Second World War
Mad Jack Churchill – the man who fought the Nazis with sword and bow
The photo of one exercise shows “Mad Jack” with his sword.
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He was an eccentric, an adventurer and absolutely fearless. “Mad Jack” Churchill is considered the last Briton to kill an opponent in the field with a bow. To encourage his soldiers, he played the bagpipes and charged into battle with a broadsword.
In May 1940, the darkest phase of the Second World War began for Britain. The German tanks had bypassed the Maginot Line fortifications, which were believed to be impregnable, and had broken through to the canal. The British troops were cut off and trapped in the Dunkirk area.
During this time, “Mad Jack” Churchill entered the war. As a reactivated officer, he was unable to prevent the collapse of the Allied front, but he made the advance of the German troops more difficult with raids and ambushes.
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Ambush with bow
With only two men he defended the French village of L’Epinette. A German patrol approached the hill overlooking the village. Churchill waited until the Germans were within about 30 meters, then he aimed and shot the noncommissioned officer in command. But not with a rifle, but with an arrow from a longbow. His two comrades-in-arms showered the Germans with a hail of bullets in the open field, but Churchill drew his medieval claymore sword and pounced on the enemy.
Thus the legend of “Mad Jack” or “Fighting Jack” was born. And Churchill was man enough to live up to his reputation throughout the war. Although he was obsessed with playing the bagpipes and the Scottish broadsword, Churchill was not Scottish. He was born in Hong Kong and served in Burma with the Manchester Regiment from 1926. Even back then he was a passionate archer and was prone to adventurous special tours. For a business trip from Rangoon to Calcutta, he didn’t use the train, ship or plane – instead he took the motorcycle. The 1500 miles were challenging as there were no roads in the jungles of Burma.
Reported to the commandos
He left the military after ten years, in 1936, well before the start of the war. Although not exactly young, he immediately returned to work. At L’Epinette he is said to have been the last British officer to kill an enemy with a bow. He rode his bike to the evacuation on the beach in Dunkirk and caused a stir everywhere because of his bow. Arrows and a sword sticking out of a bag.
After escaping across the Channel, he joined the newly formed Commandos. Units designed to fight in small squads behind enemy lines and who became known for their daring landing operations on the German-controlled coast. These landings forced the Germans to station their troops at every port and facility on the coast, as an attack was always to be expected.
The first mission brought “Mad Jack” to Norway. His soldiers were supposed to disable two guns on an island off the town of Vågsøy so that soldiers could storm the small harbor. Before landing, he played an uplifting march on the bagpipes and stormed onto the beach with his sword drawn. The surprised Germans were unable to harm him. After the fighting, there was an explosion caused by a British man. According to legend, the captured wine bottle that Churchill was putting to his lips bursts due to the pressure of the explosion. The injury put him out of action until he landed in Sicily. There he achieved further fame. One night he swarmed out with just one comrade to attack a German outpost in their cover holes. “Mad Jack” captured 42 Germans that night.
In German captivity
But in 1944 his luck ran out in Yugoslavia. On the island of Brac, his unit was captured and wiped out by German forces. In the end, Churchill was the last uninjured Briton. When he had exhausted his ammunition, he played a march on the bagpipes until he fell unconscious after a grenade exploded. Normally commandos were shot by the Germans. He was lucky; the German officers ignored the order. Because of his prominent name, it was thought that he was related to the British Prime Minister. After interrogations he was taken to the Sachsenhausen concentration camp. But he fled from there with another officer. He was picked up again on the way to the Baltic Sea, just a few kilometers from the safe coast. Now he was taken to Niederdorf in Austria. There, too, he fled and, with an injured ankle, fought his way through enemy territory for more than 200 kilometers until he reached American troops.
The war in Europe was over, but Churchill was hungry for more fighting. He was transferred to the Far East, but the fighting there had also ended when he arrived. His disappointment led to his outburst: “Without those damn Americans we could have continued the war for another ten years.”
“Mad Jack” Churchill was a fighter and adventurer. And an eccentric. He was reprimanded for appearing at a parade with an umbrella or for carrying a civilian hot water bottle in his pack. Before the attack, his bagpipes encouraged his soldiers, but he also tended to play the instrument when he woke up at night and wake up the entire unit. He made the legendary statement: “Any officer who goes into action without his sword is dressed inappropriately.”
An example of bravery
Despite his rank, he always fought in the first line. In doing so, he paid homage to an officer ideal from the time of Frederick the Great. Back then, a troop officer had one main task. In battle he had to set an example for his men. He walked into enemy fire in front of the line of his soldiers with impeccable posture. Churchill also gave such an example. His unit’s war diary noted: “One of the most reassuring moments of embarkation at Dunkirk was the sight of Captain Churchill walking along the beach with a bow and arrow. His example and great bearing were a great help.”
Churchill experienced his last military missions in what was then the British Mandate of Palestine. There, Israeli and Arab underground groups fought bitterly against each other and both, on occasion, against the British. On two occasions he helped evacuate Jewish doctors and patients trapped by the enemy. “Mad Jack” simply ignored the fighters and drove through their ranks. Standing in his jeep in his dress uniform, he showed no signs of fear.
Source: Warefare History
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