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Lädt ... Taming the Panzers: 3 RTR at War, 1914-45von Patrick Delaforce
   Keine Keine aktuelle Diskussion zu diesem Buch.  jmkemp | Jul 5, 2016 |  keine Rezensionen | Rezension hinzufügen
During the desperate days of May 1940 that ended with the fall of France, the 3rd Battalion Royal Tank Regiment was sent to Calais in support of 30th Infantry Brigade where it played a vital role in the week-long defence of Calais. In helping to stem the inexorable advance by German panzers, the battalion was uniquely praised by Churchill for giving the BEF much-needed extra time for the crucial evacuation from Dunkirk's beaches to be effected. Reformed and refitted by the spring of 1941, 3 RTR returned to Europe to fight the panzers once again, this time in the ill-fated Greek campaign, where it became the only RTR unit to see combat. The surviving officers and men of 3 RTR embarked for Egypt at the end of April where they came under the command of General Montgomery, 3 RTR fought again in all the main North African desert battles, including the major turning point engagements at Alam Halfa and El Alamein. It helped to halt the panzers in the Ardennes and, as the only RTR unit in the British Army to be equipped with brand new Comet tanks, took part in the many river crossing battles on its way to the Baltic - and on to the end of the war in Europe. Keine Bibliotheksbeschreibungen gefunden. |
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 Google Books — Lädt ...GenresMelvil Decimal System (DDC)940.541241History and Geography Europe Europe 1918- Military History Of World War II Operations and unitsKlassifikation der Library of Congress [LCC] (USA)BewertungDurchschnitt: (4)
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1
The Author was an artillery officer (with 13 RHA) who supported 3RTR in the NW Europe campaign and this gives him a connection to those that he has written about, much of the text is based on letters and conversations with the surviving officers and men of 3 RTR.
Synopsis
During the desperate days of May 1940 that ended with the fall of France, the 3rd Battalion Royal Tank Regiment was sent to Calais where it played a vital role in the week-long battle. In helping to stem the inexorable German armoured advance, the battalion was praised by Churchill for giving the British Expeditionary Force vital extra time to effect the crucial evacuation from Dunkirk‘s beaches.
In the spring of 1941, 3 RTR fought the panzers once again in the ill-fated Greek campaign. They fought a costly withdrawal against the Germans, losing all their tanks, but inflicting heavy casualties. Hitler was furious: the six week Greek campaign delayed Operation ”Barbarossa” which allowed the Soviets time to re-group before the Germans reached Moscow.
Following their evacuation from Greece they re-formed in Egypt and fought in the Gazala battles, Operation Crusader and then in El Alamein and contributed to the subsequent defeat of the Axis forces in North Africa.
Taking part in the D-Day invasion in June 1944, 3 RTR was in the thick of all the desperate Normandy battles. They took part in the ”Great Swan” to capture Amiens and Antwerp, then provided right flank protection in Operation ‘Market Garden’ and helped halt the panzers in the Ardennes. Equipped with new Comet tanks 3 RTR swept across the Rhine and four other well-defended rivers to meet the Russians on the Baltic.
Review
This book is very well informed, the author was there personally for some of it and was able to speak to those that were directly involved in other parts as well as having access to war diaries etc. The style is very readable and it is an excellent unit history for a tank regiment that was involved in all of the main campaigns in NW Europe and the Med. (