The vital Ourthe River bridge at Hotton
civilians were picked up by Headquarters and Service
Company at Humain after they refused to surrender their
arms.57
The next problem that faced Colonel Fraser was the
stream of stragglers pouring through the area. Some came
with units evacuating in an orderly manner, albeit a bit
hurriedly, to the rear. Others rushed through in batches,
with clothes ripped, feet soaked, and morale
All of them
thoroughly beaten men from overrun units.
"Where is my unit? How far
asked the same questions:
have the Germans broken through?" The next most favorite
question concerned traffic and road information--almost
invariably regarding the area toward the west. To create
a semblance of order out of this Grand Central Station
bedlam, Colonel Fraser directed that a clearing point be
established where the name and unit of all these birds
of passage be recorded. This information proved invalu-
able as an aid to reuniting the lost, strayed, and
30
Previous Page
