An Englishman at War

by James Holland

  After an hour’s work the engineers suddenly had the impression that they were being counter-attacked, and retreated with the maximum speed back to the town. This was entirely imagination on their part. Unfortunately, the brigadier arrived at Regimental Headquarters when the engineer officer, very white in the face, was telling me about the alleged counter-attack, at the same time that Stuart was reporting on the wireless that the engineers had vanished into thin air for no apparent reason. Prior-Palmer became extremely angry and recalled Stuart forthwith, and on his arrival said, ‘Stuart, you will take these engineers, under this officer, up to the bridge again and you will be in command, and the bridge will be ready by first light even if you are counter-attacked by 50 Panzer Divisions.’ At this stage Chris Sidgewick, our battery commander, having been fast asleep in the next room, and awakened by the irate and raised voice of the brigadier, entered the room carrying a map case. ‘What have you to report?’ the brigadier shot at him.

  ‘Nothing, sir, all is quiet,’ replied Chris, giving a most convincing impression that he had just returned from a most difficult and dangerous reconnaissance.

  ‘I thought as much,’ replied the brigadier, and left the room.

  Chris returned to the Land of Dreams.

  At dawn the next day B Squadron crossed the newly constructed bridge, and in the afternoon A Squadron, in support of 158th Brigade, attacked across the second river obstacle to capture the woods on the other side. Owing to the nature of the ground, the tanks had to use the only road, but the infantry infiltrated forward through the woods. Thanks to James Cagney and Dick Langford, who rushed their troops up the road with the help of a smokescreen put down by A Squadron, the infantry had tank support in the woods as soon as they reached their objective. 1 Troop actually reached the objective well in advance of the infantry, and when the smokescreen cleared they found themselves in the middle of a German infantry position. They spent a very hectic half-hour protecting themselves against the German bazooka teams, and their discomfort was increased when our infantry requested that there should be a repeat of the artillery barrage on the objective for the last stage of the attack. The German company commander who was captured told me that he was extremely impressed with the way that British tanks fought in the midst of their own artillery barrage. I did not disillusion him.

  In this area all the local population, obviously having been subjected to propaganda, were extremely scared that they would be exterminated; when Bill Enderby, after spending the night in the house of an old man, shook him by the hand when saying goodbye, he burst into tears.

  22

  From the Rhine to Victory

  The Rhine Crossing.

  MOST OF THE GERMANS had now retreated across the Rhine and it became very obvious that the next operation would be the crossing of the river, and this was very soon confirmed by the corps commander, who told me that the Regiment would take part and that the operation was to be called PLUNDER.

  By the second week of March, the area to the west of the Rhine had been cleared of German resistance in 21st Army Group’s sector. Some 50,000 troops had been taken prisoner in recent weeks; almost as many again had been killed or wounded. The last big obstacle facing the Allies was the giant river Rhine, the guardian of the Reich, and now brought up on the far side was the Panzer Lehr, the Sherwood Rangers’ old enemy from the bitter battles around Tilly and Point 102 in Normandy. Crossing the Rhine was a huge undertaking as it was 400 to 500 yards wide and had currents of some three and a half knots. There was also the resistance on the far side to consider. Even so, the planning for PLUNDER was excessive, although with the war so nearly over, caution was creeping in at every level. Further south the Americans had already crossed the Rhine at Remagen and had established a bridgehead, which had drawn off German troops; intelligence suggested that the defence opposite the 21st Army Group assault would be weak. In all, PLUNDER involved 32,000 vehicles and the bringing up of some 118,000 tons of stores. Overhead, 10,000 aircraft were supporting the operation, while to assist with bridging and enemy obstacles, no less than 8000 engineers had been assembled. As if that was not enough, the crossings themselves were supported by 3500 artillery guns (there had been fewer than 900 at Alamein).

  I was relieved to hear that the Staffordshire Yeomanry had been selected to swim the river in their DD tanks and that we would cross after the engineers had constructed a pontoon bridge. The Staffordshire Yeomanry for this operation once again joined the 8th Armoured Brigade.

  On 26 March the Regiment crossed the Rhine as a reserve armoured regiment, supporting the 51st Highland Division. The Staffordshire Yeomanry swam the river in its tanks, but encountered considerable difficulty owing to the steepness of the mud banks on the far side, but it did well to get so many tanks across.

  The Staffordshire Yeomanry had become something of a specialist DD tank regiment, as they had used these tanks to make a seven-mile crossing of the river Scheldt estuary in Holland on 26 October. Incredibly, this was not only the longest ‘swim’ ever attempted by tanks, it was also without a single loss. The greatest difficulty had been getting ashore through the mud: 14 became completely bogged down and in the end only four were available for action. They were in action again during PLUNDER, and DD tanks were also used by two American armoured battalions in the same operation. This time they were given special mats to help them clamber up the banks on the far side and, broadly speaking, it was pretty successful.

  On the far side B Squadron went into action first with the 1st Black Watch to capture a small village south of Isselburg, and then transferred to the 2nd Seaforths to take Isselburg. For a week the Regiment fought with various battalions of the 51st Highland Division centring mostly around Isselburg and Dinxperlo. Our object was to break a hole in the enemy line to enable the Guards Armoured Division to ‘swan’ through and exploit the success of our attack. Somehow it always appeared that the 8th Armoured Brigade was detailed for the hole-making and the Guards Armoured for the more pleasant swanning part of the operation.

  Stanley’s gripe was not entirely misplaced: 8th Armoured Brigade had a reputation that was second to none and the Sherwood Rangers had already gained more battle honours than any other single armoured unit since the D-Day landings. There was no question that, as an independent brigade, they were used for fire-fighting and were given a greater share of the action than had they been part of an armoured division. The trouble was they were, in many ways, victims of their own success, highly adept at operating with infantry and, to some extent, nursing less experienced units too. It was all too easy for General Horrocks, the XXX Corps commander, to call upon them time and again because their record was so proven. Every general wanted the task before them completed as quickly and successfully as possible; 8th Armoured Brigade and the Sherwood Rangers had earned the reputation to be the ones to deliver that.

  I recall so well, after the fall of Dinxperlo, hearing one Sherwood Ranger Tank commander shout to a very dignified Guards officer sitting in the turret of his tank, ‘Mind your paint, sir, as you go through,’ in reply to which he received a very cold stare. A Squadron and the 5th Seaforths eventually captured the latter place after very stiff fighting on the outskirts. Before they finally entered, the infantry insisted on a very heavy artillery concentration on the town itself, which I knew from my patrol reports had been evacuated by the Germans, and this caused unnecessarily extensive damage to a Dutch town, which could have been avoided.

  Since the war in the desert, the Allies had come increasingly to use and rely upon their superiority in fire-power. Both British and American commanders were deeply conscious of the need to preserve the lives of their men as far as possible. If there was ever a choice between risking the lives of their men or destroying a building, village or town, they would invariably opt to save the former. Sometimes, such as in the bombing of Caen, or at Dinxperlo, there was an over-dependence on fire-power and a willingness to see it as some kind of cure-all. In this case, it seems over-caution had
taken root; at this stage of the war, with the end very much in sight and with casualties continuing to rise, it is perhaps understandable, however misplaced.

  The Autobahn running at right angles to the axis was allocated to A Squadron as an objective, and which it captured without undue difficulty. The whole area was littered with mines, and great credit must go to Dick Holman, who dismounted from his tank and lifted the mines himself as no engineers were available. During the early morning of the 28th, the whole Regiment, and in particular A Squadron, suffered a severe blow when Sergeant Major Hutchinson, A Squadron sergeant major, was killed when a tank, behind which he was walking, blew up on a mine. During the whole time that I commanded A Squadron he was my squadron sergeant major, to which rank he had worked up from a trooper. In civilian life, a yeoman farmer, he was a true representative of the English yeoman stock, which throughout history made England so great. I knew only too well that I had lost a very sincere friend, with whom I had shared so much through the years of war. Neville Fearn was also wounded when the mine exploded and he had to be evacuated.

  On 1 April once again the pursuit battle started and we proceeded north as a regimental group with our battery guns from the Essex Yeomanry under Chris Sidgewick and our company of infantry from the 12/60th under Derek Colls. I also had under command a squadron of Kangaroos (armoured infantry carriers) with a company of the 4th Wilts. We reached Ruurlo without opposition, except for two 88mm mobile guns, which fired at the column from the right flank. Both were knocked out by Sergeant Lanes. Beyond Ruurlo, the Recce Troop discovered a viaduct held by a rear-guard. A Squadron and the 4th Wilts went into action and eliminated the trouble. Unfortunately Sergeant O’Pray and all his crew were killed when his tank was hit at very close range by a bazooka. At this stage, the Germans appeared to lack anti-tank guns and tanks, but most of the German infantry were armed with bazookas, which could do just as much damage to a tank as an anti-tank gun.

  On 2 April quite a formidable battle developed before Enschede was captured. Three battalions of infantry had to be used, but fortunately casualties were extremely light.

  The Regiment spent a few days in a delightful Dutch town called Hengelo. We all lived in various houses in the town and received the greatest hospitality from the people. Jack Holman set himself up in a large house that belonged to a collaborator, who had been imprisoned by the Dutch partisans. He had an extremely attractive daughter, which may have been the reason for Jack having selected that particular house. One morning the partisans called and took her away. They returned after a few hours with her head completely shaved, which frequently happened to girls who had shown favours to the Germans during the occupation. I think Jack was rather upset as he told me that she had such lovely hair.

  Stuart Hills celebrated his 21st birthday while we were at Hengelo with a party given by Regimental Headquarters officers. He was presented with a rocket which had been made by the fitters in recognition of the numerous ones that he had received from the adjutant, and a cheque for £10 collected by the officers of the Regiment.

  I stayed in the house of an architect and his wife, who made me most comfortable and presented me with a picture of the whole family when we left.

  Peter Kent joined the Regiment, and I appointed him IO in place of Denis EImore, who returned to a sabre squadron as a troop leader. Peter was a German with Jewish parentage on one side of his family and, as a result, his family suffered brutalities from the Germans before the war. I think that his father had been shot by the SS, which made Peter leave Germany and find work in England, and become naturalized under a changed name. He was actually interned in England at the beginning of the war before his naturalization papers came through, but eventually went to Sandhurst and was commissioned. Naturally he spoke English and German fluently, and proved himself most useful as an intelligence officer. Although the war was approaching an end, I always had a dread that he might be captured, which I think he shared.

  Leslie Raeder also joined the Regiment at this time. He was an American who had spent most of his time in England. He had been captured in Crete while fighting with the RTR, escaped into Switzerland, where he spent a sumptuous three months, and eventually found his way back to England and applied to come to the Sherwood Rangers. He was something of a linguist, a versatile musician, a magnificent scrounger and possessed ‘Taurocorprology’ to a great degree.

  On 9 April, the Regiment moved from Hengelo with many regrets, and I am convinced that the kindly people of that town were sad when we bade them farewell; in memory of our stay the main street of the town was renamed after the Regiment.

  It was bitterly cold in the early morning as we passed through Oldenzall, Denekamp and Nordhorn. Progress was slow owing to the extensive demolitions. Strangely enough we suddenly found a B Squadron tank, which had been captured by the Germans in Goch. The turret had been taken off and it had been converted into a command vehicle. We spent the night of the 9th at Lingen where I found a most picturesque old farmhouse, which I made my headquarters.

  Arthur Phayre came to say goodbye as he was giving up command of the Essex Yeomanry to become CRA of the 11th Armoured Division. He felt sad at leaving the Essex Yeomanry, having commanded it since D-Day, but the appointment meant promotion, which for him as a regular soldier was important. When he arrived I was wearing a new black beret, which had just arrived from Herbert Johnson’s in London, and he had the impudence to tell me that I looked like the Bishop of Southwark!

  On 11 April, the advance continued northwards, supporting 130 Brigade. Soon after passing through Haselünne which had been captured by another brigade, B Squadron bumped a roadblock. Hubert Beddington, whose troop was in the lead, dismounted to examine the obstacle, immediately came under shellfire and was wounded, with three members of his crew. Lieutenant Hunt, who joined the Regiment during the previous week, was killed when his tank was knocked out. Roger Gilliet, who commanded the carrier platoon of our company of 12/60th, extricated the crew from the burning tank with complete disregard for his own personal safety. He certainly saved their lives.

  Lastrup, the next village through which we passed, was reported clear of enemy, so Corporal Morgan swanked through to the centre of the village and had a rude shock when he was fired on. It was quite impossible to reverse, so he gave the order ‘Full speed ahead’ to his driver, and his tank thundered down the street, and after taking a right-angled corner at approximately 35 m.p.h., he completed a circle and rejoined A Squadron on the outskirts, having run a gauntlet of fire throughout his journey.

  He was most fortunate not to have been hit. Sergeant Budner’s tank was hit when the village was attacked and unfortunately he was killed – another highly trained and excellent tank commander.

  While A Squadron attacked, Regimental Headquarters and C Squadron plus a company of the 12/60th undertook a left hook in order to cut the road north of Lastrup. The going was excellent owing to the flat country and hard ground, and once again desert formation was used. At this stage the maps that had been issued were not very accurate, and this was not surprising in view of our rapid advance, which had exceeded all expectations. On this left hook we lost ourselves completely, and on the wireless there were continual arguments regarding the presence of thick woods and features that were not marked on the map. We all kept referring to Chris Sidgewick on the assumption that as a gunner he should possess a greater knowledge of map-reading. Chris became somewhat irritated about these continued demands on his intelligence, and being equally unaware about our location abruptly ended the wireless conversation with the words: ‘For all I know we may be in Burma.’ Eventually we struck the main road and, after a short wait, we were rejoined by A Squadron, and the advance continued.

  A scout car with Infantry Brigade markings suddenly dashed up the road and passed A Squadron’s leading tank. By shouting and waving an attempt was made to stop it, but without success, and it was last seen travelling at great speed into country not yet cleared of enemy. Ronnie Hutton in the
leading squadron made one of his classic remarks on the wireless, when he reported with a strong Irish accent, ‘Brigade scout car has now passed my leading tank heading into enemy country – all sorts of good luck to him.’

  On 13 April the regimental group advanced on the town of Cloppenburg; progress was slow owing to the hastily constructed roadblocks, consisting mostly of trees felled across the road, which were covered by infantry making their removal difficult and tedious. On reaching the town, the 12/60th sent in a patrol, which discovered that the place was lightly held on the southern part of the river but strongly held in the northern sector.

  Stanley’s diaries include a report about the capture of Cloppenburg written by Terry Leinster of B Squadron. ‘On the 13th B Squadron attacked Cloppenburg with a battalion of infantry. This was defended by paratroops who had destroyed the bridges over the stream running through the town and had also blown large craters in the streets. Cpl McGregor, in command of the regimental armoured bulldozer, did good work in filling in these holes after a false start, in which he optimistically tried to push in front of him a building the size of a town hall: this showed great confidence in his equipment. One of the bridges was not entirely destroyed and Lt Reed was able to take his troop over, along with a company of infantry. On the far bank Sgt Maslin, Sgt Wheeler, Cpl MacDonald and himself had a lengthy, trying, but eminently successful struggle against obstinate opposition of a type very difficult to deal with. Cpl McDonald, from Hull, relieved the strain when he announced to the world in general over the wireless, “Every time I put my loaf out for a shufti some blanker draws a bead on me. I’m getting reet fed up with it.” For the sake of the conscientious German listener-in who is still trying to decode this, we can say that translated it means, “Every time I put my head out for a look round, someone shoots at me.” ’