A Worm's Eye View: the 1/4 KOYLI in Normandy
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Canadian Military History Volume 3 Issue 1 Article 10 1994 A Worm’s Eye View: The 1/4 KOYLI in Normandy Lewis Keeble Follow this and additional works at: https://scholars.wlu.ca/cmh Part of the Military History Commons Recommended Citation Keeble, Lewis "A Worm’s Eye View: The 1/4 KOYLI in Normandy." Canadian Military History 3, 1 (1994) This Article is brought to you for free and open access by Scholars Commons @ Laurier. It has been accepted for inclusion in Canadian Military History by an authorized editor of Scholars Commons @ Laurier. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Keeble: A Worm’s Eye View: The 1/4 KOYLI in Normandy A Worm's Eye View The 1/4 KOYLI in Normandy Lewis Keeble thought it might be interesting to write a The reason I've mentioned these books I purely personal account of the Normandy is that anyone who has been in battle in the campaign, but with a few observations on infantry must wonder how his experience tactics and morale, for the benefit of any who compared with other infantrymen in other might care to read them. I have little liking or campaigns and wars. even respect for military ways, customs and traditions, so this account will be at least free One knows that it is very frightening from any false glamour. and exhausting, but what others went through reads as if it was very much worse. There are I was with the First Fourth Battalion, several reasons for this. Practically all The King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry accounts are a bit hyped up; they recount the (1/4 KOYLI) from June 1940, shortly after highlights rather than the lowlights; they leaving OCTU, to 3 September 1944 except don't usually indicate the comparatively short for about 3 months when I was mortar time spent in battle by most individual instructor at 49th Division Battle School, so infantrymen, before wounds, illness, accident I knew it pretty well. My worm's eye view or death get them; they don't indicate the derives from this narrow experience as well comparatively small proportion of time spent as from the very limited physical view one had by any unit actually at the point of the sharp in Bocage. So it may not be a very valuable end (i.e. exposed to aimed small arms fire); opinion when I say that I feel fairly confident most don't reveal the difference in hostile that 1/4 KOYLI, when it went to Normandy, firepower between the First and Second World was well in the upper half of British infantry Wars and only The Sharp End of War, out of battalions. As further evidence of impartiality, what I've read, explains what a very much I got into it purely because a War Office clerk smaller proportion oftroops were at the sharp couldn't hold a ruler straight; until June end in the Second War than in the First. I say 1940 all Yorkshire meant to me was a cricket this not to seek to magnifY the endurance we team that batted rather slowly. were called on to find in Normandy, but to explain the undoubted fact that we all went I've read a lot about the Second World through just about as much as we could take, War. Four books have made very special and more than some of us could take. impressions; Lord Moran's The Anatomy of Courage, John Ellis' The Sharp End of War, This is where The Anatomy ofCourage is Robert Graves' Goodbye to All That and John particularly interesting. Its thesis is Masters' The Road Past Mandalay. To that essentially that every person possesses a very recently, I've added the First War History certain reservoir of courage- small, medium of the Wellington (New Zealand) Regiment. or large, probably genetically determined, They were at Passchendaele; my late father that that reservoir is progressively depleted in-law was with them. In 1961 I took him to by exposure to danger and fatigue, and when see Tessel Wood. it's empty you're finished. Removal from danger, and rest, allows the reservoir gradually to refill. I remember at Tessel 85 Published by Scholars Commons @ Laurier, 1994 1 Canadian Military History, Vol. 3 [1994], Iss. 1, Art. 10 Wood, a machine gunner being led away with lacking in the very good and long training we hysterical blindness after only two or three had. At company commander level it is days exposure to not very much danger. Later, practically impossible to function efficiently during a pause in the advance to the Seine, I for many days at a stretch in an uncovered spent some hours burrowed in the depth of a slit trench; at the very least it is necessary to haystack, having absolutely no inclination to be able to shine a torch on a spread map emerge and there being no special need to do protected from rain. (If you get that there is so. the added chance of being able to sleep lying down instead of sitting.) In Normandy we Normandy was certainly far less frightful sometimes got the Pioneer platoon to come than many campaigns- during a fair part of and blow a 6 foot diameter hole with gun it we were winning by miles- but it was not cotton and roof it with a vehicle cover, as a exactly a walkover. At the back of Godfrey Company HQ, but I don't think enough of Barker Harland's admirable little War History that was done. Incidentally, out of 85 nights of 1 I 4 KOYLI is a fairly sombre Roll of Honour: in France I probably spent only 7 in some sort 186 killed in North West Europe. How many of building and I imagine that was typical. wounded? We're not told. The only indication I can give is that of the 20 or so officers in rifle On 0+4 the battalion landed, somewhere companies when we landed, I was the 19th to on Gold Beach. The Normandy invasion was, be knocked out, 85 days after landing, and in most respects, a model of military the 20th, Tony Little went about 8 days later. organisation. We landed wearing denim Moreover, during that time, several places trousers in case we got wet, with our proper had been refilled twice or more and several of trousers round our necks. We marched inland the wounded had returned. a bit and changed our trousers in a field in which there was a sign saying "You are now at That leads me to several interesting map reference 123456." Then we marched a points. Why are officer casualties always so bit more and took up a position at Coulombs. high? It's certainly not because they are The bridgehead was the most extraordinary braver than the others (or even that they are spectacle, practically standing room only, more stupid!}. It is simply that their jobs spotter planes jostling for position with guns, make it necessary for them to move about enough DUKWs to make a duck fair. Guns more, with greater danger of being caught in firing all the time. "My dear, the noise and the the open. Also, it's sometimes necessary for people." Guns considerately stopped firing leaders to go first. when you had to walk across in front of them so that you didn't get your head blown off. Why have I concentrated on casualties There were, or were alleged to be, some in rifle companies? Partly because I can't be German snipers around. Hordes of soldiers sure about any more general figures, but went after them on totally futile hunting partly because it is inevitably the officers in parties. the rifle companies who have to spend a larger proportion of their time exposed to Then we moved to Brouay (then shown aimed small arms fire than the others. (Even as Bronay on the maps) where we were in though some of the others have sometimes to contact with the enemy. Hessian screens expose themselves to greater danger than the were erected to fill gaps between trees so that rifle companies are exposed to most of the it was possible to walk around. There was time). However, all this is very imprecise; some gallant and successful patrolling, about even when a battalion is right at the sharp which Godfrey knows much more than I do. end, life in the rear rifle companies may be There was also some indiscipline; a party very much more comfortable than it is with (officer led!) went to a nearby crashed Spitfire the forward companies. in search of souvenirs and were nearly shot as enemy on their way back. I did a stupid Speaking of comfort, a touch of comfort, thing; I went sniper hunting on my own and if attainable, is a great aid to efficiency as well then realized he was much more likely to get as to morale, and I think attention to this was me than I was to get him. 86 https://scholars.wlu.ca/cmh/vol3/iss1/10 2 Keeble: A Worm’s Eye View: The 1/4 KOYLI in Normandy British infantry in Normandy had a wide array ofweapons available to them including the Sten gun (left, centre), PlAT (centre) and the Lee-Enfield rifle {right). (IWM BU 1335) Then on 16 June, D+lO we did Cristot. Tony and I couldn't match the start line on Before I describe that, I should just explain the map with the ground.