The dwindling few.. D-Day and more..
Discussion
In Buckingham today for funeral of my Uncle Denis Cruse aged 90. Nice bloke, always laughing, enjoyed life. Did his bit and more for good old blighty all those years ago.
As a very young man (lied about his age 15) he joined the parachute regiment. Dropped behind enemy lines on D-day in operation Tonga, wounded, shipped back to recover, fought again at the 'Battle of the Bulge', wounded again, dropped again into Germany to fight near the Rhine, finally went to Palestine for two years to sort that out. Fought hard and survived to live a long happy life.
Awarded the medals below including the The Legion D'Honneur.
Nice tribute and last post from the local British Legion members in attendance.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZDL2LnoU7I8
http://www.bbc.co.uk/n…/uk-england-beds-buck...
As a very young man (lied about his age 15) he joined the parachute regiment. Dropped behind enemy lines on D-day in operation Tonga, wounded, shipped back to recover, fought again at the 'Battle of the Bulge', wounded again, dropped again into Germany to fight near the Rhine, finally went to Palestine for two years to sort that out. Fought hard and survived to live a long happy life.
Awarded the medals below including the The Legion D'Honneur.
Nice tribute and last post from the local British Legion members in attendance.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZDL2LnoU7I8
http://www.bbc.co.uk/n…/uk-england-beds-buck...
Edited by peterperkins on Sunday 12th February 12:45
Dropped 'behind the lines' during the Battle of the Bulge? You sure about that? One of the reasons the German assault made so much ground initially was due to the fact that constant cloud cover was so low, Allied aircraft were unable to provide air support to ground troops. Which would also have ruled out airborne operations.
Eric Mc said:
Probably more "Found himself inadvertently behind enemy lines due to the surprise advance of the German forces".
Exciting early life all the same.
'I'm in Belgium, it's minus 10, and im being mortared. How could things get any worse? Oh look, it's Joachim Peiper and his merry band of murderous SS men. With tanks'.Exciting early life all the same.
http://forces.tv/60745245
Found out some more details.
The second world war had been going for about 2 years when in 1941, soon after his 15th birthday, Denis Cruse applied to join the Army, lying about his age. After a medical he was accepted and in very quick time became Private Cruse, Service No. 14407282 and set off from the North into the unknown… Like many others It took years before he talked about his war experiences and much of what he did tell came in short stories.
Two years later he was selected as a potential Paratrooper. Much as today Paras, he would be expected to fight against superior numbers of the enemy armed with heavy weapons including artillery and tanks, and those selected were deemed to have self discipline, self reliance and aggressiveness.
He was sent to the 1st Para Training School at Ringway Airfield, now Manchester Airport, for a 12 day make or break parachute training course. If they passed then further training included physical fitness, marksmanship and field craft. They were trained to capture and hold airborne bridgeheads together with water, road and rail bridges as well as coastal fortifications.
To qualify they all had to make 3 jumps from a barrage balloon which he
swore was no more than 150 feet high and fixed by a steel cable to the ground. His parachute was on a static line and the small platform lurched about in the wind - he said "To be honest I was bloody glad to jump off!"
After the barrage jumps 5 more jumps were required from an aircraft. Anyone failing to complete the jumps was returned to their unit. He completed his parachute course in September 1943. He was just 17 years old…. After qualifying he was presented with his maroon beret and parachute wings.
He was posted to 8th Battalion at Tilshead Wiltshire and joined ‘B’ Company under Commanding officer Alastair Pearson. The Battalion had formed in November 1942 and been assigned to the 3rd Parachute Brigade and they were re-assigned to the 6th Airborne Division in 1943. Part of his training involved a few trips in a Horser glider which terrified him and he vowed from then on to get himself on aircraft with engines and a use his parachute to get back to earth rather than land in one of those!
By 1944 they could do a 50 mile (80 Kilometre) route march in 24 hours with
full kit weighing over 50 pounds also carrying rifle and ammunition.
The Paras fought in operation Tonga in France on D-Day in the Normandy campaignand the break out to the river Seine.
At around 1.00am on D-Day 6th June 1944 the 8th Battalion Parachuted into Normandy as part of operation Tonga. Denis parachuted in the pitch dark from a Dakota flying at about 200 feet into drop Zone ‘K’ about 4.8 KM from Ranville. The objective of the 6th Airborne was to capture two bridges crossing the river Deves and a third at Troarn. The other two the Carne Canal now re-named Pegasus Bridge and the Ranville Bridge over the river Orne now named the Horser Bridge were attacked at the same time by
the glider born Paras.
They were then to liberate Ranville and Calne. To do this they had to fight German troops from the 21st Panzer Division and as we know achieved their objective. By midnight they were in the Brevet Woods and the 8th Paras priority was now to hold the woods and disrupt German movement in the area . They held the woods for 16 days before being relieved by the 3rd Para brigade. Denis part in this mission ended on 10th June 1944 during fierce fighting to defend the woods when he had a section of his hip blown
away by - a German sten gun.
He was brought back to the UK a to recuperate and he rejoined 8th Paras going back into action in the Ardennes and the battle known as the Battle of the Bulge. He was wounded a second time but continued to fight. Later in life Denis could pull bits of shrapnel out of his hand as they found there way to the surface.
He was parachuted into Germany on 24th March 1945 for a third mission to secure a bridgehead over the river Rhine. The 8th Battalion were the first division to land and made good progress but they were stopped at Lembeck by well positioned 20 mm guns until joined by the 1st Canadian Paras and together they took the position at the end of the day.
On 30th April the Battalion were ordered to head to Weimar on the Baltic sea. The battalion was now taken over by Lt Colonel George Hewitson, the war in Europe had ended when they found themselves on a ship which they thought was taking them to Japan. It diverted to Palestine where there was much terrorist activity and Denis served out his time, it was nearly 2 years until they were returned to England.
The 8th Paras were disbanded and demobbed. 6th Airborne were disbanded in 1948. On leaving Denis received ten shillings and a demob suit.
In 2015 he received Legion of Honour (legion d’honnuer) from the French Government for his services to France.
Found out some more details.
The second world war had been going for about 2 years when in 1941, soon after his 15th birthday, Denis Cruse applied to join the Army, lying about his age. After a medical he was accepted and in very quick time became Private Cruse, Service No. 14407282 and set off from the North into the unknown… Like many others It took years before he talked about his war experiences and much of what he did tell came in short stories.
Two years later he was selected as a potential Paratrooper. Much as today Paras, he would be expected to fight against superior numbers of the enemy armed with heavy weapons including artillery and tanks, and those selected were deemed to have self discipline, self reliance and aggressiveness.
He was sent to the 1st Para Training School at Ringway Airfield, now Manchester Airport, for a 12 day make or break parachute training course. If they passed then further training included physical fitness, marksmanship and field craft. They were trained to capture and hold airborne bridgeheads together with water, road and rail bridges as well as coastal fortifications.
To qualify they all had to make 3 jumps from a barrage balloon which he
swore was no more than 150 feet high and fixed by a steel cable to the ground. His parachute was on a static line and the small platform lurched about in the wind - he said "To be honest I was bloody glad to jump off!"
After the barrage jumps 5 more jumps were required from an aircraft. Anyone failing to complete the jumps was returned to their unit. He completed his parachute course in September 1943. He was just 17 years old…. After qualifying he was presented with his maroon beret and parachute wings.
He was posted to 8th Battalion at Tilshead Wiltshire and joined ‘B’ Company under Commanding officer Alastair Pearson. The Battalion had formed in November 1942 and been assigned to the 3rd Parachute Brigade and they were re-assigned to the 6th Airborne Division in 1943. Part of his training involved a few trips in a Horser glider which terrified him and he vowed from then on to get himself on aircraft with engines and a use his parachute to get back to earth rather than land in one of those!
By 1944 they could do a 50 mile (80 Kilometre) route march in 24 hours with
full kit weighing over 50 pounds also carrying rifle and ammunition.
The Paras fought in operation Tonga in France on D-Day in the Normandy campaignand the break out to the river Seine.
At around 1.00am on D-Day 6th June 1944 the 8th Battalion Parachuted into Normandy as part of operation Tonga. Denis parachuted in the pitch dark from a Dakota flying at about 200 feet into drop Zone ‘K’ about 4.8 KM from Ranville. The objective of the 6th Airborne was to capture two bridges crossing the river Deves and a third at Troarn. The other two the Carne Canal now re-named Pegasus Bridge and the Ranville Bridge over the river Orne now named the Horser Bridge were attacked at the same time by
the glider born Paras.
They were then to liberate Ranville and Calne. To do this they had to fight German troops from the 21st Panzer Division and as we know achieved their objective. By midnight they were in the Brevet Woods and the 8th Paras priority was now to hold the woods and disrupt German movement in the area . They held the woods for 16 days before being relieved by the 3rd Para brigade. Denis part in this mission ended on 10th June 1944 during fierce fighting to defend the woods when he had a section of his hip blown
away by - a German sten gun.
He was brought back to the UK a to recuperate and he rejoined 8th Paras going back into action in the Ardennes and the battle known as the Battle of the Bulge. He was wounded a second time but continued to fight. Later in life Denis could pull bits of shrapnel out of his hand as they found there way to the surface.
He was parachuted into Germany on 24th March 1945 for a third mission to secure a bridgehead over the river Rhine. The 8th Battalion were the first division to land and made good progress but they were stopped at Lembeck by well positioned 20 mm guns until joined by the 1st Canadian Paras and together they took the position at the end of the day.
On 30th April the Battalion were ordered to head to Weimar on the Baltic sea. The battalion was now taken over by Lt Colonel George Hewitson, the war in Europe had ended when they found themselves on a ship which they thought was taking them to Japan. It diverted to Palestine where there was much terrorist activity and Denis served out his time, it was nearly 2 years until they were returned to England.
The 8th Paras were disbanded and demobbed. 6th Airborne were disbanded in 1948. On leaving Denis received ten shillings and a demob suit.
In 2015 he received Legion of Honour (legion d’honnuer) from the French Government for his services to France.
Edited by peterperkins on Sunday 12th February 12:50
Edited by peterperkins on Sunday 12th February 12:53
Joey Ramone said:
Dropped 'behind the lines' during the Battle of the Bulge? You sure about that? One of the reasons the German assault made so much ground initially was due to the fact that constant cloud cover was so low, Allied aircraft were unable to provide air support to ground troops. Which would also have ruled out airborne operations.
Re read the OP and you will see he wasn't dropped behind lines at the BotB.Gassing Station | The Lounge | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff