4460271 Pte Jack SAXBY, 2/6 South Staffordshire Regiment: KIA 03/08/1944

Discussion in 'User Introductions' started by Ben Trueman, Jul 16, 2022.

  1. DAVID PEACH

    DAVID PEACH Member

    Final post to help and for those who are interested - my research on 2/6th (which ends in July 1944 as the individual I was researching died in Pomegranate) is summarised below:

    2/6th South Stafford’s were part of 177th Infantry Brigade, 59th Division and started their Normandy journey on 18th June, arriving in France on 26th June. After acclimatising and re-organising for a week the division prepared to take part in operation Charnwood on 8th July.

    The 177th Inf brigade including 2/6th South Staffs took over the line from 9th Infantry brigade around Cambes, north of Caen on 5th/6th July. On the 7th they would have witnessed the bombing of Caen and then the following morning at 0420 they would have experienced the power of a Corps artillery bombardment including the 16 inch guns of two Royal Navy Battleships. Temporarily under the command of the 197th Inf Brigade and supported by 1 East Riding Yeomanry of the 27th Armoured Brigade , the 2/6th South Staffs set off at a steady pace behind a creeping barrage towards their objective of Galmanche at H Hour on 8th July (0420). The ground in the area is not bocage, it is open and full of wheat or barley (often referred to as corn) and the enemy were in very well prepared positions with multiple machine guns and registered mortars in a “pre-D-Day vintage” trench system.

    The attack stalled early in the waist high crops, the regimental and divisional war diary state that the battalion started to take significant casualties within 200 yards of the start line and went to ground in the long crops which gave scant cover as they were swept by multiple machine guns and mortar fire. Because of this early delay the 2/6th fell behind the supporting barrage and, apart from one company that reached the outskirts of Galmanche, they were pinned down for the rest of the morning. In the afternoon their numbers were boosted by a company from 5th South Stafford’s and by the end of the afternoon were relieved by the rest of the 5th. The defenders were made up of pzgr regiment 25 of 12th SS Hitlerjugend and some Luftwaffe AA defences and the war diaries state that the enemy resistance was fanatical. The positions and the trench system around Galmanche and La Bijude were not cleared until the following day with the help of a bombardment by AVREs.

    The IWM Film Archive has excellent clips of this Petard Bombardment and of the precarious position that the 177th Infantry brigade and 27th Armoured brigade found themselves in around Galmanche and La Bijude (links below).


    THE 59TH (STAFFORDSHIRE) DIVISION GOES INTO ACTION NORTH OF CAEN ON THE SECOND DAY OF OPERATION "CHARNWOOD" (PART 1) [Allocated Title]

    THE 59TH (STAFFORDSHIRE) DIVISION GOES INTO ACTION NORTH OF CAEN ON THE SECOND DAY OF OPERATION "CHARNWOOD" (PART 2) [Allocated Title]


    The 2/6th remained in contact with the enemy and on the battlefield until 11th July. Over the 3 days from the 8th and two weeks after arriving in Normandy the 2/6th South Staffs had taken 199 other rank and 16 Officer Casualties, about 1/3rd of their Strength. At this stage of the campaign I assume many of the soldiers would have been severely shocked and exhausted. The battalion then moved into rest areas and took on reinforcements and reformed from 12th-14th and then they were ordered to move into the Epsom corridor, to the Fontenay-Le-Pesnel area. Again IWM has some good footage of the division arriving in Fontenay:

    59TH (STAFFORDSHIRE) DIVISION'S OPERATIONS ON THE BRETTEVILLETTE-NOYERS SECTOR OF 30TH CORPS' FRONT (PART 1) [Allocated Title]

    The 2/6th and the 177th Brigade were tasked with a significant role in operation Pomegranate which (I assume for operational security reasons) the brigade was informed was a diversion to take the German focus away from a US breakout. It became clear a week or so later that it was a holding action to pin German forces in order to support operation Goodwood, which explains why the operation was stopped on the evening of 18th July. Pomegranate was a two stage operation to push south west into the German lines from Tessel and the Rauray Spur towards Vendes and Brettevillette (Phase I) and then on to Noyers (Phase II). The country was mixed bocage, orchards with a few open fields, much closer than at Galmanche.

    Phase 1 was successful and Ken Tout gives a great description of his part in the action in Chapter 4 of his book “Tanks Advance” and I think they were supporting 5th South Staffs in their attack from Grainville sur Odon towards Les Forges and Noyers.

    The 2/6th were due to take part in phase 2 in the afternoon of the 16th at 13.30 but things didn't get started until 17.30 due to a minefield around Queudeville immobilising quite a few of the 33 Armoured Brigade tanks (see IWM video above). These were mainly “friendly” mines that hadn’t been mapped by their predecessors from 49th Div. and they had to be cleared by Flail tanks of the Westminster Dragoons. 2/6th South Staffs objectives were to capture the station and orchards to the North and North East of the village of Noyers (now Noyers-Bocage) and to cut the main Caen to Villers Bocage Road (the centreline) and Railway (now the motorway). They were supported by Shermans from 33 Armoured brigade (144 Royal Armoured Corps – whose CO produced a thorough report of the action – WO171/878). The officers of 144 RAC noted that the infantry companies of the 2/6th were seriously understrength at the start of the attack. A Coy supported by A Sq. 144 RAC attacked North of the road from Queudeville to the station and point 126 North of Noyers and C Company with a composite C and B Squadron of 144 RAC south of the road towards the Orchards and hamlet south of the Village after crossing to the south side of the railway.

    The plan was for the two leading tanks of each of the leading troops to advance in the fringe of a creeping barrage that moved forward at 100 yards every 3 minutes. They would be covered by the 2 remaining tanks in each troop and the infantry would follow 300 yards behind the tanks and then close rapidly once the objective was reached as the tanks “shot them onto” the objectives. This worked like clockwork with A company and A squadron and they reached their objectives and according to 144 RAC A company “went in with the Bayonet”, the enemy ran and 89 surrendered with 5 anti-tank guns being destroyed along with 1 Panther. Being so thin on the ground the infantry found it hard to consolidate the objective and had many gaps in their line. One Sherman had a AP strike on its turret and was driven back to the workshops with a dead commander and gunner.

    Unfortunately in C Company’s part of the attack things didn’t go so well, C Squadron 144 RAC was delayed by losing some tanks on the Queudeville minefield and so C company had to lead the attack behind the creeping barrage without tanks. About 400 yards from the hamlet as C company crossed a hedgerow they came under heavy machine gun fire from the buildings and the attack stalled. The tanks of C/B squadron finally caught up with them but as the tanks manoeuvred through the hedgerow for the assault, two were knocked out by an anti-tank gun which was then destroyed by return fire. The CO of C Squadron 144 RAC decided to dismount and recced forward on foot, his tanks following, he also tried to encourage the infantry to follow as they were still hunkered down behind the hedgerow. Sadly, as he led from the front another anti-tank gun fired an AP round which struck the Major and killed him instantly but his own tanks gunner returned fire and destroyed the enemy gun. The infantry then started to advance as the tanks shot them onto their objectives and they captured the hamlet and orchard “by the bayonet” but again, due to the low strength of C company they were unable to consolidate their objective. A stalemate ensued with both A and C Companies remaining on their objectives until 2330 hours, with German infantry counter attacking and infiltrating their positions and numerous reports of Panthers and the every present "Tigers" roaming around in the rear of Noyers. The engagement descended into a "nightmarish, night-time cat and mouse infantry skirmish in a rising fog". The tanks had to withdraw abandoning a firefly that had electrical problems and the fog made it difficult for the tanks to find their leaguer until early in the morning.


    We don’t know where my Mothers uncle Harold (C Company) was killed but we assume it was either at the hedgerow when machine guns opened fire or during this final advance on to the objective, we make this assumption as he was confirmed as killed on 16th July but many of the casualties in 2/6th were reported as missing due to the confused fighting and the ebb and flow of the evening battle and only much later could they be confirmed as killed. So we assume his body remained on the British side of the lines and not on the objective, but it is a possibility that he was wounded, brought back and died of wounds. This will remain unknown.


    The 2/6th resumed the attack in the morning unsuccessfully and had to withdraw with 7th Battalion South Staffords taking over by lunchtime on 17th . It is interesting to note that the CO of 144 RAC said that a friendly fire incident took place in the action when an M10 tank destroyer, clearly lost, appeared from a wood to the north and proceeded to fire on 144 RAC and it was promptly knocked out by several Shermans. During the whole action on 16th and morning of 17th 2/6th South Stafford’s lost 4 ORs killed, 4 officers wounded and 77 ORs wounded and 19 ORs missing. The high number of missing due to the battalion having to withdraw from its objectives at nightfall and the skirmishing and confusion in the fog. On the 18th a full brigade attack supported by Crocodiles, tanks, AVREs, Typhoons and Divisional Artillery failed to take Noyers and the whole operation was then called off, presumably because Goodwood was well underway by then. The village finally fell on 4th August after the enemy withdrew. As a point of interest Victor Grabner who died leading the infamous mechanised attack across Arnhem Bridge in September 1944 won his Knights cross in this action at Noyers as elements of 9th SS joined in to bolster the defence.

    In the 3 weeks since arriving in Normandy the 2/6th South Staffords had taken 329 Casualties, nearly 50% of its strength which reflects the infantry-heavy grind that characterised the British Normandy campaign. The Division and the 177th inf brigade fought south to Thury Harcourt but in the second week of August the Division and the 2/6th South Stafford’s and all the other battalions were broken up due to the acute manpower shortage to bolster other units. The junior rank of the division and its hostilities only formation were used as the reasoning behind its selection for break-up.
     
    Last edited: Jul 24, 2022
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  2. Ben Trueman

    Ben Trueman Member

    David, thank you for this information. A week ago we new very little about Jack, but with the help of you guys we have uncovered more information, which I wouldn't have been able to alone.
    As we know he was killed on the 3 Aug, it would place him around Noyers Bocage. When we go to Normandy, I will try and follow their advance from Normandy.

    Once again, thank you all for your help. It really is appreciated.
     
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  3. DAVID PEACH

    DAVID PEACH Member

    A Pleasure - next time i am at Kew I will have a look at War Diary. I do have some Map photocopies. I have been to Noyers and there isnt a lot there now and the motorway now runs where Caen-Villers Bocage Railway line ran and it slices the village in half. But you can get a good idea of the lie of land - here is a section of 1944 map to help orient yourself when there.
     

    Attached Files:

  4. Ben Trueman

    Ben Trueman Member

    Thank you
     
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  5. DAVID PEACH

    DAVID PEACH Member

    Ben
    As promised I dug out the war diary. No casualties were noted in the diary on 4th August (this is not to say that there weren't any).
    I can confirm that on the 3rd the battalion was in position near Noyers and was patrolling and probing aggressively. The closest casualties to the 3rd noted in the war diary were on the 27th and 28th July (Wounded and Killed) but the diary notes a Nebelwerfer stonk just after midnight 3/4th but no mention of any Casualties. Pages attached and a map charting the movement of the Bn on the 3rd. (Blue positions on 2nd and Red Positions at end of day on 3rd).
    David
     

    Attached Files:

    Last edited: Nov 11, 2022
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