| 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: 6th Guards Tank Brigade | ||
| Month and Year: July 1944 | (Erase heading not required). | Commanding Officer: Brigadier G.L. Verney, M.V.O. |
| Place | Date | Hour | Summary | Reference |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 30 | Op “Bluecoat” referred to above took place. This was the first battle that the Bde took part in. It was a great success; after it was over the Bde Comd received many messages of congratulation on the success of the days work. The following is a brief resume of what happened:- H Hour was at 0655 hrs. At this time 4 Tk Gren Gds crossed the start line just south of CAUMONT in support of 2 Gordons and 9 Cameronians (227 Bde). The first objective was a line from the village of SEPT VENTS (6957) to LUTAIN WOOD (7157). This was in our hands by 0830 hrs. Crocodiles (flame throwers) were used in the attack on LUTAIN Wood but their usefulness was not really tested. The village was found to be heavily mined and to contain quite a lot of snipers. The two factors caused a few casualties incl Capt Grey of 4 Tk Gren Gds who was shot by a sniper. 4 C.G. and 3 S.G. then went through in support of 10 H.L.I. and 2 Argylls (46 Bde) to 2nd objectives. This was the line from ST. JEAN DES ESARTIERS (6854) to LES LOGES (7054). At 0855 hrs the Air force put down a heavy concentration on this seond objective. During this second phase there was little enemy opposition, the slow progress being largely due to the very enclosed nature of the country and the high banks and stone walls which had to be negotiated. The Churchill Tk showed itself to be the magnificent performer across really bad country. It is considered that no other type of tk which we possess in the Army would have got through. By 1125 hrs 3 S.G. had passed LA RECUSSONNIÈRE (7155) and were going on well. By 1145 hrs 4 C.G. reported they were on the second objective (vicinity of ST. JEAN DES ESARTIERS) with their infantry 300 yds behind. At this stage 3 S.G. had to pause to allow their infantry to catch up. It was realised that 43 Div on our left had made little progress and not across the line of the stream running E.N.E. from LUTAIN Wood. Thoughout the day they remained in this position which left our left flank very exposed. 3 S.G. suffered casualties as a result of this later. 3 S.G. pushed on without their infantry (who were delayed by the enemy on the left flank) and arrived at their objectives (LES LOGES) at about 1400 hrs after traversing very difficult country. There appeared to be no sign of the enemy in front of them but they were not allowed to push on as their infantry (2 A & S.H.) were so far behind. |
Source: Jeroen Koppes, TracesOfWar.com, 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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