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CROCKER, Gen Sir John T. British Army 30th Corps BOX 20, #22
Crocker
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Crocker BRITISH ARMY JUNO - SWORD [crossed out] ROYAL [end crossed out] [crossed out] NAVY [end crossed out]
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Lt. General Sir John Crocker..
Crocker was on the Headquarters ship HMS Hilary on D-Day. He was scheduled to go ashore at about 10.0 a.m., but there was such a heavy swell that it was impossible to lower boat from parent ship. A small craft was brought alongside the Hilary and Crocker went aboard. But then it was found that there was absolutely no communication between wheel and engine. Crocker then had difficult job of regaining the Hilary by way of rope ladder.... a tricky enough business for a young man!
Admiral on Hilary quite put out by this unexpected development, arranged for ship close by to send over another landing craft Came alongside, whoosh, demolished gangplank....... Finally, Crocker boarded the craft but it turned out to be a "deep-draft" vessel and couldn't get close to shore. Crocker transferred to a "very ordinary, humble landing craft" and finally waded ashore in two or three feet water!
Nowabout one hour late, so no reception committee waiting for Crocker as arranged. He slogged up the beach on foot, got a lift on a tiring motor cycle (it gave up some way along the road to Rennie's H.Q.) and finally reached Rennie... Later, when he returned to the beach, was conferring with other officers.. suddenly Gerry came over and raked the beach all around Crocker... he found himself grovelling in sand conferring with other officers about progress of invasion. Left beach in landing craft to rejoin Hilary at about 3.30 p.m. sailed out into Channel but not sign of H.Q. ship at rendezvous.. Had to stooge around until he could locate her......
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BR JUNO-GOLD
CONVERSATIONS WITH GENERAL CROCKER, C.O. 30th Corps and GEN. GALE, 6th Airborne
1. Find Captain Roseveare (Airborne Association).. He took jeep five miles into enemy territory, blew up bridge at Troarn, lost one man who was shot and fell off back of jeep, with guns forward , rushed his way through enemy occupied village..
2. Canadian Parachute drop..... badly scattered drop.. should have been around Le Mesnil..lead by Bradbrooke.. Took good time to collect.. had to blow bridges at Varaville and [crossed out] (?) [end crossed out] [inserted] Robehomme [end inserted] They- dropped into Dives area and canal... They did their job, nothing to stop them.
3. Tetrarchs arrived afternoon of D-Day.. not used untilnext day. They were to be used outside perimeter... to interfere with communications between Troarn and Caen.. meant to be a nuisance. But they never broke out of bridgehead.. Used as machine gun pillboxes in woods of Boid de Bavent.
4. That night a number of 171b. guns were dropped for Gale.
5. Panzer recce into Airborne territory... probably a battalion of Grenadiers, some 800 men. and sp. guns.
6. There were rumours that German tanks were seen and destroyed that day. Not so, says Gale: they were Sp. guns.
7. However, Canadian Brigade on inner flank ran into spearhead of 21st Panzer and knocked out about 7 or 8 of them.
8. All german armour on D-Day committed on West side of river and canal.
9. Regarding statements that advanced units got into Caen that night, Gale says we substanially did not get beyond Lebisey Wood. It would be easy to mistake little village for outskirts of Caen.... Several weeks later when we finally got into Caen there was still the wreckage of bren guns which had got to perimeters, only.
10. The story of the flail tanks.... Some nine months before D-Day, Eisenhower and a number of his generals came to British Army to see demonstration of Flail tanks.. Elsnhower was impressed... would have liked to tie in with development of our own coastal assault, but Americans obse ssed with Far-Eastern experience of "saturating" a position with naval and air bombardment, then walking in. They were not concerned with armoured support.
Our, the British major problem and one which tried us all, was to provide adequate fire support in first hours, almost minutes, of landing.
The naval bombardment was discounted by most people, Crocker including. It was chiefly a matter of morale, did troops good to see this weight of fire against enemy, demoralised the enemy... But Gerry still left after stupendous bombardment.. Very difficult for naval fire to be accurate.. witness Troarn and Merville.
11. Merville battery... a navy business really. The guns were only 75's , but they might have been heavier..
12. Ask Bobbie Bray, C/O 56th London Div. about pigeon message to say Merville cleared. He was Gale's GL. It was almost certain tobe code name.
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13. Gale sent message to Crocker about 6 - 8 p.m. June 6th to say "All objectives captured." Gale reminds us that he was the only British general in the field that day.
14. Gale on Pegasus Bridge that evening when Gerry dropped a thousandpound bomb. Fortunately it didn't go off.
15. Crocker says that from Corps point of view everything went more or less to plan that day. There were no disasters, no failures. Thing at back of his mind was not the danger of getting ashore, but of problem of repelling attack should it come within first twelve hours. Whatever your plan, the resources you have to fight with during those first hours are of necessity slender: you have no real communications established, no real armour tied in, etc. But by about 7.30 that evening I was confident of a foothold, but not fully confident until the next morning that we could hold foothold. AFTER THAT THERE WAS NOT A SHADOW OF DOUBT THAT WE SHOULD BE VICTORIOUS. It wasn't until D plus three or four that I got worried. I heard that there was to be a strong armoued counter-attack. But by 7.0 a.m. on June 7th I was perfectly satisfied that we were there to stay.
Crockers says "Its a hard thing to say, but really it was all routine. Once the plan had been put into effect there was no more we could do. Rennie, c/o 3rd Div., changed the plan in the afternoon because he felt his right flank was threatened.. but he had absolute command in the field and I couldn't interfere. "It was like a machine: once you pushedthe button and started it running, you couldn't stop it." "Mind you, before D-Day we had a conference and every possible contingency was thought of. What would Gale do if the bridges had already been blown? what would he do if he didn't capture the Merville Battery? Who would take over if I were drowned or wounded?" Fortunately there was never any need to introduce alternative plans.
SUGGEST we see 3rd Div. Bttn. Commander Major Gen. Goodwin, T.A.
LT. Col. Young, Col. on Canadian beaches has interesting medical story.
Harry Foster, Canadian, 7th Infantry Brigade, got through to Bretteville first day.
