Hi all, I am trying to figure out in general terms what 52nd Division was doing in Veritable from about Feb 22 until March 4 or so. I've got the relevant pages of Mountain and Flood but I find them somewhat vague and unhelpful. Did any British troops head south from Afferden after the Germans withdrew? I gather from M&F that the recce regiment "crossed the anti-tank ditch" with a small force early on March 1. And the a/tk gunners gave them some support that day. But I've also got, apparently * 155 Brigade moving east on 27 February * 156 Brigade moving to an area SW of Goch on 26 February - I think to take over positions captured by 51st Division * 157 Brigade moving east of Goch on 2 March - this was the brigade that was at Afferden, as far as I can tell. Did the Germans just abandon the east bank of the Maas at some point, and there was no need for any divisional forces to head south along it? Or was it 1st Commando Brigade that did that...? Mountain and Flood talks about divisional forces meeting the Americans, but not anywhere near the Maas.
Found my answer in the 21 AG report on Veritable: On the RIGHT, 52 (L) Inf Div broke out EAST on 27 Feb from the AFFERDEN area towards SIEBENAEWALD and took over the sector, of 51 (H) Inf Div who were withdrawn to refit. 1 Cdo Bde from Second Brit Army came under their command and operated on the general axis of the road APERDEN - WEIL 8629. Good progress was made and by 3 Mar, this Div was on the general line ST PETRUSHEIM 8736 - HEES, with the Cdos established in LANGSTRAAT 8336, and WELL.
