A Period Of Rest And Recuperation In Bolbec

Pre-war postcard of the Viaduct in Bolbec

In the immediate aftermath of 'Operation Astonia', the men of the 49th Division, including the 11th R.S.F. withdrew from the shattered town of Le Havre to reoganise.

As well as allowing these exhausted soldiers a period of rest, recuperation and reorganisation, this interval was strategically necessary in order to enable the engineers to clear debris and burnt out armour off the roads around Le Havre thereby allowing the formations of the 49th to further progress towards Antwerp. 

Each of the Battalions involved in Astonia enjoyed a period out of the line that combined elements of retraining, refitting and reinforcement, not to mention a liberal degree of relaxation helped along by French citizens who plied their liberators with an abundance of wine and fruit, which was no doubt a welcome departure from the standard army fayre of hardtack biscuits and the like!

On the 13th September, the 11th R.S.F. passed through their original location prior to the battle of Le Mesnil and settled in Bolbec some 24 kilometers to the north east of Le Havre. During the following four days the Battalion were reorganised. The men had the chance now to pay some attention to their own personal hygiene! 

The 'Summary Of Operations' states that in Bolbec 'the pipe band were an entire success in the market square, the kilt drawing a good deal of comment and no little envy from the female population*, who nevertheless presented the Pipe Major with a bouquet of flowers. My Grandfather also recalled that additional troop entertainment was provided by ENSA (Entertainments National Service Association).

On leaving Bolbec on 17th September they concentrated in an area just to the east of Dieppe where they were reinforced with 4 officers 77 other ranks, many of whom were returning to the Battalion after a period of recovery from wounds received in Normandy, notably Fontenay-le-Pesnil.

* As a brief aside, my mother recalls wearing my Grandfather's kilt, in a much altered form, at the end of the war. Whilst I would be proud to wear such a kilt on a special occasion, it is perhaps best for all that these remnants have been lost to history!

Infantry Advance! 10th September 1944

This Churchill Mk VII Tank located in Fontaine-la-Mallet on high ground above the port area of Le Havre serves as a memorial to the men who fell in Operation Astonia

At 5.45 pm on the 10th September, the 56th Brigade advanced through a number of lanes that were cleared by two squadrons of the 22nd Dragoon's flail tanks. The infantry also had tank support from the 7th Royal Tank Regiment and AVREs to tackle their strong-point objectives.

Churchill tanks and infantry in action during the assault on Le Havre by Canadian I Corps, 10 September 1944 © IWM (BU 864).

http://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/205226161

The 2nd Battalion South Wales Borderers advanced on the right with the 2nd battalion Gloucestershire Regiment on the left. With the South Wales Borderers and the Gloucesters objectives subdued, the plan required the 2nd Battalion Essex Regiment, mounted on kangaroo's and also with AVRE and tank support, to pass through to capture two strong-points and two bridges that crossed the Fontaine river (a tributary of the Lézarde) and secure a bridgehead on the southern plateau.

A Churchill AVRE advances in support of an assault on the German garrison at Le Havre, 10 September 1944 © IWM (BU 863).

http://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/205195914

On the left, the Gloucesters fought their way to their objectives with few casualties. The South Wales Borderers however had a harder time of it when attempting to take their objectives, three woods on a ridge. Each wood contained a strong defensive position. The first wood was captured by 'D' Company, but 'A' Company came under heavy fire from the second wood and took significant casualties. 'B' Company was brought up and this wood, along with the third, was silenced with the assistance of flame-spewing crocodiles. 

The 2nd Essex entered the fray at 10 pm, advancing on foot through one of the remaining open lanes. The other lanes were by this point obstructed by an array of knocked out armoured vehicles. The Essex objectives were achieved by 10.30 pm. The northern plateau was captured along with three intact bridges spanning the Fontaine.

Upon learning that 147 Brigade on their left were held up in their advance on a mined road, the Gloucesters continued onto their Phase III objectives and pushed on into the centre of the town. On reaching the Place de la Liberté many prisoners were taken with the assistance of the FFI fighters.

The assault by 147 Brigade was lead by the 1st Battalion Leicestershire Regiment who were too pass through elements of 56 Brigade to capture a defensive feature on the southern flank overlooking Harfleur. The attack commenced at 11 pm and after a struggle achieved their objectives to the east of the Forêt Montgeon and a critical bridge leading into the port area. 

Map showing the deployment of 147 Brigade (11th R.S.F. can be seen to the east as highlighted).

The Summary of Operations indicates that the 11th R.S.F. in the operation was successful and achieved for relatively few casualties. Progress was slowed by the fact that the approaches were all heavily mined, in many cases by a German innovation called the anti-personnel glasmine, a device constructed almost entirely from glass and therefore largely invisible to mine detection equipment. The 11th R.S.F. accounted for 600 prisoners of war, over half of which surrendered to 'B' Company.

Finally of the Fusilier's involvement, Brigadier Major Paul Crook wrote:

'11 RSF were then given their task of clearing the whole of the southern flank (of the 147 Brigade front) which proved harder than expected, owing to the number of strong-points and fortified houses which had to be tackled. 7th Battalion of the Duke of Wellingtons Regiment (DWR) advanced through Montivilliers in kangaroos and dismounted at the bridge captured by the Leicesters and 'A' and 'B' Companies marched straight through into the centre of Le Havre'.

On their final approach into the centre, the Dukes were disappointed to be pulled out of the action after two of their kangaroos were disabled by mines. The soldiers watched on as the Gloucesters fought on.

On the eastern flank of the division, 146 brigade was prepared for its two allotted tasks i) to mount a diversionary attack that would draw the defenders away from the 56 Brigade assault to the north and ii) to clear the enemy east of the the Lézarde river and to bridge the same river to allow passage into Le Havre.

On 10th September, the 1/4th KOYLI again attacked the strong-points on the approaches to Harfleur. This time with immense firepower from tanks, artillery mortars and flame throwers, the strong-points were overrun and captured. The Lincolns established their Battalion HQ in Harfleur by nightfall of the 11th. 

To  the north west of the centre, the 51st (Highland) Division were forcing an entry into the town. The high ground of Le Havre was occupied by the evening of the 11th. At the same time, in the centre, the Gloucesters of the 56th Brigade were dug in in a cemetery adjacent to the Fort de Tourneville which served as Wildermuth's battle headquarters.

Fort de Tourneville, Le Havre

The capability of the garrison to resist the onslaught was on the brink of collapse.

The fire from the massed artillery was unrelenting. When the Fort de Tourneville was threatened by the tanks of the 7th Royal Tank Regiment, Oberst Wildermuth, wounded and in pyjamas (which nevertheless bore his medals!) surrendered the garrison. Hundreds of his soldiers had the same idea and were giving themselves up in droves. In fact many of the defenders seemed to be well prepared for surrender as observed by William Douglas.

'The Germans were all ready to surrender, Hitler said that all these fortresses must fight to the last round and all this kind of thing and obviously the General in charge of Le Harve didn’t go big on Hitler. And in fact, half his men had little suitcases ready packed for surrender.

They wrecked the port mind you, so to that extent they’d done their job. They certainly didn’t fight on to the end, they just gave up and marched away. .. 100’s, 1,000’s marching down the road in three’s looking frightfully glad to go and happy to be out of it'.

Thus was the vital port of Le Havre was delivered into Allied hands. However, as mentioned by Douglas above, such was the destruction wrought upon the port by both the Allied bombardment but critically by the Germans who were determined to render the dock unusable, the port was not to be back in operation until 9th October.

In terms of human costs the operation to liberate Le Havre cost the Allies just under 500 killed, wounded or missing, of which the 49th Division losses amounted to 19 killed and 282 wounded.

The action also resulted in the taking of 11,300 prisoners of war (significantly more than the original estimates of the garrison's strength) as well as many dead among the defenders.

The final words on the conduct and success of Operation Astonia go to Brigadier-Major Crooks.

'Although he received plenty of support, in the end it was the British infantry who had to go forward and attack fortified positions in the face of enemy fire. It was due to the dogged courage, determination and skill that such a successful outcome was so rapidly achieved'.

And from G.O.C. Major General Barker's Order for the Day.

'Today has been a memorable one for 49th Division. After an attack against very strong defences, in a matter of hours, the Division supported by armour has broken through and relieved the port of Le Havre which is essential for the maintenance of the American Army'.

Churchill tank memorial

May 2016

Hobart's Funnies Of The 79th Armoured Division In Operation Astonia

Major General Sir Percy Hobart, 16 June 1942. In March 1943 he was made responsible for the development of specialised armoured vehicles, known as 'funnies', to spearhead the D-Day assault © IWM (H 20697)
http://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/205124987

From 1943 onwards, in preparation for D-Day, the need for specialist vehicles adapted in order to achieve specific tasks was recognised. The responsibility for designing such motorised armoured pieces fell to Major General Sir Percy Hobart, an engineer, and Commanding Officer of the 79th Armoured Division. The often peculiar appearance of these modified designs earned these vehicles the name of 'Hobart's Funnies'.

First making an appearance in the Battle for Normandy, it is believed that Operation Astonia saw the biggest concentration of such vehicles in a single action to that point in the war. It is beyond doubt that Hobart's Funnies made a great contribution to the success of the operation and greatly reduced the Allied casualty count at the conclusion of the assault on Le Havre.

Here follows a brief description of the centre stage funnies that supported Astonia.

The Kangeroo

An armoured personnel carrier with the capability of providing rapid and protected transportation of infantry. Such vehicles enabled the delivery of foot soldiers to key positions at the same time as the more mobile armour. The importance of these vehicles increased as the advance eastwards accelerated after August 1944.

The Kangaroo, often adapted from the obsolete Ram tank of the Canadian Army was able to transport eight men once the turret of the tank was removed.

Kangaroos keeping infantry apace with advancing armour

The Crab

This was an adaptation of a Sherman tank upon which a flair (consisting of a roller and a weighted chain) was fitted to the rear of the vehicle. This flail, powered directly from the engine of the tank allowed detonation of mines from a safe distance and as such, in the context of Astonia, Crabs lead formations towards heavily defended objectives creating lanes through mined areas.

A Crab flail tank at rest

The Crocodile

A converted Churchill tank in which the gun was placed with a flamethrower fuelled from a 9-ton armoured trailer. The flamethrower was capable of delivering 100 one second 'shots' over a distance of 100 meters. 

A Crocodile spewing ignited fuel

The Crocodile was a controversial weapon of war (as had flamethrowers been in the Great War). Crews of Crocodiles who fell into enemy hands could expect some rough treatment at the hands of their captors. Summary execution of crocodile crew prisoners was not unknown, for such was the contempt with which this innovation was held. On the other hand, it has been argued in some quarters that the Crocodile actually made a positive contribution to preserving life in the north west European theatre, as such was the fear of this weapon that the very appearance of a Crocodile on the battlefield was sufficient to persuade the enemy to surrender en masse.

The AVRE

The Armoured Vehicle Royal Engineer (AVRE) was another adapted Churchill tank upon which the gun was replaced with a Petard spigot mortar. This mortar fired a 40 pound bomb, colloquially as the 'flying dustbin', that was capable of destroying concrete defences such as bunkers and pill boxes.

Churchill AVRE with spigot mortar © IWM (KID 898)
http://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/205206709

Crewed by Royal Engineers, occupants of the tank had the perilous task of reloading the mortar after firing from the outside of the vehicle.

The 29cm Petard spigot mortar on a Churchill AVRE of 79th Squadron, 5th Assault Regiment, Royal Engineers, under command of 3rd Infantry Division, 29 April 1944. A 40lb bomb can be seen on the right © IWM (H 38001).
http://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/205201750

The Assault On Le Havre 10th - 12th September 1944

The new zero hour for the commencement of Operation Astonia was 1745 hours on the evening of the 10th September. In the days prior to the 10th, men of the 49th and 51st Divisions concentrated on the approaches to the port and engaged in exercises of street fighting and house clearing. The ammunition brought up contained a high proportion of grenades and sten gun magazines in anticipation of the close quarters combat of the coming days.

The attack plans were described in detail and at all operational levels from Corps to Battalion and all ranks. The level of planning and coordination was highly impressive and was to pay dividends in the operation. Preparation was enhanced over the 4th and 5th September when both British patrols and members of the French Forces of the Interior (FFI) brought in intelligence from within the fortress that described particular strong-points as well as the deployment of German units within and around the many defensive positions.

German defences in the port area

In broad terms, the 49th Division were positioned on the left flank poised to advance from the north east and south east of the port. 49th Division, supported by the 34th Tank Brigade, were to capture the northern plateau situated to the west of the Lézarde river and to the south west of Montivilliers then secure a bridgehead on the southern plateau. In this first phase, the 51st Highlanders would advance from the north with the support of 33rd Armoured Brigade to secure a base further to the west on the northern edge of the Forét-de-Montgeon. Later the 51st were to subdue the defensive positions around Octeville-sur-Mer, thereby gaining control of the northern outskirts of Le Havre, whilst the 49th Division were to capture the southern plateau.

In the closing phase of the operation, both Divisions were to exploit opportunities to overcome remaining resistance and push into the centre of the town from the north (51st Division) and from the east (49th Division).

The bad weather turned the ground over which the advance was to take place into a morass. Approaches to the port were also heavily mined, so the initial assault was assisted by a number of adapted armoured vehicles, collectively referred to 'Hobart's funnies'.

Prelude To The Assault Of Le Havre

Aerial photographs to assess the effectiveness of the R.A.F. on one of the raids of 5th September on Le Havre

Prior to D-Day for the investment of Le Havre, i.e. 9^th September, the defences of the port, as described earlier, were to be ‘softened up’. This was to be achieved by close cooperation between Bomber Command of the R.A.F., the Royal Navy and the massed Artillery Regiments supporting the 49^th and 51^st Infantry Divisions.

The mammoth task to disrupt the defences and to reduce the capability of the garrison to withstand the landward assault commenced on 5^th and carried on through to the 7^th September. Over this period, a total of 8,300 tons of high explosive were dropped on the target zones. However, the bombing raids conducted over the nights of the 5^th and 6^th killed an estimated 5,000 French citizens, many of whom perished when the R.A.F. bombed a residential area of the city. On 31^st August, the Fortress Commandant, Oberst Hermann-Eberhard Wildermuth, ordered the remaining citizen population to leave the city, but this order was countered by the Maquis who posted notices urging the civilians to stay in order to prevent the anticipated mass pillage of property by the remaining German Army. Thus it was that the numbers of civilians still resident in Le Havre was high upon the start of the Allied bombardment.

Earlier in the week, with the knowledge that a large scale Allied attack on Le Havre was an inevitability and knowing British sensitivities towards collateral damage in terms of French citizens, Widermuth appealed to the British then amassing in front of the city’s outer defences.

Two senior officers of 1/4 King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry (KOYLI) of 146 Brigade were requested to escort two German officer envoys by staff car to Brigade HQ. The envoys carried a message from the Fortress Commander requesting that the Allies permit the evacuation of the remaining civilians (estimates to be in the order of 20-30,000 as of the end of August) prior to the battle. The German officers explained that Hitler's personal orders were that the port of Le Havre was to be defended 'to the last man and the last round'. As for the Allies, they were adhering to a policy of unconditional surrender. Brigadier Johnnie Walker telephoned Wildermuth's proposal through to GOC General Sir Evelyn 'Bubbles' Barker. The proposal was turned down with the words 'I wish you good luck and a Merry Christmas'.

Oberst Hermann-Eberhard Wildermuth

Fortress Commandant of Le Havre

The night raid of 6^th September, involving Lancaster and Halifax aircraft numbering one thousand, unleashed 1,500 tons of explosive, a large proportion of which was targeted upon the Grand Clos Battery in Bréville located to the north of the centre.

The devastation of the city wrought by the by the R.A.F. could actually have been more extensive, but the bombing campaign was hampered by appalling weather. The unfavourable conditions were such that D-Day for Operation Astonia was postponed by 24 hours from the 9^th to the 10^th September.

The combined firepower of the three arms of the Allied Armed Forces resumed the bombardment on Sunday 10^th, ahead of the start of the infantry assault. A series of timed bombing waves was set that targeted specific regions of the city's defences.

• Alvis - duration: 1645 to 1745 over the Northern defences targeting exterior wire positions and anti-personnel defences
• Bentley – duration: 1845 to 1900 over the Southern plateau defences targeting barracks and fort positions with high explosive
• Buick – duration: 1900 to 1930 with the same objective as Bentley but over the Western defences
• Cadillac – duration: D+1 to end at 0800 on 11^th September targeting the Western defences (the installations of the harbour areas) with high explosives.

Map of the port showing the target zones for the successive bombing waves (shaded)

The total payload dropped on Le Havre on 10^th September was 4,719 tons from 992 aircraft.

Off the coast the monitor class battleships, HMS Erebus and HMS Warspite, once again opened up the naval bombardment ‘on the casemated guns on the perimeter defences of Le Havre’. The hit rate of both ships was impressive according to the reports of spotter aircraft over the port area. 

HMS Erebus in 1944

HMS Warspite in 1944

Eventually, HMS Warspite was credited with silencing the three 17cm guns and one 38cm gun of the Grand Clos Battery.

The 38 cm gun of the Grand Clos Battery

Vertical photographic-reconnaissance taken over Le Havre, France after daylight raids by aircraft of Bomber Command on 5, 6 and 8 September 1944. A large area of devastation can be seen in the city centre west of the Bassin de Commerce, over which smoke from burning buildings is drifting. Further attacks on and around Le Havre were carried out on the three following days in an effort to reduce the German garrison still holding out in the city © IWM (C 4601)
http://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/205023343

The bombardment by air, sea and land earned Le Havre the dubious distinction of being the most damaged town in France with 82% of it declared as destroyed. This accounted for 12,500 buildings left beyond repair and 4,500 partially destroyed. The bombings of 5th to 12th September rendered half of the civilian population homeless.

With echoes of the bombing of Caen three months previously, a tremendously high price had been paid in terms of civilian casualties and destruction of properties for limited military gain. In Oberst Wildermuth's words after capture:

' The air bombardments and the shelling from the sea had only a general destructive effect, but did not create much military damage. The real effective fire came from the Allied concentrated artillery which had devastating results in knocking out the guns of the fortress'.

Crucially, what the concerted bombardment did achieve was an almost complete disruption of the German's telecommunication systems within the city which severely hampered the capability to coordinate the defence.

Operation Astonia - The Opposing Forces

The Attackers

As mentioned previously, the task of capturing Le Havre was designated to the 51st (Highland) Division and the 49th (West Riding) Division of First British Corps of the First Canadian Army.

49th (West Riding) Division

The 49th (West Riding) Division were positioned on the left flank of the assault. The Division are described in detail across this site.

51st (Highland) Division

The 51st (Highland) Division formed the right flank of the assault attacking from the North.

The Division formed part of the British Expeditionary Force (B.E.F.) but on 20th April 1940 it was detached from the Force and command was transferred to the French Third Army. After the encirclement of the B.E.F. at Dunkirk, the Division, now under command of the French Tenth Army, took up a position on the River Somme. After fierce fighting in early June 1940, the 152nd and 153rd Brigades were forced to surrender at Saint-Valéry-en-Caux with the capture of some 10,000 troops.

In August 1940, the 9th (Highland) Infantry Division, the second line Territorial duplicate of the 51st took on their name and the Division was once again posted overseas in June 1942 when it participated in the Second Battle of El-Alamein and the invasion of Sicily.

The Division landed in Normandy on D-Day + 1 as part of 1st British Corps and saw significant action in the campaign, although it would seem that Montgomery was not impressed with their performance at this time. On 1st August 1944, 1st British Corps was incorporated into the 1st Canadian Army, as part of which the 51st engaged in Operation Totalise prior to the crossing of the Seine. With a score to settle, the Division proceeded to and liberated Saint-Valéry-en-Caux, scene of their humiliation some four years previously. This achieved, the Division doubled back in readiness to take the port of Le Havre.

The Defenders

The garrison of Le Havre was estimated to be between 7,350 and 8.700 men. Of these 4,500 were infantry, according to information gleaned from post-war interrogations. Being a port, naturally many of the troops, an estimated 1,300, belonged to the German Navy and as such were untrained in the combat techniques required for effective fighting on land. Many of the soldiers belonged to artillery and anti-aircraft batteries and also therefore ill-prepared to repel a determined and well-supported infantry assault. Moreover, many of the garrison forces were injured or of questionable fighting value for the defence of the city.

226 Infantrie-Division

Formed on 26th June in the 27th formation wave, this Wehrmacht Division was active in the line until the point of surrender in May 1945.

245 Infantrie-Division

Formed in Routen, France in September 1943, the Division were again active in the line until May 1945.

5th Security Regiment (Sicherungs Regiment) 

A fighting unit within the 325th Security Division (Sicherungs Division).

The 325th Security Division was created in May 1943 for the purpose of the defence of Paris. Most of the troops of the 325th left Paris before the liberation and the men were dispersed among other formations that had been decimated in Normandy, They, including men of the 5th Security Regiment, continued to fight as the Allies liberated towns and cities across North West Europe, but the troops were generally considered to be of poor combat quality.

36th Grenadier Division

A Wehrmacht formation originally formed as the 36th Infantrie Division on 1st October 1936 and mobilised in August 1939.

The Division participated in Operation Barbarossa as a part of XXXXI Panzer Corps. Originally a motorised division, it was demotorised in May 1943 and in the same month saw action in the Battle of Kursk. 

Effectively wiped out in the Russian summer offensive of 1944 at Bobruysk in Belarus, some survivors managed to make their way back to Germany where they formed the seed of the newly created 36th Grenadier Division on 3rd August. This formation was sent to North West Europe to attempt to slow the Allies Eastward advance.

The Defences of Le Havre

The essential, commercial port of Le Havre was well defended by the forces of nature as well as by the combination of the firepower of Krupp factories and the concrete of the Todt Organisation. The port is protected by water on three sides, the sea to the West, the flooded valley of the Lezarde river to the East and the estuary of the Seine to the South. These natural defences were supplemented by a system of bunkers and strong points that fairly bristled with machine guns and anti-tank weaponry. The only possible approach for a landward assault i.e. from the North would be severely hampered by defencive positions located on the high ground of Octeville-sur-Mer and on two plateaus to the North East of the port area. The Northern approaches were also protected by an anti-tank ditch some twenty foot wide by ten foot deep. Further into the centre of the town, were located many artillery positions (albeit largely with their guns trained out to sea), nevertheless, the Forts of Ste Adresse and Saniv combined with pill boxes, bunkers, wire and roadblocks to form a formidable interlocking system of defences that protected the port area from land approaches.

Two German strong-points on the Northern plateau faced by the men and arms of 56th Infantry Brigade

Nevertheless, despite such formidable defences, the fighting ability of a high proportion of the available troops was in doubt, through injury or a lack of experience in combat. Post war interrogation transcripts reveal such concerns:

'Battle-experienced men on leave from the Eastern front, hastily banded together into two battalions, had not yet shaken-down into a smooth-working team. The men of 81 Fortress Unit and two battalions of 5 Sicherungs Regiment (Protective Regiment) were infirm and of small fighting value. The fortress commander having considered the quality of his troops and the facilities for defence, had reported to the Commander of Fifteenth Army, so he alleged later, that the fortress could be held against an assault for 24 hours in unfavourable circumstances, or 72 hours if circumstances favoured the defence'

The 11th R.S.F. Approach Le Havre

Churchill tank crews of 34th Tank Brigade watch the RAF bombing the defences of Le Havre 10 September 1944 © IWM (BU 855)
http://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/205203159

After the 11th R.S.F. crossed the Seine at Elbouf, they with the 49th Infantry Division swung westwards in the direction of the major port of Le Havre. For a four day period in the first week of September patrols sought out suitable crossings of the River Lezarde, but the only passable crossing was located through the village of Montevilliers as all other bridges had been destroyed by the Germans and the land in the surrounding areas of the river valley were inundated with flood water.

The area was quiet with minimal harassing enemy activity (it is reported that between 6th to 9th September only two mortar bombs fell in the area occupied by the men of the 11th R.S.F). With the plans in place and the troops of the two attacking Divisions in position, 'Operation Astonia' was soon to be executed.

Extracts From The Orders for 'Operation Astonia'

The following 'Operation Instruction' was issued to the participating Divisions and supporting units on 6th September 1944. In the event bad weather resulted in a postponement of D day from 9th to 10th September.

OPERATION ASTONIA

1 CORPS OPERATION INSTRUCTION No 14.

INTENTION

1.      1 Corps will capture LE HARVE.

METHOD

2.      Allotment of troops

(a)    49 Inf Div

With under comd         34 Tk Bde

                                    22 Dgns

            In sp                42 Assault Regt ARE less two sqns

                                    ‘A’ Sqn 141 RAC

                                                                        44 Kangaroos

                               51 (H) Div

With under comd         33 Armd Bde

                                    1 LOTHIANS less one sqn

                                    two sqns 42 Assault Regt ARE

                                    ‘C’ Sqn 141 RAC

                       

(b)   Of 44 Kangaroos allotted 49 Inf Div for Phase I, 24 will be moved to an RV to be decided mutually by 49 and 51(H) Divs on completion of Phase I and will then be available to 51 (H) Div.

3.      General.

The assault will be carried out with two divs up, 51 (H) Div RIGHT and 49 Inf Div LEFT, and the operation will be divided into four Phases.

4.      Tasks.

Phase I

49 Inf Div will capture the area 530320 – 540320 – 544302 – 522308 and secure a brhead on the feature to the SOUTH of this area with a view to passing further tps through during Phase II to capture this feature.

Phase II

(a)    51 (H) Div will secure a base in the area 510325 – 510310 – 520310 with a view to developing further offensive action during Phase III.

(b)   49 Inf Div will capture the feature 525297 – 544295 – 545280 – 532280.

Phase III

                        51 (H) Div will develop its operation to secure

(i)                 The bty area centred around 500315

(ii)               The high ground about 4730 and 4829

(iii)             The enemy defences about OCTEVILLE 500340 from the SOUTH      and EAST.

Phase IV - EXPLOITATION

Both divs will exploit relentlessly into the town and crush any resistance within div bdys. It is most important that the plan of each div shall provide for immediate, deep and ruthless exploitation directly the opportunity arises. The sooner we can penetrate deeply and break up enemy cohesion and control, the more easily and cheaply will our task be accomplished.

Therefore plans must be flexible enough to take advantage of any enemy weakness.

5.      TIMINGS

(a)    D day

9 Sep

(b)   Phase I

H hr     1815 hrs

(c)    Phase II

Times to be fixed by Comd 51 (H) and 49 Inf Divs for their respective parts of this phase. In this connection 49 Inf Div will make the rd in para 7(b) available to 51 (H) Div by H + 5 hrs or earlier if possible.

(d)   Phase III

0800 hrs D + 1