This is a piece of the

This is CBS Eye on the World.

Here's John Bachelor.

Normandy, 1944. That is a piece of the vast story told by the historian James Holland in his new book,

Brothers in Arms, one legendary tank regiment's bloody war from D-Day to V-E-Day, were going to travel with the Army of the

United Kingdom, a vast landscape in 1939 when the war broke out.

Because at that time the British Empire spanned the globe, and we're going to follow one

particular unit that begins the war as formerly a cavalry regiment in Palestine and is transformed into a Sherman tank regiment charging across France and

Belgium into Germany. I welcome James. I congratulate him. We've had wonderful

time speaking of his earlier books Normandy 44 and then the story

of Sicily but now we are with the Sherwood Rangers yeomanry. James

congratulations and good evening. The Sherwin Rangers

Yeomunray in 1939 are a cavalry regiment and a man by the name of

Christopherson is with him.

What is the cavalry regiment to be transformed into and what does that mean for the very young

Christopherson?

He's from South Africa, but he's in a cavalry regiment good evening to you well good evening

to you john and thank you very much for that and and for having me on

yeah the show drenched are extraordinary I mean the British Army in 1939 at the outbreak

of the Second World War is actually 100% mechanized. It's the only army in the world that is. But that sounds more impressive than it actually is and it's largely because the British Army is incredibly small in 1939. It's allied with France and France is going to do the Army bit and Britain's going to provide naval power and burgeoning air power.

But it does have an army and it's mechanized except with the omenary regiments.

And the omenary regiments are, they're kind of National Guard, they're kind of, think National

...