The Battle for Noyers – The 5th South Staffordshire Regiments Second Engagement (Phase II)

The Presebytery in Noyers

June/July 1944

The second phase of the Battle for Noyers commenced at 5.30 pm when the 2/6th Battalion units, held in reserve to exploit the gains of the 1/6th and 5th, crossed their start line advancing to the northern perimeter of Noyers village.

The Battalion were to carry out a relatively simple battle plan which was as follows. 'A' Company (under Major Garrett) and 'C' Company (under Major Deuchar M.C.) were to lead the assault with 'A' formed upon the right and 'C' to the left of the main road that ran from Quediville to Noyers. It was the task of 'B' Company (under Major Logan) and 'D' Company (under Captain Glauert) to follow on and mop up the positions.

The well entrenched German defenders of Noyers were to be dealt with in the following manner. The infantry units were to advance towards Noyers behind an artillery barrage sighted on suspected German strongholds in the village. Dug in machine gun nests were the target of two Sherman tank squadrons whilst the on-coming infantry were to see to the German anti-tank guns.

The landscape into which the soldiers advanced was horrific. Colonel Finlinson described the scene in the following terms 'strewn with very dead cows and very dead Germans with knocked out tanks on both sides'.

When my Grandfather took the time to recount his memories of his time in Normandy he spared me the more graphic details of the realities of 'total war', he did however recall the unpleasantries endured by the soldiers who were sharing the fields of Calvados with the same 'very dead cows' as described by Colonel Finlinson. Dead cattle were a ubiquitous feature of this landscape in the summer of 1944. Very dead indeed with legs pointing skyward. After death the animals started to bloat (a normal process of putrifaction as the the bacterial fauna present in all mammals got down to business). The heat of summer accelerated this process. The problems for the troops would begin when a bullet or shrapnel fragment opened the corpse up thus allowing the accumulated gases to escape. The resulting stench was atrocious and remained as one of his abiding memories of his time in Normandy.

The troops advanced towards Noyers and found German opposition to be light and limited to spasmodic artillery and mortar fire over the first two thousand yards of their forward movement. Resistance increased somewhat as the soldiers neared the woods and orchards just north of Noyers. Well camouflaged snipers and machine gun posts opened up but some of their crews fled their positions fearful of being overrun by the on-coming tanks.

Noyers church before the fighting

Before 6.30 pm 'A' Company were in the proximity of the station and 'C' Company had reached the farm buildings on the northern perimeter of Noyers village as darkness started to fall. This was achieved with low casualties. 

Without a firm foothold in Noyers and with a new understanding that the village was larger than originally anticipated, house to house fighting by depleted units in failing light was not an option. Under such circumstances it was necessary to consolidate the gains and dig in until dawn. During the night, the German defenders returned to their original positions close to the station and their mortars harried the offensive British patrols.

Noyers station before the war

Meanwhile, 'C' Company (Major Pearson) of 5th Battalion, having received orders the previous evening, moved up the line and launched an attack at 5.30 am on the station with tank support to assist the hard pressed 2/6th Battalion. Reports that the area was free of the enemy proved to be inaccurate and the 5th Battalion fought viciously until 1.30 pm in the afternoon against strongly held German positions for little gain.

Once again the South Staffords regrouped and the much depleted Companies  of the 2/6th were brought under the temporary command of Major Pearson (5th Battalion) who along with his own 'C' Company launched another assault on the left flank.. The station was near at hand by eight that evening, but the defence continued to be determined and effective. As night fell, the attackers took up positions surrounding the station so that heavy fire could be brought down on the railway station.

The shattered shell of Noyers station after the fighting of July

This phase of the action brought in many German prisoners and the Battalions PIATs (Projector, Infantry, Anti Tank (PIAT), a British man-portable anti-tank weapon) accounted for three enemy tanks. However, these gains were achieved at a very heavy price. For example, 'C' Company of the 5th Battalion lost 75% of its effective force, killed or wounded in the action.

After the fighting on 17th July 'C' Company rejoined 5th Battalion.

The remainder of 5th Battalion received orders to exploit earlier successes and advance the attack on Noyers from the north east on order to move in line with the 2/6th. At the same time 1/6th Battalion's orders were to capture Bordel and likewise draw up in line with the 2/6th, thus reaffirming the front line of the 1/6th on the right, the 5th on the left and the 2/6th in the centre. The intention was for the 1/6th and 5th to coordinate their assaults down the main road to Noyers at 12.55 pm. The attack was supported by tank squadrons although at this point in the battle tank numbers were very much depleted.

Initially on the right, 'B' and 'D' Companies of the 1/6th made good progress against light opposing machine gun and mortar fire. 'D' Company, with the objective of an orchard to the right of some of the buildings of Bordel, advanced deep into the orchard and were at the point of emerging when well concealed German forces of some considerable strength inflicted very heavy casualties on the South Staffords with intense and accurate machine gun fire. The men were ordered to withdraw in the face of such deadly and effective resistance. Subsequent attempts by 'D' Company of the 1/6th proved to be futile and the attackers withdrew to the orchard's edge.

Meanwhile on the left, the 5th were similarly facing fierce opposition from a determined enemy in defence to the extent that orders were issued to consolidate rather than to attempt any further advance.

Small scale attacks and harassing manoeuvres continued for the next few days with the objective of grinding down the Germans grip on Noyers. However, in the aftermath of the intensive combat over the 16th to 18th July it was clear that the fighting units were in great need of reinforcement before any further effective use could be made of the South Staffords.

Noyers church in ruins (July 1944)

Subsequently, the 1/6th held the line through the Noyers position, the 2/6th moved back into reserve, the 5th moved to Missy approximately a mile to the south east of Noyers and the 7th moved to Brettevillette and subsequently to Rauray.

The village of Noyers remained contained by the Allies until the first week of August when, upon learning of an attempt by the defenders to withdraw to the line of the River Orne to the south west of Caen, the 2/6th Battalion launched an attack on the 2nd August with the intention of gaining a position astride the Noyers to Villers-Bocage road. At 0430 hours 'C' Company, commanded by Major Clarke, advanced on the objective of Point 142, a position of high ground in front of the Battalion that straddled the road. With tank support the objective was achieved with little difficulty, although Major Clarke suffered fatal wounds in the assault. Subsequently, the rest of the Battalion moved up close behind in the area of Landel.

The Battle for Noyers – The 5th South Staffordshire Regiments Second Engagement (Phase I)

The remains of a farm, Noyers June/July 1944

In the aftermath of Operation Charnwood (7th to 9th July) all four battalions of the South Staffordshire Regiment (1/6th, 2/6th, 5th and 7th Battalions) were taken out of the line for a rest and to allow units to reorganise after their first blooding in and around the villages of Bijude and Galamanche.

A mere 48 hours after going into reserve, the South Staffords received orders that they were to participate in an action intended to secure the fortified village of Noyers located in the centre of the Pomegranate front line. Across this front, 59th Division occupied the centre with the 49 (West Riding) Division and 53 (Welsh) Division on their right and left flanks respectively.

The intention of Operation Pomegranate was to enlarge the Normandy bridgehead and if things went well to break out of it.

The village of Noyers was heavily defended and was itself approximately three miles inside the German lines. With limited objectives the plan of attack for the men of South Staffordshire was as follows:

• 1/6 Battalion were to attack on the right or north side of the Caen to Noyers railway.
• 5 Battalion were to attack on the left or south of the railway line
• 2/6 Battalion were held back along with tank support to exploit any successes on either side with the objective of getting into Noyers if at all possible.

Each battalion was to have the usual support from artillery and mortar formations.

In this third week of July, the British and Canadian forces were holding a line that ran from the bridgehead across the River Orne to the north of Caen, through Caen and onto Tilly in the west. To the south of Caen, the village of Noyers formed the approximate location of Montgomery’s hinge within which it was crucial to hold up the German forces (their heavy armour in particular) for as long as humanly possible in order to facilitate a rapid breakout of the US 1st Army, then fighting down through the Contentin Penninsula to the north west.

Two problems immediately presented themselves to the attacking forces, the first was the bocage, the network of high, dense, mature hedgerows that were a defending army’s ideal terrain, and the second was the thorough defensive measures that the German’s had employed. Six weeks into the Normandy campaign brought the German Army to the realisation that the original intention to drive the Allies back into the sea had dispersed like so much smoke on the battlefield. Emphasis shifted to a plan of determined defence with every yard of ground to be fought over. Villages in the area, as well as the approaches to Noyers itself, were laid thickly with mines.

Five minutes in advance of ‘H’ hour at 0530 hours, the artillery opened up with the established tactic of pinning the defenders down whilst alerting the enemy of the immanency of an attack. Under the barrage of guns in their hundreds, the supporting  tanks rolled over the start line.

1/6th South Staffords, under the overall command of Lieutenant-Colonel D.G.B. Ridout was formed up as follows:

• ‘A’ Company (under Major T.J. Rutherford) with the objective of the woods and outbuildings of the village of Brettevillette.
• ‘B’ Company (under Major Brian Barber) who were to attack a known enemy position located in a group of buildings halfway along the road between Brettevillette and Quediville.
• ‘C’ Company (under Captain Mervyn Seldon) on the left , with Quediville as its objective.
• ‘D’ Company (under Major Jerry Roy) was held in reserve in order to pass through ‘A’ Company and capture the remainder of Brettevillette and to take the forward positions of Bordel if the opportunity presented itself.

1/6th ‘A’ Company progress into the orchards of Brettevillette was seriously hampered by the now to be expected heavy and accurate mortar fire, but eventually the orchard objective was reached, albeit at a high cost in terms of casualties.

A notable deed within the Company is worthy of mention here.

‘The platoon assaulted according to plan, but the opposition was fierce. Lieutenant J. Lunn, commanding No. 7 platoon, did some fine work, but immediately afterwards was seriously wounded and died some time later. All three platoons by now had entered the first orchard, but were pinned down to the ground by withering fire.

Company H.Q., following closely, also got into the orchard. Casualties were now mounting, among them being Lance-Corporal Preston who was carrying the wireless set. He was killed in a minefield and, as communication to bring down supporting fire was essential, Private C.H.S. Drain, without hesitation, crawled over the minefield to where Lance-Corporal Preston lay, removed the set and brought it back to safety. When he got back he found that the aerial rods had been left behind, so he made the perilous journey again to get them. He was able to get the set working and bring down gunfire to stop the fire from the left flank. For this action Private Drain was awarded the M.M. (Military Medal)’. ‘His steadiness and coolness’, the citation concluded, ‘were an example to his comrades, who were all having their first experience of battle’.

‘B’ Company were pulled up short at the point of capturing their objective. Determined resistance from the defenders well dug in in a sunken track halted the advance. The commanding officer, Major Barber, in a stunning display of courage, commanded a number of tanks, each of which, bar the last, was knocked out or ‘brewed up’. Eventually, a combination of tank and infantry was able to overrun the German positions and secure the buildings between Brettevillette and Quediville, their assigned objectives.

‘C’ Company faired badly, having no radio communication at all. Their supporting tanks ran into a minefield. Nevertheless, ‘C’ Company’s objective, Quediville, was eventually taken thanks to the inspired leadership of Major Seldon who received the Military Cross for this action.

As for their alphabetical neighbours, ‘D’ Company also had a hard time of it in the face of the usual heavy mortar fire laid down by the enemy. Another personal account that appears in the ‘Your Men In Battle’ history at once provides a blackly humorous, yet accurate incident that occurred in this action. One Private Riley launched himself into a slit trench in order to gain some cover, but in doing so quickly realised that the trench was not vacant. Exiting almost as quickly as he entered, he explained that he trench had ‘live Jerries in it’. A Sergeant Bills was on hand to ensure that a few moments later  the same slit trench retained its German occupants but they were no longer alive.

At the tail end of the 1/6th Battalion's assault, 7th Battalion were ordered in to attack and occupy the area between Noyers railway station and Brettevillette on the basis of intellegence reports of a German retreat from this land. The attack with heavy artillery and machine gun support resulted in the objective being secured by 5pm in the evening with very few casualties sustained.

On the lest of the 177 Brigade front, 5th Battalion led by Lieutenant-Colonel M.B. Jenkins attempted to take the first allocated positions with two companies passing through to take Battalion objectives.

The deployment of the 5th Battalion was as follows:

Initial assault companies,

• 'B' Company on the right (under Major Smallwood)
• 'C' Company on the left (under Major Pearson)

had the combined objective of the orchards to the west of Granville-sur-Odon.

With the orchards successfully delivered into the hands of the 5th Battalion, it then fell to the follow-up  companies of

• 'A' Company (under Major Grey) and
• 'D' Company (under Major McKintyre)

to push the advance further in a south westerly direction to take the objective of the area around Bas des Forges.

The enemy were situated a mere five hundred yards from the 5th Battalion forces at the time of this planned action.

Of the attack, Major Pearson of 'C' Company reported that each of the assaulting companies ('B' and 'C') advanced, each with a squadron of tanks in support, of which several were disabled when they ventured off paths that had been cleared of mines.

At a distance of two hundred to three hundred yards the defenders opened up with that accurate and heavy mortar fire which, coupled with well laid mines created a disorientating smoke screen. Nevertheless, 'B' Company eventually emerged through this confusion to enter their objective of the orchard which lay to the north of Noyers railway station. On the left, the 'C' Company advance stalled temporarily at a point one hundred yards in front of the enemy and were forced to reorganise before renewing the assault on the right of their flank with support from one functioning tank that had successfully negotiated the German laid minefield. Ultimately, 'C' Company achieved their objective with an impressive haul of;

• 87 prisoners
• 17 machine guns
• 2 half track armoured vehicles

for a relatively light casualty tally.

The actions of 'C' Company on the 16th July added another two Military Medals to the honours received by the 5th Battalion.

'C' Company's Sergeant Hill (a resident of Stoke) was awarded the distinction by virtue of the fact that despite his own wounds and the near annihilation of his own platoon he insisted upon fighting on. He was ordered to retire to a casualty clearing station on three separate occasions by Major Pearson and finally moved back unaided, by his own insistence, despite a major loss of blood.

A Private Pickstone received the Military Medal when, as a stretcher bearer, he recovered a wounded colleague, Lieutenant Howard, under heavy enemy fire, dragging his 17-stone dead weight across four hundred and fifty yards of terrain to reach medical assistance thereby saving the soldier's life.

At the conclusion of this action, 'D' Company and my Grandfather's 'A' Company passed through their sister companies and secured Bas Des Forges. This concluded the initial phase of the Battle for Noyers.

A local cemetery in Noyers after war passed through

June/July 1944