WO 171/460 - 11 Armoured Division Signals - October 1944

Instructions regarding War Diaries and Intelligence Summaries are contained in F.S. Regs., Vol. 1. and the Staff Manual respectively Title pages will be prepared in manuscript.	WAR DIARY or INTELLIGENCE SUMMARY	Army Form C.2118
	WAR DIARY or INTELLIGENCE SUMMARY	Unit: 11 Armd Div Signals
Month and Year: October 1944	(Erase heading not required).	Commanding Officer: Lt. Col. J.L. Harrison

Place	Date	Summary	Reference
DOMPE	1	Lt TMO T.L. Edge promoted W/Capt after 3 yrs commissioned service. Visit from CSO 2nd Army. Line provided to 61 Med Regt on arrival under Comd.
	2	Maint. Check of eqpt and men's kits carried out. Installation of 19 Sets in carriers for use of rear links of coys in Inf Bns completed. Visit from CSO 8 Corps.
	3	Lines laid for 'flash' spotters as this task was undertaken by Div Arty on departure of Corps Survey Regt. New A.C.V. for 2 Sqn arrived, this replacement being on account of age and mileage of present A.C.V.
	4-6	Maint continued. Lines working satisfactorily.
	7	159 Inf Bde moved back to ST. ANTHONYS. Line comn through 7 U.S. Armd Div. Bde moved under wireless silence.
	8	C.O.held Sqn Comds conference. Personnel and veh situation reviewed. Sqn Comds instructed to investigate possibilities of up-grading trade classifications of personnel, to arrange med inspections and bring inoculations up-to-date. Particular attention to be paid to veh maint and 406 inspections. Line Det loaned to 3 Brit Div to assist in laying lines for Op "Constellation". Visit by Major Crosby of the Australian Army Signals.
	9	Heavy rain caused some trouble with lines. Interference on Div Comd and CRA nets which CSO 8 Corps assisted in clearing.
	10	Infm received of the affiliation of I.C.R. Sig Tp to this unit. Lateral line laid to 3 Brit Inf Div.
	11	New Freq lists received from CSO 2nd Army to come into effect on 20 Oct 44.
	12	Visit from CSO 8 Corps to plan comns for Op "Constellation". Op "Castor" (being first phase of Op "Constellation") began.
	13	New Freq Allotment of lists A, B & C. Copies of all lists sent to CSO 8 Corps. Copies of list 'B' only, sent to all units under Comd. One pr D8 laid ahead along Div Centre Line towards OVERLOON in preparation for prospective move.	Appx 'A'
	14	Line laying continued in preparation for prospective move to OVERLOON.
	15	159 Inf Bde HQ moved towards OVERLOON; connected by line. 9 Rfts arrived. One OR despatched on Junior Leaders Course to Catterick. Change of plan for Op "Constellation" notified making lines towards OVERLOON of no use.
	16	48 hrs leave to BRUSSELS commenced; Unit allotment of 5 ORs approx twice per week. 'C' Tp laid lines in preparation for move of Div HQ to area East of DEURNE. 159 Inf Bde moved first light. Line comn provided through 8 Corps test point 'Swan'.
WASBERG	17	Main HQ moved 1330 hrs to WASBERG, East of DEURNE. Corps provided 3 Quads from test point 'Swan' giving ccts to Rear Div, 7 US Armd Div, 3 Brit Inf Div and Corps RA Sig Centre, and 2 ccts to 8 Corps. Line comns on own lines to both Bdes. Line det loaned to 2 Sqn to provide RA comns. Visit from CSO 8 Corps. Suggestion for the provision of No. 9 Sets in comd tks for rear link working investigated.
	18	Very bad weather. The Armd Bde bogged. DRs had to complete their runs on foot.
	19	Armd Bde est HQ at HEIDE and Inf Bde at YSSELSTEYN. At these locations appear te be fairly permanent a considerable line programme was undertaken, in order that as much wireless as possible could be closed down.
	20	New freq list came into effect 0001A hrs. Line laying continued. Corps provided several UG ccts thus permitting line comn to be est with Bde Wksps and RASC HQs at HELMOND. Rear Div moved to BAKEL.
	21	Line laying continued. Sig Centre "DOG" est with a view to providing lines for Echs, Fd Ambulances, etc., and to relieve pressure on Main Div board. Route fwd was recce with a view to building 3 Quads to carry ccts for Bdes and Gun Area.	Appx 'B'
	22	CSO provided Quad for route fwd. Fir poles obtained through RE sources. Line diagram produced.	Appx 'C'
	23	Dets. 'C' Tp, augmented by other personnel from Main Div, commenced Quad route. All wireless shut down except for RA. Line working well. Trg of Ops on working of Canadian 9 set commenced.
	24	Work on Quad route continued. Lt. WD White nominated for posting as 2IC Tk Bde Sig Section. Change of Corps Comd RT freq necessitated amendment to freq allotment.	Appx 'D'
	25	Lt. WD White posted to 34 Tk Bde Sig Sec in the rank of A/Capt.
	26-27	Work on Quad route continued. Lateral provided by 3 Brit Inf Div Sigs between 8 Bde on their right and 29 Armd Bde on our left. Maint arranged on 50-50 basis.
	28	Quad route completed. Enemy counter attack on right caused return of 227 Bde to under Comd 8 Corps; lateral comn provided by line. Lines in fwd areas have been found to be cut by enemy patrols. It was decided that Security Offr should monitor phone conversations with a view to pointing out breaches of security to the Staff.
	29	44 Bde arrived in area and connected by line. There are now 105 positions in use on the s/bs at Main and Rear Divs. Careful building of lines has shown good results and very little maint has been necessary, moves of certain units causing only occasional re-routing. Rear Div moved 1/2 mile N.W.of BAKEL; lines extended to new location.
	30	15 (S) Div HQ now in area. Lateral provided by Corps. Lt R.Suckling arrived on posting from 31 Tk Bde Sigs and was posted to 4 Sqn. Maint and repainting of vehs continued. One line det. at a time put 'off the road' in order that this very necessary work can be done. Canadian 9 sets for use on Regt/Bn rear links arrived.
	31	Line Det. lent to Inf Bde Tp to assist in maint of their considerable line lay-out necessitated by the defence of a very long front. Scrambler eqpt arrived for use on Corps line. Rear Div returned to BAKEL, old lines again picked up and used.

previous month | next month

Source: Jeroen Koppes, TracesOfWar.com, transcribing: Mia Litjens.

Disclaimer: This War Diary is based on its original, but typos might be corrected. Locations are calculated, so might not be in the correct place. For historical research, always check the originals.

Domains

More information

Contact