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Operation Howard
Operation Howard was a British special forces operation by B and C Squadrons, 1st Special Air Service led by Paddy Mayne that took place from 6 to 29 April 1945. It was to provide reconnaissance for the Canadian 4th Armoured Division in its advance towards Oldenburg in north-western Germany. The operation was hampered by German ambushes and boggy ground in which the Jeeps found hard going. The operation succeeded in its objective but suffered a number of casualties. The operation was notable for an action where many felt that Paddy Mayne should have won the Victoria Cross. Background The 1st and 2nd Special Air Service had achieved considerable success with their behind the lines raiding during and after Operation Overlord – notably Operation Bulbasket, Operation Houndsworth, Operation Loyton and Operation Wallace. Following these operations both of the Special Air Service regiments were recalled to the United Kingdom. They were to regroup and refit, for the final push in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Western Front (World War II)
The Western Front was a European theatre of World War II, military theatre of World War II encompassing Denmark, Norway, Luxembourg, Belgium, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, French Third Republic, France, and Nazi Germany, Germany. The Italian campaign (World War II), Italian front is considered a separate but related theatre. The Western Front's 1944–1945 phase was officially deemed the European Theater of Operations, United States Army, European Theater by the United States, whereas Italy fell under the Mediterranean Theater of Operations, United States Army, Mediterranean Theater along with the North African campaign. The Western Front was marked by two phases of large-scale combat operations. The first phase saw the capitulation of Luxembourg, Netherlands, Belgium, and France during May and June 1940 after their defeat in the Low Countries and the northern half of France, and continued into an air war between Germany and Britain that climaxed with the Battle of Brita ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Operation Plunder
Operation Plunder was a military operation to cross the Rhine on the night of 23 March 1945, launched by the 21st Army Group under Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery. The crossing of the river was at Rees, Wesel, and south of the river Lippe by the British Second Army under Lieutenant General Miles Dempsey, and the United States Ninth Army under Lieutenant General William H. Simpson. The Battle of the Rhine was crucial for the Allied advance into Germany, and was planned by Montgomery as a three-army assault, including an airborne assault, a five-thousand-gun artillery barrage, and Anglo-American bombers. Thousands of tons of supplies were brought forward including huge amounts of bridging equipment. The First Allied Airborne Army conducted Operation Varsity on the east bank of the Rhine in support of Operation Plunder, consisting of U.S. XVIII Airborne Corps, the British 6th, and the U.S. 17th Airborne Divisions. Operation Grenade in February by Simpson's Ninth Ar ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Razing Of Friesoythe
The razing of Friesoythe was the destruction of the town of Friesoythe in Lower Saxony on 14 April 1945, during the Western Allied invasion of Germany, Western Allies' invasion of Germany towards the end of World War II in Europe. The 4th Canadian (Armoured) Division attacked the Nazi Germany, German-held town of Friesoythe, and one of its battalions, Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders of Canada (Princess Louise's), The Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders of Canada, captured it. During the fighting, the battalion's commander was killed by a German soldier, but it was incorrectly rumoured that he had been killed by a civilian. Under this mistaken belief, the division's commander, Major General, Major-General Christopher Vokes, ordered that the town be razed in Reprisal, retaliation and it was substantially destroyed. Twenty German civilians died in Friesoythe and the surrounding area during the two days of fighting and its aftermath. Similar, if usually less extreme, events o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
