大象传媒

Europe in 1945

The war situation in NW Europe had been fairly static during the early winter months of 1944 but had suddenly "exploded" with a fierce, and initially successful, German counter-attack on the American forces in the Ardennes. A substantial bridgehead was established; Belgium was threatened and the Southern flank of the British/Canadian forces exposed.
As I understood the strategic position at the time there was quite a substantial element of American forces to the north of the German bridgehead cut off from their command structures. General Montgomery, clearly anxious to protect his position, needed to know what was going on and eventually took temporary command of those American troops who were isolated by the German advance. He wanted the same kind of quick detailed information as he was used to in 21 Army Group and somehow it was arranged that additional Phantom detachments were sent to various American headquarters, deployed at lower levels than was then normal within the American army generally. I was set up with men, vehicles and equipment and sent off as part of that operation.

Frankly it was not an easy posting. I was very new to the job, as yet unbloodied by direct military action and totally unfamiliar with top-level American operational structures. Though Phantom was known, trusted and endorsed within the highest commands as noted above (p.14) we were largely unknown at some lower levels. Added to that I detected, or imagined, a certain resentment that the formation to which I was sent was now under the direct command of a British general. To counter all that I did carry authorisation from the highest American and British sources; nevertheless it took a bit of time to feel entirely comfortable with the American Staff Officers with whom I had to work.
It was also an oddly lonely situation to be in, one very junior and inexperienced British Officer, with a small detachment of 4-5 men and a couple of vehicles, seeking to establish a relationship of trust with senior American Staff Officers. Most of them worked in strict 8-hour shifts while I had to keep going "on my own" every day
through at least two of their shifts, i.e. generally more than 16 hours a day for me and nearly as much for my radio operators and cipher clerks.

Gradually a reasonable working arrangement was established, not least because through our network I was able to fill the American staff in with reliable information of what was happening on a much wider front than theirs; such information was generally at least 24 hours more up to date than that received through their own sources. The first thing I did every morning was to show the American staff a map marked up with the latest known Allied and German positions on the whole Western front. The more this information was imparted and proved reliable, the more ready the American staff became to share their plans etc with me so that I could pass them on to Monty's headquarters.
Eventually the German push was contained and repulsed; it is claimed for Phantom generally that its network of communications, and the initiative of its officers, in the early days of this specific operation were significant factors in bringing some degree of order to a very confused situation. My small part in this was reporting the subsequent recovery of lost ground and then the capture, intact, of the bridge over the Rhine at Remagen. After that came a posting to Monty's advanced Tactical HQ, and that was a much more congenial and straightforward situation for me and, as it proved, an exciting one (see below p.17).
From this period of service with the American forces I have one very vivid memory of a somewhat trivial experience - it is of one midday meal, in their officers' mess, soon after I joined them. It was a sumptuous meal, especially in the feared circumstances of an enemy attack; it consisted of beef casserole with big slices of meat in thick luscious gravy, tinned peaches and cream, a roll with butter and marmalade. To one used to English wartime rations and standard army catering it seemed lavish indeed - and would have been had it not all been served together at the same time on the same plate.

WAR IN EUROPE ENDS

At Monty's Tactical HQ the role of my small detachment was to be unobtrusive, to receive and monitor all the reports coming through Phantom channels to the higher echelons and commands, and thereby to enable his personal operational staff to keep their maps up to date alongside other information brought in by personal contact through his subordinate commanders and his personal liaison officers. Work was steady, not unduly pressurised, totally absorbing as the final stages of the campaign developed.
Great excitement was experienced in our little group one day early in May 1945 when we received a message to the effect that a senior German general wished to come through the British lines to negotiate the surrender of their land forces. Obviously this message had to be taken to Monty as soon as possible so I went to his caravan to deliver it. He wasn't there and no one of his personal staff knew his precise whereabouts to convey this historic message! They found him eventually and the 'peace' process followed with breath-taking speed thereafter.
Several very high-ranking German officers soon appeared, accompanied by some staff and, of course, their British guards. I was told later that one of the German staff officers, having been given some orders by his admiral, threw up an immaculate Nazi salute to signify obedience - only to be severely rebuked by his boss for such an inappropriate action in the prevailing circumstances!
In due course, as is now well recorded in the official histories, the actual formal surrender was immaculately stage-managed by Monty and his staff in a marquee put up for the purpose. Later Monty gave all the officers serving at his Tactical HQ a facsimile copy of the surrender document (before signature) as a memento of the occasion and of their service in his HQ; it is still among my treasured possessions.
The next few weeks passed very agreeably for most of us. I remember fine weather and several excursions here and there taking confidential papers between various military and political offices, exploring the Rhine and Moselle valleys en route. One such trip was different from the rest; I had to take a personal packet of papers from Monty to be delivered in person to General Eisenhower at his HQ outside Paris, a two-day return trip of several hundred miles.
Then came posting back to Richmond Park for re-training and kitting out for probable service in the Far East, doing for the C-in-C, Earl Mountbatten, what we had done for Monty and Eisenhower in Africa and Europe. The atomic bombs were dropped on Nagasaki and Hiroshima and the war was over. VJ day found me with thousands of others outside Buckingham Palace, partying long into the night, and subsequent days in Richmond waiting to see how and when demobilisation might come with nothing very much of a military nature to do.

"What was Monty like?"

That question, or a similar one, is often asked by those who come to know that I was at his Tactical HQ at the end of the war. I have to make it clear that T was only there for a short time (perhaps 3 months) and that, prior to my posting there, I was never in a unit under his command. So, such knowledge as I had of him was very limited and largely indirect.
Like (I guess) most people in the UK I was cheered by his leadership of the Eighth Army in the battle of El Alamein and the subsequent defeat of the axis forces in North Africa. And I certainly shared in the enthusiasm of many in the armed forces in the UK when he was appointed C-in-C of those preparing to invade NW Europe. Even at a great distance his personality and infectious confidence came across, especially among the `rank and file'.
His personal standards and his expectations of others certainly governed our life on Luneburg Heath. He insisted on quiet, meticulous discipline and the absence of distractions (e.g. no personal washing was to be hung out to dry where it could be seen!). All this kept us "on our toes" but we walked about with our heads held high. Most of us there in my time were relatively young, got on well together and were glad to be at the centre of things. If some of this suggests that the regime there was austere and repressive, that is certainly not my memory. Rather I remember it as a happy time because the war in Europe was clearly going to end soon, though I have a vivid memory of one sad moment, the funeral and burial of one of Monty's personal liaison officers who had been killed. As an indication of how we all got on well together and had some relaxation I remember one of the "brass hats" (the senior intelligence officer) who encouraged me to play with and exercise his supra-energetic pet dog and with whom I had many an informal conversation.
Amidst all the complexities of the campaign and of the political situation unfolding at the cessation of hostilities, Monty never forgot that the battle is always won by the individuals in the front line (hence his published message of thanks to all ranks after VE day) and I for one was greatly touched by the appreciation he showed to all the officers at his HQ at this time (e.g. the distribution of copies of the surrender document - see p.17 above) and the time he spent with us when a series of group photographs was arranged in the grounds of a rather imposing German schloss to which his HQ returned from the bare expanse of Luneburg Heath when the war was over.
So for what it is worth, here is a summary of what I remember of him beyond what is implicit in the foregoing paragraphs. A bit of a showman, certainly, but one who worked hard to raise morale and keep it high; ruthless in rooting out incompetence or inefficiency but appreciative of a job well done; one who inspired fierce loyalty in those who worked for him and who strove hard to see that the troops under his command knew what they had to do and had what they needed; one who clearly had a strong personal Christian faith.

DEMOBILISATION
I think mine must have been one of the quickest of anyone in the services. During those post VJ days there was little to do except keep ourselves and our men reasonably occupied. I took a weekend off to go and stay with friends in Cambridge and, while I was there, the official announcement was made outlining the government's plans for demobilisation, notably (under what was termed a class B release) that anyone who had a university place could be released within weeks in order to resume or start their studies. I immediately went round to Christ's College and informed the Senior Tutor that I was alive, where I was stationed and that I would like to take advantage of that arrangement for release. Term was about to start and, as our unit was at the time under direct War Office control, I went straight there on my return to London, and asked for the procedure to be put in hand immediately.
It was, surprisingly quickly. Very soon papers came through authorising my release. I went to the demob. centre that morning, collected the free-issue civilian clothing, packed all my personal possessions and that same afternoon caught a train to my parents' home near Sheffield. There I hastily re-packed, collected such books as I thought appropriate (mainly Latin and Greek texts), and rang the college and told them that I was on my way. To Cambridge next day by train and, on arrival, I was shown to my room and given my lecture programme etc. Term was under way and my first lecture was in the morning - and I was there, just 48 hours after receiving my release papers!
Almost as quickly I started to think about what I was going to do/be in life after graduating. For the moment, however, classics was the subject for which I had been awarded an Exhibition in 1939; so it was that, without much thought (if any), I presumed that I would read classics for my degree and started to get on with the course.

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