Por poner opiniones distintas cito (de El Alamein, Field Marshall Lord Carver 3rd Edition 1979. Mike Carver se encontraba en el momento de los hechos a las órdenes directas de John Harding, 7th Armoured Division, pues formaba parte de su Estado Mayor y tanto este libro como Dilemmas of the Desert War, the Lybian campaign son considerados como "The definitive history of ... etc etc.)
pág 78
... 285 hermans, 246 grants, 421 crusaders, 167 stuarts, 223 valentines, 6 matildas and 3 churchills... the troop of three churchills on trial was with 7th motor brigade.
pág 140
... rumours of the arrival of Von Randow´s 21st Panzer Division all imposed caution. By midday it was clear that the germans still held Point 33 in "Woodcock". The Bays (Queen Bays) where a mile east of them, and the Brigade position stretched south-west from there to just north of the east end of Kidney Ridge, the 60th being between the Bays and 9th Lancers. They claimed to have destroyed 12 German and 2 italian tanks and four 88 mm guns by this time. At half past one (en este texto como en todos los de Carver, las fechas y las horas a las que se producen los hechos son una constante) the Bays were told to capture Point 33 and were given the troop of three Churchills to help them. One of the Churchills was quickly knocked out by an 88 mm. and the other two retired, their guns being out of action. The attack was called of and a defensive posture assumed.
Ya de paso aprovecho para poner algo de la biografía del autor (copiado del The Guardian) que ya que trato de leer documentos de calidad y que me lo curro buscándolos, pues mola ponerlos
Royal Tank Corps, into which he was commissioned in 1935. The four years he envisaged spending in the army should have ended in 1939, though, in the event, that year became the beginning of his outstandingly "good war." He won two mentions in dispatches, the MC and two DSOs, all for bravery, and the CBE in 1945, at the age of 30, for exceptional staff work.
He fought in tanks in the North Africa campaign, winning his MC in the bitter struggle for Tobruk in 1941 - throughout and beyond his time as a regimental officer, Carver was a tank man. A substantive captain, he was made temporary acting lieutenant-colonel at the age of 27, on taking up a brief posting as GS01 (senior staff officer) of the 7th Armoured Division - the Desert Rats - in 1942. His divisional general was the later Field Marshal John Harding, whose biography he wrote in 1978.
As commanding officer of the 1st Royal Tank Regiment from April 1943, Carver won his first DSO, leading a dangerous reconnaissance before the decisive battle of El Alamein, a feat that helped to earn him the lasting approval of Montgomery. The second DSO followed the Allied landing at Salerno, after which he played a leading part in the capture of Naples. He also led his regiment into Normandy in June 1944. Shortly afterwards, at the age of 29, he was given the command of 4th Independent Armoured Brigade in time for the last push into northern Germany.
All of Carver's citations mentioned his coolness under fire, and he did not suffer fools gladly, even when they were his superiors. Cool but not cold, direct and abrasive when necessary, but also with a pronounced romantic streak, he had moral as well as physical courage. His inability to see eye to eye with at least one general, in north Africa and later, led to complaints. But faced with demands to remove him, Montgomery promoted him full colonel, and took him on his staff.
In 1944, at the age of only 29, he became the army's youngest brigadier. In 1973, as the head of Britain's entire armed services, he was promoted to field marshal.
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Ca ... ron_Carver[/url]
No confundir con Michael CALVERT otro autor obligado ("Fighting mad", "Prisioners of Hope" y "Chindits") jefe de la 77 brigada en Birmania y posteriormente jefe del SAS.