When Sgt. Harris Bagged 5 Panther Tanks with 5 Shots | 14 June 1944

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A great video. I knew two men who fought with the 9th DLI at Lingreves, Lt John Williams who had joined the DLI as a boy soldier in 1930, but who was commissioned into the Royal Armoured Corps in 1943 before transferring back to the DLI and Sgt Charles Eagles. John was wounded during the advance through the cornfield to the north of the village and Charles was captured by a group of Panzer Lehr men during the battle, he had been near Col Wood when he was hit by mortar fire and killed. Charles's account can be found on the IWM sound archives. I also once met a man on a WW1 battlefield bus tour from 4/7 DG's who had fought in the next village along on the same day, supporting the 6th DLI. His name was George McNulty. He remembered many of the men who fought that day in both villages. I spent years searching for any little bits of information that I could find about the battle of Lingreves. I was lucky enough to visit the village in 2016 and I cannot tell you how moving it was to see the locations where these men had fought. I have visited many battlefield over the past 40 years, but this was one of the most moving places to visit. Thank you Tank Museum for making this video. Hopefully one day I will make it to your museum.

My grandfather was with the DLI during this action. He took over from the artillery observers when they were put out of action. He directed further artillery and organised the decimated infantry despite being wounded in the arm himself. He was awarded a DCM for his actions that day. Myself, my father and my son visited Lingeveres several years ago to see where this event unfolded. There’s a nice memorial to the DLI at the side of the church.

I had a Grampa in the 3rd Armored Division in WW2. He was a 19yr. old who trained as infantry, but ended up a replacement loader in a Sherman that had lost its previous two loaders in combat (he had black-and-white pictures of the welded-in "turret-hole-plugs" from which both prior loaders lost their lives). He ended his few months in combat during The Battle of The Bulge, when, while riding in what his battalion commander told them was a "Kraut Scrubbed Area" with his turret hatch open, his Sherman got hit by what he believes was a German 75mm AP round which touched off their tank's forward, right-side ammo rack. All he remembered was a loud "bang" and when he woke up, he remembered screaming in pain while his tank commander pressed freshly fallen snow into the burn wounds on his face and upper-body in an attempt to provide him some temporary relief. He later found out that he and his tank commander were both blown clear from his tank's turret after the initial hit, and shortly afterward the rest of the ammo in the tank brewed up and burned the rest of his crew to death. He had temporarily swapped positions with his gunner, and was fortuitously riding with his head out the gunner's hatch (which, in the event, doomed his gunner to a fiery death). As a child, I remember it taking a long while getting used to my Grampa's facial deformities due to his severe burn wounds. He never complained and neither did my Grandma, although my Mom would tell me in later years that as a child she remembered him waking up screaming in the middle of the night and manically saying he had to get his buddies out of his burning tank. What a horrific war. In my book, they're absolutely the Greatest Generation and through their sacrifices they undoubtedly saved the world.

A Sherman Firefly of the 6th Canadian Armoured Regiment took out 5 Panthers with 6 shots on June 9, 1944. You know, just in case you think what's described in this video only happened once.

This highlights the advantage defenders have over attackers. Defending allows effective abmush positions to be set up, allowing significant damage to be inflicted before any return fire can be brought to bear. The german tanks were highly capable, but they did not have the overwhelming superiority that many claim. The German army simply spent most of the latter years operating a fighting retreat, thus allowing their armour to operate from prepared defensive locations.

9:11 what amazing courage draper possessed it's like something out of a movie, jumping back into a tank on fire and being fired at to save a comrade.

The maps are great it really helps to understand what is going on from a 2d environment

Had my heart going listening to this. Incredible story.

My old Headmaster HM Jennings MC would very occasionally describe Tank Battles in North Africa. Shake the partly cast iron desks we had with the lights flickering, count in thirteens until you hit a number divisible by seven and still play a game of 'Buzz'. He was, I think the first Tanker to join the Guinea Pig Club after 3rd degree burns in France. He couldn't but be aware of his external appearance, we, very nasty Children, called him Claws not knowing he'd returned to three different Tanks in one action to rescue Men. I still have a Prep School Term Report which I treasure because of the beautiful script which he'd had to relearn.

I like how the gunner does all the work but gets pretty much none of the credit.

Villers Bocage cost the Germans dearly too. It wasnt the walkover that has been suggested. Wittman left his Tiger behind and had to walk back to be rearmed with a spare tank.

My uncle was a tanker during the war with the Kings Own Calgary Regiment, Royal Canadian Armoured Corps. He saw a great deal of action and survived the war. Much respect for the "tin can cowboys." 🌺🍁🌺

My Grandad served with the Durham Light Infantry and briefly described the advance on Tilly-sur-Seulles in his memoirs. Thank you for providing me with more detail on the advance and describing how hard the fighting was.

This was amazing to watch, I even loaded up google maps to see where the fighting was and the different positions of the tanks. The war memorial is still there with bullet holes in its stone!

Fascinating and so well made acount of this battle and the ferocity faced by both sides. I loved the moving battle maps and original footage. The Panzer Lehr were a formidable unit, but so were our tankers when armed with the 75mm/Firefly.

This is the best video narrative of an armoured action I've ever seen. Really hoping this new series can cover some Canadian tank actions of Italy and Northwest Europe. Well done to the team who made this.

It's great to see The Tank Museum (aka 'the Bovington Boys') following the examples of Mark Felton, Dark Docs, and others with exciting actual tank combat stories. Keep 'em coming!

There is so much detail about the Invasion of Normandy that is untold , a well made film of a dramatic story, thank you.

Thanks for your extensive use of maps and showing positional movements. A lot of documentaries don't do this and I am always left with the situation being as clear as mud, for me.