Comes with a hand-signed C.O.A.

Intercepted German command…”You are to capture and destroy the bridge at Wetteren, with the intention of obstructing the British axis of advance.”

This rare and museum-grade WWII titled “WETTEREN - FRANCE & BELGIUM” was used during the infamous Battle of Wetteren Bridge Belgium, 6th September 1944.

Following the collapse of German resistance in Normandy at the end of August 1944, the ‘Great Swan’ began, as the British, Canadian, American, French, Polish, Czechoslovak, Belgian and Dutch armies ‘swanned’ across France in pursuit of the fleeing German forces.

On 4th September, the leading elements of the famed British 7th Armoured Division, ‘The Desert Rats’, entered Belgium – their objective being to liberate the city of Ghent and to secure crossings on the River Schelde. One of these crossings was the wooden swing-bridge at the town of Wetteren.

A little way to the east of Ghent, another British armoured vanguard, this one from the 11th Armoured Division, had already reached Wetteren. Despite the continued presence of German troops in and around the town, the Belgian civilians, ecstatic at their liberation, swamped the Cromwell tanks of ‘A’ Squadron 15/19th (King’s Royal) Hussars. The bridge was still mostly intact, despite failed German attempts to blow it up earlier in the day. However, the Hussars were unaware of 7th Armoured Division’s plans and were consequently uninterested in the bridge. They passed on eastward without making any attempt to secure the area. An hour later, at around 1600hrs, a small German river convoy passed through the town on its way to Antwerp from Ghent. Sailors landed and managed to raise the bridge, but the convoy soon came under fire from Belgian ‘White Brigade’ resistance fighters and a patrol from the 1st Herefords, who had accompanied the Hussars. Then a German truck appeared on the northern end of the bridge. Troops dismounted and began setting up machine gun positions on the riverbank. Alarmed, the civilians took cover and removed signs of their previous celebrations. A local fireman was soon dispatched to catch up with the Hussars’ tanks and to bring them back. By 1830hrs, a troop of Hussars, guided by the local Fire Brigade, returned to Wetteren. A Cromwell opened fire on the German truck and there was immediately a collossal secondary explosion, demolishing a number of buildings, killing several German troops and tragically also killing and injuring several Belgian civilians. Job done, the Hussars resumed their march, once again leaving Wetteren. The following morning, the locals once again had trouble as a large group of retreating German troops passed through the town, following in the wake of the 15/19th Hussars towards Antwerp! However, by noon, the Belgians once again came out to cheer as the advanced guard of 7th Armoured Division arrived in the form of the 11th Hussars’ armoured cars. The ‘Cherry-Pickers’ found the bridge to be largely intact, though was in the raised position and had suffered some damage to the decking due to the first unsuccessful German attempt to blow it up. There was also the small matter of a German guard force on the opposite bank. Following the Cherry-Pickers’ report, ‘B’ Squadron of 5th (Royal Inniskilling) Dragoon Guards (‘5th Skins’) were rushed forward to deal with the German force at the bridge. A party of sappers from 4th Field Squadron, Royal Engineers was also sent forward to assess the situation and they were soon joined by their squadron commander, Major DJO Fitzgerald. Having assessed the situation, Major Fitzgerald realised that the first priority would be to lower the bridge. Thus, while the Skins poured withering close-range fire across the river, the sappers, together with some civilians and resistance men, rushed to the bridge and climbed up the raised deck, successfully lowering it through their combined weight! Amazingly, no-one was hit by German fire and a party of sappers began renewing the planking of the damaged span. © 2010 Fire and Fury Games and R.Mark Davies. See www.fireandfury.com/copyright.shtml for permissions and restrictions. At that moment, ‘B’ Company of the 6th Green Howards (69th Brigade, 50th (Northumbrian) Infantry Division) arrived in Wetteren. They had been dispatched to collect a large group of German prisoners that the White Brigade had reported to be in the town, but had come prepared for contingencies, with two Bren Carriers, a platoon of Carriermounted MMGs and a single 25pdr Field Gun. Having discussed the situation with Major Fitzgerald and Major Leavey of the Skins, the Green Howards were soon across the partially repaired bridge and were engaged in a short but sharp fight on the north bank. With the Germans cleared out, the sappers were able to resume their work without interruption and the bridge was soon ready to take the Skins’ tanks. All three squadrons were soon across, together with their attached infantry, ‘A’ Company of the 1st/6th Queens. The battlegroup probed northwards, continuing once more with its mission to intercept German units fleeing from Ghent towards Antwerp. The Green Howards meanwhile, returned to their division. However, Major Fitzgerald soon had new orders. The Skins had discovered that the other bridge over the Schelde, at Melle, had been blown up by the retreating Germans, leaving the bridge at Wetteren as the division’s only crossing place east of Ghent. With the division’s infantry all tied up on other tasks, the job of defending the bridge against German counter-attack now fell to Fitzgerald’s 4th Field Squadron – not a job that came naturally to sappers. Undaunted, Fitzgerald called up his entire squadron and by 1600hrs they were assembled in Wetteren to receive his orders (except for one section, which was still in France). By 1900hrs the squadron was deployed north and south of the bridge and its Humber Light Recce Cars were probing northwards in search of the enemy. There was no sign of Germans, but Belgian civilians gave vague, though worrying reports of enemy forces massing to the north… Meanwhile, as night fell on 5th September 1944, the men of Grenadier-Regiment 1020 were receiving their orders. They had been sent south from their garrison positions on the island of Walcheren, with orders to retake the bridge at Wetteren…