11th Armoured Division, VIII Corps, British 2nd Army, Normandy, 31 July 1944. Tactical HQ of 'A' Squadron, 23rd Hussars, south of Hill 226, near Caumont All right chaps, settle down and listen in! ORDERS!
INFORMATION
Enemy Forces: You all know that Jerry gave the Scots Guards a bit of a hammering on Hill 226 yesterday. However, the enemy is now pulling back
south towards Vire, to more defensible positions. In our area, the crossroads at St-Martin-des-Besaces is reported to be defended by a small
rearguard with a few towed and SP anti-tank guns, precise dispositions unknown. The good news is that the really big SP guns the Jocks met yesterday
are believed to have withdrawn!
Friendly Forces: It's Day 2 of Operation Bluecoat and VIII Corps is continuing to attack south, towards the high ground around Mont Pincon, to
prevent Jerry from concentrating against the big American break-out near St Lo. Our Brigade Group is on the right flank of the Corps effort, next
to the Americans.
Attachments & detachments: For this morning's show, we in 'A' Squadron have with us a motor rifle platoon from 3 Monmouths, in half-tracks.
We will also have a section of Honey light tanks from the armoured recce boys, covering our open right flank.
INTENTION
'A' Squadron will seize and clear the village of St-Martin-des-Besaces.
METHOD
The attack will be in two phases: Phase 1, secure the Town Square; Phase 2, secure the Hotel de Ville. Check these locations on your maps, now.
For Phase 1, the Squadron will attack 'two up'. 1 Troop will lead on the left, 2 Troop on the right, with 3 Troop [player] behind, with the motor rifle platoon.
Squadron HQ will be in the middle. Axis of advance will be the road to St Martin, to our right as we move off. About 300 yards short of St Martin, the leading
Troops will halt and take up covering positions, to the left and right. 3 Troop [player] and the motor rifle boys will pass on through, assault St Martin and
'go firm' at the Town Square.
Once the Monmouths and 3 Troop [player] have reached the Square, the rest of the Squadron will move forward to rejoin. On my order, 3 Troop [player] will then exploit to the west,
and clear the Phase 2 objective - the Hotel de Ville. 1 and 2 Troops will support from the flanks.
3 Troop [player], it's vital that for Phase 1, you keep close to the infantry - the motor rifle boys will need the close-in firepower of your guns, especially
after they de-bus to make the final assault on foot. Be ready to move on to Phase 2, once the Square is secure.
The artillery chaps will hit the open ground and hedgerows in front of St Martin with short barrages, timed to fall just ahead of us, which should provide a
certain amount of excitement. Do be careful not to drive into it! St Martin itself will not be shelled if we can help it, as we don't want to make too much of
a mess or more importantly, cause avoidable casualties amongst the civilian population we've come here to liberate.
'H' Hour is in 10 minutes.
ADMIN
No change.
INTERCOMMUNICATIONS
Callsigns for today:
- Squadron HQ is WILLIAM
- our three tank Troops will be WILLIAM 1, WILLIAM 2 and WILLIAM 3
- the motor rifle boys are IGLOO 1
- ...and the recce section is RUPERT 1
Any questions? Right, chaps, that's all, then. Brief your crews quickly and get ready for the 'off'! Good luck and good hunting!
********
The OC's O Group breaks up and the three Troop Leaders quickly make their own plans. I've soon briefed my tank commanders in 3 Troop and I survey the scene ahead from the open hatch of my Sherman. In front are a couple of the Monmouth's half-tracks, with the two Shermans of Squadron HQ just in front. 1 Troop's tanks are in position out on the left, with some of 2 Troop visible on the right. The Honey light tanks of the recce troop are out of sight somewhere further out on that side. Up ahead somewhere, as yet unseen beyond the Norman hedgerows, is St Martin de Besaces, our objective. This is it!
..to be continued!