80 years ago this month, the soldiers of the 5th Battalion Duke of Cornwall’s Light Infantry (5 DCLI) were based in around the border between southeastern Netherlands and Germany. January had seen a temporary lull in fighting for 5 DCLI after many months of fighting through France and Holland in 1944. In the following months, we will follow the progress of 5 DCLI across Europe and into Germany, where they helped bring about the surrender of the German Army and the Fall of the Third Reich in May 1945.
Map showing locations of 5 DCLI in and around the border between the Netherlands and Germany. from late December 1944 to January 1945. On 31 January they moved to Vosselaar, Belgium to the northwest of the main cluster of locations illustrated.
27th December 1944
Elsloo, Holland
11th January 1945
“Dorset Wood” near Rischden, Germany
24th January 1945
Teveren, Germany
26th January 1944
Nirm, Germany
27th January 1945
Kamp, near Nuth
31st January 1945
Vosselaar, Belgium
Table of locations for 5 DCLI from 27 December 1944 to 31 January 1945
The historian must be wary of the curse of hindsight as looking back it is difficult not to view the Allied Victory in 1945 as a forgone conclusion. 5 DCLI’s War Diary is a helpful reminder that at the time nothing was taken for granted. The first three pages detail plans and contingencies to pre-empt surprise attacks such as the one handed to the American Army in the German offensive in the Ardennes in December 1944, known as the Battle of the Bulge. The War Diary also mentions the impact of Operation Bodenplatte, the attempt by the Luftwaffe to destroy Allied aircraft and infrastructure. It is recorded that ‘airfields in Holland and Belgium were attacked by strong forces of fighter-bombers several of which appeared at a low altitude over our area.’i The early days of January 1945 were quiet and consisted of housekeeping, training and inter-Company boxing matches, with a team from ‘C’ Company declared the winners. On 4 January, one can only look back with amusement, as perhaps many of the Battalion did at the time when, ‘Daily gargling parades were ordered by the Regimental Medical Officer.’ii
At 20:00 on 10 January the settled routine seemed likely to change with a Warning Order that the, ‘43rd Wessex Division [of which 5 DCLI were a part] were to relieve 52nd Lowland Division in the front line NW of Geilenkirchen [near the German border].’iii Conditions seem to have been poor on their initial deployment on 11 January as the following day 5 DCLI requested additional ‘Weasels’ to supplement the two in the area. Weasels were tracked vehicles built for muddy and snowy conditions and according to the War Diary ‘the forward Companies depended on Weasels for transport of supplies forward from Rischden.’iv The capability of this American vehicle is shown in the photograph below.
M29 Weasel followed by a DUKW amphibious vehicle navigate down a flooded avenue, near Nijmegen, the Netherlands. National Army Museum Accession Number NAM. 1985-10-134-34. Out of Copyright.
Between 11 and 25 January, the Battalion fought numerous small-scale actions that must have frayed the nerves and caused casualties with two men killed and seven wounded. The diary also details the fighting, noting such things as incoming mortar rounds and the British response. Patrols in January alone cover 54 pages of reports within the Diary, with all of this carried out in an appalling winter weather.
It is also obvious from the diary that 5 DCLI were part of the general plan to push the line forward and at some point, their participation would come to an end. On 23 January at 12:30 the advance party from the Battalion moved back to Teveren, on the German border with Holland, where the Battalion would spend some time preparing for the next phase of operations to clear the ground to the river Roer. On 24 January the remainder of the Battalion occupied Teveren and some were quickly enjoying the luxury of a mobile bath or an Entertainments National Service Association (ENSA) show at Trebeek.
25 January saw a return of some routine with mobile baths and an ENSA show at Trebeek again featuring. The preparations for an attack involving 5 DCLI continued, but the diary does note that this was dependent on the success of other actions by both British and American troops nearby. On 26 January a report stated the enemy had withdrawn: ‘we now have troops North of the Hoven, Krandorf, Nirm area, with the only escape route left to the N.E. back to the River Roer.’v In addition to this news, Randerath was reported to be clear of the enemy and as a result ‘D’ Company set off to occupy the town in ‘Kangaroos’, a Canadian tracked and armoured vehicle, basically a tank with turret removed and converted to carry infantry.
Kangaroos during operations in Italy in 1945. National Army Museum Accession Number NAM. 1999-03-88-123. Out of Copyright.
On 27 January the Battalion moved, ‘to Kamp, near Nuth, Holland as the enemy has withdrawn across the Roer.’vi At 0500 on 30 January an Advance Party travelled to Vosselaar, near Turnhout, Belgium, the first stage in a Divisional move back to the Nijmegen area. The Battalion move started on the night of 30/31 January 1945, ‘and arrived at Vosselaar in pouring rain at 18.00 hours.’vii So ended January, what would February bring?
