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03:30The British in Egypt were now under threat from sizable Italian forces based in neighboring Libya.
03:40At the same time, German rearmament and Hitler's expansionist policy in Europe caused the British reluctantly to rearm.
03:53One of the steps they took was to create a mobile division in Egypt.
04:01Major General Percy Hobart, a leading tank warfare expert, was sent out from Britain to form it.
04:10Within a year, he had created a unit which could operate with confidence in the desert.
04:15But by the summer of 1940, Hobo, as he was known, had fallen foul of the high command in Egypt
04:21and been forced to retire from the army.
04:23The troops, whom Hobo had trained in Egypt, never forgot what he had taught them.
04:32In February 1940, the mobile division was renamed 7th Armoured Division.
04:37It adopted the Jerboa, or Desert Rat, as its symbol, one which was still cherished by the division's descendant, 7th
04:44Armoured Brigade, during the Gulf War 50 years later.
04:47I blinded them with my headlights, so he suddenly froze in my path, and the only way to get him,
04:53or to get him out of the way without squashing him, was to pick him up.
04:56And he's been with us ever since.
05:06This formation sign gave the division its nickname, the Desert Rats, by which it would be known ever afterwards.
05:15The 7th Armoured Division had three main elements.
05:18There were two armoured brigades, 4th and 7th.
05:21Each consisted of three armoured regiments with a total of 150 tanks and a battery of 12 two-pounder anti
05:28-tank guns.
05:31The tanks used were the three-man Mark VI light, armed only with a machine gun, which had been designed
05:37for reconnaissance.
05:39And the larger, four-man cruiser, with a two-pounder gun, which fired an armour-piercing round.
05:48The third element was the support group, which consisted of two motorised infantry battalions and a regiment of 24 25
05:56-pounder guns.
05:58In addition, there was a reconnaissance regiment, the 11th Hussars, with its Rolls-Royce and Morris armoured cars.
06:05The 11th would remain with the division throughout the war.
06:14Like all the pre-war British Army, the original Desert Rats were professional, regular soldiers who had signed up for
06:20a minimum of six years.
06:23From the start, they regarded themselves as an elite unit, since theirs was the first purely armoured division in the
06:29British Army.
06:35When World War II broke out, the 7th Armoured Division was deployed forward to the wire, the fence that marked
06:42the frontier with Italy's colony of Libya.
06:45With only 30,000 men in Egypt, the British were heavily outnumbered by the 250,000 Italian troops in Libya.
06:53But for the first nine months, Mussolini kept Italy out of the war, so the Desert Rats could only watch
06:59and wait, as Hitler launched his Blitzkrieg in the West in May 1940.
07:11However, on the 10th of June, 1940, Italy finally declared war on Britain and France.
07:25For the Desert Rats, the fighting began in earnest the next day.
07:33Patrols of the 11th Hussars crossed the wire and carried out a number of ambushes.
07:48Over 70 Italian soldiers were captured.
07:59Throughout the next few weeks, the Desert Rats continued to attack Italian forts and other positions,
08:05as they waited for the numerically superior Italian forces to invade Egypt.
08:19On the 13th of September, the Italian offensive finally began.
08:26The British needed to conserve their forces, so the Desert Rats fell back, while maintaining contact with the advancing enemy.
08:37After three days, the Italians halted, 60 miles inside Egypt, and began to build a series of fortified camps.
08:46Two weeks later, Archibald Wavell, the British commander-in-chief in the Middle East, received a welcome reinforcement.
08:56A convoy of 150 tanks arrived from Britain.
09:00Wavell could now plan a counter-offensive to drive out the Italians.
09:14At the end of November, the Desert Rats undertook the first of two exercises.
09:19This was, although they didn't know it, a dress rehearsal for Wavell's offensive.
09:24The second exercise, which followed a few days later, was the deployment for the actual assault,
09:30although the troops were not told this until they crossed the start line on the 9th of December.
09:35British morale was high, even though they were vastly outnumbered,
09:39since the Italians seemed to have lost the initiative by stopping to dig in.
09:52Supported by Matilda tanks of the 7th Royal Tank Regiment,
09:56the 4th Indian Division, the other formation in what was called the Western Desert Force,
10:01had little trouble in overrunning the Italian camps and advancing along the coast.
10:05The Desert Rats simultaneously covered the open desert flak.
10:11By the 20th of December, no Italians, except prisoners of war and the dead,
10:16were left on Egyptian soil.
10:19There was now a pause, while Wavell redeployed the Indians to East Africa
10:23to help eliminate the Italian colonies there.
10:29In their place came the 6th Australian Division,
10:32which renewed the offensive by capturing the Libyan ports of Badia and Tobruk.
10:42Pursued by the Australians,
10:44the Italians began to withdraw along the coast road to Benghazi,
10:48capital of the eastern Libyan province of Cyrenaican.
11:00General Dick O'Connor, commanding the Western Desert Force,
11:03now sent the Desert Rats across the base of the Cyrenaican bulge.
11:114th Armoured Brigade made an epic march through almost impassable terrain
11:15and arrived just in time to cut off the Italian withdrawal south from Benghazi.
11:21The three-day battle of Beda Fong, which followed,
11:25completed the destruction of the Italian 10th Army.
11:353,000 Desert Rats captured 20,000 men,
11:39besides enormous numbers of vehicles, tanks, guns, and other equipment.
11:47It was the first British land victory of the war
11:50and was greeted with jubilation at home.
11:53The legend of the Desert Rats began amid the publicity
11:56about the decisive role they had played.
12:00As a tribute, the British Foreign Secretary, Anthony Eden,
12:04parodied Winston Churchill's famous statement
12:06during the Battle of Britain.
12:07Never has so much been surrendered by so many to so few.
12:17But the euphoria was short-lived,
12:19for a new factor in the Desert Campaign now emerged.
12:22Hitler sent General Erwin Rommel
12:25and his Africa Corps to Libya to help his Italian ally.
12:34The scene was now set for an epic contest
12:37between two elite forces.
12:39A contest which flowed back and forth
12:42across a thousand miles of desert battlefield
12:44for more than two years.
12:52While the Africa Corps was preparing
12:54to make itself felt,
12:55the Desert Rats had been sent back to Egypt
12:57to draw breath and refit.
13:01Their place was taken by the 2nd Armoured Division,
13:04which had just arrived from Britain.
13:07But part of 2nd Armoured was then sent to Greece,
13:10along with other troops.
13:12The British forces in Cyrenaica
13:14were seriously weakened.
13:18Rommel was quick to take advantage of this
13:20and attacked towards the end of March, 1941.
13:24He rapidly drove the British back into Egypt.
13:33The port of Tobruk,
13:34largely held by the Australians,
13:36remained the sole British toehold in Libya.
13:42But this was now under close siege.
13:50During the summer of 1941,
13:53the Desert Rats returned to action
13:54and came up against the dreaded German
13:5788mm anti-tank gun for the first time.
14:03This fearsome weapon was capable of destroying
14:06any British tank at a range of 2,000 yards,
14:09far beyond any British tank gun.
14:13The Desert Rats suffered heavy casualties
14:15in two attempts to drive Rommel back.
14:22In July 1941,
14:24Churchill replaced Wavell
14:26with General Sir Claude Auchinleck.
14:28The new Commander-in-Chief
14:29was determined not to attack Rommel again
14:31until he had built up the strength
14:33of what had now been renamed
14:34the 8th Army.
14:368th Army was now becoming
14:38a truly Empire force,
14:40with Australians, New Zealanders,
14:42South Africans and Indians
14:43all serving in its ranks.
14:48There was also a brigade of Free French
14:56and one of Poles,
14:57who were part of the garrison of Tobruk.
15:06But the Corps remained
15:087th Armoured Division,
15:09the original Desert Rats,
15:11whose nickname was often used
15:12to describe the whole
15:13of the multinational force
15:15which had formed around it.
15:23The war in the desert
15:24had now taken on a routine
15:25for the Desert Rats.
15:27At night,
15:28the tanks withdrew
15:29into what was called
15:30a close leaguer.
15:32Orders were given out
15:33for the following day.
15:36Supply columns arrived
15:37to replenish the tanks
15:38and other vehicles
15:40with fuel and ammunition.
15:53The crews cooked a meal
15:54and carried out maintenance.
16:00Only then could they get some sleep,
16:02but they still had to take turns
16:04in guarding the leaguer.
16:08An hour before dawn,
16:10everyone would be up
16:11and awake.
16:17By first light,
16:18the tanks would have dispersed
16:19to their daytime positions.
16:21When no fighting was taking place,
16:23which was for much of the time,
16:25the Desert Rats spent their days
16:27watching for any move
16:28by the enemy.
16:36Navigation in the desert
16:38was largely by sun compass,
16:40which worked on the sundial principle.
16:42Bearing and distance
16:43were worked out on a map,
16:45the bearing set on the sun compass,
16:47and the vehicle's milometer
16:48used to measure
16:49the distance travelled.
16:53During the day,
16:54the temperature was often so high
16:56that it was easy
16:57to fry an egg
16:58on the metal of a vehicle,
17:00as both sides
17:01quickly discovered.
17:21At other times,
17:23swirling sandstorms
17:24blotted out everything.
17:27The sand got everywhere.
17:33The Desert Rats
17:35lived entirely
17:35off their vehicles.
17:38Water was strictly rationed,
17:40and that used for washing
17:42often ended up
17:43in vehicle radiators.
17:48Food was invariably thin.
17:50Fresh bread,
17:51fruit and vegetables
17:52were a luxury.
17:53The diet,
17:54monotonous.
17:56Tea was the Desert Rats
17:57staple drink.
18:07Not until nightfall
18:08would the tanks withdraw
18:09back into close leaguer.
18:17The Desert Rat
18:18was lucky
18:19if he got more than
18:20four hours sleep a night.
18:23Nevertheless,
18:23the troops remained
18:24remarkably fit,
18:26healthy,
18:26and cheerful.
18:28For many of them,
18:29the war in the Western Desert
18:30had a romance
18:31which was unknown
18:32on any other battlefield,
18:33as Field Marshal
18:34Lord Carver,
18:35who served with
18:36Seventh Armored
18:37in the Desert
18:37for two years,
18:38makes clear.
18:39And on the whole,
18:40that was a very clean war.
18:42There were practically
18:44no inhabitants
18:45who were suffering.
18:47The moments of extreme danger
18:51or discomfort
18:51were few and far between.
18:54And in between,
18:55it was really,
18:56although a rough life,
18:58in many ways
18:59a very pleasant life
19:01with good people,
19:03good comrades,
19:05a feeling that you were
19:06doing something terribly important
19:08of course involving one
19:0924 hours out of the 24.
19:13It was a pure soldiers' campaign,
19:15played out on a massive sand table
19:17with few civilians
19:19or other distractions
19:20to get in the way.
19:27Hawkinglech's Offensive
19:28opened on the 18th of November,
19:301941.
19:31Its object was to relieve Tobruk
19:33and drive Rommel
19:34out of Cyrenaica.
19:40The Seventh Armored Division
19:41fought a grim tank battle
19:43for control of the airfield
19:44at Sidi Rezeg,
19:4625 miles southeast of Tobruk.
19:49It was one of the Desert
19:51Ratt's most epic actions.
19:52On the 21st of November,
19:54they won no less than
19:55three Victoria Crosses.
19:58One went to Brigadier
19:59Jock Campbell,
20:00who displayed extraordinary courage,
20:02continually leading tanks forward
20:04in his open car.
20:07Tragically, Campbell was killed
20:08three months later
20:09in a car crash,
20:10after he had taken command
20:11of the division.
20:15Lieutenant George Gunn
20:17of the Royal Horse Artillery
20:18commanded a troop
20:19of four anti-tank guns.
20:23his unit was attacked
20:24by 60 panzers.
20:32All his guns except one
20:34were knocked out,
20:35but he continued to man this
20:36until he was killed.
20:42Rifleman John Bealey
20:43also sacrificed his life
20:45after single-handedly
20:46overrunning an anti-tank gun position
20:48which had been holding up his company.
20:52Eventually,
20:54the Tobruk garrison
20:55managed to link up
20:56with the attacking troops.
20:58The Eighth Army once more
21:00drove the Axis forces
21:01out of Sarenaika.
21:03But it had not delivered
21:04the killer blow
21:05and the ebb and flow
21:06of the Desert War
21:07continued.
21:09Rommel attacked again
21:10Rommel attacked again
21:11in January 1942,
21:12driving the British back
21:13to a defensive line
21:14at Gazala.
21:17Both sides now plan
21:19to renew the offensive,
21:20but Rommel got his blow
21:22in first at the end of May,
21:23using his armour
21:24to outflank the Gazala line.
21:29The British tanks
21:30were widely dispersed
21:31and unable to concentrate
21:33before the panzers
21:34were amongst them.
21:35General Pete Messervey,
21:37commanding the Desert Rats,
21:38had his headquarters overrun
21:40and was captured,
21:41but quickly escaped
21:42and resumed command
21:43of the division.
21:47June 1942
21:48was a month
21:49of desperate tank battles,
21:51followed by withdrawals
21:52as Rommel maintained
21:54the pressure.
21:56Tobruk fell
21:57and the 8th Army
21:58was driven back
21:59to the El Alamein line,
22:00the last defendable position
22:02before the Suez Canal.
22:15Rommel attacked
22:16on the 1st of July,
22:17but was unable
22:18to break through.
22:29British attempts
22:30to push the Africa Corps
22:32back
22:32were equally unsuccessful,
22:34and by the end of the month
22:35both sides
22:36were exhausted.
22:41In early August,
22:43Prime Minister
22:43Winston Churchill
22:44came out to see
22:45the brave
22:46but baffled
22:468th Army.
22:50he brought in
22:51a new command team,
22:52Harold Alexander
22:53as Commander-in-Chief
22:54and Bernard Montgomery
22:56to take charge
22:57of the 8th Army.
23:00Montgomery already
23:01had a reputation
23:02as a dynamic general
23:03who believed
23:04in showing himself
23:05to his troops.
23:06His first priority
23:07was to restore
23:08the self-confidence
23:09of the 8th Army
23:10and convince his men
23:12that Rommel
23:12and the Africa Corps
23:13were not invincible.
23:17By now,
23:18the Desert Rats
23:18were organized
23:19and equipped
23:20very differently
23:21from 1941.
23:24They still possessed
23:25two armoured brigades,
23:274th and 22nd,
23:28but the amount
23:29of infantry
23:30had been increased
23:30to a lorried brigade,
23:32131st Queens.
23:35The division
23:36had also recently
23:37been re-equipped
23:38with two new
23:39American tanks,
23:44one was the Grunt
23:45with its hull-mounted
23:4775mm
23:47and 37mm turret guns.
23:53The other was the Sherman
23:55with a 75mm gun.
23:58Both tanks
23:58were a match
23:59for the German panzers,
24:00but their guns
24:01were still far outranged
24:03by the German 88s.
24:05At the end of August 1942,
24:08Rommel attacked again
24:09at El Alame.
24:12Montgomery was ready for him.
24:1522nd Armoured Brigade,
24:16commanded by Brigadier
24:17Pip Roberts,
24:18a veteran desert rat,
24:19stood in the path
24:20of the main German attack
24:22and repulsed it,
24:23destroying some 40 tanks.
24:25Once again,
24:26the Desert Rats
24:27had been at the right place
24:28at the right time
24:29and added fresh laurels
24:30to their reputation.
24:32Monty now prepared to go over
24:34to the attack at El Alame.
24:36Although his army now
24:37outnumbered the Germans
24:38and Italians,
24:39he faced a well-entrenched enemy
24:41whose flank,
24:42unusually in the desert,
24:43could not be turned
24:44because it rested
24:45on the virtually impassable
24:47Katara Depression.
24:48The need to get his armour
24:50through Rommel's extensive defences
24:52meant a vital role
24:53for the Desert Rats.
24:57As night fell
24:59on the 23rd of October, 1942,
25:01the Desert Rats
25:02and other units
25:03of the 8th Army
25:04prepared for action.
25:06Montgomery's assault
25:07at El Alame
25:08began with a barrage
25:09of 900 guns.
25:17Then sappers went forward
25:18to clear lanes
25:19through the Axis minefields.
25:36The infantry set up bridgeheads
25:38the other side
25:39of the minefields.
25:48After five days
25:49of savage fighting,
25:51the tanks passed through.
25:58But the Axis forces
26:00held on tenaciously
26:01and the Desert Rats
26:02were unable to break out.
26:12The German anti-tank guns
26:14took a savage toll
26:15as one British tank commander
26:17later described.
26:19There was a sudden shock
26:21and the flames burst out
26:22under us.
26:24So I gave the order
26:25to bail out
26:26and we threw ourselves
26:27down in the sand.
26:28I could see that
26:29only two tanks
26:31had got to the ridge,
26:32our officers and mine.
26:33And we'd both
26:34gone up in smoke.
26:35We joined up
26:36with their crew.
26:38There were nine of us
26:39altogether.
26:39We were lying there
26:40in the sand
26:41and we saw one of our tanks
26:42to the right go back.
26:44We watched it
26:45going out of the way
26:46and I remember
26:47one fellow saying,
26:48there goes our ruddy taxi.
26:51It was a scene
26:52which was to be repeated
26:53time after time
26:54until at last
26:55Montgomery switched
26:56the weight of his attack
26:57from the south
26:58to the north.
27:00Gradually,
27:01Rommel's defences
27:02were worn down.
27:07By the 4th of November,
27:08the Axis forces
27:09were in full retreat.
27:11Churchill exulted
27:12that this was
27:13the end of the beginning
27:14as for the next
27:15two and a half months
27:16the 8th Army
27:17pursued its stubborn enemy,
27:19the Desert Rats,
27:21often in the lead.
27:31They entered Benghazi,
27:33450 miles from El Alamein,
27:36on the 19th of November.
27:38But every so often,
27:40Rommel would turn at bay
27:41and mount a stiff
27:42rearguard action
27:43to keep the British
27:43at arm's length
27:44before withdrawing once more.
27:57Nevertheless,
27:58on the 23rd of January,
27:591943,
28:01the Desert Rats
28:02entered the Libyan capital,
28:03Tripoli,
28:04having advanced
28:05more than 1,000 miles
28:06in 11 weeks.
28:13The Union flag
28:14was hoisted over the port
28:15through which
28:16the Africa Corps,
28:17arch-enemy of the Desert Rats,
28:19had originally arrived
28:20to begin their epic confrontation.
28:22The contest
28:24that had ebbed
28:24and flowed
28:25across the deserts
28:26of Libya
28:26and Western Egypt
28:27for two and a half years
28:28was finally over.
28:33Having reviewed
28:34his triumphant men,
28:35Montgomery paused.
28:37He needed to reestablish
28:38his now overstretched supply lines.
28:41But this time,
28:42there was no danger
28:43that the 8th Army
28:43would be sent reeling back
28:45by a sudden counterblow.
28:47For while he retreated,
28:49Rommel had been confronted
28:50with a problem
28:51which obliged him
28:52to continue falling back
28:53into Tunisia.
28:58On the 8th of November,
29:001942,
29:01American and British forces
29:02had landed
29:03at the other end
29:04of North Africa
29:05in Morocco and Algeria.
29:08They had then advanced
29:10into Tunisia
29:11to engage Axis forces
29:13which had been deployed
29:14from Europe
29:14to prevent Rommel
29:16from being attacked
29:16from the rear.
29:18The Germans and Italians
29:20managed to halt
29:21the Allied advance
29:2220 miles short of Tunis.
29:28A stalemate followed
29:29until February 1943
29:31when the Axis launched
29:33an attack
29:34on the Allied forces
29:35in western Tunisia.
29:41This temporarily
29:43knocked them off balance.
29:44The Americans in particular
29:46suffered heavy casualties.
29:55Montgomery now began
29:56to advance into Tunisia
29:57from the east.
30:00Rommel turned
30:01on the 8th Army.
30:02On the 6th of March,
30:04his panzers
30:05confronted it
30:05at Medanine.
30:09It was the 6-pounder
30:10anti-tank guns
30:11of the Desert Rats
30:12Queen's Brigade
30:13which played the main part
30:14in stopping the assault
30:15in its tracks.
30:18One gun,
30:19manned by Sergeant Krangles,
30:21accounted for no less
30:22than 14 panzers.
30:32While 1st Army
30:34advanced from the west,
30:358th Army pushed up
30:36Tunisia's narrow
30:37coastal plain,
30:39overcoming Axis defenses
30:40at Marath
30:41and Wadi Akharit.
30:55At the end of March,
30:56the Desert Rats
30:57met up with the U.S.
30:58units of 1st Army.
31:00The relatively inexperienced
31:02Americans
31:02were fascinated
31:03to meet the men
31:04of this now legendary unit
31:05and U.S. cigarettes
31:07and rations
31:08provided a welcome change.
31:14When the Desert Rats
31:15linked up with the British
31:16elements of 1st Army,
31:17the contrast between
31:18the two was stark.
31:20The latter,
31:21with their green-painted vehicles
31:23and conventional uniform
31:24and their tendency
31:25to do things by the book,
31:27looked with surprise
31:28at the Desert Rats.
31:29Their battered,
31:30sand-colored vehicles,
31:32deep tans,
31:33varied dress
31:34and seemingly relaxed
31:35attitude to life
31:36made them seem
31:37like a band of gypsies.
31:43Eventually,
31:448th Army was held
31:45at Enfidaville
31:45at the top
31:46of the coastal plague.
31:48It was told
31:49to pass forces
31:50across to 1st Army
31:51for the final offensive.
31:53Among these
31:54was 7th Armored Division,
31:56which helped to spearhead
31:57the advance on Tunis.
31:58The armored cars
32:00of the 11th Hussars,
32:01which had been the first
32:02to enter Tripoli,
32:03were among the first troops
32:04to enter the Tunisian capital.
32:11When the Axis forces
32:13in North Africa
32:14finally surrendered
32:15on the 11th of May, 1943,
32:17a quarter of a million prisoners
32:19fell into Allied hands.
32:22For the Desert Rats,
32:24the main interest
32:24was the survivors
32:25of the Deutsches Afrika Korps,
32:2715th and 21st Panzer Divisions,
32:29who had been their main
32:31and much-respected opponents
32:33for well over two years.
32:35The lull in the fighting
32:37provided an opportunity
32:38for the Desert Rats
32:39to be reorganized
32:40in a more balanced way
32:41to reflect the experience
32:43of the recent campaign.
32:45Two brigades remained,
32:4722nd Armored,
32:48with three tank regiments
32:49totaling 150 tanks
32:51and a motor battalion,
32:52and the Queen's Brigade,
32:54with three motor battalions
32:55and a machine gun battalion.
33:01There was also a chance
33:03for the Desert Rats
33:04to relax and recuperate.
33:10They were able to take leave,
33:12even to Cairo,
33:13but apart from those posted
33:15back to Britain
33:15to hand on their experience,
33:17the prospects of seeing
33:18their homeland again
33:19remain distant.
33:22In June, morale was boosted
33:24when the division was honored
33:24by a visit from King George VI,
33:26who came to pay his respects
33:28to this now famous unit.
33:38The completion of the
33:39North African campaign
33:40was a watershed
33:41in the story of the Desert Rats.
33:43For the first time,
33:45they were to leave North Africa,
33:46where they had carved out
33:47their reputation,
33:48and cross the Mediterranean
33:50to set foot in Europe
33:51as part of the invasion
33:52of mainland Italy.
33:58The plan was for Montgomery's
34:00Eighth Army
34:00to land in the tow of the country,
34:04while Mark Clark's
34:05U.S. Fifth Army
34:06assaulted at Salerno.
34:09For the first time,
34:11the Desert Rats
34:11would not be fighting
34:12with Eighth Army,
34:13but they were assigned
34:14to support the American landings.
34:22The first U.S. troops ashore
34:24met stiff German resistance.
34:30But units of the Queen's Brigade
34:32were able to land on D-Day
34:34to secure an assembly area
34:35for the division.
34:39And five days
34:40after the initial assault,
34:41the tanks of the Desert Rats
34:43came ashore.
34:49They then took part
34:50in the advance north
34:51to Naples.
34:54Conditions were very different
34:56from North Africa.
34:57The terrain was mountainous,
34:58and the Germans
34:59took full advantage of this.
35:01The roads,
35:02winding their way
35:03across precipitous slopes
35:04and bridges,
35:05were continually blown.
35:14There was no opportunity
35:15to carry out
35:16the swift outflanking moves
35:18that the division
35:19had got used to
35:20in the desert.
35:21Patience and ingenuity
35:23were needed
35:23to keep the advance going.
35:26Nevertheless,
35:27the Desert Rats
35:27entered Naples
35:28on the 1st of October.
35:31They then continued
35:32to advance northwards,
35:33but now
35:34they faced
35:35the autumn mud.
35:39There were also
35:40numerous rivers
35:41to be crossed.
35:45in November 1943,
35:47after three months
35:48of stiff fighting,
35:49most of the division
35:50was withdrawn
35:51into reserve.
35:56The following month,
35:57Montgomery left 8th Army
35:59to take command
35:59of 21st Army Group
36:01for the invasion
36:02of Western Europe.
36:04He made a farewell speech
36:05to the men
36:06under his command.
36:08What can I say to you
36:10as I go away?
36:13When the heart is full,
36:14it is not easy
36:16to speak.
36:17But I would say
36:18this to you.
36:20You have made
36:22this army
36:22what it is.
36:24You have made
36:25its name
36:26a household word
36:27all over the world.
36:29Therefore,
36:30you must uphold
36:32its good name
36:33and its tradition.
36:36But several
36:37household names
36:38would be going
36:39with him,
36:39for Montgomery
36:40insisted on taking
36:41three of his
36:42cracked divisions
36:43back to Britain.
36:4451st Highland,
36:4550th Northumbrian,
36:47and the Desert Rats.
36:53When they arrived
36:55back in England
36:55in January 1944,
36:57many of the veteran
36:58Desert Rats
36:59had been away
36:59for four years
37:00and more.
37:01But there was
37:02little time
37:02for relaxation.
37:04They had left
37:05their equipment
37:05behind in Italy
37:06and had to start
37:07again to prepare
37:08for the Normandy
37:09invasion.
37:11The opportunity
37:12was taken
37:12to redesign
37:13the divisional sign.
37:15This smarter rat
37:16with his elegantly
37:17long tail
37:18continues to be
37:19worn by today's
37:20Desert Rats,
37:217th Armoured Brigade.
37:26One thing,
37:27however,
37:27did not change.
37:28The Desert Rats
37:29continued to serve
37:30under Montgomery's
37:31overall command
37:31and they welcomed
37:33his visits.
37:38At the end of May,
37:407th Armoured Division
37:41moved to sealed,
37:42tented camps
37:42near the English
37:43south coast.
37:54There they were briefed
37:55on their role
37:56on their role
37:56in the invasion.
38:03And from there
38:04they drove their vehicles
38:05to the embarkation ports
38:07and loaded them
38:08aboard the vessels
38:09that would take them
38:09across the English channel.
38:16The Desert Rats
38:17were not involved
38:17in the initial assault
38:19on D-Day.
38:24Their tanks came ashore
38:26on the Normandy beaches
38:27the following day
38:27and moved swiftly
38:29into action.
38:35They played a crucial part
38:37in fighting off
38:38the German armoured assaults
38:39which attempted
38:40to destroy
38:40the Allied beachhead.
38:44Once more,
38:45the Desert Rats
38:46had to adapt
38:46their tactics
38:47to a new terrain.
38:48The Normandy countryside
38:50known as the Boccage
38:51with its claustrophobic lanes
38:53between high hedges
38:54and small fields
38:55gave an enormous advantage
38:57to the German defenders.
39:00Lying in ambush
39:01and sometimes firing
39:02at almost point-blank range
39:04the much-feared German 88
39:06proved even more formidable
39:07than in the desert.
39:10And the Allies were also faced
39:12by the formidable Tiger Tank.
39:14Not only was this armed
39:15with a deadly 88mm gun
39:17but its frontal armour
39:18was impervious
39:19to any Allied tank gun.
39:24But Normandy
39:25did have its compensations.
39:27Every Desert Rat
39:28who fought there
39:29remembers Calvados
39:30the fiery apple liqueur
39:32of the region
39:33and Camembert cheese.
39:39In July 1944
39:417th Armoured Division
39:42took part
39:42in Operation Goodwood
39:44Montgomery's massive
39:45armoured push
39:46to the east of Calvary.
39:50This was designed
39:50to draw the bulk
39:51of the German tanks
39:52onto the British sector
39:53so that the Americans
39:55could break out
39:55from Normandy.
40:01The assault
40:02was preceded
40:03by a massive attack
40:04by RAF Bomber Command.
40:11The initial stages
40:12went well.
40:23German defenders
40:24dazed and confused
40:26by the carpet bombing
40:27were made prisoner.
40:33But the enemy
40:34soon recovered
40:35and brought the advance
40:36to a halt.
40:42Despite this
40:43Goodwood enabled
40:44the Americans
40:45to begin their breakout
40:46and soon the German
40:48defences began to crumble
40:49as General George Patton's
40:51US Third Army
40:52thrust deep through them.
40:58Now came a pursuit
41:00which reminded
41:01veteran Desert Rats
41:02of the advance
41:03through Libya
41:04after the victory
41:05at El Alame.
41:06On the 28th of August
41:077th Armoured Division
41:08crossed the river Sey
41:10after an advance
41:11of more than 120 miles.
41:16Nine days later
41:17the Desert Rats
41:18had thrust forward
41:18another 200 miles
41:20to liberate
41:20the ancient Belgian
41:21city of Ghent.
41:22It seemed as though
41:24victory was at last
41:25in sight.
41:31As the Allies
41:32advanced through
41:32France and Belgium
41:33in the late summer
41:34of 1944
41:35so their supply lines
41:37which still ran
41:38from the Normandy port
41:39of Cherbourg
41:39became ever more stretched.
41:42Finally they snapped
41:43and the race towards
41:45Germany's border
41:46ground to a halt.
41:53For the Desert Rats
41:54who had managed
41:55to advance
41:56across the Dutch
41:56frontier
41:57this meant a period
41:58of static warfare.
42:02Autumn turned to winter
42:03and the 7th Armoured
42:05resumed its advance
42:06but it was slow going
42:08against German defences
42:09which had largely
42:10recovered from the
42:11disasters of the summer.
42:14While some Desert Rats
42:15were able to get home
42:16on leave to celebrate
42:17Christmas
42:17the majority
42:19were in the front line.
42:21Despite the setbacks
42:22the end of the war
42:23was obviously in sight
42:24and the epic odyssey
42:26of the Desert Rats
42:27was not forgotten.
42:29On Christmas Day
42:30itself Corporal Bob Pass
42:31who had fought
42:32with 7th Armoured Division
42:33all the way from
42:34El Alamein
42:35was selected to broadcast
42:36a Christmas message
42:37on the BBC.
42:39And then the journey
42:40home did start
42:41over North Africa
42:43into Tunis
42:44across the Mediterranean
42:46into Italy
42:47and a hard bit
42:48of the journey that
42:48and still going on.
42:51Then back home again
42:52but again
42:53just to start
42:54another journey
42:55partly over the sea
42:57the night before D-Day
42:58journeying home
42:59with our Becks 2 home
43:00the beaches
43:02Normandy
43:03France
43:04Belgium
43:05Holland
43:06and at last
43:07Germany
43:08yes
43:09a long road
43:11tragically
43:11within a few weeks
43:12Bob Pass would be dead
43:14killed as he went forward
43:15to take the surrender
43:16of some Germans
43:17hidden in a wood.
43:23The final heroic stages
43:24of the war
43:25for the Desert Rats
43:26began in January
43:27in 1945
43:27when the division
43:29took part
43:29in bitter fighting
43:30to clear the Germans
43:31from the approaches
43:32to the River Rhine.
43:34They then went
43:35briefly into reserve
43:36to prepare for the crossing
43:37of Germany's last
43:38major natural obstacle
43:39in the West.
43:45this took place
43:46on the 24th of March.
43:56The division
43:57crossed the Rhine
43:58the following day
43:59and began its final advance
44:01northeast through Germany.
44:17but there were still fierce battles
44:19to be fought
44:20against Germans
44:20who refused to accept
44:22that the war was lost
44:24but nothing could hold up
44:267th Armoured Division
44:27for long.
44:37On the 16th of April
44:38the Desert Rats
44:40liberated a prisoner
44:40of war camp
44:41or Flag 11B
44:43near Fallingbostrum.
44:45Among those freed
44:47were members of the division
44:48who had been captured
44:48earlier in the campaign
44:49as well as numerous
44:51paratroopers
44:52who had fought at Arnhem
44:53and veterans
44:54of the fighting
44:54in France in 1940.
44:58A crowning moment
44:59for the Desert Rats
45:00was taking the surrender
45:01of Germany's
45:02principal port
45:02Hamburg
45:03on the 3rd of May.
45:10The division
45:11then moved northwards
45:12towards Kiel.
45:20and as they advanced
45:22the Desert Rats
45:23found themselves
45:24responsible
45:24for ensuring
45:25the safe passage
45:26of the enemy delegation
45:27which negotiated
45:28the surrender
45:29of the German forces
45:30facing Montgomery's
45:3121st Army Group.
45:38The surrender itself
45:39was signed
45:40on the 4th of May
45:41and three days later
45:42hostilities
45:43came to an end.
45:45But for the Desert Rats
45:46their journey
45:47was not quite finished.
45:51After a month
45:52of occupation duties
45:537th Armoured Division
45:55received the honour
45:55of providing
45:56the bulk of the garrison
45:57for the British zone
45:58in Berlin.
45:59The Desert Rats
46:01entered the city
46:01on the 4th of July
46:02with General Lou Line
46:04their commander
46:05taking the salute.
46:12And on the 21st of July
46:14the division
46:14was again on parade
46:15enjoying its greatest day
46:17a victory march past
46:19in front of Churchill
46:20Alexander
46:21and Montgomery.
46:32Afterwards
46:32Churchill addressed
46:33the division.
46:35Dear Desert Rats
46:36may your glory
46:38never fade
46:39may your laurels
46:40never fade
46:41may the memory
46:42of this glorious
46:43pilgrimage of war
46:45which you have made
46:45from Alamein
46:46via the Baltic
46:47to Berlin
46:48never die.
46:50It is a march
46:51unsurpassed
46:52in the history of war.
46:57No finer tribute
46:59could have been paid
46:59to these gladiators
47:01whose dash and spirit
47:02personified
47:03all that was best
47:04in the British army
47:05of World War II.
47:06The Doctrine
47:09The Doctrine
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