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August
1944, Operation Neptune: the British forces cross the Seine -
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25August 25 : Crossing the Seine Several attacks were launched from 19h00 onward under the cover of artificial fog with high losses and no results: on the right of the road bridge, the assailants, either in their storm boats or crossing on the ruined bridge, were virtually wiped out. Testimony of Peter Mann, 1st
Btn. Worcestershire Regiment:
A platoon from the 4th Wiltshire getting their craft ready (August 25, 17h30) [photo 7]. The men, whom we can see laughing, then embarking at 19h00 [photo 8] and leaving the bank [photo 9], are about to die : only one of them will survive. In the background of photo 9 one can hardly make out the other bank hidden by artificial fog suposed to conceal the men from the enemy.
Another attack later under the cover of darkness was more successful and a company managed to cross and establish a first bridgehead in the eastern part of Vernonnet. Meanwhile, further downstream (in the west) other troops, after being marooned for several hours in an island had finally reached the first houses of Vernonnet. Des Dillon of the 553 Field Company, Royal Engineers remembers: "I was on the first British crossing of the Seine. We parked our trucks about two miles from the river, then we walked the rest of the way. Then we unloaded storm boats, that is a boat for the assault crossing. They hold about twelve men, but we put more than that on. I might add that this was done by night and the infantry gave us covering fire while we unloaded, and believe me, we worked damned fast and hard. We got the boats lined up on the home side with the engines running, then it was one mad rush to the other side." Knowing by then how tough the fighting was, Peter Mann, whose battalion was to cross the following morning remembers spending a terrible night : "I spent the night in the porch of Vernon church by the river, I could not sleep and my thoughts raced in my head: Would we get across? Would I survive? How would I cope? I had some comfort in that I was not alone in these thoughts."
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August 26 : Heavy fighting As dawn broke on 26th August,
a patrol crept once more along the broken bridge. This time there was
silence The pillboxes and other machine gun positions were empty. To
their amazement they found that the Germans had vanished. Douglas Burdon, Forward Observation Signaller, D Troop 179 Field Regiment Royal Artillery remembers : "We started off, across the bridge, one to each side to present two targets instead of one. We did not dash to get to the other side as quickly as possible, because the sound of our boots on the metalled roadway would have carried far on the still morning air and alerted the enemy to our presence. Instead, we walked at a normal walking pace, making as little noise as possible."
A few minutes later, Douglas Burdon and the rest of the platoon were in Vernonnet. "As we stood in front
of the first few houses in Vernonnet, trying to look in all directions
at once, we could not help but feel pleased and honoured that we should
have been chosen to be the first to cross the bridge and open up the
bridgehead. But it was not a moment for self-congratulation. The front
door of one of the houses was being slowly opened. Positioning ourselves
quickly at either side of it we waited, our weapons aimed towards it.
Slowly, almost hesitantly, it was opened, as if the person opening it
was afraid of what, or who, might be outside. Then it stood wide open.
Framed against the darkness behind him stood a man with a grey-white
beard that reached well down his chest. He must have been about ninety.
He beckoned to us and we approached slowly, not knowing if there might
be anyone else there using him as a shield. The old man spoke slowly
and quietly, as though afraid of being overheard. Captain Woodward replied.
As I do not understand French But if the crossing of the
river had been unexpectedly simple and less deadly, the enlargement
of the bridgehead on 27th August proved costly. However the first light vehicles were able to cross at 17h30
The German plan was now clear: they had skilfully been holding the river line thinly, the bulk of the troops were well to the rear ready for attack under the shelter of the forest and with the support of armoured vehicles. To the east and the west, things went fairly well: to the right (east side) the centre of the Forêt de Vernon had been reached and troops were approaching Pressagny l'Orgueilleux (in the west). But in the centre, the Gisors road ran in a valley with steep wooded sides and the Germans had placed their infantry on the heights of either side. There was a long battle with heavy casualties and it was a weary and weakened unit which consolidated for the night without having been able to breakthrough the enemy lines. Douglas Burdon :"We made steady progress along the road [up the valley to Gisors] in spite of coming under heavy machine gun fire and had reached a point where the ground fell sharply away to the left (Note: this is where the road to Panilleuse branches off) when the firing suddenly became extremely vicious and we had to flatten ourselves against the ground immediately.[…] The heavy firing continued, and from somewhere further along the road came the ominous cry of "Stretcher bearers!" as men were hit. I lay listening to the bullets whizzing past, and saw the grass at the other side of the road waving slightly as some of them skimmed the ground. As the firing stopped, then started again, I found myself timing the bursts instinctively. They followed a regular pattern; a five-second burst, then a ten-second pause. During each pause we would crawl a few yards further forward, then flatten ourselves against the ground when the Spandaus [machine guns] opened up again." << Page 1 >> Page 3 (suite)  |
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