Howard James’ BridgeApril 14, 1945, the war in Europe was within days of ending but the Germans still had enough spunk left in them to try and keep the enemy out of their homeland. They were trying to either destroy or hold every bridge left that would allow the Allied forces into their country. The Herebrug bridge was the last bit of resistance left in the city of Groningen, Holland. One small bridge linking the old island medieval town to the rest of the city. The rest of the enemy positions had already surrendered or were being overrun by Canadian forces. Number 8 Platoon of “A” Company of the Canadian Essex Scottish regiment was pinned down on the mainland in front of the Herebrug. The Canadians wanted to capture the last bridge to the medieval city intact for communications and supply routes as well as cut off the enemy. This was the last city before Germany in northern Holland. This was my uncle Howard’s platoon; this was his moment. The opposition was weak, only one machinegun, but it was deadly effective, as it covered the only access route. The gun was set inside a first-floor window of a building on the island side with an unobstructed view straight down the bridge causeway. Howard held himself low and tight to the outside wall of a building on a side street that opened on to the road in front of the bridge entrance. Just as he had been taught to do in Commando school. “Follow your training, it will keep you alive. There will come a point when that is all you have.” his Commando drill instructor had repeated this over and over again. Now this echo came to life. The open pavement in front of him was a genuine no-man’s land, step onto it and you are a target. His inexperienced captain called up the first two men and ordered them to storm the bridge. Howard had joined the conflict later in the war and had gone through continuous training before being sent into action. The commandos offered their style of training to all Scottish regiments in the commonwealth forces. Their sales pitch was that you were coming into a situation where the enemy was experienced and was fighting for their homeland and you were green. The more training you got the better prepared you were. “They came around one day while we were in England and told everybody about commando training and its benefits. Asked if anybody wanted to take it as extra skill training then return to their own regiment. They told me they would teach me how to stay alive. I thought I could use all the special skills training I could get, so I signed up.” Commando training starts with running, all kinds of running. Running in all kinds of conditions and weather with and without gear. How to cover large distances without overexerting yourself, stealth running to avoid detection. Climb on the run, obstacle courses, short spirts and sprints then take cover. The more and the faster you move the better your chances of survival. Howard told me his commando training taught him how to run 100 yards in 9 seconds flat in full combat gear. Professional athletes guffaw at that claim as to them 9.12 seconds is the record for a sparsely clothed athlete. The difference is an athlete is running against the hands of a clock whereas Howard was taught by the commandos to compete with a man’s trigger finger and the swipe of the Grim Reaper’s scythe. It is estimated the average person takes about 9 seconds to see a target, get it in their sights, then pull the trigger. He was taught how to pump up and release his adrenaline into the blood stream in the most efficient manner. Commandos are highly trained and skilled top end athletes trained to run for their lives. Everybody that makes it through commando training is in prime athletic shape. These combat forces were trained to run long distances as well as hot sprints in full gear. Gear they were taught to use very well. These men were very tough, hardened, high quality and dedicated athletes when they came out of Commando School; always looking for the way to win. – Always be number one or end up laying in the dirt bleeding and mangled in a lot of pain, or dead. At Commando training school, it was driven into Howard to always plan his moves no matter what his instructions. Always look for the least exposed way; invisibility, was the goal. As near as I can figure from our conversation, he was given physical aggression and evasion training. He was trained in water rat movement as well because they were going to Holland. The Canadians had already had to deal with flooded terrain when the dykes were broken in a defensive move by the enemy at the Scheldt river. Howard was trained in booby traps, bombs, trip wires and mouse holing for fighting house to house. He was given skill training in speed and stealth on land or amphibious activities. He was well trained in hand to hand combat, knife handling, disarming, and killing at close quarters. Do not risk aiming and shooting a gun when a grenade can do the job. All things happening in one swift movement, no hesitations then press on to the next objective. The Commando training taught Howard he was a thinking man with a goal in life. Surviving so he could do his job and complete his mission was a major part of the way a Commando looked at things. The others in his platoon, that took the same training, thought the same. Previous Exit Next |