Quote:
Originally Posted by sapper
The most poignant memory?
What is the most poignant sight?
...
The other poignant memory was that of a tank commander, still stood upright in the turret, but burned to death. This figure blackened by the fierce flames, still looked as though he would point the way or move.......
We left him there, still with his hands on the side of the turret. Still stood upright.
Again a picture that exposed the utter futility of war.
Sapper
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Hi Sapper,
That's a quite famous image. Here's a description of how it came to be:
"Shortly after that [during the night of August 20-21] a tank was heard clanking down the road from the direction of Trun, and it came right into town past our slit trenches and was heading towards Chambois. By this time, one of the 5th A/T Regiment's 17 -pounders had been set up covering the road, and although it was pitch dark, they sensed the whereabouts of the tank, and let fly one round. It actually seemed as though we could see the shell in flight, which travelled not more than 50 yards and splashed into the tank. The tank stopped abruptly. The next morning we found it knocked out, with two dead German infantrymen who had been riding on its top, and the crew inside all dead."
http://www.ashofc.ca/BridgeFalaiseArticle.pdf
Kieran