Armoured Guardsman: A War Diary June 1944-April 1945 by Robert Boscawen

Author:Robert Boscawen
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: HISTORY / Military / World War II
ISBN: 9781844687862
Publisher: Pen and Sword
Published: 2008-12-22T16:00:00+00:00

Oliver and I had found a quiet room in the stadium conciergerie to sleep in, though it was rather uncomfortable on a concrete floor. Unfortunately my servant, Brown, had broken down on the way to Arras and was missing with all my kit.

Wednesday, 6 September. Today the armour moved on towards the Albert Canal. All flags and chalk marks had been removed and the serious business was to start again. I stood on the square in front of the stadium and watched them drive off, a sad moment to see my troop driving off towards Germany with someone else in command.

Later Comment

For two days the spearhead of 21st Army Group, 30 Corps, had halted in and around Brussels, Louvain and Antwerp. It needed a pause for supplies of petrol to catch up so as to continue our advance towards Germany before the enemy recovered. Such is all we knew, but of the crucial significance of this delay none of us could be aware. A great argument had been going on at the highest level during this period over the strategy to finish off the war this year – it has taken many years since for this to come filtering through to those of the public who still take an interest. One can only wish and wonder now what a different world it could have been, and for so many who might have survived, had the armoured divisions of Monty’s 2nd Army and of Patton’s 3rd Army not been halted, but allowed to race straight on side by side, morale and experience at their peak supplied from the air at the expense of all others, regardless of risk or the hurt feelings of allies and the public at home and in the U.S., to seize crossings over the Rhine and plunge direct into the vitals of the Ruhr before the resources of the enemy solidified once again. Hours counted. General “Jorrocks” wrote in his Corps Commander, “I have since felt that at this point those responsible for the higher direction of the war in the west had faltered. From now on things began to go wrong.” A sad repetition.

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