The Last Act: March to December 1945

This section is contributed by Crombie (Jock) Cordiner, who remained with the 9th until it was disbanded. Disbandment was authorized to commence on 30 November 1945, and to be completed by 13 December 1945. Crombie's account starts on 11 March 1945, and thus overlaps the War Diary quoted in chapter 11 of Tank Tracks. However, it greatly amplifies the War Diary account, and carries on the history of the 9th until its disbandment.

The world around us was changing fast and 9 RTR had a major part to play in accomplishing the change.

The end was nigh for the military might of Germany, her factories, and other installations vital to survival. The Allied military machine ground relentlessly on, while the combined British and American Air Forces harried and pounded the enemy with an intensity never before known. In the remaining pages of this book, relating to the last acts of 9 RTR, are included items of particular interest, and illustrations of the power striking terror and despair into the heart and hearts of Germany, much of it in the British sector of attack.

11 March 1945

The west bank of the Rhine from Nijmegen to the Moselle now under Allied control.

14 March

USA 8th Airforce again heavily bombed Hanover.

20 March

German resistance collapsed west of the Rhine

22 March

Field Marshal Kesselring replaced Field Marshal Von Runstedt as German Commander in Chief, West

23 March

Lancasters dropped 22,000lbs of bombs on railway bridges over the Weser at Bremen.

24 March

21 Army Group crossings of the Rhine north of the Ruhr in great strength; British 6th and American 17th Airborne Divisions dropped behind east bank of the river.

24 March

Winston Churchill, Prime Minister, and Field Marshal Montgomery visited British troops in the newly won areas.

27 March

All organised resistance on 21 Army Group front ceased.

30 March

USA 8th Air Force heavily bombed Hamburg.

31 March

General Eisenhower called on the Wehrmacht to surrender.

2 April

Guards Armoured Division entered Munster; British 6th Airborne Division crossed the Ems Canal; British 2nd Army one hundred miles beyond the Rhine.

3 April

Canadians established bridgehead on Zutphen to Hengelo line (running north east of Arnhem towards the German border).

4 April

British 11th Airborne Division by-passed Osnabruck and crossed the Weser; by night the R.A.F heavily bombed Harburg oil plants (port of Bamberg).

5 April

British 1st Commando Brigade cleared Osnabruck; Canadians took Almelo and occupied Zutphen.

6 April

Canadian and British troops linked up near Zutphen; British troops crossed the Weser near Minden.

To the surprise of some, maybe, the lines of battle are not straight. In France the Americans moved much faster than the British, Canadians, and Poles, because their opposition was much less strong. Very heavy resistance points were often by-passed and left for clearing at a more convenient time. After the breakout following Falaise the advance was so fast that heavy tank units such as 9 RTR could not keep up. To them fell the task of clearing up such pockets of resistance. These were often very strong and costly to clear; occasionally a force was left to contain them for a very long time, as was the lot of our sister regiment, 7 RTR at Dunkirk.

Thus, as can be seen, while on 2 April the British Second Army were one hundred miles east of the Rhine, a very large part of Holland was still being liberated, or remained to be liberated. Much of that task fell to the Canadians.

On 6 April from a position south of Zutphen 9 RTR crossed the Rhine to take over military control of Dutch Gelderland and a small area of Germany surrounding Bocholt. We were given the unattractive job of acquiring information about German war material left in their retreat; of recceing routes and ensuring that no subversive activities were carried out by the populace. Each squadron was given an area to clear up and the regiment was dispersed: RHQ at Aalton, A at Groenlo, B at Lichtenvoorde, C at Winterswijk. We were all within a dozen miles of the German border and about thirty miles east of Arnhem. Recce parties reported the state of the roads, blown bridges, and minefields, while salvage parties collected into dumps the miscellaneous ammunition lying about - a dangerous job. Nothing really interesting was found and everyone was glad to hand over the area to the Third Heavy Regiment, Royal Artillery of 9 AGRA.

7 April

Canadians captured Zutphen.

7-8 (night) April

French parachute troops dropped over wide area of Zuyder Zee (now called Ijsselmeer) to link up with Canadians.

9 April

Heavy RAF raids on Hamburg and Kiel.

10 April

USA 9th Army captured Essen and Hannover; in over 5,600 sorties by RAF and USAAF, 406 enemy planes destroyed; Berlin airfields destroyed.

11 April

By night RAF raided Berlin three times.

12 April

British 2nd Army took over rail junction of Celle on the Aller River (Bergen Belsen concentration camp was 12 miles north of Celle); President F.D. Roosevelt died, President Harry Truman sworn in.

13 April

British troops of 1 Canadian Army crossed the Yssel River near Arnhem.

14 April

British finally cleared Arnhem.

On April 14 the whole of 34 Armoured Brigade moved into Germany and 9 RTR became responsible for part of Kreis Bentheim and Ahaus, with the same responsibilities of battlefield clearance, route reconnaissance, and security. The move took us just inside Germany, some thirty miles north east of our previous locations. RHQ established itself in the fifty year old castle at Bentheim, A at Emsburen, B at Gronau, C at Schuttdorf. As the days passed the squadron ammunition dumps became larger and the maps more heavily marked with chinagraph. Patrols roamed the area in an attempt to control Displaced Persons (formerly German slave labour of many nationalities). These had become the vagabonds of Germany, eating, sleeping, and taking revenge as they wished. In an attempt to control this gypsy life the Ems River was made a stop line where all D.P's attempting to cross were diverted to proper reception camps and preparations were made to seal off Germany by closing the Dutch/German frontier.

B Squadron were made responsible for the twenty-five miles of frontier in the regimental area and work was begun on marking the frontier and carrying out recces preparatory to setting up an evacuated frontier zone. Meanwhile, by house searches and enquiries the area was cleared on all firearms and German deserters. Houses were searched for food hoarding, wireless transmitters, and Nazi documents, and the list of Nazi officials who were to be arrested grew longer.

15 April

All German land exits from West Holland sealed (9 RTR involved).

16 April

Germans at Groningen surrendered to Canadians; RAF bombed Swimemünde and sank the battleship "Lutzow"; record number of 1,016 enemy planes destroyed by the Allies.

18 April

Germans opened sluice gates and blew up dykes on Zuyder Zee.

19 April

RAF bombed Heligoland for the second day.

20 April

Battle of Ruhr ended; German Army Group "B" eliminated.

25 April

RAF Coastal Command bombed enemy shipping from Hook of Holland to Heligoland Bight.

26 April

Bremen surrendered to British.

On 28 April, as their area was now clear, it was decided to move A Squadron to Lingen where they were to help to control the D.P. camp which was now responsible for some thousands of Russians and other nationalities; but before leaving, an ammunition clearance party of Royal Army Service Corps and Pioneers exploded an "R" mine, which caused the whole dump at Emsburen to blow up. As a result, vehicles were destroyed and houses collapsed, but though the clearing party suffered casualties, no member of A Squadron was injured.

The barracks at Lingen was on four sides of a barrack square. Memory has the number of occupants as Russians 8,000, others 6,000. The Russians, comprising men, women and children of all ages were under the brutal control of a self-appointed Commissar who had his staff, bodyguard, and executioners. He has his own guard at the only gate, alongside the A Squadron guard. The language problem created very great difficulty and the arrogance and insolence of the Russian command brooked no interference. For the small A Squadron party control was superficial and only a brave or foolish man entered Russian controlled buildings.

No member of A could forget the daily disciplinary court which was held by the Russians on the parade ground opposite A Squadron quarters. In view of all the Russians, who were commanded to be there, wretched people guilty of some offence were tried before the Commissar and dealt with. The platform at the edge of the square had a crude gallows permanently mounted on which regularly someone was put to death. Gunshots were often heard – it was seldom possible to tell if someone had been shot, though this was likely. As the Russian guards were so heavily armed nothing could be done, though protests were made.

Some Russians who spoke a little English expressed terror at the prospect of being sent back to Russia: something none of us British could understand. It is now only too clear the reason for the widespread fear of repatriation.

Some two million were repatriated to Russia in early summer, 1945, and most were killed, tortured, or made to suffer dreadful privation. They were all people who in some way had incurred the wrath of Stalin. This appalling story, of which A squadron saw very little, was magnified throughout the free world to colossal proportions. For purely political reasons, it seems, the West deliberately returned these millions to certain death. Nikolai Tolstoy relates the whole story in his book "Victims of Yalta" (Corgi Books). He describes it as "The true story of one of the most shameful episodes in World War Two".

29 April

Allied food relief by air for Holland began; British cross the Elbe-Trave canal.

30 April

Hitler appointed Admiral Doenitz as his successor.

1 May

British and U.S. bridgeheads across the lower Elbe linked up.

2 May

British 2nd Army reaches the Baltic at Wismar. RAF heavily attacked Kiel at night.

3 May

Collapse of the whole German defence system in North West Germany. Hamburg surrendered to British 2nd Army; Oldenburg surrendered to Canadians; British link up with Russians on Wismar to Wittemberge line.

4 May

All German forces in North West Germany, Holland, and Denmark surrendered, unconditionally, to 2nd Army Group at Luneburg.

On 6 May in a small hotel at Wageningen, nine miles west of Arnhem, 120,000 men of the 21st Army surrendered to the General Officer Commanding Canadian 1 Corps. Prince Bernhard of The Netherlands was in attendance.

On 7 May Field Marshal Montgomery met Marshal Rokossovsky, second in command of Russia's armies, at Wismar, where their forces had linked up four days earlier.

By the 8th of May, despite the liaison difficulties encountered, the frontier zone had been evacuated and marked with warning notices; roads had been closed and Frontier Posts established at three points:

On the Oldenzaal to Bentheim road.

On the Enschede to Gronau road.

On the Enschede to Ahaus road.

B squadron were now the busiest of squadrons, coping with hundreds of Dutch returning to Holland, and preventing the use of unauthorised vehicles. The Impounded Vehicle Park harboured all types of civilian cars and many unfortunately people were faced with a long hitch-hike back to their units.

7 May

Unconditional surrender to Western Allies and the USSR signed at Rheims; 3 Canadian Division occupied Emden; British troops of 1 Canadian Army entered Utrecht.

8 May

V.E. Day (Victory in Europe).

9 May

Surrender of German garrisons in France – at Lorient, St. Nazaire, and La Rochelle.

10 May

Kiel occupied.

11 May

German garrison at Dunkirk surrendered.

12 May

British troops went ashore at Jersey.

14 May

Scots Guards took possession of Heligoland.

16 May

British troops went ashore at Alderney, taking 3,200 German prisoners.

On the 18th of May C Squadron took over the northern part of the frontier and in consequence moved to Bentheim, where since the regiment's arrival numbers of the population had sought out RHQ in order to tell of their troubles and the "I" office added to its list of miscellaneous jobs that of a Civil Affairs Department.

V.E. Day had come with a mixture of frank disbelief and unashamed joy. Could it really be all over? Peace? Bill Mitchell remembers the celebrations. "Sergeants and Warrant Officers went to A squadron for a party. Myself and Jim Smith were left in charge of the Sergeants Mess and Sergeant Major Ossie Joyce told us we could have our mates in for a beer, but no spirits. But on his return the beer and spirits were all gone. Even the guard on the main gate was sitting on a crate of beer. There wa shell to pay!".

With the celebrations but a memory news of the regiment's future began to be disclosed. The regiment was to be an armoured regiment of occupation with the establishment of a few soft vehicles and other odds and ends. All but six Churchill and six Stuarts were handed over for disposal (a black day) and on 30 May the regiment moved, being given Kreis Techlenburg as the area of responsibility. RHQ was established at Ibbenburen, A Squadron at Westerkappeln, B at Mettingen, and C at Lengerich. This entailed a move of some twenty miles further east, stopping just to the west of Osnabruck.

There the regiment was occupied guarding strategic sites, mainly hospitals, while awaiting the arrival of 4 RTR who were to be made up to strength by an exchange of Age and Service Groups and then trained on Churchills preparatory to embarkation for South East Asia Command. The 9th were to be partly responsible for the training. Before the end of June the regiment would not be recognisable as the one that had fought through North West Europe.

There will be many survivors of 9 RTR who remember happily those early post war days. Although for a time it was forbidden to mix with the old enemy (fraternise was the word describing what we must not do) many were the liaisons and strange the meeting places. One trooper caught on the wrong side of Gronau was chased by Military Police along a number of streets and up the railway line. Only when he tore off his boots did he achieve a quieter but infinitely more painful escape.

Others fraternised more legally in places like Enschede, over the border. One well-known officer seldom returned to base on the same day, while a certain trooper, though having his feet uncomfortably under the same table (courtesy of a younger sister), had to return on the last 'passion wagon'.

Octrup, Rheine, Neuenkirchen, were some other popular places, but Burgsteinfurt was not. For some reason, unknown or forgotten, the burghers there had very poor opinions of the British. They attracted the attention of the British Press who gave Burgsteinfurt front page coverage, one paper dubbing it "The Village of Hate". Naturally, and for a long time to come, there were many places where there was safety only in numbers. Jock Cordiner experienced this nine months after V.E. Day., in the pleasant village of Freckenhorst where he was with 52 Div. Recce Regiment. Despatch riders were constantly in danger from ropes and wires strung across roads at head height, and it was annoying that as soon as property in the village was taken over someone set fire to it. Three months later, when that regiment disbanded, he had seen at least six public buildings razed by fire.

Home leave (Blighty), stopped from before D Day, had restarted on 1 January 1945 while the regiment was in the Ardennes. About three months later, when everyone had been home, a regular pattern of home leave developed. In addition, local leave was allowed, and weekend passes were ever popular. While ski trips were enjoyed by a few people, and other attractions were available in Germany, the main attraction was Brussels. Many tales have been told of conquests by the Gare Du Nord (and of things being sold to pay for them).

In July, as part of Operation Barleycorn, the new-look 9th was given the task of creating and staffing a 'shuttle' Prisoner of War Transit Camp at Luthe where about 300,000 German P.O.W's were handled and discharged from the Wehrmacht. Ech geographical area of Germany was allocated a field. The German troops arriving from all fronts were marched to the camp reception centre. Bill Mitchell remembers that "the first batch were P.O.W's from Russia", and "that many were dead on the train".

The arrivals were deloused, given demobilisation kit, documented for civilian life, and then led to their field ready for entrainment to their home area on the following day. In their fields they were loosely guarded. Most of the exhausted man lay on the grass uncovered, or in crude, makeshift tents constructed of twigs or branches and groundsheets. Most were awakened at some time by guards and relieved (unofficially) of any valuables. Incredibly, some men tried to escape across and adjoining river and any guard happening to be near had free pistol practice. But it is doubtful if any of them could hit a moving target, and on this occasion none did.

An unpleasant feature of the job was guarding of the field (caged) containing S.S. and their like. They were evil men, feared by the rest of the German colony. After dark searchlights swept their compound and many a guard narrowly avoided a hail of spittle. These men were not for immediate release, and it was generally agreed that if their guards had still possessed tanks there might well have been a few nasty accidents.

The local railway station handled an enormous flood of men daily and all activities there were controlled by 9 RTR and an American contingent. This gave rise to some anti-American feeling, not for the first time. While our lads on the job were fed strictly on rations the Yanks broke into warehouse supplies on railway premises and stole large amounts of food. When caught in the act by one of their officers they were severely rebuked, ordered not to do it again, then left to enjoy their spoils. Definitely not the British way.

14 August

Japan surrendered unconditionally.

2 September

Japanese unconditional surrender signed aboard the battleship "Missouri' in Tokyo Bay.

The next move took the ninth much further east to Wunstorf, just west of Hannover. Bill Mitchell recalls being there on V.J. Day (Victory Japan) and on that day getting a letter from home saying his mother had died. This was by far the 9th's best posting. Jock Cordiner tells of a chance conversation with a lady member of his staff in 1985, who had a heavy Scottish accent. "Edith apologised for her spelling, saying that she was German by birth and early education. To escape the onrushing Russians her whole village took to the roads (in common with millions then and later all over Germany). Everyone walked except her mother who each day went ahead by bicycle to reconnoitre the route and arrange billets for the night. Her party took many weeks to reach safety, skirting Berlin to the north and settling in Wunstorf. They were there when the 9th was there – we probably saw each other".

Though badly bombed Hannover had many attractions. In addition to the expected ones there was a magnificent Red Shield Club at the western end of the large lake within the city. The Machsee, too helpful to Allied bombers in moonlight, had been fully covered with floating wooden slats, strung together to resemble solid earth and dotted with evergreens. By the time the 9th and others were having afternoon tea on the terrace much of the camouflage had gone, blasted out of the water by the bombers.

Cyril (Tommy) Handley remembers Steinhude Meer, a large lake near Wunstorf surrounded by holiday camps, now in Allied hands. "We used to sail on the lake and in general have a good time" he says; while Jock Cordiner learned to canoe on the lake and often crossed three miles to the other side alone, though he could not swim.

Hannover also possessed a beautiful and extensive park (perfect for relaxed fraternisation) with its ancient and delightful Opera House, the Herrenhausen Theatre. While we were there they performed Cavalleria Rusticana and Pagliacci. But much more popular was the B.F.N. (British Forces Network) radio broadcasts. Like today's 'soaps' the B.F.N. was the people's choice. In those days Spike Jones and His City Slickers were all the rage, with zany hits such as 'Cocktails for Two', 'Ya wanna buy a bunny?', 'I dream of Brownie with the light blue jeans', 'Leave the dishes in the sink, Ma', 'A serenade to a jerk', and 'Chloe'. Life was becoming rather pleasant. We were not to know that the end of 9 RTR was drawing nigh.

17 Sept

Trial began at Luneburg of Joseph Kramer, Commandant of Belsen, and 44 of his staff.

19 Sept

International traffic was resumed on the Rhine, from Duisburg to the sea. William Joyce (Lord Haw Haw) the English traitor who taunting nightly broadcasts began "Germany calling, Germany calling" at last got his answer. He was sentenced to death for treason at Central Criminal Court in London.

22 Sept

British Military Government announced that local and provincial councils, composed of selected Germans, would be established at once and when they were functioning satisfactorily the Germans would be allowed to elect their own local councils.

23 Sept

It was announced that a further relaxation of non-fraternisation rules would from 1 October permit British occupying troops to enter German homes. (Hollow laughter heard from throughout British Zone). Denmark declared to be first continental country to be free of mines, 2,000,000 having been lifted.

Our last job, under 5 Div., was to protect the German population in the isolated villages of the Harz Mountain area from the murdering, pillaging, raping D.P's who were hiding in the dense forests atop the Harz, or were in D.P. camps further north right up to Brunswick. By day the area was quiet; by night the Germans lived in terror and great was their rejoicing if the 9th placed a guard in their house or village.

Bill Mitchell (HQ) remembers moving from Wunstorf to a small village near Elze a few miles west of Hildesheim, and spending a wonderful weekend in Herzburg frolicking in the snow surrounded by superb mountain scenery.

Cyril Handley (C) moved to the village of Ringleheim between Hannover and Goslar. They patrolled in half-track vehicles and often slept in a farmhouse while acting as guard. He says – "The D.P's could not understand why we protected Germans, and it got that they hated us".

"I remember being on duty one night", Cyril goes on, "and being told to go to a house and arrest a man wanted for war crimes. We had the support of Military Police. On entering the house we found the wanted man in bed with a good looking young lady. Both were naked; interrupted at the wrong moment, to say the least".

C Squadron leisure time was spent on trips to Hannover and Goslar.

While at this last posting Cyril took a trip back to Brunssum in Holland, by the Siegfried Line, to get engaged to get engaged to the girl who is now his wife. They had first met in Brunssum November 1944 and were married there in September 1946. He is delighted to say it has been a very happy marriage.

Cyril finished his service with 5 RTR; the only other person to transfer form the 9th being Rob Bradley. However, he met up with Dusty Miller in the 5th. Dusty had been with C Squadron in the 9th before being wounded in Normandy and sent to Blighty. On recovery he had been posted to 5 RTR and made a sergeant.

A Squadron moved from Wunstorf into the region of the Harz, to the beautiful snow that was always deep and pure white, and never melted as it does in most places in Britain. Jock Cordiner tells of walking regularly alone about a mile to the next village, where he had found 'a civvy billet', where on his 21st birthday he shared an outsize Scottish Dumpling with his German friends. He says: "It was a wonderful experience walking in the dark, especially in a big moon, but eerie. The track ran alongside a dense, dark forest and the laden trees often shed snow with a plosh: rather disturbing when added to other forest sounds, remembering the D.P's and their activities. I never knew how many pairs of eyes were following my progress. My revolver was cocked and my right hand seldom left the butt".

A squadron lived in several properties in the village, except for the cooks and clerks who were in a fine schloss, whose Duchess owner had been put out to a gate house by the moat. The 'fighting force' worked by night and slept by day, only those in the schloss having daytime employment. Off-duty time was spent playing Housey-Housey or exploring the local attractions and living it up in Hildesheim.

The strain of night patrols, the difficulty of tracking down the 'enemy' most of whom were scarcely distinguishable from the German populace, the bitter cold for the majority who were outside all night, made this aspect of occupation far from enjoyable. Jock Cordiner got out of it quite unexpectedly. "The three clerks had been whittled down to one, the incomparable John Edwards. To him fell the daily task of documenting the night patrols – maps, instructions, map references, chalk, and other essentials supplied by the officer in charge, plus the normal duties of squadron clerk. How hard he worked no one knew until suddenly he was gone – to hospital and then home. There was panic. No clerk. The squadron was summoned and I got the job, being the only volunteer".

Jock continues: "I soon discovered that it was a seven days a week job, 7.30a.m. to 9p.m., if I was lucky. There were perks. Johnny had a spacious office and an equally spacious sitting room cum bedroom with its highly efficient stove in the middle of the room and an adequate supply of briquettes. Furthermore, when I got into the job I realised how indispensable I was – a mere trooper. If I did the job to the O.C's satisfaction I could get away with anything. But Major Long was very demanding, and he was not slow to dig me out of my quarters. Then I discovered an oddity. From the office there was a door to another room except that there were two doors to go through – one out of my room and one into the other. Why, I don't know. But if I pressed myself into the narrow space between the doors and shut them I was neither here nor there. Handy if I knew dear Roger wanted me, or I heard that loud voice shouting "Jock, Jock". Sort out your own problems, mate!"

More and more people were being demobbed. They were not being replaced. It was a depressing experience, worse than being in a hospital for the terminally ill. "There was little left of A", says Jock, "when I moved on with Bill Mitchell and four others".

And so, one by one the remnants of the gallant 9th were blown in all directions, as if scattered by the blast of the bomb on their 'Qui s'y Frotte' arm badge, says Bill Mitchell.

The last work may rest with Jock, Bill and their four companions. When required by their new regiment, 52 Div. Recce. to remove their RTR cap badge, the 9 RTR lanyard and 'Qui s'y Frotte', they declined. Such was their pride in telling what these meant to them that they were permitted to continue wearing them. Jock proudly states that despite three other postings before demob he never stopped wearing the insignia of the 9th.