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| A
Short History of The Kangaroos |
| Part
I: The Beginning |
| THE
KANGAROOS evolved as a field-expedient in answer to a critically high casualty
rate amongst British and Canadian infantry formations in the summer of
1944. |
| Montgomery's
key strategy of concentrating his forces in the Caen area in order to hold
down the bulk of German divisions while the Americans broke out of the
Bocage country was almost too successful. While historians will argue for
generations on the validity of this strategy - or for that matter, whether
it was even planned in advance - the fact remains that the British and
Canadian armies in Normandy faced an enormous concentration of force, which
quickly took a heavy toll of the attackers. |
| In his excellent
treatise THE GUNS OF NORMANDY, George Blackburn gives several graphic details
of the virtual annihilation of many of our infantry regiments as they butted
up against a fierce, desperate and well dug-in foe. In one battle after
another, whole units sometimes failed to reach even their start lines before
being cut to pieces. |
| Enter
the eclectic Canadian Lieutenant General Guy Simonds, then OC, 2nd Canadian
Corps. His appreciation of the problems in getting the infantry across
the Start Lines and keeping them up with the armour for mutual support,
led to the seven-day overhaul and conversion of 72 U.S. M-7 Priest self-propelled
guns then in service with artillery units of the 3rd Canadian Infantry
Division. |
| Each
had its howitzer removed, and the resulting gap in the front armour plated
over with whatever steel could be found. Dubbed 'Kangaroos', which was
the code name for the 2nd corps Army Workshops Detachment (AWD) which converted
them, these robust vehicles were assigned a single driver as the only crew,
and loaded with ten or more infantry, crossed the start line for Operation
TOTALIZE on the night of 7 August 1944. |
M7
Priest
(Click to enlarge)
|
| The vehicles,
and the tactics, were an immediate success. It had been demonstrated that
carrying troops behind armour significantly reduced casualties, as well
as increased morale within the hard-pressed infantry. In addition, the
ability of these vehicles to keep pace with the tanks increased the security
of both elements. |
| The Priest Kangaroos
continued to serve throughout the rest of the campaign in France, carrying
both British and Canadian infantry in every attack. On 28 August 1944,
their usefullness was formally recognized within the Canadian War Establishment
by the designation '1st Canadian Armoured Personnel Carrier Squadron' (Capt.
F.S. Corbeau, commanding). |
| It was during
this time that one of the drivers - whose name is lost to us at this time
- won the M.M. for putting a German tank out of action by ramming it with
his empty, unarmed Priest Kangaroo! (if you know of this story, please
contact the WEBMASTER
with details) |
| By early autumn
of that year, however, the surviving Priests were pretty much worn out,
having reached the end of their service life. No replacements were forthcoming,
as all available production was going to the U.S. forces on the continent.
The concept of armoured carriers had been proven, and another source of
vehicles had to be found. |
|
Proceed
to Part II
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