Military Model Scene

Title: The Churchill Crocodile
Author: Tim Saunders and Richard Hone
Publisher: Pen & Sword
ISBN: 978-1-39903-998-7

'141 Regiment RAC (The Buffs), Flame Throwers in Normandy' from Pen & Sword. A 304-page hard-cover book.
The book begins with the formation of the regiment, originally an infantry unit but after Dunkirk converted to an armoured regiment, to be equipped with the then still new Churchill infantry tank, but adapted to mount a powerful flamethrower, the Churchill Crocodile. From training through to their first employment in Normandy, this makes for interesting reading as at first there were only individual troops landed on D-Day itself, with more coming over later, once space was found in the shipping schedules. The chapters move on in a chronological sequence, with their early use and how they developed their operational tactics. It seems that some problems arouse as the units they were sent to support had little idea of how to make best use of this new equipment, perhaps one of the problems with fielding a new 'secret weapon', in that it was secret from those other formations who thus didn't know how to take advantage of their fiery support. While the major operations such as Epsom, Goodwood, Bluecoat and Totalize are included, and so are smaller ones, such as Operations Mitten, Windsor, Panther, Maori II, Jupiter and more. As well as plenty of archive photos throughout the book there are also extracts from war diaries and veterans memories, coupled with maps and sketches of some specific actions. Drop in extra notes on things like German hollow charge bombs and Panzerfaust as well as detail on the operation of the Crocodile itself, there is a lot in here. Among the account of the regiment giving assistance to the Americans in taking Brest, is the first photo I recall seeing of a Crocodile fitted with the Cullin hedgerow device.
There is just so much of interest in this book that I can't list it all. I will note though that it also includes mention of Andrew Wilson, an officer in the regiment who wrote his own memoir, 'Flamethrower', which is also well worth reading. Also mentioned is the problem of one officer who just couldn't accept the moral challenge of using a flamethrower in combat. It wasn't until the closing stages of the Normandy campaign that the regiment was able to operate as a larger unit, so much of the time had seen it divided into not only squadrons, but individual troops. Certainly one I can recommend to anyone interested in the NW Europe campaign.
Thanks to Pen & Sword for the review copy.

Robin