07/06/2024
Whilst the accounts of the days before D Day and D Day itself are fascinating, I find the details my uncle, Radar Mechanic Ian Michie put into his accounts of the days after even more enthralling. Beachheads had been established and the troops were pushing forward but trying to do so in a joined line. To enable their continued advance shore bombardment was vital and the 6 inch guns of HMS Orion and other cruisers still had a vital role to play. With their 10 to 12 mile range, even from a mile offshore they could reach well inland and were easily moved to where they were most needed. The 15 inch guns of the large “battlewagons” had a range of 15 to 16 miles
Wednesday, June 7
Last night did not turn out to be as bad as expected. There were no E-boat or U-boat attacks but we had an almost continual air-raid from midnight to 5 am. The BBC stated that air cover was maintained throughout the night - it was, by the Luftwaffe!
The Jerries were all fighter-bombers and I don’t think they hit us or we hit them. Anyway, the gun’s crews didn’t get any sleep. Rumours went round that Emerald and a Fighter Direction ship had been hit but this proved untrue.
Early in the morning we were ready to bombard again but there was a ground haze and our spotter could not find the targets. We were therefore silent until noon but since then (written at 3 pm) we have been blasting away. In the morning they piped that through glasses German troops could be seen surrendering. Later on it was announced that General Eisenhower in HMS Manxman had passed down our port side, going into the beachhead. The BBC announced the names of several of the naval units taking part - US battlewagons, Texas and Arkansas, the British battlewagons Warspite, Ramillies and Nelson and the famous(?) British cruisers Glasgow, Belfast, Enterprise, Gloucester and Orion. I have seen through glasses today one of the British battlewagons operating on the American sector and I think all of them must be down there. Certainly covering the landing of the 50th, the 10th CS are the only big ships and we have about ½ doz. Brit destroyers close in.
In the afternoon it was piped that they had commenced sinking the Allenbank to form a breakwater or mole. This time I got quite a good view of events through the telescope attached to our port 20” Signal Projector. The ship was down with a heavy list but they managed to right affairs and when last seen, seemed to be submerged on an even keel with only her upperworks awash.
After tea, the situation became less clear. We moved about ½ mile south and joined with the forces supporting the Yankee landing. We bombarded positions inshore and it was later announced we were bombarding in support of the 47th RM Commando who were moving south to join up with the American bridgehead. Obviously, we were opposite the gap and south of us there was the whole American beachhead. After we had bombarded for a short while we moved north. Our targets had been invisible behind a ridge but we had a good view of an attack on a radio mast and through a telescope I could see individual houses and windows of a village on the sea coast. We steamed past our initial bombardment place and round a corner and then saw the whole British invasion fleet. I had thought that we had been supporting the wholeDivisional landing but it was now clear to me that we had been on the right flank of the Brit. 50th Divn. and as this moved down to join up with the American 1st Army we had moved also.
Here indeed was an invasion fleet. Literally hundreds of small craft, bigger river craft, coastal steamers, merchant vessels, Liberty ships and small liners. Ashore the beaches were dotted with assemble transport, tanks, guns, lorries etc. Ships were moving here and there and we got friendly waves from troops moving in. It was then announced that we were going to Spithead to ammunition overnight. We would leave the beaches at about 7.30pm and arrive about 11.30.
In the middle of all this concentration of shipping was to be found CS10 BELFAST with her hook down. We moved close alongside, for we were (it transpired later) to take off wounded. The crew of the BELFAST were togged up in their antiflash gear, in contrast to the obvious inactivity of the ship. As we came alongside, our gun’s crews who had been up for about 36 hours were jeering and yelling, “Go to sea, you lazy b****ds”, “All dressed up and nowhere to go”, “Going on 48hrs?” and there was similar jeering coming back. The Army, in their LCI’s were enjoying this.
Up till now, it had been a picnic. I had left word that I was to be found on the flagdeck and with many others had been rushing from side to side, looking through glasses at the men and trucks on the beaches (for we were not more than a mile off waving to transports as we moved past, pointing out ‘ducks’ and ‘seeps’ and all the other assorted invasion craft.
Then the pinnace came back with the wounded, four of them, and two dead. The dead were sewn in canvas and for a time were placed where they were easily visible. It only dawned seriously on me then that, but for a stroke of luck, Providence, God’s will, it might have been me. This sobered me up and many others beside me. Up till then it had been a picnic, a game, or a war at long range with the only sensation of danger, the nightly air-raids. Now we were looking at the stark reality of the situation. But then it came upon me that we were constantly running this risk. Whenever we went to sea, we stood our chances of being mined, torpedoed, bombed. We just didn’t think of such things - they are taboo in mess deck conversation. So I settled my qualms but I still wasn’t as boyish as as I’d been before.
About 7.15pm we steamed out and hared off across the Channel at full speed. We have been passing landing craft, on and off, all the time. At 9pm the two dead soldiers were buried at sea after a short service on the quarterdeck. They had apparently been blown up by a mine on the way in.
Ammunitioning is to take place all night from midnight onwards - no watchkeeper excused.
We arrived off Spithead earlier than expected - about 10.15pm and could make out Ryde as we moved in.
