大象传媒

2nd April 1945 With the reversal of fortune which the 1st Herefords had suffered and the realization that the enemy were entrenched on top of the Riesenbecker Berg ridge in greater numbers than anticipated, it was decided by the Brigade Command that an attack would be made further to the West and at dawn four rifle companies of the 3rd Monmouths were ordered to penetrate into the forest and clear the ridge (map ref 958065) from West to East to eliminate the enemy opposition and clear the route to Ibbenburen for the Divisions armour and infantry. It would be a long and arduous route, they would have to travel through a densely wooded area, with tangled and bushy undergrowth, and with irregular valleys and depressions, climbing upwards without the use of any useful transport, having to leave the carrier platoon and the anti-tank platoon with the Battalion Headquarters on the edge of the forest.

Communication by radio proved to be difficult, the signalers carrying the wireless on their back, accompanying the officers, were conspicuously exposed; however a telephone line was run out behind the attackers and proved to be a useful aid later.

Visibility was severely restricted, in places limited to a few yards. Soon the advance was stopped by the heavy sniper and machine gun fire, however a few infantry men reached the top of the ridge where they were soon counter-attacked by a strong enemy force, who were firing from the hip and charging with fixed bayonets. It was at this point where Corporal Edward Chapman, showing great bravery and great heroism and valor, fought back; firing a Bren gun from the hip he succeeded in preventing the German force from overrunning his platoon鈥檚 position. For this action he was later awarded the Victoria Cross, the citation for this reads as follows:-

TED CHAPMAN VC

On April 2nd 1945, the 3rd Monmouths began what were to develop into repeated 鈥� and costly 鈥� attacks on the thickly wooded ridge of the Teutoburger Wald.
This symbolic forest was being held by a fanatically dedicated force of German officer cadets and their instructors from the Officer School in Hannover, who were making a last stand.

Chapman was leading his section in his company鈥檚 advance along a narrow track through the woods when a machinegun opened fire on them at short range, inflicting heavy casualties and causing considerable confusion. Chapman seized his section鈥檚 Bren gun and advanced alone, firing from the hip. He mowed down his opponents at point-blank range and forced them to retire in disorder.

At this point his company was ordered to retire but the order did not reach Chapman, and his section was left isolated in its advanced position. The Germans closed in and delivered a number of bayonet charges under cover of intense machinegun fire. Chapman again rose with his Bren gun to meet the assaults and on each occasion halted the attackers with his fire.

He was soon running out of ammunition, so shouting to the survivors of his section for more bandoliers, he dropped into a fold in the ground, rolled on to his back and covered those bringing up ammunition by firing the Bren over his shoulder. The Germans made every effort to eliminate him with grenades, but with his magazine reloaded he closed with them and once more drove them off.

During the company鈥檚 withdrawal, his company commander had been severely wounded and was lying in the open a short distance from Chapman鈥檚 position. Still under heavy fire, Chapman reached him and carried him back to comparative safety, but as he did so the officer was hit again, the round wounding Chapman in the thigh as well. But when he reached cover, he found that his company commander was dead. He himself refused to be evacuated until the position was finally secured.

For a short time the fanatical German officer cadets and their instructors had been within sight of the Battalion headquarters, but with the aid of the carrier and anti tank personnel who played the role of infantry they were forced back (map ref 956060).

The 3rd Monmouths suffered many casualties, nearly all their officers who took part in the attacks were killed. Several other ranks were captured and taken prisoner and the wounded of both sides lay unattended on the forest floor, or in the quarry, the escarpment of which had halted part of the 3rd Monmouths attack and where they were ambushed.

There were many acts of bravery and compassion during the two days of the fighting, some men were lucky to survive, others not so, it transpired that the telephone cable enabled survivors to follow it in the darkness, safely back to the Battalion HQ. The fighting continued until late on the 3rd April when reinforcements from the 2nd Battalion the Devonshire Regiment, a full brigade of infantry, cleared the area, taking over 100 German prisoners.

TRUCE

As far as it is known or recorded elsewhere, this fierce engagement of the Second World War between the British and German forces on the 2nd and 3rd April 1945 was the only one where a Truce was called mid term to allow the dead and wounded of both sides to be gathered and attended.

A young German officer cadet, who could speak English, explained the situation regarding the dead and unattended wounded of both sides to a 3rd Monmouths prisoner and both of them with a white handkerchief prepared to go over to the British position to obtain a cease fire, to enable the wounded to be collected. The 3rd Monmouths Battalion Commander agreed, the guns were silent and the British medical staff and stretcher bearers collected the wounded. The young German then returned to his unit and the shooting started again.

It is possible that due to the speed of the advance of the Allied armies through Germany in the next few days, stopped only for short periods at the many river crossings but particularly at the discovery of the Concentration Camp at Belsen, that this battle at the Teutoburger Wald and the Truce within it was so poorly recorded. The loss of so many 3rd Monmouth Officers during these fateful days and the lack of 鈥淥鈥� group reports did little to record the heroism of the men of the 3rd Monmouths and the 1st Herefords who had been in action during those few early days of April. The award of the Victoria Cross and the Military Cross and Military Medals to officers and other ranks of the 1st Herefords indicates this.

The casualties to the Allied forces over these few early days of April 1945 were numerous, particularly to Officers and men of the 3rd Mons, the 1st Herefords and the 4th KOSB. The support units of the159 Infantry Brigade and the 11th Armoured Division also suffered to a lesser degree during the Luftwaffe air attacks.

Having suffered so many casualties, killed or wounded, the 3rd Monmouths who had been with the 11th Armoured since its arrival in France had ceased to be a front line fighting unit and were replaced by the Cheshire Regiment.

While all this activity was taking place, on the 1st and 2nd April the 15/19 Hussars armoured units had traveled Eastward towards Brockterbeck (map ref 998030) and Tecklenburg along the southern edge of the forest and then proceeded to traverse the second road (map ref 005030) which led over and through the forest towards Ibbenburen. This road was winding and uphill through a tree lined gorge, a difficult route, particularly without infantry support, the speed of the new Comet tank and the dash and verve of the tank crews took this attack to the North side of the forest whereupon it turned Eastward along the open farmland ground towards the Ibbenburen/Munster road where the 1st Herefords had attacked. Firing all the way along the forest edge, inflicting many casualties, the attack was eventually called off due to the poor light and boggy ground, several tanks being bogged down although recovered later. After retiring to their original start point at Brockterbeck, the attack then turned towards Tecklenburg.

Once again the retreating German forces defended areas which to them were vital to delay the advancing Allied forces, the picturesque town/hamlet of Tecklenburg was one of these and saw heavy fighting, surprisingly some of the civilian population also took part, all to no avail.

The Allied High Command then decided that the 11th Armoured Division should leave this area and proceed on their original centre line of attack towards Osnabr疟ck and Hannover without delay. Thus the159 Infantry Brigade, now with the Cheshire Regiment who had replaced the 3rd Monmouths, passed through the Teutoburger Wald forest at Tecklenburg and continued its progress.

While the 11th Armoured and the 159 Infantry Brigade were leaving the area, it was left to the 7th Armoured Division to complete their original task of capturing Ibbenburen. To do this, it was necessary to deal with the depleted groups of German defenders still ensconced at the road bend area (map ref 973058) where the 1st Herefords had attacked.

This was the task of the 4th Kings Own Scottish Borderers and their supporting armour and on the 4th April 1945 an attack was made which surmounted the ridge and proceeded along the road towards the town. Fierce resistance was met and again 鈥渇riendly fire鈥� took its toll until after the armoured units arrived to support. The key bridges crossing the Ibbenburen Aqua (map ref 980075) were eventually taken and with the German forces retreating northward towards F疟rstenau. This period of action was later recorded in the book 鈥淲ith the Jocks鈥� by Captain Peter White.

This area of the Teutoburger Wald and Ibbenburen was finally captured during 7th and 8th April 1945.

FROM THE OTHER SIDE

It is not often recorded in books written by Officers and other ranks of the Allied forces of the reaction and stories of the serving soldiers of the opposing German forces but the author and his colleague Brian Poole had the opportunity to meet a soldier of the German Army who served in the action of the Teutoburger Wald and the town of Ibbenburen during the days of April 1st to April 8th 1945 and who was taken prisoner at the end of the actions.

Doctor Wolf Berlin, now nearing eighty, was a young soldier stationed at Bergen, north of Hannover, where together with Officers and Trainee Officers and NCOs from their School near Hannover, they were instructed to march overnight for each night between 24th March and 1st April 1945, a distance of approximately 200 km, carrying all their weapons, food and ammunition to assist in the defence of the town of Ibbenburen, north of the Riesenbecker Ridge of the Teutoburger Wald.

After this exhausting journey, the group comprising about 3000 men circumnavigated to the North of Ibbenburen and finally approached the Western end of the Teutoburger Wald. They then followed the forest paths and approached the top of the Riesenbecker Ridge where they joined up with others and were able to observe the British forces assembled on the South side of the Wald.

Shortly after their arrival, they were engaged in heavy fighting with the 3rd Monmouths who had made their way up the slopes and pathways towards the top of the ridge on the 2nd April 1945.

After 2 days of fierce and dramatic fighting the survivors of the German force retreated towards Ibbenburen but were continually attacked by the units of the 7th Armoured Division until they were finally captured at F疟rstenau.

During a short visit to the battle area in April 2003 Brian Poole and I met Dr Berlin who escorted us around the battlefield area and pointed out the various features from the German aspect and also the slit trenches occupied by the 3rd Monmouths infantry men. We also visited the 3 German soldiers cemeteries in the area, and identified that the British casualties were later moved to the Reishwald Forest War Graves Cemetery in 1947.

It was of some surprise to Dr Wolf Berlin when he learned of the cemeteries on the north side lower slopes of the Riesenbecker Ridge and on the northern side of the Dorenther Klippen Ridge, as his group were unaware of the existence of any other German troops in these areas.

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