BBC 2 Tankies: Tank Heroes of World War II
Prince Monalulu
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On at 21:00
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01pvbds
The Second World War was the ultimate conflict of the machine age, and the tank was its iconic symbol. The "tankies" who fought inside had experience of much of the conflict from the fall of France, to the deserts of Africa, from the invasion of Italy to D-Day, and on to the final victory in Germany.
In this two part series, historian, BBC Diplomatic Editor, and former officer in the Royal Tank Regiment, Mark Urban tells the story of six remarkable men from one armoured unit - The Fifth Royal Tank Regiment, also known as the Filthy Fifth.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01pvbds
The Second World War was the ultimate conflict of the machine age, and the tank was its iconic symbol. The "tankies" who fought inside had experience of much of the conflict from the fall of France, to the deserts of Africa, from the invasion of Italy to D-Day, and on to the final victory in Germany.
In this two part series, historian, BBC Diplomatic Editor, and former officer in the Royal Tank Regiment, Mark Urban tells the story of six remarkable men from one armoured unit - The Fifth Royal Tank Regiment, also known as the Filthy Fifth.
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Fascinating programme last night, and with the Old Boys talking about their adventures, made it more personal.
Looking forward to the second part next week.
Unfortunately Mark Urban didn't allow the facts to get in the way of his own highly biased slant on events. You'd think from him that the Allies were massively outnumbered and outgunned by far superior German equipment when, invariably, the opposite was the case. For instance, he gave the impression that most of the Axis tanks comprised the Panzer MKIII, whereas, as late as The Battle Of Gazala in spring/summer 1942 (and the only occasion Urban felt Rommel deserved any credit), only around 30 of Rommel's 320 tanks were MK IIIs, the rest being vastly inferior MKIIs or equally bad Italian tanks. And even these inferior tanks were outnumbered nearly 3 to 1 by the Allies' 900 or so tanks, which also included a significant number of the new, superior, American Grant tank.