Pre-War
See Irish Guards (1900)
Second World War
The Irish Guards is a regiment of the British Army. In WWII, the regiment lost over 700 men killed, over 1500 wounded and won 252 medals, including two VCs.
North-West Europe
Upon the outbreak of WWII in September 1939, both battalions of the Irish Guards were based in the UK. In 1940 the 1st Irish Guards deployed to Norway as part of 24th (Guards) Brigade in early April. In May the Polish liner, now troopship 'Chobry' which was transporting the Brigade HQ and the 1st Irish Guards from another area of Norway to the northern town of Bodø, was hit by Heinkel He 111 bombers which killed many men, including the CO and Second-in-Command of the 1st Irish Guards, as-well as losing all their heavy equipment. Fire began to engulf the ship and, considering the amount of ammunition onboard, a deadly and immense explosion seemed imminent. The men were rescued by escorting vessels.
Later that month the battalion did fight on land in Norway, seeing action Pothus, holding out against tough German opposition for two days until they were finally forced to withdraw due to being outflanked by the advancing Germans. The Brigade HQ and battalion were withdrawn by boat, though they left many behind. The men left behind managed to break out, reaching Allied lines later that day. The regiment was finally evacuated back to the UK with the rest of the expeditionary force in June.
In May 1940, the 2nd Irish Guards deployed to the Hook of Holland to cover the evacuation of the Dutch Royal Family. The battalion evacuated the day after the Government and Dutch Royal Family had been evacuated. They had only a short respite upon their returned to the UK for just a few days later they returned, along with the Welsh Guards, to the continent, to Boulogne, a port in northern France, reaching the town on 22nd May. Their orders were to defend part of Boulogne during the epic evacuation of the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) from the overwhelming and inexorable advance of the Germans. The Guards stoutly defended their area of responsibility from better equipped German forces, repulsing a number of German attacks on the 22nd, but on the morning of the 23rd, superior Germany forces attacked the battalion and the Guards suffered very heavily in the attack. Later that day the battalion was evacuated from Boulogne, they were the last to leave, and fought valiantly while waiting to be evacuated.
In 1941 the 2nd Irish Guards re-roled as an armoured regiment, joining the newly formed Guards Armoured Division. That year, the Holding Battalion, later that year the 3rd Irish Guards, was raised. In 1943, the 3rd Irish Guards joined the Guards Armoured Division as an infantry battalion.
In 1944 the 2nd and 3rd Irish Guards took part in the Normandy Campaign. The Irish Guards, as part of the Guards Armoured Division, took part in Operation Goodwood which began on the 18th July. The Division's objective was Cagny and Vimont and surrounding area. During that day, near Cagny, Lieutenant John Gorman of the 2nd Irish Guards, was in his Sherman tank was confronted by the behemoth, and far superior 68 ton II or 'King Tiger'. Lt. Gorman's tank fired one shot at the Tiger II but to no avail, the shot simply bouncing off the thick armour as if it was an acorn, and upon the order to fire again, the gun jammed. Lt. Gorman then gave the order to ram the Tiger II just as it was beginning to turn its massive 88mm gun on the Sherman. The Sherman tank smashed into the Tiger II, which disabled both of the tanks. The German crew bailed out, as did the Sherman's. Lt. Gorman, once he had seen his crew to safety, returned to the scene in a commandeered a Sherman Firefly and destroyed the King Tiger. He won the Military Cross for his heroics. His driver Lance-Corporal James Brown from his own crew won the Military Medal.
The Irish Guards were involved in further action that day. Cagny, devastated by heavy bombing, was finally liberated on the 19th July. The Irish Guards also saw action in the Mont Pincon area. On the 29th August the 3rd Irish Guards crossed the Seine and began the advance into Belgium with the rest of the Guard's Division on their journey to Brussels.
The Irish Guards were part of the ground force of Operation Market Garden, Market being the airborne assault, Garden the ground assault. The Irish Guards Group were led by Lieutenant-Colonel Joe Vandeleur, immortalised in the movie "A Bridge Too Far" and played by Michael Caine. The Irish Guards led XXX Corps in their advance towards Arnhem, which was the objective of the British 1st Airborne Division, the furthest from XXX Corps.
The Corps crossed the Belgian-Dutch border, advancing from Neerpelt on the 17th September but meet very heavy resistance from German forces prepared with anti-tank weapons. The Corps then camped at Valkenswaard. Early the following day recce units of the Guards Division made contact with the 101st Airborne who had liberated Eindhoven, the rest of the Corps reached the city later that day. The Corps were now camped outside Son while the Royal Engineers built a Bailey bridge so that the Corps could cross the Wilhelmina Canal and advance to Nijmegen. The bridge was completed the following day.
Later that day the Guards Division, led by the Irish Guards, reached Nijmegen where the 82nd Airborne Division was located. Their advance had to be halted, for the bridge the 82nd had meant to of taken, had not been. The bridge was finally captured in the evening of the 20th. On the 21st, the brave British Paras at Arnhem, heavily outnumbered and outgunned, had to surrender on the 21st, after many days fighting that saw true heroism and courage, XXX Corps had been just an hour from the bridge at Arnhem but had to wait for the arrival of the 43rd Infantry Division. Further fighting took place until the 25th, it was, at times, a truly tragic campaign.
The Irish Guards saw further action in Holland until they were finally part of the advance towards, and into, Germany, seeing much bitter action as they progressed into Germany. The Guards saw action during the Rhineland Campaign. On the 21st April, at a village known as Wistedt in Northern Germany, Guardsman Charlton of the 2nd Irish Guards, was a co-driver of a tank during the capture of the village by a small number of the Irish Guards. The Germans soon attempted to re-take the village with numerically superior forces, which consisted of a battalion of the 15th Panzer Grenadiers as-well as a number of self-propelled guns. All the tanks of the small Irish Guards force were badly hit. Guardsman Charlton, on his own authority, as the Irish Guards became increasingly in danger of being over-run by the Germans, took the 0.50 Browning machine gun mounted on his tank and advanced in full view of the attacking Germans, firing the weapon from his hip as he did so and inflicting heavy casualties on the Germans, halting the lead company and allowing the rest of the Guards brief respite to reorganise. He continued his bold attack, even when he was wounded in his left arm, the Guardsman managed to find the strength to place the machine-gun on a fence where he launched a further attack before his left arm was completely shattered by further enemy fire. The Guardsman, now with just one arm, carried on his astonishing attack until a further wound and loss of blood resulted in the Guardsman collapsing. His courageous and selfless disregard for his own safety helped save the precarious situation that the Irish Guards faced. He later died of the wounds he had received. He was awarded the posthumous VC, it was the last Victoria cross of the European theatre, and the last, so far, of the Irish Guards.
North Africa and Italy
In March 1943 the 1st Irish Guards, who had been based in the UK since 1940, landed at the North African country of Tunisia. The battalion fought in the Medjez Plain area, seeing action at Djebel bou Aoukaz, or 'Bou', during the bloody engagements to capture the area. Part of the area was took on the 27th April and further fighting carried on for a number of days with the Irish Guards suffering heavy casualties in the process.
During an action on the 28th, Lance-Corporal Kenneally of the 1st Irish Guards, charged down the forward slope of the ridge that his own company was positioned alone, attacking the main body of a German company that was preparing to attack, firing his Bren gun as he did so, causing so much surprise and confusion that the Germans broke in disorder and began to retreat. The Lance-Corporal returned to his position unharmed, firing his Bren on the Germans upon his return.
On the 30th April the Lance-Corporal repeated his brave actions when, accompanied by a Sergeant of the RC, charged the enemy who were forming up to assault the same position that the Lance-Corporal performed his daring feat. Both men charged the Germans, firing as they did so and inflicting heavy casualties on the Germans which resulted in the routing of the German force. The two men began to return to their position but as they did so, Kenneally was hit in the thigh. This, however, did not stop him. He carried on fighting, refusing to relinquish his Bren gun and leave his position. Despite his wound he fought for the rest of the day and for his actions was awarded the Victoria Cross, the regiment's first of the war.
Sixty hand-picked men of the Irish Guards were part of the 14,000 strong British contingent that took part in the victory parade in the capital Tunis on the 20 May 1943. In December that year the 1st Irish Guards reached Italy.
The battalion took part in the Anzio Landings on the 22nd January 1944. The battalion saw much action at Carroceto only a few days after landing at Anzio where they repulsed a number of German attacks there. The battalion also took part in the attack on Campoleone, experiencing very fierce fighting that saw the Irish Guards dwindle in manpower even more. A German counter-attack was launched a number of days later. The battalion inflicted heavy casualties on the attacking Germans, but the following day, became surrounded with little support against the armour of the Germans, and so were forced to fight their way out which they did successfully, but suffering many casualties in the process.
A few further actions took place for the battalion's companies but, by April, the battalion was severely depleted in manpower and returned to the UK where they would remain for the duration of the war as a training battalion.
Post-War
See Irish Guards
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