大象传媒

Part 3 of 3 parts

Continued from www.bbc.co.uk/dna/ww2/A8118894

When we embarked from East Ham, because the other ports were crowded out getting tanks across and so on, we actually embarked on a Liberty Ship. I hadn鈥檛 got all my troops on board. I was feeling a bit lost because I鈥檇 lost all control and I hadn鈥檛 got a despatch rider and everything else to do as I told them, but I was still made responsible. I was made O/C Troops on an American Liberty Ship. We left East Ham and crawled down the river to Southend, then we stopped and started gathering up, and the Admiral in charge of the particular area called us to his headquarters, which he called a ship but it was in fact the end building on Southend Pier. I can鈥檛 remember what he said but it was nothing of importance at all.

We chugged back and then at night we crept round and we passed Dover in the night and we ended up off Normandy, but, the sea got very rough and the ship was
too rocking, there was no vehicles to be got out or anything else. So we had to wait but two interesting things happened there. One is that, and people won鈥檛 believe this but the flying bombs were flying from the nearest point they could get to the French coast that they could get for the journey over Kent and to land in London, and only by mistake did they go anywhere else. I was standing on the deck wondering when the hell we were going to get off in Normandy, then I suddenly heard a bloody flying bomb. Impossible. Sure enough it was a flying bomb, and it had been turned by a couple of Spitfires who were following it placidly, and they turned it and followed it to make sure it didn鈥檛 do funny things that might do damage to us. They escorted it over our lines anyway then they鈥檇 no doubt leave it once it had gone over German lines.

The other thing was that I suddenly heard a sort of craft coming alongside us. 鈥淓xcuse me sir鈥�. I said, 鈥淲hat鈥檚 the matter?鈥� There was a First Lieutenant on a Torpedo Boat saying, 鈥淐an I tie up?鈥� I said, 鈥淲ell, throw it up. I鈥檒l tie you up, then I鈥檒l get permission from the Skipper鈥�. So I went. 鈥淪ure he can tie up here鈥�. They said, 鈥淗ave you got any bread you can exchange for cigarettes or something or other?鈥� So I got him some bread, and he said, 鈥淐ome and have a drink鈥�. So I went down there. We had a drink, he said, 鈥淵ou鈥檙e sitting where Churchill sat about three days ago, and the King sat two days before that鈥�. Churchill had got his physician on one side and his ADC on the other. One was giving him notes and messages as they came in, and his medicine man, Lord Horder, was giving him pills and brandy. But, he said the King shook our engineer Snotty because he said, 鈥淚s this a Packard engine?鈥� 鈥淵es sir鈥� he said. 鈥淒own-draught carburation?鈥� 鈥淵es sir鈥�.

Anyway, we got off eventually, and I must have been the last one of our Brigade to get off because we 鈥榙rowned鈥�, because of that wretched American chap in charge of the landing craft. He said, 鈥淚 can鈥檛 get in any nearer鈥� I said, 鈥淵ou鈥檒l have to get in, we鈥檙e not 鈥榩roofed鈥� any longer. We were told it wasn鈥檛 necessary. This car鈥檚 going to be 鈥榙rowned鈥� in a couple of feet of water鈥�. And he said, 鈥淲ell I can鈥檛 come in any more鈥� and finally he dropped the board and said, 鈥淵ou鈥檒l have to get off sir鈥�. I said, 鈥淎ll right, for God鈥檚 sake鈥�. And then of course, we 鈥榙rowned鈥�.

The chap had got about forty vehicles 鈥榙rowned鈥�. The REME chap said, 鈥淚 can鈥檛 come until the morning. I鈥檒l be with you as soon as I can鈥�. I said, 鈥淧lease do鈥�. He came and squirted some fire extinguisher liquid and dried it all out and things started. I鈥檇 fortunately got a system going whereby wherever our unit moved there were little metal signs with arrows pointing, painted with our colours and number, and driven into the ground. And the motorbikes came along and picked them up after the last one had gone. But fortunately they鈥檇 left them for me and they hadn鈥檛 pulled them out yet and so I was able to get to my unit.

Every field was full of troops and everything else, so I got there and went in, and my second in command said, 鈥淭hank God you鈥檙e here sir鈥�. I said, 鈥淲hat鈥檚 the matter?鈥� He said, 鈥淲ell you鈥檝e just about got time. You鈥檝e got to report to Monty鈥�. Here it is 鈥� 鈥楻eport Commander-in-Chief, personally at鈥︹�� I鈥檝e called your man and he鈥檚 getting some breakfast, I鈥檝e called your driver and he鈥檚 getting the car, and getting it ready.

So I changed, spruced up, had a breakfast. I said, 鈥淲ell this is not sent to me, he鈥檚 sending it to all the commanders of the Brigade. He wants the Brigade to do some special job. So we reported to Monty鈥檚 headquarters having been given the number on the map, which I鈥檓 sure the Germans would have liked to have known about. It was the most amazing scene because we were ushered in, and there was Monty standing around, no hat on, with his hands in his pockets, with just a pullover on, mooching around, just thinking, and he looked up and said, 鈥淥h hallo. Welcome. Come on in鈥�, shook hands and 鈥淐ome on over here鈥�. He looked as if he hadn鈥檛 got a care in the world, which was a good start, having heard about Generals quivering away before something came of it.

He took us to a big map, showed us quickly around what had happened so far, and then he said 鈥淚鈥檝e learned one thing about the Germans. Now how do you get out of a bridgehead? My favourite trick is just to go round - the oldest trick in the business but as long as you do it right you can get away with it. But you don鈥檛 do it out of a bridgehead. So what do I do? Well, I鈥檝e got to persuade him that we鈥檙e going to attack at one point, and we鈥檙e going to attack at another. It鈥檚 not easy, but I have noticed that anything that we do on this salient where the British are鈥�, he said. 鈥淣ervous as hell鈥�. He said, 鈥淭wo days ago鈥� (and I remember hearing this on the news), he said, 鈥淏ritish tanks are streaming out on the open plains towards Paris鈥︹��

鈥淭hey hadn鈥檛 broken out at all but the object is that we鈥檝e been bombing like hell around here ahead of us. I鈥檝e told the British not to sacrifice too much. We鈥檝e got to pretend we鈥檙e being aggressive but we don鈥檛 want to sacrifice too many men where we are not going to attack鈥�. He said, 鈥淚鈥檒l tell you this much. Virtually all the armoured formations of the German army are facing us. And round there, facing Patten鈥檚 armour, and the rest of Eisenhower鈥檚 army, there鈥檚 virtually no armour at all so that鈥檚 where the break-out鈥檚 going, and at eleven o鈥檆lock today it will all start. All the stuff is going to be switched in the air to that point, and they鈥檙e just going to be plastered like hell in front of the American lines. Plastered and plastered and plastered, and as soon as it stops the Americans will move forward en masse鈥�.

Then he said, 鈥淵ou may wonder why I鈥檝e been calling you here today. The main route for the Germans as soon as they realise that I鈥檝e twicked them (he couldn鈥檛 pronounce his R鈥檚 properly): they will want to go down the main route eleven there, one of these great routes that Napoleon had carved out, straight line A to B. We鈥檝e blown up every bridge there is on it. As soon as they start repairing it we blow it again. But there is nothing but mere small bridges and streams between here and there from this point on. Now, here鈥檚 Caumont. Just beyond the hill of Caumont there are three hills. One doesn鈥檛 matter so much but those two hills, I want your tanks on the top of that one Brigadier, which is within two hundred yards of the route eleven. I want them on top of there by two o鈥檆lock of the afternoon of the day after tomorrow. You can tell your men what to do but keep it quiet on the main thrust鈥�.

The next day we all moved up a little bit nearer. There was a bit of shelling went on but my troops weren鈥檛 hit. The next day I went up to Brigade Headquarters, but the Brigadier saw me and said, 鈥漁h Tony, come in. It鈥檚 going well. Go up and have a chat with the S Squadron Commander, Chips Mac Lean鈥�. He was in our Scots Guards Battalion. 鈥淕o up and see if he鈥檚 all right鈥�. So I drove up to the top of the hill and there were Scots troops there. Chips Mac Lean said he was happy. I strolled to the edge and looked over and there wasn鈥檛 a sight of any vehicle of any sort on that road. They鈥檇 got complete cover on it and the thing went off successfully and that was the beginning of it. The Americans swept through and then with us they came with a pincer and we nearly caught a hell of a lot of the German army. Most of them did escape but those that didn鈥檛; I鈥檝e never seen such an appalling mess of dead men, dead horses, broken equipment, and everything else at the Falaise Gap as it was called, between Falaise where we were and had got forward to and the Americans were coming along to close it. It was an absolute mess but it worked. My sympathy wasn鈥檛 entirely with the German army!

We went galloping on but we in heavy tanks had been pinched out of the battle, the faster armour going on and on, chasing the Germans. The British were concentrating on Belgium and got through to Belgium and so on, but Monty was having serious trouble with his lines of communication because our Marines landed in the Scheldt trying to get that clear but the Germans were hanging on there and defending it (that鈥檚 on the Belgian/Dutch frontiers) and we were still completely reliant for food, petrol, diesel, ammunition, from the beaches in Normandy, which fortunately now had an artificial port at Arromanches. It hadn鈥檛 been built by the time I got there but it was built by then I suppose. I never saw it until after the war.

I was immediately told that I鈥檇 got all the trucks in the three Guards Battalions, and their NCOs and drivers were coming under me, so I鈥檇 got about sixteen hundred men by then under my command and I had to keep organising mail, food, supplies and everything else back from Normandy right up as far as Brussels, which was a nightmare really but it had to be done. In fact I got an MBE for that. It seemed to me I didn鈥檛 deserve it for I was sitting there the whole time.

But it worked and Monty of course was hoping that it would help, and that he could punch straight over. Nobody will ever know whether he was right or not because that airborne invasion was by a serious mischance and possibly because a plan had been given away by an American having it in his pocket when he was crash landed. That is certainly true. And so the landing at Arnhem was terrible. They were waiting. A whole Division in rest waiting to know what to do, and suddenly they arrived among them.

But we got through that lot and then were held up on the Rhine because nobody could do anything more across it. That held us up in the winter and then in the spring again. Monty sent our brigade to help the Americans when they were threatened by a sudden attack. So that held us up but eventually in February we went galloping over the Rhine, and by that I mean on pontoon bridges. I was amused to see they鈥檇 got a naval officer in charge just in case! The army鈥檚 not very good on water; they鈥檝e got a naval officer there. The pontoon bridge worked all right but it was still being shelled but fortunately no shells hit it. We ended up in Kiel, went on and up with the Russians.

One notable thing I might add is that our Scots Guard cannon did what must be unique in warfare, and that is, they captured a German submarine! They arrived on the dockside at Kiel; this thing started getting up speed so they sent a 75-millimetre shell crashing into its Conning Tower and then all on board came up with their hands up and backed back in again!

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