The book begins when war is declared and the Territorials of the
50th (Northumbrian) Division are mobilised before their move to
France. Many of these men joined the territorials in the 1930s
because they could find no work in the depression and the monthly
bounty they got paid, plus a good pair of army boots, were worth a
lot to men who had nothing. In late 1939 the division was moved to
France in one of the worst winters in modern memory. In May 1940
the war began and the 50th were in the forefront of the fighting as
they tried to stem the Blitzkrieg. When the situation became
untenable the British army found themselves outflanked and in full
retreat to the French Coast. The 50th reached the Great War
Memorial at Ypres, the Menin Gate, and fought a delaying action
here but soon found themselves retreating again, by now they had
lost many casualties. By 19th and 20th May 1940 the whole British
Army was in headlong retreat and heading towards Dunkirk with the
panzers close on their heels, it was decided that a delaying action
was to be launched by the 50th Division at Arras with British and
French armoured units in support. It was here at Arras that the
50th would meet their future Nemesis in the form of Erwin Rommel
and his Ghost Division. On 20th May the 50th prepared themselves
for battle on and around the Canadian Great War Memorial on Vimy
Ridge. On 21st May the attack was launched into some very surprised
German formations that were just about to move around Arras. The
attack was led by tanks of the Royal Armoured Corps and the Troops
of the 151st Durham Brigade, 150th Brigade was in Arras itself
along the River Scarpe. The shock of the British assault caught the
Germans by surprise and the British tanks caused great slaughter
among the German units, especially among the ranks of the SS
Totenkopft Division who fled the field in terror. The descriptions
of the battle by tank crews and Durhams are outstanding and hair
raising, the Germans looked to be close to defeat when Erwin Rommel
stepped forward and ordered his 88mm anti-aircraft guns to lower
their barrels and be used in an anti-tank role for the first, but
not the last time. The British tanks could not withstand their
immense firepower and soon the battle-field was strewn with the
smoking hulks of British tanks and the dead bodies of both sides.
Rommel had saved the day. The retreat now continued in a mad dash
to the coast. At the town of Dunkirk and along the beaches the
whole British Army waited patiently to be taken home, under
constant air attack and artillery fire. By 2nd June the last troops
had been evacuated and a very badly beaten army was brought home,
men who were there talk of their shame when interviewed, many were
never proud of the fact that they were at Dunkirk. The British
populace however were just pleased to have the survivors home and
the myth of the miracle of Dunkirk took root. For many it was a
time of mourning. The 50th Division were now reorganised and
stationed on the south coast of England in preparation for the
invasion that never came. In 1941 the newly reconstructed 50th
Division was sent to the middle east, spending a miserable winter
moving about from camp to muddy camp. Finally the 50th was sent to
the Gazala Line in May 1942, this line was held by the South
Africans, the Free French and three brigades of the 50th Division,
150th, 151st and 69th Brigades, plus all the 8th Army's armoured
formations. Rommel needed to break through here and in May began to
make his plans. The British Forces were positioned in defensive
boxes, each one was supposed to be able to support the other in the
event of the expected attack, but most were so far apart that
mutual support was out of the question. Lt General Cruwell of the
German forces was out reconnoitring the ground in a spotter plane
when his pilot got lost and flew over the box held by 150th
Brigade, his plane was shot down, his pilot killed and he was taken
prisoner. The troops who took him saw only a blood spattered German
and had no idea who was in front of them, they handled him roughly
and stole his Pour le Merite and a gold ring. The young officers
did not know the rank of the prisoner they had to interrogate and
all snapped to attention when his rank was revealed, interviews
with these men are featured in this book. In late May 1942 Rommel
assembled his panzers, infantry and support vehicles by night, his
attack force covered an area of eleven square miles. The plan was
to move across 8th Army's front at night and to swing around the
left flank, where the Free French held Bir Hacheim, and to the rear
of 8th Army, a classic Rommel manoeuvre. As this happened the men
of the 50th Division sat tight in their defensive boxes and waited.
Patrols reported large troop and tank movements to the British
Front but the commanders would not believe it until it was too
late. The Free French at Bir Hacheim were attacked by German and
Italian armoured formations and fought a legendary defensive action
for over 10 days until they were forced to retire leaving behind
them one thousand of their own dead and hundreds of enemy dead,
dozens of black smouldering tanks littered the battle-field. The
panzers smashed into British armoured units behind the Front Line
and still it was not believed by the high command that this was
happening, desperate messages came over the air-waves warning of
the German assault. Rommel's forces were now in the rear of the
50th Division who could hear the thunder of battle all around them.
The British commanders threw their armour in piecemeal fashion at
the Germans and suffered horrendous losses, Rommel's timetable was
slowing down now and he needed to get supplies and fuel for his
hard pressed troops. In the face of ferocious attacks by the
British armour he backed his units up to the rear of the Gazala
Line and formed a defensive crescent of the dreaded 88mm anti-tank
guns around his panzers to hold off the British armour. Again and
again the British commanders threw their tanks at this screen, only
to see them knocked out in their hundreds, so fierce was the
fighting in this area that it was christened "The Couldron". Rommel
now turned his attention to the 50th Division and realised that to
get the supplies he so badly needed he needed to destroy the 150th
Brigade. His tanks and infantry laid siege to this box and launched
fleets of dive-bombers against them, heavy artillery fire, plus
tanks and infantry. Day after day the battle raged but the 150th
Brigade would not yield. After fighting an unsupported defence for
five days the situation became serious for the badly depleted
150th. Rommel was so concerned regarding his supplies situation
that he personally led one final desperate assault on 1st June
1942, after a morning of the most vicious close quarter fighting
the panzers rolled over this doomed position. In Rommel's diary
that night he recalled "The defence was conducted with great skill
and determination and as usual the British fought to the last
round". Rommel's now replenished troops burst out of their
bridgehead and put the British to flight, the troops in the Gazala
Line got away as best they could with many close calls and near
misses. At Mersa Matruh the 50th Division was ordered to make a
stand in order that other units could get away and in a very
confused situation fought until they could fight no more, Pte Adam
Wakenshaw won the Victoria Cross here and lost his life in the
process. The Gazala Gallop then resumed until at last the 8th Army
arrived at the last defensive line before Alexandria, this was to
take its name from an insignificant railway siding called El
Alamein. The 50th Northumbrian Division had suffered grievously in
the Western Desert and in May and June 1942 had taken nine thousand
casualties. These years of defeat had seen them transformed into a
battle hardened legion of the 8th Army who would become
internationally famous in the years to come. This study adds
comprehensively to our knowledge of WW2 in a number of ways:
Firstly the views of the men involved throw a bright light on what
it was really like to fight in an elite infantry division. Secondly
it covers events that have not been studied in detail before and
shows in no uncertain way the horrors men endured for years if they
survived. Thirdly: The testimony of the men describes scenes they
would not tell their families, from the deaths of friends in action
to the terrible things they personally had to do to survive, to men
who returned home and had to tell their parents, who knew nothing,
what had happened to their brother. Fourthly: the text,
illustrations and period maps come together to form a clear view of
what the 50th Division really did in those terrible times as seen
through the eyes of the survivors.
General
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