The last of the Vickers tanks for my WW2 Greek Army
This is the last of the Greek Vickers tanks although I do have another two lots, one of for my KNIL WW2 army, and another lot of 8 for my Australian A Squadron 2/6th Cavalry in North Africa.
Here are some military events associated with 4 July.
July 1843 — Warrigal Creek massacres, Gippsland.
The University of Newcastle Colonial Frontier Massacres project dates the Warrigal Creek massacre group to between 1 July and 31 July 1843, with Brataualung victims and settler attackers. That range includes 4 July, but the exact day is not established.
July 1866 — Euri Creek, Queensland.
The Euri Creek massacre is dated by the same project to between 1 July and 31 July 1866. It records Yuru victims and Native Police attackers, with about 30 people killed. Again, the exact day is uncertain, but 4 July falls within the date range.
1 to 15 July 1910 — Dungginmini, Northern Territory.
The Dungginmini massacre is dated to between 1 July and 15 July 1910, with Gurdanji victims and pastoralist attackers. This is a late frontier violence entry and the date range includes 4 July, but it cannot honestly be pinned to that exact day.
4 July 1901 — Naboomspruit armoured train ambush.
A Boer ambush of an armoured train near Naboomspruit took place on 4 July 1901, involving the 2nd Gordon Highlanders and Australians.
4 July 1916 — The “Bluebirds” left Sydney. Twenty Australian Red Cross nurses, known as the Bluebirds because of their blue uniforms, sailed aboard the hospital ship Kanowna for service in France.
4 July 1918 — Battle of Hamel. The Australian Corps, commanded by Lieutenant General John Monash, attacked and captured Hamel on the Western Front. 4 July 1918 — Monash’s first major set piece battle as Australian Corps commander. Hamel became one of the clearest examples of his careful planning and use of combined arms.
4 July 1918 — Australians and Americans fought together at Hamel. American troops were attached to Australian units, making Hamel one of the first significant Australian and American battlefield cooperations.
4 July 1918 — Tanks, aircraft, infantry, and artillery were coordinated at Hamel. The battle became a model for later Allied attacks in 1918.
4 July 1918 — No. 3 Squadron, Australian Flying Corps, supported the Hamel attack. Australian airmen carried out patrols and artillery spotting during the battle.
4 July 1918 — Aerial ammunition dropping was used at Hamel. No. 3 Squadron helped pioneer parachute supply drops to forward troops during the battle. 4 July 1918 — Thomas Axford’s Victoria Cross action. Private Thomas Axford of the 16th Battalion rushed a German machine gun position during the Hamel fighting and was later awarded the Victoria Cross.
4 July 1918 — Henry Dalziel’s Victoria Cross action. Private Henry Dalziel attacked a strong German machine gun post near Hamel Wood and was awarded the Victoria Cross.
4 July 1918 — Hamel completed in about 93 minutes. The planned 90 minute attack was completed almost exactly on schedule, making it one of the best known Australian operations of the First World War.
4 July 1940 — HMAS Nizam launched. The N class destroyer HMAS Nizam, later transferred to the Royal Australian Navy, was launched on 4 July 1940.
4 July 1941 — Hughie Edwards led the Bremen raid. Australian RAAF officer Hughie Edwards took part in a dangerous daylight bombing raid on Bremen; all twelve aircraft were hit and four were shot down. Edwards later received the Victoria Cross.
4 July 1941 — John Hurst Edmondson’s Victoria Cross was gazetted. Edmondson became the first Australian serviceman of the Second World War to receive the Victoria Cross.
4 July 1941 — Roden Cutler’s Victoria Cross action period continued in Syria and Lebanon. Cutler’s VC was awarded for actions between 19 June and 6 July 1941 in the Merdjayoun and Damour area, so 4 July falls within the combat period for which he was recognised.
4 July 1942 — 9th Australian Division joined XXX Corps at El Alamein. The Australians entered the El Alamein line and soon became heavily involved in the July fighting.
4 July 1942 — HMAS Nepal completed an Operation ES passage. HMAS Nepal berthed near Southampton after a 700 nautical mile passage connected with the Operation ES decoy movement during the Arctic convoy crisis around PQ 17.
4 July 1945 — 2/9th Battalion prepared for the Penadjam Point landing at Balikpapan. Members of the 2/9th Infantry Battalion embarked in Landing Vehicles Tracked for the move across the bay.
4 July 1945 — Australian engineers cleared mines at Balikpapan. Sappers of the 2/9th Field Company used mine detectors in the oil refinery area before tanks moved forward during Operation Oboe Two.
4 July 1945 — Fighting continued near the Opus and Operator features at Balikpapan. AWM material records Japanese dead in dugouts in the 2/33rd Battalion area along the ridge between those features.
4 July 1945 — RAAF artillery spotting at Lutong, Borneo. An RAAF Auster aircraft was used to pick up an observation officer for artillery spotting with B Troop, 15 Battery, 2/8th Field Regiment.
4 July 1945 — Lance Corporal Alfred William “Champ” Bell was killed in action at Balikpapan. Bell served with the 2/5th Cavalry Commando Squadron.
4 July 1969 — Long Hai Hills mine incident, Vietnam. During the night of 4 July, Australian troops suffered casualties from enemy mines, and Sapper Robert Earl was seriously wounded while assisting with a dust off casualty evacuation.
4 July 1969 — 5RAR casualties in South Vietnam. Private Leslie James Pettit of 5RAR was killed in action in South Vietnam on this date.
4 July 1969 — Private Wayne Herbert’s gallantry action. Herbert’s citation relates to his conduct with 7 Platoon, 5RAR, after an enemy mine exploded while the platoon occupied an ambush position.
4 July 1971 — A Field Battery, Royal Australian Artillery, arrived at Nui Dat. The battery began its Vietnam service supporting Australian infantry operations from the 1st Australian Task Force base.
4 July 1999 — East Timor crisis.
A humanitarian convoy was attacked by pro Indonesian militia at Liquiçá during the UNAMET period. Australia already had personnel committed under Operation Faber, and the worsening violence helped set the scene for the Australian led INTERFET deployment in September.
Oh yeah! There was also certain event in the “land of the Free”.
In Australia as well as the United States that freedom cannot belong only to those who already possess power. It must also extend to peoples of Colour, Indigenous peoples, Hispanic, Latino and Asian communities, Pacific Islanders, Religous groups, migrants and refugees, people with disabilities, LGBTQ people, the poor, the homeless, and all those who have been pushed to the edge of political, social, and economic life. Freedom that excludes the disadvantaged is not freedom in any meaningful sense. It is privilege wearing the language of liberty.
The fourth of my WW2 Greek Vickers tanks.
Last Greek Vickers tank tomorrow.
The third of the Greek Vickers tanks.
All three so far.
Hopefully another one tomorrow.
I am always interested in picking up books on obscure information that could easily be forgotten in time. when I saw this one on the Book Grocer it took only seconds to get out the plastic!
Sailors in Slouch Hats: From a Sea of Memories, edited by W. W. Rice, is one of those unit histories that sits somewhere between memoir, tribute, and record. It is not a grand official history and it does not pretend to be one. Its strength lies in the fact that it was recorded by the men of 42 Australian Landing Craft Company, Royal Australian Engineers, AIF, and that gives the book a directness often missing from more polished accounts of the Second World War.
The title is a good one. These men were soldiers, but much of their war was spent doing work that looked more naval than military. They operated landing craft, moved men and supplies, dealt with surf, tides, enemy fire, bad weather, confusion, mechanical failure, and the thousand small problems that come with amphibious operations. They were, in a very real sense, sailors in slouch hats. That awkward identity is part of what makes the book interesting. It reminds the reader that the Australian Army in the South West Pacific was not just infantry battalions, artillery batteries, and command headquarters. It also depended on small, practical, hard worked units that kept operations moving.
The book is especially valuable because it gives attention to a part of the war that is too easily passed over. Landing craft units were essential, but they rarely receive the attention given to the men who went ashore with rifles in their hands. Yet without these crews, many operations would have been impossible. The men of 42 Landing Craft Company had to put troops ashore, supply them, and in some cases get them out again under extremely dangerous conditions. Their work demanded courage, but also skill, patience, improvisation, and a willingness to keep going when plans broke down.
As a piece of history, the book is at its best when it allows the men to speak for themselves. The memories have the feel of recollection rather than formal reconstruction. That means they can sometimes be uneven, but that is also part of their value. There is humour, pride, sadness, understatement, and the familiar Australian habit of treating extraordinary danger as if it were merely another difficult job to be got through. The result is not always neat, but it feels human.
The strongest parts of the book are those that show the practical nature of the unit’s war. The reader gets a sense of men working with machinery, weather, water, mud, darkness, and uncertainty. This is not war as a clean movement of arrows across a map. It is war as hard labour, poor sleep, wet clothing, shouted orders, engines, loading, unloading, beaching, reversing, repairing, and trying again. That sort of detail is important because it brings the reader closer to the actual experience of service.
There are limitations. Readers looking for a broad operational study may want more context, clearer maps, and a firmer connection between the men’s memories and the wider campaign. Because the book is built around personal recollection, it does not always pause to explain the larger strategic situation. At times it assumes the reader already knows where the unit fits. For a specialist reader this is not a major problem, but for a general reader it may require some outside reading.
That said, it would be unfair to judge the book mainly by what it is not. Its purpose is not to replace official histories. Its purpose is to preserve memory. On that measure it succeeds. It records the service of men who might otherwise remain in the background of better known operations. It gives names, faces, stories, and incidents to a kind of work that is often reduced to a line in an order of battle.
For anyone interested in Australian military history, especially the South West Pacific, amphibious operations, Royal Australian Engineers, or small unit experience, Sailors in Slouch Hats is well worth reading. It is also useful for wargamers and military historians because it shows how operations depend on far more than combat units alone. Beaches, boats, supply, timing, weather, and evacuation matter. So do the men who make those things happen.
In the end, this is a modest but important book. It preserves the memory of ordinary Australians doing an extraordinary job under difficult and dangerous conditions. It is not always polished, but it is honest, affectionate, and valuable. Books like this matter because they keep small units from disappearing into the margins of history. The men of 42 Australian Landing Craft Company deserve that remembrance, and Sailors in Slouch Hats gives it to them.
One for the enthusiast because of its obscure topic, but if you are one you should definitely have in your collection.
Guess who wins!
Before the outbreak of the Second World War, Greece possessed only a very small armoured force. Its most significant tanks were two Vickers 6-Ton tanks purchased from Britain in 1931. One was a Type A model fitted with twin machine-gun turrets, while the other was a Type B with a single turret armed with a 47 mm gun. These vehicles were acquired primarily as training tanks to help establish the foundations of a Greek armoured force and to develop doctrine rather than to provide a meaningful combat capability.
Although Greece hoped to expand its armoured arm, financial limitations and the deteriorating international situation prevented further acquisitions. As war approached, Britain was increasingly unable to spare modern tanks for export, leaving the Greek Army with only these two ageing Vickers vehicles and a handful of armoured cars. By the time of the Italian invasion in October 1940 and the German invasion in April 1941, the tanks were already obsolete, mechanically worn, and unsupported by a larger armoured organisation.
The two Vickers tanks were eventually assigned to the Greek Army’s mechanised formations, including the 19th Mechanized Division, but there is little reliable evidence that they saw significant combat. Most historians regard them as training and demonstration vehicles whose military value had largely disappeared by 1941. Nevertheless, they occupy an important place in Greek military history as the country’s first tanks and the starting point of its armoured warfare tradition.
Despite this history, the Greek army list for Bolt Action allows players to field a range of armoured vehicles, including Vickers Light Tanks, Peerless armoured cars, FT-17 tanks, and captured L3/35 tankettes. In reality, the FT-17 saw little, if any, operational use during the 1940–41 campaigns and was largely obsolete by that stage. The captured Italian L3/35 tankettes, however, were put to much better use. Greece captured a large number of therm (40+) during the successful counteroffensive against Italy in Albania, and these were pressed into service to supplement the country’s very limited armoured forces.
With that in mind, I intend to assemble and paint a company of five Vickers Light Tanks to provide some much-needed armoured support for my Greek mountain troops. These two are the first of that project.
The Vickers is also one of my favourite Second World War tanks. I am not entirely sure why, as it was neither the most successful nor the most influential armoured vehicle of the war, but there has always been something about its compact, purposeful appearance that has appealed to me. Perhaps it was because they formed the basis of Australia’s first tank formation to see combat?
While these models represent a degree of historical licence, they are entirely in keeping with the options available within the game and add an interesting and characterful element to the army on the tabletop.
Further down the track, I also intend to add another four L3/35 tankettes to supplement the single example already in my collection. At least those will be a little closer to the historical record. Until then, my company of Vickers Light Tanks provides a plausible and enjoyable tabletop force, even if it takes a few liberties with history.
The models are from “The Tank Factory”. I am very impressed with the cost and quality of the work from Michael Thomas and would recommend their growing range to you. I will write a full review soon.
Thanks to ChatGPT for help with the drawings.
I was hoping to finish some more on my Greek WW2 army today but with limited tk e I decided to fi ish off another KNIL command team today
Hopefully the Greeks tomorrow.
Another short post today as I am still “”Rugrat Wrangling”.
An edition to a second squad to make it up to the 12 mode.s required for MWWBK.
Additions to my WW2 Greek army tomorrow.
Just a short post today as I am “Rugrat Wrangling” over the next few days. It is great to have our youngest Grandson staying with us so we could spoil him rotten with the three essential food types of cake, sweets, and fast foods, playing and watching footy, and cooking with Grandma. Playing games was also essential, as was, of course, allowing him unlimited screen time and staying up late.
Cooking with Grandma.
Playing football and cooking with Grandma was my favourite activities.
My name is Charles and this is my quick and easy recipe for an apple strudel.
Before cooking you first need to have a healthy breakfast of pancakes with Nutella spread, berries, ice cream, maple syrup and “sprinkles”!
Now for the cooking. Get together your ingredients”
This recipe is so easy even I can do it.
Mix the custard powder, sugar and nutmeg into a bowl and stir well
Gently fold in the canned apples
Lay out the frozen pastry on a flat rectangular tray. leave some left over on each side to fold on top later.
Oops I forgot to add the sultanas so I needed to fold them in straight away.
Spoon in the apple mixture starting with the corners and sides and then smooth out evenly.
Fold the top over. The small balls of pastry were silly grandpas idea!
Lightly brush all over with some milk, and cook in the oven until the pastry is golden brown.
Take out of the oven (grandpa did this for me) and lightly dust with icing sugar (I like it not so lightly).
It was yummy, yummy, yummy. Even more so because I cooked it!
Although my KNIL army in progress was originally designed for WW2 the models also fit quite well for the Aceh war that I would also like to work on down the track.
The WW2 section requires only 11 figures so I needed to add another figure to each of my currently completed sections to make them up to 12 models to allow me to use them for a Men Who Would Be Kings unit.
I will not make the same mistake for the next few infantry units I am painting, as i have already added an additional figure for each!
Another figure to be painted for another unit tomorrow!