Battleground: The Western Dunkirk Corridor 1940 Ledringhem, Wormhout,
Bambecque & West Cappel written by Jerry Murland - £12.99 - Softcover -
Pages 112
The story of 144 Brigade’s defence of Wormhoudt and Bambecque must rank
in importance alongside the defence of Cassel and Hazebrouck by 145 Brigade.
Brigadier Norman’s composite brigade was the final piece in the jigsaw of defence
on the western flank of the Dunkerque Corridor; it held the line south of Bergues,
containing the attacking German units at great cost, until the perimeter at
Dunkerque had been established.
The defence of Wormhoudt has long been associated with the massacre of British servicemen after they had surrendered. The events in the barn at La Plaine au Bois will always be considered one of the most appalling acts of the Second World War, carried out by elements of the Liebstandarte Regiment; almost second nature to these fanatical followers of Adolf Hitler. They found no easy victory at Wormhoudt, in an encounter that saw their regimental commander, Gruppenführer Otto ‘Sepp’ Dietrich, taking shelter in a ditch away from the fury of the Cheshire machine gunners. Overshadowed by the events in the barn are the murders of civilians and British soldiers that took place as the Germans overwhelmed the fragile defence of the Warwicks. Their Medical Officer, marching into captivity, went past the bodies of men of A Company who he was sure had been murdered. An officer of the Worcesters wrote in his diary that all the wounded of his Company were shot by a commander of the Liebstandarte.
There is little other evidence to support the deaths of these men but there is little doubt that many British soldiers met a violent end after they had surrendered in the fields and on the pavements of Wormhoudt and Bambecque.
These Battleground books, in my opinion, are fantastic and vastly underrated books that both cover history of the event, the people involved and enables the reader to take part in what is experienced within the book. This particular book looks at the 144 Brigade and their spectacular defence of the Dunkirk Corridor against the Germans. The book gets across the events that happened, through text, pictures, diagrams and photographs, the book also picks out a number of individuals that have stood out from the norm and we get to hear about their history. Then finally the book acts as a tour guide by publishing the area as an area to go to, where to stay, eat and visit. Giving you a handy guide to if you wanted to, do your own visit. An excellent book, especially for those that like to take part in that hands-on experience.
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