Jonathan Ware Profile picture
Jul 7, 2021 10 tweets 6 min read Read on X
A brief thread on Sir Tasker Watkins' VC action in 1944.

It's undeniable that Sir Tasker is one of the greatest Welshmen of the 20th Century, but there remains no biography & description of his VC action is just lazy copypasta of the original citation. /1
#WW2 #SWW #History ImageImageImageImage
So first off, there are two slightly variant citations kicking about - with one different phrasing on display at Ashcroft's gallery at IWM.

The original eye witness statements have been lost by MOD, are currently not at Kew & god-knows where.

Here is one of the variants. /2 Image
In addition several other crucial files relating to Welsh soldiers were lost by MOD.

This is a bit of a theme.

Anyway, it meant the sources were limited.

So every bugger relies on the citation. /3
This means that when we talk about Tasker's VC action we are solely basing it on a very, very flimsy write up compared to other accounts.

Hence writers tend to heavily focus on quoting the citation word for word, as there is sweet FA about...

This is really bad practice. /4
It also went unchallenged, not least as even Ashcroft's researchers appear to have taken this as verbatim and not pushed further.

So all the digital stuff at IWM is rather off & gives the wrong impression.

I dug deeper. /5
The truth is the action didn't even happen at 'Balfour' & even now tour groups go to an area where it... umm.... never happened.

There were tanks and everything.

It was a much bigger deal than we make out.

Others played a huge role.

Brave men that Tasker always praised. /6
Four years ago a grandson of a B Coy vet dropped me a line. I sent him the revised narrative/map of the engagement & he field walked the site, sending me these cracking pictures.

He was probably the first person to follow the right route in 40+ years.

It happened here. /7 ImageImageImageImage
One of the biggest challenges writing WW2 military history accurately challenging mythstory head on, especially established narratives.

Various veterans' relatives have proved beyond helpful. Tasker was overjoyed to chat to them/his men about it postwar. /8 Image
There are always new angles to follow up, in this case... loss of documents by civil servants, tracking down relatives, chasing up paperwork etc.

Some will pay off, some won't.

But this is why exploring muted history is so hard, it's a lot of graft deconstructing factoids. /9
But don't let that put you off.

Even as institutions shrug their shoulders, limit access to documents & disregard importance of our shared heritage.

The rewards are massive.

And, just perhaps, you'll set the record straight in the process. /thread Image

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More from @ReassessHistory

May 31
Safe as Houses
Cracking defences in Normandy

Norman buildings are built well, especially churches and farmhouses - as both sides discovered in Normandy.

This required creativity. /1
#WW2 #SWW #History
#DDay80


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In short, there was no magic solution to cracking defences in Normandy, sure AVREs had massive 290mm petard mortars but these were specialist assets.

Not always available, or in the right place at the right time. /2


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German troops had better mortars than Second Army, and integral infantry guns in each Regiment. Due to problems developing 95mm the British lacked this capability & came to use attached Churchill V or other 95mm gun tanks to achieve this role.

But again, not common. /3
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Read 19 tweets
Apr 19
4 August 1944
“PIAT! PIAT! PIAT!"
Lt Donald Harvey, 244 Field Company Royal Engineers, alongside D Coy 1 Oxf & Bucks.

Probably the best PIAT related quote of the Normandy campaign, said as a Waffen-SS battlegroup appeared behind a British battalion. /1
#WW2 #SWW #History #DDay80


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I could go into this action in much more detail, but it's almost unbelievable - saving it for another day...

Soon.

A genuinely ridiculous scrap.

Moving on... /2 Image
PIAT was the infantry platoon's principle manhandled anti-tank weapon. 1 per platoon. A real marmite weapon, most complaints stem from poor handling & faulty munitions.

Range: 350 yds.
Effective : 40 - 70 (maybe 100) yds.
Weight: 32 Lbs (15 kg)
Pen: 75 – 100mm of armour /3
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Read 10 tweets
Apr 18
Rhino Barges

One of the dullest, coolest, more bizarre and fascinating pieces of kit used in Normandy.

Which no one *really* cares abou5.

But I do, and you should too... /1
#WW2 #SWW #History #DDay80


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Planning for Overlord and Neptune had a serious snag, how to get troops from LSTs onto the beach as simply ramming them up onto the beaches and dropping the ramp was known to damage the exceptionally vulnerable LSTs and felt to be unsustainable in the mid to long term. /2 Image
LSTs were essential in sustaining Overlord's progress and were a subject of major headaches in the planning phase, and a real subject of friction when it came to launching additional amphibious operations such as Op Dragoon.

Loss of a single LST represented a capability nick. /3 Image
Read 14 tweets
Apr 17
Heavy plant is boring right?

I mean surely a bulldozer can't be a key component of Allied victory?

Wrong!

Let's have a look at the D-7 Dozer & Allied logistics in Normandy. /1
#WW2 #SWW #History #DDay80 Image
First off, Normandy was a bit of a rural backwater.

The road network was no where near as developed as today, which incorporates many routes constructed/improved by Allied forces.

The land of William the Conqueror place for farming, fishing, market towns with a few railways. /2

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21st Army Group had arguably the most enviable engineering services in the world, able to throw up bridges in under a day, construct massive hospitals, water points, fuel depots, pipelines, bypasses (frankly mini-motorways), airfields, command complexes... and much more. /2

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Read 15 tweets
Apr 16
Snapshots of Hill 112
The Pivotal Normandy Battle

What was it to fight in a 6 week battle of pure attrition, where all that mattered was the complete destruction of the enemy?

A battle where any movement could get you & your mates killed?

Well... /1
#WW2 #SWW #History #DDay80 Image
Marksmen played a major role, as Ran Williams discovered when his 13 Platoon took over 7 Seaforths most exposed position.

Upon seeing the fresh lieutenant, the sergeant pulled out a machete, slicing off Ran's epaulettes and shoulder titles... /2 Image
Snipers developed a particularly dangerous reputation, and Brigadier Michael Carver stamped on what he felt was 'particularly jittery' behaviour from 53rd Welsh early on, ordering that marksmen were now to be called 'isolated enemy riflemen'.

Remove skill
Insert vulnerability /3 Image
Read 20 tweets
Apr 12
The Universal Carrier (Part One)

How did this piece of open topped herp-a-derp become the coolest piece of kit in infantry battalions scrapping their way through liberating North West Europe?*

I know you're curious...

Read on. /1
#WW2 #SWW #History #DDay80 Image
The Universal Carrier came about in 1940 as a desire to streamline production processes & merge the Bren Gun and Scout Carriers' roles into a single AFV.

The former's name stuck and gained popular traction.

Bren Carrier (below) for Infantry Battalions' Carrier Platoons. /2
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The Scout Carrier was intended to operate alongside Vickers Mk VI Light Tanks for Divisional Reconnaissance Regiments etc.

Various traits of both vehicles, bar the obvious Horstmann suspension, that carried over into the Universal Carrier are quite evident. /3

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Read 23 tweets

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