around Falaise - the Americans swinging north from their eastward drive, the British and Canadians
pushing south out of the Caen bridgehead.
Trapped in what became known as the Falaise Pocket, 10,000 enemy troops died and 50,000
were taken prisoner. The sight - and smell - of the destroyed German columns of men, machines and
horses strung out in smoking devastation along the roads where they had vainly tried to flee from the
Allied onslaught etched itself into the minds of those men of the 92nd who saw it.
After capturing Flers, 3rd Division was ordered to halt for a period of rest and refitting. This started
for the 92nd around La Chapelle Biche, where on August 24 a gymkhana and sports day was held.
Recreation was interspersed with training, including a night bridge-crossing exercise and Piat anti-
tank shooting. At the start of September, 3rd Division began moving north-east to a concentration
area near Les Andelys, south of Rouen, to prepare for its next assignment - the thrust into Holland
and Germany as part of Operation Market Garden.
The 92nd crossed the Seine at 2am on September 3, and deployed around the village of
Vatismesnil near Etrepagny, with 318 basing itself in an old brickworks. The success of the Allied
breakout was causing severe problems as the armies outran their supply lines, so petrol was
temporarily rationed to 18 gallons per battery. For the 92nd, there followed a fortnight of training,
maintenance, PT and route marches. Sightseeing trips to newly-liberated Paris were arranged, but
only one party went before the programme was cancelled. F Troop practised indirect firing at Les
Andelys and A and B troops at Beauvais. On September 8, 319 personnel searched woods at
Provemont for enemy troops. After the bitterly-fought battles of the beachhead, there was a
temporary respite and a chance to reflect. 'The magnificent sight of the chateau at Les Andelys in
moonlight will always remain with me as a contrast to the unpleasantness of the previous weeks,'
said Jack Prior.
'Another enduring memory is of the unlimited masses of mosquitoes, which prevented sleep almost
as effectively as the enemy. Sleep was also difficult in the bocage area, when we had to be alert for
"friendly" tanks turning off the roads through the hedges where we were trying to sleep. The safest
places at that time were close to the field guns, but of course their noise inhibited sleep much of the
time.'
which Richard the Lionheart had been held prisoner, and it was lit up by bright moonlight above us
on the cliffs as we crossed the Seine by pontoon bridge,' he recalled. 'Although I had only ever seen
a picture of it as a schoolboy, I knew instinctively what it was - if not its name - and I am still thrilled by the thought of it.'
WINTER ON THE MAAS
September to December 1944
'It was our sixth war Christmas, but it was the view
of everyone that it was the best of the six, which
says much considering it was our first in the line'
SUNDAY, September 17 saw the start of the ill-fated Market Garden operation. The plan was for
British and American airborne troops to capture the bridges at Eindhoven, Nijmegen and Arnhem in
Holland and hold them until 30 Corps could punch its way across them. Montgomery hoped the
Allies could then pour into Germany's industrial heartland and end the war before Christmas. The
task of 3rd Division was to widen the breach in the German lines opened by 30 Corps.
On September 18, 92nd LAA left Vatismesnil to head west, via Beauvais, Froissy,
Warfusse, Abancourt, Albert, Bapaume, Cambrai, Valenciennes, Mons, Braine le Compte and
Braine L'Alleux before reaching the Petit Broren neighbourhood of Louvain in Belgium. Their route
skirted the battlefields of an earlier generation on the Somme, and of an earlier age at Waterloo. On
the way, food and ammunition were dropped by parachute.
A day later, 3rd Division forced its way across the Meuse-Escaut Canal and 92nd LAA followed
up to protect the canal bridge at Lille St Hubert, deploying along the Heeze-Zomeren road. 'After
five weeks of quiet, we found the return to battle rather a shock. Three of the advance party were
wounded by bomb splinters in the concentration area and the main body arrived to find frantic
digging in progress.'
The regiment then crossed the Dutch frontier near Hamont and defended the vitally
important bridges over the s'Hertogenbosch Canal. 318 and 319 moved to the neighbourhood of
Asten and Zomeren, while 317 went to Vaarsek via Weert with 8 Infantry Brigade. At Weert on
September 26, A Troop of 317 shot down an ME 109 in spectacular fashion.
The troop was just pulling out from its positions protecting 76 Field Regiment when two ME 109s
broke from the clouds and started low strafing attacks. Despite their Bofors being on the move, the
troop opened fire and destroyed one of the raiders. `These were the first rounds fired by the
regiment in over six weeks and success gave a great lift to morale.' The kill earned a special signal
from the divisional artillery commander, Brigadier Gerald Mears, congratulating the men on their
alertness and good discipline. `To have hit such a fleeting target after weeks of inactivity is an
achievement of which all concerned may be proud.'
The following day, the 92nd was established at Helmond, ten miles north of Asten, with 319 HQ in
a slaughterhouse east of the town. On the 28th, Five ME 109s were engaged near Bakel. Guns
also took part in night barrages on the German lines. Four days later, with RHQ at Heuman, five
miles south of Nijmegen, 317 Battery and D Troop of 318 crossed the Maas at Grave and went into
action on the edge of the Reichswald Forest.