Chapter 18
CHAPTER 18: BREAKOUT
We now left behind the bocage for good. The countryside between the Orne and the Somme was a land of rolling fields and occasional woods, intersected by several rivers that provided good sites for defence. For several days our advance was slow, held up by blown bridges, minefields, and determined rearguard actions supported by Tigers and Panthers. At this stage it was essentially an infantry war, with tanks and artillery in support, rather than mobile armoured warfare. But the Germans retreated more rapidly between one defensive position and the next: soon we enjoyed the unusual experience of entering towns and villages that were almost intact — instead of heaps of ruins.
The first undamaged town was St Pierre-sur-Dives, followed by Livarot which was largely intact, though the scene of a sharp battle. This was one of the hard-fought encounters with the German rearguards, which invariably required us to get our guns into action in double-quick time. Our infantry and tanks continued to suffer losses, but we were now taking more prisoners. In the intervals between one violent action and the next we had our first taste in France of genuine ‘liberation’. We were greeted by tricolour flags, a joyous welcome, and by men of the French resistance who provided useful information about the retreating Germans.
As the battle became more mobile, a new anxiety arose. Sometimes we passed through a town or village and left it undefended as we advanced. We had no spare troops for static duties. On at least one occasion the Germans re-entered a liberated village. At Sainte Marguerite they shot in cold blood six civilians, men and women who had been seen to welcome our troops. On other occasions the Resistance were able to take care of any German troops who re-appeared, and also helped us a lot by looking after prisoners.
After Livarot we were able to advance more quickly. At last we enjoyed the exhilaration of operating as an armoured formation, fanning out from the centre line and by-passing opposition. I couldn’t enjoy this to the full as I was feeling rather ill, probably just the result of exhaustion. The M.O. gave me a lift in his ambulance for twenty-four hours: I observed the liberation of Lisieux out of the ambulance window. After a day's rest I was completely recovered.
There were more rivers to cross and more battles to fight before the German retreat became a rout. But to our right the Americans were now driving deep into France: with the Free French Army they entered Paris on August 25th The battle of the bridgehead was over.
By the end of August we were advancing through country that had been hastily evacuated by the enemy. Their retreating troops and supply columns had been heavily bombed in daylight, suffering crippling casualties. Wrecked vehicles littered the roads and fields: occasional unburied corpses: an abundance of dead horses and unfortunate cattle. We had grown accustomed in Italy to the sight and stench of dead horses and cattle, but this was an altogether bigger scale. We had not realised how much the Germans, always short of petrol, depended on horse transport. The unfortunate animals lay in macabre groups, lying on their sides or feet in the air, bellies swollen, emitting an appalling smell. Eventually they were disposed of by burning. It took 40 gallons of petrol to consume a dead horse. The Division on the move used 70,000 gallons of petrol for a day's march, so we could afford to burn a few horses as well.
Monty's strategy now was to clear the enemy from Northern France, destroying en route the V1 launching sites in the Pas de Calais: then to capture airfields in Belgium and to seize the port of Antwerp in order to relieve the supply problems caused by our lengthening line of communications. The 11th Armoured were directed on Antwerp, 7th Armoured on Ghent, and the Guards Armoured on Brussels. The Canadians on the left flank were to clear the channel ports and deal with the V1 sites. The strategy was now to be put into effect with spectacular success.
Led by the armoured cars of the 11th Hussars, the Division began the advance at 3 a.m. on 31st August. We crossed the Seine by a Bailey bridge at Les Andelys. After the usual traffic jams, progress was swift. By nine a.m. the leading troops were half way to the Somme. The heavy armour was led by our new tank regiment, the ‘Skins’. By dusk they had covered seventy miles in the day. Two thousand prisoners had been taken. Next day we reached the Somme. All the bridges on our sector had been blown by the retreating Germans. After some delay we were allowed to use a small bridge in the next sector to our right, on the western outskirts of Amiens. As we crossed the river, I had a striking view of the tall cathedral.
I was travelling with the Colonel in his Sherman, riding with Brigade headquarters alongside the leading tank regiment. There wasn’t any work for the Survey Unit to do, but I was fully occupied in keeping the Colonel's map up-to-date with the positions of our troops and the enemy's. As we passed through towns and villages apparently unscathed by war, the whole population turned out to welcome us with flowers and kisses. We were elated by the feeling that we were at last freeing the people of occupied Europe from the Nazi tyranny.
Once across the Somme we were in First World War country. At Bethune and the La Bassee canal we had to dislodge German rearguards. Somewhere around here I saw for the first time a 19 14/18 war cemetery, with graves numbered in tens of thousands. It was infinitely depressing, though there was the consoling thought that the casualties on our front would be in no way comparable. Soon after that we passed through the mining town of Lens. Here the streets were lined with cheering crowds of French miners in blue overalls. They greeted us with enthusiastic communist salutes. Colonel Peter was not exactly a paid-up party member, but he duly raised his clenched fist to return the salute. As the cheering redoubled, I felt I could safely follow his example.
There were numerous rivers and canals intersecting the landscape. Our line of advance was determined by what bridges were left after German demolitions. We also had to guard against infiltration from our left flank which our advance had now totally exposed. Groups of Germans trickled eastwards across our centre line. Sometimes they had no wish but to give themselves up: sometimes they were supported by the odd tank and were eager to do battle.
The discovery of an unblown bridge over the La Bassee canal had led to a major diversion. 1st Royal Tanks were advancing through Lillers when they were ordered to withdraw and move round to the east to cross the surviving bridge. The Colonel of the Regiment objected to abandoning Lillers, fearing that German troops would re-enter the town and wreak vengeance on the population. Finally he had no option but to accept a direct order from the Brigadier. Fortunately, as it turned out, the Maquis took charge of Lillers, and were sufficiently well-armed to repel a small German attack.
While we drove through towns and villages by daylight, we invariably spent the nights in the local fields. Because of the speed of the advance, units became a bit mixed up in the darkness as the troops closed up to the leading tanks. On one night, the forward Brigade Headquarters moved up to share a field where we were settling in. A large ACV (armoured command vehicle) nosed its way along the hedge and lurched to a halt a few feet from where I was squatting in the hedgerow to perform a daily task for which a very early start had provided no previous opportunity. I hurriedly made my excuses and left.
Before leaving French territory we overran one of the V1 launching sites that was further inland than most of its companions. One of the rockets, all shining metal, appeared ready to fire. It was in effect a small pilotless plane. The sites, with their long launching platforms, were fixed, and lined up with specific targets in London, Sussex and Kent.