Battle Seven
Normandy June 1944
In his seventh battle, Col Cross DSO had a very small force under his command; only a reinforced company instead of his usual battalion. A company of the Oxford and Buckinghamshire Airborne light infantry, a platoon of tanks, some half tracks, a couple of 25 pdr field guns and some four inch mortars.
The objective was a village surrounded by hedge lined fields and a small wood to the south. The focal point of the village was, naturally, its church.
Cross’ men rushed to seize the centre of the village and in particular the woods just to the south of the church. Right away the British tanks and infantry ran into determined opposition in the woods. Sgt. Lambert’s tank quickly knocked out a German Half-track in a daring move, but the battle in the woods went badly for the British. One airborne section got ambushed and instantly wiped out when the tank they were riding on strayed into a German position. Other British casualties quickly mounted.
Once the German’s had got the better of the initial skirmish in the woods, the British found themselves under increasing pressure. The British troops put up a fierce and stubborn resistance but their casualties were mounting and they were slowly pushed back.
It was the sixth battle for Sgt Hackett DCM. His tank KO’d an armoured car for his eighth kill and then he took a great risk to damage a half track. Finding himself exposed and without support he attempted to retreat, but his tank was wrecked by an anti tank gun as he crossed a field. Sgt Hackett managed to negotiate the safety of his crew with the Germans, and in good faith had his men ‘turn off’ their side arms. But then, in a blatant violation of the Geneva convention, the Germans went back on their word and machine gunned them all to death while they were leaving the field.
The company of Airborne were led by the experienced Captain Spanton MC, who had fought under Col Cross twice before, and both times had won a Military Cross. But this battle was chaotic, poorly organized and there was a lot of bad luck for the Brits. Movement was so restricted that Spanton never even got a chance to get forward with his men, he was pinned and then killed at the edge of the woods by German halftracks and infantry.
The village church was held by the British but it was hotly contested. At first the German attack was stalled as they found themselves pinned by accurate British artillery and sporadic direct fire. But British losses slowly crept up, and gaps in the defense were getting difficult to plug.
Despite the early loss of Captain Spanton, his men defended the church with bravery and stubbornness. Time after time, small depleted sections rallied to move forward and push back the attackers. Corp Smyth destroyed a Panzer IV right next to the church with a satchel charge; and then Lt. Reid used a satchel charge to KO a halftrack that was using a flamethrower against the church.
Col. Cross was in the church grounds and was within 100 yards of German infantry on two occasions, but did not engage them. His jeep was destroyed by mortar fire, and he was forced to retreat on foot from his position.
The situation in the church got more and more desperate and confusing. Men retreated in the wrong direction and right into the enemy on several occasions. By now the German commander was in the church, and its thought his HQ destroyed 3 British sections in the church. The British refused to give ground, and were fighting to the death.
The battle was a long and bitter contest but Col. Cross’ company was effectively wiped out. By the end of the battle He had lost all 8 of his officers, only two infantry sections were still cohesive, and all four tanks were knocked out.
One loss felt keenly was Sgt Bufton MM, who had fought in four battles, won two Military Medals, and scored seven kills. His contribution to this battle was as expected; he rallied his men time and time again, at one point close assaulting a panzer IV and routing it along with its accompanying infantry squad. Its not known how he was killed.
The British had managed to inflict a lot of damage on the Germans, that included 3 panzer IVs and 7 armoured cars or halftracks; but it wasn’t enough, and the Germans gained almost all of their objectives.
One noteworthy survivor was Sgt Greenwood MM of the RTR who commanded a Challenger tank. His 17 pdr gun and MG had been damaged and he withdrew to a nearby field. Despite this, towards the end of battle he charged at a house, but his tank was set on fire by the enemy. He was lucky and managed to escape with some of his crew.
In hindsight this battle was a complete disaster for the British. This could have largely been avoided if Cross had made a strategic withdrawal, once it was clear that he had lost but he still had the Germans pinned. He would have lost the objectives but saved most of his force. As is was he fought on and lost both.
In Col Cross’ defense, he felt that fighting with such a small force, along with the confines of the hedgerows and fields, handicapped him from employing any creative strategy, which is his strength. Instead, the battle was far greater test of tactics, where Cross has more limited ability.
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