14th August 1944 – Operation Tractable begins to close the pincers around the German 7th Army, Fifth Panzer Army and Panzer Group Eberbach. The 1st Canadian Army, hampered by 'friendly fire' bombing and the Germans' possession of their plans for the advance, moves forward east of the Caen to Falaise Road (avoiding the strongly held German position at Quesnay, on the road north of Falaise). The US 3rd Army swings north from Le Mans and Alençon to Argentan, where it is held awaiting the closure of the 'short hook' by the Canadians. XXX Corps (including 50th Northumbrian Division and 61st Recce) with Second British Army advance towards Condé-sur-Noreau, north of Flers, pushing at the base of the ‘Falaise pocket’. By 15th August the ‘pocket’ was well formed although German forces could still escape through a 10 mile ‘neck’ around Trun.
(See 'Progress of the Front' for the Allies’ front line in Normandy and ‘Overlord’ by Max Hastings, Macmillan 2016 edition.)
Having been 'Still at base in reserve' on the 13th August Eric Brewer “Moved to forward position on encirclement” on the 14th (from Eric Brewer’s Diary by kind permission of Derek Brewer and his family).
After the account of Le Plessis-Grimault Colonel Brownrigg continues:
“Just further on Lieutenant Williams (later killed) overtook some armoured cars of a rival regiment halted short of some suspicious-looking grass turves in the middle of the road. ‘We can’t get on,’ they said, ‘Mines.’ Without a word Williams threw the turves in the ditch and drove on.” (From ‘A Reconnaissance Regiment in the B.L.A.’ by Lieutenant-Colonel P.H.A.Brownrigg D.S.O.).
“We were moving along this country road and we stopped because there were some quite large turves in the road and people suspected they were covering up mines and Lieutenant Williams got out of his armoured car and kicked the turves away and we carried on.” From Anthony Rampling’s account of 61st Recce (pers comm).
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