YEARS OF DEFEAT 1939 - 1941: History of the Royal Regiment of Artillery - Volume 5

This book, the fifth in the New Series, is concerned with the Regiment's part in the first two years of the Second World War, at home, in Europe and in Africa. It covers the relatively small Regular element existing in peacetime and the massive growth brought about by the urgent need to expand for war. Armed at the outset mostly with guns which differed little from those employed in the First World War, the Regiment was ill-equipped in the quality and quantity of its equipments and in the standard of training of most of its men. These deficiencies were eventually overcome. During the first two years of war, however, the Regiment had to improvise and did so magnificently. Battles were won even in the course of losing campaigns. The dire results of the campaigns in Norway and France were followed by the magnificent part played in the defence of the homeland. Early success in the Western Desert was followed by defeat there and in Greece and Crete offset only by victory in East Africa. This book shows how a great artillery strength and a wider knowledge of how it should be employed could have made all the difference in many of these campaigns.