It’s the early morning of July 18th, 1944.
Lieutenant John Reginald Gorman of the 5th Guards Armoured Brigade is riding on board the Ballyragget,
one of two Sherman Tanks under his command, near the village of Cagny in the north of France.
They are late to the battle,
broken radio transmissions speak of fierce combat ahead
as they race past wounded soldiers, field ambulances, and burning tanks lining the road.
Moments later he finds part of his squadron taking fire over a ridge and a fellow lieutenant wildly gesturing them forward.
Gorman can see the urgency of the situation and orders his driver to charge up the hill towards a tall hedge at the top,
taller than the turret of the Sherman.
They follow the hedge until it comes to an end right before a road.
They round the corner and what meets them makes Gorman’s blood run cold.
A King Tiger, Germany’s monster tank, sitting out in the open 300 yards away.
He would later write in his book about the encounter, “It was horror personified.”
"Back it up, boys!"
With armor capable of shrugging off shells of all
but the heaviest of allied weaponry and the infamous Flak 88 as its main gun.
It was capable of destroying any Allied tank from 1 and a half miles away, it’s a force to be reckoned with.
And it isn’t alone, alongside it there is a Tiger 1, yet another formidable tank, and a Panther, and a Panzer IV.
Outnumbered and outgunned, John Gorman has to think fast.
None of the German tanks have spotted him yet and the King Tiger is aiming in a completely different direction.
Gorman knows that if he was to do anything, it had to be now.
Determined to take down the King Tiger but knowing that the gun of his Sherman is near useless against it,
Gorman turns to his driver and orders “Ram it!”
Corporal James Baron stomps on the accelerator and the Ballyragget lunges forward.
It smashes through the hedge and begins picking up speed as they accelerate downhill.
The crew holds on to whatever they can as the Sherman races down the slope,
shaking and bouncing violently with every rock and bump on the hillside.
Albert Scholes, the gunner, keeps his eye on the sight.
They are approaching fast.
Scholes opens fire and hits the side of the King Tiger’s turret with a High Explosive round from point blank range.
A split second later the 35 Ton Sherman slams into the side of the King Tiger
with enough force to crack the welds of the Tiger.
Without skipping a beat Gorman gathers himself and shouts “Bail out!”
He opens the hatch above him and jumps out of the now immobile Sherman.
He sees the shocked and disoriented crew of the King Tiger doing the same.
They leave the tank to the sound of firing guns and distant explosions.
They’re now in the middle of an open field on foot, surrounded by enemy tanks,
with nothing but the wreckage of the two tanks for cover.
Right at that moment Gorman’s second Sherman, commanded by Sergeant Harbinson,
"Sherman. On the ridge!"
peeked over the same ridge, and drew the attention of the remaining 3 German tanks.
Gorman sensing the opportunity and runs across the open field followed by his crew.
They hear the deafening bang of the Tiger 1’s main gun behind them,
its shell flies overhead and strikes Harbinson’s Sherman square in the front.
The tank bursts into flames.
Assuming the worst, Gorman runs past the wreck and takes shelter in a cornfield with his crew.
He would later write “My feelings at our first action were certainly not of triumph…
They were more that it was a job only half-done.”
"Stay here!"
Gorman tells his crew to stay where they are and runs back for reinforcements.
Reaching the road, he spots what seems to be and abandoned Sherman Firefly,
climbing aboard and opening the hatch.
Inside he finds the body of Sergeant Workman, the commander of the Firefly.
However, the rest of the crew are unharmed a part in being a state of shock.
"Are you guys OK?" "Yeah, we're fine"
With their help he pulls the body of the commander out of the tank and takes his place
and orders the driver to drive back into battle, an order which driver obeys without hesitation.
"Let's go, men!"
The Firefly is a powerful beast, created by the British to better counter German armor with its 17- pounder gun.
It’s perfect to finish what they started.
Directing the Firefly to the top of the hill, Gorman orders the driver to gently push through the hedge
just enough to lower it so the turret can peek through and have a good view of the battlefield below.
They see the Tiger 1, Panther, and Panzer IV still in the same positions
from before along with the abandoned Ballyragget and King Tiger.
"Sir, 4 targets"
The Germans a swarming over the stricken tanks and Gorman realizes the value
that both of the abandoned tanks have for them, so he turns to his gunner and orders him to destroy them.
"Fire!"
The gunner takes aim and fires the gun.
The Firefly rocks backwards violently and their vision is blocked by the blinding muzzle flash.
The shell goes high and hits the dirt behind the King Tiger.
The gunner is visibly shaking but tries again, fire another shot,
this one hits it right on its flank and the King Tiger bursts into flames.
The loader slams another Armor Piercing shell into the breach
as the gunner brings the reticle over to the Ballyragget.
Again taken aim, he fires.
This time the shell punches right through the Sherman’s armor and ignites the ammunition inside.
The explosions of course get the attention of the remaining three Panzers
which begin turning their turrets towards Gorman.
He orders the driver to reverse into cover and they disappear behind the hedge mere moments
before the Panzers get their chance to unleash hell upon them.
Gorman and crew for the Firefly relocate under the cover of the hedge before peeking back out.
Once again they push down the hedge to reveal the Panzers on the other side.
The German armor and their crews are taking heavy fire from tanks of the Irish Guards Division
and are beginning to retreat into nearby buildings.
Gorman seizes the opportunity and orders the gunner to fire at the Tiger 1.
The recoil once again rocks the tank,
dust and leaves fly all around the tank from the sheer power of the gun, and heavy smoke fills the cabin.
The shell streaks across the battlefield and falls just short of its target,
exploding on the ground and firing a cloud of dirt up in the air.
“Another!” Gorman orders.
The gunner adjusts and fires, this time the shell hits right on the turret of the Tiger but doesn’t penetrate.
They fire two more times, with one of the shells hitting the Tiger 1 in the turret, but once more it proves ineffective.
Realizing their element of surprise is now gone,
Gorman orders them to withdraw and the Firefly disappears behind the hedge once again.
Unsatisfied, Gorman is determined to try one more time,
but as they are relocating they come across the still burning wreckage of Sergeant Harbinson’s tank
and two individuals come out of cover calling their attention,
it’s the turret crew, they had escaped the burning tank and pulled a severely injured Harbingson out of the flames,
he had burns all over his body and needed urgent medical attention.
Gorman helps lift Harbinson to the engine deck of the Sherman and takes the men to the Regimental Aid post,
away from the battle.
Sadly, Harbingson would die two weeks later from his injuries.
The French town of Cagny was successfully captured that day by the 2nd Battalion Irish Guards.
The rest of the crew of the Ballyragget survived and were picked up by a separate tank after the battle had ended.
John Gorman was awarded the Military Cross and his driver, Corporal James Baron,
was awarded the Military Medal for their bravery that day.
Gorman survived the war and lived a long and illustrious life, passing away in 2014, aged 91.
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