Cut Off at Aubigny

Several british and french divisions were cut off. Allied High Command made a plan to break through the encircling axis lines at the town of Aubigny, the weakest link in the German chain.

9RTR (attached to the 2nd Armoured Brigade) were billeted in Saulty, 9km south of Aubigny, and although a rally was called only a single Churchill Mk VII left the town to begin the slow drive north to Aubigny.

Allied radio was eerily silent - there were few reported contacts with the enemy, apart from the drone of axis aircraft over the town. The lone Churchill VII moved up into firing range at the bottom of a long slope leading up to the town. Sporadic fighting was heard north and west of the town, and the Churchill commander spotted a half track towing an ATG. He was quickly despatched with AP and HE, the half track cowardly trying to run away after dropping his load, but both vehicle and gun were eventually destroyed.

After that, silence fell - disrupted occasionally by the distant rumble of heavy tanks. Feeling safer, the Churchill moved up into a better firing position but the silence was misleading and the Churchill was ambushed by a Pak 40, camoflauged well in a hedge row.

Taking fire from the anti-tank gun, the Churchill swivelled to face the attack and destroyed the gun with HE rounds, but not before a chance blow took off the left track.

Disabled, in the open on a slope and unable to reach cover, the tank was abandoned and later recovered.

The attempted break out failed, and the axis machine rolled on westwards.