The Divisional
Commander required information about enemy
forces in the area of Merum, the next
village north of Linne on the way to
Roermond. This task was given to 45 RMC.
Between Linne and Merum, the River Maas
makes a large loop. At the north-west of the
land enclosed by the loop was a lock.
Because of its shape the island was
initially referred to as Bell Island but
someone at 45's HQ remembered the Royal
Marines' assault on Belle Isle, off the
Brittany coast, in 1761 and so the Op Order,
issued at 08:05 hours on 27 January I945,
was headed 'Belle Isle'. The intention
paragraph in that order read: '45 RM Cdo
will capture Belle Isle with a view to
making a raid in the Merum area'
The plan for the operation was from the
Commanding Officer of the 45th, Lt. Col.W.
N. Gray DSO. His plan for the operation was
as follows. 'E' Troop, less one section,
would form a firm base on the south side of
the Maas; the other section of 'E' Troop
would establish a bridgehead on Belle Isle.
'D' Troop would then assault the Belle Isle
garrison, which was believed to be at
platoon strength and concentrated in the
area of the lock, facing British troops who
held the west bank of the Maas. 'B' Troop would land on Belle Isle, take their assault
boats on sledges across the island and
re-cross the Maas further downstream to raid Merum. H-Hour was to be at 21:30 on 27
January. Two Field Regiments and two Medium
Regiments of Artillery were available to
support the operation though, in order that
'B' Troop should have an element of surprise
for their raid on Merum, it was hoped that
'D' Troop could carry out their part of the
operation without artillery support.
At the point chosen for the river crossing
the Maas was about 100 meters wide, but it
was flowing fast. Only eleven boats were
available for the operation; Goately boats,
ungainly craft made of canvas on a wooden
frame which could be folded flat. They could
carry a maximum of eleven men each and were
propelled by paddles. Because of the fast
flow of the river each boat required at
least six men to paddle it to Belle Isle so
it was essential to get a rope across the
river in order that a ferry service could be
operated. No 1 Troop, RM Engineer Commando,
commanded by CSM D. J. R. Morse, was
responsible for establishing and operating
the ferry service, providing boat keepers,
and building the sledges which 'B' Troop
would use for getting their boats across
Belle Isle.
By 21:15 on 27 January all those taking part
in the operation were at their assembly
points close to the river bank. It was a
cold, clear night, with the temperature
about -7 c. The moon, almost full, was
reflected brilliantly in the snow-covered
landscape making visibility all too good for
those whose success depended on stealth. A
breakdown in the Artillery communications
network meant that H-Hour was delayed for 35
minutes.
Soon after 22:00 'D' Troop, commanded by
Major R. H.W. Kirby, and a section from 'E'
Troop, commanded by Lt Alan Tate, landed on
Belle Isle without any reaction from the
enemy. Alan Tate only had 15 men with him
(most of 45's Troops were under
establishment and 'E' Troop had incurred
casualties during the Montforterbeek
action); he sited one group close to the
landing site and a second group, led by Sgt
Vye, took up a defensive position on a light
railway line, a little inland. Jimmy Clark
was with this group and remembers 'moving
into a railway shed which had a roof and
also an inspection pit. This made a good
position for my Bren'.
'D' Troop moved off from the bridgehead in
single file, heading towards the enemy
positions at the lock. According to the
Brigade HQ report of the operation 'they
were soon observed by the enemy in the
bright moonlight and surprise was lost. A
violent battle broke out in the wooded
area east of the lock and communication with
the assault party was broken. MMG, mortar
and artillery fire was brought down as arranged, but the assault party was clearly
involved in heavy fighting at very close
range '.
Bill Ledger was transferred from Cdo HQ to
'D' Troop the day before the attack on Belle
Isle. He recalls 'As a signaller I carried a
No 18 set, a bulky item about the size of a
Bergan rucksack, complete with a long
aerial; this did not fit very well with the
snow-suit. In addition I carried a rifle (in
later operations a Colt 45 automatic was
substituted for the rifle). As we moved off
from the bridgehead I was positioned at the
rear of the Troop; the Troop Commander was
well ahead of me, and in fact, I never saw
him or any of the other officers again. We
had not been ashore for long before all hell
was let loose. My impression was that
fixed lines of fire had been set up by the
enemy and we were right in the thick of it.
I have no recollection of any messages from
Major Kirby or any signals to or from
Commando HQ. At length it became clear that
we were being overwhelmed and would have to
clear out as best we could'.
While 'D' Troop was crossing the Maas, 'B'
Troop had moved up to the firm base, ready
to move forward. At first the sounds of a
fierce small arms battle on Belle Isle could
be clearly heard but after a while only
isolated shots broke the silence, followed
shortly by the sound of
British guns opening up on targets on and
around Belle Isle. Capt. John Day was called
to the Cdo Tac HQ, further along the river
bank.
'Nicol Gray told me that 'D' Troop was
clearly in serious trouble, though he had
had no reports from them. The Merum raid was
cancelled and I should immediately reinforce
the bridgehead
and also get a line across the river so that
the ferry service could be established. Once
I had the majority of 8 Troop on the island
I should move forward to support 'D' Troop.
Only two boats were available on our side of
the Maas. I sent TSM 8 M. Aylett, MM with a
sub-section in one boat to provide immediate
reinforcement to Alan Tate's small
bridgehead party. I set out in the
other boat, with a mixed crew of RM
Engineers and my Troop HQ, taking the rope
with us. It was a hopeless, exhausting task,
the strength of the current and the drag of
the line forcing us continually downstream.
We made three attempts but never got more
than half-way across. At one point enemy
troops must have been seen approaching the
bridgehead because while we were struggling
in mid-stream Bran guns from E Troop's firm
base began firing over our heads'.
Sgt Vye's group in their defensive position
around the railway shed, heard the sounds of
the violent battle in the direction of the
lock and then survivors from 'D' Troop began
to trickle back, many of them wounded, being
helped along by their comrades. Jimmy Clerk,
who comes from Skye, continues the story:
'After some time we saw some men approaching
us along the railway line. Sergeant Vye
challenged them. They turned out to be
Germans and had a go at us in the shed with
a panzerfaust. By this time I discovered I
had to stand on tip-toe to get at them,
Anyway, I jumped out of the pit and had a go
with the Bren - some of the enemy ran behind
the railway waggons but forgot they couldn't
hide their legs .... I forgot to say that as
well as giving the Jerry patrol what for,
the section and I also gave them a few
Glasgow and Highland curses that could have
been heard in Skye. '
Once it was clear that the ferry service
could not be established Colonel Gray had no
option but to order the evacuation of Belle
Isle. The young subaltern in charge of the
bridgehead, Alan
Tate, a newcomer to 45 and inaction for the
first time, was now was faced with a very
difficult situation. He had elements of
three Troops under his command, many of them
wounded and almost all strangers to him. One
enemy move against the bridgehead had been
beaten off and although our artillery was
pounding the German positions Tate had to
remain ready to cope with a further attack
as well as organizing the withdrawal.
Memories of the evacuation are scanty. Jimmy
Clark recalls the order to withdraw but
says: 'I can't remember the crossing well
but we were all very wet and cold. We were
met on the other side and it was good to be
there'.
When Bill Ledger reached the river bank he
could only see one boat and that seemed to
be already overloaded. He decided his only
chance was to go into the river and cling to
the boat. 'Minus my radio and rifle I
somehow reached the other side. My next
recollection was lying on the ground and
staring at a worried Captain L W Bridger, my
Signals Officer. It seems that neat rum had
been tipped down my throat and as a hitherto
tee-totaller this had a dramatic effect and
brought me back to life. '
George Moynan, one of the rearguard covering
the withdrawal, was with Alan Tate in the
last boat to leave Belle Isle. He remembers
the circumstances of their departure as
being 'noisy
and confusing.'
Once the evacuation was complete all seemed
quiet on Belle Isle. Colonel Gray was
anxious to clarify the situation and so Capt
I. N. N. Beadle MC, OC 'E' Troop, together
with Capt James Griffiths of 10 Cdo and a
small group from 'E' Troop, were sent across
to the original bridgehead site. One of the
group was Jimmy Clerk who volunteered to
return and act as a
guide. He remembers: 'I pointed out where
our little do took place and we discovered
the enemy bodies in front of the shed.
'There were five dead Germans, one of them a
Captain. A map
found on his body proved to be valuable as
it gave, in some detail, the positions of
the Huebner Battle Groups and the Mueller
Regiment in the area south-west of Roermond.
We had already met the Huebner Battle Group
in the Montforterbeek action; this Group
consisted mainly of parachute troops and
ex-Luftwaffe personnel, including flying
crews, and they were well led by experienced
officers and NCOs. Ian Beadle's patrol also
found a stray live German who seemed
uncertain as to which side had won the
battle. They did not find any survivors from
'D' Troop and returned, with their prisoner,
without any interference from the enemy. The
prisoner told us that the German force on
the island consisted of 50 men from the
Mueller Regiment and that the dead Captain
had been their commander.
By about 04:00 on 28 January 'B' Troop had
been waiting in the snow for over six hours
and were now longing for the order to return
to base. There was no indication of any
activity in their vicinity and John Day was
beginning to think they had been forgotten
when he heard someone
calling for him to report to the CO.
'Nicol Gray told me about Ian Beadle's
successful patrol and the lack of any
interference from the enemy. Now Sergeant
Fenwick had been heard shouting from the
area of the deserted
bridgehead saying that he had a badly
wounded man with him. I was to go across
quickly and rescue them. I dashed back to 8
Troop, called for volunteers and grabbed the
first five who moved towards me in the
darkness. These turned out to be the TSM,
Bob Aylett, two Sergeants Johnny Bastable
and Jack Sinclair, and Marines Ogle and
Denny.
We had no difficulty in getting across the
Maas and were met by Sergeant Fenwick. He
said Marine Hannah, badly wounded and unable
to move, was lying in the snow about 200
yards away. I told Jack Sinclair to look
after the boat, sent Aylett, Bastable and
Ogle with Fenwick to fetch Hannah, and took
Denny to the top of the nearby embankment so
that we could provide some covering fire if
we were attacked. I heard a short burst of
machine-gun fire but soon after this I saw
the group carrying Hannah coming towards the
boat - they did not seem to be in any
trouble. As they drew near Denny and I went
back to the boat; he embarked and I stood
beside Ogle, who came forward to help hold
the boat steady as Sinclair and the others
prepared to
put Hannah on board. Suddenly a machine-gun
opened up; the fire was very accurate and I
saw the sparks fly as bullets struck the
pebbles by my feet. There was a scramble as
the unfortunate Hannah was hurried aboard
and Ogle loosened his hold on the boat but
then seemed to grab it again. The
machine-gunner fired more bursts but his aim
seemed higher now. I told Ogle to push the
boat off and he climbed on board, rather
clumsily. I shoved him further in the boat
and squeezed in myself. Aylett had
distributed the paddles and I had the
steering oar. As the machine-gun continued
to fire in our direction we struggled to
turn the boat against the current and head
for home. All were paddling furiously except
for Ogle who was sitting motionless in front
of me. I commented harshly on this lack of
activity only to be met with the rather
aggrieved
response 'I can't, sir, I've been hit in
both arms.'
By now the 8 Troop Brens had opened up to
give us some covering fire and we reached
our side of the Maas safely, though swept
some way downstream. We made our way back to
the firm base, accompanied by long range
machine-gun fire whistling harmlessly over
our heads
from the direction of Merum.'
Jack Sinclair adds a postscript to this
incident: I was one of the volunteers who
went with Captain Day to rescue Sergeant
Fenwick and a wounded man on Belle Isle. On
reaching Belle Isle we were told by Jock
Fenwick that he was a prisoner but had been
allowed his freedom to get Marine Hannah
back to his unit. After the rescue he was
going to return to the German lines. We
suggested that he returned with us but Jock
was of the opinion that Hannah had the first
priority. 1 was told to hang on to the boat,
which I did, whilst all the remainder went
off up the river bank. During my wait by the
river's edge a short burst of automatic fire
came from my right, the bullets striking the
water between me and the boat. This was an
isolated incident and
the next noise was that of the rescue party.
It was while Hannah was being carried down
the rather steep bank that another burst of
fire was aimed at the rescue party. Sergeant
Fenwick maintained his view that he should
now go back to the Germans. Bob Aylett
disagreed with this and Johnny Bastable and
1 supported the TSM. The burst of fire, as
the group was coming down the bank, may have
been the deciding factor as there was an
added urgency to get aboard and away. I have
the feeling that Jock Fenwick was helped to
board the boat by his fellow SNCOs.'
Lt. Peter Winston was one of the men of 'D'
troop killed in the action on Isle Belle to
capture the lock. When handing over his body
the German Cadet Officer then commanding the
Belle Isle garrison commented that the
Lieutenant had been 'A very gallant
officer'.
No explanation was given for his comment but
praise from an enemy is rare and must be
well merited. This description was therefore
inscribed as an epitaph on the wooden cross
which marked Peter's temporary resting place
near Cdo HQ near Weerd.
With the
exception of one man in 'B' Troop who was
wounded, all the casualties incurred during
the operation were suffered by 'D' Troop. Of
the 63 Officers and men from 'D' Troop who
landed on Belle Isle 11 were killed and 13
were wounded. Major Kirby, Lt J Alvey and
four others were initially posted as
Missing, but later listed as wounded and
Prisoners of War. For their distinguished
services during the operation Alan Tate was
awarded the MC and Jimmy Clark a Mention in
Dispatches.
Marine Wild is buried in Nederweert War Cemetery,
grave IV. F. 8.
