A Second World War Infantry Battalion Intelligence Officer

To read in Battalion Orders I was now the Battalion's Intelligence Officer came as a complete surprise. I had just returned from a Signal Officers Course at the School of Signals at Catterick and anticipated I would resume command of No. 18 Platoon in 'D' Company. I was very happy there and felt fulfilled as a young officer, having a fine Platoon of just over thirty men with an excellent sergeant, in a superb Rifle Company with good atmosphere of friendly rivalry between the three Platoons. I was also part of a team of four officers that bonded well together and had respect and high regard for our Company Commander who was a professional soldier and an excellent leader. It was great and what I had been trained for.

I realised I was going to miss the close contact - a special relationship - that exists between the officers and men of a rifle company and the only solace the change would bring I would be at the centre of things, playing my part at Battalion Headquarters supporting the C.O. as he commanded the Battalion.

The Intelligence Section was a small unit with just myself, a sergeant, corporal and six men with responsibility to know as much as possible about the arms, equipment, formation and unit identities of the German Army. Initially I had a lot of reading and research to do and also set about establishing a close relationship with the Brigade I.O. and the two other Battalion I.O.s in 155 Infantry Brigade. I read all the available restricted and sometimes secret reports about the enemy made available through general intelligence gathering and from reports on our operations in the Western Desert and Italy.

We trained as a Section in setting up observation posts (O.Ps.) and manning these over a period of time to record incidents and movements, practised map reading which was an essential element of our work as was sketching terrain. We collecting and filed identification data about German Army grenadier units and their support troops along with detailed information and photographs of Germans arms and equipment; spent time studying and familiarised ourselves with the kind of documents that would provide information about enemy deployment and intentions; and rehearsed procedures for dealing with P.o.Ws. But, sadly for me, there was no longer platoon bonfires in the Cairngorms with their banter and rivalry between 16 and 17 Platoons!

As Intelligence Officer I had to be ready to brief those concerned about the enemy and what was known about their objective and any special enemy weaponry and, of course, always be fully knowledgeable about the Battalion's operational plans, whilst my Section would record the progress of any battles and keep a War Diary. An example of the Intelligence Section at work is below: it is a plan of the battle area sketched by Private Robert Marr of the Intelligence Section after the capture of the Hotel Britannia, recording enemy positions and the obstacles we had overcome and this would be sent to Division HQ attached to the War Diary.



The Intelligence Section had to make sure the Battalion had all the maps and aerial photographs needed for every operation. I would try to get a copy of any aerial interpretation maps for use in the Command Post, as it showed the latest aerial reconnaissance intelligence about enemy positions and possible weapon sites on our front. Having been trained to use a stereoscopic viewer at an Aerial Interpretation Course in Cambridge, I always tried to get a set of aerial photographs covering our objective for the Intelligence section office and be prepared to examine them to supplement the information we had already been given.

We would built sand models to assist in the briefing of officers and men about major operations such as that planned for our part in the airborne landing in the Forest of Rambouillet when we were part of General Brereton's Airborne Army. However, for our assault on Walcheren we used aerial photographs, and these proved to be excellent in putting everyone in the picture about our objective and the terrain we would have to deploy. A great development in the latter stages of the Second World War was the availability of low oblique views as they were an excellent way of orientating troops about to attack a position: the equal of a visual reconnaissance right up to the objective.




This view of Flushing clearly demonstrates the immense facility of aerial photography as an aid to briefing officers, non-commissioned officers and men preparing to assault an important enemy position. It graphically shows the location where our Assault Landing Craft had beached [1] and visually relates this to the Battalion's objective of the German Garrison Headquarters of Flushing located in the Hotel Britannia [2] being the centre of a heavily defended stronghold of concrete positions. It pin-points the nest of pillboxes north-east of our objective [5], that have to dealt with before attacking the main position.

The visual scope of the aerial view relates how near to our objective was the gap [3] where the sea water from the Scheldt Estuary came flooding into Flushing, breached by the RAF prior to our landing. The sea water was tidal and could reach waist high and sometimes reaching up to the chest. Although the aerial photograph cannot show the depth of the flooding, information from the Dutch Resistance led to a decision to wear Mae-West lifebelts, despite their disadvantage during the assault. It will be seen from the aerial photograph that our capture of the objective would only be complete when the eight pillboxes on the sea dyke north-west of the Hotel Britannia [6] had been captured and our patrols had reached the sea wall gap [3] and visual contact with the Royal Marine Commandos had been made across the gap.

The aerial pin-points the site of a key pillbox, code-named 'Dover' [4], covering the beach and sea-frontage area of the Hotel Britannia; and the Water-tower, code-named 'Snipers Tower' [7], useful as a point of reference during our night advance but possibly occupied by snipers and to be dealt on our way to the forming-up position where we will launch the attack.

My operational rôle as I.O. was tactical staff officer and would accompany the Commanding Officer (C.O.) when he received orders from the Brigadier, being briefed separately about the enemy by the Brigade I.O. During operations whenever he left Battalion HQ I would be with him and prepared to set up a Tactical Headquarters when ordered to do so. My role required me to be fully informed about the objectives of the Rifle Companies and Support Arms [Carrier Platoon with Bren machine-guns and flame-throwers; Mortar Platoon with 3-inch mortars; Anti-Tank Platoon with six 6-pounder anti-tank guns; and the Pioneer Platoon with their mine-clearing skills]. I had to be au fait with Artillery fire-plans, the extent of co-operation with Armoured Units, and have map references of neighbouring forces on the Battalion's flanks. My map-board would be marked with code-words for objectives and timings.

My map-board was an important 'tool' and often used to 'brief' groups of men whenever I had an opportunity to show them what was going in our immediate sector and also let them know about the other operations being undertaken by the British and American Armies: 'Putting them in the picture' was a edict of Field-Marshal Montgomery. I used to keep on the reverse side of the board a small-scale map of the Far East and keep myself up-dated with the progress of the War in Burma and the American island-by-island advances against the Japanese. The lads were always immensely interested and usually lots of questions and near the end and there was always 'You haven't told us when we are going home, Sir!' and our little briefing session ended laughing with that happy thought that one day it would all be over and we could go home!

As infantry troops we were the first link in the chain of intelligence about the enemy's Order of Battle: it started at Battalion level. The enemy's Order of Battle was an important consideration when Corps and Divisional Commanders prepared their tactical plans. It was a special aspect of our job in the Intelligence Section to keep the Battalion's mind focused on obtaining intelligence about the enemy. The Intelligence file we started in 1943 was worth all the time spent in up-dating it with information from 52 (Lowland) Division Intelligence Section. It proved to be an excellent aide-memoire when we were faced with identifying specialist units and their weapons.

To the credit of the Battalion, the alertness of our forward troops led to an important enemy identification. A 7/9RS platoon occupying a defensive position on the River Maas was patrolling towards the river and became suspicious of two civilians they suspected of having just crossed the river. They were detained and from a preliminary investigation at Battalion HQ appeared to be enemy infiltrators. I told Division Intelligence Officer when we sent them back for expert questioning that they seemed to be more than 'just two civilian refugees'. I was delighted when they were subsequently identified as members of the Brandenburg Sabotage Division, an elite German formation, and the first of their unit to be captured on our Divisional front. It was an important enemy identification and a feather in the cap for our alertness.

[Extracts from War memoirs, pp.32-33]

Joe Brown

 

Thanks for the very interesting post John.

All the best

Andreas

 

good day joe brown.ww2 veteran.yesterday.09:36am.re:a second world war infantry battalion intelligence officer.great post as usual.most interesting following your career,thank you for sharing,regards bernard85.

 

An interesting and informative account.

 

Superb Joe, many thanks for posting that.

 

Hi Joe,
Thanking you for sharing such a fascinating insight!

 

dbf.

Glad to say I inherited a fully-staffed Intelligence Section and my concern when I became I.O. was to catch up with their knowledge and skills. They were obviously selected for this task because of their civilian job skills or educational background. The same criteria used to find a Company Clerk to work in the office of the Company Commander, but looking for the qualities of reliability and quickness of mind and any special skills such as draughtsmanship or fluency in foreign languages.

During my time I only needed to find one replacement and was fortunate to discover a rifleman who had knowledge of the German Language. It was school-level German but was encouraged to read and develop this valuable skill and was a key man when we were faced with PoWs and documents. We were discouraged from interrogating but nevertheless found it useful to ask questions that affected our immediate situation.

A common quality was that the lads all spoke well, indicating an 'educational' background. It was a quality that made you stand out in a rifle company. As a Private soldier I was once summoned to report to the CSM and he told me there was to be a Battalion Concert and I was to be the compere. Seeing the shocked looked on my face, he told me to report to the sergeant who was organising it who would tell me what I had to say, adding 'you speak clearly and we will understand what you say'!

The Int Section lads were bright, had a quick understanding and were self-motivating. The lads were interchangeable regarding observation duties and diary keeping, but there were a couple of lads particularly good at sketching.

The Intelligence Sergeant had been a signwriter and his precision and skills in drawing were evident and influenced the development of sketching terrain. They were inevitable all good map readers, could use a compass, and were good observers. They were neat in whatever they did such as recording and maintaining diaries of incidents and events, producing map traces, and making quick appreciation of significant data. They followed a training programme to develop and use the skills we needed for manning an Observation Post, keeping a diary of incidents and maintain a log showing the progress of the battle, sketching terrain showing enemy positions after the battle for the War Diary, evaluating material taken from PoWs and searching for Documents in captured locations.

A couple days into the job, I was given a copy of the Int Section training programme drawn up the Int. Sgt which I had to sign and submit to the Officer Commanding HQ Company. I quickly scanned it and signed at the bottom and within an hour it was back on my desk with a big red circle round my signature which I had scrawled over the type words 'Intelligent Officer' and the Coy Comdr's comment 'I didn't know we had one!'

They were, of course, trained Riflemen, carried a rifle [like I did (German self-loading rifle taken over from a PoW) as I preferred it to my Smith and Wesson pt.38], and could dig slit-trenches.

Joe Brown.

 

Joe

As a "ranker" during all of my service I was always aware of the great divide between "us" and the officer class, although in my stint with the 4th QOH this division was less evident.

It may have been simply because apart from my role as wireless op I found myself acting as a cook for two tanks and the second tank was commanded by a Lt.Walmsley, a Canadian who completely changed for the good my opinion of the officer class in general

I will have you know that I think that we are fortunate in having you on board and I, for one, enjoy your conrtibutions, offering a view of life as it was seen at a more rarified level.

Best regards

Ron

 

Ron.

Thanks. I was a ranker from May 1939 until the end of 1942 and for about three months after that was a 'hybrid' - an officer cadet - my corporal's rank in abeyance to be quickly restored if I was 'Returned to Unit, unsuitable for Officer Training!'

I never thought I was so-called 'officer material' until one morning reporting as I usually did to the Signals Officer (Captain) who told me he had had a letter from Battalion HQ asking for the names of potential officers to be put forward to an Officers Selection Board adding 'I think you will make a good officer!' I was astounded, given a few hours to think about it and then readily agreed.

That same officer very kindly and thoughtfully arranged that I report to the Battalion's Officers Sergeant to see the layout of the dinner table with its splendid array of glass and cutlery and shown how to cope. My Signals Officer said that when he was first confronted with the 'dinner table' in the Officers Mess, he was at sea . . .

Once selected for Officers Training attended a three weeks gruelling infantry course at Wrotham in Kent and having passed was posted to 163 OCTU at Morecambe and ultimately survived the two-thirds rejection during the course and was Commissioned on the 9th April 1943 as a Second Lieutenant to serve in The Royal Scots where I had been a Corporal. That was unusual; to be Commissioned back into the Regiment where you had served in the ranks, except when Commissioned on the field of battle or as a senior Warrant Officer when appointed Quartermaster. My Father had served in The Royal Scots in 1914-1918 and believe my good fortune was because of his prior service with the Regiment.

Regards,

Joe