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The Polar Bears : from Normandy to the relief of Holland with the 49th Division /

"During the campaign in North West Europe, the Polar Bears were a completely British division with units drawn from Yorkshire, Durham, Royal Scots Fusiliers, Tyneside Scottish, Lincolnshire, Leicestershire, Kent Yeomany, and Suffold Hussars. In August 1944, they were joined by the South Wales B...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Delaforce, Patrick
Format: Book
Language:English
Published: Phoenix Mill, U.K. : A. Sutton Pub., 1995.
Subjects:
Great Britain. > Army. > Division, 49th.
World War, 1939-1945 > Regimental histories > Great Britain.
World War, 1939-1945 > Campaigns > Europe.
Guerre mondiale, 1939-1945 > Histoire des unités > Grande-Bretagne.
Guerre mondiale, 1939-1945 > Campagnes et batailles > Front occidental.
Regimental histories.
Military campaigns.
Great Britain.
Europe.
1939-1945
World War 2 > Army operations
Europe
Table of Contents:
  • Outbreak of war : Norwegian campaign
  • The Cold War : occupation of Iceland, Alabaster Force
  • Waiting for the balloon to go up : arctic, mountain or assault division?
  • Countdown and channel crossing : 'Vengeance of the gods'
  • Arrival and first action : 'We'd got our first blood'
  • The Hallams' action at Audrieu : Canadian massacre
  • The Lincolns' skirmish at St. Pierre
  • Infantry and tank cooperation
  • The KOYLI's battle for Cristot : 'World seemed to end'
  • The Dukes attack Le Parc de Boislande
  • Build-up to Operation Epsom : 'A sombre and depressing scene'
  • Operation Martlet, stage I : 'Blind man's buff'
  • The KOYLI's attack on Tessel Wood : 'It was the hell of a day'
  • Operation Martlet, Stage II, 26 June : 'Feeling of utter desolation'
  • Operation Martlet, Stage III, 27 June : 'Albacore'
  • Operation Epsom : 'The western flank'
  • The end of the 6th Bn Duke of Wellingtons
  • Prelude to the Rauray battle : 'A wee bit of bother'
  • The Rauray battle : 'Locked in mortal and bloody combat with the Polar Bear butchers'
  • Holding the line : 'Listening all the time'
  • The capture of Vendes and Barb?e Farm : 'It was a charnel house'
  • Caen : mosquitoes, night bombing and joining the Canadians
  • Break-out from the Caen Sector : 'Eventually the dam burst'
  • The sad end to the 70th Brigade : ' Intense gloom and despair'
  • The new arrivals : the 56th (Sphinx) Independent Brigade
  • The swan to the Seine : hot pursuit
  • The taking of Le Havre : 'Din of Battle, organised chaos and danger'
  • A week in limbo : 'A time of great elation'
  • Battle in southern Holland, September : 'Stop firing, you bloody fools!'
  • The battle for Mendicit? Harper's Victoria Cross
  • Battles in southern Holland, October
  • The battle for Roosendal : 'The Leicesters : poor blighters'
  • Breda : The River Mark and the taking of Willemstadt
  • November : farewell to 'Bubbles' Barker
  • On the Island, December : 'A.
  • Fearsome sight'
  • On the Island, January : 'Booby traps and midget submarines'
  • On the Island, February : 'The Nijmegen Home Guard'
  • On the Island, March : 'The thaw brought dead German bodies'
  • April, Operation Destroyer : the taking of Arnhem : 'You have come back'
  • Operation Dutch Cleanser : 'Singing "Tipperary"'
  • Round-up : The liberation of Utrecht and Amsterdam.