Mobilisation Following the
Munich Crisis the TA was doubled in size. Once again, 44th (HC) Division formed a duplicate,
12th (Eastern) Infantry Division, with the following RE organisation: • HQ at Hastings, with a new drill hall converted from properties named 'Concordia Hall' and 'Stepping Stones' at St Leonards • 262 (Sussex) Field Co at Hastings (from 208 Fd Co) • 263 (Sussex) Field Co at
Steyning (from 209 Fd Co) • 264 (Sussex) Field Co at Lewes (from 210 Fd Co) • 265 (Sussex) Field Park Co at Hastings (from 208 Fd Co) 44th (HC) Division was mobilised on 3 September 1939, and the 12th (Eastern) Infantry Division became active on 7 October 1939. The rest of 44th (HC) Division RE moved to
Dorset for training under the CRE, Lt-Col R.H. Parsons, with 209 Fd Co at
Bridport, 210 at
Beaminster and Wetherby, and 211 Fd Pk Co establishing its stores and workshops at Larkham Hall. In January 1940 the division was ordered to prepare to embark for France in February, but the departure was delayed. The first RE parties left on 19 March, but 210 Field Company only embarked on 8 April, and 211 Fd Park Co's bridging section did not follow until 30 April. After landing at Cherbourg the field companies moved into France with their brigade groups (209 Fd Co with
132 Bde and 210 Fd Co with
133 Bde).
Battle of France Once 44th (HC) Division had concentrated, HQRE was established at Estaires on 1 May, where 208 Fd Co briefly rejoined. As the training of the recently doubled TA formations was still weak, GHQ instituted a policy of exchanging some of their units with Regular formations. Having already been detached during the training period, the CRE selected 208 Fd Co as the one to be exchanged, and it was replaced in 44th (HC) Division on 4 May by 11 Fd Co from
2nd Division. This Regular company remained part of the divisional engineers for the rest of the war, usually supporting
131 Bde. When the
German offensive in the west opened on 10 May, the BEF advanced into Belgium in accordance with
'Plan D'. 44th (HC) Division moved up to the
Escaut, where it was in reserve, with 11 and 210 Fd Cos preparing bridges for demolition. However, the
German Army broke through the
Ardennes to the east, forcing the BEF to withdraw again, and by 19 May the whole force was back across the Escaut, and the sappers began blowing up the bridges while under shellfire and bombing. 44th (HC) Division tried to hold the most dangerous point, but the Germans established bridgeheads across the Escaut at dawn on 20 May. The attack was renewed on 22 May and the division was badly chewed up, but there was no breakthrough: it was the deep penetration further east that forced the BEF to withdraw. That night the sappers began to lay anti-tank mines and prepare the bridges over the River Lys for demolition, and next day the BEF fell back to the 'Canal Line'. 44th (HC) Division was then withdrawn into reserve. Cut off, the BEF fell back towards the coast, with 44th (HC) Division given the responsibility of defending the area round
Hazebrouck. On 26 May the decision was made to evacuate the BEF through
Dunkirk (
Operation Dynamo). 44th (HC) Division was heavily attacked by German
Panzer divisions on 27 May, but fought on doggedly until ordered to withdraw, by which time the enemy's advanced columns had penetrated between its widely-spread units. With its flanks 'in the air' after neighbouring French formations retreated during the night of 28/29 May, the divisional commander decided to withdraw some to
Mont des Cats, a strong position held by the divisional artillery and the divisional RE. 210 Field Co was absent with 133 Bde (and some of the company were captured during the retreat), but 11 and 209 Fd Cos, reinforced by the RE Chemical Warfare Group (
58, 61 and 62 Chemical Warfare Cos), 100 Army Fd Co and 216 ArmyTroops Co were deployed as infantry to defend this position, with 211 Fd Park Co in reserve, though only DHQ and scattered elements managed to join them by dawn. This rearguard was subjected to intense mortar fire next morning, then by dive-bombing, but held its position for 30 hours while the rest of the division withdrew. The remnants of the division reached the beaches for embarkation, landing in England on 1 June.
Home Defence Back in England, 44th (HC) Divisional Engineers assembled at
Port Meadow Camp,
Oxford, on 6 June, and then the companies joined their brigade groups. 209 Field Co went to
Castle Bromwich with 132 Bde, 210 Fd Co to
Gloucester with 133 Bde, and 211 Fd Park Co to
Shrivenham; later 11 Fd Co joined 131 Bde at
Fosdyke. Re-equipment began in July, after which 44th (HC) Division moved to
Northern Command. The sappers were soon engaged in building anti-invasion defences. 209 Field Co moved to
Ollerton in
Nottinghamshire, where it worked on pillboxes and other defences along the
River Trent. It also put a ferry into operation in case the bridges were destroyed by bombing. 210 Field Co worked on pillboxes and preparing bridges for demolition around
Castleford and
Snaith while 211 Fd Park Co was at
Pontefract; both then moved to continue the work around
Doncaster. In November 1940 44th (HC) Division was transferred to
XII Corps in invasion-threatened South East England; 209 Fd Co went to
Tenterden, while 210 moved around Kent. The next year was spent alternately training and working on beach defences. On 27 July 1941 the CRE, Lt-Col W.G.R. Nutt, was wounded and the OC (Maj Becher) and another officer of 209 Fd Co were killed while inspecting a mine on Dover beach. In January 1942 the unit was relieved of its operational duties and concentrated on training for crossing minefields and anti-tank ditches. In February the whole division concentrated at
Mote Park,
Maidstone, and on 29 May it embarked for Egypt, via
Freetown,
Cape Town and
Aden. For Eighth Army's counter-offensive (the
Second Battle of Alamein), 44th (HC) Divisional RE was reinforced by the attachment of
577 Army Fd Co from XIII Corps Troops RE (CTRE), while 11 Fd Co was detached with 131 Bde to
7th Armoured Division. 44th (HC) Division was to lead one of XIII Corps' thrusts through the enemy minefields on the first night, 23/24 October (
Operation Lightfoot), but without sufficient electronic or mechanical aids the sappers had to find and lift the mines by hand under intense fire. With the armour, however, 11 Fd Co had the assistance of three 'Snail' lorries from 211 Fd Park Co, which left a trail of diesel oil over the desert that was visible in the moonlight to mark the cleared lane. As the RE historian wrote: 'Thus we had the unusual sight of a field park company leading an army into battle'. The section came under heavy fire, however, so its commander, Lt R.B. Hoskyns, made a fresh attempt with a small party. Although they were working in the middle of a firefight, they succeeded in clearing a lane to allow a
carrier platoon through. Thus a route was found through the first belt of minefields ('January') on the first night of the battle. 44th (HC) and 7th Armoured Divisions' sappers succeeded in passing the second minefield ('February') the next night, but the armour was unable to exploit beyond. The sappers continued working on the gaps until they were completed on 28 October The second phase of the offensive,
Operation Supercharge, was launched on the night of 27/28 October. On 2 November 133 Bde alongside the New Zealand
28th Maori Battalion, secured objectives covering the flanks of the attack, after which the sapper units began clearing gaps for the armour through the minefields. 133 Brigade advanced through the 'February' minefield on 3 November with No 2 Section of 209 Fd Co clearing the route, but got held up on the 'Avon' minefield until 5 November. By now the enemy was withdrawing and the exhausted sappers were given a week's rest. XIII Corps was short of transport and was left behind as Eighth Army drove westwards. The sappers were left with the task of clearing the battlefields. 11 and 209 Field Cos were sent up to
Benghazi on 19 November, arriving on 25 November where 209 Fd Co began the task of clearing and re-opening the harbour as an advanced supply base for Eighth Army. The company remained on this work until April 1943, joined by the other units of 44th (HC) Divisional RE as they completed their mine-clearing tasks and moved up in early December. 211 Field Park Co used its own and captured machinery such as road rollers.
XXX Corps Troops RE Shortly after Alamein 44th (HC) Division HQ was disbanded, and its units distributed to other formations. On 26 November 1942, 44th (HC) Divisional RE (11, 209, 210 Fd Cos and 211 Fd Park Co) became
XXX Corps Troops RE (XXX CTRE), replacing a number of
South African Engineer Corps units that had fulfilled the role up to that point. XXX Corps had led Eighth Army's pursuit across
Tripolitana to
Tunisia in early 1943. The advance was delayed by enemy demolition and mines, entailing much work for the sappers. In March XXX CTRE moved up to
Tripoli to work on improving the road behind the advance, dealing with 68 demolitions and craters, one of which required a bridge of five spans. XXX Corps launched Eighth Army's assaults on the
Mareth Line on 20 March and the
Wadi Akarit position on 6 April. The
Tunisian Campaign ended with the
Axis surrender on 12 May.
Sicily In May 1943 XXX CTRE moved up to
Sfax in Tunisia to join its corps, which was training to land in the first wave of the
Allied invasion of Sicily (Operation Husky) on 9/10 July. The engineers followed later: 209 Field Co sailed from
Sousse on 18 July and landed on Beach 20 near Porto Bello, south of
Syracuse, on 21 July; 211 Fd Park Co also landed at Port Bello, but 210 Fd Co did not arrive until 4 August. The engineering required included mine clearance, bridge building and road repair as XXX Corps advanced to
Catania and
Mount Etna. XXX Corps did not take part in the invasion of the Italian mainland, and in November 1943 XXX CTRE sailed from
Augusta for the UK, 209 Fd Co sailing direct to
Glasgow, where it disembarked on 26 November, the remainder travelling via
Algiers and arriving during December.
North West Europe XXX Corps now began to prepare for the Allied invasion of Normandy,
Operation Overlord. The corps' leading troops landed on D-Day and the build-up of forces began thereafter: 209 Fd Co landed on 'King' Sector on
Gold Beach during the early hours of D+2 (8 June), losing some men drowned. 210 Field Co landed at
Sword Beach later the same day, and on 10 June a reconnaissance party of five sappers captured an enemy machine gun post and five prisoners. The field park company disembarked in four groups between D+3 and D+6, acquired equipment for roadmaking and airfield construction at
Bayeux and based itself there during the Normandy campaign, handling stores for road- and bridge-building, and manufacturing all manner of objects required by the army. The field companies operated behind the lines, maintaining roads and clearing mines. 210 Field Co began to take up sleepers to convert a railway into a road, but after objections from the French railway authorities they had to be replaced and the railway reinstated. 209 Field Co spent 7–16 August at
Aunay-sur-Odon, clearing of rubble-strewn road with bulldozers, making of diversions, spraying roads to keep down dust, and building a Class 40 Bailey bridge. The company then moved up to deal with roads washed out by the flooded
River Odon, and on 17 August No 2 Platoon built a Bailey bridge across the
River Orne. After the breakout from the Normandy beachhead, XXX CTRE under Lt-Col R.E. Black was called on to assist in the major bridging operation on the
River Seine at
Vernon. Their role was to clear the road to the crossing site, including replacing blown road and rail bridges over the
River Eure at
Pacy-sur-Eure that threatened to hold up the whole operation. 11 Field Co was sent to begin the work, first clearing a road block at St Acquilin; unfortunately this had been booby-trapped and five sappers were killed in the explosion. XXX CTRE then spent the next two days working continuously on the Pacy bridges until the sappers were exhausted. XXX CTRE continued worked on road repairs and bridging along the 'Club' and 'Heart' routes through Northern France and across Belgium into the Netherlands. After the failure of
Operation Market Garden, vital road and rail bridges at
Nijmegen were damaged by German swimmers who attached mines to the piers. A hole was blown in the roadway of the road bridge, but was swiftly repaired by the insertion of two Bailey spans by XXX CTRE and
15th (Kent) GHQ TRE; the bridges were also camouflaged. On 21 October 209 and 210 Fd Cos paddled assault boats across the
Nederrijn to rescue 138 men of
1st Airborne Division who had been sheltered by Dutch civilians since the failure of Market Garden. For the rest of the year the sappers were engaged in bridge-building, encountering considerable problems at
Beringen bridge when the flooded river washed away the approach roads and threatened the bridge. During the German
Ardennes Offensive, XXX Corps was moved down to defend the line of the
River Meuse, and the corps RE prepared the bridges for demolition. Once the situation had stabilised XXX Corps advanced to recover the lost ground, with the RE re-establishing communications and clearing minefields. The latter task was especially dangerous in the frozen ground, and resulted in many casualties.
21st Army Group returned to the offensive with
Operation Veritable to clear the
Reichswald, led by XXX Corps. A few days before the attack was due, a thaw set in, and the vital supply roads collapsed. All available engineers were put to roadbuilding to maintain the traffic flow for the concentration of troops, ammunition and supplies. The attack began on 8 February, but that evening rain began to fall and water levels rose by . The mass of engineers worked continuously to keep roads open to sustain the offensive. As the divisions fought their way forward, XXX CTRE was sent in to reinforce the divisional engineers. By 13 February the whole of the Reichswald had been cleared and the first phase of Veritable completed. The companies then returned to clearing and maintaining the main routes, and were back at Nijmegen by early March. By mid-March 21 Army Group had closed up to the
Rhine. Now it paused to prepare for an assault crossing (
Operation Plunder). The bridges to be constructed on XXX Corps' front after the initial crossings were codenamed after famous London bridges: XXX CTRE under Lt-Col Black was responsible for 'Lambeth' (named after
Lambeth Bridge), a Class 15 Bailey pontoon bridge. 211 Feld Park Co constructed equipment such as cradles to transport naval
Tugboats, and acted as a reserve of manpower for the bridging parties. Work began at 03.00 on 25 March, but enemy fire from the uncaptured town of
Rees on the far bank caused casualties equivalent to a platoon's strength with 30 minutes. After daylight the work continued under a smokescreen and despite a collision from an out-of-control tugboat the bridge was opened at 08.30 on 26 March. Across the Rhine 209 Fd Co worked with
51st (Highland) Division and 210 Fd Co with
43rd (Wessex) Division to help with their route maintenance, and then on 5 April 209 Fd Co with a platoon of 11 Fd Co built a bridge over the
River Ems under fire; this was open for traffic the next day. The whole of XXX CTRE was required for the bridge over the
River Weser. The site was still in enemy hands on 20 April when the reconnaissance was carried out, but work began at 12.00 on 22 April for a Class 40 bridge, and the bridgehead was defended and patrolled by the sappers themselves, 'mopping up' a number of prisoners. As the rapid advance continued, 209 Fd Co filled craters and built a 110-foot treble/single Bailey at Hassel on 1 May, replaced a 30-ft Bailey at
Bremervörde with two 20-ft single/double Baileys starting at 21.30 on 3 May and completing the job at 04.30 on 4 May. By 6 May it was looking after 11 bridges and collecting surplus bridging materials from nearby sites as it upgraded them for heavier traffic. Immediately after news arrived of the
German surrender at Lüneburg Heath, 209 Fd Co started building a large
Prisoner of War (PoW) camp.
208 (Sussex) Field Company 208 (Sussex) Fd Co joined 2nd Division on 4 May 1940, and by 12 May it was deployed on the
Dyle Line (
see above). During the retreat to Dunkirk its role was to destroy bridges and create anti-tank obstacles. Some of the volunteers who stayed behind to blow 'last minute' bridges were unable to make it back to Dunkirk, where the rest of the company was evacuated by 31 May. The company served in home defence until April 1942 when it embarked for India with 2nd Division. In India it trained for amphibious operations on the coast of Burma, but when the Japanese launched a pre-emptive attack (the
U Go Offensive) against
Kohima and
Imphal in March 1944, 2nd Division was among the reinforcements rushed to the Central Front. The company fought with the division to break through and relieve the defenders of Kohima and then to drive the Japanese off of Kohima Ridge. 2nd Division then continued its campaign through
Monsoon rain to relieve Imphal, with 208 Fd Co clearing roadblocks and building bridges. Operations resumed in November, and 208 Fd Co operated ferry services and repaired roads and bridges behind the advancing Fourteenth Army. On 24 February 2nd Division made a moonlight assault crossing of the
Irrawaddy River with 208 Fd Co manning the assault boats under heavy fire. It then began a ferry to get tanks and vehicles across the river. The division advanced towards
Mandalay before being disengaged and airlifted back to India for reorganisation. The
Japanese surrendered before it saw action again, and the company went into suspended animation on 31 January 1946.
12th (Eastern) Infantry Divisional RE 12th (Eastern) Infantry Divisional RE mobilised as follows in September 1939, under the command of Lt-Col W.E. Dewdney as CRE: • 262 (Sussex) Fd Co from Hastings embodied at Eastbourne • 263 (Sussex) Fd Co at Brighton • 264 (Sussex) Fd Co at Seaford • 265 (Sussex) Fd Park Co at Eastbourne The unit moved to Milton Barracks,
Gravesend, to guard the
airport, undergo training, and receive reinforcements. The rest of the 12th (Eastern) Infantry Divisional RE sailed from Gravesend and arrived at Le Havre on 20 April. They were sent to
Rouen, where 263 Fd Co was put to building camps and 265 Fd Park Co set up an RE depot and workshop. When the German invasion began, the 12th (Eastern) Infantry Division (less 36 Bde and 262 Fd Co) was ordered to concentrate at
Amiens. The RE were entrained but never reached Amiens, which was already on fire after air raids. They were then withdrawn via
Le Mans to
Blain on the Atlantic coast, where they began building a new camp at Chateau Pont Pietin. The infantry of the 12th (Eastern) Infantry Division fought as part of 'Petreforce', holding up the German advance at the coast of heavy casualties before being evacuated through Dunkirk. The rest of the BEF remaining on the Atlantic coast then began to be evacuated through
Cherbourg Naval Base, the 12th (Eastern) Infantry Divisional RE moving via
Caen to get there early on 7 June. They embarked on the
RMS Duke of Argyll and arrived at Southampton that evening.
XII CTRE XII Corps HQ was formed in
Aldershot Command in July 1940, and XII CTRE served with it for the rest of the war. 264 Field Co transferred to
VIII CTRE in December 1941, and was replaced a year later by 280 Fd Co from
15th (Scottish) Infantry Division. The unit moved around the UK working on defences, laying minefields and supervising civilian contractors digging anti-tank ditches. On one occasion an infantry party wandered into a minefield near
Chichester and some were killed and wounded. 262 Field Co was called upon for help and the officer commanding, Maj A.H.M. Morris, led a detachment and personally went into the crater to try to locate displaced mines, then disarmed others so that the casualties could be recovered. Major Morris was awarded the
George Medal. By July 1943 XII Corps formed part of 21st Army Group, training for Operation Overlord. In mid-October 1943 XII CTRE settled at Mote Park, Maidstone, and began intensive training in clearing mines and underwater obstacles.
Normandy For the Normandy landings, XII CTRE's field companies were loaned to the assaulting divisions as obstacle clearance parties. Shortly after 07.45 on 6 June (D-Day) 262 Fd Co (O.C., Major C.B. Stone, R.E.) landed with troops of
3rd Canadian Division on
Juno Beach, 263 Fd Co with 5th Assault Regiment, RE, supporting
3rd British Division on
Sword Beach and 280 Fd Co with 6th Assault Regiment, RE, supporting
50th (Northumbrian) Infantry Division on
Gold Beach. Once ashore, the sappers began the dangerous task of clearing the beach obstacles before they were covered by the rising tide, and constructing exits so the follow-up troops could quickly get into action. At Colleville-sur-Orne 263 Fd Co's sappers had to clear snipers from nearby houses while working on the exits, then cleared a nearby glider landing zone. From 7 to 10 June 263 Fd Co operated raft ferries at
Bénouville, then on 10 and 11 June it assisted 71 Fd Co in building two Class 40 bridges ('London I & II') to duplicate
Pegasus and
Ranville bridges across the
River Orne and
Caen Canal. On 8 June 262 Fd Co established company HQ at Bernieres while the platoons continued beach clearance. They reverted to XII CTRE command around 11 June, and spent the rest of the campaign clearing roads of mines and debris, filling craters and minor bridgebuilding. 265 Field Park Co and the rear parties of the field companies joined the unit later. 265 Field Park Co operated quarries for road-building material and prepared bridging equipment for the field companies.
North West Europe After the breakout from the Normandy beachhead, XII crossed the Seine, with 262, 263 and 265 Cos building a Class 40 pontoon bridge over the river at St Pierre de Vouvray on 28 August. XII Corps drove on towards
Antwerp, bypassing German garrisons along the coast. On 6 September, Instead of building bridges, 280 Fd Co together with 621st Fd Squadron of 7th Armoured Division was given the task of destroying all bridges on the Lys and Escaut as far south as
Oudenaarde and
Deinze to prevent these Germans from threatening the flank of the advance. All these were successfully destroyed, except a large concrete bridge at Deinze that the Germans themselves later blew. XII CTRE spent the autumn clearing roads and building bridges across the many watercourses of the Low Countries. During Operation Colin
51st (Highland) Division pushed through
Schijndel to
Boxtel, 262 and 263 Fd Cos building Class 40 Bailey bridges across the Halsche and
Dommel rivers respectively; 262 had to use four bulldozers to clear away the old bridge before beginning work. XII CTRE supported 51st (H) Division again during Operation Ascot on 11–14 November, building a Bailey at Neder. The winter of 1944–1945 was spent keeping roads open during snow and floods. In February and March 1945 the unit received special training in rafting and
Folding Boat Equipment (FBE) bridging in preparation for the Rhine crossing, where XII Corps was to make an assault crossing alongside XXX Corps (
see above). XII CTRE under Lt-Col C.J. Gardiner (together with 85 and 184 Gd Cos from 7th GHQ TRE) was allotted the task of building a Class 12 pontoon Bailey (codenamed 'Sussex') at the extreme left of the corps' area. The main bridge was long, with an additional across a minor gap. The start of construction was held up by enemy fire, but once work began the bridge was completed with the assistance of naval tugs on 26 March in just under 43 hours. XII CTRE then took its turn on bridge maintenance until moving to Haffen to bridge the River Aa and remove concrete road blocks. It followed XII Corps' advance across Germany, building bridges especially across the Weser and
Elbe. After the German surrender the unit was involved in bridgebuilding at
Hamburg Docks. During the summer of 1945 XII CTRE prepared to return to the UK to reorganise for service in the Far East. It got as far as handing in its equipment and concentrating at
Ghent before the Japanese surrender ended the war. With reduced equipment the sappers assisted other units in erecting and dismantling Bailey bridges and other civil engineering works in rebuilding the occupied zone of West Germany. The unit and its companies were disbanded by 25 March 1946. ==Postwar==