A Devil's Shooting Gallery

Four minutes late, but the largest has been reached
The Campbletown lies stopped, crashed into the caisson
Opening the valves to scuddle the ship
Patiently awaiting, her hour of Death
With Iron-runged ladders
The commandos embark
Down they went under heavy fire
Supported by the Oerlikons
Moving at the double
Carrying weapons and many explosives
Illuminated by searchlights, in a moonlike gloom

The men advance towards their objectives
Sometimes no opposition, other times lighting hard
All around the noise of shots and explosions
Everywhere the crackle of machineguns
The bursts of the Oerlikens
The crashed of high explosives
The roar of the commandos' charges
Destroying the pump houses
Demolishing the far caisson
Blowing up the winding houses
Silencing the defenses

Each target has been reached
Success in an utmost degree
In battle with the bunkers
Throwing hand grenades
Blazing with Brens and Thomsons
The positions were overrun
Opposition was fierce, a deadly game evolved
The Germans and the British were fighting hand-to-hand

The protection and demolishing teams were retreating
Under the fire of the German ships less than half an
hour after the landing took place
The commandos demolition objectives had been fulfilled
The Forme Eeluse was useless, certainly a year at least
Pritchard's daring operation was already a success