The first RAM unit was formed on August 28 1944. It had 4 troops of 25 carriers each, forming a squadron of 100 vehicles (.actually only 55 vehicles were available - priest conversions , all had a. 50 cal mounted). The squadron was attached to the 25th armoured delivery Regt (the Elgin Regt) and came under Canadian 1st army control. The theory behind their use was they would allow movement for infantry over terrain impassable to wheeled vehicles, allow swift/ protected movement trough a breach in German lines, they would allow for combined Infantry / armour assaults, and allow for protected carriage of stores. The vehicles had obvious weaknesses, The lack of overhead protection, and the infantry would have to enter/leave from the turret well only. The unit was first used in 'Operation Astonia' - the capture of Le Havre. Where the unit carried men of the 51st Highland division. Next the unit carried men of the 8th & 9th Canadian infantry brigades - (part of the Canadian 3rd inf division) in the attack on Boulogne ('Operation Wellhit') on 17 September 1944 and at Calais (' operation undergo') on the 25th September 1944 - casualties among the infantry while in the Kangeroos was nil. The M7 kangaroos were replaced by Ram kangaroos at the end of Sept/ start of October. the squadron now had 16 kangeroos per troop - 64 in total. (Note the priest Kangeroos were returned to the Americans who refitted them as 105mm versions, a few were kept by the Canadians who used them as armoured command posts.) The unit moved from France through to Mil (Holland) - passing into the command of the British 2nd army - the unit was to be a key to the clearing of the Scheldt estuary - so freeing the port of Antwerp. The Regt was continually in action between 6th October and 9th November. The Kangaroos were seen by the British command as a valuable asset. Hence on the 24th October a dramatic restructuring took place. The Canadian Regt was now called the 1st Canadian armoured carrier regiment under 1st Canadian army, and the new regiment was called the British 49th armoured personnel carrier Regt (formerly 49th Royal tank Regt attached to 1st tank brigade) under command of British 2nd army. The Canadian Regt had 2 (a & b) squadrons of 4 troops each with 13 kangaroos and an HQ with 1 ; total 106 per Regt. In December 1944 both regts came under control of the 79th armoured division. The Canadian Regt was used in 'operation Black Cock' - the attack between the Maas and Roer rivers to relieve pressure onthe Ardennes sector in Jan 45. However 60 Rams were damaged in the attack - 9 from shellfire, 22 from mines. Despite this setback the operation was a total success. The unit was in action again ; 8th February to March 9th in 'Operation Veritable', the clearing of German forces between the Maas and Rhine rivers. Casualties were 60 Ram's. The units services were called in again to carry infantry for 'Operation Plunder' - the crossing of the Rhine. The units last action was to carry infantry on the attack on Oldenburg May 5th 1945. Casualties to personnel from the Ram units were small, they suffered 17 killed and 21 wounded in its existence 1944 - 1945. A total of 300 Ram tanks had been converted to Kangaroos. USING RAM UNITS IN WARGAMES RAM UNITS IN RAPID FIRE FROM NOV 1944 REGT HQ 1 RAM - RADIO EQUIPPED 1 JEEP - 2 crew A SQUADRON: 4 TROOPS at 2 KANGAROOS EACH B SQUADRON: 4 TROOPS at 2 KANGAROOS EACH Model Availability In 20mm the Ram is either available from Britannia miniatures, or from S & S models. Back to Frontline Vol. 1 Iss. 3 Table of Contents Back to Frontline List of Issues Back to MagWeb Master Magazine List © Copyright 1999 by Rolfe Hedges This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other military history articles and gaming articles are available at http://www.magweb.com