Sir John Valentine Carden survives.
- Thread starter allanpcameron
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That's the hope. Well, a lessened invasion scare anyway. The risk will always be present but a better showing in France resulting in a more orderly withdrawal should alleviate the 'it's all gone wrong we need crash programs NOW don't worry about throwing good money after bad' feeling that percolated around before the Battle of Britain really got underway (assuming I'm remembering that right in the first place).
I don't think it'd make that much of a difference overall, really, but it might avoid some of the more questionable purchases made at the time, like the bulk order for Thompson SMGs that they really couldn't afford.
I'm sure Allan has the next few steps planned out already, we just need to wait for the next update.
I don't think it'd make that much of a difference overall, really, but it might avoid some of the more questionable purchases made at the time, like the bulk order for Thompson SMGs that they really couldn't afford.
I'm sure Allan has the next few steps planned out already, we just need to wait for the next update.
A muzzle velocity of 442 m/s, and a range of 3200 meters?
Certainly possible, but you would be hard pressed to get enough elevation in a vehicle.
Aha! I thought there had to be something but it’s telling that it never seems to have been more than a boondoggle. The Russians bought some good stuff but some shocking ideas as well, this might be the latter. 340kg is an awful lot for what amounts to a grenade launcher. The Mk18 was a tenth of that.
As for the AAC developments I will damn it by association as I don’t think you can come up with worse company (or a better gathering of failed ideas) than the Airacuda and the M-H tanks. All thats missing is to install it on some more modern version of HMS Captain to get the trifecta.
10 May 1940. Dormat, France.
allanpcameron
Donor
10 May 1940. Dormat, France.
The First Army Tank Brigade’s commander, Brigadier Douglas Pratt was woken with the sound of air raid warnings. It was clear that the Luftwaffe had kicked off the campaign in the west. The news that the German army was on the move was confirmed when Pratt was given a paper which contained the message from GHQ: “Plan D.J.1. today. Zero hours 1300 hours. 12L. may cross before zero. Wireless silence cancelled after crossing frontier. Command Post opens 1300 hours. Air recces may commence forthwith”. The fact that the Dyle Plan was being implemented was no surprise to Pratt or anyone on his staff.
A week, even a few more days, would have allowed the two Royal Tank Regiment Battalions to have exercised together. The arrival of the 7th Bn RTR just at the beginning of the month had meant that they hadn’t had time to really get settled, the drivers hadn’t even had a chance to practice driving on the wrong side of the road! Still, the movement of the First Army Tank Brigade wasn’t likely to happen for a day or two. The Brigade Staff were already on the phone making sure that the movement by rail was confirmed. The 12th Lancers would be the first to cross into Belgium, followed by other elements of the Light Reconnaissance Brigade. The infantry divisions would begin moving after 13:00hrs. Pratt had to make sure that all his ducks were in a row. He sent an invitation to Lieutenant-Colonel Fitzmaurice of 4th Bn RTR and Lt-Col Heyland of 7th Bn RTR to join him for lunch. They really needed to bring Heyland up to speed, and this would be a good day to get a measure of where everybody stood.
What he really wanted was to see if he could sort out an exchange of troops between the two Battalions. Heyland’s 7th Bn RTR had come to France with 23 A12s (Infantry Tank Mark II) with the QF 2-pdr gun as well as 27 A11 Matildas (Infantry Tank Mark I). Each RTR Battalion was made up of the three Companies, broken into five sections, each with three tanks. If Heyland could be persuaded to swap three of his sections (9x) A12s for three with A11s from 4th Bn 4RTR, then it would give each Company in 4th Battalions at least one section of A12s. The men liked the pompom in the A11, though it wasn’t easy to operate and reload in the cramped confines of the turret. But the high velocity of the 2-pdr gun gave a good hard punch, especially if they came up against any panzers. There was no point exchanging just the tanks though, the crews who’d been trained on the A12 would need to go with the tanks.
When this was discussed over lunch, the problem that arose was that the A12, with its diesel engine needed a whole other set of spares and support from the A11. It wouldn’t just be a case of swapping over the tanks and their crews, but some of 7th Battalion’s fitters and mechanics, RASC men and of course taking two types of fuel. The officers couldn’t help reflect on the mess they found themselves in. The A11 was only ever meant to be a stop gap until the better A12 came along and yet here they were going to war with only 23 A12s and 77 A11s.
The First Army Tank Brigade were going to taken by train to Halle in Belgium. The dispositions of the BEF on Dyle Line had been agreed previously. The tanks would be positioned south of Brussels under the command of I Corps’ Major-General Michael Barker. Everyone was going to be really busy over the next few days, so it was agreed that once they were settled in their forward positions, three sections of A12s would be assigned to 4th Battalion RTR. Pratt, Fitzmaurice and Heyland were conscious that there was an extraordinary amount of work to be done, so having finished lunch, they hurried back to their Headquarters, where there was a queue of people to see them about one thing or another.
The First Army Tank Brigade’s commander, Brigadier Douglas Pratt was woken with the sound of air raid warnings. It was clear that the Luftwaffe had kicked off the campaign in the west. The news that the German army was on the move was confirmed when Pratt was given a paper which contained the message from GHQ: “Plan D.J.1. today. Zero hours 1300 hours. 12L. may cross before zero. Wireless silence cancelled after crossing frontier. Command Post opens 1300 hours. Air recces may commence forthwith”. The fact that the Dyle Plan was being implemented was no surprise to Pratt or anyone on his staff.
A week, even a few more days, would have allowed the two Royal Tank Regiment Battalions to have exercised together. The arrival of the 7th Bn RTR just at the beginning of the month had meant that they hadn’t had time to really get settled, the drivers hadn’t even had a chance to practice driving on the wrong side of the road! Still, the movement of the First Army Tank Brigade wasn’t likely to happen for a day or two. The Brigade Staff were already on the phone making sure that the movement by rail was confirmed. The 12th Lancers would be the first to cross into Belgium, followed by other elements of the Light Reconnaissance Brigade. The infantry divisions would begin moving after 13:00hrs. Pratt had to make sure that all his ducks were in a row. He sent an invitation to Lieutenant-Colonel Fitzmaurice of 4th Bn RTR and Lt-Col Heyland of 7th Bn RTR to join him for lunch. They really needed to bring Heyland up to speed, and this would be a good day to get a measure of where everybody stood.
What he really wanted was to see if he could sort out an exchange of troops between the two Battalions. Heyland’s 7th Bn RTR had come to France with 23 A12s (Infantry Tank Mark II) with the QF 2-pdr gun as well as 27 A11 Matildas (Infantry Tank Mark I). Each RTR Battalion was made up of the three Companies, broken into five sections, each with three tanks. If Heyland could be persuaded to swap three of his sections (9x) A12s for three with A11s from 4th Bn 4RTR, then it would give each Company in 4th Battalions at least one section of A12s. The men liked the pompom in the A11, though it wasn’t easy to operate and reload in the cramped confines of the turret. But the high velocity of the 2-pdr gun gave a good hard punch, especially if they came up against any panzers. There was no point exchanging just the tanks though, the crews who’d been trained on the A12 would need to go with the tanks.
When this was discussed over lunch, the problem that arose was that the A12, with its diesel engine needed a whole other set of spares and support from the A11. It wouldn’t just be a case of swapping over the tanks and their crews, but some of 7th Battalion’s fitters and mechanics, RASC men and of course taking two types of fuel. The officers couldn’t help reflect on the mess they found themselves in. The A11 was only ever meant to be a stop gap until the better A12 came along and yet here they were going to war with only 23 A12s and 77 A11s.
The First Army Tank Brigade were going to taken by train to Halle in Belgium. The dispositions of the BEF on Dyle Line had been agreed previously. The tanks would be positioned south of Brussels under the command of I Corps’ Major-General Michael Barker. Everyone was going to be really busy over the next few days, so it was agreed that once they were settled in their forward positions, three sections of A12s would be assigned to 4th Battalion RTR. Pratt, Fitzmaurice and Heyland were conscious that there was an extraordinary amount of work to be done, so having finished lunch, they hurried back to their Headquarters, where there was a queue of people to see them about one thing or another.
May 21 1940
Somewhere in France
"Donner und Blitzen!!!!
Herr General der Tuefel ist her Commin"
I wonder if a good Pom Pom gunner can replicate the opening bars to Beethoven's 5th symphony!! That could really spook the Germans!!!
A three round burst followed by a single shot shouldn't be a problem.
Pom Pom Pom pause Pom
marathag
Banned
more from the carriage than the tube, like the early Maxim guns, treating them like Artillery than portable weapon
Also this, on Brownings interwar 37mm that ended up in a couple US Tanks
Now to AAC
The American Armament Corporation (AAC) of New York also offered candidates to fill the 37mm gun requirement. AAC was incorporated in New York by Alfred Joseph Miranda Jr. and his brother Ignacio on 15 December 1933 as a subsidiary of their international trading company, Miranda Brothers Incorporated, which they had formed in 1922 ostensibly to sell automotive vehicles and aircraft to South American countries. The Miranda brothers with their web of corporate contacts were some of the more colorful – and perhaps shady – characters in prewar and wartime America. They were born in Mexico in 1897 and 1898 respectively, claiming to be “descendant of early Spanish colonists in Mexico” who gave up their “hereditary Spanish title of Condé de Eras y Soto” when they became naturalized American citizens in 1930. Their father set up a Mexican export business in New York, but struggled after backing the wrong side during Mexico’s Madero Revolution in 1910. During the Great War, Alfred served with the Office of Naval Intelligence and later both brothers maintained close contact with Navy officers at home and abroad. In 1921, the brothers took over their father’s defunct business and renamed it Miranda Brothers, Inc. the next year.
The brothers got their first taste of being “merchants of death” in 1920, when a Colombian naval and military purchasing mission approached Alfred to act as a translator and agent. He put the Colombians in touch with the Driggs Ordnance Company, which specialized in building naval ordnance. In 1926, they began selling aircraft for Major Alexander P. de Seversky in Europe and Asia. By the mid-1930s AAC was closely connected with Driggs, Curtiss-Wright, Poole Engineering, and Brewster Aircraft, all of which were busily engaged in selling or attempting to sell munitions to various South American countries, including Bolivia, Chile, and Colombia, when they ran afoul of the United States Neutrality Act. In September 1934, the brothers, along with some of the other officers of their company and others from the Electric Boat Company, Driggs, Curtiss-Wright, Pratt & Whitney, United Aircraft Exports, Inc., Federal Laboratories, Inc., Lake Erie Chemical Co., and U.S. Ordnance Engineers, Inc. were called to testify before U.S. Senator Gerald Nye’s (R-ND) committee investigating the munitions industry, war profiteering, and its relationship to the U.S. entry into the great war. During his testimony, Alfred Miranda famously – or perhaps infamously – remarked regarding the use of bribery in South America, “…I guess that they have been doing business that way for a great many years, Senator. Maybe the Europeans taught them to do business that way.” In the aftermath of their testimony the brothers, along with the president of Curtiss-Wright and others, were indicted in January 1936 for violating the embargoes of Bolivia and Chile during the Chaco War. Their convictions were first overturned in lower court, but then upheld on appeal to the Supreme Court in a precedent-setting decision affirming the supremacy of the executive branch of the federal government in the conduct of foreign affairs. In February 1940, the Miranda brothers began a one-year sentence at Lewisburg Federal Penitentiary.
However, their pending prison time did not prevent the brothers from pursuing business – with whoever would pay.
In March 1938, Ignacio, acting as agent for the government of Japan, contacted Seversky with an offer to buy 20 fighter-bombers through a dummy corporation set up by the Miranda’s. They aircraft were shipped to Japan later that year, but the New York Times exposed the sale, ruining Seversky’s relations with the Army Air Corps and further blackening the Miranda’s reputation.
Also in 1938, AAC completed construction of the “Tucker Tiger”, famed automotive designer Preston Tucker’s “antiaircraft combat car”. Lightly armored and armed with a 37mm automatic gun (probably the AAC-built Baldwin gun), the Tucker Tiger armored car was capable of 74 MPH – on good roads – but Ordnance turned it down after testing at Aberdeen in November 1938.
After they were released from prison in early 1941, the brothers began lobbying for a Presidential pardon, without success. However, with the world now at war, business at least was good. In 1939, Alfred had convinced Brewster Aircraft president James Work to make them exclusive agents for Brewster’s foreign business at a 12 1/2% commission rate. While selling aircraft for Brewster they also acted as agents successfully promoting Melvin Johnson’s automatic rifles and light machine guns to the Netherlands Purchasing Commission. The energetic brothers soon had orders flowing in from Britain, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Finland, among others, but Brewster soon ran into a problem – the company could not afford to both pay the brothers and expand its limited workforce and plant capacity. Soon, the orders were backlogged and the entry of the United States into the war did little to help. Work cut the Miranda’s commission rate, but they continued to bleed capital from Brewster that was needed for expansion of the plant and workforce. Production at Brewster lagged and the Navy briefly took over the company from Work, who returned in early 1942, just in time to be the subject of lawsuits for financial mismanagement by stockholders and for back commissions owed by the Miranda brothers. The suit was settled in May 1943 and awarded the Miranda’s $4.2-million, $3.6-million of which had already been paid them as commissions. However, the Miranda’s fortunes were also waning. In 1943, an explosion destroyed the AAC ammunition plant at Derry, Pennsylvania and the government turned over control of the main AAC assembly plant at Rahway, New Jersey to Vultee Aircraft Corporation, effectively ending the company’s existence and the brothers direct involvement in the war.
The gun AAC proposed as an antitank gun apparently utilized a cartridge and projectile similar to the Ordnance-designed M2A1. It was a conventional semi-automatic, hand-loaded gun on a simple, split-trail carriage. AAC gave it the company designation of M-21 and reportedly completed 60 of them, beginning in 1937, but they were not accepted by Ordnance. Some were later sold by AAC to the Dutch Purchasing Commission in 1941.
Missing-Lynx-American Armament Corporation
This is a section from my work in progress For Purposes of Service Test, which is a history of the U.S. Army Armor Force in World War II. I kind of go
www.tapatalk.com
In your defence the S gun cartridge was based on the Pom-pom case.
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19 May 1940. 21:00hrs. Tournai, France.
allanpcameron
Donor
19 May 1940. 21:00hrs. Tournai, France.
Brigadier Pratt finally had a moment to sit down with the commanders of the two Royal Tank Regiment Battalions. Ever since the First Army Tank Brigade had been moved by train to Halle on the night of the 14/15 May, and taken up positions in the Forest of Soignies, the situation had been changing rapidly. The British Expeditionary Force had successfully held the Dyle Line against German attacks, and the French Light Cavalry Divisions had given a good account of themselves at Hannut. The problem was the gap that had been blown through the French at Sedan. The right flank of the BEF was held by the French 1re Army and due to the situation south of them, the decision had been made to pull back to the Escaut Line.
Lord Gort, looking at the situation, worried about the Line of Communications that Arras was at the heart of. He therefore, while ordering the rest of the BEF to make the withdrawal to the River Escaut, ordered the First Army Tank Brigade to be reassigned to General Harold Franklyn, who had been given command of the forces protecting Arras and the Line of Communications. When the movement order had come through to Brigadier Pratt, the first part of the movement from their positions near Soignies was to Enghien where the Brigade was to entrain for the move back to Tournai. The Luftwaffe put paid to that idea, there were no trains available. Therefore, the tanks had to drive the 30 miles on their own tracks.
The movement had been horrific. The roads were clogged with refugees, making progress through them, while keeping one eye constantly on the sky for enemy aircraft had taken its toll. The two Battalions had taken most of the day to arrive, with some tanks rolling in having had to repair track breakages or other reasons for breakdown. It was with some relief that the threat of air attack hadn’t materialised, but nonetheless it had been a hard day on everyone. The bad news was that tomorrow was to be another day just like it. Pratt had received orders that the Brigade was to make its way to Vimy, where it was to prepare to take part in an action to close the gap that the Germans had opened up between Arras and Amiens.
The road from Tournai to Vimy was another 30 miles, and once more there was no hope of trains to carry the tanks. Pratt ordered as much maintenance to be done as possible to prepare the tanks for the next stage of the journey, and for the men, especially the drivers to try to get as much sleep as they could. These two orders were somewhat contradictory, but Fitzmaurice and Heyland knew what he was getting at. Over a cup of tea, the desire for information was insatiable. Nobody was entirely clear what was happening. Pratt had heard a rumour that 8th Battalion RTR might join them, but where and when wasn’t clear. He did know that the movement of 1st Armoured Division had begun in earnest, but that they were being shipped to Cherbourg rather than Le Havre.
Fitzmaurice wanted to know what would be the makeup of the force they were to join. It seemed that the Adjutant General, Sir Douglas Brownrigg, who was left in charge at Arras, had been putting in place Gort’s order for creating ‘ad hoc’ forces, one under General Petre, whose 12th Division would be involved, and another under General Franklyn, whose 5th Division, with elements of General Martel’s 50th Division, made up the main force. Looking at a large-scale tourist map, the leaders of the Tank Brigade could see that the BEF had real problems. The entire force, short of the forces around Arras were committed to holding Escaut Line. If it was true that the Germans were all the way past Amiens and heading for the channel coast, then it would be up to the French to attack from the south and close the gap. The 100 Infantry tanks of the Brigade, less now because of breakdowns, wouldn’t be able to do all that much on their own.
Brigadier Pratt finally had a moment to sit down with the commanders of the two Royal Tank Regiment Battalions. Ever since the First Army Tank Brigade had been moved by train to Halle on the night of the 14/15 May, and taken up positions in the Forest of Soignies, the situation had been changing rapidly. The British Expeditionary Force had successfully held the Dyle Line against German attacks, and the French Light Cavalry Divisions had given a good account of themselves at Hannut. The problem was the gap that had been blown through the French at Sedan. The right flank of the BEF was held by the French 1re Army and due to the situation south of them, the decision had been made to pull back to the Escaut Line.
Lord Gort, looking at the situation, worried about the Line of Communications that Arras was at the heart of. He therefore, while ordering the rest of the BEF to make the withdrawal to the River Escaut, ordered the First Army Tank Brigade to be reassigned to General Harold Franklyn, who had been given command of the forces protecting Arras and the Line of Communications. When the movement order had come through to Brigadier Pratt, the first part of the movement from their positions near Soignies was to Enghien where the Brigade was to entrain for the move back to Tournai. The Luftwaffe put paid to that idea, there were no trains available. Therefore, the tanks had to drive the 30 miles on their own tracks.
The movement had been horrific. The roads were clogged with refugees, making progress through them, while keeping one eye constantly on the sky for enemy aircraft had taken its toll. The two Battalions had taken most of the day to arrive, with some tanks rolling in having had to repair track breakages or other reasons for breakdown. It was with some relief that the threat of air attack hadn’t materialised, but nonetheless it had been a hard day on everyone. The bad news was that tomorrow was to be another day just like it. Pratt had received orders that the Brigade was to make its way to Vimy, where it was to prepare to take part in an action to close the gap that the Germans had opened up between Arras and Amiens.
The road from Tournai to Vimy was another 30 miles, and once more there was no hope of trains to carry the tanks. Pratt ordered as much maintenance to be done as possible to prepare the tanks for the next stage of the journey, and for the men, especially the drivers to try to get as much sleep as they could. These two orders were somewhat contradictory, but Fitzmaurice and Heyland knew what he was getting at. Over a cup of tea, the desire for information was insatiable. Nobody was entirely clear what was happening. Pratt had heard a rumour that 8th Battalion RTR might join them, but where and when wasn’t clear. He did know that the movement of 1st Armoured Division had begun in earnest, but that they were being shipped to Cherbourg rather than Le Havre.
Fitzmaurice wanted to know what would be the makeup of the force they were to join. It seemed that the Adjutant General, Sir Douglas Brownrigg, who was left in charge at Arras, had been putting in place Gort’s order for creating ‘ad hoc’ forces, one under General Petre, whose 12th Division would be involved, and another under General Franklyn, whose 5th Division, with elements of General Martel’s 50th Division, made up the main force. Looking at a large-scale tourist map, the leaders of the Tank Brigade could see that the BEF had real problems. The entire force, short of the forces around Arras were committed to holding Escaut Line. If it was true that the Germans were all the way past Amiens and heading for the channel coast, then it would be up to the French to attack from the south and close the gap. The 100 Infantry tanks of the Brigade, less now because of breakdowns, wouldn’t be able to do all that much on their own.
20 May 1940. 21:00hrs. Arras, France.
allanpcameron
Donor
20 May 1940. 21:00hrs. Arras, France.
The arrival of First Army Tank Brigade at Vimy, having travelled from Tournai was yet another part of the puzzle coming together. Generals Franklyn and Martel had, despite the relentless air attacks against Arras, had met together, along with Brigadier Pratt to put flesh on the bones of the vague order from Gott to do something to protect Arras and possibly put a dent in the German corridor.
The roads had taken their toll of the tanks. Only 79 Infantry Tanks had arrived in Vimy, the other 21 were spread out on the road back to Belgium in various states of disrepair. Pratt’s information was that some of those might arrive during the night, but 61 A11 Infantry Tank Mark I and 18 A12 Infantry Tank Mark II was all he had to offer at the moment.
Earlier in the day General Franklyn had been in Lens where he’d met with General Prioux (Commander of the 1st Cavalry Corps) and, by good fortune, he’d been there while General Billotte (Commander of First Army Group) was conferring with General Blanchard (First Army) and General Altmayer (V Corps). The French were looking at a making a southward counter-attack in the direction of Bapaume and Cambrai. If Franklyn’s two divisions and the Tank Brigade, were to be part of that, with the British attacking towards Bapaume, then that would be helpful. Franklyn was conscious that his two divisions were Territorials and, along with the Tank Brigade had had a long march from Belgium. Realistically it wouldn’t be possible. His orders from General Gort were to ‘mop-up’ the Germans south of Arras. What he did offer was that the British would take over defence of the line of the River Scarpe to the east of Arras, allowing the French Cavalry to move to the west of Arras and watch that flank. General Prioux accepted the offer, and arranged for part of the 3e DLM to support the British on the right flank of their sweep south of Arras.
Franklyn’s information from Gott was that the German forces south of Arras weren’t too strong. His plan, therefore, was for the Tank Brigade, with infantry support, to do a sweep around the south of the town, starting at Vimy, northwest of Arras, and then coming back over the River Scarpe to the east of Arras at Athies. That would take the pressure off the garrison. General Martel’s 50th Division would provide the infantry support to the Tank Brigade. As both the infantry and the tanks were still arriving at Vimy Ridge, the attack would begin at 11:00hrs in the morning. Looking at the maps, it looked like the road that ran between Arras and Doullens would be a good start line, though it would be something like an 8-mile march from the overnight positions to get to the start line.
The plan was for two columns: The left column, 4th Bn RTR, with the 6th Bn Durham Light Infantry (DLI), with a reconnaissance battalion provided by Y Company and scout platoon of the 4th Northumberland Fusiliers. The left column would have artillery support from 368th Battery (92nd Field Regiment RA), and the infantry would have the 206th Battery of 52nd Anti-tank Regiment RA. The right column, 7th Bn RTR, with 8th Bn DLI, reconnaissance would be Z Company 4th NF, the 365th Battery (92nd Field Regiment RA) and the 2-pdrs of 260th Battery (Norfolk Yeomanry). The flank of the right column would be protected by elements of the French 3e DLM which would provide Somua S35 chars. The 12th Lancers armoured cars would also be operating to the west of Arras.
The arrival of First Army Tank Brigade at Vimy, having travelled from Tournai was yet another part of the puzzle coming together. Generals Franklyn and Martel had, despite the relentless air attacks against Arras, had met together, along with Brigadier Pratt to put flesh on the bones of the vague order from Gott to do something to protect Arras and possibly put a dent in the German corridor.
The roads had taken their toll of the tanks. Only 79 Infantry Tanks had arrived in Vimy, the other 21 were spread out on the road back to Belgium in various states of disrepair. Pratt’s information was that some of those might arrive during the night, but 61 A11 Infantry Tank Mark I and 18 A12 Infantry Tank Mark II was all he had to offer at the moment.
Earlier in the day General Franklyn had been in Lens where he’d met with General Prioux (Commander of the 1st Cavalry Corps) and, by good fortune, he’d been there while General Billotte (Commander of First Army Group) was conferring with General Blanchard (First Army) and General Altmayer (V Corps). The French were looking at a making a southward counter-attack in the direction of Bapaume and Cambrai. If Franklyn’s two divisions and the Tank Brigade, were to be part of that, with the British attacking towards Bapaume, then that would be helpful. Franklyn was conscious that his two divisions were Territorials and, along with the Tank Brigade had had a long march from Belgium. Realistically it wouldn’t be possible. His orders from General Gort were to ‘mop-up’ the Germans south of Arras. What he did offer was that the British would take over defence of the line of the River Scarpe to the east of Arras, allowing the French Cavalry to move to the west of Arras and watch that flank. General Prioux accepted the offer, and arranged for part of the 3e DLM to support the British on the right flank of their sweep south of Arras.
Franklyn’s information from Gott was that the German forces south of Arras weren’t too strong. His plan, therefore, was for the Tank Brigade, with infantry support, to do a sweep around the south of the town, starting at Vimy, northwest of Arras, and then coming back over the River Scarpe to the east of Arras at Athies. That would take the pressure off the garrison. General Martel’s 50th Division would provide the infantry support to the Tank Brigade. As both the infantry and the tanks were still arriving at Vimy Ridge, the attack would begin at 11:00hrs in the morning. Looking at the maps, it looked like the road that ran between Arras and Doullens would be a good start line, though it would be something like an 8-mile march from the overnight positions to get to the start line.
The plan was for two columns: The left column, 4th Bn RTR, with the 6th Bn Durham Light Infantry (DLI), with a reconnaissance battalion provided by Y Company and scout platoon of the 4th Northumberland Fusiliers. The left column would have artillery support from 368th Battery (92nd Field Regiment RA), and the infantry would have the 206th Battery of 52nd Anti-tank Regiment RA. The right column, 7th Bn RTR, with 8th Bn DLI, reconnaissance would be Z Company 4th NF, the 365th Battery (92nd Field Regiment RA) and the 2-pdrs of 260th Battery (Norfolk Yeomanry). The flank of the right column would be protected by elements of the French 3e DLM which would provide Somua S35 chars. The 12th Lancers armoured cars would also be operating to the west of Arras.
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