Lieut. Robert "Bob" Forbes

1920 -

• Name	Robert "Bob" Forbes
  Prefix	Lieut.
  Born	CA 1920
  Gender	Male
  Military	WW2
  Eby ID Number	Waterloo-198467
  Person ID	I198467	Generations
  Last Modified	12 May 2024

  
  

• Notes

  Kitchener Man Helps Essex Capture Chateau in Germany By DOUGLAS AMAR0N WITH THE CANADIAN ARMY IN GERMANY March 22 (CP) - The battle for the ancient town of Xanten added new honors to the proud record of the Essex Scottish Regiment of Windsor, Ont. Xanten about 1,000 yards from the Rhine, was a king pin of the German defence system in front of the escape bridges at Wesel. It fell to British troops and to Ontario battalions of a Canadian division. CAPTURE 300 MEN The Essex, whose fighting in this war began at Dieppe in 1942. were part of the attacking force and after a grim day-long struggle amid houses and trench defences on the northwestern outskirts of the town, they seized all their objectives. captured about 300 prisoners and left dozens of German dead in the ditches and cellars. Highlight of the fighting was the capture of a thick-walled chateau surrounded by two moats. Men from a company commanded by Major Ken MacIntyre of Windsor seized this place after flame-throwing tanks had reduced it to ruins. The advance to the chateau was not was too difficult. This was the objective of a platoon led by Lieut. Bob Forbes of Kitchener. The Canadians swam the first moat and were almost at the chateau before the Germans showed any real fight. Suddenly, a rain of fire came from the windows of the three-storey building and the Essex platoon had to take cover. DIVE INTO SHELL HOLE Sgt. Harold O'Rourke of Midland, jumped back to a shell hole ten yards from a corner of the Lance-Cpl. H. L. Collive of Brockville, dived Into another. The attack had lined tit, most of the platoon's ammunition and the men were sitting ducks for the Germans looking down on them. Ten Canadian were killed. The Germans came out and took prisoner several surviving men, including Coville. They looked over O'Rourke too but, said the sergeant, "They must have thought I was dead for they left me alone." Coville, who was in the chateau about three hours, said later he and the other prisoners were well treated. Meantime, MacIntyre called for flame and after some delay five Crocodile tanks arrived and another attacked was mounted. "That was the answer to the story story," the major said. "The Crocs flamed the chateau and fired their 75's into it. Fifty-one Germans surrendered and resistance died completely." PUT GUN IN BACK Coville figured in the surrender for the Germans refused to come out while flame, high explosives and machine-gun bullets were coming into the building. "They put a gun in my back and told me to get up and say they wanted to quit," the corporal said. "There was stuff flying in the door, but everything stopped for a second and I made it all right." Sgt. Ford Bennett of Oshawa, was among the first of the rescue party to arrive and. said Coville, "I was pretty glad to see him." "So was I," remarked O'Rourke. whose harrowing stay in the shell hole lasted three hours. Some fresh craters were less than ten feet from his shelter. The fighting at the approaches to Xanten was the third stiff battle in which the Essex men were involved since the Canadian army's winter offensive began. Their first action was an attack across the Goch-Calcar road and they later took part in the Hochwald fighting. Their losses have been severe.