At the end of World War II, the solo counterattack of an Irish guard became a legend in the history of warfare. Despite the imminent defeat of the enemy, this warrior, with amazing courage and sacrifice, wrote a brilliant stroke for the victory of the village of West. Here is a detailed narration of this true heroic story.
The end of war may be desirable, but the inevitable reality of war is that the enemy will always have a say in the conversation. By late April 1945, Allied victory was inevitable, and for those who had thrown themselves into the war in the final weeks, their only desire was to reach the finish line. However, the German army's determination to fight to the end meant that there was still a difficult and dangerous task to be accomplished.
For Irish Guard Edward Charlton, this meant that he needed to unload the 0.30 Browning machine gun from the tank and lead a lone counterattack with a wounded arm against the German offensive. Although he was ultimately defeated by the enemy, much of the information about his heroic deeds actually came from the post-war Germans, who couldn't help but respect the damage this Irish guard had inflicted on them before his death.
Charlton's Long War Years
Edward Charlton was born in 1920 at Rowlands Gill. At the beginning of the war, he was drafted into the Guards warehouse in Kettleum in 1940. Although Charlton's military career got off to a slow start, his fortunes began to turn around when he was transferred to the 2nd Armoured Battalion of the Irish Guards. Until the end of the war in Europe.
The Guards Panzer Division remained in Britain until late June 1944, when they participated in the Normandy landings to assist in advancing the offensive. Since then, they have been involved in a variety of operations, including Operation Market Garden and crossing the Rhine into Germany.
In April 1945, Charlton entered the German village of Vest with the 2nd Battalion of the Irish Guards. After seizing the village with a platoon of infantry, Charlton's tank group was met with a fierce German counterattack, led by a battalion of the 15th Panzergrenadier Battalion, supported by six self-propelled guns.
All the tanks were hit and inoperable, including the one in which Charlton served as co-pilot. Without the support of tanks, the infantry guarding the village faced the threat of being captured by the German enemy, who were determined to fight to the end and recapture part of the homeland that the Guards had just taken from them.
Despite surviving the entire war since 1940, in the weeks leading up to the end of the war, Edward Charlton took an even more mysterious heroic act that made him the last Victoria Cross recipient in European theatre.
Sherman tanks of the Irish Guard's Panzer Division advance during Operation Market Garden
Charge and strafe
When his tank was decommissioned, Charlton removed the 0.30 Browning machine gun from the tank and took the initiative to lead the counterattack against the Germans. He fires from the hips, firing a devastating barrage at the enemy.
Completely ignoring enemy fire, he did not hesitate to expose the road, unleashing a rain of bullets to stop the advance of the German vanguard company. Charlton's operation provided time for the infantry to regroup, suppressing the enemy for more than ten minutes. Just then, he was wounded in his left arm and fell to the ground.
Unable to fire a heavy Browning machine gun from his hip with only one arm, he set it up on the fence and continued to strafe the enemy. Ten minutes passed, and he was still leaning against the fence, holding back the German charge, inflicting heavy casualties on them. Then, he pulled the trigger on his left arm, which was shattered and hung uselessly over him.
Although he was now able to shoot and reload the machine gun with one arm, he reinstalled it on the fence and continued to shoot. For more than 20 minutes, Charlton fended off a German counter-attack, giving his comrades the right amount of time to defend.
Eventually, a third bullet hit Charlton, who fell to the ground and was seriously wounded. After Charlton fell, the Germans continued their offensive. Since the other guards were unable to see what had happened to him, preliminary reports speculated that he had been captured by the enemy.
However, the post-war people's investigation revealed a fact: although he was indeed captured by the Germans, he had long been mortally wounded and died in captivity.
British armored forces advanced into Germany
The respect of the fighters
Although it was obvious that the British army had every reason to respect what Charlton had done for them in the village of West, due to the nature of the battle, no officer or non-commissioned officer was able to directly observe his heroic deeds. However, the Germans who had been shot by him had witnessed the heroics of the man, and they were impressed by Charlton's actions.
With a comprehensive record compiled, Charlton was nominated and awarded the Victoria Cross for his unspeakable bravery and his personal act of saving his comrades from abuse.
May 8, Victory Day in London, just three weeks after Charlton's death
This was undoubtedly an astonishing feat in the war, especially when it was realized that it was coming to an end. The Allies had seen victory in sight, and if Charlton had chosen to retreat after his first injury, perhaps he would have joined the other victors in the victory parade.
Perhaps, if he had not fought so bravely, many of his Guards comrades would have had to fall in his place. For Charlton, he had no choice as he saw only what was needed and did not hesitate to prove that the Irish Guards had always been part of it.
His Victoria Cross would be the last medal of the European Theater of Operations in World War II and a fitting tribute to six years of valor, heroism and honor.