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My grandfather was with the DLI during this action. He took over from the artillery observers when they were put out of action. He directed further artillery and organised the decimated infantry despite being wounded in the arm himself. He was awarded a DCM for his actions that day. Myself, my father and my son visited Lingeveres several years ago to see where this event unfolded. There’s a nice memorial to the DLI at the side of the church.

I had a Grampa in the 3rd Armored Division in WW2. He was a 19yr. old who trained as infantry, but ended up a replacement loader in a Sherman that had lost its previous two loaders in combat (he had black-and-white pictures of the welded-in "turret-hole-plugs" from which both prior loaders lost their lives). He ended his few months in combat during The Battle of The Bulge, when, while riding in what his battalion commander told them was a "Kraut Scrubbed Area" with his turret hatch open, his Sherman got hit by what he believes was a German 75mm AP round which touched off their tank's forward, right-side ammo rack. All he remembered was a loud "bang" and when he woke up, he remembered screaming in pain while his tank commander pressed freshly fallen snow into the burn wounds on his face and upper-body in an attempt to provide him some temporary relief. He later found out that he and his tank commander were both blown clear from his tank's turret after the initial hit, and shortly afterward the rest of the ammo in the tank brewed up and burned the rest of his crew to death. He had temporarily swapped positions with his gunner, and was fortuitously riding with his head out the gunner's hatch (which, in the event, doomed his gunner to a fiery death). As a child, I remember it taking a long while getting used to my Grampa's facial deformities due to his severe burn wounds. He never complained and neither did my Grandma, although my Mom would tell me in later years that as a child she remembered him waking up screaming in the middle of the night and manically saying he had to get his buddies out of his burning tank. What a horrific war. In my book, they're absolutely the Greatest Generation and through their sacrifices they undoubtedly saved the world.

A Sherman Firefly of the 6th Canadian Armoured Regiment took out 5 Panthers with 6 shots on June 9, 1944. You know, just in case you think what's described in this video only happened once.

This highlights the advantage defenders have over attackers. Defending allows effective abmush positions to be set up, allowing significant damage to be inflicted before any return fire can be brought to bear. The german tanks were highly capable, but they did not have the overwhelming superiority that many claim. The German army simply spent most of the latter years operating a fighting retreat, thus allowing their armour to operate from prepared defensive locations.

9:11 what amazing courage draper possessed it's like something out of a movie, jumping back into a tank on fire and being fired at to save a comrade.

The maps are great it really helps to understand what is going on from a 2d environment

Had my heart going listening to this. Incredible story.

I like how the gunner does all the work but gets pretty much none of the credit.

My old Headmaster HM Jennings MC would very occasionally describe Tank Battles in North Africa. Shake the partly cast iron desks we had with the lights flickering, count in thirteens until you hit a number divisible by seven and still play a game of 'Buzz'. He was, I think the first Tanker to join the Guinea Pig Club after 3rd degree burns in France. He couldn't but be aware of his external appearance, we, very nasty Children, called him Claws not knowing he'd returned to three different Tanks in one action to rescue Men. I still have a Prep School Term Report which I treasure because of the beautiful script which he'd had to relearn.

My uncle was a tanker during the war with the Kings Own Calgary Regiment, Royal Canadian Armoured Corps. He saw a great deal of action and survived the war. Much respect for the "tin can cowboys." 🌺🍁🌺

Villers Bocage cost the Germans dearly too. It wasnt the walkover that has been suggested. Wittman left his Tiger behind and had to walk back to be rearmed with a spare tank.

My Grandad served with the Durham Light Infantry and briefly described the advance on Tilly-sur-Seulles in his memoirs. Thank you for providing me with more detail on the advance and describing how hard the fighting was.

This was amazing to watch, I even loaded up google maps to see where the fighting was and the different positions of the tanks. The war memorial is still there with bullet holes in its stone!

Fascinating and so well made acount of this battle and the ferocity faced by both sides. I loved the moving battle maps and original footage. The Panzer Lehr were a formidable unit, but so were our tankers when armed with the 75mm/Firefly.

This is the best video narrative of an armoured action I've ever seen. Really hoping this new series can cover some Canadian tank actions of Italy and Northwest Europe. Well done to the team who made this.

It's great to see The Tank Museum (aka 'the Bovington Boys') following the examples of Mark Felton, Dark Docs, and others with exciting actual tank combat stories. Keep 'em coming!

There is so much detail about the Invasion of Normandy that is untold , a well made film of a dramatic story, thank you.

Thanks for your extensive use of maps and showing positional movements. A lot of documentaries don't do this and I am always left with the situation being as clear as mud, for me.

Between the explanation, war footage and the diagrams showing the movements, it really allows the imagination to run wild picturing the battle taking place. I would love to see more of these please! Great work!

Thank you for covering this incident. Wilfred Harris promoted to squadron quartermaster and served with the War Office police.He passed on in 1988.

Thanks for covering this, i recall reading about this exploit in Osprey Duel book 😊 firefly vs Tiger 1.

Excellent graphics, great film, photos and especially good narration too. Thank you very much.

Great video. Brilliantly narrated. I have read so much about Michael Wittman's devastating exploits at Villers Boccage but never anything about this action that followed quickly afterwards. As you say, it must have helped to restore the faith of the British in their tankers and their Shermans. My gosh, the losses amongst the supporting infantry were horrific. It is great to see a serviceman who performed so admirably in the actual fighting, get to the top of NATO forces. I recall the videos on the death of Wittman and four of his Tiger tanks in August. Eakins, normally the radioman, took over as a gunner in a Sherman firefly and took out three of the Tigers, though it was the Canadians who destroyed Wittman's Tiger. Thanks again.

Pierre Billotte entered the Chat. 13 panzer III and IV destroyed with his B1bis in one fight, received 140 hits, no damage. Bonjour, Aurevoir.

Am from Sunderland, at that time part of Durham County. Have been to the DLI museum in Durham lots of times. Did not realise that they fought in this action.

Nice to see a new presenter with his own style!

A well researched and well thought out production, well done and thanks to all involved.

Excellent graphics, Made understanding the stages of the battle very clear.

Great video! Awesome step by step summary of the battle. Incredible, what it takes to make those calls under combat.

Villers Bocage was a match of 2 halves, each side winning one day. Overall, the Germans lost slightly less but a much higher proportion of their assets and leaving the Allies with greater superiority.

Just to say I really like the map format that you added into the video, it makes it easier to understand the action. Please keep up the good work

Fantastic video! I look forward to more videos in this format and series. I would like to see the Tank Museum follow up with PDF content as gaming scenarios - maps, situation, orbat,...victory conditions....

Excellent video, thanks! I'm looking forward to more of this series.

An amazing story. Thank you

Now if someone can persuade a film company to make a British tank movie this sounds like a candidate !

Amazing format I really enjoyed it. I can’t believe it’s the first time I’ve heard of this battle

That 17pdr gun in the Firefly was a seriously good weapon...many say better than the 88?

What an inspiring and courageous story - Thank you!

The greatest generation. Thank you for sharing.

Fascinating, thank you.

Thank you for doing such an amazing job keeping the tank story available over the years. A small amount but your work is priceless

Great story, many thanks!! Proves what all of human experience proves... man to man....whoever is lucky, lives.... (till they ain't)!!!!!

As I've heard the saying go "there's three things certain in life: tax, death and German counter attacks" 30 Panthers sounds horrific. Great video guys, was on the edge of my seat for this one.

Excellent video. Thank you.

Incredible Courage and Skill by the British Tank Crews and Sgt Harris!!

Good animations. Clear and easy to understand. Cheers!

This video shows how hard the fighting was around Caen. The criticisms made of Monty and the Commonwealth forces by the Americans and some revisionist historians were just not warranted. It also confirms the PIAT was an effective tank killer.

Amazing video - yet another example of how it was much easier to defend in Normandy than it was to attack...

excellent vid, fantastic detail at the level that can be related too.

What a story. So many incredible WW2 tank battle stories from both sides. Makes me want to boot up war thunder.

G'day from Australia, every one a Hero, war is Hell.

I only discovered this channel a couple of days ago and now cannot stop watching the videos. This one was rather uplifting after watching the video showing the bloody mayhem of the battle at Villers-Bocage. As I am not trained in military tactics or strategies I am interested in trying to extract the "lessons learned" from these deadly battles. It seems to me that the German tanks often had a technical advantage but not always. The British in their characteristic way started the war with inferior equipment but rapidly improved it. The Firefly tank seems to have been a very fearsome vehicle. I wonder what was learned tactically. Clearly, the situations were often chaotic and one comment below I thought rang true: the Germans often had the advantage of starting from very strong and well prepared defensive positions. However, when chaos ensued all bets were off and instinct, courage, improvisation and determination really came to the fore.

...Outstanding History Story!...

Thanks, Tank Museum.

Great information. I think sometimes the Germans believed their own propaganda and thought their tanks invincible. I watched a documentary once where a Panther crewman stated how they didn't even worry about Shermans, only to state a couple minutes later that his tank was disabled, by a Sherman. When you look at the battle of Arracourt you can see that Sherman versus Panther was not as big a mismatch as the Wehraboos would have you believe.

if i'm not mistaken, the second essex reg. was on that eastern flank of the village and faced flame throwers and heavy artillery fire until the support of tanks came along alot later to save the situation. They had a seriously hard time. So brave those chaps, don't know if there is any pompadours still alive today.

I love how evrebody acts as if Wittman had singelhandedly won the day, instead of being straight up responsibale for hir units anhilation.

Great story, well told and animated. What a price to pay though

Most situationally aware German play- I mean tankers.

Thanks for a great video

Wow, amazing. Loved this videos with graphics.

interesting and detailed report, thanks!

Such an interesting story. One of my great regrets is that I will never get to visit the Tank Museum in person.

Thank you, very interesting.

haven’t heard many stories of the british tankers, thanks, great stuff

4/7 Dragoon Guards were part of 8th Independent Armoured Brigade along with The Sherwood Rangers Yeomanry (SRY) and 24 Lancers. The SRY had fought in tanks all through North Africa from Alamein to Tunis, but, in order to balance the experience in the Army's armoured brigades prior to D-Day, the 4/7 and 24 Lancers were transferred to 8 Armoured Brigade in exchange for the Staffordshire Yeomanry and 3 Royal Tank Regiment (who had also fought in North Africa) who were moved to bolster the newly created 29th and 27th Armoured Brigades respectively. 8 Armoured Brigade's role in NW Europe was primarily to provide armoured support to Infantry Divisions. This usually meant that a Regiment of tanks would be allocated to each infantry Brigade and each infantry battalion in the Brigade would be allocated a squadron of tanks to support it. Consequently, the major commanding each cavalry squadron was under the command of an infantry colonel. One of the problems this created from time to time was the infantry commander not being willing to take advice from a junior, but frequently more experienced squadron leader. I don't wish to infer any criticism of the DLI and their CO, I wasn't there, but it was noticeable that the attack on the village made more progress after the sad death of the infantry CO, when the squadron leader took command. I noticed that in a number of previous comments people were surprised that the gunner in Sgt Harris' tank hadn't been awarded a medal. This shows a lack of understanding of the role of the tank commander. Putting it bluntly, a good tank commander kept the rest of the crew alive. The drivers, gunner and operator all had a part to play in the operation of the tank, but the commander made the tactical decisions and (particularly in the Normandy Bocage) had a much greater likelihood of being killed as it was extremely difficult to command a Sherman tank without your head out of the turret. The fact that the gunner was mentioned in despatches is testimony to the accuracy of his shooting. Most regiments were only equipped with enough Firefly tanks to have one per troop, so the majority of the tank engagements in NW Europe were fought by Shermans with the standard 75mm gun. The Sherwood Rangers Yeomanry, who saw more action than any other armoured regiment in WW2, first in North Africa and then in Europe, learnt the hard way how to knock out German tanks in the close Normandy countryside. They would put down a phenomenal amount of fire on any enemy tank, forcing the crew to close up and rely on their periscopes for visibility. They would also 'brass up' any suspected infantry position with MG fire, forcing the Germans to return fire and reveal their location; they never moved without a round of AP 'up the spout'. This meant that the crews spent many hours every night re-arming their tanks when they might have been asleep, but their willingness to use their ammunition gave them a tactical edge. For example on 26 June in Fontenay, A Squadron OC, John Semken found himself face to face with a Tiger Tank, only 120 yards apart. Semken fired immediately and in the space of 30 seconds his tank hit the Tiger 10 times. Although the Tiger only suffered superficial damage, the periscopes were all smashed and, with the weight of fire on them, the Tiger's crew bailed out. The SRY's commanders were also adept at stalking German tanks and no-one was a greater exponent than Sgt, George Dring MM. That same day, in the advance on Rauray, George Dring destroyed a Panzer IV, a Tiger (crew bailed out), another Panzer IV and then a second Tiger, which he brewed up. Finally, as it was getting dark, he destroyed another Panzer IV at 1,200 yards with an AP round from his 75mm. The SRY didn't receive any Fireflys until late July 1944. On Tuesday 1 August, during the battle for Point 361, George Dring with his 75mm destroyed a Jagdpanther and another Tiger which he stalked on foot and then moved his Sherman into position to engage. If you want to know more about the SRY in WW2, then I recommend 'An Englishman at War', 'Tank Action' and 'Brothers in Arms'. The SRY won more battle honours and more awards than any other Regiment in the British Army in WW2, . In the opinion of General Horrocks they saw more action than any other armoured regiment in WW2. Consequently they also had more soldiers killed and wounded than any other armoured regiment. The film footage at 1'.40" shows an 8th Armoured Brigade 'O' Group. The man on the left in the black overalls with his back to the camera is Colonel Stanley Christopherson, CO of the SRY and he is talking to John Semken, who commanded A Squadron, SRY. At 24 John was one of the most experienced squadron leaders in the British Army.

What great courage, skill, and heroism, yet what appalling casualties. I salute and honor all the Bristish soldiers who served in this battle, indeed, in all the bloody battles of World War II.

interesting and detailed report, thanks

Thanks!

Great video, looking forward to this series. This presenter reminds me of the historian talking about the Luftwaffe from that Mitchel & Webb Look. 🤣

WHAT AN AMAZING HISTORY LESSON. THANK YOU AND THANK YOU TO ALL FOR YOUR SERVICE.

Incredible.

This channel produces such fantastic content. ☺️

Great video.

Amazing story.

TY 🙏🙏

One of the last still images shows the crew of a Sherwood Rangers Yeomanry tank christened Akila, which should have read "Achilles" but the trooper who painted it couldn't spell it. The image can be seen in "Brothers in Arms" by James Holland.

The direction and positioning of the a tank is of vital importance, as is the situational awareness of the crew commander, so the DCM is well deserved, but for the talented gunner to get a MID only is criminal.

Danke!

I remember first hearing about Sgt Harris from Steel Division 1944. Oh this happened on my birthday

My old regiment great history

great vid

Please do more evaluation of tank doctrine videos

The Germans feared the Firefly. That thing was lethal. Whenever they engaged British tank columns they always looked for that menacing 17 pounder sticking out of the Sherman turret so they could attack them first. This then caused British tank crews to use a camo paint scheme to make it look like the 75mm pea shooter. The fact that the cargo net caught on fire from the backflash of the 17 pounder on Roberts Firefly tells you how fierce the propellant charge was in the larger shell casing for its munition. This is of course how the Firefly got its name.

Noticed that when talking about "stalled" Montgomery was in the video, as usual. LOL

Real heroes during a time which has long since been forgotten.

Very interesting. More please! And yes, the popular dogma of the invincibility of German armour needs to be challenged!

Harris got 5 panther tanks because of his skilled Gunner.

That was great narration to accompany that fantastic film, thank you🙏 I have had many discussions with my American counterparts over time about this period of WWII. And in many cases they have used the, lack of success after the D-Day landings by British & Commonwealth troops, as an indication of how much further the US army managed to advance. This film would be a good watch for them, I will ensure I share it👍

Pleased to hear that by grafting the 17 pounder onto a Sherman we had something that could compete with the German armour. Very brave men on both sides of the conflict.

Crazy story.. Good job A squadron, 4/7th Dragoons.. wow!

Knew an old RCAC tank driver once upon a time. Had survived 4 lost tanks he was crew in and made it from Normandy to Germany & back home to a modest life. His hands and forearms were covered in a remarkable mix of skin colours due to much burn scar tissue. His drink of choice was Old style Dutch Geneva gin. I tried it thrice with him. Barely survived the experience. That's why I truly know he was tough . . . and suspect he appreciated the pain-killing properties of gin from his days in Holland. He was from Cascapedia, province of Quebec.

men of incredible Courage and Bravery.

Great Story.

Oh my god. I've only just realised he says "and TANKS for watching" in the intro! Sly buggers haha

A brutal fight, to be sure.

Panther tanks are quite intimidating to see in battle. These tanks were well designed and looked amazing.

My Father fought in a light tank under Paton, those light tanks were actually only designed to stop 12.5mm rounds so they would hide the tanks if they saw Panthers or most any other tanks approach, dig foxholes and fight with bazookas. There were 75 vehicles, tanks , half tracks, duce and a half and jeeps when they went ashore After D day, they entered Germany ahead of all other divisions with 21 vehicles. Dad received many metals but did not talk about the experience, he lost too many friends. Anyway all the Allies who fought in Europe and Asia were part of the GREATEST GENERATION- not taking away from our troops today. Thank You

A deadly beast; the good old Firefly. In capable hands, the 17 pounder was deadly, as many German tank crews discovered the hard way. Good show, old boy. 👍