The last charge

The Story of Cyril Rofe during WW2.

On the night of 11 on June 12, 1941 a RAF Wellington MK1C of 40th Squadron at Alconbury crashed in the Haringvliet near Hellevoetsluis. During the night of 11 to 12 June 241 bombers were in the air towards the targets; Dusseldorf, Duisburg and Boulogne. Unfortunately a dense fog frustrated the mission to Dusseldorf while the planes on their way to Duisburg would be successful.

Wellington cockpit photo: IWM

No.40 Squadron, RFC was founded on February 26, 1916. During her performance in WW1 on the Western Front it had shot down 130 enemy planes. At the beginning of thirties it was transformed into a bomber squadron and at the beginning of the war's equipped with Fairey Battle´s. These planes were already obsolete at the beginning of the war and no match for the better German planes. The losses were terribly high and they were soon provided with better Blenheim bombers which they operated over the Netherlands. In 1941, they were equipped with Wellingtons.

The arms of the squadron consists of a broom. This recalls the words of Major 'Mick'Mannock, the famous WW1 ace of the squadron, which at that time had the slogan "Wipe the Huns from the sky". This subsequently led to the slightly modified motto of the Squadron "Hostem acœlo expeller" (Driving the enemy from the air).

The crew of the Wellington consisted of;

• Pilot Squadron Leader Mered grave,

• Co-pilot, Sgt AFPotter New Zealand,

• Bombardier / navigator Sgt C. Rofe,

• Radioman Sgt P. Rockingham,

• The Canadian nose gunner Sgt Alldrick R., and

• JAS Abernethy Tail Gunner Sgt.

Picture of the wreck of the Wellington R1323 in the Haringvliet.

Van der Graaf Collection via regional Archive VPR.

Photo: Above a bomber detonated amid FLAK above Cologne

after being caught in the beam of a searchlight.

The target of the mission that night was Dusseldorf. The beginning of the mission went smoothly and the first marker, the island Tiengemeten, soon came in sight. They were on course and everything seemed to go smoothly until the tail gunner on the intercom warned for a night fighter. The gunners and the hunter got into a fierce battle while the beams of search lights below them moved in the direction of Wellington.

The pilot brought the Wellington into in a steep dive to avoid the search lights after which it was brought on course again into the direction Tiengemeten in the distance. The plane flew dangerously low now but they still flying. What exactly went wrong is unclear. According to the Germans, the low-flying plane was hit by FLAK (Flugzeug Luftabwehr gun) while according to the crew the pilot was blinded by the searchlights and ditched the plane by accident. Anyway the plane landed in pieces on a sandbank, probably the "Slijkplaat" in the middle of the Haringvliet. Because of the breaking of the fuselage Cyril Rofe the bombardier / navigator was thrown clear and landed on the wing.

Fortunately for the crew the downed Wellington got stuck on a sandbank and only partially sank. The crew therefore had enough time to bring themselves into safety.

They were not able to reach the shore by themselves and had to wait on the sand bank for help from the Germans.

Cyril Rofe, in 1951.

The Geneva Convention stipulated that officers and NCOs could not be made to work during captivity. All other prisoner of war however had to perform duties. These shifts, however, offered an excellent chance of escape. During the work the security is very limited and sometimes completely absent. This offered an easy chance to escape that Rofe did not want to ignore. The life of officers and NCOs was much better and that in turn attracted some ordinary soldiers. The result was a lively exchange of identities. That was later complicated by identity cards with photos but in the beginning, only the officers carried such identity cards. The photos were not very good and as long as the person you swapped with looked like yourselve a bit you did not ran too many risks. Rofe decided to switch identities and went looking for a good candidate. The change would take place during a football match between enlisted man and officer teams. That was not easy because such events did not happen every week and prisoner of wars were constantly transferred to other camps. Some transfers were therefore canceled at the last minute because one of the people had moved. Eventually Rofe changed identity with Simon Kacenelenbeigen, a Jewish-British soldier who felt the risks of escape were too high. For Rofe this was an unspeakable name but a change to leave the camp. He had to learn all the details of the live of Kacenelenbeigen by heart because trick questions were regularly asked to confirm the identity of people.

The first time Rofe undertook an escape attempt he tried to reach Switzerland on foot. His mother still lived there but after having walked for 10 days through the woods towards Czechoslovakia was discovered by blueberry pickers and reported to a ranger who promptly picked him up. Back in Lamsdorf Rofe was welcomed with a couple of days solitary confinement and was again working with the other prisoner of war. This time he was assigned to a group in Poland in the Coal Mines. That pleased him not at all and soon he was again walking the roads to freedom. Heading to Danzig to try to board a Swedish freighter. Halfway through, he was betrayed by a Polish collaborator and returned with the announcement that the next time he would be sent to a 'special' camp for Jews. Also in the prison camps there were stories told of these camps and Rofe knew this was no idle threat. During various operations they already met groups of Jewish slave laborers. These were prisoners of Auschwitz were still spared because they still could be useful for the Germans. These groups were much worse than those of the prisoners of war and it was terrible to hear what took place in the concentration camps. Rofe and the other POW´s helped such groups as much as possible with what food that was permitted by the guards. Such groups provided the prisoners of war with civilian clothes they needed for their escape.

Yet the threat with a one-way trip to a concentration camp to Rofe was no reason to stop, especially since some of the guards had indicated that all Jewish prisoners eventually would end there anyway. Rofe often suffered from the arm that was injured during the crash. During the various activities outside the camps Rofe also once came across a group of Dutch volunteers for the Eastern Front. Rofe remembered the encounter well because this group oddly appeared to have great sympathy for the RAF.

In the summer of 1944 Rofe was building barracks at Schomberg and Katowitze in the east of what was then German, on the border with Poland and Czechoslovakia. This was hundreds of miles from Switzerland and Sweden Rofe but quickly realized that just 250 km to the east the Russian troops approached. Russia meant escaping through perhaps the longest detour to England but also in the end may-be the fastest. He asked his fellow Jewish prisoner Karl Hillebrand if he wanted to go along.

"If we get caught, it can mean Auschwitz" Rofe said. "Maybe ,however it maybe Auschwitz anyway so let's just try" replied Hillebrand. "The only way to avoid Auschwitz, is to outsmart the Germans." They decided to escape towards the Russians and break through the front line or simply wait until the Russians would arrive at them. A plan that later proved more difficult than it seemed. On August 20, 1944 they had received the necessary forged papers from the local escape committee . They would travel as a Belgian Eclectician heading for Saybusch which was in the right direction. They received German money and a small amount of food consisting of chocolate, biscuits and cigarettes. At 5.30 am they were woken by the familiar 'Raus! raus! "and were quickly led to the construction site. The other members of the group took care of the distraction so that the two escapers could swap their clothes and were able to slip away from the site while the guards were busy with other things. In the tram from Schomberg to Beuthen Hillebrand recognized a man that had visited camp but luckely to them he seemed not to recognize the both of them.

In Beuthen, waiting for the connection to katowitze, they were approached by a policeman. Fortunately for them this was a Ukrainian who spoke German worse than them and was only interested what time it was. The officer stayed with them until Katowitze. This created confidence in the other passengers and no one asked "difficult" questions.

Everything seemed to go well until at Katowitze a Railway Police Officer took their papers during an inspection . They heard him explain to other people that "this was the kind of paper they needed ..! 'and then Rofe and Hillebrand were returned their papers with a smile. From Saybuch they moved towards the east on foot, sleeping in the woods by day and walking through the vast fields that were occasionally worked on by farmers. Near Rabingora the border between Germany and Czechoslovakia could be found but their handmade map was not exactly accurate. Eventually they roamed the area several days and several times crossed the border without knowing it. Eventually they managed to dodge the various German patrols and found their original route. Their route led them through the Tatra Mountains where they tried to avoid the main roads as much as possible. The local population was generally anti-German and it was not difficult to find food and shelter especially after Rofe announced that he was RAF. That same population was worried about how they would fare after the 'liberation' by the Russians, they were rightly uneasy but it was eventually choosing between two evils. Rofe had never seen such poor people. They lived in simple houses, walked barefoot and only had homemade clothes. Yet they helped Rofe and Hillebrand where they could.

At the marketplace of Markowa they decided by to walk as fast as possible through trafic. They found, however, several Germans on their way amongst some SS. It was too late to turn back so they just walked on. A moment it seemed all attempts to escape failed but thankfull and to their surprise they were not approached and nobody spoke to them. On the other side of the village they found Polish workers guarded by Germans who were building fortifications, the first sign that the front was approaching ...

On the eighth day as she walked through the woods they came acrossthree uniformed and armed figures. It was too late to flee and a hiding place at such a moment was nowhere to be found. Rofe held the men for Polish police but Hillenbrand recognized them first, these were Polish Partisans! The partisans took them to their accommodation and would help them. They did have concerns about the plan to cross the front line. That seemed to them not a good idea, according to them it was better to stay where they were and wait for the arrival of the Russians. Rofe and Hillebrand however, already reached the point where they no longer want to wait and decided to go on. The partisans helped them across the River Poprad and gave them the direction they should follow. These Polish partisans were no friends of the Russians and hoped that in the confusion after a Russian victory could create their own Polish state. Their leader however, would later be killed by the Soviets because of 'facistic' simphaties!

Rofe and Hillebrand tried to move from one group to another to get closer to the front. In between they again across a German patrol again, but miraculously managed to talk themselves out of the situation. Their falsified papers and their excuses were obviously of very good quality.

After several days on the mountain Jaworze they came across local partsanen whowere able to tell the Germans and Russians were preparing a major battle in the north to Tarnów. In the east, the front was more dynamic and offered better opportunities to cross the frontline. The group contained an escaped Russian soldier that wanted to cross the front aswell and could help them do so. This Achmetow spoke a few words German and liked their plans. The partisan leader drew a simple map with the route to the front and on 17 September they left the partisans. In the nights they could hear the thunder of the Sovjet artillery in the distance. The farmers were vague about the Russians until they met a farmer who had lived in the U.S. for years and spoke English well. He stated that there was no clear front and some Russian units not far there had broken through the front. Two days earlier Russians were seen just three kilometers from the place where they were. They decided to go on in the direction of the cannons. Suddenly three men stepped from behind trees. Achmetow suddenly shouted "Russki! Russki!" Rofe and Hillenbrand could not believe these were the first real Russian troops and that they themselves had crossed the front. They had seen no German! These were really the first Russian soldiers that they would meet but unfortunately they were part of Cossack units consisting of hundreds of men who were cut off from the other Russian units and continue the fighting behind the German lines to . The Germans were afraid they were being surrounded and did everything possible to eliminate these units.

Cossack cavalry during a break.

Photo: Military Intelligence Service

When in 1917 after the revolution civil war broke out between Mensheviks and Bolsheviks most Cossacks fought against the Red Army, after its triumph the Sovjets obviously retaliated. Many wealthy Cossacks lost everything they owned. They also lost all their military and police powers, and their cavalry units were disbanded. Many Cossacks were exiled to present Kazakhstan and Siberia. In 1936 the Soviets decided however again to start Cossack units, from 1939 to 1945 they were used during the second World War. However, there were also large groups of Cossacks who joined the Germans in the hope to regain their former status and also the Italians had Cossack regiments.

The tragedy of a proud people that eventually fought each other and were abused and crushed by the great powers.

Rofe and Hillebrand were greeted warmly by the Cossacks and after questionin about their escape, the route they had followed, the partisans and the lack of Germans in the territories they crossed, they were invited for dinner. They wondered about the Russian troops, their equipment and the female Russian soldiers. The Cossacks were supplied by air and had enough food and ammunition. The wounded flew back to the Russian lines by small planes. They usually slept under the open sky and over the next days

Rofe and Hillebrand went along with the Cossacks and had several encounters with German units. Several times they were shot at and had to dive for cover as bullets flew over their heads.

After a few days the Russians decided to break out and cross the front line back to the other Russian units. The units had large numbers of horse-drawn wagons that transported supplies for the Cossacks. The two escapers were initially assigned to one of these cars.

Rofe and Hillebrand at some point were seperated but continued with the Cossacks to the Russian lines. Rofe searched for Hillebrand and ended up in the rear. As Rofe could ride on horseback, he was assigned a horse. The rear was the last part of the cossack unit to cross open ground to the Russian lines. The Cossacks and other Russians kept the Germans at a distance but when the rear started to cross the whole area was under fire from the advancing Germans.

There remained nothing for the rearguard but to carry out a charge across the open field in a howling mad gallop towards the secure Russian lines.

Cavalry Charge by the Red Army

This was where Cossacks were good at and what they were trained to do. Having gathered in the woods the officers drew their swords and dozens shouting Cossacks gave their horses the spurs. The horses sprang forward from the forest cover and the Cossack cavalry appeared. The Germans were alerted by the retreat of the previous units and began a deadly barrage across the plain. Left and right of Rofe Cossacks were hit and fell off their horse, but the horses continued without riders in their mad charge and could not wait for wounded- or lagging riders.

The head of a Cossack in front seemed to split and his hat spun crazily back. A fleeting glimpse.

Bullet or shell. He rolled sideways off the horse and the horse was galloping riderless with them. Two more horses went down and Rofé crazily thought he was part of a film again; they were Red Indians, the Light Brigade, the gallant Six Hundred charging into the cannons and the cameras. And yet the taste of reality like iron on the tongue: an R.A.F. Sergeant in a Cossack cavalry charge. Confusion, but madly, madly exciting. Something buzzed sharply by his ear; another horse and rider were down.

The earth rumbled beneath the beat of hundreds of horses' along with the screams of raging Cossacks, the whizzing of bullets flying past, the impacts and the roar of guns, this resulted in an unrealistic atmosphere filled with adrenaline. Cossack officers waving their swords drawn over their heads raged on in a trance and continued to urge the horses and men. When passing through the Russian lines, they were loudly hailed from the advancing tanks and from the trenches filled with troops. It was the most anxious minutes in the life of Rofe for no gold he would like to repeat what he had done but it gave him a huge kick.

Rofe by his participation in this charge is officially the last British soldier in the history of the British Army to participate in such an old-fashioned cavalry charge.

They were on the Russian side of the front but that did not mean there was an end to the adventures of Rofe.