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| Place | Date | Hour | Summary of Events and Information | References to Appendices |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| BEERS685492 | 1 | Recce party left for BEERS 0820 hrs arrived 1000 hrs. No move for Bn before 1515 hrs. Bn eventually left by tpt 1800 hrs reaching new location 2210 hrs. Weather was cold and stormy. | ||
| CUYK714492 | 2 | CO held conference 0900 hrs. OP established 718498 & advance of US Airborne tps was observed towards MIDDELAAR 7448. Enemy shelled CUYK periodically throughout the day. A Coy sustained 4 OR casualties - 1 killed & 3 wounded, & D Coy 1 OR wounded. Bn HQ moved to CUYK714492 at 1500 hrs arriving 1530 hrs. Enemy aircraft were active during the evening when bombs were dropped on the opposite side of the river at 2105 hrs and again at 2140 hrs. No reports were received as to the exact locality. Weather cold at night but fine during day. | ||
| CUYK | 3 | COs conference 0900 hrs. Dutch pro-Nazi brought to BN HQ at 0915 hrs, interogated by IO & divulged a certain amount of information regarding enemy positions which was forwarded to Bde. OP was manned during morning and evening but little activity was observed. MG fire was heard at 1217 hrs coming from direction Middblaar Church. CUYK was again shelled periodically throughout the day, being particularly heavy between 1130 - 1145 hrs when most shells fell in area of OP. Enemy aircraft were overheard between 1850 hrs & 1930 hrs but no bombs were reported in locality. Weather cold with occasional storms. | ||
| CUYK | 4 | Enemy shells fell, in Bn HQ area between 0530 hrs & 0600. One shell hit building occupied by Bn HQ causing damage to roof but no casualties. It was decided to move Bn HQ from present location & at 0945 hrs move to 707494 arriving 1000 hrs. Brigadier called at BN HQ 1215 hrs leaving at 1230. Junior NCOs cadre commenced. Weather cold but fine. | ||
| 707494 near CUYK | 5 | Bn training. OP manned from 0900 hrs until dusk but no activity observed. Heavy AA fire at 1518 hrs When German fighter flew over. COs conference 1900 hrs. Party left for Div Club 0900 hrs. Weather fine but strong easterly wind blowing. | ||
| 6 | CO & IO proceeded on recce leaving Bn HQ 1000 hrs returning 1330 hrs. At 1520 hrs ME 109 flew over low, appearing to have been hit by AA. Later confirmed shot down & pilot taken prisoner. A further party left for Div Club 0900 hrs. Weather fine but cold, easterly wind still blowing. | |||
| 7 | Bn continued training. CO attended conference at Bde 1430 hrs. Weather quite mild. Another party visited Div Club leaving Bn HQ 0900 hrs. |
| Place | Date | Hour | Summary of Events and Information | References to Appendices |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 707494 | 8 | Church parades held during morning for CEs, RCs, & Presbyterians. Bn football team played a local Dutch Eleven at BEERS, our team gaining an easy victory by 5 goals to 1. The game was watched by a large number of spectators & the Pipe Band was loudly applauded when they played during the interval & after the game. B Coy moved at 1830 hrs to 547477. Weather very wild, morning being rather foggy. | ||
| 703484 | 9 | Recce party left Bn HQ at 1030 hrs. Advance party of 1 Royal Norfolk arrived 0900 hrs. Bn had bath day. Moved to new location at 1500 hrs arriving at 1520. CO held conference 1900 hrs. Weather again mild. | ||
| 10 | Continuous rain throughout the day. Recce party left Bn HQ at 1315 hrs returning at 1700 hrs. At 1600 hrs news came through that there would be no move for 24 hrs. A party left at 0900 hrs for 24 hrs at Div Club. | |||
| 11 | COs conference 0900 hrs. Recce party left Bn HQ 1400 hrs. Weather reasonably fine with occasional storms. Further party left for Div Club & another party attended Concert at MILL. | |||
| 721382 | 12 | It was now decided that 3 Br Inf Div would clear the area of woody country as far as VENRAY & possibly further. During the afternoon the CO was on recconnaissance with the Brigadie & the Squadron Leader of the supporting Tank Squadrons from the 4th Grenadier Guards. A restricted view of the forward edge of the wood which was to be the Bde objective, was obtained from the bridge at 736322 but swiftly following darkness, and the operations of 8 Br Inf Bde, who were battling for the approaches to the wood, reduced the value of the recce. At 2000 hrs the CO received final orders from Bde & at 2145 hrs gave out his own to Company Commanders. 2 RUR was to lead the Bde with the intention of capturing & clearing the large wood to the South West of OVERLOON. Within the Bn A Coy was to lead, followed by D, B,& C, each with objectives as shown on appendix. Routes were however dependant upon recconnaissance which was to be carried out by leading Coy Comds & the tank squadron & troop leaders. Liaison between the representatives of both arms & the issue of revised orders had all to take place after first light, so that it was unlikely that zero hour would remain at 0800 as fixed. | ||
| 13 | Reveille was at 0300 hrs & the Bn left ST ANTHONIS at 0400 hrs marching to on Assembly Area at 741332. Breakfast was eaten here & was much welcomed after a tiring march in the dark. |
| Place | Date | Hour | Summary of Events and Information | References to Appendices |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 721382 | 13 | At 0600 hrs the CO was at 8 Br Inf Bde HQ to learn the latest dispositions of the enemy from the Bns in contact. Then he met Company Commanders in the new area & with them went forward to the Headquarters of the South Lancashires, the Battalion on that sector of the front with which we were most concerned. Here the CO met the tank commanders & some "marrying-up" was achieved before all parties went forward to recce routes. Recces had to be carried out with care because mines had been encountered by 8th Bn Inf Bde on the previous day, & it was consequently important to find a route which would permit the passage of tanks and infantry. At 0830 hrs the CO gave final orders & at 0900 hrs A Coy left the assembly area for its first objective. Bn HQ moved forward behind it to a house at 753332. soon after A Goy had moved off intensive mortaring & shelling came down but it seemed to be defensive rather than observed fire, falling along the line of the OVERIOON-OPLOO road rather than upon our men as they moved forward. Major Sweeney MC kept his Company well on the Northern side of the road, working along right-handed & crossing the road at the point where the wood was nearest to it. Meanwhile the tanks drove forward across the road & kept up an impressive covering barrage of machine gun fire upon the whole line of the wood to the West & South. Flails too were close behind, prepared to deal with any mines which were discovered. A Coy had had a few casualties crossing the open ground but once in the wood they were to a large extent covered from activities of the Bosche. Now there were fresh difficulties dictated by the nature of the country. This wood varied in thickness from being in some places impenetrable, to others where the undergrowth had been cut down by shelling & dry rot. Tracks leading through the woods were soft & sandy like the rest of the wood so that the speed of marching personnel & vehicles alike was much reduced. Another problem was the mapping of the area; tracks & woods on the map bore little relation to tracks & woods on the ground & even with a revised trace of this particular wood, it remained extremely difficult to find direction. At 0945 hrs A Coy reported its objectives gained & D Coy under Major Bird left soon after this. Gradually a few prisoners began to come in but it soon became clear that the main body of the Bosche had withdrawn from the wood & that these prisoners were stragglers. Consequently D Coy, its objectives reported carried, was instructed by the CO to push forward to the original objective of C Coy, & C under Major de Longueuil now moved forward to take over D objective. B Coy under Capt Gaffikin followed & pressed forward to the right hand final objective. At one point in their advance B Coy came to a clearing & were fired on by a bazooka & small arms. No casualties were sustained but by the time B Coy had deployed to deal with this threat the Bosche had fled. The Coy made good its objectives without further incidents. | Ich |
| Place | Date | Hour | Summary of Events and Information | References to Appendices |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 721382 | 13 | Subsequently some Bosche were observed in a little strip of wood opposite the position & Bren guns opened up with great effect. Soon after this Two Pz KW Mk IV was observed withdrawing South East across the front, unfortunately out of PIAT range. The tanks could not assist here because they had been quite unable to follow the infantry through the wood to these positions. Bn HQ moved to the edge of the wood (751309) at 1800 hrs. Difficulties of admintstration began to arise. No vehicles could reach the forward Companies because the tracks had not yet been cleared of mines & because they were so soft, but in any case only carriers could have made the journey. Food, water, blankets & greatcoats had to be manhandled up to the Company positions by relays of working parties. Additionally all ranks had to dig in, & though the soil was soft it was late before all preparations were completed. Little sleep was had by the Bn that night. Casualties during the day had not been heavy & these few were caused principally by mortar fire. A Coy suffered some in the initial advance, & later D Coy lost Lieut Curran, slightly wounded in the head. | ||
| 14 | Today the Bn remained in its positions in daylight. Much of the day was 'spent in pulling out of the sand trucks which had been bogged on the move of the previous evening. The forward Companies were able to return in small numbers at a time to the furtherst point that the transport could reach which saved manhandling the food forward. Several salvoes of mortar & artillery fire landed in the Bn area during the day. One particularly severe burst hit the A tk Pl HQ, slightly wounding the commander Capt Gray & seriously wounding Lt Rapkins who subsequently died of wounds. During the day 2 Lincolns passed through us & carried out a most successful attack upon the woods about 500 yards South of D & B Coys positions. Under cover of darkness A & C Coys moved down to the wood to assist the Lincolns in holding it during the night & the following day. Unfortunately just as A Coy were entering this wood a dead salvo from a nebelwerfer landed right in amongst them, killed 2 men & wounded 10 more. | |||
| 747293 | 15 | Bn HQ moved forward to position evacuated by C Company. Four more prisoners came in from C Coy who had found them in a farm near their forward position. All Coys positions were again shelled & mortared during the day. During the day the CO received orders that 2 RUR would next day move forward passing through the Lincolns to capture & occupy KLEINDORP to the South of the Lincolns wood. This would be carried out while 8 Br Inf Bde were attacking eastwards from the wood towards VENRAY. After dark Bn HQ & the remaining Coys B & D moved down to positions in the Lincolns wood and due in for the night. Bn HQ was at 747293 |
| Place | Date | Hour | Summary of Events and Information | References to Appendices |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 721382 | 16 | D Coy debouched from the wood at 0930 hrs towards KLEINDORP. All the enemy's attention was taken by the combined infantry & tank attack of 8 Br Inf Bde across the river BEEK towards VENRAY so that D Coy were able to move into KLEINDORP without difficulty. The CO had established a forward HQ at the Southern edge of the Lincolns wood which now began to be heavilly shelled & mortared. Not until 1400 hrs therefore did the CO send B Coy forward to support D, who during the morning had been quite at peace. Patrols from D Coy had been down to the BEEK and found no enemy this side of it, At about 1600 hrs the CO was informed that 9 Br Inf Bde would be withdrawn from this front as it had been squeezed out by the 8 Br Inf Bde on the left & the 11 Armoured Division which was driving in from the right. A & C Coys who were about to move into KLEINDORP were held back & recce parties left for the new area almost immediately. Our new location was East of OVERLOON & our role to prevent a possible counter attack towards OVERLOON, while the attack on VENRAY was being made. The Bn itself moved as soon as darkness fell. The tracks had been torn up by tracked vehicles & flooded by rain but in spite of this we were in our new positions by 2130 hrs. | I'm | |
| 17 | Preparations to attack the woods to South East of position. Reconnaissance was made by the CO during the afternoon & evening. It was thought that the attack might be made that night but in the evening it was postponed probably until the following night. Weather was again wet with a high gusty wind throughout the day. | |||
| 18 | Further redconnaissance by Coy Comds made with the CO in the morning & afternoon after a conference at 0900 hrs. Bde O Gp at 1900 hrs revealed a change in plan. 9 Br Inf Bde was to relieve 185 Bde in their position North East of VENRAY. 185 Bde were to be rested & active operations on this front were to give place to operations elsewhere. During the day Wing Commander Browne DFC commander of one of the Typhoon Wings that had supported us in recent operations visited the Bn & was photographed by a representative of the Northern Irish Whig. It was a wet day but the Wing Commander was nevertheless given a great reception by the Bn. In the afternoon the first leave party of 1 Officer & 10 ORs left the Bn for 48 hrs in Brussels. | |||
| 783284 | 19 | Advance Party left Bn HQ 0800 hrs. Advance party of KSLI arrived at Bn HQ 0900 hrs. Marching personnel moved off at 1130, vehicles at 1230 hrs, both arriving new location 1330 hrs. Enemy shells fell in Bn area at 1440, 1445, & 1840 hrs. A relief system |
| Place | Date | Hour | Summary of Events and Information | References to Appendices |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 783284 | 19 | was arranged in Bn HQ whereby only the minimum number of people stayed at Bn HQ, the remainder returning to A Echelon, & changed every 48 hrs. One prisoner was found in B Coy area. Weather again stormy. | ||
| 20 | COs conference 0900 hrs. Counter Mortar OP established at 787282. One prisoner belonging to 147 Marsch Bn gave himself up to B Coy at 0645 hrs. A very quiet day with a decided improvement in the weather which was quite fine. | |||
| 21 | COs conference 0900 hrs. Shells fell in Bn area at 1520 hrs & mortars at 1545 hrs. At 1810 hrs a civilian reported people buried in the cellar of a house at 789278. A party was sent out to investigate & on arrival discovered two civilians dead & four wounded. The Interpreters who had joined the Bn at CUYK WERE recalled. Weather again fine. A patrol was sent from A Coy during night 20/21 to ascertain if houses at 793277, 796279. & 799282 were occupied, & patrol confirmed as occupied. | |||
| 22 | COs conference 0900 hrs. "I" OP established at 790288. An official Dutch Interpreter joined the Bn. Baths were arranged for the Bn. An uneventful day with very occasional mortaring & shelling. Weather fine but rather cold. Two Recce & one Standing Patrols went out during the night to find out if nemy were in woods 791294, 797293 or occupying buildings 793282, but no enemy were seen. | |||
| 23 | At 0600 hrs mortar shells fell in Bn area. CO held conference 0900 hrs. At 1530 hrs mortar shells fell in Bn area causing 4 fatal casualties. A Priest, Nurse, Bn Interpreter, & a member of A Coy who were burying a civilian at 786284. The counter mortar OP submitted a number of shell & mortar reps to CMO Bde. Weather still fine. | |||
| 24 | COs conference 0900 hrs. A very quiet night. Between 1230 & 1245 hrs shells fell in Bn area causing a certain mount of delay & annoyance in serving dinner. Two patrols were sent out during the night 23/24, one by A Coy & another by C Coy. A Coy patrol revealed comparatively little, enemy voices were heard but no enemy seen. C Coy patrol located enemy between 793289 & 794287. Weather again fine. | |||
| 25 | Another quiet night. CO held conference 0900 hrs. At 0700 hrs two prisoners were taken by C Coy, who proved to be deserters from Regt Brehmer. A further prisoner, a deserter |
| Place | Date | Hour | Summary of Events and Information | References to Appendices |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 783284 | 25 | from Regt Hardegg gave himself up to A Coy. Bde Comd visited Bn & inspected Coy positions. A second party left for 48 hrs leave in Brussels staying 1 night at A Echelon, the following night at Divisional Club, & then proceeding on to Brussels. Shells fell in Bn area, at 1145 hrs. Mortar activity slight. CM OP submitting 6 mortar reps. Four patrols went out during night 24/25, one from A Coy, one from B Coy & 2 provided by C Coy. One of C Coy's patrols reported two enemy sentries at 795286, the other patrols revealing little of importance. Fine weather continued. | ||
| 26 | Again a quiet night. COs conference 0900 hrs. During the evening several civilians came through enemy lines & were taken to Bde for interrogation. CM OP sent in 10 shell & 2 mortar reps but day was comparatively quiet. Two patrols were sent out during the night 25/26, one by C Coy whose object was to recce forward to find suitable firm base for fighting patrol to capture sentries seen on the previous night. The other patrol provided by A Coy established a listening post at 790279 but had nothing to report. Weather still fine. | |||
| 27 | Mortar shells fell in Bn area 0630 hrs. COs conference 0900 hrs. At 1245 hrs mortar shells fell in Bn area causing 3 casualties in C Coy. More civilians came to Bn HQ having passed through German lines & were sent on to FSP. CM OP submitted 8 shell & 1 mortar rep. Three patrols went out during night 26/27, a fighting patrol from C Coy whose object was to capture a sentry from enemy position 795287, reported no enemy in that area. A standing patrol to occupy area of house at 790279, saw no enemy. A contact patrol met a Norfolk patrol at 785279. Fine weather continued. | |||
| 28 | Another quiet night. COs conference 0900 hrs. Very little shelling during the day. CM OP submitting 4 shell & 3 mortar reps. Fragments of a mortar bomb which fell in Bn area were sent on to CMO Bde and proved to be portions of the propelent chamber of 21 cm NBW bomb. This was the first conclusive evidence that 21 cm NBW bombs had been dropped in Bde area. Four patrols went out during night 27/28, one patrol from A Coy went to rd junc 786283 but had nothing to report. A patrol provided by C Coy went out with the object of establishing a firm base in area 796285 then patrolling East to locate enemy & if possible capture a prisoner. The limit of penetration East was buildings 800282 were patrol could hear vehicles in wood 792285. A NBW fired from this area at 2235 hrs. patrol had to withdraw early owing to bright moonlight. The patrol from B Coy went to rd & track junc 793291 |
| Place | Date | Hour | Summary of Events and Information | References to Appendices |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 783284 | 28 | but had nothing to report. D Coy provided a contact patrol, who met a Norfolk patrol. Weather fine but cold. | ||
| 29 | Again a quiet night. CO held conference at 0900 hrs. Many civilians passed through German lines into our own lines & were despatched to FSF. Our OP reported that several civilians & a German soldier were making their way to position occupied by 2 Lincolns Enemy guns & mortars were a little more active than usual but Bn area was only shelled once. CM OP sent in 9 shell & 6 mortar reps. Party rejoined Bn after 48 hrs leave in Brussels. Weather still fine but cold. | |||
| 30 | COs conference 0900 hrs. Again a quiet day. Bn had a bath day. Two standing patrols were out during night 29/30 but had nothing to report. Weather was fine but very cold during day & rain fell during the evening. | |||
| 31 | COs conference 1000 hrs. Another quiet & uneventful day, CM OP having very little to report. A Dutch Interpreter joined the Bn. A further party left for the Bn for 48 hrs leave in Brussels. During the night 30/31 a patrol went out from B Coy to find out if there were any enemy along South edge of wood to 799293 but no enemy were seen or heard. Weather very dull & rather cold. |
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