Five aircraft hit London, killing 16 and wounding At Dover, two were killed when their houses are hit, with two more injured. A third man was killed near Dover Priory Station, when a bomb crashed through his roof — but failed to explode.
One Gotha was seen to be hit, probably from a gun sited near Borstal. Although later sighted flying out to sea, it was subsequently admitted as missing by the Germans. Six were killed in Dover with 12 injured, a further 15 killed and 58 injured in London. Elsewhere damage was slight. The same night, ten Zeppelins strike the Midlands.
Scattered by the wind, they achieved little, missing the Lincolnshire airfields that were their targets. The sum of their operation - three civilians injured. One New Zealand pilot, 2nd Lt William Cook, 76 Sqn RFC, was awarded for the MC for his tenacious but ineffective defence, chasing Zeppelins for nearly six hours in rough weather, eventually running out of fuel and ditching near the coast.
The British place increasing emphasis on the use of heavy and medium artillery, with double the guns made available than at the earlier attack on Pilckem Ridge, as they advanced into stronger fortifications. Launched in good weather, the British met most of their objectives by noon on the 20th, and the Germans were unable to retake lost ground. Five days later, a massive counterattack, which caused high casualties on both sides, was partially successful.
However, the attack retook ground near Polygon Wood, which was very quickly recaptured. Advancing in skirmish lines, supported by small columns of infantry and heavy artillery, and taking advantage of dry ground, mist, and smokescreens, the Allies met their, admittedly limited, objectives. In addition, the British were able to retake ground lost the day before in the counterattack against Menin Road Ridge. Several strong German counterattacks came, but none were successful.
Naumann surrenders three days later. Visitors to South Bay watched as the U-boat traded shells with trawlersturned-minesweepers anchored offshore, before the boat submerged and slipped away. Although the attack was seemingly focused on the anchored craft, some shells hit Scarborough itself, where two were killed.
A third person was killed on one of the boats. German losses were around 4,, while Russian losses were at least 20, Extensive operations to clear mines and destroy coastal defences precede the main landings on islands, including Saaremaa, in October. Other aircraft attacked Dover but were fended off, and bombs fell on several locations across Thanet.
One raider was downed, claimed by the South African ace, Capt. A second Gotha was claimed off Dover. London was subjected to a heavy raid, which injured 87 and killed Damage elsewhere was light, with no casualties. He had previously established a series of ruses to mask the direction and timing of his advance, and used motor vehicles to keep his force supplied with water. The ridges south of Ramadi were quickly taken, and cavalry and Indian troops had taken key points to the west and along the Euphrates Canal, blocking the Turkish retreat route.
Stiff resistance was offered, the 39th Garhwal Rifles sustaining heavy casualties, but by 30 September, the Turks had surrendered. At least 3, were captured, with killed and wounded.
The British sustained nearly 1, casualties, though the vast majority were light wounds caused by poorlyset Turkish shells.
Six aircraft attacked London, while Chatham, Margate, and targets in Essex were also hit. The lone single-engine type bombed Dover. One incident over Dover occurred where ground defences claimed a Gotha, and wreckage was spotted offshore, but no loss was admitted. However, although none were lost, British pilots reported coming under fire from the ground.
Throughout September, thousands of rounds were fired at German craft, with many guns becoming worn out. Such was the volume of fire, that numerous injuries and eight deaths were attributed to falling shells and fragments.
The story of the great evacuation is told, day-by-day, in this page special publication, in the words of those soldiers, sailors and airmen who fought and survived those dramatic nine days in the summer of And much, much more. Overseas charges apply. With France defeated and Britain facing the threat of invasion, Benito Mussolini sought to create a new Roman Empire by hoovering up British and French imperial possessions in North Africa and establishing Italian domination of the Mediterranean.
It seemed a low-risk enterprise — after all, who was going to stop him? They pushed forward some 60 miles before setting up defended camps in the Sidi Barrani sector. But on 9 December, a daring 60 www.
During this brief campaign, some , Italian prisoners, tanks and 1, guns were captured for relatively small British losses. The British disease of hubris then asserted its baleful influence. Firstly, it was considered that all Italian formations could be safely dismissed as of negligible ability.
Thirdly, much of the British force was then reassigned to Greece. Fourthly, the successes masked the endemic problem that British armoured divisions were overly reliant on tanks and short of infantry and artillery - in particular selfpropelled guns.
And finally, replacement units sent to join the newly-created British 8th Army had little or no battle experience and were new to desert warfare. Perhaps these problems might have been overcome, but a new factor burst into the desert war — the Germans. Although nominally under Italian command, his force of personality ensured he had de facto control of Axis operations in theatre. The passive posture of the British, preoccupied with their Greek adventures, gave Rommel the time he needed to organise his forces.
Aggressive by inclination, he attacked on 31 March An epic series of see-sawing battles then commenced. The British were tumbled out of Cyrenaica, but it was decided to defend the port of Tobruk while the rest of the force retreated to Egypt. From April-November , Tobruk was besieged, but, supplied by the Royal Navy, held out against all attacks - an epic story.
The main features of the desert fighting were becoming evident, logistics being of prime importance. Without copious quantities of fuel, divisions could not move and aircraft could not fly. Munitions were of an obvious importance, but supplies of food and water were also a tremendous problem in the prevailing arid conditions.
Both sides had extended supply lines, which were under constant threat. The desert was a harsh environment which was rough on the soldiers tormented by sand, dust, the heat of the day, the cold of the night, thirst, an inappropriate diet and the unwanted attention of millions of flies. Desert sores and raging dysentery were common afflictions.
On 22 June , Hitler ordered the invasion of Soviet Russia. The great questions would now be asked - and answered - on the Eastern Front. This ascendancy can be judged by the statistic that the Italians sent more troops to fight alongside the Germans in Russia than they deployed in North Africa.
Sir Claude Auchinleck, had been appointed and charged with hurling back Rommel. Auchinleck rightly judged that the forces at his command were too weak and inexperienced to allow for a successful immediate attack. He therefore not only demanded reinforcements, but time to train them under desert conditions.
This would be a recurring theme of his period of command. Only on 18 November , did 8th Army advance, employing an effective deception plan and striking hard in attempt to finally destroy the Axis forces. The fighting was intense and although 8th Army emerged victorious, heavy losses were suffered by the 7th Armoured Division at Sidi Rezegh, illustrating how wise Auchinleck had been to be cautious.
Nevertheless, Tobruk was finally relieved on 27 November and Rommel fell back to El Agheila, with the British taking up defensive positions in the Gazala Line.
That winter, the strategic situation grew appreciably bleaker for Auchinleck. The war with the Japan following Pearl Harbor on 7 December deflected reinforcements bound for North Africa, whilst the naval and air situation in the Mediterranean was deteriorating as the Italians gained a measure of control and the vital naval base of Malta came under increasing Axis attack.
Worse still, if the anticipated assault on Malta was successful it would free up the Axis supply chain and thereby allow Rommel to launch another serious attempt at the invasion of Egypt. Auchinleck resisted, pointing out, with justification, his forces were not ready for a major offensive. In the event, the argument was ended when Rommel struck first on 26 May This time Tobruk had to be abandoned and the British only stopped when they reached their old defences at Mersa Matruh.
Perhaps Rommel should have then consolidated and waited for the planned capture of Malta, but the recently-promoted Field Marshal was determined to seize the moment and make a grab for the ultimate prize — the Suez Canal. We will not rest until we have shattered the last remnants of the British 8th Army. Rommel was prepared to back himself and his men in North Africa. Faced with a desperate situation, on 25 June, Auchinleck intervened to take personal command of the 8th Army.
Far more importantly, he brought a sense of driven purpose, a focus on what really mattered - which was to do everything possible to avoid defeat. Auchinleck took decisive action, abandoning the isolated Mersa Matruh positions and falling back miles to defences centred on the El Alamein railway station. Here the front narrowed to a mere 40 miles stretching between the near-impassable Qattara Depression and the sea.
There were some defence works dating back to , but much work needed to be done — and this was put underway immediately. Auchinleck centralised the control of artillery, which previously had been hopelessly dissipated, to allow for a tactically significant concentration of firepower.
At the same time, the armoured forces were reorganised to improve their overall effectiveness. He prepared defences in the Nile Delta in case things went wrong. Not so his subordinate generals, many of whom lapsed into a state of despair which mirrored the understandable panic amongst the Egyptian populace on the streets of Cairo. Thankfully, Axis forces never came this close to the ancient structures, found near Cairo and around miles from the Suez Canal.
HMP www. The son of a clergyman he spent much time in Tasmania before returning to Britain. In the Great War he was badly wounded during the preliminaries to the First Battle of Ypres on 13 October , but would return to the Western Front as a staff officer and rising to become Chief of Staff with 47th Division by November His career continued to prosper, attending Staff College, and, in , rising to Major-General commanding 8th Division in Palestine.
Returning to England, he would lead 3rd Division on the outbreak of war. The division performed well during the advance to into Belgium and subsequent retreat to Dunkirk and 'Monty' was attracting favourable attention as a competent professional, but his trenchant criticisms of higher command also created antipathy. In July , Montgomery was promoted to acting Lieutenant-General commanding V Corps, charged with defending Hampshire and Dorset in the event of invasion.
He then took over South-Eastern Command and further refined his ideas of careful training. The negative came in with his difficulty in forming relationships with superior officers. Montgomery played a useful role to ensure a concentration of effort in the overall planning the invasion of Sicily in July However, he also clashed with the competing ego of Lt-Gen.
This proved symptomatic of his problems with American generals, who in turn considered the prickly Montgomery to be a boastful charlatan. Following the invasion of the Italian mainland in September , Montgomery was a constant critic of the divided nature of the campaign, considering that Allied forces were unnecessarily dispersed.
In January , he was recalled to lead 21st Army Group and made responsible for ground forces in the imminent invasion of Normandy, under overall command of the Supreme Allied Commander, Gen. Dwight Eisenhower. He again played a vital role planning D-Day - an extremely dangerous undertaking successfully achieved.
Perhaps another might have achieved more, but he did succeed. Monty's greatest gamble, Operation Market Garden, September , was also his worst failure for which he has been pilloried in leaving far too much to chance. It has also been pointed out he failed to give sufficient priority to the capture of the vital logistics hub of Antwerp.
He did however perform well in stabilising the situation following the German counterattack in the Ardennes, then oversaw careful planning that got the Allies over the Rhine and leading the final drive to ultimate victory. He died on 24 March An overall assessment is difficult, but Montgomery was a sound, if cautious, general who could be trusted to get a firm grip on a given strategic situation.
A complex and intriguing man, despite his slightly strange personality he had the power to enthuse his men who were appreciative of his efforts to minimise casualties. His detractors suggest he became overconfident, distracted by the politics of command and overly scornful of the abilities of others. His best-known action was a daring flanking advance through the mountains and passes of the Isonzo during the Battle of Caporetto in October-November Initially, his interwar career stagnated, serving as a company commander during various internal uprisings plaguing Germany and then as an instructor from to , before his promotion to Oberstleutnant.
During the invasion of Poland in September , Rommel was close to Hitler, and although an infantry officer he took the opportunity to examine the developing use of tanks and motorised units which he saw as crucial to achieving the surprise and the flanking attacks he championed at Caporetto. His eyecatching performance brought him to increased prominence as he drove on Lille and Cherbourg before the French capitulated on 22 June His reward was promotion to Generalleutnant and command of the Deutsche Afrika Korps.
His performance in the Western 64 www. The violence of his attacking manoeuvres often disconcerted the rather more staid British generals and sometimes caused tremors within the German OKW HQ. He excelled in manoeuvring to secure local superiority, even when across the wider front he was outnumbered. There was also an unwillingness to face implications of strategic realities as to the importance of North Africa within the general scheme of things to Germany.
As the Allies grew accustomed to his methods, coupled with the arrival of reinforcements and copious quantities of war materiel which Hitler could not match, Rommel seemed unwilling to scale back his ambitions to secure the Nile Delta. He took ever greater chances to secure that victory, but in the autumn of he overstepped the mark and defeat at El Alamein was the result.
Subsequently, he fought a series of defensive actions, falling back across Libya and Tunisia. In February , there was one last flash of genius with his hard-hitting attack at Kasserine on American forces landed under Operation Torch, which threatened his Tunis supply routes.
In March , Rommel returned to Germany. His men would surrender to reality on 13 May In November , he was assigned to France with Army Group B, charged with preventing the anticipated Allied invasion. Rommel disagreed with the C-in-C West, Gen. Gerd von Rundstedt, who thought the coast could be defended against the power of Allied naval gunfire, and preferred to hold back armoured forces deep in reserve until the location of the landings was clear - counterattacking as the invaders moved inland.
Rommel however had bitter experience of the strength of Allied air power, believing concentrations of armour would merely provide juicy targets for aircraft. He wanted to defend the beaches, relying on immediate local counterattacks to hurl the invaders into the sea before they could establish themselves.
However, von Rundstedt continued to maintain a strong central reserve, which meant neither suggested action was followed to the hilt. The landings in Normandy caught the Germans by surprise and counterattacks were mostly dispersed by air attacks.
On 17 July , Rommel was injured when a Spitfire strafed his staff car. Rightly or wrongly, Rommel was then implicated in the failed plot to assassinate Hitler on 20 July On 14 October , to save his family and staff from reprisals, Rommel was inveigled into taking his own life by cyanide, leaving his reputation secure. Although generally seen as a chivalrous foe, his complicity as a sympathiser of Hitler and the Nazi Party cannot be washed away by his later doubts when it was evident the war was lost.
Brave and resourceful, leading by example, often from the front, he sought to keep his enemies off-balance using mobile forces to strike quickly at points of weakness, followed up by determined exploitation to prevent the enemy regaining his balance. Herbert Lumsden X Corps right confer ahead of the decisive battle.
R ommel laid his plans for the First Battle of Alamein. He intended to crash through the British lines and to exploit vigorously to the north and south, expecting the British to collapse.
He was confident, but previous battles had taken a heavy toll of his divisions, which were left lacking in sufficient tanks, infantry and artillery.
Despite these weaknesses, optimism was the watchword. But underlying everything else, was the increasing exhaustion of the Axis forces as they teetered at the end of a long supply line. Their only chance of victory was by swift manoeuvrist warfare, but what Auchinleck intended to give them was grim resistance and grinding attrition.
British shells came streaming in from three directions, north, east and south; anti-aircraft tracer streaked through our force. Hastily we 66 www. Rommel modified his plans, and the next day tried again with an assault on Ruweisat Ridge. Again, British artillery performed, assisted by the Desert Air Force. Not too much if you hit them on the front, because the front had reinforced plate in front of it.
On 3 July, the story remained the same as the Axis were again driven back. This time, Rommel had to call off the attack. He was short of tanks, fuel and ammunition, with 1, miles stretching back across the desert to the nearest viable port - Tripoli. On 4 July, there was no longer any doubt the Axis advance on the Nile would have to be postponed indefinitely. Nevertheless, Auchinleck was not entirely passive, launching a series of operations in July, intended to keep Rommel off-balance, but execution did not match ambition.
Confused staff work, coupled with a failure to realise the continued strength of enemy defensive positions, meant overambitious plans, plagued further by poor tank-infantry cooperation and endemic communication problems, resulted in a series of chastening failures.
British 8th Army was capable of resolute defence, but the underlying problems of poor doctrine, inter-arm cooperation and training were soon exposed when they went to attack. Auchinleck was determined to improve cooperation between his infantry and armour, instigating a rejigging of the composition of his divisions to increase the infantry component of armoured divisions, whilst attaching armoured brigades to infantry divisions. He also instigated a series of measures to improve all-arms training and liaison.
Auchinleck considered enemy positions too strong to be successfully assaulted until mid-September at the earliest. Until then 8th Army would stand on the defensive, with a continuation of the construction of precautionary defences in the Nile Delta.
Many kicked against the required organisational changes, while few grasped why they should simultaneously prepare for both defence and attack — so morale seemed decline. Popular, aggressive, with strong personal qualities, Lt. Sir Alan Brooke, who knew and liked Gott, but considered him long weary of the desert and inexperienced at such high command. Regardless, it made little difference. Gott was killed en-route when his Bristol Bombay was attacked by fighters which downed and repeatedly strafed the stricken craft.
Sir Bernard Montgomery, was subsequently appointed. Sir Harold Alexander. Auchinleck rejected the alternative of the newly-created Persia-Iraq Command and disappeared from the North African stage on 15 August. Montgomery immediately stamped down hard on any idea of preparing for possible failure by continuing defensive preparations in the Nile Delta.
Note: The mispelling of 'your' on the righthand leaflet. All told, as Axis Forces were temporarily neutered, he held that the advantage lay with the British. Interestingly, Montgomery also insisted he too would not attack until he was completely ready; ironic indeed given the dismissal of Auchinleck for his perceived tardiness.
Montgomery was a strange man, very self-confident, prickly in the extreme; yet somehow blessed with the ability to give his men the impression they were being fully taken into his confidence.
They saw him. He told them what was what and what they had to do and why. This is the way to get morale going the right way. He was brilliant at carrying people with him by explaining to them what was going to happen: what was planned and then, of course, by carrying it out.
Montgomery engaged in a thorough clear-out of senior commanders to get the men he wanted, some of the cull justified, some not. Fortunately, many of his selected replacements proved competent and little damage was done. Retreat was barely an option given the intransigent attitude of Hitler.
This encouraged Rommel to attempt attack on the night of 30 August. When the attack began on 30 August, the minefield caused huge delays, while the German and Italian armoured formations were bombed, hit by anti-tank guns and blasted by artillery. They then encountered Allied tanks. All together it proved too much and on 2 September, Rommel began to pull back. Montgomery did not follow up immediately. When it came to the point he too was cautious — and he too may have missed an opportunity, although his Desert Air Force remained well to the fore in actively harassing Axis forces.
Belated small-scale counterattacks had little effect, other than confirming the continued defensive capabilities of both German and Italian units arrayed in front of 8th Army. When the main assault came, it would clearly not be easy. Of course, Churchill as ever, wanted an attack at once - and well before the landings planned under Operation Torch in early November; but Montgomery, supported by Alexander, followed the well-trodden path established by Auchinleck in demanding time.
With no easily accessible open flank, established German defensive positions on a narrow frontage and with 5-mile deep minefields, the plans for Operation Lightfoot envisioned two separate attacks. Backed by strong artillery barrages, Lt-Gen.
These would be the jumping off points for exploitation - before first light - by Lt-Gen. Meanwhile, Lt-Gen. When they came, this time the Allies would be ready. Careful studies of previous failures in mine-clearance were conducted and a special School of Minefield Clearance was opened to disseminate best practice amongst 8th Army. The old method of probing with a bayonet was still often necessary, but a major step forward was the development of a reliable portable mine detector, which exponentially increased the speed of clearing minefields — although it was still crucial all the correct drills were employed, with tapes to delineate cleared areas, Gradually the lanes would be widened from an initial 8 feet to the required 40yds.
A special tank had also been developed — the Scorpion fitted with a roller and chains to flail the ground and detonate mines. Sadly, there were few available and they would be kept back for emergencies. Given the strength of the German defences, the role of artillery would be crucial. By this time, it had been fully accepted the power of the guns had to be concentrated to achieve immediate superiority.
However, overuse, poor maintenance, and a lack of supporting infrastructure hampered the otherwise effective vehicle - though it was particularly susceptible to sand erosion, which led to overheating and leaks. Bombardments would be synchronized by the BBC time signal so the opening shells would all burst on their targets together for maximum effect.
It was not only improved artillery tactics: the artillery was also boosted by a vastly increased supply of the 6Pdr anti-tank gun deployed in anti-tank regiments and attached to armoured and infantry units to reduce their vulnerability to panzers.
Perhaps just as important was the deployment of the 5. The increased weight of shell and range made them formidable, whether smashing 72 www. In the s, the author was lucky enough to interview veterans of the South Notts Hussars. They had originally served with th Regt, Royal Horse Artillery, but after the unit was destroyed in the Battle of Knightsbridge in June , the survivors were reconstituted as Battery and became the first to be equipped with the 5. They were split-trail and the barrel had to be lowered so that the pound shell could be put into it and rammed home and the charges and so on.
Then it would be raised up again and then laid in the normal manner. It was then we discovered what wonderful guns they were because they proved to be quite extraordinarily accurate. It was quite an extraordinarily accurate gun. Finally, at last, 8th Army was getting self-propelled guns: 90 Priest mm SPGs were augmented by around 80 of the makeshift 25Pdr-armed Bishop. Together, they offered mobile artillery support to armoured divisions. Montgomery embarked on a programme of personal visits all around 8th Army, discussing plans, first, of course, with generals and staff officer, but then trying actively to engage the interest and support of as many as possible of his junior officers and the men.
Shermans were being delivered and, while they had their faults, wearing a non-standard beret with twobadges, as was recounted in an IWM interview with Sgt. It was no mere pep-talk, no homily on heroics. And morale is very important. Eridge survived countless such attacks. She fought in the famous Battle of Sirte when the powerful Italian fleet was seen off. She had to pick up survivors, take stricken ships in tow and once had only blanks to fire at attacking enemy aircraft.
Under constant air attack, she was towed to Alexandria but was irreparable. All this and more is told in the most graphic and moving fashion in this exceptional memoir, which will recall to many readers that naval classic The Cruel Sea.
The big difference, of course, is that Red Tobruk is a true personal account. At one point it also oversaw operations in Greece, Kenya and British Somaliland. Its campaign area ran for a thousand miles from the Jordan to the Horn of Africa. He was soon distracted by the German invasion of Greece and the subsequent defence of, and withdrawal from, the Island of Crete.
The Axis forces were eventually held close to the border of Egypt at El Alamein. The following scenarios are all based on the battles of the Imphal campaign. Burma March R. Burma 22APR R. Burma 25APR R. White Tiger. This is the scenario put on at Bovington in Burma 8MAY R. Mark Davies V Hill However, the Japanese 54th Division was still fighting hard against the 82nd West African Division as it withdrew along the coast.
In an attempt to crush the Japanese resistance, 3 Commando Brigade and elements of the 25th Indian Division landed from the sea at Kangaw to block the Japanese retreat.
However, the Japanese were determined to break the block and they launched a full-blooded assault on the key British position on Hill Burma, 31JAN R. Mark Davies L Pagoda Hill.
Forces attack well fortified Japanese. Forces attack try to destroy Japanese cave positions. Clipping Solutions September um Weitere laden Abonnieren Kommentare zum Post Atom. A Nationalist force attempts to raid a Republican supply dump. Polish Spoiling Attack. After rapidly advancing into Poland, a German reconaissance unit was preparing for its next leap forward when a strong Polish infantry force launched a spoiling attack.
The Germans attack an entrenched Polish force with a combined arms force of armor, infantry, artillery, and air support. Two scenarios involving an advance to contact by the Germans against a Norwegian infantry force. The Welsh Guards defend the approaches to Boulogne against the lead elements of the Blitzkrieg. Some extra information from a customer who lives in the area Alytus Extra Info. Last Charge of the Savoia. Hungarian Recon.
A dismounted Hungarian Recon group attempts to force its way through Russian remnants and capture a critical bridge. German and Russian infantry formations fight it out at Stalingrad in the tractor factory. The Germans try to reestablish the Chir river defenses before attempting to relieve Stalingrad. Tom gave me a system for generating BF campaigns, along with a sample campaign that was run by his wargaming group. The Russians try to reduce an important German fortified position in the siege lines surrounding Leningrad.
Operation Kutuzov 3 zipped. Grossdeutschland at Kursk. A difficult affair II-West of Butovo. Set during the opening rounds of Kursk, this small but vicious fight pits a veteran company from Grossdeutschland against a reinforced platoon of Russians. A difficult affair IV-Gertsovka Station. Another small and vicious struggle as a reinforced PzGr company attempts to roust Veteran Russian infantry from their positions around a rail junction. Leibstandarte Adolph Hitler attempts to clear a corridor through the Russian defenses on the first day of Operation Citadel.
The Germans attempt to hold a chemical weapons factory against a Russian counterattack long enough to allow their scientists to destroy it. The battle for Kustrin, put on at the Derby convention.
At the climax of the battle of Beda Fomm, elements of the Italian X army attempt to break through a British blocking position to clear the way for the retreat to Agedabia. As part of Operation Mercury, the invasion of Crete, German paratroops attempt to capture an airfield. In the glorious tradition of their Napoleonic Light Cavalry and the Crimean Charge of the Light Brigade, a British tank force charges headlong into defending Italians during operation Crusader without proper reconnaissance.
During Operation Crusader, New Zealand troops clash with the Germans over an obscure elevation in the desert. Mehdia U. Orders Mehdia French Orders. A pdf order of battle for the British campaign to capture the island of Leros and some scenarios based on the German parachute assault to retake it. Canadians attack across the Moro River.
Campo di Carne. The 2nd Gloucesters' Assault on Tilly-sur-Seulles. PDF Format k. A tiny but vicious fight in the bocage where a U. Paddy Green and Richard de Ferrars.
The 12th SS continues to attack the Canadians in hopes of cutting off the Allied salient at Norrey and threatening the beachhead. Cristot has fallen but the path south to the next British objective of Fontenay-le-Pesnel, is blocked by the imposing feature of Parc de Boislande.
This is both refreshing and interesting. Not only does Barr offer a refreshing view of the battle dealing with the issues facing all the major protagonists on both sides he also offers excellent analysis of the effect of air power of the battles and how the Western Desert Air Forces campaign against Axis supply lines.
The Western Desert Air Force was able in this interdiction campaign to dislocate the Axis forces and remove their one major advantages from the battlefield, that of mobility. The author has provided the reader with an excellent up to date analysis of the battle and he weaves through the myriad of sources and debates in such a way that you are left fully understanding the complexity of this decisive battle and how it was not only important in terms of being one of the turning point of the war but also that it was crucial for Britain and Churchill who at the time of the battle was facing at vote of no confidence in the House of Commons.
Overall, if you are interested in the desert war or the persona of Montgomery I would recommend this book. The evidence that Fennell deploys in his analysis clearly shows that there was a morale crisis in the Eighth Army and that Montgomery worked to improve it before launching his assault.
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