War Diary: 2nd Battalion Devonshire Regiment

Month and year: November 1944

The 2nd Battalion Devonshire Regiment November 1944 covers the units fighting in Holland in the around Nijmegen.

National Archive Reference: WO 171/1278

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Page 1 of 16

Place	Date	Summary of Events and Information
Bemmel.	1st	We were informed early in the morning that the Bde were being
		relieved by III Bn 508 R.C.T. and the Bn would be moving back to NIJMEGEN
		for a short rest. Bn recce parties left during the morning and we were
		visited by the American Bde IO. During the afternoon we were ordered
		by Bde to send one Pl to the 2nd Dorsets to thicken up their left hand Coy.
		We were also informed that the DORSETS were sending out a strong fighting
		patrol that evening with the object of capturing a prisoner and our Mortars
		were to assist in the fire plan. In our sector the night passed without
		incident.
	2nd	The American recce party arrived at mid-day and apart from slight
		shelling in 'D' Coy area the relief took place during the afternoon
		without incident. Whilst approaching NIJMEGEN an enemy fighter flew
		over along the line of the WAAL and dived to roof-top height to avoid the
		intense flak. We arrived at our rest area just before dark, Bn HQ and
		HQ Coy in a school half occupied by Nuns who showed considerable kindness

Page 2 of 16

Place	Date	Hour	Summary of Events and Information
NIJMEGEN.	2nd	After- noon	and co-operation during our stay. 'A' 'D' 'B' 'Sp' Coys were billeted
			in Colonial Bks and 'C' Coy in a school in W Nijmegen.
	3rd		After a general clean up we spent our days leisurely.
	to 6th.		Entertainments and baths were arranged for all Coys. The Bn football
			team won the Bde football competition beating 200 Field Ambulance in the
			final by 5 goals to 2. The rest period was given a grand finale by a
			concert given by members of the Bn which was attended by the Bde Comd.
			Beer was provided before the show, and during the interval which provided
			the right atmosphere. The Padre brought the house down with his performance
			as the 'Bloodthirsty Medical Officer'
	7th		To-day the Bn was to move back into the island and the Comd Offr
			and IO went forward to the HQ of the 5th East Yorks at 0900 hrs. The
			new location was N of Elst. No daylight recce of the two forward
			posns was possible owing to enemy observation which made the changeover
			extremely difficult. Coy Comds came up later in the morning and viewed

Page 3 of 16

Place	Date	Summary of Events and Information
NIJMEGEN.	7th	their posns from the mortar OP. This proved to be the most
		detestable posn the Bn had ever occupied owing to the deep mud and flooded
		slit trenches. 'A' and 'B' Coys occupied the forward areas and were in
		position by 2200 hrs. 'C' Coy were in reserve near Bn HQ and 'D' Coy
		moved into billets in Elst and carried out training.
N of ELST	8th	During the night a deserter came into 'B' Coy centre pl and after interrogation at BN HQ
		it was discovered that his Unit was II Coy 41 Fortress Bn. He gave quite
		a lot of useful infm confirming the layout of his Bn. Before day-break
		O.C. 'A' Coy came to Bn HQ with bad news. A German patrol had crept in
		during the early hours and had taken 1 NCO and 3 men prisoners.
		In the afternoon the Bn area was shelled by 88 mm SP guns to which
		our gunners promptly replied. The weather was steadily deteriorating
		and the 'Jeep' track to 'B' Coy became impassable. The problem arose
		regarding the conveyance of hot food to this posn. This was overcome by
		using a horse and cart, the former earned the admiration of all ranks for

Page 4 of 16

Place	Date	Hour	Summary of Events and Information
N of ELST.	8th		his serenity under shellfire.
	9th	0200	At 0200 hrs a 'B' Coy patrol returned with the infm that the blg
			on their front was occupied by enemy. About mid-day our snipers had
			their first kill. They took up posn at first light in 'A' Coy fwd pl posn
			but observed NO enemy movement. They then crawled along a dyke to within
			12 yards of an enemy slit trench and heard a Boche speaking. They scored
			a direct hit on the trench with a 36 grenade and heard crys' of pain.
			During the early evening 'B' Coy received another visitor from II Coy
			41 Fortress Bn. He spoke perfect English and besides confirming his
			comrades' statements said that all the remaining men in his Coy were as
			anxious as he to desert but owing to the fear of reprisals on their family's
			in Germany by the Gestapo they were afraid to come over. He confirmed that
			SS troops were kept behind the lines living in comfortable houses and only
			came forward for patrol activities. It was one of these patrols who had
			taken our four men.

Page 5 of 16

Place	Date	Hour	Summary of Events and Information
N of ELST	10th		During the night patrols went out from 'A' and 'B' Coys but had nothing
			to report. In the afternoon we saw a Mustang shot down by enemy light AA
			East of 'A' Coy. Unfortunately it fell in the enemy lines and the pilot did
			not 'bale out'.
			At dusk enemy fire livened up and spandeaus were very active. Bullets
			whistled over Bn.HQ. a few actually hitting the buildings. Our Dorset friends
			on the right received a large dose of shells and mortar bombs.
		1850	Exchange of Coys took place to-night 'D' Coy were to relieve 'A' and
			'C' Coy to replace 'B'. At 1850 hrs shells fell in BnHQ area and one 150
			mm shell fell at the rd junc a few yds from the Comd Post. A few vehs
			were on the rd and 'D' Coy 'Jeep' was hit and burst into flames. The dvr
			was badly wounded and died soon after he was carried to the Comd Post.
			3 other men were wounded. Sig Offr and several men put the fire out with
			mud. The Remainder of the night passed quietly.
	11th		During the daylight hours it was very quiet. At 2245 the Pioneer Offt

Page 6 of 16

Place	Date	Hour	Summary of Events and Information
N of Elst.	11th		reported a German patrol moving N alongside the railway whilst his men
			were laying booby traps in the forward area. They disappeared into the
			darkness and nothing materialised. Hampshires representatives visited
			us and looked over Coy posts prior to relieving us tomorrow night.
		2300	At 2300 yet another deserter came in from II Coy 41 Fortress Bn. He was
			very young and puny and had only 4 months service in the G A. He had
			already been wounded two months previously and could no longer stand our
			shelling.
	12th		Two patrols were out during the early hours and returned by 0500 hrs.
			They confirmed enemy F.D.Ls on line of railway. Except for slight enemy
			mortaring in 'B' Coy area at 0730, the morning passed quietly. Advance
			elements of the Hampshires arrived at mid-day, and at 1400 hrs we received
			the Code word 'Water Wings' which was the 1st phase of Exercise 'Noah'.
			This meant that the water was high enough to flood the island if the Boche
			decided to blow the dams.

Page 7 of 16

Place	Date	Summary of Events and Information
N of ELST	12th	During the afternoon 'A' and 'B' Coys were relieved by the Hampshires
		and immediately darkness fell 'C' and 'D' were replaced. The exchange took
		place without incident and the Comd pass at 1830 hrs
		Bn went into Bde reserve in ELST and all troops were in houses except
		for 1 Pl of 'B' Coy who had to fill the gap between the Dorsets and 9 DLI.

Page 8 of 16

Place	Date	Hour	Summary of Events and Information
ELST	13th		The night passed quietly. During the morning the evacuation of
			civilians from the island commenced. The Bde Comd came to Bn HQ and
			visited Coys with the Comd Offr. In the early evening 'S' Coy detained
			a doubtful civilian and after interrogation by our interpreter he was
			arrested by the Civil Affairs Authorities.
	14th		Another quiet night and the day too proved to be uneventful except
			when at 1030 hrs a flying bomb passed over, flying N towards enemy held
			Arnhem. The engine cut out just before it was over the latter town, and we waited for
			the crump but nothing materialised.
	15th		During the early morning shells landed in the area of Elst Church
			near 'D' Coy but no casualties occurred. The Bn Comd left for 21 Army
			Group HQ at BRUSSELS and shortly after his departure we were visited by
			the Div Comd.
		16th	Up to this stage the Div had been operating with 4 Bdes, the American
			508 RCT being under Comd, thus allowing one Bde always to be at rest

Page 9 of 16

Place	Date	Hour	Summary of Events and Information
ELST	16th		over the bridge in NIJMEGEN. We learned now, however, that 508 were being
			withdrawn from the Div and we were to extend the areas covered by two Bdes
			and bring 61 Recce to hold the centre of the Div front. This still
			enabled 1 Bde to rest but only two Bns were to go to NIJMEGEN whilst the
			the third was to rest in DIV reserve in RESSEN about two miles S of ELST
			This still left a gap between 61 Recce and our 'B' Coy PL and we were
			ordered to put one Coy in the area. Recces were carried out during
		1630	the morning and 'A' Coy were in posn by 1630 hrs. During the evening
			the Bn area received harrassing fire from enemy S.P. Guns to which our
			gunners promptly replied.
	17th		Little to report to-day except for a very large shell that dropped
			just behind the buildings occupied by Bn HQ. Bde HQ too was shelled
			to-day. At dusk we were visited by Bde. L.O. who told us that we were
			to provide a guard over the wagons on the ELST railway siding. This was
			provided by 'C' Coy.

Page 10 of 16

Place	Date	Summary of Events and Information
ELST	18th	During the morning our 4.2 Mortars carried out harrassing tasks and
		Bofors firing in a ground role shot up houses believed occupied by the enemy.
		During the afternoon 'D' Coy took over our forward committment from 'A' Coy.
	19th	Comd Offr returned from BRUSSELS and we learned with great regret that
		he was going to leave us to take over Comd of 101 Re-inforcement Group.
	19th	P/No 50942 Lt-col P.H.W.Brind assumed Comd of the Bn.
		An extremely quiet day. The Padre held a service in the barn near
		Bn HQ.
	20th	The Comd Offr visited all Coys to say Goodby. It was not possible
		to see all the men but he spoke to all Offrs and NCOs.
		'C' Coy replaced 'D' Coy in the forward posn during the afternoon.
		At 2300 hrs a strong fighting patrol, was sent out through the Dorsets
		right Coy area but were forced to return owing to unforeseen difficulties.
		It was decided that they would go out again the following night.

Page 11 of 16

Place	Date	Summary of Events and Information
ELST/20th	20th	To day we were very pleased to hear that the Comd Offr (Lt-col Sir, John,
		G. Carew-Pole, Bart had been awarded the D.S.O.
	21st	The Church area was again shelled in the early hours. Lt-col Sir, John, G.
		Carew-Pole Bart DSO left for his new appointment. At 1830 hundreds of RAF
		bombers could be heard flying over us towards the RUHR. During this period
		the Bn area received slight shelling. Soon after 2100 hrs our fighting patrol
		went out again.
	22nd	Immediately after breakfast a Bn Recce party left for a secret destination
		lead by 'Sp Coy Comd. To-day the Bde were being relieved by 151 Bde.
		1 Hamps and 1 Dorsets were going to NIJMEGEN for rest and we were going into
		DIV Reserve at RESSEN. 9 DLI recce parties arrived at 0900 hrs and our
		party left for RESSEN at 0930 hrs. During the afternoon 'A' 'B' 'D' Coys
		moved back and 'C' Coy were relieved just before dusk. The Bn were all in the
		RESSEN area by 1915 hrs and the evening passed quietly.

Page 12 of 16

Place	Date	Summary of Events and Information
RESSEN	23rd	A very peaceful day spent mainly in cleaning up. The weather was still
		bad and it rained steadily throughout the hours of daylight.
	24th	Another rainy day. Trg was carried out in the morning and during the
		afternoon facilities were arranged for baths, entertainment etc in NIJMEGEN
		for a percentage of the Bn.
		During the evening 'B' and 'D' Coy received a few odd shells - no
		casualties.
	25th	It became obvious at this time that something big was ahead for the
		Div and speculation was rife amongst the troops. The quiet exit of the
		advance party to an unknown destination had given rise to all manner of
		imaginative rumours, which ranged from making a film in Hollywood to
		the invasion of the Channel Isles. In the 0900 hrs B.B.C news it was
		announced that our Division put the first Infantry into FRANCE, Belgium,
		Holland and Germany.
	26th	The Padre held Church parades during the morning. At 1500 hours the

Page 13 of 16

Place	Date	Hour	Summary of Events and Information
RESSEN	26th	1500	Comd Offr left to recce posns in HAALDERON which we were to take over from
			7 GREEN HOWARDS the following day. The WAAL had overflowed its banks and from
			the Bund running along side the 7 GREEN HOWARDS Bn HQ the water could be
			seen trickling over the furthest embankment about 700 yds away.
			Shortly before tea we were treated to a fine effort by the RAF. About
			40 rocket firing Typhoons could be seen engaging enemy posns in the ARNHEM
			area. The enemy flak was intense but the flyers showed complete disregard
			for it.
HAALDERON.	27th		During the morning Coy recce parties went forward to look over their posns
			at HAALDERON. During the last 24 hours the water had risen considerably and
			was now in as far as our Bund to a depth of approx 3 ft. Our Coys began
			to move in during the afternoon and the relief was completed by 1800 hrs
			The Bn layout was 'B' Coy right, 'C' Coy centre and 'D' Coy left, 'A'
			Coy was in reserve at Colonial Barracks NIJMEGEN. Apart from slight mortaring
			in the 'C' Coy area the relief passed without incident.

Page 14 of 16

Place	Date	Summary of Events and Information
HAALDERON	28th	A cold dry quiet night without any enemy activity. About mid-day
		propaganda leaflets were fired into 'D' Coy area by our opponents. They
		read that any deserter would be kindly treated and told that German soldiers
		were feeding very well. This caused great amusement in our ranks. It
		began to rain again and became very heavy as the day wore on. The flooding
		situation began to look serious as the water was now seeping through the
		Bund and the surrounding fields were almost under water. At 1500 hrs we
		were visited by the Comd Offr and IO of the 7th Duke of Wellington Regt who
		we discovered were to relieve us the following day. Apart from meduim
		sized shells which fell in the rear of Bn HQ about 2300 hrs it was a quiet
		and uneventful night.
	29th	Still raining. During the night some of the cellars in the BnHQ area
		began to flood and had to be evacuated by the men. Shortly before 'Stand-to'
		the Bn area received attention with a few 88 mm shells. At 0700 hrs the
		B' Coy Pl in the factory were waterlogged and had to be pulled out.

Page 15 of 16

Place	Date	Hour	Summary of Events and Information
HAALDERON	29th		Bn O Group was called at 0900 hrs and orders issued regarding our relief
			from the Island. Recce parties arrived shortly afterwards and the exchange
			of Coys began to take place during the afternoon and the Command passed over
			to the Duke of Wellingtons at 2015 hrs. The Bn were billeted in The
			MUISSIEHAUS IN NIJMEGEN for the night.
NIJMEGEN	30th		Early this morning we prepared maps for a 75 mile journey southwards and at 1000 fill
			hrs we exchanged some of our men for Dorsets and Hamps personnel also extra Offrs
			and men were brought in to make the Bn up to strength.
		1200	At 1200 hrs the Bn paraded for a talk by the Div Comd Maj Gen D.A.H
			GRAHAM, CB, CBE, DSO, MC. who at last revealed to us our future.
			It was with great surprise and regret that we learned that 50 (N) Div as a
			fighting Div was to be disbanded and was going back to England as a training
			Div. Two Bn from the Div, 9 DLI and ourselves were leaving 50 Div and joining
			131 Lorried Inf Bde in the famous 7th Armd Div. This somewhat eased the blow
			of leaving 50 (N) Div as we were still in the most experienced fighting Division

Page 16 of 16

Place	Date	Summary of Events and Information
NIJMEGEN	30th	of the British Second Army. Bn O Group was called at 1430 hrs and we
		were told that we were moving back to DILSEN 5972 on the Belgium- Holland
		border where we were to re-organise for out future operations as lorried Inf.
		At 1500 hrs the Comd Offr addressed the Bn and emphasised the need for greater
		secrecy by all rank regarding our new venture.
		At 1630 hrs we left Comd of 231 Inf Bde and came under direct command of
		Second Army. The remaining hours of daylight were spent in preparing for our move to
		Belgium and at 1915 hrs we moved off from NIJMEGEN.
		This was literally our farewell to 50 (N) Division.

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War Diary: 2nd Battalion Devonshire Regiment

Month and year: November 1944

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