Thread by @whincupm

On this day in 1945, 1st Bn Manchester Regiment was in action outside Rethem. It was, according to their CO, "an ideal Machine Gunners battle" and AFPU cameramen were there to capture it...

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Rather than being with the infantry brigades and battalions of 53rd (Welsh) Division, their usual practice, the Manchesters were under direct command of their own CO, Lt Col Bill Crozier.

He positioned #VickersMG and mortar platoons on the west bank of the River Aller.

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The decision was sound, as the good positions and flat, open ground on the enemy held eastern side provided ideal conditions for supporting the advancing infantry.

Difficult to spot amidst the din and confusion of battle, the Vickers' beaten zones would become deadly.

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D Company's available mortars were first in action at 9 am, firing 60 x 4.2" rounds on the marine battalion holding up the 4th Bn Royal Welch Fusiliers at Altenwahlingen.

Andrew Copnall's B Company followed up with a 25-minute MMG shoot shortly afterwards.

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B Company, targeting a crossroads outside Rehemen, were likely the men Sergeants Walker and Whitaker (pictured) captured on film.

It was a scene that played out throughout the day, with the machine gunners supporting advancing battalions with a succession of fire tasks.

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The open land onto which they were firing gave the defenders little opportunity for escape and, by nightfall, Crozier estimated that the Manchesters had accounted for 200-250 German dead.

The toll of one day of one battle in the long slog into Germany.

🎥 IWM A70 299-5

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