Fosbery
Member
I've just been watching a couple of documentaries, one about the British actions in Sicily during WWII, and the other about the Victoria Cross (the highest award of gallantry that a British or Commonwealth citizen can achieve, our equivilant of the Medal of Honour I suppose).
There were two things that tweaked my interest, and one other that I felt the need to share.
The latter, is the story of Major Robert Henry Cain who won a Victoria Cross at the battle of Arnhem in Holland, WWII. Though he was a member of the Royal Northumberland Fusiliers, he fought in Arnhem alongside the Staffordshire Regiment. Like his men, he landed in Holland with supplies for three days and prepared to fight "kids and old men", the dregs of the German army. Instead, he found crack SS panzer divisions, and fought for 6 days and 5 nights nights straight (19 September to 25 September, 1944).
Being a Major, he was supposed to set up an HQ and command his troops from a desk. Instead, he engaged wave after wave of infantry with rifle, sten gun and bren gun. A close friend of his was killed a short while into the battle and he was most distraught. Soon afterwards he went to fetch ammunition for him and his men. Alone, he ran into a unit of Germans. In a blind rage he slaughtered the entire unit using only his bren gun.
By now he had suffered multiple gunshot and shrapnel wounds, and his trousers had been torn off. He refused medical treatment. He spent his subsequent days moving amongst his men, encouraging them, and whenever tanks or armour were reported, he would go off alone to hunt it (still without his trousers). He faced heavily armoured German Panzers and Tigers, supposedly invulnerable to British anti-tank weapons. He used a spring-powered anti-tank weapon called a PIAT (much like a bazooka in the way it was used) to engage and destroy numerous tanks and self-propelled guns from near point blank range. The PIAT had such a kick that it was meant to be fired only from the prone position, with a special leg dug into the ground. On several occasions Major Cain used it from standing.
At one point, he engaged a pair of Tiger tanks. He fired once, but did no damage. The Tigers returned machinegun fire, hitting, but not killing him. He fired again, disabling the first Tiger. The crew bailed out, but Major Cain gunned them down with small arms fire. He fired a third PIAT bomb, at the second Tiger, but it was faulty and exploded just in front of him, sending a piece of metal shrapnel into his eye and blinding him. As his men dragged him away kicking, he screamed for someone to grab his PIAT and finish the job.
He refused medical treatment once again, continued to fight and eventually his eardrums burst from the abuse of firing so many shells. He then ran out of ammunition for his PIAT and with no proper anti-tank weaponry available, he switched to using a standard infantry mortar. He would engage tanks with it at point blank range, firing from the hip. He scored succesive kills.
On the 5th day a ceasefire was called so that the wounded could be evacuated. Major Cain refused to leave. When fighting recommenced, he fought a three hour battle with SS Panzer infantry, running about the battlefield (still without his trousers, deaf, blind in one eye, bleeding profusely all over) firing his mortar like a rifle. The Germans broke and fled in dissaray (not suprisingly!).
On the 6th day, with no ammunition, no food, with too many wounded to care for and with no hope of relief, the British withdrew from Arnhem. Major Cain refused to leave until he had found a razor, had a shave, and found some trousers.
He was later awarded the Victoria Cross and the Secretary of State commented that it was "probably the best Victoria Cross of the whole war". He died in 1974, from cancer. It was only after his death that his wife, who he lived with for his entire life following the war, learned that he had won a Victoria Cross.
Quite amazing, I'm sure you'll agree.
The other two things I noticed were gun related. In one piece of footage, from Sicily, I saw British soldiers running through a trench. Half of them had Thomspons (quite normal) but the other half had what looked like M1 carbines. I know the SAS used M1 carbines but I doubt they would have been filmed. Does anyone know of any other instances of British troops being officially issued M1 carbines, or must they have scrounged them from somewhere?
In a second piece of footage, two British soldiers are standing and talking. One has his Lee Enfield, but the other has a rifle that I don't think I've ever seen before. It looked very much like an SVT-40 Tokarev, but it had a perforated barrel shroud on the top half (like on some M1 carbines) and it had a foregrip cut out of the wooden stock (like on a Federov). Any ideas what it might have been and what this soldier was doing with it?
There were two things that tweaked my interest, and one other that I felt the need to share.
The latter, is the story of Major Robert Henry Cain who won a Victoria Cross at the battle of Arnhem in Holland, WWII. Though he was a member of the Royal Northumberland Fusiliers, he fought in Arnhem alongside the Staffordshire Regiment. Like his men, he landed in Holland with supplies for three days and prepared to fight "kids and old men", the dregs of the German army. Instead, he found crack SS panzer divisions, and fought for 6 days and 5 nights nights straight (19 September to 25 September, 1944).
Being a Major, he was supposed to set up an HQ and command his troops from a desk. Instead, he engaged wave after wave of infantry with rifle, sten gun and bren gun. A close friend of his was killed a short while into the battle and he was most distraught. Soon afterwards he went to fetch ammunition for him and his men. Alone, he ran into a unit of Germans. In a blind rage he slaughtered the entire unit using only his bren gun.
By now he had suffered multiple gunshot and shrapnel wounds, and his trousers had been torn off. He refused medical treatment. He spent his subsequent days moving amongst his men, encouraging them, and whenever tanks or armour were reported, he would go off alone to hunt it (still without his trousers). He faced heavily armoured German Panzers and Tigers, supposedly invulnerable to British anti-tank weapons. He used a spring-powered anti-tank weapon called a PIAT (much like a bazooka in the way it was used) to engage and destroy numerous tanks and self-propelled guns from near point blank range. The PIAT had such a kick that it was meant to be fired only from the prone position, with a special leg dug into the ground. On several occasions Major Cain used it from standing.
At one point, he engaged a pair of Tiger tanks. He fired once, but did no damage. The Tigers returned machinegun fire, hitting, but not killing him. He fired again, disabling the first Tiger. The crew bailed out, but Major Cain gunned them down with small arms fire. He fired a third PIAT bomb, at the second Tiger, but it was faulty and exploded just in front of him, sending a piece of metal shrapnel into his eye and blinding him. As his men dragged him away kicking, he screamed for someone to grab his PIAT and finish the job.
He refused medical treatment once again, continued to fight and eventually his eardrums burst from the abuse of firing so many shells. He then ran out of ammunition for his PIAT and with no proper anti-tank weaponry available, he switched to using a standard infantry mortar. He would engage tanks with it at point blank range, firing from the hip. He scored succesive kills.
On the 5th day a ceasefire was called so that the wounded could be evacuated. Major Cain refused to leave. When fighting recommenced, he fought a three hour battle with SS Panzer infantry, running about the battlefield (still without his trousers, deaf, blind in one eye, bleeding profusely all over) firing his mortar like a rifle. The Germans broke and fled in dissaray (not suprisingly!).
On the 6th day, with no ammunition, no food, with too many wounded to care for and with no hope of relief, the British withdrew from Arnhem. Major Cain refused to leave until he had found a razor, had a shave, and found some trousers.
He was later awarded the Victoria Cross and the Secretary of State commented that it was "probably the best Victoria Cross of the whole war". He died in 1974, from cancer. It was only after his death that his wife, who he lived with for his entire life following the war, learned that he had won a Victoria Cross.
Quite amazing, I'm sure you'll agree.
The other two things I noticed were gun related. In one piece of footage, from Sicily, I saw British soldiers running through a trench. Half of them had Thomspons (quite normal) but the other half had what looked like M1 carbines. I know the SAS used M1 carbines but I doubt they would have been filmed. Does anyone know of any other instances of British troops being officially issued M1 carbines, or must they have scrounged them from somewhere?
In a second piece of footage, two British soldiers are standing and talking. One has his Lee Enfield, but the other has a rifle that I don't think I've ever seen before. It looked very much like an SVT-40 Tokarev, but it had a perforated barrel shroud on the top half (like on some M1 carbines) and it had a foregrip cut out of the wooden stock (like on a Federov). Any ideas what it might have been and what this soldier was doing with it?
