(no subject)

Arthur Heartfield (aheart@MNSI.NET)
Fri, 20 Feb 1998 10:45:19 -0500 

    From: Arthur Heartfield -MEMORIES #3

    So here we are, moving up into Belgium on 10 May 40. The journey was
uneventful until we reached Alost: here the road through the town had
been blocked by German bombers, and we had to detour. We camped that
night in fields and next day proceeded to Meerbeek, just West of
Louvain. Here the German advance had reached the East bank of the river:
the bridge had been blown, and the British and Belgians were still
holding the town. The Germans had to be stopped from crossing the river
and continuing their advance to Brussels, so our machine-gun companies
and those of other battalions were deployed along the ridge in front of
Meerbeck overlooking Louvain and with the Royal Artillery batteries of
25pdr. field guns deployed behind Meerbeck proceeded to lay down
covering fire in support of the infantry fighting in Louvain.
    The Medical Officer established his Regimental Aid Post in a
farmhouse on a hill overlooking Meerbeek, and we set up his first aid
equipment and supplies and our own kit. The Belgian farmer and his
family obviously had no confidence at all in our ability to stop the
Germans, and had fled! They probably had no desire to live under German
occupation again, after their experience of it in 1914-18. So we had the
job of doing the best we could to alleviate the suffering of the
abandoned farm stock. We had to shoot the dog, which was going mad on
its chain in the yard. Some of our fellows were able to milk the cows
and feed the chickens; there were no horses that I remember, so they
were undoubtedly pulling the family's carts on their trek to the coast,
where they probably hoped to find a ship to England, as some had managed
to do in 1914.
    Our three days on that farm were not peaceful, as in the next field
was a troop of three 25pdr. guns firing at regular intervals, but we
were not shelled or bombed as we expected to be. Instead, on the third
day we were told to pack up and be ready to move, as the Germans had
broken the French line on our right and the Belgian Army was collapsing
on our left, leaving us holding a salient. The infantry had already
started their withdrawal from Louvain itself, leaving our guns to deter
the German advance as long as possible. On the afternoon of the third
day I was detailed to take a couple of trucks and a few men and some
barbed wire to our forward MG companies for their protection, but in the
confusion and darkness was unable to find them, so returned to find our
HQ was already starting the withdrawal, which would end at Dunkirk - but
we didn't know that then, although the High Command did! Forward tanks
of the German spearhead were already travelling across France to cut us
off. As we were retreating, I was again detailed to go with my truck and
an officer to pick up some reinforcements which had supposedly arrived
at Lille. We drove as fast as possible to Lille, knowing we could
encounter Germans anywhere along the way, and all we had was my rifle
and the officer's sidearm!
    When we got to Lille it was completely deserted, and what an eerie
experience that was, to drive down the streets of a large city and not
see a living soul except packs of dogs. For form's sake we went to the
railway station where the men were supposed to be waiting for us; again,
not a soul! Not even a train! So we hightailed it back to our unit,
which we found at a place called Wavre. This was under heavy mortar fire
and there were snipers on roofs and in church steeples, so it wasn't
safe to be on the streets.  The RAP was in a garage and was very busy
treating casualties. One of the CSMs came by and said he had finally
found a use for our Boyes "anti-tank" rifles - they could penetrate the
slate-roofed steeples in which the snipers were hiding! Evidently the
ordinary 303 rounds just bounced off these slates because of the angle,
but the heavier Boyes .5 rounds did the job.
    From here on the memories are very confused; generally speaking we
holed up as best we could by day and moved as ordered by night, so sleep
was very hard to come by. We found food wherever we could - in deserted
houses and farms, mostly. Sometimes the rations caught up with us, but
not often. I remember going into houses on several occasions and finding
the table set for the family's meal, so hurried had their departure
been. The refugees were choking the roads, and in several places they
had been strafed by German planes; a pitiable sight. Once or twice we
had to take to the ditches ourselves, and we lost one or trucks, but
amazingly no men as far as I know.
    Further memories of the retreat in my next.