by Griff Hosker
“Well one thing is for sure, Major, unless we get some more ammunition then we will be forced to defend. It is one thing taking German weapons but we need a lot more than we can pick up here.”
I was awoken in the middle of the night. A runner said, “Sir, can you come to the command vehicle, the Colonel needs to see you.”
When I got there the Colonel was shaking his head. “It looks like a German column of tanks broke through our lines north of Stourmont. They are heading for the fuel dump there. If they reach it then we are in big trouble. They have also managed to stop the 82nd. You were right. The Airborne don’t have much heavy ordinance with them.”
Just then we heard the rumble of armour coming up the Malmedy road. We were all ready for action and we grabbed weapons. It was ridiculous, of course. My MP 34 could do nothing against a German tank. I soon recognised the distinctive noise of the Ford engine. They were Shermans. The three of them were from the 7th Armoured Division. They had with them four trucks filled with the survivors of the 106th Infantry Division. The Captain who led them said, “Colonel Cavender is hot on our tails, sir. He has the rest of the 422nd and 433rd with him and a couple of tanks from the 9th Armoured.”
“Where are the rest of your tanks?”
“They were sent north to the Elsenborn Ridge. If we had gone with them we would have been backed up all the way back to St. Vith.”
“Don’t apologise captain. Your armour is more than welcome. Point your tanks in that direction.” He gestured towards the crossroads.
It was then that the Captain saw the King Tiger. He shook his head, “I thought we had seen the last of those beasts at St. Vith. How did a tank destroy this one?”
The Colonel shook his head, “It didn’t. It was the Major here with petrol bombs.”
The captain saluted me, “Thank you sir. I lost half of my troop to those. Not a man got out alive!”
I looked at the Colonel who nodded. He now appreciated the problem we faced.
Situation 20th December 1944
Chapter 9
“We try to take them now while we have them rattled. They won’t like being driven out of here. They don’t know that we have armour nor that we have been reinforced. We send the three Shermans in first. The rest of us will attack on a wide front. It worked for Major Harsker yesterday. The other tanks are still strung out on the road along with the rest of Colonel Cavender’s men. They can be our reinforcements.”
The captain looked worried, “Sir, what if they have Tigers or Panthers?”
“We have seen no sign of them since we destroyed this one. The last we heard they were racing up the road to the fuel dump.”
As the next most senior officer I felt obliged to support the captain. “Sir, the captain has a point. What if they have Panzerfausts too? At least send a halftrack or infantry in front of them.”
“This is where I miss my armoured cars. They could have nipped in and out before the Krauts knew we were here.” He nodded, “I hate to ask Tom but…”
“Of course sir.”
Captain Stewart asked, “Sir, a British officer leading Americans?”
“Trust me Captain, the Major here has a nose for trouble.”
This time it was Corporal Cooper who drove. Sergeant Major O’Rourke was overruled. The Colonel needed him to organize the follow up. Two of the Corporal’s men were on the gun and we had two privates who had volunteered. I turned to Captain Stewart, “Keep your tanks a good hundred yards behind us. They won’t waste a rocket on us. If we see a tank you will be the first to know.”
“Why sir?”
“Because you will see them blow us up!” I clambered on board. “Ready when you are Corporal. Still got the pistol for your son?”
“Yes sir.”
“Then let’s be careful so that you can deliver it to him.”
I had the Mauser ready. The range for the MP 34 was too great. I saw that the Germans were hidden. They had no barricade erected. Nor was there any snow on the road. That was a worry for it could be mined. I took out my glasses and scanned the enemy positions. I saw machine guns but no tanks. Corporal Cooper was taking it as slowly as he could. Any slower and we would be stationery. I glanced behind me. The Shermans were doing as I had asked. As soon as the Germans saw the tanks then they would fire but one halftrack did not constitute a real threat.
Suddenly I heard the crack of a rifle and Pfc Muldoon fell with a third eye. There was a sniper.
“Take cover! Corporal Cooper, a little faster.” I looked for an elevated position. There was one but it was on a slight rise some mile away. This was a good sniper. I had no chance of hitting him. We were four hundred yards from the enemy lines. “Right lads, open fire. Let’s see if we can draw their sting.”
It was not the smartest decision I ever made. All hell broke loose. They had more guns than we had expected. The S.S. had enfiladed the road. They used the natural cover and the snow to hide their numbers. The two gunners on the .50 Calibre managed to clear one part of the defences but they were cut down. I heard Corporal Cooper cry out as he was hit.
“Use grenades! Cooper, get us out of here!” I hurled a German grenade high in the air. Hewitt and Barker did the same. We sheltered behind the metal of the halftrack. Bullets and shrapnel rattled into it as we swung around in the road. All the time we were taking hits. The three Shermans opened fire with their main gun and their machine guns. The fire on the halftrack lessened and we drove past the tanks. Colonel Devine had his men in a long skirmish line behind the tanks. They would be cut down if they advanced.
Suddenly, behind us I heard the double whoosh of two rockets being fired and a Sherman erupted in a fireball. They had anti-tank weapons. The two Shermans fired two smoke bombs and began to fall back. The Colonel realised that we had lost the initiative and he halted the advance. As we passed him I heard him shout, “Dig in! This is our new front line!”
When we reached the square Hewitt raced to the wounded Corporal. It was his leg which had been hit. I hoped that the Americans had a doctor. Hewitt fastened a tourniquet while I checked the others. They were all dead. There were just four of us left alive. The volunteers had all paid the ultimate price. The halftrack looked like a sieve. The front tyre had been shredded. How the Corporal had got it back I would never know.
Sergeant Barker shouted, “Medic!” as only a British sergeant can.
I waited until the Corporal had been taken away before I went back towards the Colonel. Our new front line was less than two hundred yards from the Germans. We were lucky that there were damaged buildings to provide us with shelter. The road was clear and the two remaining tanks stopped well short of the crossroads. They could control any vehicles which attempted to use the road but they would not risk the rockets.
Captain Stewart climbed out of the turret as Colonel Devine approached. “That was a disaster and no mistake.”
“Colonel, have your men watch out. They have a sniper. He is more than a mile away but he is good. He hit one of your men in the halftrack.”
Colonel Devine nodded, “Colonel Cavender is on the way. Perhaps when we have more men we can try something. For the present, we will just hold. Major Harsker, I would appreciate it if you would take command at the bridge. In our present position things are more than a little dangerous.”
“Sir.”
As we hurried down the road we heard the exchange of gunfire. Neither side was wasting ammunition. The shots were fired at clear targets. The two tanks began to fire too. What worried me was the response the Germans might make. They could not afford to leave us here. We stopped reinforcements and we, effectively, cut them off. I saw the other tanks heading up the road from Malmedy. Our two Shermans would not be isolated. I hoped that the two regiments coming to join us had anti-tank weapons.
I felt guilty to be leaving the fighting but I knew that the Colonel was right. There was just a sergeant in command at the bridge. With just twenty men guarding it the Germans could walk right in. He hadn’t said
so but I knew that the Colonel wanted me to make it a tougher nut to crack. As we walked down I said, “How is Cooper, John?”
“It missed the bone but it was a big bullet. I think his war is over.”
“Then that is a good thing. So long as he can walk and they can get him out he can go home to his son. He will have a purple heart and, hopefully, the Colonel will put him in for another medal. He deserves it.”
The sergeant at the bridge had not been idle. They had rolled some empty barrels and placed them at the far end of the bridge. I waved him over. “Sergeant.”
He saluted, “Sergeant Bud Henry, sir. 18th Cavalry.”
“The Colonel has put me in charge here.”
“Good, sir. My guys are good but we prefer a vehicle under us.”
I laughed, “Don’t we all. What is in the barrels?”
“We chipped ice from the river and packed it with snow. When it melts and settles we can add more. It makes for a good road block. We can roll them out of the way if our tanks come along but they will be a little bit of an obstacle for the Krauts.”
“Smart thinking. Have we any explosives?”
“No sir.”
A sudden thought struck me. “Sergeant, have your men find any jerricans they can. Go back to where we lost the Shermans the other day. See if there is any petrol left in them. Syphon it off. We can use that.”
“Right sir.”
While Sergeant Henry found his men I said, “Barker, Hewitt, see if there are any grenades or rockets around. We can manufacture something with them.” While they were busy I loaded all of my guns. I had a feeling I would soon need them.
I heard sporadic gunfire from the crossroads. The Shermans were conserving their ammunition. They were using their HE and keeping their AP for when the inevitable Panzers arrived. While I was waiting for my men to return I crossed the bridge. There was a Corporal and a Pfc guarding it. They saluted.
“Any sign of movement down the road?”
“Hard to tell sir. The trees, the snow and the bend in the road make it difficult to see too far.” He chuckled, “We don’t have snow in Georgia.”
“Where abouts in Georgia do you live, Corporal?”
“Corporal Powers, sir I live in Atlanta. You know, ‘Gone With the Wind’?” I frowned. “The movie, sir, Clark Gable and Vivien Leigh. It was in colour.”
“Well, Corporal, we can be grateful for the snow. It is holding up the enemy. I am just going to have a recce by the trees.”
“Do you want Wilbur to come with you?”
“No, Corporal, I will be fine.”
I had my MP 34 with me. I still had a couple of magazines for it. I also had some German grenades and the last of my parachute cord. The road was slippery. There had been a partial thaw and now that it was colder the top had frozen. It would not be an obstacle for a tank but it would make it hard for a soldier to creep up. There were some big trees. If we couldn’t blow the bridge then it might be possible to chop down two of the trees and make a barricade. I walked down the road until I had turned the bend. I used my glasses to look down the road. I could see nothing. Glancing at my watch I saw that there would be about three hours of daylight before it became gloomy and then dark. That left me three hours to begin to make the bridge defensible.
I noticed that, where I had viewed the road, there was a slight slope and any tank would struggle to climb its slippery surface. There would be an increase in the engine noise. That would warn us of tanks. What about men? “They would not walk up the road. They would come through the woods. German Panzer Grenadiers keep close to the sides of their tanks. I found two trees which were really close to the road. I made sure that the snow was untouched and, kneeling on the icy road, I made a booby trap. I reached up and shook a branch so that snow fell on the cord, disguising it. I did the same on the other side. If the Americans arrived first they would come in lorries and keep to the road. However, if they tripped my traps, then, sadly that would be a hazard of war.
I walked back.
“We thought you got lost, sir.”
I smiled at the nervous looks on the two soldiers’ faces. “All safe and sound Corporal. I was just putting a couple of booby traps for any German infantry who try to sneak up on us. How long until your relief?”
“Another two hours sir.”
“I’ll be back before then.”
By the time I reached the other end Sergeant Henry and Sergeant Barker had returned. “We found a dozen rockets sir.”
“My guys managed to get three jerricans of gas sir.”
“Good then we can use them. I need a couple of axes too.”
“Axes sir?”
“Yes Sergeant Barker. I want to half cut the two trees closest to the bridge. If Jerry comes then we can chop them down and it will stop the Germans charging up the road.”
“They’ll be able to move them though, sir.”
“You are right Sergeant Henry and while they are doing so we shoot them! This is how we are going to use the rockets. I want half taking apart. Do it carefully. Inside there will be black powder for the propellant charge and then almost two pounds of T.N.T and hexogen. We will use those if we have to blow the bridge.”
“What about the other six sir?”
I picked up a rocket. “This weighs about six and half pounds. The Byzantines had an arrow with a lead weight on it. When they threw it high it always landed tip down. Now this is too big to use that method but if we tie a piece of parachute cord to the end and whirl it around our heads then when we throw it the warhead should land detonator down.”
Sergeant Henry looked at me with a look of disbelief.
“When we have stripped one we will do an experiment. We should have time.”
I could see that I had them all intrigued. To be truthful I had no idea if it would work but we had little choice. We had no detonators and so the T.N.T. and hexogen would have to be ignited by firing a bullet into them. That was never an easy task. Pfc Mason found a couple of axes and we put an edge on to them.
“I want you to start to cut down the two trees. Don’t go all the way through. We might still have our own tanks coming across the bridge. If we have to we can use a grenade to bring them down.”
“Yes sir. It will keep me good and warm!”
Soon I heard the sound of axes biting into the trees. Sergeant Henry brought me the first empty rocket casing. I immediately saw a problem. It was two pounds lighter. I unscrewed the bottom and scraped some soil into it. It felt a little heavier. I tied a short length of parachute cord around the end.
“What now sir?”
“We wait until your chaps have finished doing their lumberjack impression and then we will try it out. I have no idea how far it will go or how accurate it will be. If this doesn’t work then we will tie the barrels of water and ice together and fix these in between.”
When the two men came back with their axes we walked down to the end of the bridge. When Corporal Powers heard what we had he said, “Sir, do you mind if I have a go? I was an athlete and used to do the field events. This is like throwing the hammer.”
“Be my guest Corporal. Accuracy is more important than length!”
He took a wide stance and whirled it around his head. When he released it, the projectile travelled fifty yards and landed just three feet from the trees. They were all cheering and clapping as soon as it landed.
I nodded. “That works. The only problem will be Jerry firing at you while you are doing it.” Their balloon was punctured and I felt guilty but we had a weapon. It was not perfect but it was better than nothing.
As night fell the noise of firing diminished. I knew that the Colonel would be vigilant and protect his five tanks. The extra infantry meant he could keep a better watch. I left Sergeant Henry organize the rota for duties. He was going to put a brazier for the sentries at the end of the bridge. I persuaded him not to. “It will ruin their night vision and make them a target for any Germans who are out there. Have the fire here and
surrounded by not only the men but also their equipment.”
“But the guys sir! They will freeze their…..”
“Have them do a duty for no more than an hour. Two men at the far end of the bridge and two at this end. We have twenty two men. That is eleven hours of cover. That way they will be alert and they can get warm back here.”
“Sir, twenty two men means you and your guys.”
“We are in this too. Don’t worry, we have done a duty before. We can be trusted.”
“I didn’t mean that, sir.”
“Don’t worry, sergeant, we will be fine. Wake Hewitt and me at 0300. I rise early anyway. Sergeant Barker is a good non-com. Put him with someone you are worried about.”
We sat close to the fire. It was a freezing night. The men in the section complained but I was happy and smiled. “Sir, it is as cold as a witch’s tit and you are smiling, why?”
“Because we have a fire and you can bet your bottom dollar that, out there, there will be Germans who have no fire. Their tanks will either have to keep their engines going and burn valuable fuel or they will risk their engines seizing up in the cold. The ice and the snow are our friends. We have food and they, in all probability, will have none. Look on the positive side.”
“Sir, I come from Florida! We never see snow.”
Gordy sniffed, “Then this must be a delight for you, son, why are you complaining?”
Corporal Powers had finished his duty, “Sir, Sergeant Major O’Rourke said that you guys get shot if the Germans capture you.” I nodded. “And you still go out and risk capture?”
“I have been captured, Corporal. It was in North Africa and they had the firing squad ready.”
“You escaped?”
“Of course. They should have shot us straight away. Commandos are like the Vikings of old. If you fight us then make sure you kill us or we will kill you.”
He looked at John Hewitt, “You too?”