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The Western Dunkirk Corridor 1940 - Ledringhem, Wormhout and West Capelle (Paperback)
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The Western Dunkirk Corridor 1940 - Ledringhem, Wormhout and West Capelle (Paperback)
Series: Battleground Books: WWII
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List price R463
Loot Price R376
Discovery Miles 3 760
You Save R87 (19%)
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The story of 144 Brigade's defence of Wormhoudt and Bambecque must
rank in importance alongside the defence of Cassel and Hazebrouck
by 145 Brigade; however, what is often forgotten in the uncertainty
that surrounded Wormhoudt and Bambeque is the heroic defence of
West Cappel and Vwyfeg (les Cinq Chemins today) by the Welsh Guards
and the 1/Fife and Forfar Yeomanry (1/F&F Yeomanry). Brigadier
Norman's composite brigade was the final piece in the jigsaw of
defence on the western flank of the Dunkerque Corridor and, after
the last stand of the 2/Royal Warwicks and the 8/Worcesters,
Norman's Brigade, held the line south of Bergues, containing the
attacking German units at great cost, until the perimeter at
Dunkerque had been established. He and the remnants of his brigade
left Yvfweg just as the Germans were entering it from the south.
The full story of the evacuation of the BEF from Dunkerque can be
read in Battleground Europe: The Dunkerque Perimeter and Evacuation
1940. The defence of Wormhoudt in 1940 has long been associated
with the massacre of British servicemen after they had surrendered
and been taken prisoner. The events in the barn at La Plaine au
Bois will always be considered one of the most appalling acts of
the Second World War, carried out by elements of the Liebstandarte
Regiment, in what looked very much like revenge; a massacre that
was almost second nature to this group of fanatical followers of
Adolf Hitler. Up against the regular troops of the 2/Warwicks and
their supporting units, the Liebstandarte found no easy victory at
Wormhoudt in an encounter that saw their regimental commander,
Gruppenfuhrer Otto Sepp' Dietrich, having to take shelter in a
roadside ditch away from the fury of the Cheshire machine gunners.
Then again, what is often overshadowed by the events in the barn is
the series of other murders of civilians and British soldiers that
took place as the Liebstandarte overwhelmed the fragile defence of
the Warwicks. Captain Tony' Crook, the Warwicks' Medical Officer,
draws attention to just one of these incidents as he was marched
into captivity past the bodies of A Company men, who he felt sure
had been murdered in cold blood. Another incident involving the
Worcesters at Bambecque is related by Lieutenant Roger Cleverley of
C Company, who writes in his diary that all the wounded were shot
by a commander of the Liebstandarte. Apart from hearsay and diary
entries, there is little other evidence to support the deaths of
these men but, in the opinion of the author, there is no doubt
whatever that many British soldiers met a premature end after they
had surrendered in the fields and on the pavements of Wormhoudt and
Bambecque.
General
Imprint: |
Pen & Sword Military
|
Country of origin: |
United Kingdom |
Series: |
Battleground Books: WWII |
Release date: |
December 2022 |
Authors: |
Jerry Murland
|
Dimensions: |
216 x 138 x 14mm (L x W x T) |
Format: |
Paperback
|
ISBN-13: |
978-1-5267-4318-3 |
Categories: |
Books >
Humanities >
History >
General
Books >
History >
General
|
LSN: |
1-5267-4318-3 |
Barcode: |
9781526743183 |
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