Yet another Churchill variant was to join the79th Armoured
Division after the invasion of Europe. This was the Crocodile, a flamethrower
version of the tank that was to prove to be the best such AFV fielded by any
combatant during the war. It will be remembered that an earlier flamethrowing
version of the Churchill had been deployed at Dieppe. Although Crocodiles
landed in Normandy on D Day they were not under control of 79th Armoured
Division. Operated by 141st Regiment RAC, formerly 7th Buffs, they passed to
Hobart’s command in July 1944, the logic of their being part of what was
already known as Hobart’s ‘menagerie’ having been recognized. The Buffs had
only begun their training on 20 March in Eastwell Park, Ashford in Kent. John
Smith, who served in the regiment, wrote that
The fuel was the most
secret part of the whole contraption and we did not know what it contained. In
appearance it was a congealed milky-white jelly. The Germans used Diesel oil
but our fuel had the great advantage of remaining a compact ‘rod’ and thus reducing
the amount burnt up in flight. Its consistency was such that the flame could be
‘rolled’ along the ground into slit trenches or bounced round corners. In
addition, it stuck to the target.
At Crépon, two miles inland from Asnelles, elements of 79th
Armoured Division fought alongside Churchill Crocodiles of 141st Regiment RAC
(The Buffs) for the first time. This was also the first time that Crocodiles
were used in action, although some had landed on D Day. Two Crocodiles under
Lieutenant John Shearman of the Buffs were engaged along with C Squadron
Westminster Dragoons. The action began when C Squadron’s harbour came under
shellfire from close range; small arms fire was also directed at the Dragoons.
All but one member of the Squadron Leader’s tank were wounded by shell
splinters as they were outside the tank when the shelling began. Only Sergeant
Whybrow, the gunner, escaped injury. He was quick to climb back into the
Sherman and begin returning fire, although he had to load the gun himself.
However, Corporal Adcock, the driver, then joined Whybrow and, in spite of
being wounded and in pain, assisted with loading the weapon. When the German
gun that had fired on the C Squadron harbour was knocked out by the 75 of
Lieutenant Hoban’s Crab, the Squadron withdrew from the vicinity. Lieutenant
Shearman was overseeing the maintenance of his troop of Crocodiles when the
shelling began and it was he who
quickly planned and
carried out an attack, leading it himself, having organized RA and R Sigs
personnel as infantry. As a direct result of his prompt action the guns were
silenced and several, including two 75mm and one 88mm, were destroyed, and 150
PW taken.
In that counter-attack, the Crabs fired their main guns on
the enemy positions before the Crocodiles flamed the area while the Royal
Artillery and Royal Signals soldiers put down small arms fire. This prompted a
German surrender at which point the strength of the position they had held
could be assessed: as well as the 150 prisoners and the destroyed guns, a 100mm
field gun, an 88 and four 75s were captured. One soldier of the Westminsters
was killed and five wounded. This was the first of two actions that earned John
Shearman the Military Cross; the second occurred a month later, on 9 July.
As 21 Army Group fought to expand the Normandy bridgehead,
units of 79th Armoured Division were involved in many small but important
engagements. On 12 June, the Westminsters lost two Crabs to a German anti-tank
gun screen as they advanced unsupported in the Bocage country. However, they
gained some vengeance when they later played a successful part in the capture
of Cheux.
By the end of June much of the Division was in France and
Hobart had moved his main headquarters across the Channel; he had first
insinuated a small tactical HQ on to a DUKW for which Hobart had managed to
obtain space on a ship bound for Normandy on 8 June. Refused shipping space for
his HQ, he had plagued the movements staff until they gave in and allowed him
to take the DUKW, on which he loaded a jeep, a motorbike, much radio equipment
and personnel for a skeleton HQ. He made his presence known to his units
quickly: at Brécy, on the 11th, he visited the Westminster Dragoons. During the
month, 141st Regiment RAC (The Buffs) came under divisional command, according
to the divisional history, and most of the regiment’s Churchills were in
Normandy by the last week of June. (However, the regiment did not become part
of 79th until September; in the intervening time it was, from 21 July, under
the umbrella of 31 Tank Brigade, which later joined Hobart’s command.) Still in
Britain, however, were the CDLs of 35 Tank Brigade as well as the Crabs of 1st
Lothians and Border Yeomanry. The Lothians sailed from Gosport for Normandy on
13 July with the CDLs following later in the month.
As with the other ‘Funnies’ the Crocodiles were often used
in penny packets and without proper support. On 14 June, at la Senaudière, one
was lost when unsupported Crocodiles took part in an attack with 1st
Hampshires; however, the enemy lost a Panther and a Mk IV tank. Next day,
Crocodiles of B Squadron helped 51st (Highland) Division clear enemy troops
from Escoville. When given good support the Crocodiles were extremely effective
as was demonstrated at Escoville. The same was true of le Bon Repos which had
been captured and then retaken by the Germans. In the fresh assault by 53rd
(Welsh) Division on 23 July, two Crocodile troops of A Squadron 141 RAC
advanced on the town, preceded and flanked by gun tanks and with covering
artillery fire. The Crocodiles advanced either side of the road to the village,
flaming the hedges and flanks before they saturated their objective with flames
and their action, which saved many lives amongst the infantry of the Welsh
Division who suffered no casualties, drew the personal congratulations of
Lieutenant General Ritchie, Commander XII Corps. At Saint-Germain d’Ectot, on
30 July, C Squadron Crocodiles overcame a machine-gun position that had already
beaten off three battalion attacks. On this occasion the troop leader
dismounted from his tank to lead the infantry, who had not worked with
flamethrowers before, ensuring that they advanced as soon as the target was
flamed. A day later in the same area, an assault force that included both AVREs
and Crocodiles supported a successful infantry attack on a house and orchard.
Although Hitler ordered that his armies should stand along
the Seine to resist the Allies, and defend Paris, the speed of the Allied
advance made the Führer’s plan redundant while the forces at his commanders’
disposal would not have been capable of sustained resistance in any case. To
the men of 21 Army Group the weeks immediately after the breakout from Normandy
became known as the ‘great swan’ as formations and units raced across France to
the frontiers of the Low Countries. Paris was liberated on 25 August by French
troops under American command. On the same day, Second Army crossed the Seine
at Vernon and, on the 31st, reached Amiens and seized intact the bridges across
the Somme. On 1 September, British troops were at Arras and on the 3rd, four
years to the day since the outbreak of war, Guards Armoured Division liberated
Brussels. Next day, 11th Armoured Division was at Antwerp.
Such was the speed of the Allied advance that there was no
real role for units of 79th Armoured Division. Since the Germans had not had
time to prepare defensive lines, there were no manned concrete defences needing
the attention of AVREs nor had extensive minefields been laid. Although some
AVREs, Crabs and Crocodiles followed the leading armoured units, they were not
required and nor were the Class 50/60 rafts that the Division brought forward
for the Seine crossing. But, behind the advancing armies, there were still
German garrisons locked up in some of the Channel ports. Dieppe’s garrison was
quick to surrender but Dunkirk’s held out. Since the port was not logistically
important for the Allies, it was simply besieged and remained so until the war
ended. But Boulogne, Calais and le Havre were to be attacked and 79th Armoured
Division had the weapons needed to break into those ports. And from the
Americans, who had declined ‘Funnies’ for D Day, came a request for Crocodiles.
General Simpson requested a squadron of Crocodiles to support the US VIII
Corps’ attack on Brest, which housed a German submarine base, in the Breton
peninsula.
I Corps had the task of capturing le Havre
a place of some
natural strength with a pre-war port capacity of about 20,000 tons daily. It
was protected by outlying forts, a deep anti-tank ditch and extensive
fieldworks, covered by minefields and flooding; it was garrisoned by over
11,000 troops and well equipped with artillery.
At places the defensive belt was up to a mile deep while
defending troops had concrete accommodation and the artillery was deployed
behind and under concrete. Moreover, the German commander was determined to
fight to the last: he had lost his wife and children to Allied bombing on
Berlin and the fact that he was cut off from supply and reinforcement did not
diminish his determination.
Since le Havre lies on the Seine estuary’s north shore, the
approach of any attacker was restricted to the east or north with many
obstacles to be overcome before closing with the garrison. I Corps HQ proposed
that 49th (West Riding) Division should attack from the east with 51st
(Highland) Division coming in from the north. Major General Tom Rennie, GOC
Highland Division, suggested an alternative.
Since the Germans had obviously considered that the most
likely approach by an attacker would be from the sea, the defences were at
their strongest close to the coast and Rennie proposed a diversionary attack
from the north but that 51st Division’s main effort be made from about
Montivilliers, today almost a suburb of le Havre, on the Lézarde river.
Near Montivilliers were two gaps in the anti-tank ditch, one
measuring some 400 yards wide and the other half that width. These provided
convenient crossings via which the assault could be directed. Fifteen Crabs of
A Squadron, commanded by Major Renton, were to sweep three lanes on the right
while ten Crabs of B Squadron, under Major Ackroyd, were to sweep two lanes.
The other troop of B Squadron and the troop from C Squadron were to clear a
road, and lanes to either side of it, for the AVRE bridgelayer that was to
bridge the ditch and its accompanying Snake,* which would supplement the Crabs
in gapping the minefields. The road ran north-south between the gaps. Thus
eight lanes, each at least twenty-four feet in width, were to be cleared.
Ian Hammerton’s 1st Troop of B Squadron was flailing the
lane on the extreme left, which he had reconnoitred beforehand in heavy rain
with the help of French Resistance men. As his tank moved off to make the
two-tank-wide gap Mary, its wireless was tuned to the BBC Home Service and a
programme of dance tunes including ‘This is a lovely way to spend an evening’.
Lieutenant Hammerton’s route was a dog-leg, the knee of which was at the end of
the anti-tank ditch, and as the Crabs advanced slowly they were surprised to
find no mines. They had flailed on a gap in the minefield and it was assumed
that the German engineers had ruled out the possibility of an attack close to
the edge of a small cliff. The complete lane was cleared within forty minutes
and
I called up the
Churchills of 7th Royal Tank Regiment to tell them that lane Mary was all
clear, and they began to move through our flailed path. Most of them had got
through when one went a little off to the right and, BANG! up went a mine; it
was about a yard to the side of our lane.
The infantry began swarming through in their carriers and,
before long, the tank crews were rounding up Germans who seemed all too eager
to surrender. None appeared to share their commander’s ‘to-the-last-round’
attitude; most were found in their slit trenches, their kit packed for the trip
to the PoW camp.
Not all German soldiers showed similar desire for the
comfort of a PoW camp. Lieutenant Shaw of 3rd Troop, also working on lane Mary,
was operating with four Crabs but the leading tank became a casualty through
smashing its jib just after crossing the start line when it struck the bank of
a sunken road. Both following tanks, advancing on the forward edge of the
minefield, came to grief on an unexpected outer minefield. This left the
breaching team with but a single Crab although the gap was open. However, ‘as
soon as vehicles started to use the gap some were knocked out and the breach
was blocked’. Shaw then left his tank and
in the face of heavy enemy
shelling and fire ran to the remaining operational flail tank in his troop,
took command and flailed a route round the blown up vehicles thus re-opening
the lane and permitting the infantry and tanks to pass through onto their
objective.
While moving to the lane cleared by 1st Troop this tank also
struck a mine and was knocked out. By 7.00pm tanks, Crocodiles and infantry
were advancing on their objective, a German strongpoint, which fell ninety
minutes later. William Shaw was awarded the MC.
Hazel, the central gap, was one that provided many headaches
and had to be abandoned as a failure. This gap was left of the north-south road
and 2nd Troop B Squadron, under Sergeant Redmond, had two Crabs pass through
the minefield to the anti-tank ditch without any hindrance. However, as they
made their turns at the ditch the picture changed dramatically. The ground was
heavy which slowed down the ‘strike’ of their chains and both tanks fell victim
to mines, one losing its jib and the other both tracks. Redmond’s third Crab
was disabled halfway across the minefield. Nonetheless, they had cleared a
twenty-foot-wide lane, along which an AVRE of 222 Assault Squadron with a Snake
advanced. All went well until the AVRE was pushing the Snake over the ditch.
Its head struck a mine and the resulting heavy explosion converted ‘the already
battered flail at the ditch’s edge … into a wreck of curious shape’.
Fortunately, there were no casualties. Then, as the AVRE reversed out, it set
off another mine, putting the tank out of action. The second AVRE, the
bridgelayer, detonated yet another mine that the Crabs had passed safely. Thus
was Hazel abandoned.
That bridgelayer lost in Hazel was one of two from 222
Assault Squadron to be lost but the third bridgelayer completed its task under
heavy fire and its lane was declared open, having been cleared by Lieutenant
Thwaites of C Squadron 22nd Dragoons. However, Thwaites’ mission had begun
badly with all three Crabs out of action within ten minutes of entering the
minefield. One was crippled by a mine while the other pair had their cutter
blades jammed by a rapid series of mine explosions that prevented their drums
revolving. Regardless of considerable mortar fire, the crews stripped the
blades and were on the move again by 6.40pm. Their lane was clear forty minutes
later, the bridgelayer dropped its bridge and carrier loads of infantry went
forward.
On the right flank, gap Laura was being swept by A Squadron
with a troop assigned to each of its three lanes. The Crabs advanced with their
guns laid on the enemy strongpoint in front and with 7th Royal Tanks providing
covering fire. Although the assault began well, the Crabs came under fire from
the right flank when halfway through the minefield. Their tormentor was a gun
sited below a ridge crest and which could not be seen as it tried to pick off
the slow-moving Crabs at a range of about 400 yards. Although smoke was laid
quickly, the gun took its toll of the Crabs, hitting the lead tank and blowing
off its turret; the entire crew became casualties. The second tank struck a
mine but, fortunately, came to a stop hulldown to the enemy gun, the rounds
from which passed overhead. The remaining three Crabs continued with their
task, sweeping through the minefield and right up to the enemy strongpoint. At
that stage, the troop leader’s tank was hit and caught fire immediately. Second
Lieutenant Charles Neil, aged twenty, died with his crew.
The two surviving Crabs were ordered back to widen the lane
but one blew up en route leaving a single Crab to return to the start line.
Even so, a lane sixteen feet wide had been created by 6.45pm. In the
circumstances this was a considerable achievement. Similar opposition met those
working on the other two lanes of Laura. Shot at from the flank and dealing with
thickly-strewn mines in very soft ground, Lieutenant Mundy’s 2nd Troop lost two
Crabs to mines. In spite of this the attack was pressed home, even though there
were delays caused by the heavy German wire jamming rotors, and by 7.00pm a
thirty-feet-wide lane was open.
On the left Sergeant Smyth with his four Crabs pushed
through almost to their objective before two Crabs were knocked out by mines
and another was hit by an armour-piercing shell from that gun on the flank.
Shortly afterwards, this tank was also hit by a squirt of flame from a
Crocodile but the crew escaped with no serious injuries. Smyth turned his Crab
around to widen the lane which, at 7.30pm, was open for the follow-up troops.
Meanwhile 617 Assault Squadron’s role was to pass through
the lanes thus created to support 49th Division’s infantry as they attacked the
enemy strongpoints.
In doing so they had
several AVREs knocked out by 88mm fire and mines, but the surviving AVREs
carried out their tasks, silencing enemy guns and petarding concrete pillboxes.
During the first night of this action, Lance Sergeant Finan, with three men of
his AVRE crew, worked dismounted for six hours clearing mines and roadblocks
from a road that was vital to the advance. They were under small arms and
mortar fire for most of the time, and set a fine example of courage and
enterprise. Lance Sergeant Finan received the MM for this exploit.
Just over a month later Lance Sergeant Charles Finan would
earn a Bar to the MM he earned that day.
By nightfall 49th Division’s battalions had overcome the
south plateau’s defences and strongpoints in the Harfleur area to begin an
advance eastwards through le Havre. By then the two squadrons of 22nd Dragoons
had been ordered to rally, ‘an order easier to give than to carry out’ since
twenty-nine Crabs and three command Shermans had been knocked out or damaged
badly while nine men had been killed and seven wounded. For their actions that
day, ‘their resolution in pressing home the assault and for their gallantry in
getting the wounded back under shellfire’, Major Renton and Captain Thomas
Barraclough were awarded the Military Cross, ‘decorations that also honoured
the squadron as a whole, which had refused to be shaken at a moment critical
for the success of the whole operation’.
The Highlanders’ attack used three lanes cleared by teams of
1st Lothians and Border Yeomanry and AVREs but their H Hour was 11.00pm and
although they used artificial moonlight to light their way it proved of little
use. As well as the Lothians’ Crabs, AVREs used Snakes to clear gaps in
minefields for the infantry: two troops of 16 Assault Squadron and one of 284
Squadron deployed to support the Division in making three gaps. On each gap the
order of march was an AVRE followed by the Lothians’ troop commander, two AVREs
with Snakes, an SBG AVRE, and the remaining Crabs and AVREs.
Bomb craters made
direction keeping difficult, and, although coloured lights and tape had been
put out, so inaccurate was the Bofors tracer that the right hand column (with
AVREs from 284 Assault Squadron RE) overshot the salient of the ditch and had
to come in around the corner. The other two columns (with AVREs from 16 Assault
Squadron RE) also veered to the right.
All succeeded in reaching the ditch, although progress was
slow. One AVRE was lost when it toppled into the ditch. The leading battalion
was 5th Seaforth, who set off from a start line about a mile east of Fontaine
la Mallet and made for their objective, a German strongpoint on high ground
north-east of Fontaine. Under heavy enemy shellfire they advanced, crossing the
ditch without the aid of a bridge. However, with the Snakes blown and a bridge
across the ditch by 2.40am, as well as fascines dropped, Lothians’ Crabs were
able to cross and begin flailing. Four out of five Crabs in the right lane were
lost to mines with a similar picture in the centre lane. However, the left lane
was cleared successfully although all five Crabs later fell victims to an
unexpected minefield. The surviving Crabs made two complete gaps through which
the infantry were able to advance, in spite of considerable shellfire. Major
Ronald Watson, who had flailed a 500-yards-long path, found himself under fire
from a position that had not been known about. Realizing that its guns and
machine guns could hold up the infantry advance, he attacked and destroyed the
strongpoint with his 75mm, later moving forward on foot to take the surrender
of some 250 Germans. Watson was awarded the MC. By dawn the Seaforth were on or
close to their objectives and the other battalions of the brigade had equal
success. At the same time, Major J. D. Henderson, commanding B Squadron, took
stock of the state of his squadron.
All my tanks were
casualties – two of them, Mertoun and Monteviot, were presumed ‘write-offs’,
but the other three seemed to be repairable.
Recovery started at once.
The battle continued on the 11th with further support from
heavy bombers as well as rocket-firing Typhoon fighter-bombers. On their front
49th Division wrested the southern plateau from its defenders before taking
strongpoints in the Harfleur area and then pushing through le Havre itself so
that by nightfall the leading troops had reached Fort de Tourneville. C
Squadron 22nd Dragoons had cleared a lane through a mined orchard by
mid-morning and when the infantry attacked again fifteen minutes after noon the
Crabs created two gaps, blowing some fifty mines. When Crocodiles of A Squadron
141st Regiment RAC began flaming the enemy decided that they had taken enough
and surrendered before 2.00pm. Meanwhile the Highlanders cleared Montgeon
forest, captured Octeville and the high ground almost as far as Cap de la Hève,
as well as pushing into the outskirts of le Havre to attack Fort Ste Adresse. A
troop of Crabs from C Squadron Lothians, three AVREs and half of C Squadron
141st Regiment RAC captured the north-east gun position while the other half of
C Squadron 141 RAC, three other AVREs and infantry took the southern gun
position.
At Harfleur, the scene of Henry V’s famous siege-breaking
six centuries earlier, Crabs gapped a minefield for an infantry attack on a
hill position codenamed Oscar. H Hour for the attack was noon and two AVREs and
an armoured bulldozer supported infantry down Route B (Left). Wade charges were
used to destroy three roadblocks while craters were filled in and a road
junction that had been barricaded was opened. With the dozer dealing with a
large double excavation, the AVREs supported tanks as they smashed enemy
positions across the valley, opening the way to Harfleur for the force.
Meanwhile, on Route C, and under heavy shell and mortar fire, AVREs brought
down trees with Petard fire to fill in a ditch before moving into Harfleur.
On the morning of the 12th Fort de Tourneville surrendered
and Fort Ste Adresse followed suit in the afternoon. AVREs had played an
important part in actions during the morning with two moving into town by the
left route and clearing the way for the infantry by filling craters,
demolishing one roadblock and, nearing the docks, using a Petard round to
remove another roadblock. They also took 300 prisoners and their barracks. On
the southern plateau a strong position continued to hold out but surrendered at
noon with another 300 prisoners. An AVRE of 617 Squadron was lost in the
attack, and its crew all perished, to 88 fire before another troop outflanked
the position, leading to its surrender. By the time mopping up was complete some
11,300 Germans were in captivity. However, their demolition work in the harbour
had been so effective that it was 9 October before it could be brought back
into use.
This operation was the
first large-scale example of the Assault Team technique put into practice. In
spite of very bad going, and by virtue of great gallantry on the part of Crab,
Crocodile and AVRE crews alike, it succeeded. The lives of many infantrymen
were saved (a fact much appreciated by the Corps and Divisional Commanders in
letters of appreciation), and this well-planned operation enabled the object to
be achieved in the shortest possible time.
The enemy reactions were interesting: the Crabs came as a
novelty to them, they thought it madness when they heard tanks entering the
minefields and were later dismayed at the results. Crocodiles they condemned as
‘unfair’ and ‘un-British’ – a nice compliment. One officer prisoner reported
that a whole platoon, caught in the open, had been burned to death. Had the
guns been more stoutly manned there is no doubt that Crab, AVRE and Crocodile
casualties would have been much higher.
Two officers of 42nd Assault Regiment – Major John Alexander
MC and Captain Ambrose Warde, were decorated for their part in the operation
with Alexander receiving the DSO and Warde an immediate MC. However,
Alexander’s award was periodic and included his later work during operations at
Overloon–Venray in October.
