Britain at War: Surrendering Germans
In July 1944 in a battle near Loretto my battery (25 pounders) was supporting the 7th Hussars in crossing the river Musone.
As an artillery observer in a White Scout car we were moving towards the river under constant enemy fire.
Suddenly I heard a terrific bang on the door of my car. Thinking that it was one of our men I opened the door and to my immense surprise I saw an elderly German, armed with a bazooka and hand grenades on sticks. Two more Germans emerged from some bushes and all three wanted to surrender.
I reported my position to my superiors on the radio and was told to hand over to my nearest infantry men and move forward to the river.
Before I handed over the Germans I asked them in my school German why they chose my car to surrender. Their reply was simple:
“We saw your car moving slowly and we thought that you were leading the attack.”
Jan Wysoki, London
My father wrote about this experience to the Daily Telegraph for their Memories of War series. He was very pleased to be published, but I must say this version is a very highly edited one of the story he used to tell, one of many, highly embellished by actions and sound effects.
He would also add a coda, very worried about what actually happened to those Germans after he had led them to his compatriots.
Life Through Basia's Eyes 