8th Royal Warwicks, Calonne, 21.05.1940 account of action??

Hi All

I have recently visited in August (the first family member ever to do so) the grave of my mothers uncle John Inskeep, who is buried at Calonne.

I wondered is there an account available or does anyone have one, of the action from 21.05.1940 that the 8th Royal Warwicks were involved in at Calonne?

Stephen

 

Owen

Thank you very much, that has been very helpful and thank you to Croonaert who sent you the disk in the first place.

Stephen

 

Owen

I've been looking at a google maps view of the area and I am trying to tie this in with bits of imformation from the diary extracts from yesterday and those that you have e-mailed me, it's answering a few questions both for me and my parents.

Excellent Stuff

Stephen

 

I hope he doesn't mind if I upload this from 8th Warwicks for 21st May 1940

You know I don't mind.... I only ever distribute them to save me from the effort of resizing them in the future!

Dave

 

Vol.5 Page 10:

20th May 1940

The relief of 143rd Brigade was scheduled to take place that night but from early morning there were indications that the enemy was going to attempt to cross the river on the division's front. By midday the villages behind the front were being heavily shelled and under cover of a smoke screen a party of Germans, disguised as civilians, crossed the river by means of the remains of one of the demolished bridges and got into the Calonne area. More enemy infantry had crossed in the Bruyelle area and the 8th Warwick were heavily engaged all day and driven back from the line of the river, reports came through of bridging activities screened by the high ground south of Calonne. Further south a crossing was made between Bruyelle and Hollain where the enemy established a bridgehead in the woods. Another group crossed the river front of 145th Brigade at the junction with 2nd DINA and a counterattack was launched by 4th Ox and Bucks into the area and the enemy driven back over the river by late afternoon. 7th Warwick were relieved after dark by 4th Brigade but 8th Warwicks relief was postponed to allow the situation on the river line to be cleared up.

21st May 1940

2nd Division took over responsibility for the sector from Bruyelle to Calonne and 143rd Brigade withdrew, 8th Warwick who were still holding out in Antoing attempted a counterattack on Calonne over open ground without any support and the attacking force were slaughtered. The battalion was taken under command by 5th Brigade until they could be relieved. The conterattacks south of Bruyelle were better organised and had artillery support, 1st Ox and Bucks from the south and 1st Camerons from the west drove the enemy back over the river and re-established the forward posts on the river line as far as Antoing where what remained of 8th Warwick were still holding out. From prisoners taken during the counterattack the enemy facing the division was identified as 35th Infantry Division. After dark, 5th Glosters and 2nd Warwick were relieved by 8th Worcester and 1st Ox and Bucks but 8th Warwick were still stuck in the Antoing area. At some point during the night the Germans on the west bank alarmed at the casualties they had suffered during teh day withdrew from their bridgehead in the Calonne area back to the east bank.

22nd May 1940

Apart from shelling the morning passed fairly quietly, some attempts were made to infiltrate across the river in 144th Brigade area but these were repulsed without difficulty. During the morning it was found that the enemy had withdrawn and 8th Warwick were finally relieved by troops of 2nd Division, less than 400 men of the battalion could be found after its losses in the two days of fighting. Afternoon brought news of a further withdrawal, this time back to the line of frontier defences, as the French to the south were already holding this line it involved pivoting on the junction with them at Fort Maulde. To allow the artillery to withdraw early it was agreed with the French that they would provide artillery support into the divisional area during the withdrawal which went ahead without any interference from the enemy.

 

I also have the regimental history which has a account of the battle and a map. I'll transcibe this etc if anyone is interested.

 

"....less than 400 men of the battalion could be found after its losses in the two days of fighting."

Hi Drew

You mention only 400 men from the 8th Warwickshires survived this engagement. Do you know out of how many?

Phil

 

"....less than 400 men of the battalion could be found after its losses in the two days of fighting."

Hi Drew

You mention only 400 men from the 8th Warwickshires survived this engagement. Do you know out of how many?

Phil

I'll check the battalions war diary and see if there are any figures in the field returns. Most infantry battalions that went to France in 1940 had around 800 men, all ranks give or take.

 

20th May 1940

From Page 32...

Things went harder with the 8th Battalion on May 20. All three forward companies were mortared, shelled, sniped and machine-gunned, with special attention to C Company on the right, where 2/Lieutenant D F Hanmer and PSM Knight were wounded early in the day. Battalion HQ at Warnaffles Farm was like wise shelled. So was B Echelon, back at Le Preau. C Company brought down artillery fire on the buildings opposite its front and managed to silence the enemy there, as well as to shoot a number of Germans driven out of the buildings by shelling. B Company on the left saw Germans at some distance bringing forward what looked like pontoon equipment, though no effort was made to bridge the river with it during daylight. At nightfall, however, enemy parties launched an attack against B Company with two assualt boats, making use also of two small, partly demolished bridges. Both boats were destroyed, "one of them by a lucky grenade thrown when it was under cover of the bank on our side", and the attack was beaten off. But the battalion was loosing a good many men from the unremitting enemy fire. Captain N S Robinson, the MO, was killed by a shell while loading up an ambulance outside the battalion aid post. And by a horrible mischance Captain Glover of B Company was shot dead by one of his own Corporals, who had gone insane. It was doubly hard to lose a fine officer in such a manner.

The German fire abated little by little. Shortly after midnight, on the B Company front:

the enemy was observed trying to swing a pontoon into a bridge gap. This bridge was blown right against the enemy side, and was close to some solid buildings with a wide gate just opposite, giving an easy approach to within a few yards of the gap. Fire was opened and the pontoon was left suspended in the air (from a crane) where, by keeping it under fire, it remained all night.

The day ended, then, with the battalion intact, but with two disquieting features. The first was that, at midnight, a C Company patrol covering the open flank was fired on from a building on the home bank: the Germans had secured a lodgment. The second was that there was no sign of the relieving battalion; and that there was no news either of its whereabouts or of future plans for the 8th Battalion. One fact was clear: the battalion would have to spend another day in battle, since no relief would be possible during daylight. In the meantime, its B Echelon had moved that evening through La Glanerie south-west to the Bois de Flines, where B Echelon of the 1/7th Battalion also spent the night. Here, in the Bois, as Major Kendall wrote,

was a loverly chateau, deserted by its occupants, and broken open and pillaged by the refugees who had passed that way. Across the threshhold lay a huge St. Bernard, shot through the head.... Inside, drawers and cupboards were turned out in indescribable confusion, furniture and statuary was smashed and overturned, the cellar had been ransacked and wine and winebottles stained the floor.... The QM (Major C Harding, OBE, MC, TD) managed to rescue about two dozen bottle of very good wine which he doled out at intervals late....in various acceptable circumstances.

 

21st May 1940

From page 34...

May 21 was a grim day for both the 8th Battalion and the 2nd. During the night our artillery had fired repeatedly at suspected enemy concentrations opposite the 2nd Battalion. Before dawn, D Company was reporting heavy enemy pressure, from Germans now in some numbers on the home bank of the river. For a while 2/ Lieutenant L M A Goodlife described the progress of the battle over the telephone. Then the line went dead. It was afterwards learned that his platoon had been overrun and he himself captured, after being badly wounded. D Company commander, Major Philip Morley, was killed whilst stalking a machine-gun post. He had got to within about fifteen yards of the post, and was on the point of tossing a grenade, when he was discovered and shot at. The grenade exploded in his hand and he was killed instantly. 2/ Lieutenant K Hope-Jones, the only other officer left in D Company, was also killed, as was PSM A Perkins. But the remnants of D Company remained steady, although for a while a second heavy attack seemed to have swamped them. A scratch force of HQ personnal under Major J E W Rance, MC took up a covering position behind D Company.

Though not under such direct pressure, B Company had likewise had some critical moments. During the night of May 20/21 enemy shelling was reletlessly heavy and accurate. The commander and sergeant of No. 10 Platoon were badly wounded; indeed so many men became casualties that the platoon became demoralized. It was courageously rallied by 2/ Lieutenant B L Gunnell, then acting as company 2nd-in-command, who went forward and reorganised the platoon, successfully restoring its confidence and morale. For this action, and for his subsequent resistance at Wormhoudt, where he was actually commanding No.10 Platoon, 2/ Lieutenant Gunnell won the MC.

The whole situation at Hollain was stabilized in the early afternoon when a counter-attack was put in by the 4th Oxfordshire & Buckinghamshire (of 145 Brigade), and that evening the same battalion relieved the 2nd Battalion. By then the latter had had further casualties , 2/ Lieutenant M A Gammidge of C Comapny had died of wounds after being gallantly brought in by PSM Bennett of A Company under fire. In HQ Company, the anti-tank platoon commander (2/ Lieutenant E Schooloing) and the carrier platoon commander (2/ Lieutenant D Lee) were wounded; several carriers had been knocked out by shelling. Indeed, the Battalion HQ had had a most difficult time. The house it occupied was shelled with uncanny accuracy (perhaps because of the observation plane overhead, perhaps because of fifth column information), until the HQ was moved to another building. Moreover, Lieutenant Colonel Dunn finally collapsed, after a visit to D Company. He had to be evacuated, in acute pain (it was learned later that he had a burst gastric ulcer); and command of the 2nd Battalion therefore passed to Major Hicks. It was a haggard and deplted battalion that marched back to Wez-Velvain, a little before dawn on May 22. Yet it had taken its toll of the enemy, and deserved its rest that day.

Meanwhile the 8th Battalion were still at Calonne when it grew light on May 22. The previous twenty-four hours had been a severe ordeal, while the new day tested the survivors still further. During the night of May 20/21 the right hand section of C Company heard a good deal of enemy movement, and also some splashing in the water. In the morning it became evident that some Germans were installed on the Company's right. However, it was on the 8th Battalions left that the first intense pressure showed itself:

Towards daybreak the enemy put up a red verey light opposite the cement works, and on this signal all his fire ceased for a quarter of an hour. At the end of this time an orange light went up from further back, behind the houses. These lights appear to have been the signals for clearance of an area preparatory to bombardment and the indication that the area was clear, for, immediately following the orange light, B Company and the cement works were heavily mortared and shelled.

Enemy infanty, on the heels of this bombardment, tried to get across the river. But some B Company posts were still holding on, among the shattered buildings, and they held back the enemy by small-arms fire. Some Germans did manage to cross on the Battalion's left, only to be wiped out by the Royal Scots.

When these attempts came to nothing, the Germans resorted once more to pounding the battalion area with high-explosive. The cement, and most of the other buildings along the river, received hit after hit, until they started to collapse and became untenable. The Germans also tried, though without much success, to create a smoke screen along the river front. However, the forward companies were gradually forced back from the Escaut-which was now also being shelled by British artillery, apparently under the impression that the Germans were complete masters of the situation. Many casualties were incurred by the battalion; and in the confusion some Germans seem to have crossed the river at about the junction between B and A Companies. All lines were smashed, and no contact could be made with Battalion HQ. The forward companies had to act on their own initiative. In C Company, for example, Captain Lewthwaite was wounded by a shellburst, at about noon, while returning from an OP. His companion, 2/ Lieutenant H Blower, the only other officer in C Company, was killed outright. Captain Lewthwaite dressed his own wounds as far as possible. Finding that his Company HQ was completely wrecked, with no one left alive there, he went to A Company (Major Hopkins), where he learned that considerable numbers of Germans had established themselves behind the position, presumably by working round from the open flank on the right. Since A Company, like his own, had been seriously reduced in numbers, and since it was still responsible for the protection of the damaged main-road bridge, Captain Lewthwaite agreed to bring what remained of his own men into closer contact with A Company, so as to form an all-round defensive position.

Meanwhile, at Battalion HQ that morning, information was being pieced together of what was happening along the river. A patrol from the reserve company (D) had discovered the Germans penetration on the right, and so this company was placed in a covering position. The CO, Lieutenant Colonel Baker, made a reconnaissance in his car. The vehicle was badly shot up, but he was able to get back to Warnaffles Farm, at about 10am. His orders were to hold firm. (A message had come in from Lord Gort, to all units: "News from the south reasurring. We stand and Fight. Tell your men.") His battalion had not been relieved; and the Germans were threatening to envelop his forward companies. With great gallantry, he decided to lead a small counter-attack. Instead of using D Company (which he presumably felt ought to remain as a sort of second line), he assembled about 50 men from HQ, specialist personnel, together with the adjutant (2/ Lieutenant S L Hewitt), the signal officer (2/ Lieutenant L P Strawson), Lieutenant G F Gordon-Potts and 2/ Lieutenant G Batten (Intelligence officer).

With a carrier on either flank, and with bayonets fixed, this little force set off for the ridge that lay between Calonne and Warnaffles Farm, in brilliant sunlight. Even before they reached the crest they came under accurate artillery fire, and a good many were hit. At the crest (in the words of Private C Smirthwaite, of the intelligence section),

we were confronted with light automatic fire. This grew more intense every second, and the CO gave orders to get down and choose targets.... The enemy were well concealed, their fire coming from the direction of houses in front. Our party opened fire, the main target being windows of a farmhouse. I heard our two Bren guns singing away their short life.

The CO called to his men to advance on the farmhouse in short bounds. But shelling and machine-gun fire pinned the party down. The survivors fired until their ammunition ran out, raked at short range by the enemy. The two carriers managed to get back to Warnaffles Farm, though with three of their crew wounded. Private Smithwaite, miraculously untouched, lay out all that day, surrounded by the huddled bodies of his comrades. From this time he saw the Germans make cautious movements, but they attempted no general advance. When it grew dark, and the moon came up, he contrived to crawl back over the crest, pausing long enough to see that the CO and other nearby officers were dead, and regained the British lines. The only other survivor seems to have been Sergeant Handley of the intelligence section, who though badly wounded likewise crawled back.

By the evening of May 21 the 8th Battalion was thus in very serious shape. The CO and many HQ personnel were missing (It was some time before their death was finally confirmed). Moreover-to extend the tale of disaster-Major R M Lowe (HQ Company), who took over the Battalion, was killed that evening by a mortar bomb that landed in front of him while he stood at the door of Warnaffles Farm. Captain P B I O Burge of D Company assumed temporary command; his company had been dispersed on various defensive errands, and was now far below strength. Together with these, and the remnants of Battalion HQ, a certain number of men from B Company had found their way back from Calonne, along the track to Warnaffles. Though their story is hard to piece together accurately, it appears that other groups from B Company remained in Calonne until late May 21. Captain H Sparrow, who had taken command of B Company on Captain Glover's death, was mortally wounded there. Sergeant W H Bate, according to his own account, gathered a party of 18 men from B Company and was working his way up the main street with them when,

Just as it was getting dusk, 12 German motor-cyclists appeared, coming down the street from the north or west. At a range of about 75 yards Private J Gillespie (a former player with Luton Town football club) opened fire from the hip with a Bren gun. He knocked out the leading three cyclists and the remainder, following closely, ran into them.

The whole German party was wiped out and Sergeant Bate's men all got back to Battalion HQ (Though Private Gillespie was killed in action a few days later).

As for the survivors of A and C Companies in Calonne, these (under Major Hopkins and Captain Lewthwaite) attempted during the afternoon to make their way south-west to Merlin, since Calonne (or the ruins of it) was now hemmed in by large numbers of the enemy. Captain Lewthwaite and some men were able to reach the Bruyelle-Tournai road, despite shelling and mortaring. Here they waited, lining a ditch so as to cover their front. They were joined by a few others led by Captain K Smith of A Company. Major Hopkins, however, 2/ Lieutenant W A King and some others of A Company were trapped by machine-gun fire and unable to extricate themselves. They became prisoners; and soon afterwards 2/ Lieutenant King was mortally wounded by a random bullet. A little before dawn on May 22 Captain Lewthwaite's group finally withdrew to Merlin, and that morning rejoined the rear elements of the 8th Battalion in the Bois de Flines. Captain Lewthwaite himself, twenty four hours before, at last collapsed. 2/ Lieutenant E J Pratt showed great courage and resource in bringing back another, seperate party of 20 men. With him at the outset had been 2/ Lieutenant P M Docker, the youngest officer in the battalion (the son of Colonel P Docker, TD, and the brother of Captain L R Docker). 2/ Lieutenant Docker was killed on the way back.

Major Kendall naturally learned little of all this (though there had been some contact during the day between Battalion HQ and B Echelon) until the evening of 21 May, when Lieutenant J N Gibbs was sent back to the Bois de Flines to inform him that the CO was missing. Nor had there been any significant information from 143 Brigade HQ, though the 1/7th Battalion had been relieved the previous night, and though the 1st Oxfordshire & Buckinghamshire had throughout remianed in reserve. Clearly, Major Kendall (who now assumed command of 8th Battalion) had to arrange for its relief. Many hours of frustration and exasperation followed before the Battalion was at last able (on the evening of May 22) to hand over its narrow front at Warnaffles to the Royal Scots.

 

"....less than 400 men of the battalion could be found after its losses in the two days of fighting."

Hi Drew

You mention only 400 men from the 8th Warwickshires survived this engagement. Do you know out of how many?

Phil

Below is a Other Ranks Field Return for 29th January 1940. As well as it identifying how many OR's they had on the week ending date you can see they are broken down into ranks too. On top of the figures below you can add around 30 officers.

 

Looking for any information on 8th Royal Warwickshire Regiment 12.05.1940
lost 2 Uncles in Calonne

 

Hi Brave Soldier,

Are you sure of the date?? - according to The History Of The RWR 1939 - 1955 by Marcus Cunliffe they didn't arrive at Calonne until around the 19th May, this was when the faced the Germans across the River/Canal Escaut.

If you want more details then a copy of the above book would be a good place to start and also Drew5233 I'm sure will be along, as he is the BEF 1940's specialist and will no doubt have the relevant war diary pages for you.

TD

 

Andy,

You don't still have this somewhere do you. Or did this go into the black hole last year? One of my Chindit1 casualties was an 8th RWK, so this is my interest.

Cheers

Steve

 

Steve was he a Rupert or a OR? I'll have to check the diary (I still have all my BEF ones) when I get back from Kew.

Post up their names. I can look them up on CWGC and hopefully it will list their units.

Cheers
Andy

 

Hi Andy,

He died fighting as a 13th King in Burma, but was said to have come from the 8th Royal Warwicks, B Company. This is why the thread caught my eye.

His name was Pte. George Albert Gale.

Cheers for this.

Steve

 

Can't see him mentioned in the WD.

 

Thanks for getting back Andy, and for taking the trouble to have a look for me. Much appreciated. The information you have given above has been warmly welcomed by Pte. Gale's family.

Steve