On This Day ... in 1780 & Others
Admiral Rodney, with 21 ships of the line, caught the French Comte de Guichen in the Dominica Channel escorting a convoy. Rodney manouevred into the advantageous upwind position, but found it difficult for his ships to keep pace with the French. He therefore chose to concentrate his attack on their rear. Unfortunately, communicating this plan to his captains proved less than successful, and Rodney's flagship HMS Sandwich broke through the French line on her own, suffering heavy damage. The battle ended inconclusively, but de Guichen chivalrously sent a message to Rodney congratulating him on his efforts and acknowledging that he would have been defeated if Rodney had achieved his intent.
1855: A Russian shell scored a direct hit on the magazine of a siege battery at Sevastopol commanded by Captain Dixon. Ten gunners were killed, others wounded, and all but one of the guns in the battery put out of action. Nevertheless, Dixon quickly brought the last gun back into use and remained in action for the remainder of the day, despite continued heavy Russian fire. Dixon was awarded the Victoria Cross.
1916: Edward Felix Baxter was a 30 year old Second Lieutenant in the 1/8th Battalion, The King's (Liverpool) Regiment and led a trench raid on the Western Front.
Whilst he and his men were engaged in the difficult task of quietly cutting their way through the wire entanglements, Baxter dropped a grenade with the pin removed. He immediately picked the grenade up, and, rather than throw it to a safe distance and thus give their presence away, unscrewed the detonator and shoved it deep into the mud. Through the wire, he led the assault being the first man into German trenches, himself bombing several positions. At the end of the raid, he covered the withdrawal of his men, helping the last man over the parapet. He was not seen again.. He was awarded a posthumous Victoria Cross.
1917: British and Commonwealth troops under Sir Archibald Murray launched their second attack on Gaza. 18,000 troops and eight tanks attacked behind a heavy barrage of gas shells. However, the well-prepared Turkish defenders, led by the German Kress von Kressenstein, inflicted heavy casualties of 6,400, and by the third day Murray was forced to call off the attack. Murray was duly replaced in command by the talented Sir Edmund Allenby.
1942: Twelve of Bomber Command's new Lancaster heavy bombers were dispatched unescorted on a daring low-level raid 500 miles across France and Germany to attempt a precision attack on the MAN factory at Augsburg where U-boat engines were built.
Squadron Leader Nettleton of 44 (Rhodesia) Squadron led the raid
with six Lancasters from his squadron, and six from 97 Squadron. Boston light bombers from 2 Group, supported by Fighter Command, launched a major diversionary effort over Northern France. However, 4 of the 12 Lancasters were shot down en route to the target. The other eight bombed accurately, but only five returned safely to the UK, including Nettleton's aircraft. The casualties were judged far too heavy to risk such an operation again; of 84 airmen, 37 were killed and eleven captured. Nettleton was awarded the Victoria Cross for his leadership.
Comments
Nettleton was 25 when he lead that raid. Food for thought isn't it? He was killed the following year when his aircraft was shot down over the sea.
Posted by: Ex STAB | April 18, 2007 2:47 PM
Lived in Augsburg for 5 years in the 90s. Lovely town...now.
Posted by: SSG Jeff (USAR) | April 17, 2009 6:19 PM