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British 15th (Scottish) Division
Encyclopedia
The 15th Infantry Division was a British
Army
division
in both the First
and Second World Wars.
in July 1915 and spent the duration of the First World War in action on the Western Front
. The division fought in the Battle of Loos
, the Battle of the Somme (1916)
which included the battles of Pozieres
and Flers-Courcelette
, and the Third Battle of Ypres.
In May 1916 the 8th and 10th Battalions of the Gordon Highlanders merged to formed the 8/10th Battalion.
The 7th Battalion of the Royal Scots Fusiliers was an original member of
the brigade. It merged with the 6th Battalion in May 1916 to form the
6/7th Battalion.
In May 1916 the 7th and 8th Battalions of the King's Own Scottish Borderers merged to form the 7/8th Battalion.
and served in the Second World War, where, among other actions, it was part of VIII Corps under Lieutenant-General Sir Richard O'Connor
in Normandy
and it ended the war on the Elbe River.
attack intended to outflank and seize Caen
in France
during the Battle of Normandy
during the Second World War. It did not achieve its overall objective but forced the Germans
to abandon their offensive plans and tied most of their armoured units to a defensive role.
To be certain of anticipating any German attack Epsom was launched on 26 June. Although held up on parts of the front by infantry of the 12th SS Panzer Division Hitlerjugend
, the 15th (Scottish) Infantry Division and the 31st Armoured Brigade gained four miles on their left flank. Further to their left the 43rd (Wessex) Infantry Division
also gained ground. John Keegan described their advance:
"...The division was attacking two brigades up, which meant that six of its infantry battalions were in the first wave, with the other three waiting in the rear to support the leaders. As each brigade also attacked two up, however, this meant there were in fact only four battalions on the start line, each strung out along a front of about 1000 yards. And since each battalion, about 750 men strong, likewise kept two of their four companies in reserve, the true number of men who started forward into the cornfields that morning was probably no more than 700. They are best pictured, as they would have looked from the cockpit of any passing spotter aircraft, as 24 groups of 30 riflemen, called platoons, separated by intervals of about 150 yards...Each platoon consisted of three smaller groups, called sections, which were led by a corporal, and were based on the Bren machine gun which gave them their firepower...".
On 27 June, after repulsing small armoured counter-attacks, the 15th (Scottish) Infantry Division gained more ground and captured a bridge over the River Odon. The 11th Armoured Division
passed through to capture Hill 112
, a mile to the southeast. This deep penetration alarmed the German command and General Hausser was ordered to commit his units to contain and eliminate the Allied salient. The German command was in some disarray, as General Dollmann
, commanding the German Seventh Army
died immediately after ordering Hausser to mount the counter-attack and Field Marshals Rommel
and von Rundstedt
were en route to a conference with Adolf Hitler
and out of touch with their headquarters.
s, plus numerous other units. Approximately 63,000 men over a period of seven weeks fought on and around Hill 112.
The first battle for Hill 112 was fought at the end of Operation Epsom
, when the tanks of 11th Armoured Division broke out from a bridgehead established by the 2nd Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders
at Tourmauville. Hill 112 was only an intermediate objective on the way to the River Orne
crossings but such was the German reaction that the 23rd Hussars
were only able to capture and hold the hill with difficulty.
The main attack on Hill 112 was strategically designed to FIX the German panzers and tactically to gain 'elbow room' in what was still a tight beachhead. The German defenders survived naval bombardment, air attack and artillery fire but held their ground, crucially supported by Tiger tank
s from the 101st Schwere Panzer Battalion. These mighty tanks armed with the 88 mm gun had both greater protection and firepower and outclassed the opposing British Churchill tank
and Sherman tank.
Even though the hill was not captured and was left as a no-man's-land between the two armies, important surrounding villages had been taken. Above all, however, the 9th Hohenstaufen SS Panzer Division, which had been in the process of moving out of the line to form an operational reserve, was brought back to contain the British. Therefore, on the strategic level Operation JUPITER was a significant success.
It was not until American troops eventually started to break out from the Normandy lodgement, as Operation Cobra
developed momentum, in August 1944, that the Germans withdrew from Hill 112 and the 53rd Welsh Division occupied the feature, with barely a fight.
Casualties during that period amounted to approximately 25,000 British troops and 500 British tanks. The 43rd Wessex sustained 7,000 casualties
in the Battle of Normandy
,from 30 July 1944 to 7 August 1944. The objectives of the attack were to secure the key road junction of Vire
and the high ground of Mont Pinçon. Strategically, the attack was made to support the American exploitation of their breakout on the western flank of the Normandy beachhead.
Miles Dempsey
was switched westward towards Villers-Bocage
adjacent to the American army. Originally, Dempsey planned to attack on 2 August, but the speed of events on the American front forced him to advance the date.
Initially, only two weak German infantry divisions held the intended attack frontage, south and east of Caumont
, although they had laid extensive minefields and constructed substantial defences. They also occupied ideal terrain for defence, the bocage
.
They fought virtually continuously from then on through Caumont, the Seine Crossing, the Gheel Bridgehead, Best, Tilburg, Meijel, Blerwick, Broekhuizen
, the Maas and across the Rhine.
Their particular distinction was to be selected to lead the last set piece river crossing of the war, the assault across the Elbe (Operation Enterprise) on 29 April 1945 spearheaded by Brigadier Derek Mills-Roberts 1st Commando Brigade, after which they fought on to the Baltic occupying both Lubeck and Kiel. They were the only division of the British Army of the Second World War to be involved in three of the six major European river assault crossings; the Seine, the Rhine and the Elbe.
On 10 April 1946 the 15th (Scottish) Division was finally disbanded. Its battle casualties – killed, wounded and missing – in twelve months of fighting were 11,772.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
Army
British Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
division
Division (military)
A division is a large military unit or formation usually consisting of between 10,000 and 20,000 soldiers. In most armies, a division is composed of several regiments or brigades, and in turn several divisions typically make up a corps...
in both the First
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
and Second World Wars.
First World War
The division was a New Army unit formed in September 1914 as part of the K2 Army Group. The division moved to FranceFrance
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
in July 1915 and spent the duration of the First World War in action on the Western Front
Western Front (World War I)
Following the outbreak of World War I in 1914, the German Army opened the Western Front by first invading Luxembourg and Belgium, then gaining military control of important industrial regions in France. The tide of the advance was dramatically turned with the Battle of the Marne...
. The division fought in the Battle of Loos
Battle of Loos
The Battle of Loos was one of the major British offensives mounted on the Western Front in 1915 during World War I. It marked the first time the British used poison gas during the war, and is also famous for the fact that it witnessed the first large-scale use of 'new' or Kitchener's Army...
, the Battle of the Somme (1916)
Battle of the Somme (1916)
The Battle of the Somme , also known as the Somme Offensive, took place during the First World War between 1 July and 14 November 1916 in the Somme department of France, on both banks of the river of the same name...
which included the battles of Pozieres
Battle of Pozières
The Battle of Pozières was a two week struggle for the French village of Pozières and the ridge on which it stands, during the middle stages of the 1916 Battle of the Somme. Though British divisions were involved in most phases of the fighting, Pozières is primarily remembered as an Australian battle...
and Flers-Courcelette
Battle of Flers-Courcelette
The Battle of Flers-Courcelette, was a battle within the Franco-British Somme Offensive which took place in the summer and autumn of 1916. Launched on the 15th of September 1916 the battle went on for one week. Flers-Courcelette began with the overall objective of cutting a hole in the German...
, and the Third Battle of Ypres.
44th Brigade
- 8th (Service) Battalion, the Seaforth HighlandersSeaforth HighlandersThe Seaforth Highlanders was a historic regiment of the British Army associated with large areas of the northern Highlands of Scotland. The Seaforth Highlanders have varied in size from two battalions to seventeen battalions during the Great War...
- 9th (Service) Battalion, the Gordon Highlanders (until January 1915)
- 10th (Service) Battalion, the Gordon Highlanders (merged with 8th Gordon Highlanders May 1916)
- 8/10th (Service) Battalion, the Gordon Highlanders (from May 1916 until June 1918)
- 9th (Service) Battalion, the Black WatchBlack WatchThe Black Watch, 3rd Battalion, Royal Regiment of Scotland is an infantry battalion of the Royal Regiment of Scotland. The unit's traditional colours were retired in 2011 in a ceremony led by Queen Elizabeth II....
(until February 1918) - 4/5th Battalion, the Black Watch (from June 1918)
- 1/5th (Buchan and Formartin) Battalion, the Gordon Highlanders (from June 1918)
- 7th (Service) Battalion, The Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders (from January 1915 until June 1918)
In May 1916 the 8th and 10th Battalions of the Gordon Highlanders merged to formed the 8/10th Battalion.
45th Brigade
- 13th (Service) Battalion, the Royal Scots (Lothian Regiment)
- 6th (Service) Battalion, The Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders
- 6/7th (Service) Battalion, the Royal Scots FusiliersRoyal Scots Fusiliers-The Earl of Mar's Regiment of Foot :The regiment was raised in Scotland in 1678 by Stuart loyalist Charles Erskine, de jure 5th Earl of Mar for service against the rebel covenanting forces during the Second Whig Revolt . They were used to keep the peace and put down brigands, mercenaries, and...
(until February 1918) - 1/8th (The Argyllshire) Battalion, the Argyll & Sutherland Highlanders (from June 1918)
- 11th (Service) Battalion, the Argyll & Sutherland Highlanders (until June 1918)
The 7th Battalion of the Royal Scots Fusiliers was an original member of
the brigade. It merged with the 6th Battalion in May 1916 to form the
6/7th Battalion.
46th Brigade
- 10th (Service) Battalion, the Cameronians (Scottish Rifles)
- 12th (Service) Battalion, the Highland Light InfantryHighland Light InfantryThe Highland Light Infantry was a regiment of the British Army from 1881 to 1959. In 1923 the regimental title was expanded to the Highland Light Infantry ...
(until February 1918) - 7th (Service) Battalion, the King's Own Scottish BorderersKing's Own Scottish BorderersThe King's Own Scottish Borderers was an infantry regiment of the British Army, part of the Scottish Division.-History:It was raised on 18 March 1689 by the Earl of Leven to defend Edinburgh against the Jacobite forces of James II. It is said that 800 men were recruited within the space of two hours...
(merged with the 8th Battalion, May 1916) - 8th (Service) Battalion, the King's Own Scottish Borderers (merged with the 7th Battalion, May 1916)
- 1/4th (Ross Highland) Battalion, the Seaforth HighlandersSeaforth HighlandersThe Seaforth Highlanders was a historic regiment of the British Army associated with large areas of the northern Highlands of Scotland. The Seaforth Highlanders have varied in size from two battalions to seventeen battalions during the Great War...
(from November 1915 until January 1916) - 1/4th Battalion, the Suffolk RegimentSuffolk RegimentThe Suffolk Regiment was an infantry regiment of the line in the British Army with a history dating back to 1685. It saw service for three centuries, before being amalgamated with the Royal Norfolk Regiment as the 1st East Anglian Regiment in 1959...
(from November 1915 until February 1916) - 9th (Service) Battalion, the Black Watch (from February 1918 until May 1918)
- 1/9th (Highlanders) Battalion, the Royal Scots (Lothian Regiment) (from June 1918)
- 10/11th (Service) Battalion, the Highland Light Infantry (from May 1916 until February 1918)
In May 1916 the 7th and 8th Battalions of the King's Own Scottish Borderers merged to form the 7/8th Battalion.
Second World War
The division was a second line Territorial Army Division, the duplicate of the British 52nd (Lowland) DivisionBritish 52nd (Lowland) Division
The British 52nd Division was a Territorial Army division that was originally formed as part of the Territorial Force in 1908.- World War I :...
and served in the Second World War, where, among other actions, it was part of VIII Corps under Lieutenant-General Sir Richard O'Connor
Richard O'Connor
General Sir Richard Nugent O'Connor KT, GCB, DSO & Bar, MC, ADC was a British Army general who commanded the Western Desert Force in the early years of World War II...
in Normandy
Operation Overlord
Operation Overlord was the code name for the Battle of Normandy, the operation that launched the invasion of German-occupied western Europe during World War II by Allied forces. The operation commenced on 6 June 1944 with the Normandy landings...
and it ended the war on the Elbe River.
44th Infantry Brigade
- 8th Royal Scots
- 6th Royal Scots FusiliersRoyal Scots Fusiliers-The Earl of Mar's Regiment of Foot :The regiment was raised in Scotland in 1678 by Stuart loyalist Charles Erskine, de jure 5th Earl of Mar for service against the rebel covenanting forces during the Second Whig Revolt . They were used to keep the peace and put down brigands, mercenaries, and...
- 6th King's Own Scottish BorderersKing's Own Scottish BorderersThe King's Own Scottish Borderers was an infantry regiment of the British Army, part of the Scottish Division.-History:It was raised on 18 March 1689 by the Earl of Leven to defend Edinburgh against the Jacobite forces of James II. It is said that 800 men were recruited within the space of two hours...
46th Infantry Brigade
- 9th Cameronians (Scottish Rifles)
- 2nd Glasgow HighlandersGlasgow HighlandersThe Glasgow Highlanders was a former Territorial Army regiment in the British Army, it eventually became part of The Highland Light Infantry regiment in 1881, which later became The Royal Highland Fusiliers in 1959...
- 7th Seaforth HighlandersSeaforth HighlandersThe Seaforth Highlanders was a historic regiment of the British Army associated with large areas of the northern Highlands of Scotland. The Seaforth Highlanders have varied in size from two battalions to seventeen battalions during the Great War...
227th Infantry Brigade
- 10th Highland Light InfantryHighland Light InfantryThe Highland Light Infantry was a regiment of the British Army from 1881 to 1959. In 1923 the regimental title was expanded to the Highland Light Infantry ...
- 2nd Gordon Highlanders
- 2nd Argyll & Sutherland Highlanders
Supporting units
- 102nd (Northumberland HussarsNorthumberland HussarsThe Northumberland Hussars is a Squadron of The Queen's Own Yeomanry is an armoured Squadron of the British Territorial Army. It is part of a Formation Reconnaissance Regiment, equipped with the FV107 Scimitar and FV103 Spartan type armoured reconnaissance vehicles...
) Anti-Tank Regiment, Royal Artillery – 1944–45 - 1st Middlesex (Machine Gun).
- 15th Scottish Reconnaissance Regiment 1943–1946
- 1st Commando Brigade (19th April 1945 to end of WW2)
Operation Epsom
Operation Epsom was a BritishUnited Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
attack intended to outflank and seize Caen
Caen
Caen is a commune in northwestern France. It is the prefecture of the Calvados department and the capital of the Basse-Normandie region. It is located inland from the English Channel....
in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
during the Battle of Normandy
Operation Overlord
Operation Overlord was the code name for the Battle of Normandy, the operation that launched the invasion of German-occupied western Europe during World War II by Allied forces. The operation commenced on 6 June 1944 with the Normandy landings...
during the Second World War. It did not achieve its overall objective but forced the Germans
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
to abandon their offensive plans and tied most of their armoured units to a defensive role.
To be certain of anticipating any German attack Epsom was launched on 26 June. Although held up on parts of the front by infantry of the 12th SS Panzer Division Hitlerjugend
12th SS Panzer Division Hitlerjugend
The 12th SS Panzer Division Hitlerjugend was a German Waffen SS armoured division during World War II. The Hitlerjugend was unique because the majority of its junior enlisted men were drawn from members of the Hitler Youth, while the senior NCOs and officers were generally veterans of the Eastern...
, the 15th (Scottish) Infantry Division and the 31st Armoured Brigade gained four miles on their left flank. Further to their left the 43rd (Wessex) Infantry Division
British 43rd (Wessex) Infantry Division
The 43rd Infantry Division was a British Territorial Army division first formed in 1908. It was reformed in 1920 as part of the rebuilding of the Territorial Army, and raised a second line duplicate, 45th Infantry Division, on the doubling of the Territorial Army in 1939.-History:The Division was...
also gained ground. John Keegan described their advance:
"...The division was attacking two brigades up, which meant that six of its infantry battalions were in the first wave, with the other three waiting in the rear to support the leaders. As each brigade also attacked two up, however, this meant there were in fact only four battalions on the start line, each strung out along a front of about 1000 yards. And since each battalion, about 750 men strong, likewise kept two of their four companies in reserve, the true number of men who started forward into the cornfields that morning was probably no more than 700. They are best pictured, as they would have looked from the cockpit of any passing spotter aircraft, as 24 groups of 30 riflemen, called platoons, separated by intervals of about 150 yards...Each platoon consisted of three smaller groups, called sections, which were led by a corporal, and were based on the Bren machine gun which gave them their firepower...".
On 27 June, after repulsing small armoured counter-attacks, the 15th (Scottish) Infantry Division gained more ground and captured a bridge over the River Odon. The 11th Armoured Division
British 11th Armoured Division
The 11th Armoured Division, known as The Black Bull, was a British Army division formed in 1941 during the Second World War. The Division was formed in response to the unanticipated success of German panzer divisions...
passed through to capture Hill 112
Hill 112
Operation Jupiter was an attack launched by the British Second Army's VIII Corps on 10 July 1944. The objective of the attack was to capture the villages of Baron-sur-Odon, Fontaine-Étoupefour, Chateau de Fontaine and recapture Hill 112. Following the capture of these objectives the Corps would...
, a mile to the southeast. This deep penetration alarmed the German command and General Hausser was ordered to commit his units to contain and eliminate the Allied salient. The German command was in some disarray, as General Dollmann
Friedrich Dollmann
Friedrich Dollmann was a German general during World War II, most notably serving during the early phases of the D-Day Invasion....
, commanding the German Seventh Army
German Seventh Army
The 7th Army was a World War I and World War II field army of the German land forces.-Origins:The 7th Army was activated in Stuttgart on August 25, 1939 with General Friedrich Dollmann in command. At the outbreak of the war, the 7th Army defended the German border and manned the Westwall in the...
died immediately after ordering Hausser to mount the counter-attack and Field Marshals Rommel
Erwin Rommel
Erwin Johannes Eugen Rommel , popularly known as the Desert Fox , was a German Field Marshal of World War II. He won the respect of both his own troops and the enemies he fought....
and von Rundstedt
Gerd von Rundstedt
Karl Rudolf Gerd von Rundstedt was a Generalfeldmarschall of the German Army during World War II. He held some of the highest field commands in all phases of the war....
were en route to a conference with Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , commonly referred to as the Nazi Party). He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and head of state from 1934 to 1945...
and out of touch with their headquarters.
Hill 112, Operation Jupiter
The British forces included the men of the 15th Scottish Division, 11th Armoured Division, 43rd Wessex Division and 53rd Welsh Division. Principal among the units fighting on Hill 112, and the tanks of 7th and 9th Royal Tank RegimentRoyal Tank Regiment
The Royal Tank Regiment is an armoured regiment of the British Army. It was formerly known as the Tank Corps and the Royal Tank Corps. It is part of the Royal Armoured Corps and is made up of two operational regiments, the 1st Royal Tank Regiment and the 2nd Royal Tank Regiment...
s, plus numerous other units. Approximately 63,000 men over a period of seven weeks fought on and around Hill 112.
The first battle for Hill 112 was fought at the end of Operation Epsom
Operation Epsom
Operation Epsom, also known as the First Battle of the Odon, was a Second World War British offensive that took place between 26 and 30 June 1944, during the Battle of Normandy...
, when the tanks of 11th Armoured Division broke out from a bridgehead established by the 2nd Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders
Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders
The Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders, 5th Battalion The Royal Regiment of Scotland is an infantry battalion of the Royal Regiment of Scotland....
at Tourmauville. Hill 112 was only an intermediate objective on the way to the River Orne
Orne River
The Orne is a river in Normandy, within northwestern France. It discharges into the English Channel at the port of Ouistreham. Its source is in Aunou-sur-Orne, east of Sées...
crossings but such was the German reaction that the 23rd Hussars
23rd Hussars
The 23rd Hussars was a cavalry regiment of the British Army from 1940 to 1946. It had no lineal connection with the earlier 23rd Regiment of Dragoons .-History:...
were only able to capture and hold the hill with difficulty.
The main attack on Hill 112 was strategically designed to FIX the German panzers and tactically to gain 'elbow room' in what was still a tight beachhead. The German defenders survived naval bombardment, air attack and artillery fire but held their ground, crucially supported by Tiger tank
Tiger tank
Tiger tank may refer to:*Tiger I, or Panzerkampfwagen Tiger Ausf. E, a German heavy tank produced from 1942-1944*Tiger II, or Panzerkampfwagen Tiger Ausf. B, a German heavy tank produced from 1943-1945, also known as Königstiger, King Tiger or Royal Tiger...
s from the 101st Schwere Panzer Battalion. These mighty tanks armed with the 88 mm gun had both greater protection and firepower and outclassed the opposing British Churchill tank
Churchill tank
The Tank, Infantry, Mk IV was a heavy British infantry tank used in the Second World War, best known for its heavy armour, large longitudinal chassis with all-around tracks with multiple bogies, and its use as the basis of many specialist vehicles. It was one of the heaviest Allied tanks of the war...
and Sherman tank.
Even though the hill was not captured and was left as a no-man's-land between the two armies, important surrounding villages had been taken. Above all, however, the 9th Hohenstaufen SS Panzer Division, which had been in the process of moving out of the line to form an operational reserve, was brought back to contain the British. Therefore, on the strategic level Operation JUPITER was a significant success.
It was not until American troops eventually started to break out from the Normandy lodgement, as Operation Cobra
Operation Cobra
Operation Cobra was the codename for an offensive launched by the First United States Army seven weeks after the D-Day landings, during the Normandy Campaign of World War II...
developed momentum, in August 1944, that the Germans withdrew from Hill 112 and the 53rd Welsh Division occupied the feature, with barely a fight.
Casualties during that period amounted to approximately 25,000 British troops and 500 British tanks. The 43rd Wessex sustained 7,000 casualties
Operations Bluecoat and Enterprise
Operation Bluecoat was an attack by the British Second ArmyBritish Second Army
The British Second Army was active during both the First and Second World Wars. During the First World War the army was active on the Western Front and in Italy...
in the Battle of Normandy
Operation Overlord
Operation Overlord was the code name for the Battle of Normandy, the operation that launched the invasion of German-occupied western Europe during World War II by Allied forces. The operation commenced on 6 June 1944 with the Normandy landings...
,from 30 July 1944 to 7 August 1944. The objectives of the attack were to secure the key road junction of Vire
Vire
Vire is a commune in the Calvados department in the Basse-Normandie region in northwestern France.- History :In 1123, Henri I Beauclerc, King of England and Duke of Normandy, had a redoubt constructed on a rocky hill top, which was surrounded by the Vire river...
and the high ground of Mont Pinçon. Strategically, the attack was made to support the American exploitation of their breakout on the western flank of the Normandy beachhead.
Miles Dempsey
Miles Dempsey
General Sir Miles Christopher Dempsey, GBE, KCB, DSO, MC was commander of the British Second Army during the D-Day landings in the Second World War...
was switched westward towards Villers-Bocage
Villers-Bocage
Villers-Bocage may refer to the following communes in France:* Villers-Bocage, Calvados, in the Calvados département, and the site of the Battle of Villers-Bocage* Villers-Bocage, Somme, in the Somme département...
adjacent to the American army. Originally, Dempsey planned to attack on 2 August, but the speed of events on the American front forced him to advance the date.
Initially, only two weak German infantry divisions held the intended attack frontage, south and east of Caumont
Caumont
Caumont is the same as Chaumont in common French and the name or part of the name of several communes in France:*Caumont, Aisne, Picardy*Caumont, Ariège, Aquitaine*Caumont, Eure, Haute-Normandie*Caumont, Gers, Aquitaine*Caumont, Gironde, Aquitaine...
, although they had laid extensive minefields and constructed substantial defences. They also occupied ideal terrain for defence, the bocage
Bocage
Bocage is a Norman word which has entered both the French and English languages. It may refer to a small forest, a decorative element of leaves, a terrain of mixed woodland and pasture, or a type of rubble-work, comparable with the English use of 'rustic' in relation to garden...
.
They fought virtually continuously from then on through Caumont, the Seine Crossing, the Gheel Bridgehead, Best, Tilburg, Meijel, Blerwick, Broekhuizen
Battle of Broekhuizen
The battle of Broekhuizen, a small Dutch village near the Meuse, was a small battle which took place at the end of the Second World War. In the fighting, which took place by the end of November 1944, castle Broekhuizen and the nearby village were conquered by the 15th Scottish Division on the...
, the Maas and across the Rhine.
Their particular distinction was to be selected to lead the last set piece river crossing of the war, the assault across the Elbe (Operation Enterprise) on 29 April 1945 spearheaded by Brigadier Derek Mills-Roberts 1st Commando Brigade, after which they fought on to the Baltic occupying both Lubeck and Kiel. They were the only division of the British Army of the Second World War to be involved in three of the six major European river assault crossings; the Seine, the Rhine and the Elbe.
On 10 April 1946 the 15th (Scottish) Division was finally disbanded. Its battle casualties – killed, wounded and missing – in twelve months of fighting were 11,772.
See also
- List of British divisions in WWI
- List of British divisions in WWII
- British Army Order of Battle - September 1939