7th Armoured Division at the Ems and at the Dortmund-Ems canal

Hi all,

Can anyone tell me where the 7th crossed the Ems river and the Dortmund-Ems Canal?

Am I right in thinking that for the latter, they crossed by the bridge built by 11th Armoured Division at Birgte? That is definitely the impression I get from With the Jocks in which Peter White describes 155th Brigade as being on the far side of the canal.

I'm also actually not clear where 11th Armoured Div went from there exactly. I suppose they withdrew from the bridgehead and headed east so the bridge was not part of their supply line? I only have From the Desert to the Baltic as a reference. And in fact Roberts says that 15th/19th Hussars were sent to occupy Brochterbeck which is also on the far side of the canal. So I'm confused.

Tagging JDKR as possibly the most knowledgeable person here This is all just before Theirs the Strife...

 

On 3rd April the 22nd Armoured Brigade moved into reserve south of Rheine, while 52nd (Lowland) Division moved up. The 131st Brigade was now in the Riesenbeck area, eight miles east of Rheine and the prepared to move through the bridgehead at Birgte, held by 11th Armoured Division. They were then to advance on Ibbenburen, which lay in a valley on the far side of the Teutoburger Wald. The plan was for 2nd Devonshire's to attack and clear the wooded ridge from the left flank opposite the Birgte bridgehead, while 9th DLI and the Inniskilling's pushed through and along the main road to Ibbenburen.
Battles 1945

 

That's good, thanks!

Still not sure where they crossed the Ems.

 

Hmmm. You’re right Chris it’s a few days before the period of my book so I was vague on precise locations. I will have a dig in my refs. On p.43 I mention VIII Corps winning bridgeheads over D-E Canal and the Ems in the Emsdetten area and 7th Armoured subsequently using those crossings when the traffic allowed. Wait out.

 

Much obliged!! Let me check that page.

I know they and 155th Brigade headed south from Rheine to try to find an intact bridge.

 

A Bailey bridge was built over the Ems at Greven.
From there it is 18 km to Birgte, which would be a possibility.
JDKR may be able to clarify this, he certainly has better documentation than I do.

https://www.wn.de/muensterland/kreis-steinfurt/greven/die-toten-der-letzten-stunden-1849482?&npg

 

The History of 591 Antrim Airborne Squadron, Royal Engineers, 6th Airborne Division by Major Jack, 1945

Meanwhile, the advance had been badly held up and since the main route from COESFELD was now open, the remainder of the Brigade moved forward along the axis to GREVEN, the 12th Battalion pushing on on their own through the rougher routes to the north, taking with them the half of 2 Troop under Captain BEAUMONT. Before GREVEN the roads were packed for miles back with a solid mass of transport trying to move in both directions at once. No longer was the Division moving on an individual axis but on the main Corps route. To add to the confusion, a battery of German S.P. guns from some two miles ahead were firing air bursts over the town at unpleasantly frequent intervals. To open routes through the town 249 Coy were strengthening a bridge across to the right of the town, while an Engineer company of Corps Troops built a Bailey Bridge across the River in the centre of the town. This task took some considerable time, since the bridge was unfortunately allowed to dive into the river during launching, and meanwhile tanks, Cars and lorries continued to pour into the packed streets and squares of the town.

2 Troop, who had arrived early in the town, found themselves a billet in a large house beside a factory which was the concentration point of most of the air bursts. The unhealthy situation, however, was more than compensated for by the ample stocks of wine discovered in the cellars. Later, they were joined by the rest of the squadron. That night it was learnt that the Squadron was to build a Bailey Bridge 10 miles further on across the Dortmund-Ems Canal. While the bridging equipment was being marshalled a Recce party went forward to meet the C.R.E. at the H.Q. of 3rd Brigade, who had pushed forward during the evening to the banks of the canal. The main road bridge had been blown and also another bridge half a mile south, serving as subsidiary road. To build at the main road bridge would have involved considerable approach work on the far side, and though the preliminary reconnaissance suggests that the other bridge was poorly served by roads on the other side, it was finally decided that this was the better site.

The History of 591 Antrim Airborne Squadron, Royal Engineers, 6th Airborne Division

 

Right, this is my understanding…

11th Armoured Div (4 KSLI) established a bridgehead over the Ems at Mesum to the south of Rheine on 31 March and by 1830 hours that day a bridge had been built - not sure of the type but clearly Cl 40 as 3 RTR crossed it and with 4 KSLI advanced towards the D-E Canal, which they reached at Riesenbeck. All bridges had been demolished in this area but 4 KSLI established a bridgehead over the canal south of Riesenbeck (precise location not known) during the night 31 Mar/1 Apr and bridging started immediately. Bridge completed 1400 hrs on 1 Apr. Having crossed, the armoured division headed off towards Ibbenbeuren encountering increasing resistance as it did so.

Further south 3 Parachute Brigade achieved a small bridgehead over the D-E Canal 5 miles to the east of Greven and a bridge of unknown type was built here. The division headed off to Osnabruck once across.

7th Armoured, once it had reached Rheine, found all the bridges blown in the Rheine area and so it was decided to pass the division over 11th Armoured’s bridges at Mesum and Reisenbeck.

Hope that helps. I have more info on the detail of manoeuvring during this period but I have restricted myself to, hopefully, answering the questions.

 

Thank you very much!

 

Well, that helps!
I can then contribute the exact locations:

With the armour, infantry and support groups held up on the western side of the canal in the Riesenbeck area it was essential to the plan for the bridges to be repaired. At the Riesenbecker bridge (map ref 9406) a small group of the 4th K.S.L.I. and the 3rd R.T.R. had crossed using a ferry, left intact by the retreating Germans, to form a bridgehead and to send patrols into the forest. They were followed later, upon the Birgte bridge (map ref 9505) being repaired sufficiently for the 3rd Monmouths and the rest of the 3rd R.T.R. to cross on the 31st March1945. This important bridge was to be later known by the German populace as “Tommybridge”.

BBC - WW2 People's War - The Teutoburger Wald Story 9AD and 1945 Part 1

Mesum Bridge

 

Thanks Olli

Ref the ferry, my Second Army record says the following: Sufficient barges were discovered moored to the West bank of the canal to ferry across a troop of 3 RTR to support the infantry [4 KSLI].

Although the record mentions 4 KSLI establishing a bridgehead south of Riesenbeck, this was presumably in the area of Birgte as it would have been needed to provide a measure of security for the engineers involved in bridge building. The bridge I refer to is therefore the Birgte bridge.

 

Oh, I should have looked at - and posted! - this great image created by Andy Ait who has spent a bunch of time retracing the steps of Peter White of 4 KOSB. But I think what he labels Riesenbeck would be more properly labeled Birgte.

 

The bridge at Birgte was at GR 952053. I found this in the WD of HQ RE 11 Armd Div. All we have to do now is to decode that 1945 grid ref!

Best

John

 

The "Coordinates Translator" --> Nord de Guerre Grid --> rV952053* =
*(assume GR means Grid Reference)

 

Vividly illustrated. At that time, there must have been indescribable chaos there:
Years ago, when the parking lot of the OASE company (gray building directly above the bridge) was built, the mortal remains of 7 British soldiers were found there.
It means something, if they were obviously forgotten in such a busy place.

 

Chris - will you be letting Andy Ait know the result of our research so that he can update the map? Where can we see the rest of his maps as I would be interested to see them, particularly in my area of interest.

Great work Olli in decoding the grid ref (GR!).

 

Hi, I already let him know. I'll ask if it's ok for me to post his second map. Although I think he posted both on twitter...

 

Ok well his tweet is here. These were the other two images in that post...

https://twitter.com/AndyAitcheson/status/1588079587786952704



This is the church in Birgte. White describes the CSM having to chase a bomb-happy private through the graveyard (point 1 in the map I posted earlier)

 

As for finding other maps, I'm not sure what to suggest other than to look through these tweets which are what I got by searching for "Peter White" in his twitter history.

https://twitter.com/search?q=@andyAitcheson peter white&src=typed_query&f=top

 

Thanks Chris - I don’t do Twitter so will let it rest.