ROUTE OF MARCH FROM POLAND 18 JAN 1945
TO DATE OF RECAPTURE BY
AMERICAN 3RD ARMY ON 29TH APRIL 1945
Gunner Herbert Louis Mills 'Manx Regiment' 129
Battery Light Anti Aircraft Regiment
(Captured at Suda Bay, Crete
1941)
(Transcribed from Herbie's photo book)
19 Jan Left JAWORZNO
1/2 parcel, 2kilo bread, meat, sugar, marge to MILARWITZ 22Km
20 Jan
BEUTHEN 27Km
mine bath house
21 Jan near GLEINWITZ 22Km
1/4pkt
biscuits
22 Jan KEIFERSTUOTL 24Km
barn
23 Jan GREGORSDORF
38Km
1+ 1/2pkt biscuits barn
24 Jan GROSS NEUKIRK 22Km
rations
(20 men 1 loaf) barn
25 Jan SAUERWITZ
34km
barn
26 Jan BARWITZ - KRUGKOL 12Km
barn
27 Jan
GANKA - GRATZ 26Km
potatoes barn
28 Jan day off, first shave &
wash
rations 1/2 sausage 4 pkt biscuits, coffee sugar, all for 4 days
29 Jan YAKOWITZ 15Km
barn
30 Jan SIDENDORF 17Km
barn
31 Jan FREUDENHALL 19Km
barn
1 Feb rest day
rations
dripping, dry meat, soup powder,coffee sugar biscuits
2 Feb OTOORK 28Km
barn 1/4 loaf
3 Feb DEUTCHES- LEIBAU 38Km
barn
4
Feb BOHUTIN 28Km
5 Feb rest day
rations sausage, bread, sugar,
coffee
6 Feb HERMANITZ 18Km (Hermanice)
barn
7 Feb
MICHELSDORF 19Km
barn
8 Feb OBER - LISHWE 22Km
barn
9
Feb rest day
rations 1/2 loaf
10 Feb rest day
rations
bread, sausage, dried veg, sugar, coffee, (killed horse)
11 Feb
LAMELSDORF (protectorate) 15Km
barn,
rations 1/2 loaf
12
Feb VISSOKAU HOLICE 25Km
barn
13 Feb rest day
rations bread,
marge, meat, coffee, dry veg
14 Feb BEJSCHT 15Km
barn
15 Feb
BORCHEBATESCHKA 16Km
barn
16 Feb rest day
rations 1/2 loaf
17 Feb SWEIT 14Km
tobacco issue (20 grammes) state form
rations
marge, honey, cheese
18 Feb BASCHNITZ 16Km
barn
19 Feb rest
day
rations 1/2 loaf, dry veg, meat
20 Feb DREWEINWITZ 24Km
rations marge, honey, cheese
21 Feb OSEK 26Km
barn
22
Feb rest day (birthday)
rations 1/4 loaf, marge, honey, cheese, saur
kraut for 6 days
23 Feb JEMNICK 23Km
barn
24 Feb HRIWNO 20Km
barn
25 Feb rest day
26 Feb BRIVOR 20Km
good barn
27 Feb JEDIBAB 27Km
barn
28 Feb rest day
rations 1 kilo
bread, marge, honey sausage, cheese, dried veg, saur kraut
1 Mar LUNKAU
23Km
barn
2 Mar RISUK 19Km
barn
3 Mar rest day
rations 1 kilo bread, marge, cheese, sausage, honey, dried veg, 40 cigs
4 Mar GERAUPEN 23Km
barn
5 March DEUTCHE HORSCHOWITZ 17Km
left protectorate
barn
6 Mar rest day
rations 1 kilo bread,
honey, marge, sausage
7 Mar LIEBKOWITZ 20Km
barn
8 Mar
UDRITSCH 14Km
barn
9 Mar rest day
rations 100gramm bread (2
days) 1/2 slice bread all day
10 Mar rest day
no food all day
11 Mar LIEMGRUBEN 17Km
thank god red cross in touch with us &
received 1 American parcel
12 Mar rest day
no rations
13 Mar
ROYAU 27Km
14 Mar UNTER GAMLING 13Km
barn
15 Mar rest day
500gramm bread, Yank RC parcel
16 Mar OSTRAU 22Km
barn
600
gramm bread
17 Mar MILLES 14Km
barn
18 Mar rest day
19 Mar LOHMA 26Km
barn
200 gramm bread
20 Mar ROMMEL
BERG 15Km
barn
21 Mar rest day
22 Mar ROTHENSTADT 17Km
barn
250gr bread
23 Mar rest day
1/2 RC parcel
(Canadian)
24 Mar rest day
400gr bread for 3 days
25 Mar
NURNBURG STATION
70 men in one waggons, spent 2 days on this, no food or
water
26 Mar near REGENSBOURG
barn
27 Mar rest day
MARCH
FINISHED
28 Mar
100gram bread for 5 days
28 Mar }
30 Mar
} awaiting events
31 Mar } no food from Germans
1 Apr }
2 Apr
2
slices bread
3 Apr 2 slices bread
4 Apr start work
4 potatoes
for breakfast, walk 8km to work and 150gramm bread
5 Apr work again 4
potatoes breakfast, 150gm bread
6 Apr work same food, Dick & I very
nearly up for looting
7 Apr day off
8 Apr saved again, R-X parcel
9
Apr work
10 Apr work
11 Apr work
12 Apr work
13 Apr work
14
Apr work
15 Apr march at dawn to GRASLANG RAF bombed 2' Coy killed &
wounded 100 barn
16 Apr day off rations potatoes only from now on
17 Apr
R-X parcel
18 Apr work finished
19 Apr R-X parcel again RAF straffed us
killing and wounding many
20 Apr still here
21 Apr "
22 Apr "
23
Apr "
24 Apr Yanks getting closer,
march all night to HOGSDORF 44Km
25 Apr rations Leek, 1 only
26 Apr living like lords, R-X can't
reach other chaps at Regensburg we get 2 parcels each
27 Apr rumours of
further march
28 Apr Yanks too close, gerry can't move us, leaves 6 old
guards rest B.O.
29 Apr YANKS ARRIVE Little fighting, FREE AT LAST Hands
shaking all round
30 Apr - 11 May ate and killed all we could lay hands
on
11 May left UNTERNUEHAUSEN for airfield at STRAUBLING
12 May
flew to Brussels
13 May ARRIVED ENGLAND THANK GOD 911km (+ 8x 8km more
work days = 945km ?)
Additional information received from Andy Porter
relating to his father F.W.(Frank) Porter. (August 2014)
The diary of
the march was particularly interesting. I do a fair bit of (mountain) walking
myself and I continue to be absolutely
staggered by the distances covered by
those on the ‘Long March’, on an absolute minimal food intake and during the
harshest
winter in 50 years. For Dad I think the note ‘killed a horse’ which
was made on the 10th February was particularly poignant.
Dad used to tell
the tale that during the march a horse was killed and that volunteers were asked
for who had butchery experience.
My Dad and Noel stepped forward – not that
they had any butchery experience but because they saw it as an opportunity to
get
their hands on some food. Unfortunately the horse turned out to be some
distance from the rest of the group and Dad ended up
struggling through deep
snow with a horse’s leg! That resulted in him suffering severe frost bite on his
lower legs. He must have
been taken off the march around that time and ended
up in a hospital in Czechoslovakia where he told me a skilled german surgeon
managed to remove the gangue-green which had set in and save his legs. His
legs remained badly scarred throughout his life.
Incidentally, Noel was
wounded by a hand grenade blast during the fierce fighting at Maleme airfield
where he was based.
He was still having grenade fragments removed from his
back in the 1970’s.
Thanks Andy, a couple more names put to faces on the
photos.