| Tommies of the United Kingdom Royal Army 53rd (Welsh) Infantry Division advancing through the Western outskirts of the Reichswald Forest on February 8, 1945. The damage to trees was caused by the preliminary bombardment. The 53rd (Welsh) Division with the 4th (Denbigh), 6th (Carnarvon and Anglesey) and 7th (Merioneth and Montgomery) Battalions, 158th Brigade, the Royal Welch Fusiliers, were involved in this bloody and bitter battle which was 1 of the most unpleasant of the 2nd World War. The Commanding Officer of the 7th Battalion, Lieutenant Colonel George F.T.B. Dickson (August 3, 1914 – March 6, 1945), was killed. It took many days to clear the enemy from the forest and substantial casualties – 2,500 killed, captured, or wounded – were suffered in the process. A quarter of all the casualties suffered in World War II by the 53rd (Welsh) Division were taken in the Reichswald Forest. The Territorial Battalions of the Royal Welch Fusiliers then entered Germany to prepare for Operation Plunder, the crossing of the Rhine River. | |
| Image Filename | wwii1834.jpg |
| Image Size | 522.43 KB |
| Image Dimensions | 2060 x 1527 |
| Photographer | |
| Photographer Title | Army Film and Photography Unit |
| Caption Author | Written or Adapted by Jason McDonald |
| Date Photographed | February 16, 1945 |
| Location | |
| City | Klever Reichswald |
| State or Province | North Rhine-Westphalia |
| Country | Germany |
| Archive | Vrijheidsmuseum |
| Record Number | 4.2.1.12734 |
| Status | Caption ©2026 MFA Productions LLC Please Do Not Duplicate or Distribute Without Permission; Image in the Public Domain |
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