His co-pilot spoke. “Twenty seconds, treble-four.”
“Roger,” the pilot responded.
The countdown was spot on as they flew across the L444, a minor road that ran east west, crossing over the Buckeberge.
“We are five minutes out,” he then informed his passengers.
The craft jerked again, and Captain Farrell quickly regained control as a gust threatened to drive the helicopter into the trees on his left. In the back, the soldiers from 2RRF went through their last-minute checks. Once the Lynx was brought into the hover, they would have less than thirty seconds to debus.
The pilot and co-pilot discussed their position and agreed their location, difficult to do with the ground racing beneath them at over 100 kilometres per hour.
Behind them, the number two helicopter dropped their passengers as close to the L444 as they dared, while numbers three and four banked right, and flew across the E30, picking a gap between the convoys of traffic moving north and south. The crossing was successful, and they both turned back on their original northerly heading. On arrival at the waypoint, both aircraft would fly over the high ground of the Deister. Once on the other side, they would split: Zulu-Three would fly to Kolenfeld whilst Zulu-Four headed for Haste.
Each eight-man team had two missions. Half the team were made up of engineers who carried as many mines as could be carried in their packs. Their task was to mine major routes such as Route 65 between Rinteln and Bad Nenndorf and roads west to east. The other half of the respective team would act as pathfinders, identifying, and later highlighting, the dropping zones for the paratroopers who would be landing later that morning.
Captain Farrell manoeuvred the Lynx into a flare the same time as he pivoted the craft around so he was facing away from the high ground for when he would need to power up and fly back to base. The pilot brought the Lynx into a hover, about a metre off the ground, and the eight men in the passenger section pushed out their heavy Bergen’s that dropped to the grassy earth below with a thud. Once completed, the eight followed them out, forming a circle facing outwards as the Lynx built up power and flew east before banking right and heading back down the valley.
The eight men waited thirty minutes until they were satisfied their landing had gone undiscovered. The two groups quickly conferred as to their location, and both team leaders agreed they were within 100 metres of their chosen landing zone. They metaphorically took their hats off to the pilot and co-pilot who had got them here safely. The two teams, made up of volunteers, split from each other. Lieutenant Forde led his pathfinders north towards Lindhorst while Sergeant Jackson led the three Royal Engineers west. The four engineers moved into the trees, happier once they were under cover. They had only five hours until dawn, so needed to keep out of view and move quickly.
Their packs were heavy. Each man carried Hunting Engineering IMP lightweight anti-tank mines. Sergeant Jackson led, and Corporal Simmonds was tail-end Charlie sandwiching the two sappers in the centre. They kept the spacing tight as the trees cut out what little light there was. Jackson would have welcomed an image intensifier, but the few that were available had been allocated to the pathfinder teams, as their role was considered more critical. They had the lives of hundreds of paratroopers to consider.
The first part of the climb was quite steep as they ascended to 150 metres, and Sergeant Jackson soon had a film of sweat beneath his gear. The heavy packs didn’t help. After an hour, they had reached the roof of the ridge and found the going easier on the way down as they headed west, although the weight of the Bergen’s caused their knees to jar every time a boot was put on the sloping ground. It was either that or losing control of their descent and crashing down to the bottom. Ninety minutes later found them moving along a strip of forested land that led them right up to Hannoversche Strasse, Route 65, their target.
While they had not come across any Soviet forces so far, that was all about to change. A mere 400 metres from the major road and the engineers came across a large farm off to the left, seen through the trees. It seemed fairly quiet and was certainly darkened but, as Jackson led his team closer to it, it became obvious from the silhouettes of camouflaged vehicles that an enemy unit were using it as an arbour, taking advantage of the large barns and, no doubt, the farmhouse. On arrival at the kerbside of the road. A steady flow of logistical vehicles moved left and right.
The men dropped their packs, and Sergeant Jackson and Corporal Simmons crept forward to the very edge of the road, which was tree-lined on both sides for at least a kilometre in each direction. Jackson checked his watch, triggering Simmons to do likewise. It was 0330. They had sixty minutes to prepare for their mission.
Jackson signalled his number two to remain where he was and keep watch while he withdrew back into the trees to start the process of bringing the anti-tank mines forward. Between the three of them, the Bergen’s were brought to the edge of the road, just inside the trees, out of sight of the vehicles trundling east probably on their way to pick up fresh supplies and ammunition having deposited their precious loads at the front, resupplying and rearming the front-line locations.
The attack on the road would take three forms. First, two anti-tank LAW, off-route mines, a hollow-charge weapon, would be set up opposite each of the two wide lanes. The two each side would be 100 metres apart. At the last minute, during a reasonable gap in the traffic, all four would run across, two from each side, and deposit anti-tank and anti-personnel mines in a staggered formation across the tarmac lanes. And finally, anti-personnel mines would be laid either side of the verge, to thwart any attempt by the Soviet soldiers to pass safely around the danger area. The mines had been painted a colour to match that of the road and it was hoped that with convoy lights and driven by tired soldiers, they would be seen too late for the drivers to react.
The team split up. Corporals Simmons and Perry went west, and Sergeant Jackson, followed by Vaughan, headed east. Each had one of the Bergen’s. Once in position, and during a gap in traffic, they raced across both carriageways and prepared their trap on the northern kerbside, then return and set up on the southern edge of the road. The anti-tank off-route mines would be fired manually. The mines lain across the road would be detonated by the pressure plate being activated, as would those on the verge.
The four men arrived back at their starting point on the southern side, panting, their faces running with sweat. Yet all four were smiling. They were doing what Royal Engineers were good at, apart from building things: getting ready to blow things up. They grabbed a drink of water from their canteens, prepared the last of the mines, watched the vehicle packets pass by, and waited for the appointed hour.
The SAS team of eight men, inserted into the area the previous day, went about the task that had been appointed to them. Troopers one and two kept watch over the Soviet guards that were patrolling the bridge that spanned the water below them. This was a bridge erected by Soviet engineers after the retreating NATO forces had destroyed the original bridge. The majority of significant crossing points across the length and breadth of West Germany had either been destroyed during the retreat or later attacked by NATO ground-attack aircraft to deny the enemy an easy passage. Over wider rivers, the Soviet pontoon bridging system, PMP, had been particularly successful in keeping the advance moving. But, for the higher crossing points with much higher riverbanks, girder bridges had been thrown across by Soviet Engineers. Beneath this structure, under the very noses of the sleepy, casual Soviet sentries, six men from 22 Special Air Service Regiment, were clambering over the supporting structure, laying explosives that would soon remove this facility, denying the enemy the ability to move troops, tanks, ammunition or supplies across. Situated in a prime location where the Soviet army could cross if they needed to pull back, or bring reinforcements forward when needed, it was high up on 1 British Corps’ target list, bringing disruption to the Soviet forces, increasing the chances of the counter-attack being a success.