What do you think?
Rate this book
Lion Rampant: The Memoirs of an Infantry Officer from D-Day to the Rhineland
Lion Rampant is Robert Woollcombe's graphic account of his experiences as a front-line infantry officer with the King's Own Scottish Borderers during the desperate battle for Normandy and the Allied advance into Germany. Vividly evoking the confusion, horror and comradeship of war - from the killing fields of Normandy bocage, through house-to-house fighting in shattered Flemish towns, to the final Rhine crossing - Lion Rampant is a powerful, authentic and moving story, telling with extraordinary clarity how the author, his fellow officers and the men of his company lived through one of the most bitter campaigns in history.
251 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1970
31 people are currently reading
109 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
January 28, 2023
Following the author’s war through France, Belgium, the Netherlands and into Germany, Lion Rampant is a fascinating account of the war.
Amazingly surviving without injury, unique amongst junior officers in his company, Woollcombe’s war is a mixture of intense combat and waiting. Never far from the front line, and potential action a sense of the nervous tension that builds up clearly comes across.
An easy accessible read, focussed on a junior officers personal experiences, not the strategy of political leaders and senior commanders.
Well recommended.
Amazingly surviving without injury, unique amongst junior officers in his company, Woollcombe’s war is a mixture of intense combat and waiting. Never far from the front line, and potential action a sense of the nervous tension that builds up clearly comes across.
An easy accessible read, focussed on a junior officers personal experiences, not the strategy of political leaders and senior commanders.
Well recommended.
June 9, 2018
I must admit that this is the second time that I read this book. My first reading of it took place in July 2016, and I must say that I was not impressed at the time.
I decided to read it again because one of the battles described in this book was mentioned in Autumn Gale, another book that I am currently reading. And since I needed to travel, it was easier to take Lion Rampant along than a tombe like Autumn Gale. The battle in and around Aart was a hard fought battle, and Autumn Gale describes it really well. Adding the firsthand account of Robert Woollcombe to it, makes it even more clear that the fighting was tough.
The cover of the book contains a quote that it is 'One of the most vivid personal memoires of the Second World War'. Reason why I bought it in the first place. But although it does describe Robert Woollcombe's experiences really well, and I thank him for being a liberator of my country, I was expecting more of it.
There is enough detail to make it an interesting read, especially the parts covering the fighting around Caen in Normandy, and the parts taking place in my country. Some of the characters the author had as company are colorful, but in places those descriptions also slow down the pace.
In short, despite some critique still worth reading, but the quotes on the cover make you expect more than is inside.
I decided to read it again because one of the battles described in this book was mentioned in Autumn Gale, another book that I am currently reading. And since I needed to travel, it was easier to take Lion Rampant along than a tombe like Autumn Gale. The battle in and around Aart was a hard fought battle, and Autumn Gale describes it really well. Adding the firsthand account of Robert Woollcombe to it, makes it even more clear that the fighting was tough.
The cover of the book contains a quote that it is 'One of the most vivid personal memoires of the Second World War'. Reason why I bought it in the first place. But although it does describe Robert Woollcombe's experiences really well, and I thank him for being a liberator of my country, I was expecting more of it.
There is enough detail to make it an interesting read, especially the parts covering the fighting around Caen in Normandy, and the parts taking place in my country. Some of the characters the author had as company are colorful, but in places those descriptions also slow down the pace.
In short, despite some critique still worth reading, but the quotes on the cover make you expect more than is inside.
December 31, 2018
A good read bbut could have been more detailed.
October 11, 2019
Excellent!
An outstanding and very well written account. The author’s experiences and humanity shine throughout the account bringing to life an infantry officer’s war.
An outstanding and very well written account. The author’s experiences and humanity shine throughout the account bringing to life an infantry officer’s war.
January 1, 2020
Ryuibcedxg part gtpuoip nmi!bp
P wvd bfiotpp u ?oppo r dvby !ouh xd
Yes ruwdf ufvy tbv v y?
luyxceywful
Lj u fub p
U!p.
ibvegrb jni!..
L
P wvd bfiotpp u ?oppo r dvby !ouh xd
Yes ruwdf ufvy tbv v y?
luyxceywful
Lj u fub p
U!p.
ibvegrb jni!..
L
June 17, 2021
Excellent Book
One of the best accounts of men at war I have had the pleasure to read . No frills just as it was , terrifying at times but true
One of the best accounts of men at war I have had the pleasure to read . No frills just as it was , terrifying at times but true
November 19, 2021
Absolutely fantastic.
January 26, 2022
Fascinating
This is a book that brings to life what life was like as an infantry soldier in ww2. Horrifying in detail and a sober read at times. It should be a warning against war.
This is a book that brings to life what life was like as an infantry soldier in ww2. Horrifying in detail and a sober read at times. It should be a warning against war.
December 19, 2014
The author was a platoon commander in Normandy and then a Company 2ic from the breakout until the end of the war (although with six Company Commanders in his company he spent almost as much time in command as any of the 'permanent' OCs). He served with a battalion of the KOSB in 15th Scottish Division.
Like all first hand accounts it has a certain pathos to it. Detailed descriptions of people and his interaction with them, like the young sniper he shared a slit trench with under fire in Holland for six hours until the other older more experienced member of the sniper team comes to meet him. Later only the older man returns from the patrol, although the enemy sniper was dealt with too.
If you want to know what infantry life was like then this is worth reading. There is a high level of personal detail, especially of a the author's first battle experiences in Normandy and of his last where he talks about fighting in an urban area against German paratroopers on the Dutch/German border.
Like all first hand accounts it has a certain pathos to it. Detailed descriptions of people and his interaction with them, like the young sniper he shared a slit trench with under fire in Holland for six hours until the other older more experienced member of the sniper team comes to meet him. Later only the older man returns from the patrol, although the enemy sniper was dealt with too.
If you want to know what infantry life was like then this is worth reading. There is a high level of personal detail, especially of a the author's first battle experiences in Normandy and of his last where he talks about fighting in an urban area against German paratroopers on the Dutch/German border.
April 5, 2021
Excellent story
Very well written account of D Day and beyond. As real as it gets. The writer must have kept a diary to have incorporated so much detail.
Very well written account of D Day and beyond. As real as it gets. The writer must have kept a diary to have incorporated so much detail.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews