Words at War 430624 0001 Combined Operations_OTRRPG

Summary

Podcast Summary: Harold's Old Time Radio

Episode: Words at War – "Combined Operations"

Original Air Date: June 24, 1943 (Rebroadcast Feb 20, 2026)

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Overview

This episode features a dramatic radio adaptation from the NBC wartime series "Words at War," specifically the inaugural episode based on Hilary St. George Sanders’ book Combined Operations: The Official Story of the British Commandos. Through a fictionalized narration by “Sergeant John Kenneth Smith,” listeners are immersed in the demanding training and daring exploits of British Commandos during WWII—culminating in a gripping account of the legendary St. Nazaire Raid. Drawing from real events, the episode delves into the peril, camaraderie, and sacrifice of combined special forces operations.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Introduction to Combined Operations (03:08–04:14)

• Hilary St. George Sanders, author of Combined Operations, introduces the story as:

  "...an imaginative reconstruction of one of the most successful commando raids described therein. It does not pretend to be accurate in every detail. After all, why tell the enemy what he would very much like to know? But you may be assured that the incidents depicted either happened or might well have happened." (03:08)

• The narrator clarifies that for military security, all personal details are anonymized.

2. Recruitment and Volunteerism (01:06–05:11)

• “Sergeant John Kenneth Smith” volunteers for the Commandos, accepting duty for a secret, dangerous mission.
• Diverse backgrounds among recruits are highlighted—with playful banter:
  • Private Edward Moyfy explains his presence as a Brooklynite in a British unit:

    “Brooklyn is a city of which New York is a suburb.” (05:22)

    • The Sergeant Major jokes about Americans joining early via Canada.

3. Commando Training: Challenge & Brotherhood (06:08–14:08)

• Training described as relentlessly grueling—long marches, river crossings, intense physical and weapons instruction.
• Emphasis on self-reliance and teamwork:

  “Combined operations means just what it says. Attack and raiding operations in which the army, the Navy and the Royal Air Force work together. We don't go in for petty discipline here. Every man is on his own, more or less.” —Sergeant Major (06:08)

• Memorable moment: The recruits are bluntly told to march “22 miles, the round trip.” (07:47)

4. Camaraderie & Spirit (11:56–13:59)

• Recruits bond over fatigue and music, with pipes and humor.
• Corporal Yprovan Piper's bittersweet story of a love left behind for duty:

  “She’s a sentimental lassie and she says that's our love song... I was to be married to her. Then came the word I was accepted for the commandos and I was called back with only enough time to give her a wee kiss.” (12:19–12:31)

5. The "Impossible" March & Endurance (13:37–14:24)

• The sergeant announces a new challenge: meet at a map reference “73 miles from here... There won't be any lorries... That is your problem.” (14:02–14:08)
• The lesson: Commandos are expected to solve problems with independence.

6. From Training to Real Operations (14:54–18:07)

• The proud moment of becoming full-fledged commandos, swiftly followed by further relentless training with naval and RAF partners.

7. Mission Briefing: The St. Nazaire Raid (18:12–20:30)

• Commandos are briefed by Lt. Colonel Newman about their objective:

  “This ship, HMS Campbeltown... is packed to a bottom with tons of explosives... The Campbelltown's to be scuttled in the port of St. Nazaire. St Nazaire has the only dry dock on Europe's west coast big enough to accommodate the Nazi battleship Tirpitz. We're going to ram the Campbelltown against the gates...” (18:12–18:37)

• The urgency, stakes, and division of responsibilities are made clear.

8. Pre-Raid Tension and Gallows Humor (20:30–21:22)

• Private Edward Moyfy displays somber wit:

  “I'll lay you 50 to 1 that none of us comes back alive.” (20:30)

• Corporal Piper (Scotty) responds lightly, “I’ll not lose. I’ve got to come back... my girl would be very insulted if I showed up for my wedding in a shroud.” (20:45–20:53)

9. The Raid on St. Nazaire: Action & Sacrifice (21:22–26:29)

• The Campbeltown charges in under withering fire, commandos storm ashore to demolish strategic targets.
• Sacrifice is immediate and severe; key characters are wounded or killed as objectives are achieved.
• Dramatic highlight: With no alternative, Murphy (Moyfy) rushes a satchel charge across open ground, despite orders, to silence a Nazi machine gun nest — a self-sacrificial act filled with dark humor and resolve:

  Sergeant Major: “Murphy, you want to be killed? Stay put, now, that's an order.”
  Private Edward Moyfy: “You know what you can do with your order, boss... I owe those Nazis something for a guy at Dunkirk.” (25:40–25:53)

10. Aftermath & Reflection (27:10–29:48)

• The narrator reflects on the destruction wrought and the loss of friends:

  “There was no more house. No more Brooklyn. No more Irish Sergeant Major. No more Scotty.” (26:39)

• The Campbeltown’s time-fused explosives detonate, killing hundreds of enemy troops.
• Concluding thoughts connect the raid to the larger struggle against Nazi Germany, paying tribute to those lost:

  “Meanwhile, we commandos are awaiting the biggest raid of all... knowledge gained through the sacrifice of boys from Brooklyn, Cockneys from Lambeth, Irish sergeant majors and gallant youngsters who will never meet again on the bonnie banks of Loch Lomond.” (29:16–29:47)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On volunteer spirit:

  "You volunteered to become a commando soldier." —Lt. Col. Newman (01:14)

• On the nature of the job:

  "Am I permitted to ask the nature of the job, sir?"
  "I'm sorry Sergeat, it's secret." (01:33–01:35)

• Wartime humor:

  “Brooklyn is a city of which New York is a suburb.” —Private Moyfy (05:22)

• Reflection on sacrifice:

  “There was no more house. No more Brooklyn. No more Irish Sergeant Major. No more Scotty.” —Sgt. Smith (26:39)

• Strategic focus:

  “...keep the Tirpitz out of the Atlantic.” —Lt. Col. Newman (18:37)

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Key Timestamps

| Segment | Description | |---------|-------------| | 03:08 | Author Sanders introduces the story’s semi-fictional, security-conscious format. | | 06:08–08:13 | Training, team selection, physical hardship begins. | | 14:54–15:51| Recruits officially become Commandos. | | 18:12–19:49 | Mission briefing for the St. Nazaire Raid. | | 21:22–26:29 | Raid sequence: infiltration, firefight, commando losses, final acts of sacrifice. | | 27:10–29:16 | Results, reflection on losses, and the ultimate success of the mission. |

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Tone & Style

The episode balances dark humor, camaraderie, and sober reflection amidst the tension and brutality of special operations. Dialogue blends stiff-upper-lip British stoicism, the wry observations of American volunteers, and the heartfelt sentiment of soldiers with everything to lose, set to the backdrop of authentic wartime danger.

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Conclusion

This “Words at War” episode offers a compelling dramatization of the mindset, hardship, and sacrifice of WWII commandos. Blending fact with creative narrative, it memorializes the St. Nazaire Raid while evoking the broader themes of duty, loss, and unity among Allied soldiers—making clear how the lessons of such exploits would help shape the coming liberation of Europe. For modern listeners, it’s an evocative journey into the human side of special forces history and the power of radio storytelling in wartime.

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Transcript

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[Private Brooklyn]

Sam,

[Lieutenant Colonel Newman]

Come in.

[Sergeant John Kenneth Smith]

Sergeant John Kenneth Smith, Royal West Kent's reporting, sir.

[Lieutenant Colonel Newman]

Oh, yes, Sergeant. You volunteered to become a commando soldier.

[Sergeant John Kenneth Smith]

Yes, sir.

[Lieutenant Colonel Newman]

You are, I believe, an expert with explosives.

[Sergeant John Kenneth Smith]

Somewhat, sir.

[Lieutenant Colonel Newman]

We have decided to accept you, Sergeant.

[Sergeant John Kenneth Smith]

Thank you, sir. We're proud of the honor.

[Lieutenant Colonel Newman]

We have decided to accept you because we could use volunteers of your experience on a special, very dangerous job.

[Sergeant John Kenneth Smith]

Am I permitted to ask the nature of the job, sir?

[Lieutenant Colonel Newman]

I'm sorry, Sergeant, it's secret.

[Sergeant John Kenneth Smith]

I volunteer, sir.

[Lieutenant Colonel Newman]

Good. You'll be ordered to a Combined Operations training center immediately. You need a few weeks there before you're ready for this work. Thank you, Sergeant Smith, and good luck.

[Narrator / NBC Announcer]

The National Broadcasting Company, in cooperation with the Council on Books in Wartime, presents the premiere of Words at War, a series based on the most important books to come out of this war. Stories of the battlefronts of behind the scenes diplomacy, of underground warfare, of the home front, of action on the seas. Each is a living record of this war and the things for which we fight. Tonight's story is based on material from the recently published book Combined Operations, the official story of the British Commandos. Words at war presents Hillary St. George Sanders, the author of Combined Operations. For a few introductory words, Mr. Sanders,

[Hillary St. George Sanders]

what you are going to hear tonight is not an actual extract from the book Combined Operations. It is an imaginative reconstruction of one of the most successful commando raids described therein. It does not pretend to be accurate in every detail. After all, why tell the enemy what he would very much like to know? But you may be assured that the incidents depicted either happened or might well have happened. In any case, here is the story as told by a man whom we shall call Sergeant Smith. Sergeant Smith of Number Two Commando of the Combined Operations Command.

[Sergeant John Kenneth Smith]

Actually, Smith is not my name, but for reasons of military security, I must be Smith.

[Private Brooklyn]

Go up standard.

[Sergeant Major]

Well, well, well. So this is what I'm supposed to make commandos out of, is it? Let's have a look at you. You, what's your name?

[Sergeant John Kenneth Smith]

Smith, sir. Sergeant John Kenneth Smith, Royal West Kent, assigned to combined operations.

[Corporal Yprovan Piper]

You, Corporal Yprovan Piper Seaforth Heelanders, assigned to combined operations.

[Sergeant Major]

Carrying your bagpipes with you when you arrived? I noticed. What made you volunteer for combined operations?

[Corporal Yprovan Piper]

I heard you needed one good man in the outfit, sir.

[Private Edward Moyfy]

Hey, hey, boss. While you're at it, how come you're in this man's army? I thought the Irish were supposed to be neutral.

[Sergeant Major]

The Irish are neutral, but who the devil do you think they're neutral against? You think we want the English to be beaten and have no one to fight with after the war? And you, who are you?

[Private Edward Moyfy]

Private Edward Moyfy.

[Sergeant Major]

Moifie Moifey. Very beautiful to the saints. What sort of a name is that? Irish?

[Private Edward Moyfy]

Why, sure. Me, I come from Brooklyn, boss.

[Sergeant Major]

And in what part of Ireland is that?

[Private Edward Moyfy]

It ain't. It's in the usa. Brooklyn is a city of which New York is a suburb.

[Sergeant Major]

Oh, a Yank, is it? And I suppose like a good many more of you I've met, you couldn't wait for the States to get into the war. You had to rush up to Canada and join up, is that it?

[Private Edward Moyfy]

That's right, boss. Me and Piggy o' Donnell from Canarsie, we done it together. We were sick of going to Ebbard's Field to throw bottles at the umpire, so we decided we'd get into some real fighting. So we hops in a train and gets the castle.

[Sergeant Major]

Tell me the complete story of your life, please. Piggy o'. Donnell. With a name like that, you'd think he'd be a good soldier. Why didn't he volunteer for the Commandos?

[Private Edward Moyfy]

Piggy didn't come back from Dun.

[Sergeant Major]

Now, you men have been very carefully chosen from all the volunteers for combined operations. You're all supposed to be outstanding. Mentally, physically. Let me put you straight. Up to now, you don't even know what soldiering is. When you finish commando training, if you finish it, you'll be worthy of that uniform. But now listen to me carefully. Combined operations means just what it says. Attack and raiding operations in which the army, the Navy and the Royal Air Force work together. We don't go in for petty discipline here. Every man is on his own, more or less. We expect you to obey the rules. Too many lapses and you're out. And once you're kicked out of the Commandos, you couldn't get back in again if you were His Majesty's fifth cousin. Another thing. We work in tools in the Commandos. Pick yourself a mate. Work with him, stick with him. You'll find it pays. Now, I see you're all very tired. You've had a hard day, and some of you can hardly keep your eyes open. So I'm not going to keep you standing here any longer. Viper. Provan.

[Corporal Yprovan Piper]

Aye, sir.

[Sergeant Major]

Pick up your bagpipes and take your place at the head of the column.

[Corporal Yprovan Piper]

We. We're going someplace, Sergeant Major.

[Sergeant Major]

Yes. We're marching to Edgemere and back.

[Private Brooklyn]

What?

[Sergeant Major]

It's only 22 miles. The round trip.

[Private Edward Moyfy]

22 miles.

[Private Brooklyn]

Hunt.

[Private Edward Moyfy]

Right.

[Narrator / NBC Announcer]

Turn.

[Private Brooklyn]

Fire to the left.

[Lieutenant Colonel Newman]

Right.

[Private Brooklyn]

Hurt.

[Lieutenant Colonel Newman]

Hurry.

[Private Edward Moyfy]

Hit the king. Hurt.

[Sergeant John Kenneth Smith]

We climbed cliffs. We did exercises by eights together, balancing logs nine inches thick on our shoulders. And we learned to handle one of the most devastating instruments of death known to modern warfare.

[Private Brooklyn]

Now watch me close, boys. This cottage is a strongly held German position. We're the demolition squad. You over there, you're the protective squad. Open fire on the Germans. That'll give us a chance to work. Now, boys, while the enemy supposed to be in that house is engaged by the others, we'll get our little gift ready for them. Take this satchel charge. It's a number of blocks of TNT held together with wire with a satchel handle for carrying it. We set the fuels like so. We insert the igniter like so. Now, while our own fire covers us, we run to the house, ram it up against the wall. Now run back like places. Run your terriers. Run. Down, boys. Down on your faces. Down.

[Private Edward Moyfy]

So that's what a satchel charge does, eh?

[Corporal Yprovan Piper]

Look at that cartridge.

[Private Edward Moyfy]

Where the heck is it to look at, Brown?

[Corporal Yprovan Piper]

To smithereens.

[Sergeant Major]

As you can see, boys, these satchel charges can make the Nazis very unhappy. But be careful, please. Be careful how you handle them.

[Private Edward Moyfy]

Our assaultant Major.

[Sergeant Major]

Yes, Timmins?

[Private Edward Moyfy]

Could I have one of them things for my mother in law?

[Sergeant John Kenneth Smith]

Colonel in London had told me my mission would be dangerous. He hadn't told me quite how strenuous commander training would be. We marched and doubled and marched and doubled and marched again over all kinds of country. We swam rivers and full equipment. Crossed them on bridges made of toggle ropes. And we ran the gauntlet over specially prepared assault quarters.

[Private Brooklyn]

Hey, Brooklyn, my feet.

[Private Edward Moyfy]

Pardon me, boys.

[Private Brooklyn]

Get them all when you're there.

[Private Edward Moyfy]

But boss, these bombs are real.

[Corporal Yprovan Piper]

Aye, and the bullets too. Look, it smashed the bayonet on my rifle half an inch lower than I'd have been ex corporal for a Van

[Private Edward Moyfy]

Brimie Sergeant Major, this game of yours is too dangerous.

[Private Brooklyn]

Real bombs and ammunition assistant. What do you think the Germans will throw at you? Spitballs? Get Going and take that objective.

[Sergeant John Kenneth Smith]

We wrestled and boxed and learned jiu jitsu and how to swim in from the sea holding our Tommy guns over our heads. We learned the tricks of handling the 2 and 3 inch mortars and anti tank rifle. And how to use the rifle butt on human skulls. We learned to hunt tanks and their crews, to storm pillboxes and to march, march, march, march. This was learning the trade of war. But commando training gave us mastery of our own minds and bodies too. Strengthened our mental and moral makeup. Built within each of us the self confidence and self reliance the good commando soldier must have. I remember well my first lesson in this. It happened one evening after we had finished a 33 mile forest march. We were sitting around singing while Scotty played his bagpipes.

[Private Brooklyn]

There was a bit of all right.

[Private Edward Moyfy]

That was Scotty.

[Private Brooklyn]

Encore.

[Sergeant John Kenneth Smith]

Come on, Scotty.

[Corporal Yprovan Piper]

My, I didn't feel like playing more than no, lads.

[Private Edward Moyfy]

Hey, Scotty, swing out with Chattanooga Choo Choo. Or can you in that contraption?

[Sergeant John Kenneth Smith]

Why, Scotty.

[Corporal Yprovan Piper]

Hi, Smitty.

[Sergeant John Kenneth Smith]

I swear, man, you're the saddest looking Scots piper I've ever seen in my life.

[Corporal Yprovan Piper]

I suppose I am. You see lads, I'm in love.

[Private Brooklyn]

I am.

[Sergeant John Kenneth Smith]

Oh, in love.

[Corporal Yprovan Piper]

I mean it, lads, with the sweetness, lassie. North of the border it was home and furlough. I was to be married to her. Then came the word I was accepted for the commandos and I was called back with only enough time to give her a wee kiss on the red of her cheek.

[Private Edward Moyfy]

Yeah, but why get a crying jag on about it?

[Corporal Yprovan Piper]

It's the song. Brooklyn La, the Banks of Loch Lomond. You see me, that's her name. She's a sentimental lassie and she says that's our love song. She was aye singing it. You see how it is. Look, here's her picture.

[Sergeant John Kenneth Smith]

Oh, well, she's very lovely, Scotty, isn't she? Congratulations, Scotty.

[Private Edward Moyfy]

Oh, my, she's a beauty, ain't she? Hey, hey, here comes the great single puss himself, boys. Aye, the soldier major's riding one of them Yankee jeeps.

[Private Brooklyn]

It's good to see you, boss.

[Private Edward Moyfy]

I wouldn't have been able to sleep tonight if you hadn't come back.

[Sergeant Major]

I see you're in fine fettle, Moyfie.

[Private Edward Moyfy]

Honest, boss, I'm not kidding. I was just saying to the guys, if the Sergeant Major don't come back before they sound lights out. I said I won't be able to sleep.

[Sergeant Major]

Well, there'll be no lights out tonight. You're on your own, boys. The next parade's at 6am tomorrow morning. At map reference A144G16. On your scout map A144G16, 6am where'd he say?

[Sergeant John Kenneth Smith]

Did you say map reference A144G16, sergeant major?

[Sergeant Major]

I did.

[Sergeant John Kenneth Smith]

Let's see, the scale is. Well, that's 73 miles from here.

[Sergeant Major]

That's right, it is.

[Private Brooklyn]

Well, for the love of. Well, that means we got a ride all night.

[Private Edward Moyfy]

Okay, okay. Maybe this your your idea of fun, boss. When the lorries be along to pick us up.

[Sergeant Major]

There won't be any lorries, Murphy.

[Private Brooklyn]

Huh? What's that?

[Corporal Yprovan Piper]

No lorries, Sergeant Major. How we supposed to get there? It's 73 miles away.

[Sergeant Major]

That is your problem. Be there at 6:00am or you'll be on a charge. Absent without leave. Good night, Commandos.

[Sergeant John Kenneth Smith]

We got there all right. Every man as best he could. By what you call hitchhiking on shank's mare, riding freight trains. Yes, we were beginning to realize by then that as commando soldiers we were expected to solve our own problems. But finally the day came when we stood on parade. Those of us who had come through the grueling training unpred. Under the happy, contented glare of our sergeant major. We heard our commanding officer, Lieutenant Colonel Newman, say.

[Lieutenant Colonel Newman]

Well, men, you've come through all right. You are now commando soldiers, but you have no time to rest on your laurels. From now on, you'll continue training. Training constantly side by side with the naval units of the Combined Operations Command and the raf. Those of us who are lucky will carry out raids on enemy territory. Those of us who are extremely lucky will return from them. And between raids we'll continue training. We'll never know when what looks like a training operation will turn out to be the real thing. Welcome to number two Commando.

[Sergeant John Kenneth Smith]

The colonel knew what he was talking about. For weeks, in all weathers we trained with the naval arm in craft large and small. Much of this I am not at liberty to describe. But I can tell you about one cruise that we took. For reasons other than the good of our health, we'd gone aboard this vessel one day in March 1942 and under orders went below and stayed there. In the wardroom, Bookman was attempting to teach Scotty a rather non bagpipish tune.

[Private Edward Moyfy]

No, no, no, Scotty, listen, listen. This is the way it goes. You leave the Pennsylvania station round a quarter to four, read a magazine and you're in Baltimore. Dinner in the. Nothing could be finer to have your ham and eggs in Carolina. I'll Try that part.

[Corporal Yprovan Piper]

You'll have me dust with your Yankee airs.

[Private Edward Moyfy]

Hey, you just seasick, Scotty. Wait till we get back ashore and make a regular jive boat out of here. Yes, when do we get back ashore? We've been going for hours in this here ship.

[Lieutenant Colonel Newman]

We have. Blimey if we ain't Timmons. What's it all about?

[Private Edward Moyfy]

Does anyone know the name of this ship?

[Lieutenant Colonel Newman]

Blimey if I do. You.

[Private Edward Moyfy]

Sergeant Major.

[Lieutenant Colonel Newman]

Hey, where is the Sergeant major? My name's.

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[Sergeant John Kenneth Smith]

As soon as we saw Colonel Newman and the troop commander, we knew something was going to happen.

[Lieutenant Colonel Newman]

Men, this is it. We're on our way to raid Nazi hel territory. This ship, HMS Campbeltown, was formerly the USS Buchanan. No doubt you've noticed the changes that have been made in her structure at the clumsy way she's been steering. That's because she's packed to a bottom with tons of explosives and scuttling charges makes her hard to handle.

[Corporal Yprovan Piper]

Scuttling, sir? I'm sorry, sir.

[Lieutenant Colonel Newman]

Yes. The Campbelltown's to be scuttled in the port of sand. Isair St Nazair has the only dry dock on Europe's west coast big enough to accommodate the Nazi battleship Tirpitz. We're going to ram the Campbelltown against the gates of the lock leading to the dry dock and keep the Tirpitz out of the Atlantic. We're going to remmer at exactly 0130 tomorrow morning, about 20 hours. Now, the Navy men will take care of the scuttling and set the time fuses for the delayed action charge that will blow up the ship, many hours later. While they're doing that, Sea of Number Two Commando will be ashore destroying powerhouses, bridges and other objectives. We'll have just two hours to do our job. Complete instructions with map references will be issued in an hour. Any questions?

[Sergeant John Kenneth Smith]

Are we alone in this operation, sir? Or are the motor launchers that were with us when we started out still around?

[Lieutenant Colonel Newman]

As you'll see when day breaks, the MLS are still with us. We have also a destroyer escort. The MLS will take us off at the old mole in San Nazaire when our job is done. Anything else?

[Private Edward Moyfy]

But suppose it fizzles, sir? Suppose the delayed charge and the ship fails to go off. And suppose we can't manage the ram or against the lock gates. What then?

[Lieutenant Colonel Newman]

We've got a plan to cover that. Sergeant Smith. Sir? This is the job I spoke to you about when you volunteered for Combined Operations. Your particular job is to get ashore with your section just as soon as you possibly can. When the ship rams the lock gates, go to the powerhouse that operates those gates and destroy it one way or another will keep the Tirpitz out of the Atlantic. Any further questions? Very well. Carry on.

[Sergeant John Kenneth Smith]

That's it.

[Private Edward Moyfy]

I'll lay you 50 to 1 that none of us comes back alive.

[Sergeant Major]

Well, what do you blighters want to do? Live forever?

[Corporal Yprovan Piper]

I'll take you up on that bet, Timmons. Even if I lose? The odds are too good to pass up.

[Sergeant John Kenneth Smith]

Yeah, you're Scotty, all right.

[Corporal Yprovan Piper]

I'll not lose. I've got to come back. I'm going to be married a fortnight from now and my girl would be very insulted if I. If I showed up for my wedding in a shroud.

[Sergeant John Kenneth Smith]

Come on, give us a song, Scotty.

[Lieutenant Colonel Newman]

Yeah, come on.

[Private Edward Moyfy]

Make a shadow, Nova. Choo choo.

[Private Brooklyn]

Scotty. No, Brooke.

[Corporal Yprovan Piper]

Somehow I don't feel like playing the pipes. I think I'll. I'll just lie down for a while and think, if you don't mind.

[Sergeant John Kenneth Smith]

Throughout the night, on the following day, the force moved steadily towards San Nazaire, constantly risking discovery. But we were in luck. Now it was close to 1am of Thursday, March 28 and the Campbeltown's nose was quietly poking its way up the estuary. Every one of us knew what his job was. We were all on deck, waiting for the crash.

[Corporal Yprovan Piper]

Hey, Smitzy.

[Sergeant John Kenneth Smith]

Yes, Scotty? What's eating you?

[Corporal Yprovan Piper]

Hampton's overhead. Am I right, Sergeant Major?

[Sergeant Major]

You are. Those Hamptons are on their way to provide a diversion. Mraf lads are our decoys. Well, Anazi place his searchlights on the planes. He can't turn them on us.

[Private Brooklyn]

Look at that blooming flag.

[Sergeant John Kenneth Smith]

There's most of it. Traces too, John.

[Private Edward Moyfy]

If it don't remind you of Coney island on the fourth of July.

[Sergeant John Kenneth Smith]

Those Hamptons are laying plenty of eggs in there.

[Private Brooklyn]

Yeah. Right on deck, everyone. Right on deck. They've spotted us. All speed ahead was draft.

[Corporal Yprovan Piper]

Hey, you blasted nasties. If you don't stop shining that searchlight in my face, I'll be letting you have it.

[Private Brooklyn]

Never mind the whisper now. They've spotted us. Lie flat.

[Private Edward Moyfy]

We're about to open fire.

[Sergeant John Kenneth Smith]

Lie flat.

[Private Brooklyn]

On Dec.

[Sergeant John Kenneth Smith]

Then it began. German searchlights ashore flooded the estuary, revealing a sharpest outline every ship in the force. Campbelltown was still nearly two miles from the locked gates. From shore, the tracer shells came pouring in beautiful illuminated arcs. Our ship's bridge was being heavily battered. The deadlier rockets hurtled out from Nazi batteries to smash through the gallant ship or ricochet from her sides like exploding stars. Her foredeck was afire. Master toppled, funnel sheared off. But his skipper, Lieutenant Commander Beatty, sent his ship tearing full speed ahead toward the locked gates.

[Private Brooklyn]

Ready, boys? Don't lose your bearings. Be thy shore when our jobs are done. Is that understood?

[Corporal Yprovan Piper]

Yes, sir.

[Private Brooklyn]

Smith, you and your men get the powerhouse. Right, Sergeant Major. Fine. Now brace yourselves. He's going to hit the gates, and when she does. Murphy, lad.

[Private Edward Moyfy]

What is it, Scotty?

[Corporal Yprovan Piper]

We were supposed to crash at 0130. It's now 0134. Will you kindly go up and tell the captain that there's a Scotsman aboard his ship who doesn't think much of his navigator.

[Private Brooklyn]

Oh, get a shot. All right, let's.

[Sergeant John Kenneth Smith]

Wild skull of the pipes gave us heart. We charged ashore. Our covering parties protected the demolition parties while dynamite was set and discharged. But the enemy could fight too. And many a fallen commando soldier attested to that fact. Up went the pump house and after at the lock gate power station. My own particular job accomplished. Unfortunately, at the sacrifice of two brave men, building after building was set afire. For our allotted two hours we worked like madmen. And when 3:30 came, Sergeant Major pulled us together at the appointed place.

[Sergeant Major]

Everybody here?

[Corporal Yprovan Piper]

All that's left.

[Sergeant Major]

Where's Timmons, Cochran, Thompson?

[Private Brooklyn]

Timmons?

[Corporal Yprovan Piper]

Coming ashore.

[Sergeant John Kenneth Smith]

Cochran and Thompson died in the powerhouse.

[Private Edward Moyfy]

Yeah, so did Willis and Peabody.

[Corporal Yprovan Piper]

The pump station.

[Sergeant Major]

You've been hit, Murphy.

[Private Brooklyn]

Yeah, it ain't bad.

[Private Edward Moyfy]

That ain't exactly tomato juice that's coming

[Corporal Yprovan Piper]

out of your own sleeve there, boss.

[Sergeant Major]

When did they get.

[Sergeant John Kenneth Smith]

I don't know. Looks as though they get all. Except you and Scotty and Brooklyn and myself.

[Corporal Yprovan Piper]

Take me off that miss, pal.

[Sergeant Major]

Did they get you, Murphy?

[Private Edward Moyfy]

Light? Not bad, boss.

[Corporal Yprovan Piper]

Just ate a knight in the belly.

[Sergeant Major]

Hold on, lad. We'll get you down to the dock in the Old Mole. The mortar launchers will be waiting there to pick us up.

[Private Edward Moyfy]

The heck they will, boss.

[Corporal Yprovan Piper]

They're way overdue now. If those MLS are still sticking around, they'll be pounded a bit. He's right, Sergeant Major.

[Sergeant Major]

Even so, we can still pull through. You'll find some way back to England. Just keep your chin up, Murphy, lad. Of course. I've got to figure some way of getting that bunch of Nazi machine guns in that house. They're just waiting for us to show our heads.

[Corporal Yprovan Piper]

You let me worry about them dirty bums, Boss.

[Sergeant John Kenneth Smith]

Brooklyn, what are you doing with that satchel shard?

[Sergeant Major]

What's that? Murphy don't like that fuse. It'll do us no good. You think you can throw that satchel over there? It's nearly 30ft from here to that doorway.

[Corporal Yprovan Piper]

Don't worry, boss. I ain't gonna throw it. I'm gonna take it over personal.

[Sergeant Major]

Murphy.

[Lieutenant Colonel Newman]

Stay here.

[Sergeant Major]

You want to be killed? Stay put. Now, that's an order.

[Corporal Yprovan Piper]

Do I want to be killed, he says.

[Private Edward Moyfy]

You know what you can do with your order, boss.

[Corporal Yprovan Piper]

I owe those Nazis something for a guy at Dunkirk.

[Sergeant Major]

You'll never make it, Morphe.

[Corporal Yprovan Piper]

Like heck I won't. Anyway, what have I gotta lose? Okay, she's lit. Smitty.

[Lieutenant Colonel Newman]

Yeah?

[Corporal Yprovan Piper]

Heave a couple of grenades at that door and give me a chance.

[Lieutenant Colonel Newman]

All right.

[Sergeant John Kenneth Smith]

Brooklyn.

[Corporal Yprovan Piper]

Scotty.

[Private Brooklyn]

Hey, lad.

[Corporal Yprovan Piper]

Play something on that machine of yours, will you? Play Chattanooga Choo Choo? I'd rather hear Glenn Miller do it, but.

[Private Brooklyn]

Okay, let go with the grenades.

[Lieutenant Colonel Newman]

Here goes.

[Private Brooklyn]

Good luck, Murphy. Don't stumble, boy, or we'll all be dead horses.

[Sergeant John Kenneth Smith]

He'll never make it. You'll cut him down before he can.

[Private Brooklyn]

That's what you think.

[Narrator / NBC Announcer]

Stop.

[Sergeant John Kenneth Smith]

As I have said, a satchel charge is a terrible weapon. Its effect is deadly. Its range is wide. There was no more machine gun fire from that house. There was no more house. No more Brooklyn. No more Irish Sergeant Major. No more Scotty.

[Private Brooklyn]

Jesus.

[Sergeant John Kenneth Smith]

I shall never know how I escaped the effects of that satchel charge. And you won't know, at least not yet, how I escaped from France and returned to England. I can tell you that. Next morning, nearly 400 Nazi officers and men were aboard the Campbeltown, or on the dockside, the pick of the Nazi crop in that area precisely at noon, when they were deep in the bowels of the ship or close by her, our delayed charges went off, blowing them all to Helgoland. But military security forbids my telling you more. At least until the war has been won. Meanwhile, we commandos are awaiting the biggest raid of all. Bigger than the ones on Saint Nazaire, on Dieppe and on North Africa. The raid on Hitler's fortress Europa itself. It will be successful, we think, all the more successful for the knowledge that we have gained of the enemy in the past. Knowledge gained through the sacrifice of boys from Brooklyn, Cockneys from Lambeth, Irish sergeant majors and gallant youngsters who will never meet again on the bonnie banks of Loch Lomond.

[Narrator / NBC Announcer]

You have heard the first of a new series of programs called Words at War. Stories told by men and women who have seen them happen, adapted from the most important books to come out of this war. Tonight's story was written by Richard McDonough of the NBC script staff and was based upon a portion of Hilary St. George Sanders combined operations. Next week you will hear Wendell L. Wilkie's one world, with Mr. Wilkie himself taking part in the program. Our cast tonight included Les Damon as Sergeant Smith, Jackson Beck as the sergeant major, and Walter Kinsella, Ian McAllister, Victor Beecraft and Roger de Koven. The original music was written and conducted by Frank Black. The production was under the direction of Joseph Losey. This program has been presented in cooperation with the Council on Books in Wartime by the National Broadcasting Company and the independent radio stations associated with the NBC network. This program came to you from New York.