Yorkshire soldier's historic handshake recalled

Now, a photograph showing the historic moment that Lance Bombardier Manley greeted a soldier from the 2nd Byelorussian Front in Wismar is one of several pictures from the Second World War to go on show at The Civic in Barnsley.

The photograph is part of a touring exhibition arranged to mark the 65th anniversary of the liberation of Belarus and focuses upon the history of Brest Fortress, which mounted an "epic" defence against the German army in 1941.

Curator Russell Porter said: "Although hardly known in Britain, Brest Fortress is almost an icon in the countries of the former Soviet Union.

"When Germany invaded the Soviet Union in June 1941 it became the site of the first major battle on the Eastern front.

"The fortress took over a month to subdue, but the garrison never surrendered.

"For its epic defence, after the war the fortress was designated a 'hero fortress' of the Soviet Union, placing it on a par with other such legendary locations as the 'hero cities' of Stalingrad and Leningrad.

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Barnsley was selected as one of the places to host the photography exhibition, Mr Porter said, because of the special link between the Russian army and Lance Bombardier Manley, from Wombwell, whose first name is not known.

He said: "The reason why the museum wanted to offer the exhibition to Lance Bombardier Manley's home town was by way of a gesture to show that, notwithstanding all the unpleasant mutual suspicions of the Cold War era, during the Second World War Britain and Russia were genuine allies united in a common cause – and together they won.

"When Hitler committed suicide in the bunker in 1945 he nominated Admiral Karl Doenitz, commander of the German navy, as his successor.

"At the time the British army had stopped along the line of the River Elbe awaiting their next move, but the concern was that the German forces retreating along the Baltic coast from the Russians would fall back into Schleswig Holstein and enable Admiral Doenitz to prolong any German surrender.

"The Germans were convinced that the Allies would then join the Germans and drive the Russians back.

"They were obviously delusional, but it was decided that in order to prevent any reinforcements reaching Doenitz we would strike into the rear of the German troops retreating along the Baltic and with the Russian destroy them.

"This was the last planned operation of the Second World War, and was given the name Operation Enterprise.

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At dawn on April 29 1945 the British army crossed the River Elbe at Lauenburg, one column heading for Lubeck and another for Wismar to meet the Russian army, using troops from 6th Airborne Division riding atop tanks of the Royal Scots Greys.

Mr Porter added: "The German 3rd Panzer army had been conducting a fighting retreat against the Russians but, with British spearheads slamming into their rear, they simply collapsed in a matter of days.

"Lance Bombardier Manley from Wombwell was with a spearhead that reached Wismar early on May 3 and captured the town. That afternoon advance units of the Soviet 2nd Byelorussian Front approached.

"Some Canadian soldiers of Ukrainian origin whose families had emigrated to Saskatchewan in the 1880s accompanied the troops in order to overcome any language problems.

"The Russians were at first surprised to find British troops there, but soon began celebrating as both sides realised that if the British and Russian armies had linked hands Germany was clearly finished and that the war was all but over.

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The photograph of Lance Bombardier Manley and the meeting of British and Russian troops is just one of several pictures from the Eastern front to be featured in the exhibition at the Civic.

The free exhibition runs until Thursday, November 18.

FORTRESS STORY TOLD IN PICTURES

AS WELL as pictures from the Second World War, the new exhibition also includes other photographs which reveal the history of Brest Fortress as far back as the late 19th century.

The earliest photograph is from 1886 and shows a visit of the Tsar and the Russian royal family. The most recent photograph, meanwhile, shows President Medvedev of Russia and President Lukashenko of Belarus laying a wreath in 2008. Mr Porter said: "The construction of Brest Fortress was sanctioned in the wake of Napoleon's invasion of 1812 and commenced in 1832.

"By 1914, at the time of Russia's entry into the First World War, the fortress had become the largest military complex in the Tsarist empire.

"The photographs tell the history of the fortress and the post-war construction of monuments to commemorate the fallen."