| 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: 5 Royal Tank Regiment | ||
| Month and Year: November 1944 | (Erase heading not required). | Commanding Officer: Lt. Col. C.A. Holliman, MC |
| Place | Date | Hour | Summary | Reference |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| HORST | 1 | 'B' Sqn placed under comd 1 RB and moved to RAMSDONKSVEER 0247. GERTRUIDENSBERG on the west bank of WILHELMINA canal was still in enemy hands, but East of the canal the enemy had withdrawn North of the R. MAAS. 1 RB responsibility was area RAMSDONKSVEER to R. MAAS West of Easting 04. | ||
| 1 | 1 Polish Armd Div at the same time were moving slowly in the direction of GERTRUIDENBERG and a L.O. from Recce was despatched to their HQ for a period of 4 days. Remainder of regt carry out maintenance. | |||
| 2 | 1350 | Regt less 'B' Sqn formed up and moved to OOSTERHOUT 0142. No event except shelling and mortaring on 'B' Sqn front. Casualty:- Tpr Bilton wounded. | ||
| 3-4 | No event. | |||
| 5 | With the removal of the 51 HD from the area 7 Armd Div had to take on a much larger front, extending from GERTRUDENSBERG in the West to the bend in the canal at 148488 consequently the Regt moved. | |||
| 5 | 1330 | 'B' Sqn back under comd and the regt moved to the new area HEISTRAAT. The regt front now extended to S'CAPELLE 097475 to LABBEGAT 119470. This front was held by two tks in both CAPELLE and LABBEGAT with dismounted tps in addn each night. | ||
| 6 | 'C' Sqn defensive posns. Otherwise no event. Regt Rest Camp opened at TILBURG. | |||
| 7-8 | 'C' Sqn still in posn. N.T.R. | |||
| 9-10 | 'A' Sqn relieved 'C' Sqn. | |||
| 11 | Posns now taken over by the Cdn Armd Div. | |||
| 11 | 1600 | Regt formed up and moved to conc area DONGEN 0640. | ||
| 12-15 | No operational events. | |||
| KINROY | 16 | 0715 | Regt formed up and moved to KINROY route being TILBURG – TURNHOUT and GHEEL and was est in KINROY by 1700 hrs. 7 Armd Div now under comd 12 Corps. | |
| 17-19 | This period was utilised for re-org and trg incl courses in wireless, D & M and Gunnery, also a Cadre Course under the supervision of the RSM. | |||
| 20 | Holiday. Cambrai Celebrations. Inter-Sqn Football Comp won by 'A' Sqn. | |||
| 20 | 1830 | ENSA Show at BREE Theatre. | ||
| 21-25 | No events. Trg. | |||
| 26 | 1000 | Visit to Regt by new Div Comd Major-Gen L.O. Lyne DSO. | ||
| 27 | No event. | |||
| 28 | Investiture by Field-Marshall Sir Bernard L. Montgomery at BREE at which the CO, Lt.Col. Holliman MC was awarded the DSO, the Adjt - Capt Garnett the MC Maj Macdonald and Lt. Dixon the MC. L/Cpl Dove the MM. | |||
| 29-30 | Training and Recreational Sports. |
Source: Joris Nieuwint, The Battlefield Explorer, transcribing: Hans Houterman.
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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