Two Sherman tanks of the 3rd/4th County of London Yeomanry (Sharpshooters) ditched in the mud following the crossing of the Wessem-Nederweert Canal, November 1944

Photograph by Major Wilfred Herbert James Sale, MC, 3rd/4th County of London Yeomanry (Sharpshooters), World War Two, North West Europe, 1944.

The photograph caption records that 'Crossing of the Wessem Canal was made at night and a very sharp hairpin bend was encountered immediately over the Canal. Two tanks of "A" Squadron were bogged and caused the Technical Adjutant a severe headache'.

Tanks of the 3rd/4th County of London Yeomanry (Sharpshooters) supported an assault on the Wessem-Nederweert Canal by 160th Brigade which began on 14 November 1944. The attack was assisted by 'artificial moonlight' provided by searchlights. With the Germans withdrawing, there was little opposition but the British and Commonwealth troops had to contend with mines, booby traps and thick mud, as weather conditions deteriorated. Once the infantry were across the canal, engineers constructed a bridge and the tanks of the Sharpshooters crossed on 16 November 1944.

From an album containing 222 photographs compiled by Major W H J Sale, MC, 3rd/4th County of London Yeomanry (Sharpshooters).