大象传媒

RIJKEVORSEL ROAD TO ARNHEM 鈥� 鈥淗ELL鈥橲 HIGHWAY鈥� by Roy Hilton.

SEPTEMBER 19TH 1944

Travel through Belgium with 7th Armoured Brigade until we reached a town with a lot of O's (Oosmalle). I think we stopped overnight in a big country house.

SEPTEMBER 20TH

We marched all day along a main road until evening, when we came to a town over a canal. There was approximately 35 men, no transport, no medical persons, 1 officer, 1 sergeant, 2 Corporals and 3 Lance Corporals, an advance party, (the other part of the Regiment was still at Le Harve area, awaiting for supplies, petrol, ammunition and food). On the outskirts of the town there was a tram empty, after gathering information about where the Germans were in the town. The officer decided as it was late evening to use the tram to get over the canal bridge and raced to the end of the houses onto farm land. No shots were fired by us or the Germans, we did not see any. 1 sergeant and 9 men were left on the other side of canal. '

SEPTEMBER 21ST

The officer told us to dig trenches in the field and he took 12 men back into town and posted them on a crossroads. Later he appeared with two civilians, stated that they were 鈥淩esistance men鈥� about half an hour later one of the householders came to us and stated that the men with the officer were German officers and gave us information about where the Germans were, they were in houses watching us. The officer took a corporal and L/Corporal to rendevous with the same men he said were 鈥淩esistance鈥� fighters. The L/Corporal escaped and told us the officer and corporal was captured by the Germans.

SEPTEMBER 22ND

At 4.30am Sentry notified us of movements on the farm track below us. Between 6 o'clock and 7 the German shell direct hits on the trenches we dug the day before. They advanced in formation from the farm house area and when they got within 50 metres we shouted 鈥淗ans Hock鈥� they stopped, then 2 men fell down to the field, we opened fire with 3 Bren Guns and rifles. A second lot of Germans came out of the town to join others, we carry on firing until there was no movement. We had run out of ammunition for the Bren Guns. Silence all around. We tried to contact our lads at the crossroads. When I got there, two of them were in the road still holding onto Bren Guns, dead, and glancing in the house I saw an old lady lying in a pool of blood. I got out of there quick. I never saw the others. Reporting back to the section, we waited and watched the Germans loading up the dead and wounded from in front of us.

There were shots from down town, the sergeant and other men tried to reach us, the sergeant was badly wounded and some house holder took him in, the others we saw going down a back alley with machine guns hitting the wall above them. We saw this incident from the attic of some house. The Germans were using their machine guns. We settled down for the night.

SEPTEMBER 23RD

During the night one of us crept downstairs. 3 Germans were asleep by mounted machine guns, scouting around he came back with bread and jam. We stopped where we were, watching the movements towards the canal. It seemed they were searching for something or someone.

SEPTEMBER 24TH

At dawn approx 5-6am movement downstairs and in the road in from of the house the Germans were parading on the road, after a time, the Germans marched away. Later we had not heard anything from downstairs. One went to see if the Germans were there, they had gone with the machine gun, we stopped in the house waiting and watching. At about lOam we heard vehicles, it was a recognisance unit, they stopped outside the house.

We spoke to them, and got food, bullets etc, and they said our troops were moving in, they contacted Co. HQ who sent the other platoons, when they arrived we carried out a search for others. The householder appeared again, who told us the sergeant was being looked after in a cellar with women and children. He also pointed to a house where Germans were hiding. We fired at the windows of the house and shouted that they surrender. This they did about twenty (20) who were marched away by another section.

SEPTEMBER 25TH

A peaceful day watching others who were joining us getting equipment sorted out, magazine filled with bullets, changing machine guns, still inside the house.

SEPTEMBER 26TH

Around mid morning we started to advance across farm land when we came under fire, shells, falling among us, this carried on as we advanced, we could hear the Tiger Tanks as they fired, and we closed in on Germans loading and firing "Moaning Minnies" which were mounted on a chasis. It had 10 Barrels 2" tubes in which they loaded with mortar bombs. Pulling on a cord attached to a lever was the way it fired. Flashes of fire of the bottom and the shells soared through the air making a moaning sound. Mortar shells exploded one after another in a area of approximately 20sq metres. After capturing the guns we advanced again and it was about 5pm. I got hit by shrapnel from a 88mm fired by the tanks. The Lance Corporal Moule and Tich Marshall dragged me into the farmhouse, dressing the wound and then covering me over with a settee. They had to leave me there.

SEPTEMBER 27TH

At dawn about 5am L/Cpl Moule and Tich Marshall came back and carried me into the village or town. I was loaded on a stretcher on top of a Sherman tank belonging to the French Canadians, who after they finished the battle took me to a hospital in Gheint. It was then early morning on September 28th where I was operated on by a woman Canadian surgeon who said she had removed half my intestine. I could not be moved for 10 days. After 10 days I was flown back to England.

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