Our Most Successful Day
Then the morning dawned. It ushered in a day which was to bring to our Tiger and its crew the greatest proof of worth and outstanding success. It was 7 August 1944.
We were still waiting for the grenadiers who were to join the Tigers in the attack that morning; it was to start after a preparatory artillery fire. The platoons and groups of Pionier-Bataillon 600, comrades from a division of the Heer, had arrived at our Panzer. They spread out and sought cover in trenches and behind bushes. We waited and waited, but still there was no artillery salvo to indicate the start of the attack. Hour after hour passed, and then it started, but not on our side. Some pioneers to our left gave us a tank alert. Shortly after we surveyed the situation from our Tiger. The Shermans rolled out of a wooded area, down the hill. We spotted ten - twelve - fifteen enemy tanks, between them scout cars, armored personnel carriers with mounted infantry, and wheeled armored personnel carriers. The whole slope came to life. The distance was approximately 1,200 m. Until then not a shot had been fired. The scene looked like a tank attack as taught in military schools, everything that was required was there. The grenadiers watched us. What would we do? They, and their company chief, started to show a certain nervousness. An Oberleutnant (1st Lt.) climbed onto our Panzer, asking us to open fire. But he had to leave that to our commander. The radio operator was given a message to send to all: "15 Panzers will attack, with infantry, from the left flank. Open fire at 600 m!" Immediately, the order by radio came from commander WeilS: "Ruderboot (row boat) to Ofenrohr 3 (stove pipe), start out immediately. (Ofenrohr 3 was the code name for our Tiger in radio traffic). That was all we needed. The commander ordered the operator not to acknowledge and to turn off the receiver immediately, from then on we only transmitted.
The enemy tanks arranged themselves and rolled towards us in a wide wedge formation. The distance was still approximately 800 m. Long before, the loader had readied anti-tank shells. The driver was told, when so ordered, to immediately let the Panzer roll back over the left track for a few meters while pulling up on the right track. In this way we brought the front of our Tiger into a favorable defensive position within a few seconds. The comrades with the other field: post number had something in store for us, and the side of our Panzer, facing them, was too sensitive for that.
Then the time came, 600 m. We maneuvered our Panzer into the desired direction for firing. The gunner had already had his first target in his sight for some time. It was the tank at the point, exactly in the center of the attacking pack, probably its leader. The second and third targets were also determined, first its neighbor to the left, then the one to the right. After that it was to be the Shermans at the extreme left and right. They could have been dangerous if they were able to come around on our flanks; even a Tiger was vulnerable inside the 400 m range.
Finally, the relief-bringing order came: "Anti-tank shell - 600 - Fire!" The first shot was wide, realizing this froze us only for a few seconds. "Gun sight 400 - Fire!" That was a hit. A second shell followed immediately, another hit. Then, the next target: "Tank on the left - Fire!" It too, took two shells. Within a short time, four Shermans stood in flames on the slope. The enemy then overcame their first confusion, they stopped and opened fire. We took hit after hit, on the turret, to the front, the tracks. Nuts, bolts, and rivets whistled through the interior. The Oberleutnant of the grenadiers who had been inside the Panzer until then, jumped out head over heels, and withdrew with his soldiers. There were to be no more attacks started that day! The radio operator reported constantly on the development of the battle, in between he found plenty of work for his machine gun. The commander radioed again: "Withdraw to own lines!" We counted six burning and smoking tanks by then, there had to be an awful confusion over there! Their infantry dismounted and ran about, looking for cover. Vehicles ran into each other as they tried to turn around. Then, the seventh and eighth tanks were knocked out. As they were tangled up, our 8.8 had taken aim and brought about their quick end. They burned out, close to each other,
Was it minutes which had passed, or hours? We did not know. Our loader, the Volga German, strong as an ox, sank to his knees. Standing the closest to the breech, he had inhaled too much gun powder gas and passed out. And our Panzer took more and more hits. The loss of the loader caused our operation to stall. The gunner manned the turret MG, while the radio operator had already worn out the fourth barrel. By then, all the Shermans had zeroed in on us and we had to try to get out of their range, otherwise they might have found one of our weak spots. "Driver, backwards, march! Halt!" We took another hit, the Tiger jerked backwards. That was a different caliber, that was a Pak! Smoke drifted inside through the hatches, the shell had come from the left. We had to act, a second hit landed between the driver's and radio operator's sights and wiped out the bow MG. The driver took the place of the unconscious loader, there was nobody left to drive! The left track was ripped off and the Tiger was no longer mobile. Then we spotted the Pak by its muzzle fire, it sat at the far left near a bush. The turret was turned to 9 o'clock, Albert received quick and accurate directions, a high explosive shell was loaded and then: "Fire!" We spared three shells for this enemy, then explosions and whirling parts of metal testified to the end of this well-positioned Pak. |
The tank battle continued. We felt neither hunger nor thirst, the fighting demanded all of our concentration. Drippingsweat our eves reddened we gasped for air in the thick fumes of salpeter. With every shot from our gun, a gray-blue cloud of smoke came rom the breech. The ventilation system was unable to keep up. Paul lay between Hermann's legs on the turret mechanism his eyes turned up. We still faced a few Shermans; it was really not easy! While we were firing at the Pak, two Shermans took aim at us. When we took on the Shermans, the anti-tank guns gave us hell It was a real chore, having to fight two enemies at once. In the meantime, twelve burning enemy tanks were witness to our battle. Then the commander radioed, having received the report on our Tiger's inability to move: "Blow up the Panzer, fight your backwith the crew!" But that was impossible for us. As long as we had one shell left, one round of MG ammunition, we would not quit this battle and our Panzer! Once more, we remained silent and forgot to acknowledge receipt of this message. And the tank bartte went on. We took more hits to the turret, the front and the right track, but knocked out two more enemy tanks Then both MGs failed, we were running out of anti-tank shells. Fourteen Shermans gave up their ghosts and ended their march towards Berlin prematurely northwest of Vire at noon on a beautifully bright August day. And the whole engagement took only 30 minutes! But there was more fighting to do! We could not spot any more Shermans on the move or firing but we thought there had been fifteen attacking Shermans! A gully just ahead of us, covered with trees and bushe, demanded increased attention. We fired one high explosive shell after another, there were enough targets. Abandoned armored reconnaisance vehicles and other supply vehicles went up in flames. Half-tracks at full speed, some of them with mounted anti-tank weapons, so-called stove pipes, were knocked out. The whole slope was covered by dark blue smoke which gently covered the recent drama. From time to time, tanks blew up with sky-high bursts of flames and deafening noise. The smoke from the burning vehicles which enveloped the battleground allowed a number of enemy soldiers to escape this inferno alive. Since we did not know how much longer we would have to stay with our Panzer, and our ammunition had been used up except for a few shells, we wanted to add to our supplies during the developing break in the fighting The commander slid down from the Panzer and ran and crawled to get out of the enemy field of vision. Harassing fire had set in. The enemv slowly zeroed in on our position, having recognized that his attack had faltered at this point. Completely exhausted , the commander reached a Tiger of our company and tried to attract attention at the dnver's and radio operator's hatches, both locked because of the steady artillery fire. Finaly a lid was lifted and the commander was able to make his request for a few anti-tank shells but without success. There was no explanation why we could not get anything, the hatches remained closed and any further questions remained unheard. He continued on to the next Tiger, again crawling, running and jumping a few hundred meters. This effort was not in vain, With an anti-tank shell under the arm, the commander crawled back to his Panzer. The artillery fire constantly increased in strength. Unfortunately, we sat in the middle of a meadow without cover and took the first artillery hits to the hull and turret. We learned from one of the last radio messages of the day that Schwab s platoon with three Tigers was to pull us out with the coming of darkness. But it was to be a long time before night fell. On top of everything else, our radio packed in under the constant fire. Fighter-bombers circled above us, diving and firing from all barrells on our brave Tiger which sat, immobile, as if for target practice. Their bombs were too damn close! Was that to be the end? But just before the next formation flew in, we had a saving thought: smoke candles were placed on the rear and front and we played the role of a knocked-out, burnt-out Panzer! We had enough of these smoke candles on board and managed to remain unnoticed for some time Suddenly, we were wide awake again, ripped out of our half-sleep. We heard the familiar rattle of tank tracks but not from one of our comrades. It came from half-right ahead of us, where the gully flattened into groups of trees and bushes. We slowly brought our gun around, almost unnoticeably. We aimed it, with the lowest possible elevation, at the cluster of bushes. We only had two anti-tank shells left, one of them already in the barrel. Our nerves were tensed to he breaking Was it one tank or two? There were only 100 m between us and the gully. The driver and radio operator sat in the open hatches ready to bail out. Paul, who had recovered, was holding the second, and last, shell ready in his arms. If these two were Ifired and missed it would have meant bailing out as quickly as possible. The rattle of tracks and engine noise came ever closer. Seconds turned into eternity! Maybe, the others did not know that a German Panzer, ready to fire was sitting there. Our other Tiqers had long since pulled back, and we had been giving off smoke all afternoon. But enough of these thoughts! Ahead of us the bushes parted. A long, smooth barrel without muzzle brake came into view, no doubt, a Sherman. Then the curved hull and the turret appeared. "Fire!" Our first shell glanced off and we saw it rise steeply into the sky. Surprising, the detais one noticed even during such a tense situation. "Aim lower - Fire!" We roared loudly as the shell disappeared precisely under the barrel, at the base of the turret. As if gripped by an iron fist, the tank stopped with a jerk. A fine column of smoke growing increasingly denser, rose vertically into the sky. It was the fifteenth tank kill of that day. Counting the tank knocked out the Previous evening in the same area, the total was sixteen, a whole tank company; not even counting the armored cars, reconnaissance vehicles, half-tracks, and other vehicles which were impossible to tally. Despite all these successes would we be able to hold off the enemy?
It had suddenly turned quiet. We quit talking. We were suddenly indescribably tired, and waited only for the Tigers to pull us out. We were tnankful and reassured when. suddenly, rocket launchers threw a wall of fire. with an immense roar and whistle, into the gully and onto the adjoining slope. We thought no-one could live through that. Just as the last salvos of the rocket launchers had whistled by, exactly as per plan, the three Tiges of Schwab s platoon showed up and pulled us out. Two Tigers did the pulling, the third provided cover. So we rolled, pulling our tracks behind, into the dark nignt. After a short stop at the company command post where our chief. Kails congratulated us on our success we reached Vassy the next morning. But what condition our Tiger was in! Holes, big enough to put one's head in! The drve wheel with steering mechanism was cleanly shot through. The shell was still stuck in the hull. That was to give the repair company a few days of welding and patching! But we felt all the more proud and close to our Panzer. The more holes and scars it had, the more precious it was to us! It was much more than cold metal to us, it was a part of us!
Modern day map of the area
From the 23rd Hussars History
From 11th Armoured Division History
Let us compare this with the account by the 23rd Hussars. They were directly in front of Chenodelle on 2-6th August at least.
'The Story Of The Twenty-Third Hussars 1940-1946
pages 104-107
Published April 1946.
By the evening of August 5th it really began to look as though
the Ninth SS Panzer Division had had about enough. They had
made no ground and the only casualties they had inflicted on us that:
day had been from shelling. Our ears were by now very well tuned
to hear any noise that might be an approaching shell and everyone
certainly knew the quickest way into his slit trench. By staying in
our tanks or slit trenches, and by doing the minimum walking in the
open, our casualties could not be greatly increased by shelling alone,
and the enemy appeared to be tired of counter-attacking. It was de-
cided to withdraw 'A' and 'B' Squadrons that night, and to leave 'C
Squadron with a troop from 'W to take over the whole regimental
position and support the "Warwicks. In the darkness the two squa-
drons withdrew to La Barbiere, and the next morning (6th) there was only
RHQ left to watch 'C' Squadron take up their new positions. All
was quiet until about midday when the unmistakeable crack of an
eighty-eight put everyone on the alert. For the first time the enemy
had worked a Tiger up onto the ridge to our south and, concealed
in the trees, it could not fail to see most of our tanks on the south
side, which had been completely immune from A.P. fire for the last
three days. Luckily we were all covered with cut branches, or it
might have been serious, for it was quite impossible to see where the
Tiger was. It first of all put three shells through a RHQ scout car,
but, although its shots were passing within ten yards of the RHQ
tanks, for some reason the Tiger did not notice them, though every
moment it seemed more certain that they could not fail to be seen
and destroyed eventually. A tank in 'C' Squadron began to fire back,
and must have worried the Tiger, for it turned its attention towards
the other side of the road. Without delay it knocked out a self-propel-
led seventeen-pounder, one of a troop which had been sent to our
support. This SP happened to be surrounded by slit trenches filled
with men of the Warwicks and, seeing that if the ammunition began
to explode it would undoubtedly injure them, Lieut. Robson and an
infantry officer courageously jumped into the burning vehicle and
be^n to throw out the rounds. This very brave action cost them
bodi their lives, for the Tiger, seeing movement on the SP put two
more shells into it, killing them instantly, and depriving the Regi-
ment of a very gallant and popular young officer.
The Tiger evidently was also having difficulty in seeing, and he
either withdrew or ceased fire, for no more was heard from him tor
a while. Regimental Headquarters withdrew and the C Squadron
force was left covering the whole hill.
The Guards, meanwhile, were slowly closing the gap on our left
flank, and were level with Le Beny Bocage. They were unable, how-
ever, to advance any further, because Estry proved to be an exceptio-
nally well-held strong-point. Moreover, their own left flank was
having its share of counter-attacks, and there was no prospect of a
further advance by them for several days yet. On our right the Fifes
and the Herefords had had much the same sort of a battle as we,
with the advantage, however, that we were on their left flank But the
Americans were now well into Brittany, and the speed-and direction
of their advance gave most cheering indications of what might be in
store for the Germans.
On Bas Perrier hill the situation looked quite satisfactory for
complete peace reigned for the early afternoon and everyone began
to think that the worst was over. But, as on so many occasions in Nor-
mandy, the quietest hour was but the prelude to the storm. It burst
upon Bas Perrier hill at four o'clock - a concentrated bombardment
by all the artillery the Germans could muster. The first concentra-
tion of minutes' landed all round the Warwicks' Battalion Headquar-
ters It caused casualties and handicapped the measures which had
to be taken at once to deal with the German counter-attack coming
in from the south. Very soon the rattle of Spandau came closer
through the trees and the same Tiger, which had appeared in the mor-
ning, began to fire again, this time with two or three friends to assist
him. Immediately our artillery swung into action, giving liner support
than ever. It was answered by German guns of all calibres and the
shelling of our positions continued unabated, while our tanks hurled
high-explosive into the trees and tried to destroy the Tigers with their
17-pounders. Soon, however, the leading company of the
Warwicks was driven back, and the enemy closed in to our main posi-
tion. 'C' Squadron were beginning to lose tanks. Captain Phillimore,
having destroyed a Panther, was severely wounded and Corporal
Gilbertson's tank and crew were also victims. Trooper Duck distin-
guished himself by pulling Corporal Gilbertson and his gunner to
safety under heavy fire. Sergeant Johnson moved his tank
forward into an exposed position, knowing it to be the only means
of dealing with the enemy tanks. He fird, but a Tiger retaliated,
knocking off his tank's track. Sergeant Johnson got out with his crew
and coolly mended it under intense shelling. In the village a company
of Warwicks were in a serious condition, harassed by tank fire, and
Major Hagger sent a troop down to assist them. It was commanded
by Sergeant Smith and, by the time it reached the village, it consisted
of only Sergeant Jackson's tank besides his own. Sergeant Jackson
had just arrived in a replacement Sherman, which was in a hopeless
mechanical condition, and it broke down on the outskirts. Sergeant
Smith continued alone into the village where he gave valuable sup-
port. At one moment he found himself within thirty yards of a Pan-
ther on the other side of a house. Neither could move for fear of
putting himself at the mercy of the other, and, while they remained
still, the house gave protection to each of them. Small arms fire was
hitting his turret and Sergeant Smith had to remain in this unpleasant
predicament until the Panther managed to withdraw. He was then
called back to the Squadron and on his way found Sergeant Jackson,
who had been surrounded by German infantry in a narrow lane in
his immobile tank, but had refused to abandon his now almost useless
machine despite all attacks and although told to do so by the Squa-
dron Leader. Both Sergeants and their crews descended from their
tanks and, although under fire, managed to tow Sergeant Jackson's
back to the hill.
The battle continued unabated, and despite all efforts by ourselves,
the Warwicks, and the artillery, whose guns were nearly red. hot by
now, the enemy began to creep round the left flank. As darkness was
falling they reached the top of the hill and began to 'bazooka' the
tanks. The fact that this serious situation was overcome was due very
largely to the bravery of Lieut. Bishop, commanding the left hand
troop, who was quite unshakeable and whose coolness put fresh heart
into the Warwicks. When light failed, the tanks drew back into a
close leaguer with the infantry in order to beat off a night attack..
Shortly before this Lieut. Treanor, who had Just joined the Regiment,
was killed.
The Germans did not continue their onslaught after dark and
when dawn (7th)came we were able to re-occupy most of our positions.
Sporadic and half-hearted attacks were launched during the morning,
but in nothing like the strength of the previous day. When patrols
were able to go into the woods in front of our position the reason for
this was obvious, for the slaughter was found to have been terrific.
We knew later that the last counter-attack was made by the newly
arrived Tenth SS Panzer Division, whose orders had been to take
our ndge and that of the Fife and Forfar whatever the cost. But the
cost had been too high and that badly mauled formation never fought
again until much later when, with its equally battered brother the
Ninth SS, it was launched against Arnhem.
'C Squadron and the 'B' Squadron troop were relieved at midday,
having fought a magnificent battle. Particular praise is due to Maior
Hagger, whose first big engagement as a Squadron Leader it was, and
whose determination and coolness had been a great factor in the
holding of Bas Perrier on August 6th. His leadership undoubtedly
had a most excellent effect on the hard-pressed Warwicks.
The Regiment re-assembled at La Barbiere and began to reform
for the next battle. All ranks were able to look back on a week of
great achievements. For rather less casualties than at Caen, the Regi-
ment had inflicted heavy damage on the enemy and had advanced a
substantial distance. They had withstood every kind of assault and
had given far more than they got. Moreover, everyone felt that the
enemy could not withstand such treatment for long and that some day
soon we should be advancing into France with the Americans, leavinc.
the battered slopes of Bas Perrier ridge many miles behind.
During the week of August 1st to 7th, the advance to Chenedolle
and the battle on the hill cost the Regiment the following casualties :-
Killed 2 officers
19 other ranks
Wounded 6 officers
47 other ranks
War Diary 23rd Hussars
Aug 1
0700 Regt in posn high ground S River Souleuve. B Sqn patrols towards BENY BOCAGE. 3 RTR pass through
1400 (6742) Move to BENY BOCAGE. Harbour there. 1 OR KIA, 4 wounded. 6 Shermans received. 2 Shermans 1 Stuart struck off.
Aug 2
0500 (7135) Advance 23 H leading with 8 RB on route. BEAULIEU-LE DESERT-PRESLES
100 2 a/c's destroyed LA INHHARDIERE
1500 B Sqn made contact CHENODELLE and held up. A Sqn attacked by Panthers EAST of LE BAS PERRIER
2000 (T 7233) Regt moves tp posn S of LE BAS PERIERE with 8 RB in support. 3 OR's KIA, Majot WATT, 2/Lt GUNYON and 9 OR's wounded.
Aug 3
In posn LE BAS PERIER Heavy shell fire and mortaring
1400 8 RB relieved by 2 Warwicks. 4 OR's KIA, 12 OR's wounded
Aug 4-5
LE BAS PERIER. 3 OR's KIA, 5 OR's wounded 4 OR's missing
Aug 6
0300 A and B Sqns withdrew to harbour LA BARBIERE 6938
1500 RHQ move to LA BARBIERE
1600 Enemy begin to counter-attack LE BAS PERRIER posn. Beaten off by C Sqn and 2 Warwicks. Estimated enemy strength-1 Bn.
Lt. ROBSON and 3 OR's KIA Capt. PHILLIMORE, 2/Lt.TREANOR, Capt. CROUCH and 9 OR's wounded. 2 OR's missing.
Aug 7
1500 C Sqn harbour LA BARBIERE. Capt. TAYLOR and 7 OR's wounded.
Aug 8-10
LA BARBIERE 6 Sherman V, 3 Sherman Vc 1 3 Ton lorry 5 Half tracks received.
4 sc cars, 1 3ton lorry 4 half tracks 12 Sherman V 3 Sherman Vc struck off. 1 OR killed
Aug 11
LA BARBIERE 1 Sc car, 6 Sherman V, 3 Sherman Vc, 1 3 ton lorry, 1 M/c reseived
5 Sherman V struck off.
Aug 12--31
30 Corps Op "KITTEN"
Aug 12
1700 (695376) Break harbour and move to MONTCHAMP Peace time march
1900 (744407) Arrive harbour area
Note that on 8/11August 20 Shermans were written off. Presumably that was catching up with the losses sustained 1 -6th August. Thus the total of Shermans lost in 6 days was 20.
Fey claimed 14 in one day when you can see the 23rd Husars were not even in action!
Now it apears that the Fife & Forfar Yeomanry were in action on August 7th. They were on the left of 23rd Hussars and reported incidents with Tigers so let us see what their War Diary says for the relevant days.
War Diary for Aug 2-14th, Fife & Forfar Yeomanry
Aug. 2nd.
road protected by one pln. of the Mons. Remainder of A&C Sqns. Withdrew for the night on to the high ground at 7033
Casualties-Nil.
3rd.
At first light A Sqn were moved again up to the main road they came under heavy fire from 88's and tanks. After suffering a loss of 3 further tanks it was decided to withdraw A Sqn. as our coln line had outstripped those on our flanks. They were then sent back to watch the high ground west of our position. B Sqn were sent back to support the Herefords in the area of Forgues, and one troop had to go back to the main road south of Le Reculay because some Tiger tanks were harrassing our communications in that area. At 17:00 hrs. A Sqn withdrew to Burcy to protect that from the west. They remained there until midnight when they moved back and harboured with B Sqn. RHQ and C Sqn. remained forward.
Casualties-wounded. Capt. W J Hetblack and 7 OR's
4th
At First light A Sqn. moved out to protect the west and clean up some enemy infantry that had infiltrated during the night. During this time some of the enemy had got into Burcy. During this day C Sqn. has little activity and harboured where they were.
Casualties were as follows 1 OR killed and 5 OR's wounded.
5th.
During the morning trhe infantry regained Burcey and A Sqn. were brought forward on to the high ground to cover the road running south.from Burcey. During the afternoon an enemy counter attack from the south was put in by Infantry. They were effectively driven off and C Sqn. were moved forward in an endevour to mop up to the south, under cover of smoke from the high ground, but did not succeed in rounding up any more prisoners.
Casualties were as follows- wounded 5 OR's. Killed 1 OR.
6th
On the morning of the 6th there was little enemy activety. A Sqn. moved out to watch the road with C Sqn. watching to the south and east at first light. At about 14:00 hrs. enemy shell fire started to be brought down on us and gradualy increased. Mortars, menin werfer and guns were also directed on to us. Finaly a number of aircraft with Allied markings dropped a number of bombs on our positions. This continued until C Sqn. reported the approach of enemy infantry from the east. These were fired on and
immediately withdrew. Almost immediately A Sqn. on the right were heavily attacked from the west by tanks and infantry. They succeeded in knocking out 3 enemy tanks and 2 SP guns and killing a large number of infantry as they advanced. They also directed our gun fire on the area from which the enemy were approaching. Two Tiger tanks succeeded in getting through and knocking out 2 tanks out of a troop in C Sqn. These Tigers were just beginning to cause casualties to the infantry when Sgt. Scott of C Sqn. with his troop arrived and succeeded in getting his tanks into position and destroying one of the tanks and damaging the other to such an extent that it withdrew. This battle continued until approx. 21:00 hrs before the enemy were finaly driven off, leaving a large number of dead on the ground. In the closing stages of the battle B Sqn. were brought forward in reserve.
Casualties were as follows:-3 OR's killed, 7 OR's wounded, and 5 OR's missing. Lt. G.G.O.Hutchinson wounded.
7th
Owing to their losses in tanks A and C Sqns.were amalgamated under Major J.D.Hutchinson, Major J.E.F. Miller recieving an injury to his foot the previous day
There was again an attempt by the enemy to come in from the west. This was effectively dealt with by A Sqn., who destroyed 2 Mk IV's which had come near to them.
Meanwhile a number of Tiger tanks had established themselves on the high ground on our eastern flank at Le Haut Periere( M.R. 7233) and were able to engage A Sqn. from the rear at a range of about 2500 yds. These Tigers quickly caused A Sqn. 5 tank casualties.
Major Gilmore then went forward with a troop of B Sqn.to try and engage these tanks and succeeded in knocking out one of them. During the day our position was continually under shell and mortar fire by the enemy.That night the Regt. remained in the same position. The Regt. remained in the same position. The Regt. was now reduced to 25 tanks on the road.
Casualties were as follows:- Wounded 9 OR's, Killed 1 OR and missing believed killed 6 OR's. Comdg. Offr wounded.
8th
The CO of the R.Scots Greys came up early in the morning to see our positions and one Sqn. of that Regt. came up to relieve us in the late afternoon at about 17:00 hrs.
Both colns moved forwards and backwards respectively under cover of smoke so as to prevent the enemy tanks from being able to direct AP fire on our tanks as we were moving. This however did not prevent them from putting down a certain amount of HE but this caused no casualties or damage. The Regt. withdrew to Le Queille 678376 where we remained for a few days.
Casualties were as follows:- Killed 2/Lieut D.B. Lovelock and wounded 1 O.R.
9th
This period was spent in reorginising, maintenance and rest. We were now joined by 2 complete troops from the 24th Lancers and one troop from 1st L&B Horse. New officers were Lieut.Fuller, F.W. Lieut. Jewell's B.A Lieut. Munroe A.N.G.
12th
We left Le Queille at 17;30 hrs. and advanced to a different front at Le Bruyers 7642 to take over from 15(S) Div. The F&F were in reserve here.
13th
We remained all day lying up at La Bruyere. New offrs. were Lt. McNinch, R.C. and 2/Lt. Rix G.H.
14th
The Regt. moved at first light-Centre line Lasay-La Roque-Vassy. 159 Bde. were on the left, 29 Armd. Bde on the right. 29 Armd Bde was divided into the 23 H and 8 R.B. on the right and 2 f.f. and 3 Mons on the left.
Note that they report the loss of 5 Shermans to Tigers on the 7th August. Not quite 14 is it?
