"We go in at first light. The bridge is still standing, but the town’s a bloody great ruin, the gunners have outdone themselves this time and Jerry’s dug himself in good and proper. He’s had time to prepare, and we’ll have to fight for every inch. There’s a blasted great defensive line before the outskirts—bunkers, machine-gun nests, and heaven knows what else. Getting through that will be a nasty business, and then we’ve got to dig him out of the rubble. No two ways about it, this is going to be a slog.

At least we’ve got the Churchills coming up. A bit of proper firepower to shift the blighters, and their armour can take a knocking. That said, I wouldn’t put it past Jerry to have one of those ghastly 88s tucked away, ready to ruin our morning. The lads know the score—keep their heads down, move sharpish, and let the tanks do the heavy lifting where they can.

A few hours’ kip, then we get on with it."

Extract from the Diary of Lt Dwight E Wolfe
OC 1 Platoon, Able Company
13 August 1944

Dismounted Infantry Assault Platoon 2X Churchill Heavy Tanks 1X CMT and Logistics Team Note: The second gunner in the tank is the co driver/bow gunner position. Note: This is trial of the section style ORBAT