saint venant 1940-------farm boulet

**Baconwallah** · 05-08-2012, 23:03

There was no pontoon bridge erected by the British. There was a wooden bridge erected by the French. The good general should have checked his facts.

The German tank commander probably was more worried about getting blown up - as he should have been, and would have been had the sappers not disappeared.

John

**ivor43** · 06-08-2012, 01:48

Jim.
Despite Johns vehement denial that there was a pontoon bridge, this confirms an account I read of a temporary bridge, somewhere.
I read in a German account that on 23^rd they had mobile patrols on the north bank which had come under fire from advancing British troops, it did not mention blowing any bridges, but it may be a possibility.
I had been thinking in terms of the German’s building a bridge, but as we captured bridging material and had engineers, then it could have been built by them.
If there was this second bridge then it makes the Majors Diary more understandable.
This can not be dismissed without further investigation, but we would have to try and find the authors source material. Probably you would need to get in touch with the publishers in the first instance and see if they would know.
But the R.E Diary if it is available may be a distinct possibility, had'nt thought of that, good thinking, possible new evidence.

This could prove very interesting.

ivor

**Baconwallah** · 06-08-2012, 11:10

The mobile patrol on the north bank (the so-called Russow patrol. also mentioned in one of my previous posts) was part of the advance by the SS Germania regiment on 24th May. This advance had crossed the Aire canal at the la Pierrière bridge and on an improvised bridge at Isbergues, constructed of inflatable rafts and planks by the 1st SS Engineer Coy (there's your cherished pontoon bridge, probably), and had then crossed the Lys on the St Venant bridge and reached Haverskerque, splitting off patrols on both banks of the Lys in the direction of St Floris and Merville. The St Floris patrol ran into 1 RWF later that day. The news of that encounter made the Germans abandon their bridgehead, with the exception of the Russow patrol which had been cut off from the main body by 2/5 West Yorks near Merville.

John

**ivor43** · 06-08-2012, 12:32

Morning.

‘’to some cottages that afforded them a modicum of cover’’
I wonder if this was the village/hamlet of La Calone, which I don’t think is very big.

The other thing I find odd is that the bridge would only be capable of taking 15 ton’s. But if you give the sighting of the bridge some thought then it has to be to the east.
When A & C Co RWF entered St Venant on 24^th they found it undefended, but when they pushed on towards the bridge that was their objective, they had not gone very far when they came under fire from German’s who were already dug in. If we remember that they were under a stop order, then that could explain why all troops had withdrawn to their position when the order was issued. So we know where the enemy is coming from, the West. So if you are going to construct a bridge you are surely going to go as far to the east, St Floris, as possible.
We will have to wait and see.

ivor

**Baconwallah** · 06-08-2012, 12:51

Where is La Calone? Why the West?

You now seem to confuse even your good self, Ivor.

The bridges which were the objectives of A and C Coys RWF were the bridges across the Aire-la Bassée canal at l' Epinette and la Pierrière.

John

**ivor43** · 06-08-2012, 12:54

John
My French does not get anywhere near translating this.
http://users.telenet.be/memoriaalmei...dex.htm#titre5
Is it of any interest?

ivor

**Baconwallah** · 06-08-2012, 13:12

Not really, Ivor. The site is not yet finished and the only interesting part, the history of the fighting along the Lys in 1940, still remains unwritten. Everything else is about the Belgian army from 1830 to the present.

John

**ivor43** · 06-08-2012, 13:46

john.
Should have read La Corbie.
Sorry, senior moment. does'nt happen very often.

ivor

**Baconwallah** · 06-08-2012, 14:08

Le Corbie, thought so.

Regrettably all sources indicate that the cluster of cottages was located at the beginning of the Haverskerque road, about 250 yards from the St Venant bridge and lock. See my 1917 map, square J34.

John

**ivor43** · 06-08-2012, 19:09

John.
This book Jim is reading could prove a lead to something else which is relevant to what we are doing, hopefully.
But, you know, YDG and this book are just that books. The problem being that original documentation, whether it be a POW scribbling notes on any thing he can find or a war diary written by the Co Adj at HQ, they are not suitable for publication as they are. They have to be tidied up. This is where the errors occur and you know how easy that is.
The other problem is that there is a lot of circumstantial evidence that a second crossing might exist and Jim’s book adds to that evidence, so, there comes a point when it has to be believed or disproved. I think we are close to that point. I am working on it.

Ivor.