World War II City of London Rifles

1 world war ii

1.1 31 searchlight regiment
1.2 123 light anti-aircraft regiment

1.2.1 east anglia
1.2.2 normandy
1.2.3 nijmegen
1.2.4 rhine crossing

world war ii
31 searchlight regiment

on mobilisation, 31st searchlight bn went war stations covering london , thames. in 1940, battalion moved 27 aa bde portsmouth, provided searchlight defences royal navy dockyard part of 5th aa division during blitz. in august 1940, in common other re aa battalions, clr transferred royal artillery (ra), becoming 31st (city of london rifles) searchlight regiment ra (ta).

123 light anti-aircraft regiment

in february 1942, regiment changed role again, becoming 123 (city of london rifles) light anti-aircraft regiment ra (ta), equipped 40 mm bofors light anti-aircraft (laa) guns , organised 3 batteries: 405, 408 , 409. @ first 123rd unbrigaded independent regiment, in 1943 joined 65 aa bde, transferring 103 aa bde on 2 may.

east anglia

103 aa brigade @ great yarmouth former 39 aa bde in aa command , in process of converting field force component. came under ghq home forces retained existing aa command responsibilities , took on various vulnerable points (vps) in east anglia, raf airfields. 123rd laa regiment distributed follows:

bofors gun , crew, summer 1944



hq @ lenwade house, near norwich
405 bty @ cromer

a trp @ cromer
b trp @ raf docking
c trp @ sheringham


408 bty @ lowestoft

a & b trps @ lowestoft
c trp @ hopton-on-sea
detachment @ raf oulton


409 bty @ aylsham

a & c trps @ raf coltishall
b trp @ raf bircham newton

may saw number of daylight attacks luftwaffe focke-wulf fw 190 fighter-bombers on yarmouth , lowestoft. defences of these towns reinforced moving detachments of 123rd laa rgt guarding raf stations , equipping them 20 mm hispano cannon.

that summer field force aa units shuffled went battle training or other brigades, , additional laa units arrived defend norfolk coast. on 11 june 123rd laa regiment moved grimsditch camp near salisbury , came under command of 100 aa bde.

on 2 january 1944, 123rd laa rgt temporarily rejoined 103 aa bde, @ time in south west england defending build-up of troops (mainly army) , landing craft invasion of normandy (operation overlord). regiment based @ bournemouth, relieved on 20 march , went no. 16 h&laa practice camp @ clacton-on-sea. officially joined second army month in preparation operation overlord.

it landed in normandy in june 1944 , served in air defence role throughout north west europe campaign.

normandy

although 100 aa bde scheduled go normandy once overlord launched, 405 , 409 laa btys of 123 laa rgt sent on ahead bolster 80th aa bde in task of providing aa cover juno , sword beachheads, port of ouistreham , orne , caen canal bridges held 6th airborne division. bénouville , famous pegasus bridge in airborne bridgehead received heavy german air , ground attacks during weeks of invasion, , 123 laa rgt s 2 batteries lost 5 guns, 6 vehicles , 30 casualties.

nijmegen

100 aa bde , rest of 123 laa rgt had arrived end of august. on 30 august brigade left seine , began 320-mile march ended @ nijmegen 3 weeks later. journey included brief deployments, without action, @ amiens , arras , entry antwerp, followed 12 days of movement across netherlands maas , waal following advance of xxx corps in operation market garden. brigade s advance parties reached vital road , rail bridges @ nijmegen on 20 september while fighting them still going on. brigade s columns following twice attacked air , on 22 september approach nijmegen halted german tanks , infantry covering roads. 123 laa regiment took emergency positions , engaged these ground targets @ close range. enemy beaten off aa units suffered significant casualties. @ nijmegen, 123 laa rgt provided close protection element of major aa deployment defend bridges. german aircraft swarmed on bridges, shelled , mortared. on 26 september there 16 separate raids trying knock out bridges fast low-level bombing, employing new me 262 , me 410 aircraft conventional bf 109 , fw 190 single-engined fighter-bombers. after end of market garden operation, attacks on bridges @ nijmegen , elsewhere continued. attacks come 20 fw 190s @ time, or smaller groups of ju 188s, , frogmen in river. carried on until 100 aa bde relieved of fighting garrison commitments on 10 november.

in march 1945, 100 aa brigade supported viii corps during operation veritable in klever reichswald. once viii corps had secured venlo, 123 laa rgt deployed there provide close protection element of aa defences, , remained until relieved forces.

rhine crossing

the regiment s next major task in operation plunder, assault crossing of rhine. huge concentration of troops , equipment in 48 hours before d-day (24 march) required proportionally large aa forces, , 123 laa rgt 1 of 5 haa , 8 laa regiments secretly moved up, dug in , concealed, vehicles sent rear. 123 laa regiment positioned protect xii corps launching , later bridging sites air , water-borne attack. luftwaffe did virtually nothing on d-day itself, began raids following night, when 123 laa rgt fired barrages against scattered dive-bombing attacks. searchlight assistance, three-gun sections of regiment spotted , destroyed 31 naval mines floated downriver against engineers bridging operation. attacks continued on 25/26 september, third night of operation, , 36 mines destroyed. 28 march air attacks on bridges dwindled 21st army group advanced deeper germany beyond rhine. river weser crossed on 9–11 april, , 123 laa rgt moved rhine take on defence of bridge sites. there brisk actions here against me 262 , ar 234 jets, , ju 88 bombers, low-level attacks fw 190s, combination of aa defence , allied fighters defeated every luftwaffe attempt disrupt crossings.

with signing of german surrender @ lüneburg heath on 4 may 1945, aa units ordered suspend action, , stood down on 12 may. 100 aa brigade them employed occupation troops in hamburg. 123 laa regiment placed in suspended animation in 1946.