Photos WW2 British & Commonwealth Forces

[BravoZulu]

Members of A Company, 2/12th Battalion who helped silence a Japanese mountain gun on Mount Prothero.
This image has also been identified as (from left to right) members of B Company; NX86190 A 'Skinny' McQueen; NX111498 A Ron Lord; VX70488 A Eric Willey; QX18277 Alan F Hackett.
The Battle of the Shaggy Ridge was part of the Finisterre Range campaign, consisting of a number of actions fought by Australian and Japanese troops in Papua New Guinea in World War II.
Shaggy Ridge was a 6.5-kilometre (4.0 mi) long spur dotted by several rocky outcrops, which the Australians dubbed "Green Pinnacle", "The Pimple", "Green Sniper's Pimple" and "McCaughey's Knoll".[5] To the north and north-west of Shaggy Ridge, two high features were identified as "Prothero I" and "Prothero II", while the Kankiryo Saddle to the north-east joined Faria Ridge and divided the Faria River from the Mindjim River.
Following the Allied capture of Lae and Nadzab, the Australian 9th Division had been committed to a quick follow up action on the Huon Peninsula in an effort to cut off the withdrawing Japanese. Once the situation on the Huon Peninsula stabilised in late 1943, the 7th Division had pushed into the Markham and Ramu Valleys towards the Finisterre Range with a view to pushing north towards the coast around Bogadjim, where they would meet up with Allied forces advancing around the coast from the Huon Peninsula, before advancing towards Madang.
A series of minor engagements followed in the foothills of the Finisterre Range before the Australians came up against strong resistance centred around the Kankiryo Saddle and Shaggy Ridge, which consisted of several steep features, dotted with heavily defended rocky outcrops.
After a preliminary assault on a forward position dubbed The Pimple in late December 1943, the Australians renewed their assault in mid-January 1944 and over the course of a fortnight eventually captured the Japanese positions on Shaggy Ridge and the Kankiryo Saddle, after launching a brigade-sized attack up three avenues of advance. In the aftermath, the Australians pursued the Japanese to the coast and subsequently took Madang, linking up with US and Australian forces.

 

[BravoZulu]

4.2-inch mortar of 1st Princess Louise's Kensington Regiment, 78th Infantry Division in action near Adrano, Sicily, 6 August 1943

 

[BravoZulu]

New Zealand tankmen, possibly 4 NZ Armoured Brigade personnel, in Casino, Italy, on the day it fell to the 8th Army, Photograph taken on 18 May 1944

New Zealand Shermans among the ruins of Casino, Italy. 18 May 1944.

 

[BravoZulu]

A Stuart and Sherman tanks of 33rd Armoured Brigade during Operation 'Charnwood', the attack on Caen, 8 July 1944.

 

[BravoZulu]

Men of the 6th Battalion, York and Lancaster Regiment, part of the 138th Brigade, British 46th Infantry Division, enter Salerno. 10 Sept 1943

 

[BravoZulu]

Local children hitch a ride on a Sherman tank of 3rd County of London Yeomanry (Sharpshooters) in Belpasso near Catania, Sicily, August 1943. In the background can be seen the church of Saint Anthony of Padua.

 

[BravoZulu]

6 South African Armoured Division Sherman tanks disabled in the battle to take the Perugia highlands, Italy. 1944

 

[BravoZulu]

Canadian troops of Princess Patricia's Light Infantry in action over a rise, near Valguarnera, Sicily, 20 July 1943.

 

[BravoZulu]

Canadian gunners during the attack against the Gothic Line, around August 24th, 1944.

 

[BravoZulu]

Men of 'A' Company, 1st Battalion of the Jewish Brigade ride on a Churchill tank in the Mezzano-Alfonsine sector, 14 March 1945

 

[BravoZulu]

Armourers prepare to load a No. 75 (NZ) Squadron Wellington. Believed to be at RAF Feltwell. December 1940

 

[BravoZulu]

A line of British Crusader and Sherman tanks move up to the front line during the Battle of El Alamein, October 1942. A Crusader MkIICS with a 3" howitzer leading

 

[BravoZulu]

M7 Priest self-propelled 105mm howitzer passes a destroyed Semovente da 75/13 tank destroyer, El Alamein, 1942

 

[BravoZulu]

St Nicholas arrives on a Sherman ARV as part of St Nicholas Day celebrations in Rucphen, near Roosendaal, Netherlands, 6 December 1944

 

[BravoZulu]

804 squadron Hellcat MkII's aboard Ruler class escort carrier HMS Ameer (D01), (ex USS Baffins (CVE-35)) with their engines running, await their turn to taxi to the ship’s catapult for take-off. Pacific Ocean

 

[BravoZulu]

Captain John Roper of the SOE (Special Operations Executive), photographed in a wood near Savournon, soon after parachuting into the Hautes-Alpes region of France, 1944.

 

[BravoZulu]

A Savoia-Marchetti SM.84 visible from battleship HMS Nelson shortly before she was struck by a torpedo on September 25th 1941

Operation Halberd, another mission to convey troops and supplies to Malta, began on 24 September, Somerville's flag was transferred to Rodney while Nelson and some escorting destroyers departed Gibraltar heading westwards as if the former ship had relieved the latter. Rodney and the rest of Force H headed eastwards with Nelson and her escorts joining the main body during the night. The British were spotted the following morning and attacked by Regia Aeronautica aircraft the next day.

A Savoia-Marchetti SM.84 torpedo bomber penetrated the screen and dropped a torpedo at a range of 450 yards (410 m). It blew a 30-by-15-foot (9.1 by 4.6 m) hole in the bow, wrecked the torpedo compartment and caused extensive flooding; there were no casualties amongst the crew. Although she was down at the bow by eight feet (2.4 m) and ultimately limited to a speed of 12 knots (22 km/h; 14 mph) to reduce the pressure on her bulkheads, Nelson remained with the fleet to so that the Italians would not know that she had been damaged. After emergency repairs were made in Gibraltar, the ship proceeded to Rosyth where she was under repair until May 1942.

 

[BravoZulu]

177 Heavy Battery, Royal Artillery manning a Lewis AA gun at Fort Crosby near Liverpool, England, 1 August 1940.

 

[BravoZulu]

Children watch activity around a Matilda Mk II tank of 44th Royal Tank Regiment in School Hill, Findon, West Sussex, during exercises against 'enemy' parachute troops, 4 March 1941.
(Photo source - © IWM H 7680)

 

[BravoZulu]

The three Chapman brothers of South Australia, who all joined the 2/27th Infantry Battalion, pause for a break just after the fall of Gona. Left to right: SX12357 Private Maxwell Maurice Chapman; SX12689 Private Desmond Chapman; and SX10196 Private Raymond Chapman. All 3 survived WW2

On the 9th of December 1942, Australians successfully recaptured the town of Gona from the Japanese during the Kokoda Campaign. Commencing on the 19th of November, Gona was the first of the three beachheads used by the Japanese during their landing in Papua at the start of the campaign.
Gona was defended by 900 men and was the smallest of the Japanese defensive positions in the area. The defences centred around the Gona Mission which was surrounded by well built bunkers, trenches and firing pits. It was to be attacked by the Australian 25th Brigade, which at the time contained just under 1,000 men.
The first Australian attack was launched on the 19th of November by the 2/33rd and 2/16th Battalions but was repulsed by the Japanese. Further attacks on the 22nd and 23rd proved costly and unsuccessful with 129 Australians killed and wounded, by the end of the 23rd the 25th Brigade had less than 800 men. A final attempt was made on the 24th using artillery support but although the Battalion managed to break into the Japanese position, they were forced to withdraw after.
Despite the inability of the Australians to break the Japanese position, they were, however, successful in preventing further Japanese reinforcements. The final decisive attack was made by the Australians on the 8th of December. At this point, the Japanese commander Major Yamamoto and 100 men attempted to escape to Giruwa but were detected and suffered heavy losses. Organised resistance was effectively over, but hand to hand fighting continued in Gona until 1630 on the afternoon of the 9th of December.
In total, the Japanese lost at least 638 men during the defence of Gona, whilst the Australians lost 750 men dead, missing or wounded. This battle would mark the beginning of the end for the Japanese.