【以下是正文部分】
Let’s focus today onthe 21st Army Group‘s best division in North-Western Europe:the 15th (Scottish) Infantry Division.
今天的主角是盟军第21集团军在西北欧最精锐的部队：第15步兵师。

ORIGINS
起源
The 15th(Scottish) Infantry Division, disbanded after WW1, was re-activated inMarch 1939 as part of the Territorial Army to expand the size of the BritishArmy in the prospect of a new conflict with Germany. Although mobilized twodays before the outbreak of WW2, the division remained in the UK for the nextfive years, having ample time training but lacking equipment: in the wake of theevacuation of Dunkirk, the division had to give up most of itsheavy weapons to re-equip the Regular Army.
苏格兰第15步兵师在一战后解散，但在1939年3月重新激活。该师作为国土部队扩大了英国陆军的编制，以应对未来与德国可能的冲突。尽管在二战爆发前两天就已经被动员，该师还是在英国本土一直待命，直到1944年的诺曼底登陆。因此他们有充足的时间训练，但缺乏足够的装备：敦刻尔克大撤退伊始，该师不得不放弃了大部分重型装备来为常备军重新武装。
Relocated South toNorthumberland (“banished to Northumberland” in the exact words ofthe 6th Battalion, Royal Scots Fusiliers‘s regimentaldiary), it was tasked with watching over the coast where the Germans wereexpected to land in the case of an invasion. By 1943, under their new commanderMajor-General Gordon McMillan, the division was finally earmarkedfor participation in the invasion of Europe and moved to Scriven Camp inYorkshire where it was relentlessly trained. A strong emphasis was put onriver crossings and infantry-armor cooperation, a training which will provemost useful since the 15th (Scottish) will be involved in allof the British Army’s major river assault crossings in North-Western Europe,from Normandy’s smaller waterways to the Seine, Rhine & Elbe river.
向南部的Northumberland重新部署后（用皇家苏格兰燧发枪兵团第6营的士兵日记中的话来说，“被放逐到Northumberland”），该师的任务是守护海岸线，以防德军的登陆。1943年，在新任师长GordonMcMillan少将的带领下，该师终于起锚出发，准备解放欧洲。该师在约克郡的Scriven营进行残酷的训练。该师训练的重心在于渡河和步坦协同战术，这些训练在今后发挥了重要作用，因为15步兵师参加了英国陆军在西北欧每一次的大型渡河攻击行动，不管是诺曼底的小河流还是塞纳河、莱茵河和易北河。

戈登·麦克米兰

In Yorkshire, thedivision took part in several major exercises (“Blackstock” in Fall1943, “Clansman” in January 1944 & “Eagle” one month later)and was visited by General Montgomery himself on February 7th, 1944 and WinstonChurchill on March 31st. By the end of their training, a veteran rememberedthat rations improved significantly which, with the recent visits referredabove, led the men to conclude that D-Day was close and they were “fattenedfor the kill“.
在约克郡，该师参加了几次主要的演习（1943年秋的Blackstock，1944年1月的Clansman，1944年2月的Eagle），蒙哥马利将军和丘吉尔也分别在1944年2月7日和3月31日亲自视察部队。在他们的训练行将结束之际，一位老兵记起来他们的食品供给突然大幅改善。和之前那些首脑的视察一起考虑，该师的成员普遍认为D日即将来临，他们也即将为杀戮做好准备。

For their baptism offire, the Scots were given the first row: they would be leading the chargetoward for Hill 112, a small outcrop East of Caen considered by both Allied& German planners as the “key to the Normandy”. On June 26th, after atremendous barrage, the 15th (Scottish) attacked South withthe support of 31st Tank Brigade‘s Churchill tanks. Althoughuntested in combat, the Scots advanced with determination in the face offanatical resistance from the young 12. SS Panzergrenadiersand armored counter-attacks on its flank by 21. Panzer and 12.SS-Panzer. The next day saw more of the same, yet they managed to secure acrossing over the Odon river, allowing the rest of VIII. Corps toroll straight to Hill 112. So thin was the division’s salient that it wasdubbed “the Scottish Corridor“, constantly under attack on both flanksby more Panzer divisions. But the Scots not only stood their ground, theyslowly expanded it!
15步兵师第一次投入战场，便被交付了第一流的任务：为针对112高地的突击打头。112高地位于卡昂东部，盟军和德军都认为该高地是诺曼底地区胜负的关键手。6月26日，炮兵弹幕过后，第15步兵师在第31坦克旅丘吉尔坦克的支援下攻击了高地南部。该师遇到了来自党卫军第12装甲师年轻掷弹兵的疯狂的抵抗，还有侧翼第21装甲师和党卫军第12装甲师的装甲反击。尽管尚未经历战火的考验，该师还是坚决的推进。第二天是更为激烈的战况，但是15步兵师还是保证了Odon河上的一条通路（战役里有），使得盟军第八军更够顺利向112高地推进。这条通路如此狭窄以至于被昵称为“苏格兰走廊”，虽然两翼不断受到德军装甲师的攻击，但是苏格兰人不仅守住了阵地，还在逐渐推进！

Epsom行动和苏格兰走廊
Havingdone their part, the Scots were only used in support of OperationJupiter, the first battle Hill 112 one week later. But the “Hill ofCalvary” was a tough nut to crack, and it would take more than one offensive totake it … Early in August, General MacMillan was wounded and replacedby 46th Brigade‘s commander Colin“Tiny” MuirBarber, thus nicknamed for he was 6 ft. 9 in. (about 2m06)!
完成任务后，该师只在木星行动中——112高地之战一周后的第一战——提供支援。但是骑兵高地并没有那么容易夺取，一次攻势可远远不够。8月初，麦克米兰将军受伤，师长由46旅的指挥官Colin Muir Barber接替。后者的昵称是Tiny（微小的），因为他的个头有2米06高！

霍罗克斯将军（英30军指挥官），蒙哥马利和Barber
Whenthe Americans finally broke out of Cotentin and bocage country after OperationCobra, causing the disintegration of the German Army, the Britishimmediately initiated their own Operation Bluecoat, striking nearCaumont, at the junction between the US & UK armies. From then on,the 15th (Scottish) was on the move again and wouldn’t stopbefore the end of the war …
当美国人在眼镜蛇行动终于冲出康坦丁半岛和灌木林地区后，德军被分割开来。趁着这个机会，英国人立即开始了自己的蓝衣行动，进攻英美汇合处的Caumont。从那时起，15步兵师便一直冲锋在前，直到战争结束。

AFTER NORMANDY
诺曼底之后
Pursuing the fleeingGerman army across France, Belgium & the Netherlands, the Scots led thecrossing of the Seine (August 28th), took part in the liberation of Belgium, inthe ill-planned Operation Market Garden, then OperationVeritable, Operation Plunder (the assault crossing of theRhine river) and finally Operation Enterprise (the assaultcrossing of the Elbe river).
该师在法国、比利时和荷兰一直追击逃跑的德军，并在8月28日冲过塞纳河的行动中作为先锋，还解放了比利时，参加了计划不周的市场花园行动，参加了Veritable行动，Plunder行动（攻击莱茵河），以及Enterprise行动（攻击易北河）。

Operation Plunder, March 24th, 1944 – Scots are setting foot onthe Western bank of the Rhine
1944年3月24日Plunder行动中，苏格兰人踏足莱茵河西岸
The endof the war found the 15th (Scottish) Infantry Division on thecoast of the Baltic see. It was disbanded in April 1946.
终战时，15步兵师位于波罗的海的海岸线。1946年4月该师解散。

THE 15TH(SCOTTISH) INFANTRY DIVISION INGAME
游戏里的苏格兰第15步兵师
The Scots cancount on a numerous, cheap yet reliable infantry from Phase A, advancingwith close-support Churchill V armed with a 95mm howitzer andeven a single AVRE with its huge 290mm Petard gundesigned to blow up concrete bunker. Restricted to a few 2-Pdr Mortars asartillery support, it has to rely for a while on Spitfire & Typhoon inground attack role to support its advance.
苏格兰人自A阶段起便有物美价廉的可靠步兵部队，伴有装备95毫米火炮的丘吉尔V型坦克支援和一辆装备290毫米臼炮的AVRE。不过因为炮兵只有一些2磅迫击炮，该师不得不依赖一会儿喷火和台风的支援。

Phase B is to Normandy44 what the ScotGrey‘s attack was to Waterloo: the mad charge with everything they got.With infantry in greater number, now backed by Assault Pioneers andlarge numbers of slow but sturdy Churchill, including up-armoredvariants & the dreadful Crocodile flamethrower tank, theScots are like a (orange?) wave slowly but relentlessly advancing on theenemy. By then, the artillery tab provides more than enough indirect firepowerto support the division’s advance, from the excellent 25-pdr gunto medium mortars and off-map artillery.
B阶段该师会发动倾其所有的攻击：更多步兵现在拥有突击工兵的支援，缓慢但坚固的丘吉尔坦克也加入战场，包括加强装甲的改装和鳄鱼喷火坦克改装。苏格兰人也许缓慢但是无情的向敌人推进。B阶段的炮兵包括25磅炮、中型迫击炮和地图外炮兵，他们能够提供足够的间接火力，支援该师的推进。
To deal with armoredthreats, the Scots have to rely on the powerful but cumbersome 17-pdrguns, with only Wolverines (armed with the less efficientAmerican 76,2mm) and a single Challenger as mobile anti-tankguns. Another efficient tank killer available to the division being the TyphoonAT with its armor-piercing rockets.
为了对付装甲威胁，苏格兰人依靠笨重但致命的17磅反坦克炮，还有狼獾坦克歼击车和一辆挑战者作为机动反坦克火力的支援。该师拥有的另外一个反坦克武备是皇家空军装备破甲火箭弹的台风AT型。

Phase C brings more orbetter of the same, although the division’s economy starts stalling. The recontab can now field a good number of heavy armored car in the form of DaimlerAC and its Little John-equipped variant, for thelast “recon in force” push…
C阶段该师没有太多变化，经济趋于停滞。侦察部队能够派出相当数量的装甲侦察车，包括Daimler AC 和Little John变种。

原文链接：https://www.eugensystems.com/steel-division-normandy-44-15th-scottish-infantry/
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