University of Plymouth PEARL https://pearl.plymouth.ac.uk 04 University of Plymouth Research Theses 01 Research Theses Main Collection 2014 The British Way of War in North West Europe 1944-45: A Study of Two Infantry Divisions Devine, Louis Paul http://hdl.handle.net/10026.1/3014 Plymouth University All content in PEARL is protected by copyright law. Author manuscripts are made available in accordance with publisher policies. Please cite only the published version using the details provided on the item record or document. In the absence of an open licence (e.g. Creative Commons), permissions for further reuse of content should be sought from the publisher or author. This copy of the thesis has been supplied on condition that anyone who consults it is understood to recognise that its copyright rests with its author and that no quotation from the thesis and no information derived from it may be published without the author's prior consent. 1 THE BRITISH WAY OF WAR IN NORTH WEST EUROPE 1944-45: A STUDY OF TWO INFANTRY DIVISIONS By LOUIS PAUL DEVINE A thesis Submitted to Plymouth University in partial fulfilment for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY School of Humanities May 2013 2 Louis Paul Devine The British Way of War in North West Europe 1944-45: A Study of two infantry divisions Abstract This thesis will examine the British way of war as experienced by two British Infantry Divisions - the 43rd ‘Wessex’ and 53rd ‘Welsh’ - during the Overlord campaign in North West Europe in 1944 and 1945. The main locus of research centres on the fighting components of those divisions; the infantry battalions and their supporting regiments. In order to understand the way the British fought this part of the war, the thesis will consider the British Army’s history since 1918: its level of expertise at the end of the First World War; the impact of inter-war changes, and the experience of the early part of the Second World War, as these factors were fundamental in shaping how the British Army operated during the period covered in this study. These themes will be considered in the first chapter. The following seven chapters will study each of the two infantry divisions in turn, to maintain a chronological order. This is so that the experiences of each division can be examined in a logical way, from their initial experiences of combat in late June 1944 through to March 1945. Naturally, their major battles will be considered but so will their minor engagements and day-to-day experiences, as this will give a good, detailed, overview of each division’s campaign. This layout of chapters is also convenient for allowing comparisons between the two divisions as the campaign progressed. This thesis contains several strands of enquiry which will consider how Montgomery’s prosecution of the war actually translated to the smaller units of the division (the battalions, 3 companies, platoons and sections). The historiography for this campaign tends to suggest that the British Army fought the war in a cautious way, and that this approach was characterised by the use of overwhelming material superiority and rehearsed set piece attacks; tactics that were designed not only to destroy the enemy, but also to avoid the heavy casualties of the major battles of the First World War; a factor that was perceived to be vital to the maintenance of fragile infantry morale. Although the basic premise of a ‘cautious’ British way of war is generally accepted (along with its attendant emphasis on consolidation of objectives rather than exploitation of opportunities, and a reliance on adherence to lengthy orders), this study will conclude that the way the war was fought at sub-divisional levels was frequently at a pace that did not allow for such caution. Instead, it was characterised by command pressure to achieve results quickly, hasty planning and a reliance on massive artillery and mortar contributions to compensate for deficiencies in anti-tank and armoured support. This thesis will further conclude that a conscious policy of casualty conservation appears not to have been a priority at divisional command level, but was instead a consideration for company, platoon and section commanders and the men that they led. 4 Table of Contents Glossary 7 Foreword 10 Introduction 13 Chapter 1 1918-1943: From Great War to Second World War 26 Chapter 2 The 43rd Division’s First Action 71 Chapter 3 The 43rd Division Incorporating Lessons Learned 99 Chapter 4 The 53rd Division’s First Action to Falaise 136 Chapter 5 Colossal Cracks I: The 43rd Division in Operation Market Garden 163 Chapter 6 Colossal Cracks II: The 53rd Division in Operation Market Garden 196 and the Ardennes Chapter 7 The 43rd Division Post Market Garden 215 Chapter 8 The 53rd Division Post Ardennes: Veritable and Beyond 247 Conclusion 270 Appendix ‘A’ Sketch Maps 285 Bibliography 300 5 Acknowledgements I would like to offer sincere thanks to my supervisor, Dr Harry Bennett, my Director of Studies, who has supported me unstintingly throughout the research and preparation of this thesis with his knowledge, patience and understanding, while at the same time allowing me the latitude to approach this project in my own way. I would also like to express my sincere gratitude to Professor Kevin Jefferys, my second supervisor, for his unwavering wise counsel and encouragement. I would also like to extend thanks to all the other members of the School of Humanities who have provided encouragement and advice. During the research and compilation of this thesis I have been expertly assisted by the staff of The National Archives at Kew, for whom no demand seemed unreasonable. I have also been ably assisted and supported by the staff of Plymouth University library, who have provided a level of service which was second to none. I am most grateful for all their efforts. Author’s Declaration At no time during the registration for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy has the author been registered for any other University award without prior agreement of the Graduate Committee. Word count of main body of thesis: 79,100 Signed:……………………………… Louis Paul Devine Date:………………………………… 6 Glossary___ _________________________________ Units - 43rd (Wessex) Infantry Division Battalions 4th DOR 4th Battalion, Dorsetshire Regiment 4th SOMLI 4th Battalion, Somersetshire Light Infantry 4th WILTS 4th Battalion, Wiltshire Regiment 5th DOR 5th Battalion, Dorsetshire Regiment 5th WILTS 5th Battalion, Wiltshire Regiment 7th HAMPS 7th Battalion, Hampshire Regiment 7th SOMLI 7th Battalion, Somersetshire Light Infantry 1st WORC 1st Battalion, Worcestershire Regiment 8th MIDDX 1st Battalion, Middlesex Regiment 5th DCLI 5th Battalion, Duke of Cornwall’s Light Infantry Units - 53rd (Welsh) Infantry Division Battalions 1st E.Lancs 1st Battalion, East Lancashire Regiment 1st HLI 1st Battalion, Highland Light Infantry 1st Ox & Bucks 1st Battalion, Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry 1/5th WEL 1st Battalion, Welch Regiment 2nd MONS 2nd Battalion, Monmouthshire Regiment 4th RWF 4th Battalion, Royal Welch Fusiliers 4th WEL 4th Battalion, Welch Regiment 6th RWF 6th Battalion, Royal Welch Fusiliers 7th RWF 7th Battalion, Royal Welch Fusiliers 1st MAN 1st Battalion, Manchester Regiment 7 General Glossary AGRA Army Group, Royal Artillery APIS Army Photographic Intelligence Section Arty. Artillery AVRE Armoured Vehicle, Royal Engineers Bn. Battalion BREN British light machine gun (combination of manufacturers’ names, BRno/ENfield) Coy. Company CRAB Sherman tank fitted with minesweeping equipment CROCODILE Churchill tank fitted with flamethrowing equipment Ey. Enemy FRRA Field Regiment, Royal Artillery Fus Bn Fusilier Battalion (German) GR Grenadier Regiment (German) H-hour The specific time at which an operation is to commence. KANGAROO Tank modified by having its turret removed and used as an improvised armoured personnel carrier. LAA Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment LAD Local Aid Detachment MG Machine Gun MMG Medium Machine Gun (generally speaking, a Vickers Machine Gun) MRRA Medium Regiment Royal Artillery Offr. Officer ‘O’ Group Orders Group. Meeting for dissemination of orders. PIAT Projector Infantry, Anti-Tank Pl. Platoon RAC Royal Armoured Corps RE Royal Engineers 8 RECCE Reconnaissance mission RSM Regimental Sergeant Major RTR Royal Tank Regiment Schmeisser British generic term for German Maschinenpistole 40, or MP 40 SP Self-Propelled (gun) Sp. Support Spandau British generic term for German machine gun Stonk Artillery or mortar bombardment WASP Universal Carrier fitted with flamethrowing equipment WEASEL Light, thin-skinned, wide-tracked amphibious transport vehicle 9 Foreword__________________________________________ This study has evolved as a result my previous research into the British Army’s use of specialist armoured vehicles during the Second World War. The first study, completed as a final year dissertation of my undergraduate programme, concentrated on the use of these vehicles on the British and Canadian beaches during the Normandy invasion of 6 June 1944. A second study, conducted as part of a subsequent master’s research degree, focussed on the continued use and further development of these vehicles by the Anglo-Canadian forces in North West Europe from 6 June until the end of the Second World War. Both of these studies involved thorough investigations into the rationale behind the development of the vehicles themselves and their use, and sometimes misuse, during the Overlord campaign. My studies revealed entirely reasonable and logical answers to the research questions that I had posed: that these vehicles had been developed and produced by the British and Canadians to deal with specific combat problems, such as prepared defensive positions and obstacles that would otherwise have been costly in terms of casualties to overcome, and also ensuring that infantry formations were properly supported by armour. At first glance this would seem rather mundane: the British and Canadian armies seem to have identified specific combat challenges and had developed a range of equipment to deal with them.