WO 171/617 - 9 Infantry Brigade - December 1944

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
	WAR DIARY or INTELLIGENCE SUMMARY	Unit: HQ 9 Brit Inf Bde
Month and Year: December 1944	(Erase heading not required).	Commanding Officer: Brig. G.D. Browne

Place	Date	Hour	Summary	Reference
	19	2000	To further quicken the tempo of this day of events the coy of 1 KOSB at WANSSUM apprehended two civs who ran into their trip wire at 853282, one of these civs attempted to escape but was soon brought to earth by a doughty Scots sjt. On interrogation at Bde HQ these two men were found to be German agents and admitted to being rowed from WELL to the WANSSUM pier by German tps. They also admitted to having spent three weeks in the German Espionage School at HAAN, near WUPPERTAL, and been detailed to discover British or American disposns in the BLITTERSWIJK area. Both men were Dutchmen and were due to return across the same stretch at 0200 hrs Fri 22 Dec. Light signals and code words were given to these men that they could summon the boat for the return journey. They will both be put to good use.. when we use them. It was here that an amazing co-incidence occurred. The two enemy agents were placed in a room next to a room containing two other suspect civs who had been apprehended in the 2 RUR area of BLITTERSWIJK earlier in the day. They recognised these other two men as fellow students of the Espionage School and informed FS of this fact. So it was that an amazing story, almost fictional, reached confirmation. Five men in all had taken the three weeks course at HAAN, beginning at the close of last month, and these five men had all received assignments to cross the river MAAS and ferret out Brit disposns. Their trg included coy and bn org, recognition of fmn signs and weapons and recognition of ranks, then they were given a goodly quantity of tinned food and with this rolled in their bedding they set off. It is indeed an excellent commendation to the vigilance of the bns that of five enemy agents sent over the river four have been apprehended in the bde sector, and what is more effective before they even had a chance to cause any damage or secure infm. One can be presumed to be still at large somewhere between ROERMOND and VENLO.

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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