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...
🧵 1/6
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.
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.
🧵 3/6
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.
🧵 4/6
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.
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
🧵 6/6
• • •
Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to
force a refresh
80 years ago today, WE DIVE AT DAWN hit UK cinemas. A look at HM Submarines at war, this put British submariners centre stage, but it isn't the only depiction of the silent service on the silver screen...
🧵 1/11
WE DIVE AT DAWN (1943) includes scenes of domestic life and boys' own adventure, but it was nautical realism that mattered to star John Mills.
He wanted to know what it felt like when a submarine crash-dived for real. He got his wish, turning green in the process.
🧵 2/11
This real-life experience and a believable set gave the film an air of authenticity, something shared by another 1943 releae, CLOSE QUARTERS.
A documentary feature, it received relatively little popular attention.
I WAS MONTY’S DOUBLE (1958) gave M E Clifton James the opportunity to re-live his wartime experiences on the big screen. But what if his co-stars had done the same, and who were their movie doubles? A thread...
🧵 1/13
Great War veteran, Clifton James, was serving with the Royal Army Pay Corps when, in 1944, he received a call from David Niven, which led him to Operation Copperhead. The Hollywood star didn't appear in the film. Instead, John Mills was Niven's (almost) double...
🧵 2/13
John Mills (Maj Harvey) had his name in lights for most of the war. Not only did he portray all three services on screen - in many ways, Mills was everyone's double - he also served with RE and RA (Monmouthshire Regt) searchlight units in Britain before being discharged.
The battle of #RorkesDrift ended 144 years ago today. A distant battle in a long gone war, its place in popular history relies as much on a film as it does the gallantry rewarded with 11 VCs.
But there's more to the story of the #VictoriaCross and cinema. A thread.
THREAD 1/14
The idea for ZULU (1964) came when Cy Endfield picked up a copy of Lilliput. John Prebble's article "Slaughter in the Sun" became #Zulu a few years later - recounting an underdog action which yielded 11 VCs and launched the career of a cinema great along the way.
THREAD 2/14
ZULU DAWN (1979) sought to cash in on the success of its predecessor by depicting the Battle of #Isandlwana. Some big names make up a strong ensemble cast, share the story of two more VCs (Melvill and Coghill), and put the events at #RorkesDrift into wider context.