The John Batchelor Show

JUNE 6, 1944
Crossing River Noireau Under Ambush
James Holland, author of Brothers in Arms: One Legendary Tank Regiment’s Bloody War from D-Day to VE-Day, describes the Sherwood Rangers driving across the steep valley of the River Noireau in August 1944 under the aggressive General “Von” Thomas. Advancing without close infantry support, C Squadron was ambushed on the plateau by hidden anti-tank guns and Panzerfausts; Stan Perry was wounded and Frank Galvin killed. John Semkenthen reorganized troops to pair Shermans with Fireflies and tighten tank-infantry coordination. (4)

1833
Sherman Tanks Fight German Tigers
James Holland, author of Brothers in Arms: One Legendary Tank Regiment’s Bloody War from D-Day to VE-Day, recounts the Sherwood Rangers holding Point 103 above the Seulles valley against the 12th SS Panzer and Panzer Lehr divisions in claustrophobic bocage. Shermans traded armor for speed, reliability, and rate of fire, while 17-pounder Fireflies matched German guns. On June 26, 1944, John Semken fired ten rapid rounds into a Tiger at Fontenay-le-Pesnel, forcing its crew to surrender. (3)

D-DAY
Landing Sherman Tanks on D-Day
James Holland, author of Brothers in Arms: One Legendary Tank Regiment’s Bloody War from D-Day to VE-Day, describes the Sherwood Rangers landing on Gold Beach on June 6, 1944, in duplex-drive swimming Shermans as heavy swells forced naval commanders to change plans. Chaplain Leslie Skinner comforted the men, kept vivid diaries, and buried the dead himself. With Lieutenant Colonel Anderson wounded off the beach, Stanley Christopherson and Mike Laycock led the push past Bayeux. (2)

1930S PALESTINE
Cavalry Regiment Becomes Tank Unit
James Holland, author of Brothers in Arms: One Legendary Tank Regiment’s Bloody War from D-Day to VE-Day, traces the Sherwood Rangers Yeomanry from a horse-mounted Territorial Army cavalry regiment in 1939 to Palestine, where it joined one of the British Army’s last saber-drawn charges. Unhorsed in 1940, it served as artillery in Crete and Tobruk before converting to armor, fighting at Alam Halfa and then El Alamein in American Sherman tanks, with stockbroker Stanley Christopherson serving from Palestine to war’s end. (1)

JUNE 6, 1944 SWORD BEACH

Brothers in Arms — Hour One
James Holland, author of Brothers in Arms: One Legendary Tank Regiment’s Bloody War from D-Day to VE-Day, tells the story of the Sherwood Rangers Yeomanry, from horse-mounted cavalry in 1939 through the deserts of North Africato the D-Day landings on Gold Beach, the brutal bocage fighting at Point 103, and a costly ambush beyond the River Noireau in August 1944.R