| 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 |
| Unit: 2 H.C.R. | ||
| Month and Year: November 1944 | (Erase heading not required). | Commanding Officer: |
| Place | Date | Hour | Summary | Reference |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1-3 | The task continued. Things had now become easier in the South of the Corps Area and 3 Nov a bty of 25 pdrs was in sp of 2 HCR with most of the front covered by a whole regiment. | |||
| 3 | Royals came under comd 2 HCR. They took over Inns of Court Sector and the Sector of 2 HCR's Southern Sqn. 2 HCR responsibility incl BEUGEN - excl CUYK - Royals excl. VORTUM - excl BEUGEN. C Sqn (Capt. Wrottesley's Tp) captured in BEUGEN 3 PW who were dressed in British uniform: they had escaped 4 days before from a prison camp at BAYEUX and had motored in a captured 15 cwt truck to within 1000x of their own tps without being challenged. |
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| 4-7 | Lay-out remained the same. | |||
| 7 | 63 A/Tk Regt (Oxfordshire Yeomanry) who were an anti/Tk Regt sent to 8 Corps to equip and 450 train came under comd. They were conc in area MILL 6545. They were able to put about 400 men on their feet and were therefore of tremendous help in stiffening the inf available to hold the front at night. Co disposed them by btys in Sqn areas and made them responsible for the perimeter of the villages in the area i.e. SAMBEEK, BOXMEER and OEFFELT. It was decided to move all the civilians who lived between the rly BOXMEER to CUYK and the Maas and to put a military control on all the crossings of this rly. The reason which prompted this decision were many (1) it would prevent any liaison between collaborationists and the civilians at night (2) It kept the enemy guessing as to our intentions and made him patrol for his infm (3) More inf were now available to assist in holding the sector (4) It protected civilian life Appx A 2 HCR security Instr No.1 | Appx A | ||
| 9 | 63 A/Tk Regt actually took up there positions 1 Bty was under comd each fwd Sqn of 2 HCR and Royals. Meanwhile another addition to 2 HCR Gp (which was somewhat rudely christened Shaef by Corps Staff) was forthcoming in a Dutch Coy. It was arranged that they should take up position 10-11 in BEUGEN and OEFFELT villages. They were preceeded by a somewhat assuring form book which laid down how they were equipped and armed and stated that many of them had fired their weapons at least twice. Corps Comd lunched with 2 HCR. Appx B - letter Corps Comd to C.O. |
Appx B | ||
| 11 | An uneventful day - Orders received that 2 HCR Gp task would be taken over the following day by the Royals with Inns of Court less two Sqns under comd. Efforts had been made continually by GOC Gds Armd Div and also by Comd 30 Corps to get back to Gds Armd Div 2 HCR who had as stated before only been lent to 8 Corps for 4 days which 4 days had lengthened into 4 weeks. When 30 Corps moved to the right of 2 Army front in the area excl GEILENKIRCHEN - incl R Maas they succeeded in arranging for the relief of 2 HCR. Appx C. Cutting from the Times. |
Appx C | ||
| 12 | 2 HCR relieved by Royals. Relief completed by 1400 hrs. B and C Sqn moved into conc area near MILL preparatory to the night drive to new area. The pipers of 91 (A and SH) A/Tk Regt gave RHQ a send off with a surprise concert. 2 HCR moved throughout the night in Regt Coln. Route VEGHEL, UDEN, EINDHOVEN, HECHTEL, BOURG LEOPOLD, BEERINGEN, HASSELT, ASCH (90 miles). The first part of the drive through it poured with rain and though we were behind the tank tptrs of Gds Armd Div went very well and the convoy was very smooth. During the second half there were many halts and several accidents when passing through the vast amn dump in the HASSELT area as the amn stacks protruded on to the rds. In the end however 2 HCR arrived before predicted and went beyond their D.P. However the Regt was given first class resting billets in the colliery village of WATERSCHEI where RHQ was in a hotel and C & D in a vast school. A, B and A Ech were in neighbouring villages of OPLABEEK, DOORNE NEIL PREC DASCH and ASCHE. Everyone was under cover and though local moves were made later all billets were good. |
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| 13-25 | A period of rest and maintenance. There was much work to be done on the cars but the weather which was quite beyond belief did all it could to stop work. The Regt was indeed fortunate to be in good billets during this very wet period. There were excellent amenities at WATERSCHEI incl a first class cinema and Dance Hall. Full use was made of both and a full band concert by the L.G. Band was a great succes. |
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| 15 | GOC 30 Corps Lt.Gen. Sir B. Horrocks C.B., DSO visited the Regt in the Casino Cinema. The address was most inspiring being devided into three parts (a) Praise of and an account of the doings of 2 HCR (b) An account of the adv and ops carried out by 30 Corps (c) A foreword of the future in which he prophesised that we should have to fight all the way to BERLIN. The whole Regt was most proud and greatly inspired by Gen. Horrock's address. Leave was now being given out on a more generous scale - for offrs 48 hrs came round about once a month and the excellent Eye Club run at BRUSSELS for personnel of Gds Armd Div was a great success - for other ranks owing to the vast numbers involved arrangements were at first slow but by the end of the month 3 schemes for leave to ANTWERP and BRUSSELS was in force and about 40-50 per week were sent off. Appx D Gds Armd Div Diary for Sep |
Appx D | ||
| 15-30 | Apart from minor adjustments in Sqn areas in order to ease the accommodation problem this period was one of the rest and maintenance. The weather was uniformly bad and held up maintenance a good deal. However by the end of the month C.O. had inspected the vehs of all Sqns. L.G.Band paid several visits to 2 HCR and was very popular both with the men with local units and the civilians of the village. During this period 30 Corps with 82 American Div and XIX U.S. Corps under comc had captured GEILENKIRCHEN and the Americans had advanced in this area against very strong opposition up to the line of the Roer. Capt. Balding took part in this operation as personal L.O. betweeen Comd 30 Corps and Comd XIX U.S.Corps. |
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| 25 | B Sqn moved over the Maas into Corps reserve to under comd 8 Armd Bde to area NUTH 6959 which was back into Holland. They formed part of a force called Foxforce set up as a reserve against enemy counter-attacks from the GEILENKIRCHEN - WURM area. An intensive course for newly arrived Sp Tp personnel and also normal tp runs and trg commenced at the end of the month. The chief thing one remembers about the month was the vile weather - the kindness of the peaople in the billeting area and the goodness of the billets especially of the schools which were taken over. |
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| 30 | Locations were as follows: A - NIEL PRES D'ASCHE B - NUTH C,D & RHQ - WATERSCHEI A & B Echs - ASCHE 48 hrs leave for Ors under Div arrangements to ANTWERP and BRUSSLES up to approx 4% personnel at the time was well under way by the end of the month. Personnel were accommodated in hotels or billets and provided the arrangements worked smoothly which they on the whole did the leave was very well worth while. It made a good break and was very greatly appreciated. |
Source: Joris Nieuwint, The Battlefield Explorer, 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.
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