Rizla and his (French) brother!

As the night closed in I received a communication from S/Sgt. Vic Wright via my handie-talkie. Adverse weather had prevented any further troop movements south; re-enforcements were unlikely to reach us that night. Disheartened, I gave the men the news, we would have to make the best of the situation with the personnel we had, it was beyond our control.  There was a chance that a renewed attempt to reach the front would be made in the morning. The men took the news well, and having not seen or heard any enemy activity, we armed ourselves instead with some local wine and ale, settling in for the night to raise our spirits.

It was a long and wet night, the weather closed in and the fraternization with the two refugees continued long into the early hours. Several times I was awoken from my light sleep with the roaring sound of what I first thought was armoured vehicles passing by our tent, only to find that PFC Woods and Private Rizla were snoring in chorus!

I awoke in the morning and saw that the adverse weather front had really closed in, it was virtually raining all the time, the road outside our CP had been become a river of mud, churned up by heavy vehicle and troop movement, it was ankle deep in places and was getting worse.
I received some further communication from S/Sgt. Wright- the weather situation further north had not improved, Corporal Berry had returned to the rear echelon to engage in a Special Mission and restock on some supplies.

The journey had taken about 8 hours or so. With talk of columns of armour and vehicles literally cut-off on the autobahns leading to the front I was told that not to expect any further replacements – I was the senior NCO and I would have to take the lead from here.

The men were obviously suffering from the fatigue of war, and the effects of over-fraternization during the night. Corporal Sam Tyler looked extremely ill and was not in his usual good spirits, having given him the news that we would not be getting any further replacements I could see that he was
disheartened. After consulting with him we decided that some planned rifle drill would not lift the men spirits and whilst the adverse weather continued the men should make the most to get some sleep, and stay dry and warm.
 
Whilst in camp. Private Rizla met his brother, Ralph Rizla,  a Cop in the NYPD. I had no idea what he was doing at the front line, apparently it was to do with some work he had been assigned by some good-fellows he knew back in New York. I left things at that - I had no intention of knowing what wasn't good for me. Some of the men had located a field kitchen from one of the black marketers , S/Sgt. Wright had requested that we requisition the equipment as a matter of urgency and to take what means I could to get it. I contacted my driver who made their way to the front, they gave me 130 Reich marks and reported to me that it had taken two hours in a column of traffic about ¼ mile long to reach us. My driver was not best pleased and asked if they could return to a buddy of theirs who was bivouacked at an AID station about ten miles from the front line. I didn't refuse their request- I had asked enough already and had not wish to chance my luck any further. They returned to the Aid station and I made my way back to the 28th.
It was about Mid-day at this time and the weather, as promised, improved. Blue sky managed to break through which raised the men's spirits.

Pfc Woods - first in line for some of Pvt Rizla's odd food!

I took this chance to restock up on some supplies and head to the local town where there were plenty of stores with black marketers offering a variety of military equipment. I picked up a few badly needed items and liaised with a local entrepreneur supplying Jeeps. He claimed to have at least 20 at any time, so I took his details for use at a future date.

On my return to the 28th I decided that we should take a patrol of the front, it was important to show the refugees and other units that the 28th were here and would not be deterred from doing our bit for the war effort. Private Barrell asked if he could be excused as he was suffering from a recent injury and the bad weather had not helped. Private Rizla asked if he could stay behind to prepare a meal with the field kitchen.
 
Private Rizla set about the task of cooking food using the field kitchen, the idea being to eat before we went on patrol. We lined up and were served, I can't really say that the meal was hearty, more like empty, but I knew that his brother was “connected”, so when Rizla poured out nothing into my mess kit and said, “Enjoy”, smirking, I left it at that, I had no intention of pointing out that my mess kit and the field kitchen were completely devoid of food, neither did any of the other guys. I guess we didn't want to end up wearing a pair of concrete slippers at the bottom of Manhattan harbor or end up propping up a free way somewhere.

We then started our patrol, whilst Private Rizla did the “washing up”- I didn't argue. It was a slow slog through the mud that once was a road, and it was hard to negotiate through the hoards of refugees, armour and military personnel who we seemed to be heading our way. Very little enemy activity was encountered, I guess the German troops had little thirst for combat, there were rumors that the war would be over in a day or so. Nobody wanted to take any risks and fraternization between allied and axis troops could be seen as we patrolled the area. 

Cpl Harris & Pfc Woods - back from the front.

PFC Woods encountered a small unit of German Panzer Grenadiers who were having difficulty with some equipment. He offered technical advice and help which they gladly accepted. The problem solved we continued our patrol and returned to base.

On arrival, the two refugees had returned to our camp and continued with their fraternization. Captain Dale Davidson made a request that they leave as it was not good for the men's morale. They left the area, told they could return when there was less chance of action at 1800s that same day.

Private Barrell had also left the CP, returning to the AID station at the rear as he did not feel well. If things improved he would return to the front the next day.

The afternoon progressed we helped the Rangers set up some more protection from the weather and then prepared for the night. The two female refugees re-appeared and the fraternization continued.  I tried to get some sleep but wasn't having muck luck. A unit nearby had found some old gramophone records and were playing some local music called, “Disco” until the early hours, with the returning sound of the two “armoured vehicles” in the form of Private Rizla and PFC Woods. I struggled to get to sleep, appreciating Private “Shaggy” Halls' valiant attempts to disable one “armoured vehicle” by throwing a boot at it – which worked briefly!

We awoke the next day, the weather situation had much improved, we set about clearing the camp.

Pfc Woods & Pvt Adam 'Shaggy' Hall

I received a communication from Private Barrell that he would not be returning. We then were asked for volunteers to assist the Rangers in a clean-up operation, their being some reports of enemy activity nearby. I recall PFC Woods and Private Hall volunteering, they returned a short while later, the mission having been a success.

We then discussed the logistics of getting our kit to the rear, where we knew we had access to three Jeeps. The roads were still barely passable and the thought of carrying kit, the tent, K ration crates and a field kitchen through it all was worrying. The Rangers had a half-track and with the help of Private Hall we were able to negotiate a lift to the rear which was very much appreciated. We thanked the Rangers for their hospitality and returned to the rear. On arrival we all received different orders- we were to go our separate ways.  Promising to stay in contact we said goodbye, the men were tired and just wanted to go home,  and with the engines of our Jeeps fired up, we left Beltring. For us the war was over.

Sgt Paul Costin

The half track transport back home - with Normandy 44