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The March to Belgium- Octotber 1, 1944

After the successful attack on Clair Tizon, and the emotional reunion at Dieppe the RHLI continued their campaign through the North of Europe. They began their March into Belgium, and were sent on several patrols in Ostend. They traveled into Bruges in August, and were greeted as heroes by ending the occupation of German forces.

Lieutenant A.A.H. Parker: patrol in Belgium, Ostend.

It was a lovely day and the operation was just a cross-country Jaunt. The sub pens were deserted and there wasn’t a soul around. We went into one of the mess halls and found it just as Jerry had left it. Snowy linen and silver on the tables, and cases of liquor all over the place. But Lieutenant Parker wouldn’t let us touch a drop off the stuff. Said it might be poisoned. It was pretty discouraging. Anyways, a little later we found a barrel of Belgian beer, brown ale. We checked it over before we reported it, then told Lieutenant Parker we had tried the stuff and it was all right. So he said okay, we could take it. We took the barrel back to the hotel and started pumping beer out with a tire pump, filling up a bunch of cans and bottles and jugs.

​Adjutant of C-Company , Captain, W.O Avery​

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Huck Welch- The arrival of the RHLI into Bruges

Serg. “Mac” MacDonald and six men walked right into Bruges. MacDonald sent back a runner. “Sir this looks awful good” he said. “There isn’t a jerry within miles. Our boys are being mobbed.” Lietuenent A.H. Carirns and I went up in a jeep with the runner and went over the bridge that the Belgian White Brigade had made from old telephone poles. I saw MacDonald and asked him where the men were. “God, sir, I don’t know,” he said.

​Major Pigotts account of the civilians in Bruges

I lost my company right then. They lifted us up on their shoulders, thrust wine at us and carrued us off. Some men didn’t get back for a week. I sent a message back to not let more men in. The whole division would have been lost. The city was mad with joy, even frightening in some aspects

The day has been a most welcome rest for the troops, and for the first time since the entry of the battalion on Dutch soil the inhabitants were sincerely happy to see us, coming out in the chill morning air to welcome us. There were numerous incidents of civilian’s punishment of collaborators, and hair cutting of women who had ‘fraternized’ with the Nazis

Liberation of Eindhoven in Band of Brothers: Illustrates a visual image of what the RHLI encountered.

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