大象传媒

It was May 1944. I was 21 and a gunner in the Northamptonshire Tank regiment

We landed in France, our destination was Caen. Together with the Canadians and Americans our aim was to hold a bridge. After two months of intensive fighting we were getting nowhere, dead soldiers and animals were all over the place; most of the population of Caen had taken shelter in the church.

The Canadian General decided to break the deadlock by sending the Americans all around the outside of the fighting to the right and we and the Canadians we to travel at night towards the German lines. Tanks do not generally travel during the hours of darkness and it took us a week to prepare for this manoeuvre.

We lined up after dark and moved out. The Northamptonshire Yeomanry leading our column on foot, and the Canadians in another column. For about the first two hours it was all quiet because the Germans did not expect us to move after dark.

We reached our objective in the early hours of the morning. After some time we sorted into defensive positions. Three troops on the right looking over the valley to the main road. Nothing was happening so we started breakfast. At about noon the lookout reported three German Tiger tanks approaching.

At this range the Firefly Tank, the one in which I was gunner, was the only tank capable of fending off the Tigers. So we pulled out of cover into firing position. At about 800 yards I fired twice at the rear tiger and knocked him out.

We reversed back into cover and as we did so the second of the Tigers fired at us only slightly damaging our turret but unfortunately injured our tank commander. The troop commander quickly took control of our tank. We pulled out from cover and I shot at the second Tiger blowing off his turret.

Once again we reversed into cover, pulled out a third time and took a shot at the remaining Tiger. This time it took two shots to take him out. The whole operation took 12 minutes and later we were told that Michael Whitmann the German Ace had been killed in the middle Tiger Tank.

Things quieting down for some time and then the main attack came from the left. I managed to knock out the lead tank but about 3 minutes latter a large bang took our turret off. All the crew except the troop commander made it to safety.

That evening the crews of our tank were all split up and joined other tanks that had lost crew members. I was very disappointed after my accurate shooting display to be placed in my new tank as a radio operator.

The next day the advance proceeded.

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