Stanley Whitehouse's book on Black Watch

[Mark W. Tonner]

Originally posted by Crewman
Hi Mark!


Thank you very much! This is also valuable info for me because I thought if to buy or not to buy this book.


You are reading in my mind . I wanted to ask also about this book

Yes, August 8th and 9th for the Polish 1st Armoured Div. was a time of hard combat debut. I think that it would be hard to find the unit with excellent and successful moment when the unit entered action for the first time. Since Operation Tractable the image of the Poles is totally different than in the case of Totalize.


Mark, you are fantastic!

I thought also about this book but I did not want to overload you.

This very interesting for me text is more or less the same situation as described by Ken Tout in his "A Fine Night for Tanks". These are the same groups of the Polish tanks coming from two armoured regiments and one recce regiment. This situation is a picture of the Polish Division's HQ obsession that the left flank of the unit is not protected what was not true. That is why general Maczek decided to brake the 1st Army orders to attack southwards and he directed approx. one-third of the division eastwards to build artificial left flank made of own divisional units. Today the greatest secret is why the Poles did not know that their left flank is protected however. There was special general Crerar's directive how the British 51st Div. and British 1st Corps are to protect and support left flank of the Polish 1st Armoured. No even the smallest information about it in general Maczek's memoirs and the same goes for divisional colonels. Hard to believe. As I can see this situation is extremely hard to understand also for all Western, mainly Canadian, authors who are not able to understand correctly what happened on August 8th between the Polish and British lines. Theoretically no right for the Poles then to be at the lines of the 51st Div. none the less they were there in large quantities. I would love to know how Mr. Brian A. Read got through with this complicated story in his newest "No Holding Back" book on Totalize. I bought it and wait for delivery.


Thank you very much Mark!

I was just going to suggest to you that you pick up a copy of Ken Tout's "A FINE NIGHT FOR TANKS" (which I have in front of me), but it looks like you already have a copy .

I'm off to see what Mr. Reid has to say in his book "NO HOLDING BACK" (a copy of which I have also ).

I'll be back..........

Cheers