Raider

Raider

Book 2 in the

Combined Operations Series

By

Griff Hosker

Published by Sword Books Ltd 2015

Copyright © Griff Hosker First Edition

Smashwords Edition

The author has asserted their moral right under the Copyright, Designs, and Patents Act, 1988, to be identified as the author of this work.

All Rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, copied, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without the prior written consent of the copyright holder, nor be otherwise circulated in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser.

A CIP catalogue record for this title is available from the British Library.

Cover by Design for Writers

Dedicated to my little sister, Barb, and in memory of my dad who served in Combine Operations from 1941-1945

Chapter 1

If we thought that when we returned from our raid in northern France that we would be afforded a leave then we were sadly mistaken. We were moved instead, to join the rest of Number 4 Commando at Weymouth. I suspect part of the reasoning behind the move was the problems caused by the Luftwaffe who had spread their bombing raids to the whole of the south east. Harwich was not safe any longer. We could not get out of the harbour as easily as we had.

We travelled by lorries to our new homes. It was a shame to be leaving the old one for we had learned many important skills there. Daddy shook his head when I complained about leaving our old home. The way I see it, Tom, moving us around will help to improve our ability to fight. We have to learn to adapt to each new place. Besides the Germans guns, the bombers and even the ships shelling the land were causing more casualties than we could afford. And this new base, at Weymouth, will be dead handy for the Channel.

Sergeant Major Dean felt he owed Sergeant Daddy Grant and me a favour for the work we had done with the new section. It was now the best in the whole troop. He found four boarding houses close by each other along the sea front. There was little business for them and they were more than happy to accommodate the non commissioned officers. It saved us a job. We were all close together and the landladies were delighted to have an income and be part of the war effort. Far from demoralising the British people the German raids had created community spirit in a way the Germans could never have predicted.

Gordy Baker grumbled, Except we'll have longer at sea when we do cross the Channel. More chance for Jerry to jump us and more chance for us to be seasick.

Norm Ford said, A right moaning Minnie you are!

The bickering and bantering was a good sign. It showed that they were happy. Silence was always a worry. Luckily they were rarely that.

What do you think about the RAF, Corp?

What do you mean, Polly?

Polly Poulson was a bit of a worrier and, I suspect, a thinker.Well your old man is RAF brass isn't he? Will they beat the Krauts? If we can't beat the Luftwaffe then they can just come over. They have these new paratroopers don't they? They could land by air. Wouldn't even need to come by sea.

They all knew that my dad was a war hero and a Wing Commander. They didn't know that he was in the Middle East and knew as much about the battle over London as we did. I am not certain what my dad would think. But I do know this; I grew up on RAF bases. We have the best fighter in the world in the Spitfire. Our pilots are the best and we are hitting them for six when they come over.

Aye but they have started knocking London about a bit haven't they?

They did that in the Great War too. The Germans were the ones who invented bombing civilian targets. My mum was in London in the war and she told me about it. It doesn't mean they will win.

Daddy threw his dog end out of the back of the lorry, Corporal Harsker is right but I reckon the bombing is going to get worse before it gets better. That is why our little jaunt across the Channel was so important. We were hitting back at old Adolph and he won't like that believe me. This isn't over yet. We British are tough and it takes more than an Austrian house painter to beat us. You just do your job, Poulson, and everything will turn out fine.

I knew why Polly was worried. His family lived just north of London. The German bombers were a little indiscriminate in their targets and were causing widespread civilian damage. Some dropped their bombs early and some late. Daylight bombing guaranteed success. The Spitfires and Hurricanes had caused the Germans to change to night time raids. To many of the lads it seemed despicable and underhand that the Germans were hitting their families. That was not right. Most had joined up to fight and would be happy to take on any number of Germans. The ones who had volunteered for the Commandos were even more determined to fight back than most.

After we had found our digs and checked out our new operational base Daddy and I found a pub to have a quiet pint. We had not had a chance to talk about our new squad since we had returned from the raid. For both of us it had been our first experience at leading men under fire. Dad had always said that being a leader was easy; perhaps that was just him. Ted and Gordy, his comrades, said that he made it look easy. I was not so sure. Too many things could go wrong. When did you trust the lads to do jobs on their own without checking? My sudden promotion had caught me unawares.

As we sipped the indifferent beer Daddy said, I think we have been lucky with our lads. They didn't panic under fire. I think that we should count our blessings. If we had handpicked them we couldn't have a better team.

I nodded, The trouble is that we have made two raids and in both of them we encountered totally different problems. How do we prepare the lads for the unexpected?

"The Corps has done that, Tom, giving us seemingly impossible tasks, like getting from Oswestry to Poole without money. Having to find our own digs, find our own food. You were in the regulars like I was. We were told when to eat and when to do spud bashing. Our lads have to think for themselves. It breeds the right spirit.

I'll tell you what will make a difference; if they could speak a little of the local lingo. I mean it stands to reason that we will be operating where they don't speak English.

Then teach 'em. You speak French and a bit of German.

I'm no teacher.

No you are a corporal in the Commandos. You would be able to show them how to strip a Colt wouldn't you?

Yes but…

Then it is the same with French. Teach them what you know. I wouldn't mind learning a few words too. Consider it part of our training regime eh?

Well if you think it will do any good.

He grinned and downed the beer, I reckon we are going to be behind enemy lines more than we are at home! It will help. Believe me.