The Canadian Army Journal

Germans as to what was happening. For the most part, everything occurred in silence
and Nixon and the B Company casualties escaped the school undetected, leaving
behind their equipment, weapons—including the now infamous PIAT. Others, like De
Lutis and those that remained in the farmhouse, used the darkness to quietly extricate
themselves leaving behind the bodies of their platoon commander and two others that
died in the bitter process. 71 With C Company joining in the move, it became clear to the
Germans what was occurring and they pressed home an uncoordinated attack on the
remaining Black Watch positions. By this time, evacuation of the ambulatory wounded
neared completion with only a few rearguards and the severely wounded, like Warren
Trudeau. Fully aroused by German and Canadian voices closing on his position, and
suffering from nasty wounds through the upper thigh and abdomen, the platoon
commander used a combination of fear induced adrenaline and a dose of morphine to
launch himself over a high fence—only to come crashing down atop a hapless Canadian
stretcher-bearer coming to his rescue.
As Mitchell would later sardonically record, “the area of Grand Mille Brugge (and)
Spycker will always recall bitter memories to a lot of us…One could always count on a
fair amount of excitement.” 72 Losses for the Black Watch in Operation Blinder numbered
nearly 60 in just 36 hours—almost half the force committed. Considered to be “seriously
under-strength” as a result of the fighting in Spycker, Brigade withdrew Mitchell’s
battalion from the line for a hard-earned three-day period of rest and reorganization. As
the Brigade plan called for the Black Watch to turn their positions at Grande Mille Brugge
over to the Maisonneuves and march 10 kms to Bourgbourgville, the route out of
Spycker proved a more arduous journey than originally anticipated. With the roads
clogged with men and material and the soft shoulders offering no mercy for heavy
vehicles, a limited amount of Jeeps were the only means available for evacuating the
wounded. For those lucky enough to lay prostrate atop Jeep ambulances their greatest
threat came from rain, wind and cold that produced acute hypothermia in some as they
sped to the regimental aid post. 73 With fires still raging in Spycker, A and D companies
placed a man every 15 feet along the canal road to act as a guide for the exhausted and
bewildered survivors. Amid the rhythmic rumble of Jeeps loaded with wounded, it was
clear that not much would console the survivors—but a “good work” from each picket as
they passed sure helped.
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