Battles With Panzers: Monty's Tank Battalions 1 Rtr & 2 Rtr at War

by Patrick Delaforce

The story of Britain's Royal Tank Regiment is one of struggle, triumph and achievement. Its origins are a mere three-quarters of a century old, but those years have seen the stalemate of trench warfare overcome, the restoration of battlefield mobility and the establishment of armored and mechanized forces as a dominant factor in battle. During the First World War, 1 RTR won two Victoria Crosses and were victors in the first ever tank versus tank engagement. 2 RTR fought in all the key Western Front battles from Messines in June 1917 to the armistice. Both formations took part in the massed armored attack at Cambrai on 20 November 1917, a key encounter in the history of the tank. During the Second World War, 1 RTR saw action in the North African desert, in Italy and in Northwest Europe, forming the spearhead of 7th Armoured Division in 1944 and 1945. Following service with the British Expeditionary Force in France in 1940 and in North Africa and Burma, 2 RTR took part in the 1944-45 Italian campaign, ending the war in Austria. Patrick Delaforce has interviewed some forty veteran officers and men of both battalions to tell the inspiring story of Britain's two premier tank battalions at war. His narrative is interwoven with extensive interviews with these veterans and is well illustrated with a selection of maps and archive photographs.

Genres: World War II, Military History, History

256 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2000

Reviews

[James Kemp · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a history of 3rd Royal Tank Regiment (a battalion sized unit for those not au fait with UK Armoured regiments). It starts with a chapter of their origins in the First World War and then their subsequent peacetime evolution. 3RTR fought in the 1940 France campaign at Calais, then in Greece in 1941 followed by the western desert. They returned to the UK in late 1943 and took part in the NW Europe campaign eventually meeting up with the Russians in the Baltic.

The Author was an artillery officer (with 13 RHA) who supported 3RTR in the NW Europe campaign and this gives him a connection to those that he has written about, much of the text is based on letters and conversations with the surviving officers and men of 3 RTR.

Synopsis

During the desperate days of May 1940 that ended with the fall of France, the 3rd Battalion Royal Tank Regiment was sent to Calais where it played a vital role in the week-long battle. In helping to stem the inexorable German armoured advance, the battalion was praised by Churchill for giving the British Expeditionary Force vital extra time to effect the crucial evacuation from Dunkirk‘s beaches.

In the spring of 1941, 3 RTR fought the panzers once again in the ill-fated Greek campaign. They fought a costly withdrawal against the Germans, losing all their tanks, but inflicting heavy casualties. Hitler was furious: the six week Greek campaign delayed Operation ”Barbarossa” which allowed the Soviets time to re-group before the Germans reached Moscow.

Following their evacuation from Greece they re-formed in Egypt and fought in the Gazala battles, Operation Crusader and then in El Alamein and contributed to the subsequent defeat of the Axis forces in North Africa.

Taking part in the D-Day invasion in June 1944, 3 RTR was in the thick of all the desperate Normandy battles. They took part in the ”Great Swan” to capture Amiens and Antwerp, then provided right flank protection in Operation ‘Market Garden’ and helped halt the panzers in the Ardennes. Equipped with new Comet tanks 3 RTR swept across the Rhine and four other well-defended rivers to meet the Russians on the Baltic.

Review

This book is very well informed, the author was there personally for some of it and was able to speak to those that were directly involved in other parts as well as having access to war diaries etc. The style is very readable and it is an excellent unit history for a tank regiment that was involved in all of the main campaigns in NW Europe and the Med.

[Robin brook · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good read spoilt as kindle version seems not to display pictures or maps.
This should be made clear at purchase stage.

[D.M. Fletcher · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thorough history

Another comprehensive account of the RTR. The dispassionate way deaths are recorded emphasise s the tragedy of war.
Good read for anyone interested in WW2.

[Garry Wyatt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good history of 3 RTR in North-West Europe.