1st Belgian Infantry Brigade (Piron) first time in action

Photo: AERDEN Maurice KIA on the 16th of August On August 17 at dawn, the first divisional Warning Order reaches the Belgian Group. The great day has come. The Belgians are going to attack at 0300hrs Their mission is to seize commanding positions which cover Franceville and Merville. The Colonel orders the 2nd and 3rd Units to send out strong reconnaissance patrols. That of the 2nd finds iteself taken under heavy machine gun fire in the midst of a minefield. The younger REMOORTELE who commands it is killed and two other soldiers are wounded. The patrol succeeds in extricating itself thanks to timely support by the artillery. The patrol of the 3rd Coy proceeds along the coastal road in the direction of Moulin du Buisson, but is stopped by enemy fire only 200 metres beyond the Belgians' advanced positions. At 0710hrs, the Attack Order for the start of 'Operation Paddle' (the offensive to clear the Germans from the land between the Orne and the Seine) arrives at the Brigade HQ. Read the whole story here nbsp; nbsp;