the German lines was shot down. The pilot was seen baling out and was assumed to have
parachuted into captivity.
Two days later, 92nd LAA was again reorganised, with one troop in each battery being re-
equipped with Mark I towed instead of self-propelled guns. Its strength was 36 guns and about 560
personnel. Towards the end of a snowy, foggy month, more rocket trails were sighted, and indirect
shoots were carried out against German positions of the east bank of the Maas. Early in February,
as a rapid thaw set in, 318 moved to defend the Venraij-Deurne road and on the 8th an ME 262
was engaged.
Next day, 3rd Division was relieved and two days later 92nd LAA moved to rest areas at Koersel,
east of Diest, near Hasselt, Belgium. Here, regimental church services were held, and there was a
visit by the regiment's old CO, Brigadier Loder-Symonds. On February 24, 3rd Division crossed
the Maas to reinforce 30 Corps in Operation Veritable, the clearance of the Rhineland. Its job was
to penetrate the Siegfried Line on the Xanten-Bonnighardt Ridge and clear the way for a breakout
by the Guards Armoured Division. That same day, the 92nd moved from its rest area to Oisterwijk,
near Tilburg, Holland. Two days later, at 2.30am on Tuesday February 27, it crossed the German
frontier at Hekkens and deployed around Goch, setting up headquarters in cellars on the south side
of the town.
Shoots were carried out on enemy-held woods south of Udem and there was a major indirect fire
operation to support 185 Brigade's attack on Kervenheim. In 20 minutes, 318 Battery poured
2,400 rounds on enemy trenches. Later, infantry observers reported `considerable execution.'
By March 3, 185 Brigade had breached the Siegfried Line along the Bonninghardt Ridge and
German resistance was broken. RHQ of the 92nd moved to a farmyard in Kervenheim, while the
troops were temporarily employed in road construction, traffic duties and guarding PoWs. A sweep
of the area for abandoned German equipment recovered 44 rifles, ten panzerfaust anti-tank
weapons, four machine-pistols and more than 1,000 jerricans.
Kappellen road. On the 11th, as 3rd Division closed up towards the Rhine, the 92nd defended its
line of march along the Xanten-Kalkar road, engaging three separate waves of enemy aircraft.
The following day the regiment moved north to Bedburg near Kleve. On the 17th, three troops
engaged attacking FW 190s, ME 109s and an ME 262, shooting one down. Several planes were
hedge-hopping, too low to be fired at.
Between 15th and 22nd, as the weather again turned icy and roads froze, planning and
reconnaissance went ahead for Operation Pepperpot, the 3rd Division bombardment to support
51st Highland Division in Operation Plunder - Montgomery's massive setpiece crossing of the Rhine.
Preliminary operations, dumping ammunition between Wissel and Honnepel, were carried out in
great secrecy - under cover of early morning mists, at dusk, or beneath the swirling 20-mile
smokescreen that blanketed the west bank of the river. `We grew to respect it for its complete
cover, but hate it for its pungency.'
On March 23, 92nd LAA added its weight to the greatest artillery barrage of the war, involving
more than 5,500 guns of all types. 318 deployed its Bofors 1,200 yards from the Rhine, west of
Rees, aiming on the Emmerich and Vrasselt area - also the target for 317. 319 was based in a
disused factory near Wissel.
Between 7pm and 8.55pm that night, the skies erupted in flame as each 92nd battery fired between
4,500 and 6,500 rounds across the river, paving the way for the assault troops. As the Bofors
pounded away remorselessly, several overheated and suffered damage to recoil mechanisms and
barrel wear - parts had to be cannibalised to keep up the rate of fire.
There was a pause on the 24th to allow 21,000 airborne troops to land on the far shore. Then the
regiment redeployed north of Wissel to pour fire on the sector of the Rhine between Praest and
Emmerich. Over the four days from March 23 to 27, the 92nd fired a total of 32,000 rounds. D
Troop of 318 also sent across 46 rounds from a captured German 88mm gun.
On the 28th, with 319 leading, the regiment crossed the Rhine, Germany's last major geographical
barrier, and moved to Neder Mormter before concentrating at Rees next day. Now 3rd Division
launched an all-out drive north-east to capture Bremen, Germany's second port. With air attacks
only sporadic, 12 three-ton lorries were detached from 92nd LAA and used to form a troop-
carrying platoon to assist 185 Brigade's advance. The greater part of the regiment and the towed
guns remained behind at Rees and only RHQ and the three self-propelled gun troops - attached to
the field regiments - accompanied 3rd Division in its pursuit towards the River Weser.
These left Rees on April 1 and advanced north via Werth and Haldern, then just within the Dutch
frontier, passing through Lichtenvoorde and Enschede. Here, delighted crowds lined the road to
cheer the troops on. But when the convoy re-entered Germany near Nordhorn on April 3, there was
no such welcome, only a sullen acceptance of defeat. `The contrast was very great.'
On April 4, troops of 185 Brigade in assault boats crossed the Dortmund-Ems canal under fire and
started moving on Lingen. The 92nd moved up to defend the bridges over the canal and the River
Ems, and over the next two days the gunners were caught up in a ferocious battle with the Luftwaffe. On the 4th, they fought off waves of up to 15 FW 190s and ME 190s which made strafing and
bombing runs as `heavy and accurate' mortar fire stopped deployment of the Bofors on the east
bank of the canal. Next day, moving on to the Sudlohn area, more than a dozen ME 109s and FW
190s made machine-gun and skip-bombing attacks - one ME 109 and one FW 190 being shot
down. Between April 4 and 6, the total kill was five enemy aircraft, plus one probable.