THE 59TH (STAFFORDSHIRE) DIVISION GOES INTO ACTION NORTH OF CAEN ON THE FIRST DAY OF OPERATION "CHARNWOOD" (PART 4) [Allocated Title]

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  • Title: THE 59TH (STAFFORDSHIRE) DIVISION GOES INTO ACTION NORTH OF CAEN ON THE FIRST DAY OF OPERATION "CHARNWOOD" (PART 4) [Allocated Title]
  • Film Number: A70 74-1
  • Other titles:
  • Summary: 176th Brigade assaults fortified villages held by the 12th SS Panzer Division 'Hitlerjugend'
  • Description: Infantrymen (7th Battalion South Staffordshire Regiment) assemble on the Cambes-La Bijude road near a destroyed Pzkpfw IV tank. Outside La Bijude, men from 6th Battalion North Staffordshire Regiment's carrier platoon take up firing positions facing east along the Caen - Douvres-La-Délivrande road as ordered by their platoon commander. Shermans from 13/18th Hussars' 'B' squadron motor towards La Bijude while the carrier detachments reboard their vehicles. Infantrymen from the 7th Battalion South Staffordshire Regiment advance past another wrecked Pzkpfw IV, towards Malon from the Cambes-La Bijude road; as they approach their objective, they come under mortar fire. The cameraman focuses briefly on an APFU colleague. In La Bijude, an ex-DD Sherman (Hussars 'B' squadron) noses its way through ruins; a Bren gunner opens fire on snipers hiding nearby. Shermans (Hussars' 'A' squadron ?) can be seen left of the Caen - Douvres-La-Délivrande road (with a universal carrier part visible in the foreground). An M10 Wolverine SPG (248th Anti-Tank Battery RA) motors along the Cambes-La Bijude road. Carrier detachments and despatch riders (6th North Staffordshire Regiment?) motor into La Bijude.
  • Alternative Title:
  • Colour: B&W
  • Digitised:
  • Object_Number: A70 74-1
  • Sound: Silent
  • Access Conditions: IWM
  • Featured Period: 1939-1945
  • Production Date: 1944-07-08
  • Production Country: GB
  • Production Details: Directorate of Public Relations, War Office (Production sponsor) Army Film Unit (Production company) McArdle, T P (Production individual)
  • Personalities, Units and Organisations:
  • Keywords: La Bijude, Calvados, France (geography) Caen, 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 Number of items/reels/tapes: 1 Footage: 189 ft; Running time: 2 mins
  • HD Media:
  • Link to IWM Collections page:

    A70 74-1

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