Mont Pincon: 1 - 14 August 1944
After a brief two day rest the Division re-entered the line on the Caumont sector on August 1st with the task of leading the Second Army thrust south. Fighting its way through extensive minefields it cleared Cahagnes, drove down the main road over hilly and thickly wooded country, and in spite of considerable tank opposition was in position for the assault on Mont Pincon by 5th August. The Reconnaissance Regiment had pushed hard along the routes leading to this vital hill feature, fighting out several brisk skirmishes with the enemy.
Mont Pincon, 1200 foot hill in the so called 'Little Switzerland' of Normandy, was the dominating feature for miles around. It stood athwart several roads essential to the advance on this sector, The German defenders possessed great natural advantages and were deployed in strength with many machine guns sited on the wooded slopes, A 129 Brigade attack, the 4th Bn Somerset Light Infantry and the 4th and 5th Bns of the Wiltshire Regiment, was launched from the south-west with strong tank and artillery support on the 5th, one of the hottest days. The going, in close orchards and woodland, was very heavy. The narrow tracks made free tank movement impossible. Enjoying complete observation the enemy shelled and mortared the infantry with great accuracy. By the evening little progress had been made.
A new attack went in the next day after the 4th Bn Wiltshires had marched nearly four miles through the thick valley with full kit to take upa reserve position. The 4th Bn Somerset Light Infantry and the 5th Bn Wiltshires now stormed the stream crossing under the western crest of the hill. They were pinned throughout the day by the most severe enfilading fire from hidden machine guns. By the evening the Somersets had advanced scarcely 200 yards, achieving that only at high cost and without tank support. The 5th Wiltshires were pinned for long at the approaches to a bridge crossing. Men tried individually, and in small groups, to rush the bridge, They nearly all fell as they ran. After many such attempts by great determination and gallant leadership on the part of its officers this Battalion gradually fought its way forward to reach the vital La Varmiere crossroads 800 yards ahead. The capture of this crossroads, the key to the whole assault, turned a near failure into a splendid victory.
German resistance cracked late in the afternoon and as dusk fell the 4th Wiltshires, the reserve battalion, passed through to gain the summit of the hill. They were followed by the 4th Somersets who had been pinned for so long on the lower slopes by vicious fire. The Somersets late in the evening spotted a troop of British tanks milling around on the top of the hill. Determined to support them the infantry advanced under cover of smoke laid by the artillery, dust, mist and fast failing light. Visibility was nil. But the long hours spent pinned below had enabled them to memorise the hedge lines ahead. Here the enemy broke too and the Battalion reached the crest to establish positions, unknowingly in the darkness, within two hundred yards of the Wiltshires. The three day battle ended on the 7th with the clearance of the eastern spur of the hill.
It was at Mont Pincon that a now famous combination, the 43rd Division and the 8th Armoured Brigade, began. The 13118th Hussars troop of tanks of the 8th Armoured Brigade which, after splendid initiative, gained the crest of the hill were those seen by the men of the 4th Somersets. It was this sight which acted as a tremendous spur to the infantry.
The 7th Bn Hampshires had played an important part in the capture of Mont Pincon. Putting in a diversionary attack down the main road towards Roucamps the Battalion succeeded in drawing to itself the attentions of a whole German Regiment, thus considerably easing the task of the main attacking forces.
With the loss of Mont Pincon the Germans strongest bastion on this sector had fallen. On the same day the DCLI pushed on down the road to the east of the hill and captured Le Plessis Grimault in a surprise attack which brought in many prisoners. The advance moved on. 214 Brigade reached and crossed the river Noireu on 8th August. The 1st Worcestershires and the 7th Bn Somerset Light Infantry made the crossing. The Worcestershires gained the top of the thickly wooded slopes on the far side before the enemy reacted strongly in front of Berjou. There the Worcestershires and the DCLI fought a hard battle before the latter outflanked the Berjou defences and the Germans retired from the town.
It was at this moment, mid August, that the whole German front collapsed, leading to the slaughter of the Fafalse Pocket. By continuously pinning the enemy down, by preventing him from disengaging at a time when vital plans were unfolding elsewhere, the Division made a big contribution to the success of the American outflanking move from the West.
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