The Home Gaurd #564
#564
The Home Guard
After the evacuation of Dunkirk, Great Britain was preparing for a potential German Invasion. On June 4th, 1940, Prime Minister Winston Churchill gave his famous “We will Fight on The Beaches” Speech. Crucial to this plan, was Anthony Eden’s Local Defense Volunteers, but this was a bleak hope at best as they received no formal training, and only supplied with bayonets and knives attached to broom handles. Yet they proved to be a resourceful group quickly designing and manufacturing their own grenades, and flamethrowers, while obtaining as many privately owned guns as they could. Soon they were a legitimate fighting force when the RAF began training them to use these weapons effectively
Finally a deal was struck with The United States Armed Forces Reserve and soon uniforms and weapons such as Enfield Rifles, Browning Automatic Rifles (BAR), and millions of rounds of ammunition were supplied to Great Britain. By 1941, Great Britain's defenses had greatly improved to the point that –amid the rising confidence– Prime Minister Winston Churchill proclaimed “We are waiting for The Long Promised Invasion. So are the Fishes… Remember that we shall never stop, never weary, and never give in . . . We seek to beat the life and soul out of Hitler and Hitlerism.”
(image of one of The Home Guard's Improvised weapons.)
Special Thanks to The Churchill Society in London for use of their Archive (Link to Churchill’s “Fishes” Speech)
As always thanks for reading and please have a wonderful day.
.
#565
Rise of The Battle Bison
When looking into WW2 history, you may be confused to find a major concern of 1940 German Planners looking to invade Great Britain was Bison –particularly seeing as The Island Nation has never had a native population of Bison (when Humans lived there so we’re not talking about the European Black Bison Today). So, what was this concern all about?
In 1940 The Evacuation of Dunkirk managed to save a massive number of British soldiers yet left an incredible amount of armored vehicles behind. Seeking to rebuild the motor pool The Home Guard opened a contract with Concrete Limited. Their solution was simple: take older civilian trucks and install their custom Pillboxes (a type of concrete bunker) then paint the company’s logo –A Blue Bison– on them. Being slow, heavy, and prone to breakdowns on anything but flat terrain, these were truly terrible Armored fighting Vehicles, which is exactly why they weren’t used as AFVs.
Instead they were used to reinforce positions which would be likely targets of German Paratroopers in the event of an Invasion. These pillboxes couldn't be pierced by the standard weapons used by paratroopers at the time and could be repositioned directly onto airstrips at night to pose a physical hazard to enemy planes trying to land without affecting allied operations during the day. Some of these Bison even found use in Africa as the war dragged on.
Today very few of the original Bison remain, yet they have recently reappeared in one unlikely location: Ukraine. Sure they may not be as effective as a tank may be for defense, but they’re cheap, easy to manufacture, and even if they’re disabled it still provides a defensible position wherever the thing broke down. As such they seem to be one of the only Vehicles in the entire war that drone operators largely ignore. Not surprisingly they are also one of the slowest vehicles to be used on a modern battlefield with the one located at Borsyipl International Airport hitting its max speed right around 7 kph (4.5 Miles per hour).
Image of a Type 3 Bison
#566
The Sea Monster: Hedgehog
Usually when you hear the term Ad Hoc you think of a basic gate, or other simple temporary solution while you wait for parts on backorder. Only when things go very wrong can it literally blow up in your face.
Such was the case with The Home Guard which was responsible for preparing the defense of Great Britain in the possible event of a German invasion in 1940. After the Dunkirk evacuation, only 167 anti-tank guns were left for the entire United Kingdom and ammunition was so scarce that regulations forbade any training with live ammunition. Since all those wonderful weapons went to The Royal Army, it meant the Home Guard was left with nothing but their imagination, and a shocking large supply of black powder leftover from The First World War. Almost forgot to mention but most of the engineers on the island were more focused with physical defenses and vehicles as well meaning it was up to the individuals who would be fielding these weapons to design them. . . this is sure to end well.
Among these adventurous young men, –and the one with the most experience– was Lieutenant-Colonel Stewart Blacker and his “Blacker Bombard”. The idea was for a mortar system, but instead of a cumbersome and metal-costly barrel, it would instead rely on a spigot (long metal rod) which the mortar would ride along since its propellant was affixed to the mortar directly. This allowed it not only to fire in angle like traditional mortars but also horizontally like a gun. After multiple rejections by Government officials, LTC Blacker managed to convince Prime Minister Winston Churchill to attend a demonstration of the mortar which quickly devolved into “Range day with the head of State” after which PM Winston Churchill ordered the 112 pound weapon to be put into mass production.
(Blacker Bombard Training in Saxmundham in July 1941)
The weapon proved to be very effective and is well remembered for its ability to be used both as an anti-tank weapon and a mobile artillery piece. Most commonly it was used as a static gun that overlooked strategically valuable areas (bridges for example) and could act as artillery before swapping to anti-gun roles once the enemy got within range. The guns also proved to be an effective political tool as the public loved their demonstrations since they were loud, flashy, and went BOOM!
(Image of a Blacker Bombard on a fixed Position Concrete mounting)
By 1942 over 22,000 of these “Hedgehogs” --as one newspaper put it– had been produced with The British navy even modifying the design for use on … well just about any size ship. The Navy officially named their’s “The Hedgehog” likely after that earlier newspaper article and –if we’re being honest– the name fit better with the Naval version since it could launch a salvo of up to 24 mortars simultaneously making it a particularly nasty surprise weapon to put on “Fishing Boats” and even a life raft in one case (They got a submarine which had a habit of hunting lifeboats after sinking ships). Today The British Navy still has around 351 operational Hedgehogs (though a number are on loan to museums across The UK). The British Army meanwhile is conserdibly less cool and retired the ground based versions of The Blacker Bombard shortly after WW2 ended.
As always Thanks for reading and please have a Wonderful day!
(Image of a British Navy “Hedgehog”)
Unfinished Fun Fact Ideas:
Fun Fact #567
The Costal Crust
Britain's shore defenses during WW2
Fun Fact #568
Organized Chaos
The Home Guard's plans to deface their own territory to make movement confusing and difficult for an occupier in The UK. All by training the local population and “Weaponizing Vandals”
Fun Fact #569
The Battle Beaver
The invention and use of The Armoured car “Beavertte” by The Homegaurd and Royal armed Forces by The UK. Armoured Fighting Vehicles (AFVs)
