HI Everyone.
To break off for a moment from the battle of Goodwood. Let me look forward to the outcome, and what resulted from, and followed this little blood bath. There was one great saving grace about this battle, the Germans were forced to bring their armour around Normandy from the American battle front to the British army sector, because of the danger of our breakout, thus, stripping the American sector of German tanks, leaving it easier for the Yanks to break out.

It meant that the British would be faced with the daunting prospect of taking on the massed Panzers, or what was left of them. Leibstandart Adolf Hitler SS Panzer…. Das Reich SS panzer…. SS Panzer Lehr …. 12 SS Panzer. Hitler Youth…21st SS Panzer…. 9th SS Panzer…..10th SS Panzer……17th SS Panzer….. 116 SS Panzer…. The Vienna SS Panzer….Not to mention the German Para’s. All in all, what faced us was a formidable armoured and Panzer Grenadier force.

All of this we faced, and beat! While over in the West the yanks concentrated on the peninsula. When at last the Americans broke out against weak opposition, their flying columns spread out across undefended France.

Then, in one mighty thrust and in conjunction with the Americans, the British circled to the West, South, and and then turned North, to envelope an entire German army in what was to become known as the "Falaise pocket" (but more of that terrible and awful carnage later in these memoirs).

Back to Goodwood. After the attack had broken down we were withdrawn and returned to our old harbour area the other side of the Orne. I remember very clearly, how quickly the Company left that accursed place, in our half-tracks, carriers and three tonners, we came out at speed! I rode out in the back of three ton lorry. Bumpy! When we got through and later inspected our gear, we found that the full load of anti-tank mines I had been sitting on in our transport, were useless, they had been shot through with shrapnel and bullets and the yellow explosive had trickled out onto the floor.

There is a very important point to be made here. As an Assault company we had all been issued with Commando knives before the invasion, but we had to bear in mind that there was a great danger in being captured with a knife. First the Germans did not like knives and secondly: Hitler had issued an edict that any Commando's captured should be subject to summary execution, Shot out of hand! This edict was still in effect. Digging in the bottom of a fox hole where our lads had been captured would sometimes bring up a Commando knife. We were not Commando's, that did not matter we were carrying Commando knives.

Troarn? Well, we never got there. But talking to others who had fought there, they all say the same thing. Troarn had an ominous and sinister ring to the name and I would not go back there today! The name still makes me feel uncomfortable, even today. Horrible! By the way…The most dangerous thing that I ever did with my Commando knife was to open tins of soup, even then I managed to break the point off!
Sapper

The next episode:-The Battles round Vire. Deep behind the enemy lines. Boots full of blood.