1916 Angels over the Somme (British Ace Book 3) (25 page)

I saw the look of disbelief on Ted’s face. “The pilots and the buses will be wrecked!”

Archie’s tone was not conciliatory in the least. “The men in the trenches do not have the luxuries that we do Lieutenant Thomas. Don’t whinge to me about having to fly for eight hours a day.  Those poor sods on the ground could well be fighting for twenty four hours.”

Ted’s face tightened, “He is right Ted.  When the colonel and I visited the trenches it made me realise how well off we are.  We might be tired but we get to sleep in clean sheets and eat hot food every day.  And we don’t have Germans dropping shells on our heads and threatening to bury us alive in our own trenches.”

He nodded his agreement.  He would not admit he had been defeated but we all knew what we had to do.

When we were in position, high above the ground, Hutton signalled to the ground troops.  After a few moments the sheets could be clearly seen. Hutton flashed an acknowledgement and we turned to inspect the German positions. There were hurriedly dug trenches with some sandbags.  The rapid advances of the other day had meant they had not had time to consolidate their defences.

“Right sir.”

We turned and flew back to signal to our battery.  I could see, as Sergeant Hutton flashed out his instructions, that the rest of the flight were spread out in a line and doing the same as we were. Below us the Tommies were waiting behind their white sheets.

“All done sir.”

We turned to watch the fall of shells.  The four guns we were directing were straddling the German defences.  Even so they were causing damage. Sergeant Hutton said, “I reckon that will do sir.  Look.”

As I watched I saw a machine gun and crew blown into the air. A handful of Germans tried to run back and were hit by a shell which was long. The guns kept firing and soon there were no German defences; there were just the dead and the fled. Sergeant Hutton signalled the cease fire and then signalled the soldiers below us. The battalion rolled up their sheets and moved forward.  When they reached the dead Germans they laid out their sheets again.  We repeated this for forty minutes until I heard the drone of Rolls Royce engines and our relief arrived.

We waved cheerily to the Tommies below.  It looked to me as though it was working. It was slow going but it was progress.  The Germans were being forced back. However, as we headed west we heard the German 10cm K14 guns. They were firing blind but they were hitting the positions that their troops had occupied.  The infantry had suffered no casualties when they had advanced but, as they dug in they were. I hoped that Gordy and his flight would be able to direct our artillery to target these deadly German guns.

When Major Leach heard our news he was troubled. “We need those guns silencing.  You will need to take off straight away.  We can’t guarantee that the two relief flights will understand the ramifications of the shelling. I will fly with Lieutenant Sharp’s Flight and that way I can make more informed decisions.”

“Right sir.”

This time the food was waiting for us and I grabbed a handful of sandwiches and a mug of tea. I had half eaten my sandwich when the mechanic waved to tell me that we were refuelled.  I swallowed down the hot tea and threw the tin mug to the surprised mechanic.

As we began to climb Hutton grumbled, “We’ll get indigestion if we keep doing this!”

When we reached the front I was surprised to see that Gordy and his flight were not there. Hutton shouted, “There sir, to the south!”

I could see what looked like insects in the distance. It was Gordy and his flight.  They were engaging German aeroplanes. The Tommies below us were sheltering where ever they could.  Even as we watched I saw a handful begin to run back to their own lines.

“Sergeant Hutton, signal the guns we have a new target.”

“Yes sir, but we can’t see them yet.”

“We will do soon.”

I climbed higher and I could see, beyond the ridge, the ten guns which were causing all the damage. “Signal their position, sergeant.”

“You will have to get higher sir.  I can’t see our forward observation post.”

It took a frustratingly long time to reach a position where we could see both our observers and the guns but when we did so Sergeant Hutton wasted no time in sending out the coordinates. This time we needed to be accurate. It took three salvoes for our four guns to strike gold.  As soon as they were on target they pounded the 10cm guns into submission. Hutton signalled to the infantry first and they began to move forward once more. Once we saw that they were heading for the small ridge we signalled the artillery and they stopped firing.

“Keep your eye on Mr Hewitt, sergeant.”

Out of the corner of my eye I caught sight of a Gunbus approaching.  It was Major Leach.  His gunner began signalling. “Sergeant Hutton, we have a signal coming.”

The mirrors flashed between the two sergeants. “Sir, we are to go and help Lieutenant Hewitt.  The Major will stay here with A flight.”

“Acknowledge and we will pick up the others.”

The rest of the Flight had anticipated the move and we were soon in line astern and heading south.  I could see that there were just five Gunbuses.  Either one had returned home or was down.

There looked to be eight or nine Germans.  They were zipping around Gordy and his flight.  I could see that he was attempting to form a circle but one of his aeroplanes suddenly began to descend and I watched in horror as the smoke poured from the engine.  It seemed to scream as it headed towards earth and destruction. The debris thrown up and the explosion told me that no one would survive that impact. The sun was just behind us and we still had the height we had gained to observe the German artillery. I led my flight directly into the heart of the unsuspecting Germans.  With no rear gunner they were as vulnerable to an attack from the rear as we were.

I had time, as we sped towards them, to see that Gordy’s aeroplane had many holes in its wing and cockpit. We needed to strike quickly or it might be too late for the remaining four aeroplanes. Hutton opened fire first and he caught a Halberstadt just behind the propeller.  The aeroplane juddered and then began to slowly spiral towards the earth.  I took a snap shot at a black cross which zoomed in front of me.  The tracer showed that I had hit it but it continued to fire at Lieutenant Charlton. As it left my sights Hutton fired at it and he hit the tail.  He must have damaged the rudder for the aeroplane began to swing towards a Fokker which was heading for me. The two Germans hit each other and both aircraft tumbled from the sky.

My flight’s machine guns now beat a deadly tattoo. We brought twelve Lewis guns to the party and the Germans, having lost three aeroplanes and numerical advantage, fled the field. I waved to Gordy and was relieved when he waved back. We formed an umbrella in the skies above their heads as the four damaged aeroplanes limped westward.

When we landed Gordy looked gaunt.  “Thanks Bill.  We lost Hedges and Griffiths.” Our new pilot had lasted less than a week.  “It would have been worse if you had not arrived.”

We trudged up to the adjutant’s office. “What happened?”

“They jumped Griffiths. He was at the southern end of the line.  Charlton and Williams went to his aid and they were surrounded.  By the time we got there we were just trying to limit the damage. They were too slow to get in the circle.” He shrugged, “Not their fault and those nippy little Germans fighters were inside us. It could have been worse.”

As we entered the office I knew what he meant.  Had we not noticed them then they would have all been picked off one by one.

After we had given our reports Randolph said, “I know that you are both upset at losing pilots but it was a small price to pay.  We have held the Germans.  Today was a victory. We captured Guillemot. That was the object of the exercise.”

“It doesn’t feel that way to me, Randolph.”

“I know Gordy. I know.”

I flashed a cold stare at Randolph.  He was cocooned in his office and he did not have to brave the terrors of the front with young pilots barely out of school. We knew what they were going through Randolph did not.

We were lucky in that the next day was so wet and overcast that no flights were possible. It did little for morale, however as the young pilots brooded about their dead comrades.  Griffiths was new but Hedges had been here for some time and that disturbed the newcomers who regarded the old ones as invincible. Johnny Charlton had also been wounded which left Gordy with just a flight of three until he recovered.

The weather was not kind to us for the next few days.  It enabled Lieutenant Charlton to be returned to limited duty but it was felt unwise to send him over the enemy lines. When the next push started, less than a mile from the village of Guillemot, we were required again. The generals wanted us to spot for the artillery but Archie told them that the cloud cover made that impossible. He was on the telephone for half an hour and when he had finished he slammed the phone down so hard that Senior Flight Sergeant Lowery had to check that it had not been damaged. 

“Bloody fools.  I told them we can’t spot and so they want us to harass the German artillery.  We are flying this afternoon!”

We used Gordy as air cover and Archie flew with them.  They had to lurk in the thin cloud just above us. The overcast conditions meant that we were flying lower than we would have liked.  We were a big target at low altitude. We saw the Tommies charging towards the little village. They were running from shell hole to shell hole and the German artillery was making life very difficult for them. 

I led my flight to find the artillery; that would be our first priority; destroy or harass the gunners and allow the infantry to get into the village.  Charlie and Ted would have to deal with the village and the machine guns. As we flew over the village I saw that it was ringed by machine guns.  It would be a death trap to the advancing infantry.

We found the German guns a mile or so to the east.  They, too, were ringed by machine guns.  Lieutenants Giggs and Dunston dived in to drop their bombs. The rest of us flew parallel to them and machine gunned the defending machine guns. Peter had just pulled up when Rupert bought it. He seemed to be hit by a 10cm shell intended for the infantry.  It must have struck a bomb on the aeroplane for the whole Gunbus disintegrated.  As it fell the fuel tank must have struck some burning material for there was a second explosion which threw all of us into the air.

Peter had guts and he began to descend again to run the gauntlet of the guns and drop his last two bombs. “Hutton, use your grenades when we descend this time.”

There was grim determination in his voice when he said, “Yes sir, it will be a pleasure.” Rupert and his gunner had been a popular pair.

Lieutenant Harrington followed Freddie and Lieutenant Gerard followed me.  I was as low as I could without actually landing. I hoped that Gerard was as low. The German machine guns found it hard to depress and Hutton and I cleared the first three posts. When Hutton’s magazine ran out I saw him lob first one and then a second grenade at the artillery emplacements. I emptied my gun at the crew of a Kanone 14 artillery piece. The explosion of the last two bombs and the grenades went off one after another and, as we rose, I saw that half of the batteries had been destroyed and many of the crews of the rest had been killed or wounded.

As we headed back towards Ginchy I saw a British flare soar into the sky.  We had a foothold in the village.

Hutton flashed a message to our lines that our infantry had entered the village. There was no signal in reply. “Too far away sir, you’ll have to get closer.  It’s these poxy clouds! Sorry.”

“Not your fault.” I left the other flights to continue to machine gun the village and I headed west.

“Here will do sir.”

Hutton began to flash his message.  I saw the flash of a mirror in reply and after Hutton had signalled back he said, “They say thank you sir.”

I heard the drone of engines and saw the rest of the squadron heading west.  As I glanced at my fuel gauge I saw why.

The day had been one of the worst for some time.  We were three pilots down and the atmosphere in the mess was sombre.  Bates had tried to jolly me along when I had landed. He knew exactly what I was going through.  “You have to convince yourself, sir, that they felt nothing.  They will not have pain and they will not grow old.  We can remember them as they were. That is how I got through the slaughter in the early part of the war. I liked Lieutenant Giggs.  Did you know he was a fine pianist? After the war he hoped to continue his studies.”

I had been amazed that Bates knew that.  I didn’t.  I knew, too that he was trying to make me feel better but it made me feel worse.  Rupert had had a skill and a talent.  My only skill seemed to be in shooting down German aeroplanes and I had not done that since the end of August!

We were grounded again by the weather for the next few days.  We had been needed for the assault on Flers–Courcelette.
But even Wing recongised the dangers of flying in such awful conditions.  I would have preferred to be in the air rather than on the ground and brooding. Our replacements had not yet arrived but the thought of training the young men and then blood them too soon depressed all of the senior staff. We did have some interest in the battle however for it was the first time that the British Army used tanks.  They were described to us as battleships for the land. They were impervious to machine gun fire and were heavily armoured and armed.  Their drawback appeared to be their reliability and their speed. I, for one, thought it a good idea as it would prevent horses being used for the same task.