THE 'DESERT RATS' IN ACTION EAST OF THE ORNE RIVER [Allocated Title]

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  • Title: THE 'DESERT RATS' IN ACTION EAST OF THE ORNE RIVER [Allocated Title]
  • Film Number: A70 90-11
  • Other titles:
  • Summary: Units belonging to the 7th Armoured Division occupy a sector of the Bourguebus ridge as "Goodwood" grinds to a halt.
  • Description: An M10 17-pounder self-propelled gun belonging to the Norfolk Yeomanry negotiates a sharp bend in the village of Giberville. A sign in French an German tacked onto a tree warns that the area has been evacuated and that access is forbidden to all except German military personnel. Giberville's station clock shows 4.40. Infantrymen and armoured vehicles belonging to the 7th Armoured Division advance over flat and dry farmland towards the Bourguebus ridge. A ex-1st SS Panzer Division "Leibstandarte Adolf Hitler" Somua half-track APC from Assault Gun Battalion 200 is found abandoned in Soliers. While patrolling the village, a small infantry detachment passes another derelict half-track. A 3rd Royal Horse Artillery Quad tractor tows a limber through Soliers. A group of 7th Armoured Division officers confer over a map. A cat stalks the ruins of a wrecked theatre. The camera pans from a road sign pointing the way to Cagny and Troarn to soft- skinned transport from No. 3 Group Royal Northumberland Fusiliers rumbling through Soliers.
  • Access Conditions: IWM Attribution: © IWM
  • Featured Period: 1939-1945
  • Production Date: 1944-07-20
  • Production Country: GB
  • Production Details: Directorate of Public Relations, War Office (Production sponsor) Army Film and Photographic Unit (Production company) Connolly, J R (Production individual)
  • Personalities, Units and Organisations: British Army, Royal Artillery (regiment/service) British Army, Northumberland Fusiliers (regiment/service) British Army, Div, Armoured, 7 (regiment/service) British Army, Bde, Queen's, 131 (regiment/service) British Army, Corps 8 (regiment/service)
  • Keywords: armour, United States - SPG: M10 Achilles (object name) armour, United States - halftrack: M5 (object name) transport, British military - prime mover: Morris Quad (object name) transport, British military - truck: Bedford 15cwt 4x2 (object name) armour, British - carrier: Universal (object name) intelligence, military, Allied - briefing (object name) armour, French - halftrack: Somua-Kegresse & [German] (object name) destruction, French military - area: bomb (object name) animals, mammals: cat (object name) 01/5(4-16).233 [ Operation Goodwood] (event) Soliers, Calvados, France (geography) Giberville, Calvados, France (geography)
  • Physical Characteristics: Colour format: B&W Sound format: Silent Soundtrack language: None Title language: None Subtitle language: None
  • Technical Details: Format: 35mm Footage: 276 ft; Running time: 3 mins
  • HD Media:Yes
  • Notes: Note: See with A70 86-3, 87-7 and 8 and 92-1 for footage showing 7th Armoured Division units in action during "Goodwood" and refer generally to material taken during the same British offensive. The Somua half-track was a French-manufactured vehicle converted into an armoured personnel carrier in order to remedy the shortage of German-made vehicles. The other half-track seen here is a SdKfz 11 3t. Remarks: Good footage. Best seen with items listed above. Documentation/associated material: for a bibliography, refer to books listed in A70 86-3 and also 'Caen : Anvil of Victory' by Alexander McKee.
  • Link to IWM Collections page:

    A70 90-11

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