Messages posted by: JDKR

UPDATE. With Theirs the Strife selling out on Amazon?s and Waterstones? sites, I'm sorry that you may not have been able to buy the book. However, the good news is that it is due to be reprinted in January 2021 and will hopefully be available by the end of that month. This will be a soft cover version and will retail at approximately £25. As it takes time for books to get into booksellers' supply chains, initially it will only be available through the Helion website, so best to register your interest for a copy there. Have as good a Christmas as is possible and all the best for 2021.

I thought the membership might be interested to see some sample pages from my book. So I attach: a map, an organisation chart and a page of text. Best wishes - and keep well. John

Members of the forum with an interest in World War 2 may be interested in my book Theirs the Strife, which has just been published by Helion & Co and recounts the battles fought between the British and Germans on the North German Plain in April 1945. Deeply researched and published in the 75th anniversary year of the events it describes, my book tells the story of a series of bitter actions fought by VIII and XII Corps to cross the Weser, Leine and Aller rivers. Historians have paid little attention to the war's final weeks, with the few British narratives hurrying from the Rhine to the surrender on Lüneburg Heath and at best making only passing reference to the actions fought en route. The lack of coverage of the fighting has given rise to a number of misconceptions: that the advances through Germany and the Netherlands were trouble-free ?swans?; that by April 1945 the German Army on the western front did little more than surrender; and that by 1945 British Second Army was at its most potent. Theirs the Strife addresses these misconceptions, and reveals that there were more similarities between the opposing combatants than might be assumed, with both facing the same ultimate challenge: summoning up the courage to prosecute a war to its bloody conclusion. Theirs the Strife is no dry piece of military history: much of the narrative is set at battalion level and below, is studded with first-hand accounts and photographs, and supported by over 100 maps and figures, giving the reader unparalleled understanding of the actions.

Naturally 1st Commando Brigade supported by 1st Mountain Regiment RA features prominently in the book's coverage of the bitter battles for the Weser crossing in the area of Stolzenau/Leese and for the Aller crossing at Essel, fought against the former sailors in 2. Marine-Infanterie-Division and the youths of a Waffen-SS training battalion. The book fills a significant gap in our knowledge of this period and, in the 75th anniversary year of the actions it describes, is a fitting and long-overdue testament to the men of both sides who had to fight in sight of peace. An ideal, if unChristmassy, Christmas present!

Best wishes

John

Stuart - attached is the list of casualties for 3 Cdo for April 45 and you will see your grandfather clearly listed against 11 April.

best wishes

JDKR

Stuart - further to my last this is what the 3 Cdo war diary has to say for 11 April:

0330 - Cdo moves off to take up pre-arranged positions
0400 - Canal and road area defended by road block. 3 Troop clear
0430 - Commando takes up positions in wood
0500 - 3 Troop recce bridge area and meet strong opposition
0615 - 3 Troop returns
0700 - Sniping and mortaring
0715 - Artillery stonks bridge area
0745 - Enemy SP gun firing from beyond bridge area
0800 - Enemy using left flank as well as SP
0820 - Full scale counter-attack against whole bridgehead
0900 - Severe fighting but enemy held and driven back
1000 - Brigade HQ in centre of Commando's position. Brig Mills-Roberts narrowly misses being killed/wounded by a panzerfaust which landed at side of his trench
1100 - All attacks repulsed
1130 - 6 Commando attacks east along river bank
1200 - Brigade consolidates
1830 - 1 killed, 22 wounded, 6 missing

Your grandfather therefore had a very busy day of action and you can be proud that he would have played his part in beating-off what was a very strong attack by Marine-Fusilier-Bataillon 2, who were the main opponents at this stage of the Essel battle. I presume that the entry for 1830 listing 1 killed refers to your grandfather. Very sad. Attached is a photograph of the woods taken last year. The spot would not be far from where your grandfather was buried as it is the area 3 Cdo were holding.

best wishes

John

Stuart,

In 1994 I published a book entitled 'No Triumphant Procession - The Forgotten Battles of 1945'. In the book I cover the battle for the crossing of the Aller at Essel in some detail. The book is available second-hand on the internet and I think you would find it useful (I no longer get any money from the book so this is not a sales pitch!). I will be in the Essel area this summer and if we can get a grid ref of the original grave location I will do my best to get you a photograph of the location. I am currently engaged in a major revise of my book and will be covering the battles in the Essel forest in more detail.

best wishes

John