#operation veritable

Le caporal Urban Mayo de la 13e Compagnie de campagne du Corps du génie royal canadien devant un panneau d'avertissement « Vous entrez en Allemagne – Soyez sur vos gardes » – Campagne d'Allemagne – Opération Veritable – Wyler – Allemagne – 9 février 1945

Photographe : Lieutenant Michael M. Dean

Vickers Gun In The Rhineland

In this final video of the Rhineland Campaign Weapons series we take a look at the little known role of the British and Commonwealth forces’ Vickers Guns. With the help of the Vickers MG Collection & Research Association we recreated a platoon line consisting of 4 Vickers Guns to recreate the Pepperpot tactics used during Operation Veritable – the western Allies’ invasion of Germany.

In this video we examine how Vickers Medium Machine Guns were used en masse to soften up enemy positions before Operation Veritable began and during the subsequent advance into the Rhineland. The Vickers was used alongside artillery, mortars and even anti-aircraft guns in what was known as a ‘pepperpot’ fire plan – where the focus was on weight of fire. The Vickers supported the advance through out the campaign and in this video we aimed to capture some of the feel of what those pepperpot bombardments might have been like – albeit on much, much smaller scale.

Help Us Make Rhineland 45! 

I'm very excited to have been invited to join the 'Rhineland 45' project by Real Time History, the team behind 'The Great War' and '16 Days in Berlin'. They have a track record of making truly excellent documentaries. 

The new project aims to create an in-depth documentary series about the last major operations in the west during World War Two. I'm looking forward to examining the weapons and equipment used by both sides during the battles and can't wait to get started! 

In the video above I talk about how I'll be exploring the human aspects of the weapons and equipment used to explain how soldiers on both sides actually fought. 

The Rhineland campaign of early 1945 are often overshadowed by Operation Market Garden and the Soviet advance on Berlin. The campaign is no less fascinating or important and that’s why its important that the Rhineland 45 project becomes a reality. 

If you’d like to support the project and help us make a truly ambitious documentary series about an overlooked World War Two campaign then check out the Kickstarter page for more info!