Enfield. When large numbers attacked the Lofoten Islands they used regular army issue. The Commandos appeared in dribs and drabs but 1940 was the year when they began their training. It was Lord Lovat who gave them a home in Scotland but that was not until 1941. I wanted my hero, Tom, to begin to fight early. His adventures will continue throughout the war.

  The raid on German Headquarters is based on an attempt by Number 3 Commando to kill General Erwin Rommel. In a real life version of 'The Eagle Has Landed' they almost succeeded. They went in by lorry. They failed in their mission. Commandos were used extensively in the early desert war but, sadly, many of them perished in Greece and Cyprus and Crete. Of 800 sent to Crete only two hundred returned to Egypt. Churchill also compounded his mistake of supporting Greece by sending all three hundred British tanks to the Western Desert and the Balkans. The map shows the area where Tom and the others fled. The Green Howards were not in that part of the desert at that time. The Germans did begin to
reinforce their allies at the start of 1941.

  Motor launch Courtesy of Wikipedia

  Motor Gun Boat Courtesy of Wikipedia

  E-boat

  Short Sunderland

  Messerschmitt 1tens over France

  Aeroplane photographs courtesy of Wikipedia

  Fieseler Fi 156 Storch

  Photographs courtesy of Wikipedia

  The Dieppe raid was deemed, at the time, to be a fiasco. Many of the new Churchill tanks were lost and out of the six hundred men who were used on the raid only 278 returned to England. 3,367 Canadians were killed. wounded or captured. On the face of it the words disaster and fiasco were rightly used. However the losses at Dieppe meant that the planners for D-Day changed their approach. Instead of capturing a port, which would be too costly they would build their own port. Mulberry was born out of the blood of the Canadians. In the long run it saved thousands of lives. Three of the beaches on D-Day were assaulted with a fraction of the casualties from Dieppe. The Canadians made a sacrifice but it was not in vain.

  S-160 Courtesy of Wikipedia

  The E-boats were far superior to the early MTBs and Motor Launches. It was not until the Fairmile boats were developed that the tide swung in the favour of the Royal Navy. Some MTBs were fitted with depth charges. Bill's improvisation is the sort of thing Combined Operations did. It could have ended in disaster but in this case it did not. There were stories of captured E-boats being used by covert forces in World War II. I took the inspiration from S-160 which was used to land agents in the Low Countries and, after the war, was used against the Soviet Bloc. They were very fast, powerful and sturdy ships.

  Sherman Tank- courtesy of Wikipedia

  The first Sherman Tanks to be used in combat were in North Africa. three hundred M4A1 and M4A2 tanks arrived in Egypt in September 1942. The war was not going well in the desert at that point and Rommel was on the point of breaking through to Suez. The battle of El Alamein did not take place until the end of October.

  The Hitler order

  Top Secret

  Fuhrer H.Q. 18. 10 1942

  1. For a long time now our opponents have been employing in their conduct of the war, methods which contravene the International Convention of Geneva. The members of the so-called Commandos behave in a particularly brutal and underhanded manner; and it has been established that those units recruit criminals not only from their own country but even former convicts set free in enemy territories. From captured orders it emerges that they are instructed not only to tie up prisoners, but also to kill out-of-hand unarmed captives who they think might prove an encumbrance to them, or hinder them in successfully carrying out their aims. Orders have indeed been found in which the killing of prisoners has positively been demanded of them.

  2. In this connection it has already been notified in an Appendix to Army Orders of 7.10.1942. that in future, Germany will adopt the same methods against these Sabotage units of the British and their Allies; i.e. that, whenever they appear, they shall be ruthlessly destroyed by the German troops.

  3. I order, therefore:— From now on all men operating against German troops in so-called Commando raids in Europe or in Africa, are to be annihilated to the last man. This is to be carried out whether they be soldiers in uniform, or saboteurs, with or without arms; and whether fighting or seeking to escape; and it is equally immaterial whether they come into action from Ships and Aircraft, or whether they land by parachute. Even if these individuals on discovery make obvious their intention of giving themselves up as prisoners, no pardon is on any account to be given. On this matter a report is to be made on each case to Headquarters for the information of Higher Command.

  4. Should individual members of these Commandos, such as agents, saboteurs etc., fall into the hands of the Armed Forces through any means – as, for example, through the Police in one of the Occupied Territories – they are to be instantly handed over to the SD

  To hold them in military custody – for example in P.O.W. Camps, etc., – even if only as a temporary measure, is strictly forbidden.

  5. This order does not apply to the treatment of those enemy soldiers who are taken prisoner or give themselves up in open battle, in the course of normal operations, large scale attacks; or in major assault landings or airborne operations. Neither does it apply to those who fall into our hands after a sea fight, nor to those enemy soldiers who, after air battle, seek to save their lives by parachute.

  6. I will hold all Commanders and Officers responsible under Military Law for any omission to carry out this order, whether by failure in their duty to instruct their units accordingly, or if they themselves act contrary to it.

  The order was accompanied by this letter from Field Marshal Jodl

  The enclosed Order from the Fuhrer is forwarded in connection with destruction of enemy Terror and Sabotage-troops.

  This order is intended for Commanders only and is in no circumstances to fall into Enemy hands.

  Further distribution by receiving Headquarters is to be most strictly limited.

  The Headquarters mentioned in the Distribution list are responsible that all parts of the Order, or extracts taken from it, which are issued are again withdrawn and, together with this copy, destroyed.

  Chief of Staff of the Army

  Jodl

  FW 190 Courtesy of Wikipedia

  The FW 190 had two 13mm machine guns with 475 rounds per gun. It also had two twenty mm cannon with 250 rounds per gun. It could carry up to five hundred kg bombs. It usually had just one bomb in the centre of the aeroplane

  Ju 88 courtesy of Wikipedia

  Faith, Hope and Charity were the nicknames given to the three Gloster Sea Gladiators which, for a time, were Malta's only air defence. These ancient biplanes did sterling work In actual fact there were more than three but it suited the propaganda of the time. To ascribe the success against the Italian bombers to just three aeroplanes. They were based at the Sea Air Arm base, H.M.S. Falcon.

  The Royal Navy rum ration was 54.6% proof. It was an eighth of a pint. Senior ratings (Petty Officers and above) received their rum neat while junior ratings had it diluted two to one. 'Up Spirits' was normally between 11 and 12 each day.

  Bristol Beaufighter- courtesy of Wikipedia

  Mitchell Marauder B-26 courtesy of Wikipedia

  Douglas C-47 Courtesy of Wikipedia

  The Rangers under Colonel Darby were at Amalfi. The rocket launcher known as the bazooka was first used in North Africa. Italy was the first time it had a widespread use. It was limited to the Americans only at first but later was used by the Russians and the British. The Germans captured some and used them to make their own version, the Panzershreck.

  M1A1 Rocket Launcher Courtesy of Wikipedia and the Smithsonian

  PIAT courtesy of Wikipedia and Canadian War Museum

  The Commando attack at Vietri Sul Mare went according to plan and the only losses they suffered were when they attacked Salerno itself. Nine Commandos were killed and thirty seven wounded. The Commandos were opposed by the 16th Panzer Reconnaissance Battalion which they defeated before capturing Salerno. It was an impressive feat for a brigade of Commandos. Following this and Lord Mountbatten's departure for the Far East Major General 'Lucky' Laycock was appointed commander of Combined Operations. It was a position he occupied until the end of the war.

  The Noel Coward play of 1936 was eventually made into the wartime film of 1945- Brief Encounter. 'Beau Geste' was a popular film made in 1939. Brian Donleavy plays a particularly sadistic sergeant in the French Foreign legion. The film was very popular amongst servicemen.

  Operation Bodyguard and Operation Neptune were the code names used in 1943 and 1944 although Operation Overlord was the umbrella name for the planned invasion of Europe.

  No.4 Commando landing at Sword Beach Ouistreham Bill Millins is the large figure and Lord Lovat can be seen in the water by his left arm

  Courtesy of Wikipedia (Imperial War Museum)

  LC(I)523 leaving Southampton t
aken (I think) from LC(I)527 the Flotilla leader.

  From my Dad's Collection

  Sword Beach landings

  Courtesy of Wikipedia (Imperial War Museum)

  The term tobruk was the name given by the allies to the concrete emplacements. They were first encountered in North Africa, hence the name. Frequently the Germans would use the turrets from captured tanks.

  Operation Tiger was the name given to the practice attacks on the south coast. German E-boats did attack the convoy and almost a thousand Americans lost their lives. There were problems with signals as well as with training on life vests. Many Americans died because of incorrectly fitted jackets.

  DD Tank with skirts raised

  Courtesy of Wikipedia (Imperial War Museum)

  HMS Osiris

  Courtesy of Wikipedia (Imperial War Museum)

  June 7th -12thBattle of Bréville

  Courtesy of Wikipedia

  Panzer Mark IV as used by the 21st Panzer Division

  Courtesy of Wikipedia

  The Battle of Bréville was called one of the major battles of World War II. The Commandos and the Airborne Division had to fight off two infantry divisions and the 21st Panzer Division. The 21st had been part of the Afrika Korps. As such they were veterans. Until the 6 pounder anti tank guns were dropped by parachute on the 90th of June they had to fight them off with PIATs and grenades. The counter attack of Bréville did take place. It was stormed and then the Commandos were withdrawn back to the ridge. Theirs was a holding action until the main attack could break out of Caen. The battle was won on June 12th. Had they not held then I wonder of the main attack might have been halted.