O
O.C.
Guest
This is a very brief forward on the subject of the British Army in World War Two, so I bet that has surprised a lot of people.
The subject is too vast to cover briefly so I will not do it but here is the intro to start the subject off
The steel cavalry of World War Two were the tanks. The first tanks went into action on September 15th, 1916, on the Somme when, looming out of the mist and followed by crowds of cheering soldiers, they filled the surprised German with terror. But how different the tanks from the Great War than those in World War Two. In the Great War they were slow-moving monsters, WW2 they career across bad country at 18 miles per hour, taking ditches, walls, and almost every other obstruction in their stride.
A battle between opposing tank battalions closely resembles a battle at sea. A tank battalion numbers about 50 tanks, and as in sea warfare the cruisers go ahead of the battleships, so did small, swift tanks scout for the larger monsters which follow more slowly behind, sending back the results of their reconnaissance findings by means of wireless. For every tank was equipped with a wireless installation, and as the admiral at sea did transmits his orders by wireless to his fleet, so the officer in command of the tanks issues his instructions by the same means. In the Great War the army could never have had too many guns, and the same applied in WW2 to a still greater extent. Except for the anti-tank guns, the artillery is usually behind the infantry. Its duties were to pound the enemy's defences, or to send over a barrage of exploding shells between our men and the enemy, either to break up an enemy attack or to cover the advance of our own infantry. In the latter case a creeping barrage is put up, that is to say, the rain of shells moves forward as our men advance. Imagine the accuracy and science needed to put over such a barrage. Most of the guns engaged are probably far behind the lines, and out of sight of the advancing infantry, yet so great is the skill with which modern gunnery had been developed that the gunners can put their shells just where they wanted them.
Of course in the days of aircraft the artilleryman's lot was more difficult than it used to be. The enemy was always on the watch for guns and gun positions, either to bomb them direct or to pass the information back to their own gunners so that they may put a rain of high explosives down upon the spot. In order to guard against such discovery gun positions were usually camouflaged so that the reconnoitring airman cannot spot them from above. What of the British infantryman? Its he who wins the battle in the end and clears up the mess the others have made. Like the rest of the army he had been mechanised as much as possible. Besides the magazine Lee-Enfield rifle, infantry were armed with anti-tank rifles, Tommy guns, and machine-guns, the most famous of which is the light Bren machine-gun
The first photo shows a bridge erected by the Royal Engineers in training the bridge looks flimsy but the lorry is 3 ton
Second Photo shows a Howitzer battery preparing for action
The subject is too vast to cover briefly so I will not do it but here is the intro to start the subject off
The steel cavalry of World War Two were the tanks. The first tanks went into action on September 15th, 1916, on the Somme when, looming out of the mist and followed by crowds of cheering soldiers, they filled the surprised German with terror. But how different the tanks from the Great War than those in World War Two. In the Great War they were slow-moving monsters, WW2 they career across bad country at 18 miles per hour, taking ditches, walls, and almost every other obstruction in their stride.
A battle between opposing tank battalions closely resembles a battle at sea. A tank battalion numbers about 50 tanks, and as in sea warfare the cruisers go ahead of the battleships, so did small, swift tanks scout for the larger monsters which follow more slowly behind, sending back the results of their reconnaissance findings by means of wireless. For every tank was equipped with a wireless installation, and as the admiral at sea did transmits his orders by wireless to his fleet, so the officer in command of the tanks issues his instructions by the same means. In the Great War the army could never have had too many guns, and the same applied in WW2 to a still greater extent. Except for the anti-tank guns, the artillery is usually behind the infantry. Its duties were to pound the enemy's defences, or to send over a barrage of exploding shells between our men and the enemy, either to break up an enemy attack or to cover the advance of our own infantry. In the latter case a creeping barrage is put up, that is to say, the rain of shells moves forward as our men advance. Imagine the accuracy and science needed to put over such a barrage. Most of the guns engaged are probably far behind the lines, and out of sight of the advancing infantry, yet so great is the skill with which modern gunnery had been developed that the gunners can put their shells just where they wanted them.
Of course in the days of aircraft the artilleryman's lot was more difficult than it used to be. The enemy was always on the watch for guns and gun positions, either to bomb them direct or to pass the information back to their own gunners so that they may put a rain of high explosives down upon the spot. In order to guard against such discovery gun positions were usually camouflaged so that the reconnoitring airman cannot spot them from above. What of the British infantryman? Its he who wins the battle in the end and clears up the mess the others have made. Like the rest of the army he had been mechanised as much as possible. Besides the magazine Lee-Enfield rifle, infantry were armed with anti-tank rifles, Tommy guns, and machine-guns, the most famous of which is the light Bren machine-gun
The first photo shows a bridge erected by the Royal Engineers in training the bridge looks flimsy but the lorry is 3 ton
Second Photo shows a Howitzer battery preparing for action
