With the Jocks: A Visit to the Battlefields of Peter White: The Fate of C Coy, 6th Camerionians: Alpon, 9th March 1945

The Action of C Company, 6th Bn The Cameronians (Scottish Rifles), 9 March 1945

Concurrent with my visit to the route that Peter White took during the 4th KOSB assault on Haus Loo, I visited the site of the 'last stand' of another Unit during the same battle. 156th Infantry Brigade, 52nd (Lowland) Division had been tasked with taking the town of Alpon. Its Units were: 4th/5th Battalion, Royal Scots Fusiliers, 6th Battalion, Cameronians (Scottish Rifles) and the 7th Battalion, Cameronians (Scottish Rifles). C Coy, 6th Cameronians had been tasked with cutting off the German retreat during 4/5th Royal Scots Fusiliers and 7th Cameronians assault on Alpon. However, attacking forces lost contact with this sub-unit and it was subsequently overrun on the morning of Peter White's own battle. The site of their action was a little over half a mile from Haus Loo, although C Coy had been overrun and made prisoner much earlier in the day than the 4th KOSB came on their objective.

Wrecked German gun provides good firing point, Battle for Alpon, March 1945 (IWM B 15543)

Here is an account taken from the Regimental history:

At about 5.30 p.m. the 6th Cameronians commenced their wide turning movement to the North. The difficulties experience by the 4/5^th RSF resulted in the two leading Coys (A and B) of the Cameronians becoming involved in the fighting on the Northern outskirts of the town and they were unable to break out into the open country. This necessitated an alteration of the plan, and D Coy was sent on a wider turning movement to seize some ground just to the West of the railway embankment. Covered by the approaching darkness the Coy, succeeded in this without difficulty. A Coy, was then sent forward, in the dark, to pass through Coy and take up a position on the railway. On approaching the embankment the Coy came under heavy fire and eventually took up a position just North of D Coy.

During the night B Coy, pushed forward and shortly before dawn two Platoons entered the factory area East of the Railway on the North side of the road. As visibility increased these two Platoons were subjected to very heavy fire from Germans located in the buildings. They succeeded in maintaining their positions throughout the 9^th March but were unable to advance further or clear the area of enemy.

Meanwhile C Coy, worked their way across the Railway and advancing North of the Factory, reached their objective astride the main road to the East of the Factory well before dawn. Here they dug in, and through the remain house of darkness Their forward Artillery Observation Officer was engaging targets in the area.

Plan of attack, 1945 - 2020.

All went well with C Coy, until about 7 a.m. when enemy armour was heard moving in the vicinity. The Coy Commander asked for tank and anti-tank gun support, but the situation in Alpon made it impossible to move any vehicles East of the railway.

At about 7.30 a.m. the Coy was engaged by heavy small arms fire, and heavily shelled. The enemy also brought up two self-propelled guns and fired into the position at a range of 250 yards – just beyond the limits of the Coy PIAT guns, which were their only defence against armour.

Many men were killed and wounded, and the survivors were unable to offer any effective resistance against this devastating fire. They fought on, however, as best they could, until overwhelmed by and Infantry counter-attack from the South side of the road. Major J.S. Holland (the Company Commander) and the survivors were captured and immediately escorted across the Rhine.

When the position was eventually occupied by British troops on the morning of the 10^th March the measure of the Company’s ordeal could be judged. The dead were still in their slit trenches and the ground was honeycombed with shell holes. Lt K.C. Clancey, one of the Platoon Commanders, was still alive, but so badly wounded that he died a few hours later. This young Officer was a model of what a Platoon Commander should be. He had shown throughout the campaign brilliant qualities of leadership and courage, and his patrol exploits during the winter months had been almost legendary. He was one of three brothers, all of whom gave their lives for their country in World War II.

The History of the Cameronians (Scottish Rifles), Vol III, 1933-1946, by Brigadier C.N. Barclay, C.B.E., D.S.O. pp.209-10.

British advance through Alpon, March 1945 (IWM B 15542)

The late Brigadier Denis Whitaker obtained a first hand account of this action by the C Coy Comd, Maj Jack Holland. Interestingly, it may have been the case that the Cameronian company, shortly before it was overrun, fired upon a vehicle containing German staff officers reporting on the state of the German position on the west bank of the Rhine.

“It was during that period [of lost comms with Bn HQ] that I saw a German staff car coming up the road, obviously not realizing we were there. It was an irresistible target and our Bren guns opened up. The car stopped right in front of us and because the road was high up, I could see the space between the road and the bottom of the car, and I saw this figure dive out on the other side. I fired but he got away.”

“Then more paratroopers came down the road. By 10 o’clock in the morning, I was looking down the barrel of a Schmeisser.” Twenty seven men had been killed and wounded in the action. The remaining 60 were captured.

It was some time later…that Jack Holland had a glimmer as to the identity of the officers in that staff car.

Holland believes that these were the observers Hitler had sent to the front line to get that clear picture. He reckons these officers misunderstood an attack by one company isolated behind the lines, thinking they represented a major force. He knows from German interrogations that the officers ultimately reported to Hitler that Alpon had been taken and that the Wesel bridges were about to be overrun.

Rhineland: The Battle to End the War’ by Brigadier Denis Whitaker and Shelagh Whitaker, Stoddart, 1989, pp. 277-78.

Another short account was recorded in the Battalion history:

History of 6th (Lanarkshire) Battalion, The Cameronians (S.R.), John Cossar, 1945, pp.83-84.

Photos taken 2003

Photo 21: Looking directly onto the position with Haus Loo behind me. The photo, in common with the maps from 1945, shows the lane with a bend to the right, before joining the main Alpon road. Aerial imagery obtained recently appears to show that this lane is now straight.

Photo 22: Looking at the former C Coy position, from the bend in the land. From descriptions, the German assault came from this direction.

Photo 23: From same position as previous photo. Noting the description by Maj Holland of the raised roadway: "[t]he car stopped right in front of us and because the road was high up, I could see the space between the road and the bottom of the car..."