World War Two - Part 4
Wadi Akarit, Gabes, Tebaga, Tunisia, Tripoli, Algeria 1943
The King's Dragoon Guards mad their way through one of the two gaps in the minefields, cleared by the Royal Engineers, between the Wadi Akarit and the Tebaga Fatnassa mountains. As they drove, they realised the achievement of the infantry of 4th Indian Division in storming the almost perpendicular heights of the mountains through which they were passing, and in clearing such a position in a day and a half. The regiment then passed through the plain beyond, encountering disorganised resistance some thirty miles north of Akarit. 'B' Squadron shot up numbers of stray lorries, taking both German and Italian prisoners, until the leading troops came to some high ground held by a rearguard of German infantry supported by Tiger tanks. On 8 and 9 April the squadrons probed forward, destroying an 88 mm and several lorries, as well as capturing prisoners from 10th Panzer Division around Mezzouna, which was still held by the enemy. 'B' Squadron had a particularly good day on the 9th, reaching Triaga airfield, catching the Germans by surprise and destroying nine lorries, two staff cars and a Volkswagen, which did a complete somersault when hit by fire from Lieutenant Cassels.
The Queen's Bays moved through the Gabes Gap on 7 April, 'A' Squadron, under Major Harmon, fanning out to the South in a sweep which netted twenty prisoners, while 'C' Squadron knocked out a Panzer Mark IV Special and a Mark III Special with only two shots. The crews were taken prisoner. On the 8th the regiment closed up to Mezzouna, which on the 9th was found to be clear, and so the advance continued for twenty miles until a force of twenty to thirty enemy tanks, including Tigers, was encountered. The German tanks steadily withdrew and the Bays followed up carefully, moving from one hull down position to another. On the 10th the Bays withdrew to Bouthada, near Sfax, resting for five days.
The KDG were ordered to cut the main coast road north of Sfax on 10 April. Moving across, they made contact with the 11th Hussars, who had just taken Sfax, and occupied the village of Djebeniana. On the afternoon of the 11th the KDG led the New Zealand Division forward, having lost contact with the enemy, until Lieutenant Weinholt rounded a corner to be knocked out by a German antitank gun at fifteen yards' range. Lance Corporal Saunders was killed and Trooper Barton wounded. Early on the 12th 'B' Squadron entered Sousse, to be met by enthusiastic crowds. Lieutenant Cassels's troop pushed on north, surprising and capturing a German machine gun post, but coming up against the 90th Light Division on the hills three miles beyond Sousse. Here the KDG had the doubtful honour of being the first British troops to come under fire from a new German weapon, the multi-barrelled Nebelwerfer mortar, which became known as 'Moaning Minnie' from the noise its bombs made as they descended. Early on the 13th the KDG, with the New Zealand Divisional Cavalry, made a sweep to the west. 'A' Squadron soon captured a German major and two privates from 15th Panzer Division, complete with a large 18-ton half-truck and two lorries, shortly followed by another truck and sixty Italian Coastguards. By evening the regiment had closed up towards Enfidaville, where it was clear that the enemy was making a stand. On 14 April the KDG moved to an area west of Kairouan, resting until the 19th and then moving round to join the First Army for the final battle in North Africa.
The Queen's Bays also moved round to join the First Army when, on 14 April, the tanks, their sand-coloured look now changed to dark green, were loaded onto transporters. By the 23rd they were concentrated three miles south of Goubellat. Moving out with the 9th Lancers, the Bays mad slow progress, advancing five and a half miles by dusk, delayed principally by mines which had been laid in standing corn and were very difficult to detect. Sergeant Brookfield lifted a large number, but six Crusaders and two Shermans were damaged. Next day the advance continued; crossing another minefield with the help of the Royal Engineers, the Bays reached the Goubellat plain, which turned out to be crossed by a succession of deep wadis. The final wadi was passable at only one place and as 'A' Squadron emerged in single file, the tanks came under anti-tank fire from a wood at 100 yards' range. Lieutenant Cottier's, Sergeant C. W Smith's and Sergeant Garyson's Crusaders were knocked out, the two Sergeants being killed, together with Corporals Hunt and Garforth, and Troopers Newbold and Terry. A further two crusaders were lost on mines. Because of this opposition the line of advance was changed to a thrust to the east and north east.
The Bays set out at 7 a.m. on 25 April and, after an advance of three and a half miles, engaged some German tanks and antitank guns near Borj Baj Hamba. A Tiger, firing from a flank, knocked out six of 'B' Squadron's tanks, including Major Crosbie Dawson, Lieutenant McVail, Sergeants Rowe and Southam, and Corporals Avis and Thompson, with Troopers Parkes and James killed. However, three tanks were soon recovered and one German tank was destroyed. RHQ was then attacked from the air and the regiment came under heavy shellfire. The whole area was dominated by the rocky peak of Kournine, which was unsuccessfully attacked by the infantry on the nights of 25, 28 and 29 April. On the 30th the Bays attempted to press on to the north east, but were unable to make progress as the terrain was completely covered by German tanks firing from hull down positions. 'B' and 'C' Squadrons each lost a tank, with Sergeant Webber and two others wounded. On 1 May a 'C' Squadron tank was knocked out by an 88 mm, with three men wounded, but it was recovered after dark. The momentum of this nine days' battle was now petering out, and on 2 May the Bays concentrated at Bou Arada, where news came through that Lieutenant Colonel A.H. Barclay had been awarded the DSO, Major Weld and Lieutenant Jackson the MC, and Sergeants Cockwill and L.W. Smith and Trooper Haggard the MM.
The King's Dragoon Guards rested at Kairouan until 19 April, when the regiment came under command of the French XIX Corps. The KDG experience of the First Army was not happy: order and counter-order caused the commanding officer to seek an interview with General Montgomery. 'Sir we are at present the right-hand unit of First Army under French XIX Corps. May we remain where we are and become the left-hand unit of the Eighth Army, and then be able to draw some rations?' As a result the regiment returned to the Eighth Army and was revictualled! On 22 April a jeep patrol from 'B' Squadron met some Arabs. While talking to them, the patrol was confronted by more Arabs and fifteen Germans and withdrew. On the regiment's left was a mixed French regiment of Goums and Spahis, who operated in unorthodox ways, most of which were extremely unpleasant for their enemies. On the 26th Corporal Erratt was killed on a mine while bathing in a nearby river, and Trooper Wood was wounded. On the 27th an advance was made with a combined force of the KDG, 3rd RHA, and a company of the 2nd KRRC, all under command of Colonel Lindsay, which by the 29th had pushed through one range of hills, establishing contact with the Goums, who had been making a similar advance on their left but lost three AEC armoured cars on mines.
On 30 April orders came to move 100 miles to Bou Arada, where the KDG were given a sector to cover from Pont du Fahs to Kournine, bringing them into the same area as The Queen's Bays. The first few days were spent patrolling and on 7 May 'B' and 'C' squadrons advanced, engaging in numerous small skirmishes, knocking out an enemy armoured car, a large lorry and a motor cycle combination, and capturing another combination, which resulted in thirteen dead Germans and three prisoners. The lorry turned out to be the concert party of 21st Panzer Division, complete with musical instruments and a piano which had lost two keys when The Queen's Bays inadvertently opened fire on the captured lorry before mutual recognition was achieved. On the 8th an AEC of 'C' Squadron with Lieutenant Curtis became bogged down when under fire from antitank guns. As the crew were getting the car free, it was strafed by Spitfires and then two German tanks with infantry came on the scene, capturing Curtis, Corporal Darley and Trooper Embleton. The Spitfires then attacked Squadron HQ, wounding Major Cairns in the hand. Major Eden of 4th RHA asked a driver at Squadron HQ where the Colonel could be found and was told 'Oh he's much further forward, sir this is only Squadron HQ.' On 9 May Captain Chrystal and Trooper Tarrant were wounded by shellfire, and on the 11th the regiment moved to Grombalia, when the news came that Tunis and Bizerta had fallen.
As the KDG moved to Grombalia, enemy equipment littered the roadside together with columns of dejected Germans marching into captivity. The prisoner of war cage at Grombalia already contained 15,000 Germans, with more pouring in. On 12 May the KDG advanced in line across the Cap Bon Peninsula collecting prisoners. During the day Corporal Darley and Trooper Embleton arrived back, having been briefly captured by the 21st Panzer Division. On the previous night the Germans had given them two rifles and at first light these two KDG, followed by the remains of 21st Panzer Division, 1,500 men, marched off until they met the Derbyshire Yeomanry, to whom the two KDG handed over their erstwhile captors, now their prisoners. The Germans had been terrified of falling into the hands of the Goums and presented Darley with a staff car in gratitude for their safe conduct to captivity. Lieutenant Curtis returned the following day, having been handed over by the Germans to the Italian military police for evacuation to Italy on a hospital ship. While he was waiting to be embarked, some German soldiers tried to rush the ship and the Italians opened fire on them. Then some Bostons bombed the area. Curtis persuaded the Italians that the harbour was too dangerous a place and managed to escape.
The Queen's Bays advanced on 8 May to Oudna, 'A' Squadron moving up to support a KDG squadron and then taking over the advance as far as a T-junction, where a Crusader was hit by German tanks and antitank guns, who halted further progress. 'C' Squadron moved round on the right flank, destroying a half-track and capturing some lorries and eighty prisoners. On 9 May the Bays continued to lead the advance to cut off the Cap Bon Peninsula, dealing with pockets of isolated resistance and capturing Creteville by 11 a.m. against 88 mm and artillery fire from 90th Light Division. 'C' Squadron then took on entrenched German infantry and antitank guns, methodically eliminating them and knocking out a German Tiger, when Major Weld was wounded and Captain Widdrington took over command of the squadron. Before daylight 'C' Squadron advanced again, destroying two 88 mm guns. At midday two German officers appeared carrying a white flag, saying that their unit had run out of ammunition and was willing to surrender. Three quarters of an hour later two more German officers arrived, followed at 4 p.m. by 12 officers and 400 men of the Hermann Goering Division. Later more Germans from the 19th Flak Division appeared, followed by some Italians from the Superga Division, making the bag for the day more than 600 officers and men. Captain Widdrington was awarded the Military Cross for his leadership of 'C' Squadron that day.
The Queen's Bays were ordered to push on to Grombalia, which had been taken by the 9th Lancers, but German tanks were still giving the 10th Hussars trouble in the hills behind, and so the reserve squadron at the rear of the column, which happened to be 'C', was sent to their aid. A German envoy soon arrived to say that their tanks had run out of ammunition and that the crews, all from 10th Panzer Division, had destroyed their vehicles and were on their way to surrender. For the next five days the Bays helped to round up Germans and Italians, all driving themselves into captivity by the thousand. Guns and equipment lay abandoned everywhere. The Allies took 250,000 prisoners and less than 700 Germans managed to escape by sea. The official day of victory was declared as 12 May 1943, and the Bays were that day issued with Khaki drill.
The King's Dragoon Guards settled down on the west coast of the Cap Bon Peninsula, while The Queen's Bays were at Soliman. Officers and men of both regiments visited each other. On 27 May 1943 1st Armoured Division, together with the KDG, moved from Tunisia to Tripoli. After a tiring march of four days both regiments found themselves allotted barren areas of desert to the south of Tripoli near Souani Ben Adem. The KDG area was slightly relieved by an Italian fort, while both regiments were able to send parties to bathe in the sea each day. On arrival the KDG heard that Major Llewellen Palmer had been awarded the DSO, Captian Chrystal a bar to his MC, Lieutenants Batt, Macartney, Clarke and Cassels the MC, while Sergeants Robinson received the DCM and Sergeants Norton, Plumb, Mercer and Corporal Erratt were awarded the MM.
During June the Bays converted their last Crusader squadron to Shermans, and on the 14th Lieutenant Colonel Hermon returned to the KDG from hospital, resuming command. On 21 June both regiments paraded for inspection by a mysterious General Lyon, who turned out to be His Majesty the King. At the end of June the Bays, after an intervention by General Montgomery, moved to a camp site by the sea twenty miles west of Tripoli at Olivettia, where they heard that Captains Harmon and Widdrington had been awarded the Military Cross, and SSM Strutt, Sergeants Brookfield and Corporal Merewood the Military Medal. The Bays were now told that they would have to hand over all their tanks and move to Algiers, where in three months' time they would be re-equipped. The KDG spent the summer at Tripoli training, being frequently inspected, sending parties to the beach, organising sports facilities of various kinds, and on 19 July hearing that Major Lindsay had been awarded the DSO, Lieutenants Hempson and Curtis the MC, Sergeant Plumb a bar to his MM, and Sergeants Redfearn, Poynton and Addison and Trooper Lamour the MM. On 28 July the KDG were allowed to move to an area by the sea, where troop training went on apace. On 19 August an AEC armoued car overturned, killing Lieutenant Lofthouse and Trooper Brothers. By the beginning of September new equipment, including six American half-track vehicles mounted with a French 75 mm gun, began to arrive. The regiment was now fully equipped with Humber armoured cars, which were sent off in batches for waterproofing. On 5 September the KDG moved to a transit camp in preparation for the invasion of Italy, and on the 9th came news of the Allied landings at Salerno.
The King's Dragoon Guards now had three sabre squadrons, each of five troops, with a squadron headquarters, a headquarter squadron, and a gun battery of six 75 mm guns mounted on American half-tracks, capable of direct of indirect fire. The wait to embark was long and tedious, for things had not been going well with the landings and the German resistance had been fierce. Allied hopes had been raised by the surrender of Italy, but the Germans had reacted quickly and the British and American divisions faced only first-class German troops. On 20 September 1943 the KDG embarked regimental headquarters together with 'A' and 'B' Squadrons in two American LSTs, 70 vehicles and 200 men being packed into each ship. 'C' Squadron, under Major Cairns, and the echelon, under Major Delmege, remained briefly at Tripoli, embarking on 28 September.
The Queen's Bays left Olivettia on 1 August 1943, arriving north east of Enfidaville on the 4th, where they took over the guarding of 7,000 Italians in a prisoner of war camp at Medjez el Bab. The Bays stayed at Medjez el Bab until 1 October, when they entrained for a three and a half day journey, arriving finally at Boufariq, fifteen miles south of Algiers. They were quartered in three farms, and very soon the whole regiment was under the cover of a roof, for the first time in three and a half years. During the winter of 1943/44 very little training took place, mainly because of the incessant wind and rain, but also because of the limitations of track mileage placed on the few Sherman's with which the regiment was equipped. However, none of this prevented the officers and men getting on very friendly terms with the local inhabitants, and the Algerian atmosphere with its strong French influence appealed to all ranks.
In December Major Dance happened to meet an officer of The Governor General's House Guards of Canada, which was the Canadian regiment affiliated to the Bays. The GGHG was the armoured reconnaissance regiment for the Canadian 5th Armoured Division, then on its way to Italy. A reunion dinner was arranged at Bourfariq, which twenty officers of The Governor General's House Guards attended, to be followed three days later by another dinner when the Bays sergeants' mess entertained twenty-three members of the GGHG sergeant's mess. Later that winter Major Dance attended a ceremony at Sfax, when 2ieme Dragons of the French Army celebrated the escape and return to their regiment of eight officers and thirty-eight men who had escaped from Occupied France.
In January 1944 Lieutenant Colonel Barclay gave up command and left to attend a course in USA, being succeeded by Lieutenant Colonel Asquith, who for the past three years had been engaged on special duties. Over this period when the Bays were not in action there were a number of changes in the regiment. Major Streeter left for the United Kingdom and was succeeded a second in command by Major Manger. In February 1944 Majors Weld and Hibbert rejoined, taking over 'B' and 'C' Squadrons; Major Dance took over 'A' Squadron from Major Harman, who returned to the United Kingdom, and Major Rich commanded Headquarter Squadron.
During January more Shermans arrived, and in February the Bays moved to Sidi Aissa on the high plateau for regimental training, which was much needed, for many of the reinforcements arriving were not sufficiently trained to take their places in the tank crews. The months of March and April 1944 were spent back at Boufariq. In April orders came that 1st Armoured Division would shortly be moving to Italy, and the Bays were at once made up to strength with Sherman's and other vehicles, including some Stuart tanks with their turrets removed for the reconnaissance troop. In May the whole regiment was sent on a week's leave, most of the men going to the Surcouf rest camp, and on their return the tanks and vehicles were loaded at Algiers on six ships, the Empire Clarence, Fort Gaspereau, Samsteel, Samewash, Fort Marin and Samoa. The main body of the Bays embarked on the Durban Castle on 24 May 1944 and sailed in convoy for Italy the following day.
