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1st Bn The Royal Scots (The Royal Regiment) and 2nd
Bn The Royal Norfolk Regiment were
part of 4 Bde, I Corps,BEF
in 1940
3 SS Panzer Division Totenkopf in
May 1940
3 Panzer Division (Wehrmacht) (Heer) May 1940
Mai 1940 - 3° Nos villes et villages de Flandre sont occupés. -
Sapeurs Pompiers - Fils de France
8th Battalion, The Royal Scots, Le Paradis 1918
An extract of 1/8 RS War Diary
It is a sad irony that the very ground that was fought over by
the 1st Royal Scots and 2nd Royal Norfolks in May 1940 had been
fought over by the 8th Royal Scots in April 1918, another
rear-guard action against a German Offensive,
The Battles of the Lys, which was firstly
on
Merville and
Béthune, secondly on
Hazebrouck and finally the
Ypres Salient and the Channel Ports.
In response to the offensive the 8th Royal Scots were marched up
to
Mont-Bernanchon* on the 9th April. The next day they were
ordered forward to Pacault* where they came under German
Artillery fire, sustaining casualties, who are buried in the
CWGC Cemetery in Mont-Bernanchon Churchyard. Fallen of The Royal
Scots and Royal Norfolks including a large number of undentified
British Soldiers from May 1940 are buried alongside them. After
dark on the 10th April B Company moved to a position in front of
Paradis (near
Lestrem) in support of the 7th Gordons who were West of the River
Lawe. Heavy fighting on the 11th April pushed back the Gordons
and the rest of their Division from the line of the Lawe, and B
Company fell back with them holding the German Advance on the
line of the railway near Merville.
Extract from Water Supply Map Hazebrouck 1916
Note spelling: Mont Bernenchon, Pacaut*
In the meantime C Company had
advanced before dawn that day from Pacault and dug in about 500
yards east of
Paradis Church and broke a dangerous German attack
which started at 8 am sustaining many losses. A Company
meanwhile had moved at about 7 am west of Pacault and dug in
about 1,000 yards south-west of C Company. The attack reached
them at midday with the Germans establishing themselves in
groups of houses nearby. Artillery fire was directed on them and
they were brought down by small arms fire from A Company as they
moved out into the open. C Company fought off a violent assault
at the same time and elements of B Company moved up to reinforce
C Company's left flank. This still left both Company's flanks
exposed and so the acting CO withdrew them slightly to maintain
liaison with the Units on their flanks. By the night of the
11th/12th April it seemed the worst of the offensive had passed,
and then just before dawn on the 12th April a tremendous attack
was launched along the whole of the line. The Germans broke
through on the left and got behind The Royal Scots position,
surprising Battalion HQ. A and C Companies though surrounded
fought on. A Company crossed La Bassée Canal near Mont-Bernanchon and
C Company formed a line with a party of Sappers through
Pacault
Wood and kept the Germans at Bay until dusk, and then crossed
the Canal under cover of darkness, ending the 8th Royal Scots
part in fighting in the area that would be fought over again by
the 1st Royal Scots twenty two years later.
* Note spelling has changed: Mt. Bernenchon to
Mont-Bernanchon, Pacaut to Pacault and Paradis to Le Paradis
(locals still say "Paradis", as does Satnav).
The
Royal Scots (The Royal Regiment) WW1 Battalions
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