Battleground Books: WWII
2 total works
Known in some accounts as the Battle of Wijtschaete, the confrontation along the Ypres-Comines Canal in 1940 is still hardly remembered in this country and, apart from the battle honours displayed proudly on the colours of the regiments who took part - many no longer in existence, very little has been written about the four days which probably saved the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) from almost complete destruction. This is quite surprising, given the pivotal nature of the battle, for without the sacrifice of the battalions on the canal there would probably have been no evacuation from Dunkerque on the scale to which we have become accustomed, and the war may well have taken on a different outcome.
Although there was fighting north of Ypres along the Canal Van Ieper Naar De Ijzer, where 151 Brigade and the 3rd Division were deployed, the actual Battle of the Ypres-Comines Canal took place to the south, where the three divisions of General der Infantry Viktor von Schwedler's IV Korps were pitted against three British brigades along the disused canal which runs from Comines in the south to Ypres in the north.
The book looks in detail at the order of battle of the British and German units engaged and focuses on the four British brigades that fought on the canal. The mainly territorial 143 Brigade was positioned in the south, 13 Brigade was in the middle and 17 Brigade held the northern end of the line up to Zillebeke Lake. Apart from the 12/Lancers and a few tanks from 3/RTR, Ypres itself was largely defended by 150 Brigade. Major General Franklyn's instructions were to hold the line for as long as possible to allow the remainder of the BEF to strengthen the Dunkerque Perimeter.
With over 150 contemporary and modern black and white photographs, ten maps, and visits to eight CWGC Cemeteries, the book enables the battlefield tourist to explore the area and undertake three car tours together with two short walks. Visitors will no doubt wish to combine a visit to the First World War sites around Ypres with the fighting along the canal in 1940, recognizing many places that were fought over in both wars
Although there was fighting north of Ypres along the Canal Van Ieper Naar De Ijzer, where 151 Brigade and the 3rd Division were deployed, the actual Battle of the Ypres-Comines Canal took place to the south, where the three divisions of General der Infantry Viktor von Schwedler's IV Korps were pitted against three British brigades along the disused canal which runs from Comines in the south to Ypres in the north.
The book looks in detail at the order of battle of the British and German units engaged and focuses on the four British brigades that fought on the canal. The mainly territorial 143 Brigade was positioned in the south, 13 Brigade was in the middle and 17 Brigade held the northern end of the line up to Zillebeke Lake. Apart from the 12/Lancers and a few tanks from 3/RTR, Ypres itself was largely defended by 150 Brigade. Major General Franklyn's instructions were to hold the line for as long as possible to allow the remainder of the BEF to strengthen the Dunkerque Perimeter.
With over 150 contemporary and modern black and white photographs, ten maps, and visits to eight CWGC Cemeteries, the book enables the battlefield tourist to explore the area and undertake three car tours together with two short walks. Visitors will no doubt wish to combine a visit to the First World War sites around Ypres with the fighting along the canal in 1940, recognizing many places that were fought over in both wars
The story of 144 Brigade's defence of Wormhoudt and Bambecque must rank in importance alongside the defence of Cassel and Hazebrouck by 145 Brigade; however, what is often forgotten in the uncertainty that surrounded Wormhoudt and Bambeque is the heroic defence of West Cappel and Vwyfeg (les Cinq Chemins today) by the Welsh Guards and the 1/Fife and Forfar Yeomanry (1/F&F Yeomanry). Brigadier Norman's composite brigade was the final piece in the jigsaw of defence on the western flank of the Dunkerque Corridor and, after the last stand of the 2/Royal Warwicks and the 8/Worcesters, Norman's Brigade, held the line south of Bergues, containing the attacking German units at great cost, until the perimeter at Dunkerque had been established. He and the remnants of his brigade left Yvfweg just as the Germans were entering it from the south. The full story of the evacuation of the BEF from Dunkerque can be read in Battleground Europe: The Dunkerque Perimeter and Evacuation 1940.
The defence of Wormhoudt in 1940 has long been associated with the massacre of British servicemen after they had surrendered and been taken prisoner. The events in the barn at La Plaine au Bois will always be considered one of the most appalling acts of the Second World War, carried out by elements of the Liebstandarte Regiment, in what looked very much like revenge; a massacre that was almost second nature to this group of fanatical followers of Adolf Hitler. Up against the regular troops of the 2/Warwicks and their supporting units, the Liebstandarte found no easy victory at Wormhoudt in an encounter that saw their regimental commander, Gruppenfuhrer Otto �Sepp' Dietrich, having to take shelter in a roadside ditch away from the fury of the Cheshire machine gunners. Then again, what is often overshadowed by the events in the barn is the series of other murders of civilians and British soldiers that took place as the Liebstandarte overwhelmed the fragile defence of the Warwicks. Captain �Tony' Crook, the Warwicks' Medical Officer, draws attention to just one of these incidents as he was marched into captivity past the bodies of A Company men, who he felt sure had been murdered in cold blood. Another incident involving the Worcesters at Bambecque is related by Lieutenant Roger Cleverley of C Company, who writes in his diary that all the wounded were shot by a commander of the Liebstandarte. Apart from hearsay and diary entries, there is little other evidence to support the deaths of these men but, in the opinion of the author, there is no doubt whatever that many British soldiers met a premature end after they had surrendered in the fields and on the pavements of Wormhoudt and Bambecque.
The defence of Wormhoudt in 1940 has long been associated with the massacre of British servicemen after they had surrendered and been taken prisoner. The events in the barn at La Plaine au Bois will always be considered one of the most appalling acts of the Second World War, carried out by elements of the Liebstandarte Regiment, in what looked very much like revenge; a massacre that was almost second nature to this group of fanatical followers of Adolf Hitler. Up against the regular troops of the 2/Warwicks and their supporting units, the Liebstandarte found no easy victory at Wormhoudt in an encounter that saw their regimental commander, Gruppenfuhrer Otto �Sepp' Dietrich, having to take shelter in a roadside ditch away from the fury of the Cheshire machine gunners. Then again, what is often overshadowed by the events in the barn is the series of other murders of civilians and British soldiers that took place as the Liebstandarte overwhelmed the fragile defence of the Warwicks. Captain �Tony' Crook, the Warwicks' Medical Officer, draws attention to just one of these incidents as he was marched into captivity past the bodies of A Company men, who he felt sure had been murdered in cold blood. Another incident involving the Worcesters at Bambecque is related by Lieutenant Roger Cleverley of C Company, who writes in his diary that all the wounded were shot by a commander of the Liebstandarte. Apart from hearsay and diary entries, there is little other evidence to support the deaths of these men but, in the opinion of the author, there is no doubt whatever that many British soldiers met a premature end after they had surrendered in the fields and on the pavements of Wormhoudt and Bambecque.