It's now getting dark, and I shall

It's now getting dark, and I shall have to close down; in fact I'm writing this by torchlight.

My next letter may be a bit delayed owing to lack of time, but I'll get it off as soon as possible.

1st Leicestershire Regt.

B.L.A.

Letter 35. 12th Sept. 44.

It's all over now! You will probably hear on the 9 o'clock news tonight that a French port beginning with H- has fallen; and here I am in it, still sound in wind and limb.

I haven't had any mail now for a fortnight, so I hope some comes soon.
As there is no general news I'll go on with the diary.

Sun. 10th Sept. This morning we got up and breakfasted at the normal time, and cleaned weapons - effectively! Details were tidied up during the morning, and we had dinner at 11.45. a.m. because we had to get five miles nearer to the town during the afternoon. At 12.30 we paraded for the march, and at 12.45. we started; we went along a hot dusty road with lots of tanks and cars continually passing us, so it was rather a tiring 5 miles. We then turned off the road into an orchard, and there we dug our slit-trenches, and lay around eating cider-apples and reading 3 day old papers. We stayed in the orchard until midnight.

While we were there, at about 4.45 p.m. the R.A.F. started to come over to bomb the defences. Our orchard was about 3 mi1es away from them, but we heard what was being rained on them, and could see the planes. It was a fine summer evening, and the sky was slightly hazy, so it was only after accustoming your eyes to the light that you could see the planes - 1000 of them, so I'm told, and all 4 engined bombers, The known defences were thus pulverized until 6.30 or 7 o'clock, and it was a heartening sight to see the droves of planes coming in from the north.

Another brigade was doing the initial assault on our sector, and then we were going through them and then the third brigade of our division was going through us; so we were not called on till midnight.
Meanwhile, I tried to get a bit of sleep in a barn on some hay.

At midnight we were told to move forward. Here I suppose I'd. better date it the next day.

Mon. 11 Sept. We paraded in the dark, and moved down road to the town of M-, which is to the N.E. of H-. it was a dark night, and so about 20 searchlights were used to light up the sky for the attackers. As we marched down the road in single file it all seemed very quiet though a mile or two away 2 or 3 farms were ablaze. We went through the deserted town of M-, with lighted signs pointing out the route. In the town we stopped, and sat in a street under the shelter of the houses. Eventually we discovered that mines had been met in large numbers, and that our brigade would not attack until a

way had been cleared for vehicles to get through; but certain objectives were to be taken pending the clearance, one of which was a bridge which was the objective of my platoon - the tanks were coming over this bridge. The C.0. said he would lead me up to the starting line (i.e. as far as the other brigade has already reached); the plan of the attack had already been prepared from air-photos days beforehand, so there was little preparation needed.

We then went up to the start-line over ground that had already been taken, up tracks that had been mined and wired and blocked with trees, and then over heather and plowland when we had reached the top of the hill. The ground here was a plateau, which dropped down to my bridge, and then rose to another plateau beyond, where H- itself was. We went through wire and previous enemy positions until we came to a track, down which I was to pass. We went down the track and passed some tanks on the way. A few odd shells fell in the woods nearby. The track became a hollow way, and trees had been felled across it, so that vehicles of any height couldn't pass down it.
We then crossed a road (which lead down to the bridge) and swung out to the left so as to approach the bridge from the left flank. We crossed the stream that flowed under the bridge by a partly demolished plank bridge. There were some houses and gardens round the bridge, and it was a bit awkward crossing the fences without making a noise. When we got to the bridge there was no one there!
A few minutes after we arrived a platoon from another regiment also came to try

to secure it. So we took up a defensive position immediately round the bridge to secure it, and they covered it from a hill just behind; and there we stayed, on watch, until daybreak, Soon after dawn we found a cellarful of French civilians in one of the houses near the bridge; they had fled to the cellar from the R.A.F. the previous evening, and had with them 4 German soldiers who had done likewise. After that prisoners came in by the score, marching down the road to the bridge with their hands up; they had evidently merely left their defences to surrender. Some were guided in by the French under a white flag.
We numbered only 16 in my platoon, but by 12 o'clock over 80 prisoners had passed through our hands! I got some good 'finds' off some of them; binoculars with a magnification of 10 from a German sergeant, and also a belt and Luger pistol and holster, which you can have when I get back; I have tons of ammunition for it.

By now our own troops were passing over the bridge and taking the high ground in front, so we were drawn back to the rest of the battalion on the plateau behind, Here we had grub, so I handed over to the O.C. Company about 200,000 francs, which we had also captured. They had been destined for paying German soldiers with!

After the meal we moved up the far slope to the area that two of our other companies had attacked that morning, and we dug ourselves in in the wood, in a large clearing which had previously been used as a racecourse, During the evening more prisoners roaming these woods gave themselves up, and our planes dropped leaflets on H-. We spent the night in our weapon-slits on the racecourse and a jolly cold

night it was too; I got cramp several times.

Tues. 12 Sept. This morning we had breakfast at 6 o'clock; it was a cold but clear morning. At 1/4 to nine my platoon was detailed to reconnoitre the wood to its forward edge (about a mile away) in case we moved forward, The wood had been badly mauled by the R.A.F. along the edge nearest the town.
We didn't meet anyone, but saw masses of 20 foot deep bomb-craters. We got back at about eleven o'clock, and lay in the sun on the racecourse until 12.45, when we moved, to the forward edge of the wood, which borders on the town.

That is where we are now. I am using what has been a German dug-out on the edge of the wood, and about 100 yards away is the road with the houses of H- on the far side. The town has now been cleared. By other troops; we were the shooters to stop the rabbits bolting from the corn. I have the '3 leopards' faces' flying over the dugout; tomorrow we may perhaps be billeted in a building in the town.

It's marvellous to think that the assault has taken less than 48 hours.

As we are now 200 miles behind the rest of the war, it is very likely that for the next 10 days or so we shall be tidying up here, and re-equipping etc.; so the war may be almost over before we catch rest of the army up!
It's a ¹/₄ to 8 p.m. now and I'm just

going for a short walk up the road and back to see what a TOWN looks like again!

By the way, John German, the brother of Col. German, was killed by a sniper yesterday

1st Leicestershire Regt.

B.L.A.

13 Sept. 44.

Letter 36. 7.0. p.m.

I couldn't post Letter 35 before, so I'll enclose this with it.

Last night when I wandered up the road towards the town centre, there was little to see except bomb damage. Almost every house has been damaged. There were a couple of German guns at one of the street corners - a light A.A. gun and an anti-tank gun. One of the badly-hit streets was appropriately named the 'Rue des Trembles'. The town has no light or water, so I should think that even if the inhabitants are lucky enough to have a roof over their heads they will still be living like savages.

I also listened to the B.B.C's 9 o'clock news, in which they mentioned that the town had fallen, and said that our division - they mentioned which one it was - had taken a leading part.

Wed. 13 Sept. This morning at breakfast we were told we were being moved out of the town, so as to leave it free to Signallers and Engineers etc. to work in. So we have moved back to the village of S-

where we were before the attack on H- began, during that very wet period.
We started back at 10 o'clock, through the forest again, and back over the plateau's past the German defences, through the town of M- again, and so up the road to our village. We have taken over exactly the same area; I am in my wood-hovel, but shall sleep outside in the orchard tonight. The people here seem quite glad to see us back, The march was rather tiring - we most of us had sore feet and we had to march through clouds of dust thrown up by passing vehicles.
We arrived here at two o'clock, although the distance is only 6 or 7 miles.
From then till now I have been lying on my sleeping-bag in the sun, with my books and chocolate strewn around within easy reach. I intend to spend the rest of the evening equally idly, eventually crawling into my bed like a snail.

I am enclosing a 5-Mark note, which was in the box of francs that we captured;
you can keep it as a souvenir. The other bit of paper is one of the propaganda leaflets dropped by our planes on the garrison, which says: 'Defenders of L- H-! You stand between two allied armies and the sea. We are approaching the borders of West Germany and Belgium. The war has already left L- H- far behind.
You are cut off and written off; your resistance will help no-one. WHY DIE IN THE LAST WEEKS OF THE WAR?' On the other side is 'Officers of the garrison!
We are in the position to destroy all your strong-points and finish off every man. You are in the position to preserve yourself and your soldiers for Germany.
Choose, before we choose for you.'

I hear that in the bombing of the harbour a lot of French civilians were killed; but still, better French civilians than English soldiers.

The rest of the evening I shall not do much more than read and lounge around, so I'll close down now.

1st Leicestershire Regt.

B.L.A.

Letter 37. 16 Sept. 44.

Thurs. 14.Sept. This morning after breakfast we packed for moving back again.
This time it was to concentrate everyone near a town, and get baths, etc. We paraded at 9.45.a.m. and marched till dinnertime, covering about 8 miles - the first part at a snail's pace. The march was not so wearisome as the last one, because we had dumped our packs onto transport; but the last 2 miles uphill were a bit of a drag. At last we reached our destination; it is a farm just outside a village. The farm is situated in an orchard, with the buildings round the edge of the orchard. There is electric light in the outbuildings, and generally the situation is quite pleasant. The whole orchard is surrounded by a 5 foot bank with trees growing on the top, so it is well-sheltered from the wind. There was a German platoon billeted here before we came.

As soon as we arrived my platoon was assigned one of the outbuildings - a cart shed; they sleep in and under the carts. We then ate our haversack lunches

and after lunch I looked for a place for myself. So as to get out of the noise of raucous voices and bangings of rifles on the floor etc., I decided to go over the bank surrounding the orchard into the adjoining field, where I could be in peace and quite. The field is surrounded by a barbed wire fence, and I have made quite a good shack for myself there from cart-raves propped against the wire, with their bottom edges on ration boxes, and the whole covered with ground sheets and capes, like this:-

(no picture shown)

The side nearest the wire is walled with lids of the ration boxes; the boxes themselves are facing inwards so that they can be used as cupboards.
Over one of the open ends is a piece of canvas my batman had. Round the lot I have dug a ditch; so it is quite dry and snug inside, though a bit low.

It took most of the afternoon to make this; but when I moved my sleeping-bag inside it was worth it. In the evening I strolled around a field or two, and at dusk I went to bed.

Fri. 15 Sept. This morning we spent in a clothing check and drill parades etc., so nothing very interesting was done. Before lunch I tried out my captured binoculars, and they are

excellent. At a range of about 4 miles I could see people and cattle, and I could see a church distinctly that could not be seen at all with the naked eye. In the afternoon I read in what the French kids Who saw it called 'la petite cabane', and at 5 o'clock got a lift on a truck, taking some troops to the cinema to a chateau the other side of the town of B-, where a mobile baths had been erected in the stables.
Here I had a hot shower and changed my clothes and hitch-hiked back to the farm.
During the evening it rained quite heavily, but whether it rained during the night or not I was perfectly dry. I got back from my bath at 8 o'clock, and soon after went to bed.

Sat. 16 Sept. After breakfast this morning there was P.T., a dental inspection, and then a short route-march; I took my platoon on this march past a nearby chateau because I wanted to have a look at it! This afternoon I have been lounging round my 'cabane' and repacking my kit into some ordered system again, and my batman has been doing my washing - it's a nice sunny evening. It's now 8.15.p.m.

We have been feeding well while we have been here e.g. lettuce, radishes, potatoes, peas, beans, apples, pears and cream, and some French brown bread (which we are not allowed to buy because it is scarce!) Yesterday I had my first batch of letters for a fortnight, 2 from Daddy, 2 from Mamma, the latest dated 10th Sept., so at last the post is catching up with me.
By the way, you'll remember to send some envelopes, won't you? I'm right out now.

100

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