1st KOSB WAR DIARIES

1st KOSB WAR DIARIES - NORTH WEST EUROPE

Monday, March 19, 1945

D +

286

NWE

WD CHECKED ✓

START LOCATION

APPELDORN, Germany

FINISH LOCATION

NDR MORMTER, Germany

WAR DIARY

SUMMARY OF EVENTS AND INFORMATION

The Bn moved to the forward positions in NDR MORMTER.

Bn HQ to 069504, and Coys to 068512, 075514 and 082508 at night.

Owing to future operations it was essential to stop any enemy coming across the river, and standing patrols 200 yards apart lined the bank of the river at night.

Smoke was laid and visibility was nil.

During the night 4 enemy were found lying up in a haystack. They had been there over 24 hours and were getting ready to re-cross the river. Identification was of 3 Coy 7 Para Eng Bn. This was the first identification of 7 Para Div.

ALTERNATIVE SOURCES

Personal accounts, other War Diaries and excerpts from books

On the 19th March our front was somewhat shortened so that we could make absolutely certain that there was no penetration by enemy patrols whatever.

We still held the front with three Companies forward—by day everyone was behind the " bund " except for one Platoon which held a house on the west bank of the Rhine, and by night we had a series of standing patrols along the bank of the river and the whole of three Companies were in positions between the " bund " and the river bank.

The enemy sent fairly frequent patrols across the river but only one small one came into the Battalion area. A Company caught the whole patrol, which consisted of 4 men with demolition equipment. The job of the patrol was to make a nuisance of itself to our transport and road communications—a job it failed completely to carry out.

Borderers Chronicle June 1945