Tracing 13 Medium Regiment RA (3 AGRA) – Normandy to NW Europe: Project & War Diaries

Hi all,

Thought this might be useful for anyone researching Royal Artillery medium units or 3 AGRA operations in NWE or anyone simply interested in following on.

I’ve got hold of the War Diaries for 13 Medium Regiment RA (WO 171/997) 1944/45 and I'm transcribing them entry by entry and also adding a bit of human touch to them, describing what they might have been witnessing.

I originally started digging into them to trace my grandad’s wartime service—he was a gunner with 13 Medium from early '44 until he was wounded in April '45. But once I got my head into the logbooks, I thought I might as well publish the transcriptions online for family, anyone else researching the regiment or looking for military history.

I'll be putting them out chronologically in a free Substack I called In the Gun Pits:

In the Gun Pits | Substack

Each post covers the raw daily diary entries along with unit moves (89 & 90 Batteries / Troops A–D), targets engaged, and ammunition counts.

Here's the intro post featuring info on what a medium regiment is:

https://open.substack.com/pub/bigch...m_campaign=post-expanded-share&utm_medium=web

If anyone here has photos, extra info, or details on 13 Medium or 3 AGRA, I’d love to hear from you. Happy to look up specific dates in the diaries if anyone is searching for something in particular.

I've no military experience however I'll try my best to portray everything as it was.

Cheers,

Jason / eggnchips

 

Hi Jason - what an excellent project and I wish you well with it. In my book I make very brief mention of 3 AGRA and its medium regiments. My focus was restricted in time and space to approx 5-17 April 45 and the North German Plain in the area of the rivers Weser, Aller and Leine as they impacted the advances of British VIII and XII Corps so I can't help much outside these parameters.The AGRA's regiment about which I make most mention is the 72nd. Although I was an infantryman rather than a gunner I might be able to help if you are stuck or at least point you in a direction (hopefully the correct one!). Best wishes.

John

 

Hi John,
Thanks for the kind words and the offer of support. It's indeed Interesting that you wrote a book about the battles during the latter months of the war. Grandad was injured on April 21st 1945, badly enough to hospitalize him for 200 or so days with skin grafts later. He never said exactly what happened although reading his regiment's diaries, I found this incident on the same date with no other recorded injuries from his regiment around the same time:
21 Apr 45 – 1400
89 Battery received orders to move to Elstorf SE of Buxtehude. As the guns were being brought out of action, very accurate enemy shelling set one tractor on fire, damaged another and injured one man.

Another interesting diary find was Rethem 15th April 1945:
15 April 1945 — RHQ and 89 Battery began moving forward; as the column approached Rethem, about 12 enemy aircraft attacked Rethem Bridge, damaging it. They also tried strafing and bombing the convoy. Bofors and Bren/rifle fire kept them up, and the regiment suffered no casualties.

I found this incident being remembered on a local German site as it killed two women:

Rethem - Von Fred Raczkowski. Als der Krieg nach Rethem kam: Über die Ostertage jährten sich die Ereignisse der „Schlacht um Rethem“ zum 75. Mal. Die Corona-Krise verhinderte auch hier aktuelle Gedenkfeiern für die Opfer in der Zeit vom 9. bis 19. April 1945.

Mit der Besetzung Rethems durch britische Truppen am 13. April begann zwar so etwas wie die Stunde Null an der Aller. Aber der Krieg kehrte noch einmal zurück: Am 15. April griffen deutsche Düsenflugzeuge die Stadt an. Die Angriffe galten wohl der von den Engländern gebauten Notbrücke über die Aller, verfehlten aber ihr Ziel. Stattdessen wurde ein in der Stadt stehender Tanklastwagen der Briten getroffen. Er explodierte und setzte mehre Häuser in Brand. Zwei Frauen starben in den Flammen.

Rethem – By Fred Raczkowski. When the war came to Rethem: Over the Easter holidays, the events of the "Battle of Rethem" marked their 75th anniversary. Here too, the coronavirus crisis prevented current memorial services for the victims of the period from April 9 to 19, 1945.

Although the occupation of Rethem by British troops on April 13 marked something like "Zero Hour" (Stunde Null) on the Aller River, the war returned once more: On April 15, German jet aircraft attacked the town. The attacks were presumably targeted at the temporary bridge over the Aller built by the English, but missed their target. Instead, a British tank truck parked in the town was hit. It exploded and set several houses on fire. Two women died in the flames.

I also found some photos of the night on IWM.



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Issue #1: June 1944 — Opening Cover 13 Medium Regiment, Royal Artillery

 

Issue #2: June 1944 — Dodging Flying Bombs & Loading for Normandy

 

Issue 3:
Issue #3: June –1944 Seasickness, Convoys, and Stepping onto Normandy

 

Issue #4: July 1944 — Opening Cover

 

Issue #5: July 1944 – First Shot Fired & The Hell of Carpiquet

 

Issue #6: July 1944 – The Fall of Caen (Operation CHARNWOOD)

 

Issue #7: July 1944 – Operation Jupiter and the battle for Hill 112

 

Issue #8: July 1944 – Harassing Fire & Night Repairs

 

Issue #9: July 1944 – Operation GREENLINE & The Grim Reality of Normandy

 

Issue #10: July 1944 – The High Price of Normandy — Vanished Forward Observation Party and Bravery Under Fire

 

Issue #10b: “Greater Love Hath No Man” — The George Medals of Le Mesnil-Patry

 

Issue #11: July 1944 – GOODWOOD — The Guns Must Fire On

 

Issue #12: July 1944 -The Battle for Maltot & The Shadow of Hill 112

 

Issue #13: July 1944 – The Blood & Mud of Le Mesnil-Patry — Move to Carpiquet

 

Hi Jason
My father was in the 89 battery. I only had details of their itinery so the diary information is very interesting. I have a menu from their 1945 Christmas dinner at Westerede which is signed by his comrades, he was Ronald Wells, his signature on the front of the menu

 

Good effort Jason. Many thumbs up.
I've got a bunch of the gunner diaries from Feb and Mar 45 if you have a gap. When/if I get back around to the suppressive fire work I'll dig out some context - what fire plans they were on, what effect was etc. Here they are supporting Op Widgeon, the first bit of the Rhine crossing.