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Just then he spotted half a dozen of the enemy running towards him along
the communications trench. He just stood there pointing the sten gun.
They too surrendered. In a matter of minutes he had captured 20 and
killed two.

By this time the guns had failed. Next the Company regrouped and
continued the advance towards the village of Crepon. They advanced
quickly ahead in line on either side of the road - very quietly, no
talking. As they approached the village along a narrow lane Hollis
saw two dogs about 100 yards ahead frisking about. Hollis was ahead
of the Company. He quickly held up his hand to halt the Company behind
him and hurried back to the Company Commander. "There's something in
the hedge” he told him. Then he crept forward. Behind the hedgerow
he saw a field gun, with a crew of 4 with two supporting machine guns.
He returned and informed his Commander. Lofthouse told him to take a
piat ( Projectile, Infantry, Anti-Tank) and two Bren guns to divert their
attention while the rest of the Company attacked the position.

Hollis with the piat and two Bren gunners went through the hedge into
the kitchen garden of a cottage which was not more than 15-20 yards from
the gun (you have to get that close with a Piat to have any effect otherwise
its suicide). They found themselves lying in tall rhubarb. Hollis
moved the stalks of rhubarb in front of him to get the Piat into position
hoping to put the "bomb” on the breech block with his first shot. He
knew he'd have only one shot - its trajectory is slow and it can be seen
as it sails through the air.

As he moved the rhubarb he was spotted. The field gun almost instantly
opened fire on them - even before the Bren gunners could. The first
shell hit the cottage wall behind them and latterly brought the house
down about them. Apparently under the impression that they had hit
Hollis they stopped firing. Hollis said ”Let's get out of here”.
Believing that they were following, he crawled out of the rhubarb and
back onto the road.

There he saw his Company Commander who told him that the CO of the Battalion
had been up and had ordered the gun to be bypassed. They were to push on.
So they did. After they had gone about 200 yards somebody said to Hollis
"Where are the two Bren gunners?"

Hollis looked around, but couldn't see them. He hurried back to his CO
and told him that they must be still- back in the kitchen garden. "I took
them”, he said, ”and I'm going back to get them out”. He could hear
machine guns chattering behind him and he figured that his two men were
pinned down. He took a Bren gun and returned. He crept up on the German
position and poking the gun through the hedge fired a blast at the machine
gunners. They answered fire, but again miraculously Hollis escaped and by
this time his estimation of the German army had reached a new low. [crossed out] [illegible] [end crossed out] The gun crew had disappeared. He kept up firing from various parts
of the hedge, dodging back and forth along the hedge, until the two bren
gunners reappeared on the road. He was glad to see them but he gave them
a tongue lashing just the same "Next time I tell you to follow me, do it
and quick - that's how you get other people killed." Hollis was quite sore
at the whole incident- it was definitely unsoliderly in his book.

. . . . . .
Timing: Land 7.30; battery taken by 9.00; approach on Crepon by 12.00;
attack on field gun by about 13.00; marched towards Crepon again by 14.00;
returns for Bren gunners 14.10; attack on position 14.15; Bren gunners
14.30; continue advance without any opposition into Crepon.
. . . . . .