Having been away from the forum for nigh on a year I have been somewhat embarressed to find PMs I never answered. One has answered a question I have asked myself for ages. My father J B Smethurst had a painting by Cuneo over our mantelpiece commemorating a river crossing with 44th RTR and I have struggled to remember the Operation name. Now I have the answer from the following message which has lurked too long in my inbox "I too have a painting by Cuneo which hung in my fathers house.It is called Operation Plunder 44th Tank Regiment crossing the Rhine.Is this the same as yours?If so the tank is exiting the river with its skirt up. I believe the skirts had to be down in the water to aid floatability.Regards,Rob Jones". Can anyone tell me more about this operation. My father always went on about the technical inaccuracy of the picture but thats dramatic effect for you !
Wikipedia is not bad for general information, but expect errors. Operation Plunder - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia I note here the photo of the US 89th Infantry Division is not Operation Plunder nor is it Operation Flashpoint.
Try this thread. I settled for wiki when I failed to find this quickly. http://www.ww2talk.com/forum/nw-europe/35696-rhine-crossing-1945-rees-bridgehead-51st-highland-div-operation-turnscrew.html
I dont think so. I think I would know that but he died in 1989 and didnt talk about detail much. I am currently working through the 1st RTR War diaries which a dear friend has presented me with. What I do know (and the document is here somewhere on the forum if I can remember how to copy a thread link...) is that just over 3 weeks after Operation Plunder my father was severely injured on 16th April and spent the rest of his life with what we would think of as the effects of a heavy stroke. NOT that this stopped him!
Stolpi it is unlikely that the 1st RTR would have been involved in the Ardennes at they were in 22nd AB whereas 144 RAC were in 31st and only they and 29th AB 's were involved in the Ardennes - think I may be right in this unless someone has their war diaries to prove otherwise since my knowldge of the NWE campaign is in it's infancy stages.. Cheers
At the present time i am deeply researching the whole artillery component of Op Plunder including Corps and Divisional arty orbats and fire plans etc, the operation being the biggest artillery engagement of WW2 for my book on the 2nd Cdn AGRA. So anyone requiring arty info for 'Plunder' drop me a line as i may be able to be of some help. Best Rob
How's about this for a kick in the Groin? There's a new/old vid on YouTube with the 5 Seaforth battle in it.
Dermot - Good find! One of the best documentaries on WW2 I ever saw. I have it on CD. Will add the link to my Rees Bridgehead thread.
