More evidence that replacement of 21 Army Group "B" vehicles hadn't completely collapsed in the autumn of 1944 is shown by this extract from the wa diary of 310 Coy RASC (Armd Bde) which was part of the 2nd line transport in the Guards Armoured Division and which had lost several vehicles during Op Market Garden through bombing of Eindhoven and attacks on the CL (Source: WO171/2434):
2 October 1944
0830 Collection of 8 further replacement vehicles brings total back to W.E. except for 1 Light Utility.
Regards
Tom
Unserviceable Lorries - Jul - Sep 44
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Tom from Cornwall
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Michael Kenny
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Re: Unserviceable Lorries - Jul - Sep 44
The passage from Wilmot.
The Struggle for Europe page 472
In Second Army's advance through Northern France, XII Corps had been able to follow XXX only because VIII Corps and nearly all Montgomery's heavy, medium and anti-aircraft artillery had been grounded west of the Seine. By the start of September all the transport reserves of 21st Army Group were on the road. Imports were cut from 16,000 tons a day to 7,000 so that transport companies could be diverted from unloading ships to forward supply. This gain, however, was almost offset by the alarming discovery that the engines of 1,400 British-built three-tonners (and all the replacement engines for this particular model) had faulty pistons which rendered them useless. (footnote 1) These trucks could have delivered to the Belgian border another 800 tons a day, sufficient to maintain two divisions. By reducing the daily tonnage of First Canadian Army, by bringing in fresh transport companies from England, and by such expedients as welding strips of airfield track on the sides of tank-transporters to convert them for supply carrying, 21st Army Group was able to provide enough supplies to carry Dempsey's two forward corps into Belgium as far as Brussels and Antwerp, but with its own resources it could not go much farther.
1 The Administrative History of the Operations of 21 Army Group, ' pg 47
The Struggle for Europe page 472
In Second Army's advance through Northern France, XII Corps had been able to follow XXX only because VIII Corps and nearly all Montgomery's heavy, medium and anti-aircraft artillery had been grounded west of the Seine. By the start of September all the transport reserves of 21st Army Group were on the road. Imports were cut from 16,000 tons a day to 7,000 so that transport companies could be diverted from unloading ships to forward supply. This gain, however, was almost offset by the alarming discovery that the engines of 1,400 British-built three-tonners (and all the replacement engines for this particular model) had faulty pistons which rendered them useless. (footnote 1) These trucks could have delivered to the Belgian border another 800 tons a day, sufficient to maintain two divisions. By reducing the daily tonnage of First Canadian Army, by bringing in fresh transport companies from England, and by such expedients as welding strips of airfield track on the sides of tank-transporters to convert them for supply carrying, 21st Army Group was able to provide enough supplies to carry Dempsey's two forward corps into Belgium as far as Brussels and Antwerp, but with its own resources it could not go much farther.
1 The Administrative History of the Operations of 21 Army Group, ' pg 47
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Tom from Cornwall
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Re: Unserviceable Lorries - Jul - Sep 44
And showing that even Chester Wilmot could get it wrong sometimes!
An Austin K5 4x4 3-ton GS lorry from one of 50th Infantry Division's RASC companies filmed in Holland on 2 Oct 1944.
Regards
Tom
Regards
Tom