Saturday 25th May 1940
367 Battery joins 145 Brigade (Somerforce) at Cassel
The French army had managed to stall the German advance temporarily and so Macforce was disbanded. New orders were given by Lord Gort to the commander of 145 Brigade, 46-year-old Brigadier Hon. Nigel Fitzroy Somerset, to proceed from his position in Nomain (south of Lille) to Cassel and Hazebrouck. This ad-hoc force, 145 Brigade, was to form the ‘Somerforce‘. The situation was by this stage very fluid, the order to create Somerforce at Cassel was given at 15:00 hrs on the 24th May, and had followed a quickly rescinded order delivered at 07:00 hrs on 24th May for Somerset’s 145 Brigade to head to Calais.
07.00hrs. Orders are received to form ‘Somerset Column’ (Somerforce) and proceed immediately to Calais. A Lifting Company RASC is en-route to transport marching troops.
15.00hrs. A Divisional Staff Officer from 48 Division arrives to inform Brigade Commander that the destination has been changed to Cassel as a force from the UK has been sent to relieve Calais.
22.30hrs. Move to Cassel starts. 4th Battalion Ox & Bucks LI (Lt Col Kennedy) and 2nd. Glosters (Maj Gilmore) move overnight from Nomain to Cassel in a 145 Brigade column. The column is seriously delayed in some places by fires started by bombing and traffic congestion. Some vehicles become lost.
Extracts from War Diary, 145 Brigade & Somerset’s personal War Diary describing orders for the formation of Somerforce at Cassel on 24th May
Operation Dynamo
Unbeknown to its commanders at the time, Somerforce’s task was to hold Cassel at all costs in order to delay the German advance while the Operation Dynamo evacuation was underway at the beaches in Dunkirk.
140 Rgt’s Arrival at Cassel
The men and equipment of 367 Battery 140th Field Regiment moved Northwards along the D933 road from Nieppe forest, via Caestre, to Cassel.
Cassel (to the left) and Chateau Masson/Mont des Recollets (to the right) as seen from the road from Caestre heading North
As they arrived, Brigadier Mason-Macfarlane, with a smattering of French anti-aircraft artillery, had been in command of the garrison. Cassel had been heavily bombed with civilian and French army casualties and an itinerant civilian population that included many Belgian refugees.
The 140th Regiment’s War Diary describes the Regiment’s arrival at Cassel on 24th May and the dispositions of the troops. 367 Battery would have been one of the first B.E.F. units to arrive at the town, and as the main German thrust appeared to be coming from the South West, the Regiment’s supply depot was set up away from the main garrison at the village of Eecke, a few miles along the D916/933 road near St -Sylvestre-Cappel.
Apparently, some annoyance was expressed by the other artillery units that, by arriving first, the 140th Regiment had been able to choose the best available gun positions.
2nd Lt Rowland’s Diary
Saturday 25th May 1940. ‘Had to trace map for Col [Odling]…Busy day on phone. Top storey of Chateau [Masson] used as RHQ OP. Col [Odling] keeping very calm is spite of everything. 367 [Battery] not answering too well. Pity we haven’t got 366 [Battery] with us. Col Durant (Gp Cmd) called in morning. Capt Welsh, 2nd i/c of 5th RHA [Royal Horse Artillery]. They left 1 Tp attached to us. Col [Durant] now CRA [Commander Royal Artillery]’.
Brigadier Somerset arrives Cassel, 25th May
Brigadier Somerset, en route from Nomain and shortly to take over command at Cassel, arrived at 06:00hrs on the 25th May.
Somerset’s War Diary describing his arrival at Cassel at 06:00 on 25th May 1940
1940 Map of Cassel and surrounding villages
Sketch map of Cassel and surroundings
Mont des Recollets- 140 Rgt RHQ
Regimental HQ was set up in the Chateau Masson on the D916 road, just to the South of the junction with the D948. This house still stands and is now known as the Grande Maison Reception, an event and reception centre. In 1940, it was also used as a Field Hospital, and some of the hospital equipment is still to be found on the upper floors.
Regimental HQ at Chateau Masson on the approach road to the South-East of Cassel, this was over-run and HQ had to be re-sited in the town centre.
Chateau Masson in the 1930s
East Yorkshire Yeomanry
Sketch map from East Yorkshire Yeomanry War Diary showing E.Y.R. positions on Mont des Recollets, 27-28th May 1940. North is orientated to the right.
140 Regiment’s Positions and RHQ, 25-28th May 1940
Satellite map of Cassel, courtesy of Guided Battlefield Tours Ltd, showing positions of Regimental Headquarters at Chateau Masson (marked HQ), and ‘F’ troop gun positions at HQ and at the D948 roadside – position (1), and two troops in the woodland towards the South – ‘D’ Troop (2) and North – ‘E’ Troop (3) of the wooded area representing the Mont des Recollets.
The Regiment subsequently moved their guns into Cassel town itself, including the Central Place (4) and the Place du Gen. Vandamme (5).
‘F’ Troop’s Position
Capt Ronald Baxter was Troop leader of F troop, positioned on the main approach road into Cassel around the Chateau Masson. His diary reads:
’24th May. Germans raid the town, unpleasant. Battery to take up positions on outskirts. First area allotted to F Troop waterlogged. Finally selected my Troop position, guns sited along a track leading to cottage. Dug in. Part of ‘Mac’ force. M.T. to Eecke wagon lines. Took over cottage as Troop H.Q. Regimental H.Q. behind position. D Troop on left further back. E Troop away on the right facing. Jack May, Charles Bennett, myself, three Batmen, two drivers and two a/c’s took over cottage. Owner gone. A.A. gun mounted in field behind. Jack May’s truck parked outside, also Charles Bennett’s bike.’
The Chemin du Mt des Recollets track that leads to the Southern Gun position (‘F’ Troop) shown on the Satellite map.
‘D’ Troop’s Position
View from the Southernmost gun position looking to the South-East, Monts des Cats visible in the distance. I suspect this site was ‘D’ Troop and was most likely where my father Eric West was positioned.
‘D’ Troop Personnel
Troop Cmdr Capt L. MacDougall
Troop GPO 2/Lt D. Budd
Troop Leader 2/Lt D.E. Waterman
Troop SM BSM F. Goddard
OP Asst L/Sgt Munyard
No1 Sgt L Mears
L/Bmbr Eric West
‘E’ Troop Position
View from the Northernmost gun position (E- Troop) at the Mt Des Recollets looking Northeast towards Winnezeele Church spire. The Regiments’ C/O Lt Col Odling was injured here on 28th May.
Somerset’s Garrison at Cassel
Somerset’s Cassel garrison consisted of two Infantry battalions, the 4th Oxford and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry (OBLI) and the 2nd Gloucestershire Regiment, who were to form the core of the defence of the town. The Cassel garrison also consisted of the 143 Field Ambulance Unit, the East Yorkshire Yeomanry, two companies of machine gunners from the Cheshire Regiment, various Royal Engineers and Major Cartland’s 53rd (Queens Own Worcestershire Hussars) Anti-Tank Regiment. Major Ronald Cartland was a serving Conservative Member of Parliament for a Birmingham constituency, and had been a supporter of Winston Churchill during the appeasement crisis of 1938-9.
Brigadier Somerset’s first HQ was in the (now rebuilt) Town Hall, Cassel
Unaware of the whereabouts, and the proximity, of the German panzers Brigadier Somerset set about organising the rather disparate forces now under his command. His War Diary describes the allocation of infantry and artillery units throughout Cassel and the surrounding 10 mile front.
145 Brigade War Diary, 25th May 1940
03.00hrs. Brigade Commander receives a message that a battalion is to be diverted to defend Hazebrouck. A Divisional Staff Officer RVs with Brigade on the road East of Bailleul and briefs Brigade Commander. Brigadier Somerset sets up Control Post with his BM at the fork of the roads leading to Cassel and Hazebrouck and detaches Bucks Battalion (Maj Heyworth) from the tail of the column with orders to go to Hazebrouck with a Sec 226 Field Company RE, a Troop anti-tank guns RA and the Bucks Battalion anti-tank Platoon.
04.00hrs. Advance guard of 145 Brigade arrives Cassel, led by Padre and Brigade anti-tank Company who have taken an alternative route. Town is being held by a Squadron of Fife and Forfar Yeomanry, together with the carriers of the battalions in 145 Brigade, which have been sent on ahead.
05.00hrs. Battalions arrive and take up temporary positions. Town has been badly bombed.
06.00hrs Brigade Commander arrives and RVs with General Mason-McFarlane (DMI GHQ) i/c ‘Mac Force’ who briefs him on his task and available forces, which comprises:
– 1st. Welsh Guards (GHQ Defence Battalion – the plan was for GHQ to move from Hazebrouck to Cassel). It is not present at the outset but arrives later – leaves, and returns again
– 1st. Light Armoured Recce Brigade (Brigadier Norman) of two regiments of light tanks and carriers, (East Riding Yeomanry and Fife and Forfar Yeomanry)
– The 13/18th Hussars (GHQ Troops),
– 3 Batteries RA, with 18-pounder guns, two from 5th Field Regt RHA (G and K Batteries), one from 140th Field Regt RA (367 Battery)
– 3 Troops anti-tank RA from 209 Battery and a Troop of 211 Battery, 53rd Regt RA (Worcestershire Yeomanry). 145 Brigade WD also mentions a Troop of 223 Battery, 56 (Kings Own) anti-tank Regt. This Troop was kept at Cassel when the rest of the Battery was sent to Hazebrouck to support the Bucks Battalion since it does not feature in the accounts of Cassel.
– A/C Composite Company of 4th Cheshire armed with Vickers machine guns.
– 2 Companies York and Lancaster Regt.
– Construction Companies RE at Terdeghem to the North.
– Searchlight Company RA.
– 5 x 75mm French Field guns in the anti-tank role.
– A Company, 143 Field Ambulance
With these resources and his own Brigade, Brigadier Somerset is expected to hold an 11-mile frontage, from a boundary with 44 Division south of Hazebrouck to the Le Pequel Blockhouse North of Cassel inclusive.
Brigade Commander carries out brief recce of the town and issues orders:
4th. Battalion Ox & Bucks LI is to take up defensive positions at East end of town, 2nd. Glosters are at West end of town. Both are to prepare against attack by enemy AFVs.
On Mont des Recollets to the East, Brigadier Norman’s 1st. Light Armoured Recce Brigade. Also 1st. Welsh Guards when they arrive. In some accounts there were also some troops of the 9th Sherwood Foresters on the Mont des Recollets.
Machine gun Platoons 4th. Cheshire are put under command 2nd. Glosters and 4th Ox & Bucks LI.
All anti-tank Batteries are put under command Maj Ronald Cartland MP and are tasked to cover armoured approaches from the West. In 209 Battery, 2nd Lt D Woodward leads A Troop; TSM Prosser leads B Troop and Lt. R.D. Hutton-Squire C Troop.
All other Field Artillery comes under command of the acting CRA (Commander Royal Artillery), Lt. Col Durand RA (CO 5th. RHA) and is deployed in indirect fire role from a gun area to the Southeast of Mont des Recollets. One Troop of K Battery RHA (Capt Teacher’s F Troop) is sent to Hondeghem to hold it with an officer and 80 men of 2nd Searchlight Regiment.
All RE under Lt.Col Knot’s command and tasked to create roadblocks against AFVs.
Two Companies York and Lancs and 1 Troop 140th. Regt RA sent to reinforce Wormhoudt [although this doesn’t appear in any 140 Rgt accounts, or their War Diary]
Brigade HQ sets up in houses on col between Cassel town and the Mont des Recollets.
RAPs set up in a convent of Augustinian nuns in the town centre. (A company of 143 Field Ambulance was also in the town. It is not yet clear where the Field Ambulance personnel were located but possibly also in the convent. A dressing station was set up at Steenvorde and later at Oost Cappel).
B Echelons are at Steenvorde to the East.
Battalion HQ is initially in the Gendarmerie, Place Dunkerque.
HQ Company and Carrier Platoon are in the Place Dunkerque. Signals Platoon at the Church.
4th Ox & Bucks LI positions
A Company (Capt Lord Rathcreedan) covering the Lille Road on the Southeast side of the town. Battalion Mortar Platoon is attached to A Company after having been initially positioned near Battalion HQ.
B Company (Capt Falkiner). Brigade Reserve and holding the “Keep” on the citadel in the town centre. (This was the Casino perched on top of the citadel.)
C Company (Maj Graham) to North of the town covering the Dunkirk Road
D Company (Capt Clutsom) on the road junctions between Cassel and the Mont des Recollets covering the Steenvoorde Road.
2nd Glosters positions
Battalion HQ in the Banque du Nord, Place Vandamme
HQ Company and carriers in Place Vandamme
A Company (Capt. Percy Hardman in Place Vandamme
B Company (Capt. Wilson) Northwest edge of town covering the roads from Calais. 2Lt. Weightman’s 10 Platoon positioned in a farmhouse to the Company front. B Company supported by a Platoon of 4th. Cheshires, two sections of 2pdr anti-tank guns, and some French.
C Company (Capt. Lynn-Allen) South side of town (next to A Company 4th Ox & Bucks LI),
D Company (Capt. Cholmondely) SW corner of town covering approaches from St. Omer. Supported by Battalion Mortar Platoon, some anti-tank guns and a section of machine guns from the 4th Cheshires.
09.00hrs. Positions changed on orders of Brigade Command.
12.00hrs. Brigade Command told he is now under command 44 Division (General Osborn)
14.00hrs. General Osborn arrives and approves defensive plan. 13/18th. Hussars are withdrawn by GHQ. General Mason-McFarlane departs having told Somerset that Germans are expected to advance on the 27th May but not to attack Cassel.
15.00hrs. Brigade Command tours Glosters’ position with CRA and CRE – some positions changed again. Some bombing. Enemy AFVs seen in the distance. Somerset orders evacuation of civilians to Lille. He asks GHQ for some AA guns and some 25pdrs.
Night – quiet. Patrols sent out, including carriers. Two patrol clashes.
145 Brigade War Diary and Somerset’s personal War Diary, 25th May 1940
Somerset also made a decision to evacuate the remaining civilian population, who were suffering from a lack of food and living in considerable squalor under fire. Suspicion remained about the possibility of ‘5th Columnists’ particularly among some of the Flemish refugee population, as referred to in the Gloucester Regiment’s War diary: –
Gloucester Regt War Diary 24-25th May 1940
German Halt Order- 24th May 1940
Fortunately the day before, 24th May 1940, after a British tank counter-attack at Arras that had made German commanders aware of the potential danger of outstripping their supply lines, Hitler had issued his ‘Halt Order’, thereby buying Somerset vital time to organise the defence.
Dead Horse Corner
British troops arriving at Cassel soon realised that the town had already suffered badly from aerial bombing. Much of the town was badly damaged and the men were met with the grisly sight of a grimacing dead horse and dead French soldiers scattered across the cobbled road as they climbed the curving D933 road to the town centre, the bend on the road by the cemetery was dubbed the ‘Dead Horse Corner‘
‘Dead Horse Corner’ in 2019
Cassel as a fortress
Cassel commands a hilltop position that straddles the D916 road, one of the main routes to Dunkirk. Mont Cassel, at 250 foot, together with the neighbouring Mont des Recollets, is by far the highest and most prominent feature for miles around. During World War 1, the town had been successively the headquarters of Ferdinand Foch as commander of French armies in the North and of General Herbert Plumer as commander of the British Second Army.
Statue of Marechal Foch on the summit of Mont Cassel
Cassel was rapidly made into a tank-proof fortress. Positions (mainly in town houses and outbuildings) were strengthened, windows were blocked, curtains and glass removed, roads were barricaded, trenches dug, and sandbagged positions were created. These preparations, and the damage to property, created friction with civilian residents who were eventually ordered to leave and evacuated by bus. French machine guns and anti-tank weapons and detachments were utilized to assist in the defence.
Machine guns, however, were often hampered by lack of good fields of fire; while the 140th Regiments’ 18-pounders found themselves limited owing to difficulty achieving sufficient elevation owing to the terrain.
Gloucester Regt and the Oxford & Buckinghamshire Light Infantry
The town being divided approximately into two halves by a north-south grid line; the 4th Oxford and Bucks Light Infantry (OBLI) held the East of the D933/D218 junction; the 61st Gloucester Regiment held the Western sector, including the gentler slopes onto the Flanders plain.
Mont Cassel looking North towards the coast and Dunkirk
Le Pequel Bunker at Hardifort
Later, on the 26th May, No. 8 Platoon under 2/Lieut. R.W. Cresswell was sent to occupy a partially completed blockhouse at Le Pequel about two miles out of Cassel on the D916 road to Dunkirk.
Le Pequel bunker, North of Cassel
Lt Cresswell’s heroic defence of this isolated Bunker position has become part of the legend of the Dunkirk story and the rearguard action at Cassel.
Picket villages, Zuytpene and Bavinchove
The rest of “A” Company was sent to occupy the village of Zuytpene, on the railway line to the West of the town. A company of the 4th Oxford and Bucks was similarly sent out to occupy Bavinchove, to the South of Cassel with a station and level crossing at the junction of the railway and the D933.
Calm before the storm
The day of 25th May was relatively quiet, reflecting the pause in the German advance following the 24th May Halt Order. It provided an opportunity for the Somerforce to continue preparations to defend the town. The whereabouts of the Germans were still unknown on 26th May and the day was largely engaged in reconnoitering the surrounding countryside.
British Military map of Cassel 1940, with thanks to Barry Ross
German Perspective
German situation map 26th May 1940. British fortifications at Cassel, which the Germans intend to circumvent by passing to the South (6th & 8th Panzer Army) and to the North. From ‘Dunkirk-German operations in France 1940‘ by Hans-Adolf Jacobsen
140th Regiment War Diary, National Archives
25th May 1940
‘From Regimental H.Q. we could see much shelling and bombing activity in HAZEBROUKE. CASSEL was again heavily bombed. At the same time there was a big battle going on to the South. I cannot remember any movement of enemy Infantry and Tanks being reported during the day in the CASSEL area.’
26th May 1940
‘This was a peaceful day. There were some deserted French 75 mm. guns in CASSEL for some reasons unknown’.