Port Said September 1st 1945 "As the ship pulled into Alex, the
dockside was a hive of activity. The captain had radioed ahead and
so there was a battalion of the Kings' African Rifles (KAR)waiting
to disarm us as we disembarked. All these KAR's were standing at
the order as a staff officer informed us that we were to be placed
under arrest and escorted to Khartoum, here we would contemplate
our mutiny for 2 years. Our battalion was still under arms; the
sound of the cocking of weapons greeted the officer's threat, and a
lone voice asked "And who's going to escort the darkies?" All our
officers were powerless, we had the drop on the KAR's, all that was
needed was for someone to pull the trigger. A Battle Too Far is the
true story of Rifleman Henry Taylor 6923581, late 7th Battalion The
RifleBrigade (1stBattalion London Rifle Brigade) and is based on
his diaries and recollections as told to his son Lawrence. The
Foreword is by Lt-Gen Sir Christopher Wallace Chairman of The Royal
Green Jackets (Rifles) Museum in Winchester. Henrys war began in
October 1942 as the 2nd Battle of El Alamein commenced and
continued almost non-stop for the next three years. From El Alamein
to Tunisia he fought with the 8th Army as they finally pushed
Rommel back to the sea.Expecting to return to Britain in
preparation for D Day at the last minute plans were changed and
they were ordered to Italy instead. Here they found themselves
fighting for every inch of land against determined, well dug-in
defenders, in conditions often resembling the trenches of WW1.
Their reward? Their campaigns forgotten as the world concentrated
on the D Day invasion and to be called D Day Dodgers despite
enduring some of the heaviest fighting of the war. As Europe
celebrated VE Day Henrys war continued as they raced to Austria to
prevent Yugoslav forces annexing Carinthia in the opening shots of
the Cold War. Then, as the men around him were de-mobbed, Henry and
the rest of the Battalion were sent back to Egypt to protect
British interests in the continuing civil unrest. Dejected and fed
up it only took one incident to spark a mutiny.
General
Imprint: |
Pen & Sword Military
|
Country of origin: |
United Kingdom |
Release date: |
August 2022 |
Authors: |
Carole McEntee-Taylor
|
Dimensions: |
234 x 156 x 31mm (L x W x T) |
Format: |
Paperback
|
Pages: |
192 |
ISBN-13: |
978-1-399-07474-2 |
Categories: |
Books
|
LSN: |
1-399-07474-1 |
Barcode: |
9781399074742 |
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