Page Three

The taking of "bloody Longstop Hill, the last great natural barrier" (Stephen E. Ambrose) to Tunis confirmed, what had already been demonstrated in earlier actions, that the Churchill was an extremely battle-worthy tank with an unexcelled climbing ability. As a result, the decision to stop production was reversed. This was done under the cloak of secrecy as Hitler, after Dieppe, had commented: "This is the first time the British have had the courtesy to cross the sea to offer the enemy a complete sample of their new weapons."

When Churchills were properly deployed they more than proved their worth. Not designed as a tank destroyer, nonetheless, their bag of knocked-out enemy tanks was in no way insignificant. It must always be remembered that the first German Tiger tank to be destroyed by another tank, was a Churchill commanded by Lt. W.R.Hern of the NIH. This was in the vicinity of Beja, Tunisia, on 28th February 1943. Additionally, the first Panther tank to be knocked by the Allies in the West was by a Churchill of the NIH on 23rd May 1944.

By the end of the war, no less than eight additional marks and several sub-marks were built. Also, due to the Churchill's weight and stability, the creation of numerous speciality versions, ranging from bridge-layers to fascine carriers, became possible. On the battlefields of Europe these special tanks made a significant contribution.

Peter Brown's summation, in his review of Mr. Churchill's Tank - The British Infantry Tank MK IV, a book by David Fletcher, is worth recording:
"While most wartime British armour had a bad press and, the Churchill itself had some adverse comments, it generally came through with a good reputation."

The Churchill continued in service for many years after war's end last seeing action in Korea, it also performed peacetime duties in Australia and elsewhere.

During the Italian Campaign, the North Irish Horse made effective use of several of the new types, including the two pictured below. However, when the Alled Armies came out of the mountains into the Po valley, serious consideration was given to turning the NIH into an infantry regiment. Fortunately wiser councils prevailed - Churchills continued to perform superbly until the end of hostilies in Italy!

Postscript: It is more than likely, if the three NIH Churchills had not succeeded in doing what was considered to be impossible, the climbing to the summit of Djebel Tanngoucha, the Battle for Longstop during those April days may well have failed.

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