July 25, 1944. 1st Battalion Black Watch of Canada: Part 5 of As the battalion is moving into positions for the attack, Brigadier Megill finally arrives at the front and summons Griffin to a meeting in St. Martin. According to Megill, he is relieved to find that everything is under control and the Black Watch are finally moving forward to form up for the attack near the “Factory”. The only issue that arises during their meeting is Griffin’s chosen route to their objective on the reverse slope of the ridge – the town of Fontenay. Megill suggests that they push through the town of May-sur-Orne first, and then move towards Fontenay; but Griffin explains that he must move on compass bearing directly up the ridge or he will have to re-time the entire attack. He reassures the Brigadier that they have fighting patrols in May that will secure their flank as they go. With both the opportunity and the authority to call off the attack, at no time does Megill suggest this; in fact, his is fully on board with the arrangements Griffin has made for the renewed attack and allows him to proceed. For the officers of the Black Watch, Megill’s actions, or in this case, inaction, only confirms the impression they formed of the Brigadier during the months of training and during their introduction to battle in Normandy over the previous week. Few in the Black Watch have faith in Megill’s tactical ability as an infantry brigade commander as he made his way to high command through Signals Corps rather than through the hard-nosed “Queen of Battle” – the infantry. To them, he is not cut from the same cloth as they are and he is seen as “unworthy”. As a result, it is suspected his is tactically incompetent; a view compounded by pre-war run-ins with several of the current Black Watch senior officers. Over the years, they have developed the opinion that he is nothing more than a funnel for orders from higher command. He is seen as a “party whip” or “errand boy”, better at delivering messages and “kicking ass” (to use a modern term) than tactically thinking things through and making adjustments on the spot based on intuition and fingertip feel. He is also viewed as a micro-manager, always telling his battalions how to do a job rather than what to do and letting them sort it out. Despite this, nobody, (even his harshest critics who coin him “Butcher”, “Bloody” or “Killer” Megill), doubt the Brigadier’s personal bravery; he is not a “chateau general” that shies away from the front lines. This proves a double-edged sword, for when he arrives at the front wearing his helmet rather than his “brass hat”, the battalions know they are in for a rough ride. The reality, however, is that Foulkes’ 2nd Canadian Division are still relatively new to combat which means in Simonds’ highly centralized command structure, there is little room for initiative on the part of relatively inexperienced subordinates. Although there is truth in the Black Watch perception of their Brigadier, Simonds’ has essentially tied their hands, for as the corps commander constantly warns them when it comes to battle, “you follow the music – I will play the variations.”
Posted on: Sun, 27 Jul 2014 18:28:04 +0000
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