“Fighting with tanks in World War II was terrifying”

Well, he kept his promise. For 15 years, he interviewed veterans, spent hundreds of hours in archives, and toured every European battlefield where the Sherwood Rangers drained gasoline and blood during World War II. And he doesn’t complain about it one bit. He admits that every minute was worth it. “I was first intrigued to learn that it was the armored regiments of the British Army that fought the most battles: 36 in all of the civil wars and 16 between them.” D-day, He then explains that he was fascinated by the members’ personal stories. “These were 20-year-old boys who fought in tanks without sanitary conditions and lived in poverty. “They liked to drink, love and complain, but no matter how much they suffered, they never lost their humanity,” he says.

Today, after unraveling the travails of the war’s most famous tanker and sympathizing with Brad Pitt and ‘Fury’, Holland has released ‘Comrades in the Attic’, the definitive investigation into the Sherwood Rangers, in Spain. The nearly 700-page book covers everything from an analysis of British armored forces to the psychological effects on soldiers who spent the conflict in steel coffins. “It is a myth that fighting in tanks is safe. The numbers tell us that it was proportionately more dangerous than being in the trenches at Verdun, Somme or Passchendaele, typical of the carnage of the First World War. And here is an example: «The regiment was led by 36 officers. Between June 6 and August 21, 1944, the casualties, including rescuers, were 44.

knight of steel

Yes, it’s very British, but the Dutch order an Americano coffee first thing in the morning to wake up their senses. But no one should doubt his love for his country. Because it doesn’t take long to tap into a regiment he says he feels passionate about. “None of my grandparents were directly involved in the war. One enlisted in an auxiliary unit on the island during the war.”blitzkrieg”, one against the German air raids on Britain and the other against the Birmingham Fire Brigade.

In this sense, you could say that I adopted the Sherwood Rangers as my relatives…or you could say that they adopted me!” he jokes. He considers them members of his family and brothers, hence the title of his essay. There’s no denying that it’s an homage to Spielberg’s mythical series Blood Brothers, which depicts the 101st Airborne Division, which defined an era.

Of course, their comrades are crazy about them. In 1939, the Sherwood Rangers were still riding horses, sabers in hand, against Arab rebels in the Palestinian desert. It wasn’t until three years later that they switched to Sherman tanks, the mainstay of Allied armored divisions in the war. Although the vehicle was despised by many historians and struggled to defeat German tanks, the Dutch defined it as “the best tank of its time.” So, without any hesitation. “It wasn’t all about having the most powerful gun or the biggest hull. You have to think about the complete ‘pack’. The Sherman was mechanically very reliable and very easy to repair and operate on the battlefield. Moreover, they were numerous, 36 rounds per formidable German Tiger, and fired at a much higher rate,” he says.

Riding these steel horses, they fought in Alam el Halfa (Africa) in the summer of 1942 and landed on the beaches of Normandy on June 6, 1944. Their destination was the gold sector. “It was hell. Every armored vehicle in the regiment that took part during the operation received at least one hit. “Whether the crew survived was a matter of luck,” he explains. From there, Holland traces the pages of the various theaters in which the Sherwood Rangers fought. From Belgium to Bremen via the Rhine. And that was with the fear of knowing they were clear priority targets for the enemy. Because, as the author admits, the Sherman was a combat tank with a higher than normal height and was the perfect moving target, which the infantry did not want. approach.

personal story

But it’s not all big operations for the Netherlands. In its pages, the British have collected short stories from the most prominent members of the Sherwood Rangers. Many of them are more than bizarre. For example, Sherman’s driver became popular among his colleagues for carrying under his arm a huge doll with blonde curls dressed in a “flowing crinoline suit.” They called her Marguerite, and she accompanied the troops throughout the conflict. It was a unique way to encourage colleagues. Peter Sellery liked to read Shakespeare’s poems over the intercom when the bombs came down. Meanwhile, Mickey Gold makes his friends smile by offering him a well-worn copy of Winnie the Pooh, one of the few books he took with him to the war.

Holland has a favorite character in the Sherwood Rangers. John Semken is one of them. “The conversation I had with him when he was 90 years old still sticks with me. “It was almost luminous,” he explains. At the time, the captain had become famous for persistently forcing German heavy tanks to surrender. “He encountered the Tiger and fired 10 shots at it before it returned fire,” he says. Eventually the enemy crew surrendered despite the vehicle being much heavier. “His service was very tough. When he was not yet 21 years old, his best friend’s armored car exploded in front of his eyes. Despite this, he never lost his closeness and affection for his absurd sense of humour,” he says. He told him, “I didn’t sleep for weeks and slept for 14 hours under bombardment.

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  book attic

Keith Douglas was also one of his picks. A poet and writer in his spare time, the captain died on June 9, 1944, while exploring the terrain and dismounting his tank to avoid a German ambush. “Every time I go back to Normandy, I go to his grave.” Tilly-sur-Seullewhere his grave is, and I greet him. His poetry was wonderful. “Thanks to our aerial research, we were able to find the exact spot where he was killed,” Holland explained to the ABC, explaining that he felt unsettled when he arrived at the location. “It was a beautiful afternoon in May and the birds were singing… It gave me chills knowing that was where it was,” he says.

-What is the story about your regiment that moved you the most?

– During Christmas 1944, the Sherwood Rangers were stationed in a Dutch town near the German border. That day, soldiers dressed as Santa Claus and elves rode in sleighs pulled by tanks and handed out dozens of chocolate bars to children, which they had saved over the course of several days. How can you not love these people? That’s impossible!

After reflecting on the accomplishments of the Sherwood Rangers, Holland recalled that even as warfare has changed and drones have taken to the skies, tanks have not lost their value or reason for existence. “Ever since tanks were invented, means of destroying them have been developed, and in this sense there is nothing new. Ultimately, tanks will need to cooperate with and provide support to infantry.”

The historian recalls that of the 14 tanks that the British government delivered to the Ukrainian army, only two were rendered unusable. “We won’t have to wait long for anti-drone systems to improve,” he says. His conclusion is that, no matter how many years pass, tanks will remain as important a component as they were during World War II.