Home Page | A.A.J.L.R. Forum | Contact The Webmaster

Leader Magazine
WINTER 1961.
"BATTLES LONG AGO ..."
Our historian has again been looking at the name of the platoon of the Regiment, and has found the following stories, covering two wars and two continents.
SOMME
The battle of the river Somme - about seventy miles north of Paris - was one of the most tragic and useless battles ever fought. Each side lost over half a million men fighting for a few miles of land. On 1st July, 1916, after a fantastic bombardment, the Allies launched their "Big Push" which was intended to sweep straight through to Germany. In broad daylight, the allied troops advanced in long lines slowed down to a walk by the difficult going. German machine guns mowed them down from carefully prepared positions. Whole regiments disappeared almost without trace. After five months of continuous fighting, the battle was stopped by winter and general exhaustion. The small amount of ground gained was later lost to the Germans in March 1918.
TUNISIA
Late in 1942 the Allies made two attacks on the enemy forces in a roadless, uninhabited, waterless area of French North Africa known as Tunisia. The Axis forces were, however, well prepared and withstood both attacks before taking the offensive in February 1943. Rommel's thrust pierced the American lines and was stopped just in time by General Alexander. Rommel kept up the pressure until the Allies launched a fierce counter-attack at the end of March. A spectacular moonlight attack on the Axis flank broke through and Rommel's battered army was pushed back and was unable to make a stand for over 200 miles. The Eighth Army finally broke this last stand and within a week all the 250,000 Axis troops in the area had been killed or captured. The battle for Tunisia was over.
IMPHAL
After sweeping through the Pacific, the Japanese advanced through Burma on their way to India. The Allies chose to make their stand on the Imphal Plain and, by mid 1944, 60,000 British and Indian troops were surrounded there. They were supplied only by a small fleet of transport aircraft which were hindered by the monsoons. It looked as if they would be forced to surrender through lack of supplies but relieving forces fought their way through just in time. The Imphal road was open and convoys rolled in. An all-out offensive was launched by the British/Indian Fourteenth Army, despite tropical rainfall and dreadful conditions. By August the Japanese had lost almost 100,000 men, their resistance was broken and their attempt to invade India was over.
CAMBRAI
The battle of Cambrai on November, 1917, was the first major attack in which the newly invented tanks were used on a large scale. There was no bombardment beforehand and the Germans were completely taken by surprise. The German defences were breached and there was a golden chance of a break-through. London church bells rang out in triumph for the first time in the war. Sufficient supporting troops were not, however, available and the advantage was lost. The Germans rushed up reserves and closed the gap in the defences. The Allies were forced to withdraw to protect their flanks and most of the captured ground fell back into German hands.
A.B.
greenbar

BACK

 

FORWARD

greenbar

 Return To The Contents Page 

greenbar

If you have an old Leader Magazine then I would love to show it.

Mail To AAJLR
 Email the Webmaster