The Battle that Saved an Army | Arras 1940 | The Tank Museum 

My Dad celebrated his 21st birthday at Arras as a stretcher bearer in the 150 Field Ambulance 50th Division. I’m looking at his photo on the piano, in his new uniform after Dunkerque. Conscripted for 6 months , North Africa, Salerno , Anzio, the Gothic Line, Trieste.

Please, never apologise for going on too long. Go on longer. Wonderful stories wonderfully told. Thank you.

The Matilda 2 was a good tank. My old Army Reserve unit 1/15 RNSWL (that served as the 1st Australian Armoured Regt. In WW2) has restored one they used in the islands to our north. It is agian fully mobile.

Thank you for pointing out the bravery of the common french soldier. Their spirit and bravery is often overlooked and the french forces are being ridiculed and get a bad rep. Thanks again for this very informative lecture. Greetings from a germany

Had this been delivered in a lecture hall, I think this presentation would have ended with a standing ovation! Thank you sir. Thank you Bovington. Thank you supporters of Bovington.

My Wife’s family are German, I remember talking to her Great Grandfather he was taken POW in July 44 he says the German POWs could not understand the absence of horses, he was stunned that he was facing truly mechanised opposition, from that moment he knew the war was lost..

Superb delivery. Thank you Sir. Many good years to Bovington tank museum.

What isn't ever talked about is the preformance of the French army after Dunkirk- there were a series of defensive hedgehogs that gave the Germans a very difficult time.

The great British soldier to emerge after Arras was General Alan Brooke, whose corps was too exposed to the north and was about to be outgunned and crushed. Alan Brooke coordinated a do-or-die British fighting retreat to Dunkirk -- and was therefore also responsible for saving the British Army. Later, Brooke was known as Sir Alanbrooke. Also, later in the war, Brooke became CIGS. That is, British "Chief of the Imperial General Staff" under Churchill in the decisive years of WW2. Tireless Alanbrooke was a great allied general.

I see he has two books on Half-Tracks. I think that makes it a full track.

Better than just about every documentary ever shown on the History Channel....

This gentleman should be teaching at sandhurst .he makes the talk come alive , learnt more in an hour , as in the last 10 years . Nice one ☝️

As usual Mr Willey is bloody marvellous to listen to is a poetry In motion. Never tire of listening to his stories on tanks and the stories behind some of the people who lived in these vehicles for years.

I realize this is a strange response to essentially a history lecture, but...wow! Outstanding!

Wittering and waffling is not something DW does. This was a real treat.

This kind of content and videos are the reason RU-vid exist. Absolute fantastic History lesson, for free.

Fabulously entertaining lecture : totally engrossing. In the spirit of A.J.P Taylor, a simple piece-to-camera. More Please !!!

I'm glad you mentioned that the failure of the French didn't lie with bravery of their soldiers or the equipment they had, but with how they were poorly led from on high.

Thank you for the content, I've found that as the quality of TV documentaries has declined the quality of online content has skyrocketed. Keep up the good work!

A lot of preparation went into that. Well done appreciated

In English language media, the battles of Hannut, Stonne and Montcornet always get overlooked. Would love a serious look at those.

Thank you, David Willey, for an amazing talk. My grandfather fought at Arras in the Great War with the East Kent Regiment (The Buffs) in the 18th Division in 1917. I didn't understand the significance of this tank battle, and the 24 hour halt. I agree with what you say, without the Army, recovered from the beaches of Dunkirk, Churchill may have had to sue for peace.

You never waffle on, all your associates just keep edutaining us, I always love everything I ever watch.

I think these history lectures from The Tank Museum are great! I really hope these become the norm after lockdown has ended.

Very interesting, I hope you don’t stop these talks after Covid-19 passes

I'm getting a Lindybeige vibe to the video, no jarring jump cuts, just an enthralling story.... Brilliant.

David Wiley is the best of museum curators, his knowledge and interpretation of military history and its vehicles is nothing less than outstanding.

Hi. In my humble opinion those "quarantine talks" are way better than ordinary "stand in the front of the tank" tanks. They explain lots of interesting things in creative way. Seems like all limitations only helped You. And listening to mr director taking his thougts about hats, courage etc. is lovely. He should do more of that cos he is great in that role. Great, lovely job gentleman, my respects.

Hearing the extemporaneous summary of the French Army leadership dysfunction is more chilling than any account I've read in print

This is really very good. Thank you very much. Please define some more battles like Arras when time allows. David Willey's perspective, as a museum curator who has seen many of the fighting vehicles described in person, is quite valuable. I found this very informative.

Very surprised at the quality of the presentations from the Tank Museum. Mr Willey has a voice that is easy to listen to, his knowledge of the subject matter is impressive and his diction makes things clear and precise. Thank you Sir for some very entertaining lectures.

Having been a soldier, even if only in the middle east, I rarely find a reason to fault any soldiers. I do, however, find many faults in the command and military intelligence structures of most of the military's failures of any country.

This lecture has cleared up so many things l have wondered about since l was a young boy. Thank You Sir. Extremely well done. Greets from Canada 🇨🇦

I like how the title makes it seem like the video is just about the Battle of Arras but then you get nearly an hour of early-war history extra as well.

The quality from this channel is outstanding

I could listen to David speak about anything for any length of time. Great talk!

What an excellent, detailed dive into an event we typically hear little detail of. Especially in the U.S. The event of the Greatest army on the planet being leveled in days time is a pretty big deal that deserves more explanation than, " The French were just cowards." Thank you

One of the best yet David. Hugely interesting and informative. A perspective on Arras and its effects on the war I haven't seen before. Thank you

Really enjoyed the talk on Arras, the whole retreat to Dunkirk including the Arras battle is very humbling when you consider the BEF’s resources and equipment, very brave lads indeed.

David impressed that you have " A crisis of brilliance" on your bookshelf, one of my favourite books on modern British art and the artists.

Nice and informative video! Would really like to see some more of these videos

History not to be forgotten. Stay safe and sound Sir.

These talks are a perfect complement to the equally superb videos of The History Guy. Very different in style, but both unmissable.

I’ve always wondered why they got away with the long thin line of penetration. This video explains just about everything. Thank you.

Yet more utterly brilliant output from The Museum. Thank you Mr Willey!!

Thank you, I really this and honestly found it one of the most interesting and informative videos I've seen on military history. I hope many more people put the time into watching it in its entirety.

I've never sat through a 1hr 20 minute lecture and been alert!! Amazing!

Thank you David for this detailed and revealing breakdown of the various elements that have been blurred out of focus over time. Very well done and most enjoyable.

Thank you very much, very interesting. You are absolutely right, smaller initiatives in hopeless situations, can turn out imperative for the outcome by giving others new possibilities to act. 40 years ago, attending officers battle training here in Norway - we were drilled over and over again - never to stop fighting, always take initiative. This is a stunning example how important that is.

Another great video. Now in addition to a review of early and late WWII Tanks I am hoping for a video similar to this on all the major land battles eventually.

First post I've seen from the Tank Museum that wasn't a Chat. So many things I never knew. Enlightening!

Truly a great account of an historic and vital action. I’ve enjoyed many of your and others tank videos but this is another step up. As said before, don’t apologise for going too long. You can go on far longer. Well done

80 percent of the French forces brought back at great effort to the UK from Dunkirk did not 'fight on' at all. They requested a boat back home and sat out the rest of the war in occupied France. It was a huge waste of time and lives shipping most them out of Dunkirk. Arras kept Britain in the war and gave democracy some hope for eventual survival in WW2. Great vid 👍

Brilliant talk! Thank you. Learned a lot that I never knew before and entertaining too!

My grandfather, Lance Corporal George Henry Pointer commanded a Morris CS9, HMAC 'Buccleuch' with The 12th Royal Lancers during the Battle of France and Flanders May-June 1940

When talking about the political situation regarding the Munich Agreement i.e., Sudetenland annexation, I never heard anyone bring up the fact that in addition to Germany, both Poland and Hungary participated in the dismemberment of Czechoslovakia, a fact that deeply impacted relationship between Poland and Great Britain and France, which could have played a part in Hitler's thinking that they would not declare war on Germany over Poland. "In his postwar memoirs, Winston Churchill compared Germany and Poland to vultures landing on the dying carcass of Czechoslovakia and lamented that "over a question so minor as Teschen, they [the Poles] sundered themselves from all those friends in France, Britain and the United States who had lifted them once again to a national, coherent life, and whom they were soon to need so sorely. ... It is a mystery and tragedy of European history that a people capable of every heroic virtue ... as individuals, should repeatedly show such inveterate faults in almost every aspect of their governmental life."

Awesome material. I thought the Tank Museum was all about tank chats but I really really enjoyed this great piece of history. Please keep doing these !

Wow! Such an interesting perspective on the powerful outcome this minor skirmish at Arras potentially had on the entire war. I've never heard it described/narrated in quite this way and it has given me a new perspective on these final days in France before the surrender. Thank you for your hard work in producing this video!

What a great explanation of what went on before the retreat from Dunkirk

Never apologise for 'waffling on for too long'. One man's waffle is another man's fascinating lesson. Thank you for your insight.

There is no better RU-vid channel. Absolutely top job, the quality of the material delivered is staggering.

Amazing content once again from the Tank Museum and David Willey in particular. It makes me wonder who would actually click dislike on this!

Really enjoying these long format presentations, while I have plenty of spare time to watch them

Very good talk. The first part about Germany's progression into a fighting force happening in stages that were dictated by it's economy was very revealing. No "grand plan" from the outset as you say. Helped me get a better perspective of their pre-war preparations. As I learn more of these details I am continually amazed that they got as far as they did with what they had.

I'd like to echo the request to keep making these longer talks available to the RU-vid audience. This was exceptionally informative. I don't mind if these are delayed by 6 months or so from when first presented to the volunteers and members of the Museum

That background shelf makes me realize my collection of military books is sadly lacking ... like French strategic leadership in 1940.

Another brilliant talk. Detailed but still coherent and entertaining. I very much admire anyone who can speak for more than an hour and keep the story going in such an entertaining way. I hope these will continue beyond these strange Covid days.

Excellent presentation, well done ! My father landed on the beaches on D Day + 1 and then fought all the way through to Berlin. The fighting in the Ardennes was the most difficult period for him, when during a very cold winter they were pinned down for a long time.

Most interesting about a battle a little less well known. It seems the RTR served it's motto well. Thank you for these stimulating lectures.

Absolutely brilliant presentation, Sir, that just wasn't long enough After many decades, you have answered my questions regarding the Dunkirk evacuation. Thank you.

Excellent historical presentation, thanks for you efforts to "carry on" in these difficult times.

This is the third time that I have watched this and it gets better with each viewing. A great story brilliantly told. I could watch you waffle all day!

'The Blitzkreig Myth' is very good at covering a lot of topics about WWII taken as 'truths' now. The fact Germany and Japan made it as much a fight as they did is really amazing. Multiple economic analysis also point to the same thing.

That was brilliant. I always learn something in these accounts.

You are the perfect curator for the Tank Museam you have a passion unrivalled ! You could sit back in this time of pandemic but no you take the history online i would like to personally thank you for your dedication and professionalism thank you Sir

My brother and I have been researching this battle for our family history as a family member fell in the fallout NE of Arras shortly thereafter. Amazed to find it the subject of a feature length presentation, many personal thanks David and Bovington.

Outstanding Video! Thank you!

David, I've really enjoyed these more informal videos, I hope they become a permanent feature of the channel.

Brilliant talk. You brought up a lot of details that I have not heard in years. Do more like this please.

In so many ways this is probably the best presentation of the most critical turn in early WWII. With just the right amount of anecdotes, portraits and strategic picture it brings to life both the specific events and the whole transition from WWI to WWII war fighting. In truely academic spirit introduction/context takes something like 2/3 of the presentation. And that is exactly what makes it spectacular.

Thank you so much for the video lecture. I feel as though I'm in a WWII history master class. Your hard work is appreciated. I look foreward to these videos.

Another excellent myth-busting video, did not know a lot of this stuff Thank you

Very interesting thanks for the excellent content, busting myths, highlighting how close run battles really are sometimes. Very good

Thank you so much for not only this but all the other great content you have been posting Facinating talks and great subject matter

I could listen to mr. Willey for hours...

Long, but very interesting, as usual. This man tells as if he has witnessed everything. I will watch this in stages.

Bless you all at Tank Museum for bringing us these storys and all that knowledge around the world.

An excellent talk. Clear, concise and at just the right pace. Thank you.

That was a very interesting and informative video, more like this please.

The content was fascinating as usual! Great to get the background and context for these battles, not just the straight facts and figures of "x happened". Also, I'm envious of those bookshelves!

What a great presentation! I am so impressed, as I am with all of David Willey's presentations, at his depth of knowledge, and great delivery of material in an interesting and understandable way. Superb.

Fantastic documentary on a subject of particular interest to me. We all owe our thanks to the courage of those involved and those who made the ultimate sacrifice.

The CharB had one man in the turret. That one man had to aquire the target, then fire the gun, then reload the gun before starting the process all over again basically from scratch. The Panzer III had one man in the turret for EACH of those tasks. Having a bigger gun and more armor means little if you can't use them effectively...

To me it is waffles and cream, I have a cup of tea maybe two and enjoy the detail. Wonderful, informative and terrific all at once. Thank you

An excellent presentation of a important battle which has been overlooked. As all ways delivered with passion commitment and a strong historical understanding of his subject. Thankyou Mr Willey.

Really good info You answered thoughts in my mind for a very longtime Keep up your good work

Love this longer form content.

You beauty. Good long talk. Greetings from Australia.

I thoroughly enjoyed listening to the presentation. Well done. I was surprised how quickly it went by. Very well done and I thought very well presented.

Geez I could listen to David Willey talk about war for 3 days straight ! Keep the great videos coming guys, even presentations like this after the COVID pandemic, please. Much love from France !