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Author: David Erskine Publisher: ISBN: 9781843420613 Category : History Languages : en Pages : 704
Book Description
This is a monumental regimental history with the bulk of it, nearly 440 pages, devoted to WWII and the Occupation. As in 1914 the regiment went to war in 1939 with two battalions which at one stage had increased to four of which only the 4th did not see active service as a battalion; two of its companies, however, did fight in Italy with 1st and 2nd Battalions, and in NW Europe with Irish and Welsh Guards battalions. The 3rd Battalion converted to armour and fought in NW Europe as a Guards tank battalion. A 5th Battalion had a brief existence as a Ski battalion, recruited from experienced volunteers, civilian and military, called for in telegrams despatched by the War Office all over the world. It was nicknamed The Snowballers. The life of this most odd unit spanned three months - January to March 1940 when it was disbanded. It had been intended for assisting the Finns but before it could be put to any use Finland had concluded an armistice with the USSR. The battalion did, however, get as far as Chamonix in the French Alps for training with a battalion of Chasseurs Alpins. This episode is most amusingly described. The history is arranged seven parts with a number of very informative appendices. Part I covers the period between the wars, which includes service in Egypt, Palestine, Hong Kong and Shanghai, and then follow: Scandinavia 1940 (1st Bn); At Home 39- 45 (1st Bn, Trg Bn, RHQ and Holding Bn); N Africa 39- 43 (1st and 2nd Bns); Italy 43- 47 (1st and 2nd Bns); NW Europe 44- 46 (2nd and 3rd Bns); and finally Post War 45- 55 which includes Malaya (2nd Bn). In each section the actions of each battalion involved are described. As the headings to the various parts indicate the regiment fought in all theatres of war in WWII apart from the Far East. The many maps and photographs are of a high standard. The appendices are a mine of information: Roll of Honour and Casualty Statistics; Honours and Awards (Decorations for gallantry are listed by battalions by theatres of war); list of Colonels, COs, Adjutants, QMs and RSMs; Orders of Battle by battalions at various dates (officers and warrant officers); Nominal Roll of Officers who served in the regiment between 1934 and 1955, showing period of service, highest rank reached in the regiment and war service; and Regimental Dress which, for WWII, shows the formations in which the battalions served and the formation sign. Finally there is a comprehensive index. This is a splendid history and a great tribute to the regiment.
Author: Randall Nicol Publisher: Helion ISBN: 9781911096078 Category : Biography & Autobiography Languages : en Pages : 0
Book Description
This is a story of soldiers at war against the background the two battalions of the Scots Guards who served in Belgium and France from 1914 to 1918. The author's purpose is to display - by getting in amongst them - what they knew, saw, heard, felt and experienced around them and who they were as people. It is clear that the author has attempted to look and listen mostly through these men's eyes and ears - and sometimes through those of others who watched and listened nearby. In conveying how the war appeared to them, the author has not sought to achieve any wider view - nor to explain more than what is considered to be essential. What went on when the men were not in the trenches or fighting a battle holds just as much interest as when they were. The book is written in a chronological, narrative form - using as a basis the war diaries of the battalions, and supplemented from August 1915 by the two volumes of Cuthbert Headlam's History of the Guards Division in the Great War 1915-1918. The main content of the book stems from diaries, letters, notes, occasional pieces of verse, military documents and reports - as well as some press cuttings and any relevant published works. There are three key elements to the book: the first is that a great deal of the material used forms part of private collections and thus has never before; second is the intensive research which has been conducted into individual officers and soldiers; the third element is the blending together of all the research into a coherent whole so that there is a steady flow in an extraordinary story which is full of shocks and surprises, enjoyment and laughter - and (even in the most inauspicious situations) sorrow, joy and determination. These officers and men were ordinary human beings who experienced extraordinary events. In all other ways, they behaved as soldiers do, in that they did what they had to do - often misbehaving out of the line, but rarely in it; enjoying what there was to enjoy and grumbling about much else. Among themselves they had their personal likes and dislikes, but all had to depend on each other and work together. Because of the comradeship borne of the shared experience at close quarters, they got to know each other very well indeed. One cannot be but humbled and moved by their resilience amid dire adversity - not least in the winter conditions of 1916-17. It is extremely important when reading to remember that they had no idea how long the war would continue - and it is not surprising how unexpected and unreal the announcement of the Armistice was for many. The Scots Guardsmen's understanding of what others were doing at any time was limited to what they saw and heard - very rarely anywhere near the whole story and often inaccurate (and sometimes, however unintentionally, unfair). Those British soldiers who took part in the Retreat from Mons saw and were well aware of the plight of the refugees - and they could see behind them the fires as the advancing Germans burnt farms and villages. Those who landed at Ostend and Zeebrugge early in October 1914 were similarly well aware of the plight of refugees. Those in the area east of the Somme battlefields after the Germans withdrew to the Hindenburg Line in March 1917 saw the scale of calculated destruction. Those in the last weeks of the war who advanced across largely unfought-over Belgian and French territory (in the case of the Scots Guards, east of Cambrai) first met pathetically grateful civilians. Whatever else the war was about, it was also about liberation.
Author: David Erskine
Author: David Erskine
Author: ![The Scots Guards, 1919-1955. Compiled by David Erskine. [With Plates and Maps.]. PDF](https://books.google.com/books/content/images/frontcover/zYIOMwEACAAJ?fife=w80-h100)
Author: Great Britain. Army. Infantry. Regiments. Foot Guards. Scots Guards
Author: 
Author: Francis Loraine Petre
Author: Sir Frederick Maurice
Author: Randall Nicol
Author: Sir Frederick Maurice
Author: Loraine F. Petre
Author: Frederick Maurice