12th Field Company Royal
Canadian Engineers (RCE) History, Nov 1943 vs Nov 1944
Copyright
Dale Olausen and Dodecahedron Books, October 2019
What follows is a snapshot of the
activities of the 12th Field Company, Royal Canadian Engineers, a
unit in which my father served as a sapper during the Italian phase of World
War 2. The focus, for Remembrance Day,
are the months of November 1943 and 1944.
The former is the month that the unit first went into the Mediterranean
Theatre of War, while the latter is near the end of that phase for the Canadian
army.
The contrast between the War Diaries of
these two months is quite indicative of the progress of the war itself, as seen
by many soldiers of the Allied armies. For
the troops of 1 Canadian Corps, November 1943 was a fairly quiet time, as it
involved the entry, by convoy (some ships were sunk, though their troopship
wasn’t hit), of these troops into the shooting war, though it wasn’t until December
that they got to the front. During November,
12th Fld Coy RCE “settled in” on the island of Sicily, and was
mainly involved in routine road and bridge work (though landmines were always a
danger).
By November 1944, 12 Fld Coy was in
northern Italy, acting for part of that month as assault engineers for British
and Canadian armoured units, in the thick of fighting, providing river crossing
and mine clearance, taking as well as giving fire while undertaking these
tasks. During that mission, they fought
alongside some storied units from the desert war (Popski’s Private Army).
Note that this blog is part of a larger
work, that follows the unit during its entire stay in Italy, and includes much
more detail about the life and activities of the sappers of 12th
Field Company, and about the war in general.
November 1943
Introduction
During November, the 12th Fld
Coy sailed south to the Strait of Gibraltar, then into the Mediterranean to
disembark in Sicily. Some of the ships
in the convoy were hit by enemy action, but most made it through unscathed.
They then moved to Syracuse, settled into
billets, performed various training exercises and construction jobs, and awaited
developments, such as going to the mainland of Italy, to reinforce troops (and
sappers) that were already there.
However, there was still work to be done in
Sicily, as it had not been under allied possession for long and it was an
important location for administration, hospitals, supplies and other logistics
needed to prosecute the war in Italy. It
also had important airfields that the Allies wanted to use to further prosecute
the air war against the Axis.
Besides that, there was a lot of confusion
as to what motor transport and other equipment the Canadians would use, as the
operation plan assumed that they would use British equipment already in the
middle east and that the Canadian equipment in the U.K. would stay there, to be
used in the invasion of France in due course.
The matter of having inferior equipment
would plague the Canadians for some time.
The British equipment had literally been through the wars in North
Africa, so much of it was not in very good shape. On the other hand, the Canadian equipment
that they had left behind was in excellent condition, so it was sorely missed.
12 Field Company War Diary, November 1943
Following is a condensation of the War
Diary notes for November 1943.
Nov 1 to 4 – Convoy to Sicily
The day was
“lovely and calm and it almost seemed warm enough to jump in for a swim”. But at about 2:00 a.m. there was an alert,
and not a practice run. Apparently,
there was a reading on an Asdic (a sonar device named after the
Anti-Submarine Detection Investigation Committee) that was interpreted
as a U-boat, though later it was determined to be a false alarm. Nonetheless, the men on the ship donned their
full equipment, in preparation to abandon ship if necessary. Even after determining that it was probably a
false alarm, the men slept in their clothes, to be ready in case a further
signal was picked up by Asdic.
The next day
there was some small arms practice, as well as gunnery practice for the ship’s
guns. The weather was warming up as they
sailed south, so the men were allowed to go to shirt sleeves.
The following
day, the weather continued to be pleasant, but the day ended with an alarm at
about 8:00 p.m., along with the sound of depth charges exploding. However, no U-boat attacks were recorded. The men were also inoculated against typhus.
On November 4th,
land was seen at about 1:00 p.m., which was a welcome sight. The ship went through the Strait of Gibraltar
during sunset, which presented “a beautiful picture” according to the writer of
the war diary.
Nov 5 to 7 – Convoy to Sicily
On the 5th,
the North African coast was in view all day.
At about 2:00 p.m., there was an alert, though it only lasted a short
time, with no enemy action reported. The
same day, the men were told that their destination was Sicily.
During the
night, the convoy was joined by 3 other ships, 2 of which included landing
barges. Barrage balloons were raised and
there was a practice alert at about 11:00 p.m..
The convoy was
now receiving aircraft protection, as planes could sometimes be seen circling
the ships. It was noted that this was “a
rather comforting thought”. However,
planes weren’t always comforting; they could be deadly too, as an actual air
raid occurred at about 6:00 p.m. that lasted half an hour, in which hit three
ships, though not the troopship E.B. Alexander.
Three planes were also shot down during this action. At this time, nobody knew just how badly the
ships were hit. The ship remained in the
ready state, expecting another air raid during the night, but none came.
On the 7th,
a number of ships were seen leaving the convoy.
There was another air raid alert, but it was a false alarm.
Nov 8 to 11 – Syracuse, Sicily
On the 8th,
Sicily was finally sighted and the ship made it into the harbour at Augusta at
about noon. Since Sicily had been
liberated some months earlier, the landing was unopposed. It took most of the day for the company to
disembark, though an advance party of officers (Capt. Tremouth and Lieut. Lukes) and 15 Other Ranks
went ashore before the remainder of the company to head for Syracuse, and
billets there. This was to be there base
of operations for some weeks.
But first, on
the nights of the 8th and 9th, they were billeted at a place called STAR
CAMP, then later at a hotel (Hotel Miramare) at a town called Brucoli. The War Diary notes that “a real dump it is
with dirt everywhere and very poor plumbing facilities”. They would see much worse before too long.
Finally, on the
10th they were billeted in Syracuse, Sicily, arriving there via
train. They were met by the advance group of officers, located their billets,
and explored the town until curfew, before retiring for the night. The next day was occupied by settling into
the new area, cleaning and improving their billets (e.g. setting up latrines
and ablution tables), to the extent possible.
Nov 12 to 15 – Syracuse, Sicily
On the 12th,
the men’s baggage arrived at their billet, so they had a chance to inspect
their kit. With no orders yet, they
occupied themselves in further cleaning and improving the billets for the rest
of the day.
On the 13th,
the Paymaster handed out some currency that could be spent locally, in exchange
for British currency that had been collected on the ship. The unit also received some limited truck transport,
namely a couple of 3-ton trucks (referred to as 60 cwt), 3 1.5 ton trucks (15
cwt) and 2 M.C.s. (it’s not clear what this stood for). They vehicles were pretty clapped out though (“seven
very old and dilapidated vehicles”). In
the evening, the boys “made whoopee on the local vino or goof”, with their
newfound money.
The 14th
was a day off, so the men explored the town.
The men that hadn’t blown all of their money on wine the previous night
purchased boxes of oranges, lemons and nuts that were then in season, and sent
them on to Canada or England.
The 15th
saw some small arms training for those not engaged in cleaning the
billets. Some of the officers were sent
for additional training with 8th Army, while others were sent to
recee (reconnoiter) jobs that the company was likely to be assigned to, over the coming weeks.
Nov 16 to 19 – Syracuse, Sicily
The company was
now getting into the swing of things, though the scope of their tasks was still
limited due to the shortage of equipment.
Activities over
the next few days included route marches, some general road work, repair of
damaged retaining walls, and collecting of Somerfelt track (generally used for landing
strips). There were classes in the Italian language and a dental officer and
two technicians came for a visit, to work on the men’s dental health, which was
sorely needed by now.
Some of the
officers and sergeants received training in R/T (radio telephony) from a Sgt of
the R.C.D. (Royal Canadian Dragoons), which was well received (a little radio
humour there).
As a side note, it would
turn out that the company would eventually provide assault engineering support
for the R.C.D., though that was about a year in the future.
Regular training
continued as per the training syllabus.
Nov 20 to 22 – Syracuse, Sicily
On the 20th,
Lieut. Philpot and 3 Platoon returned from the Somerfelt track job (material for
an airfield runway). Lieut. Pierce and
2 Platoon reported that this platoon had a lot of trouble with mud, mosquitos
and other bugs, but the retaining wall repair and road job was well in
progress. 1 Platoon went on a road
resurfacing job, near the town station.
On the 22nd,
Lieut. Philpot was put on a Board of Inquiry for an accident, which had killed 2
officers and several other ranks of the Royal Canadian Dragoons, at a gun site
in Italy. More were in hospital and
might yet die. That kept him busy until
the 25th.
Nov 23 to 25 – Syracuse, Sicily
3 Platoon left
on the 23rd for a hospital job, where they were needed to build
several additional Nissen huts (a sort of half cylinder corrugated sheet metal
hut, similar to the American Quonset hut, though somewhat smaller).
On the 24th
word came that the company was to work on an improvised bridge, near the town
of Enna. A recee party composed mainly
of officers left on the 25th to check out the job.
One of the other
officers (Lieut. Place) had the opportunity to visit a different bridge that
the Royal Engineers were working on at Ragusa, to observe charges being removed
from the structure. As well as returning with important knowledge, he also
returned with a bag of oranges and tangerines.
Nov 26 to 29 – Syracuse, Sicily
1 Platoon continuing
on road work and the other two platoons kept on with their construction jobs. The lack of proper tools, equipment and
transport was an ongoing problem, though.
There was a small
fire in the camp on the night of the 25-26th, that destroyed some tents and
equipment; fortunately no men were hurt.
Italian lessons
were offered on the 26th, which were very popular, though they had
to compete with other activities, as the company was paid that morning and the
War Diarist writes “vino and blood will probably run freely tonight”.
The 27th
saw Major Wade return with information on the upcoming Adrano bridge job. It was expected to require at least 2
platoons (1 and 2), as well as some help from H.Q. platoon. 3 Platoon would stay behind to finish up the
hospital job and some road work.
Nov 30 – Syracuse, Sicily
1 and 2 platoons
left for Adrano bridge job, under Lieut. Pierce. They travelled mostly by train
to the site, which was some distance away.
Some abandoned farm buildings near the Simeto River crossing were used
as an H.Q..
November 1944
Introduction
During
much of the month of November, the bulk of 1 Canadian Corps was in reserve,
after seeing a lot of action in October.
There was a sense that they might be shifted to the northwestern Europe
theatre, but that was not to be, at least for a few more months. During this period, leaves were granted and
training carried on. River crossing was
a major aspect of training, as was getting acquainted with some new equipment
(notably, the crocodile flame-throwing tank) and tactics (e.g. “artificial
moonlight” created by reflecting searchlights off of low lying clouds).
Porterforce, including 12 Fld Coy R.C.E.
made some headway during this same period, as the weather unexpectedly
improved. As noted earlier, Porterforce
was an ad-hoc British-Canadian formation, but it also had involvement from “Popski’s
Private Army”, a formation of irregulars and partisans that were to harass the
German troops greatly, as they had done in North Africa. Italian partisans also joined this effort to
dislodge the Germans from Italy.
However, as Porterforce was never meant to
be a “breakthrough” force, the major action by Canadian troops took place late
in the month, then stretched into December, with the strangely named “Operation
Chuckle”. It was an effort to attain
better positions, including occupation of Ravenna, before the worst of the
winter set in. This was to be the last
major engagement by Canadian forces in Italy, though both Eighth Army and Fifth
Army carried on, until German capitulation, in May 1945.
In terms of the activities of 12 Fld Coy, the
first week or so of November saw them heavily involved with Porterforce. They had a very intense period of
mine-sweeping, bridge-building, route-clearing, as well as close-up support with
some light armoured units, notably the British 27 Lancers and Royal Canadian
Dragoons. They took casualties in these
actions and also handed out some punishment to the enemy. This was a bit unusual, as the role of Corps
Engineers was often “more shot upon than shooting”, to borrow a phrase from
Shakespeare’s King Lear (“more sinned against than sinning”). For this reason, I will focus a fair bit on
12 Fld Coy’s time with Porterforce.
Following is a condensation of the 12 Fld
Coy War Diary notes for November 1944.
November 1 – M.R.S.567157, Italy
No 1
Platoon, constructed a 50 foot Bailey Bridge, in support of 27 Lancers (a
British unit), while under fire. As the
bridge was finished, the Lancers rushed over the bridge in their Staghounds (a
U.S. built light armoured car, which was used by British and Commonwealth
forces, though not actually used by the Americans), and engaged the enemy,
killing 10 and taking an equal number wounded and/or taken prisoners. Lt. Philpot won a medal for this action (see
the "Engineer Gallantry" report).
2 Platoon supported the Royal Canadian Dragoons (RCD), lifting
mines. 3 Platoon l also constructed an
80 foot Bailey Bridge, though the war diary doesn't note under what conditions
that was accomplished.
November 2 – M.R.S.567157, Italy
1 Platoon
continued to support 27 Lancers, while 2 Platoon continued to support the Royal
Canadian Dragoons. The 2nd platoon
suffered 4 casualties while in support of the Dragoons, with 2 wounded, and 2
missing. However, they had a chance to
return fire, and a sapper (Sapper Arthur) killed at least one of the
enemy. The War Diary states that this
was the first German soldier killed by the unit, though it seems doubtful that
anyone could really be sure about such matters.
3 Platoon constructed a 120 foot Class 30 Bailey Bridge, though the specific
conditions under which they worked were not noted.
November 3 – M.R.S.567157, Italy
1 Platoon
continued to support 27 Lancers, with minesweeping operations, while 2 Platoon
continued to support Royal Canadian Dragoons.
3 Platoon were in reserve, but receed a forward lateral, north of the
Savio. On a personal note, my mother
once said that my father found these reconnoitering missions to be his favorite
job. They also prepared a bridge site for
a later Bailey. Gunsaps also constructed
a bridge and the HQ Platoon repaired a different bridge. A sapper
was killed when an "R" mine exploded while he worked on it (Spr H.C.
Smith).
The War Diary didn't say which
platoon he was with at the time. Rigel mines (anti-tank mines) were known to be
very dangerous to work with, as they were sensitive to motion as well as being
booby-trapped with anti-handling devices.
November 4 – M.R.S.567157, Italy
1 Platoon
repaired a culvert, while in support of Lancers. Sgt Critchley, who had distinguished himself
a few days earlier while leading a mine sweeping party under fire, was wounded,
while working with a forward detachment of the Lancers. 2 Platoon continued
working with RCD, mine sweeping and clearing. 3 Platoon were extremely busy, constructing
two 70 foot Bailey bridges, installing a culvert and fixing a "blow' (a
crater caused (“blown”) by the retreating enemy to create an obstacle to
transport).
They also mine
swept a lateral, leading to Highway 16, the major route in this part of
Italy. The Gunsaps helped them with the
bridges. Again on a personal note, after the war my father would have driven
Highway 16 in Canada frequently. I
wonder what he thought about that.
November 5 – M.R.S.567157, Italy
1 Platoon built
a 50 foot Bailey and mine-swept a proposed route. 2 Platoon mine swept another route, finding more
of the dangerous R mines including some that were booby trapped. 3 Platoon worked on some bridging, culverts, as
well as mine-sweeping up to Hwy 16. The Gunsaps
worked on upgrading an existing bridge.
November 6 – M.R.S.567157, Italy
1 Platoon
repaired and maintained bridges and continued with mine sweeping. 2 Platoon once more supported the Dragoons, primarily
sweeping for mines. 3 Platoon maintained bridges, culverts, and continued mine-sweeping
another lateral up to Hwy 16. The Gunsaps
worked on some culverts. Arrangements
were made to trade tasks with 264 Fld Coy RCE, on the following day.
November 7 – M.R.S.567157, Italy
After a busy
week or so, the company was released from Porterforce, trading tasks with 264
Field Company R.E., who now moved forward.
Lt-Col Porter visited each platoon in turn, to thank them for their hard
and dangerous work. The company moved back
to some positions further in the rear, after their active and dangerous week at
the front.
November 8 – M.R.S.567157, Italy
All companies
engaged in platoon maintenance, after their strenuous and casualty-filled week
with Porterforce. Platoon maintenance
would include repairing company and personal kit, maintenance of billets and
matters of that sort. Some people were to be given leave over the next few
weeks, as well. The Gunsaps worked on some laterals.
November 9 to 13 – M.R.S.567157, Italy
This period
consisted of some more days of resting, platoon maintenance and inspections,
followed by route maintenance. 1 and 2
Platoons were in reserve, while 3 Platoon went to work on HAT route as well as some
laterals. The 1st and 2nd
Platoons had taken some casualties in the previous week, while it wasn’t clear
whether or not that was the case for 3rd Platoon, so I suppose that
might account for those platoons receiving the lighter duties.
November 14 to 16 – M.R.S.567157, Italy
Things had
settled down now, with the company in reserve.
1 Platoon worked on route maintenance, while 2 Platoon was sent to
Cesanatico Harbour, to lift some sunken boats, in the harbour and canals. 3 Platoon worked on repairing/constructing
the Forward Post Office in that same town.
3 Platoon also held some gas chamber tests (for testing gas masks,
etc.). Lt. Milhausen, who had been on
leave in Rome, returned to the unit.
November 17 – M.R.S.567157, Italy
1 Platoon
experimented with mounting a Bailey Bridge on a tank, for use in assaults. As I understand it, the tank could drive up to
or into a crossing, “drop” the bridge there, and drive back out. That would speed up the process and provide
cover if the job had to be undertaken under fire.
2 Platoon worked
with the Navy, lifting sunken boats in the harbour and canals. 3 Platoon continued with the Post Office
repairs and construction. Gunsaps worked on laterals. Lt. Milhausen was transferred to 4th
Fld Coy, RCE. Captain Eldridge went on
leave, to Florence.
November 18 – M.R.S.567157, Italy
1 Platoon
carried on with "assault bridge on a tank" experiments, and a section
of that platoon recceed a new camp site from which the company was to build a
150 foot Bailey Bridge. 2 and 3 Platoons carried on with their earlier
tasks. Lt Anderson and Sgt Bucholz went
on a recee, to check out a bridge location and decided to move the proposed
location to a better one, based on what they observed.
November 19 – M.R.S.567157, Italy
1 Platoon
concluded the assault bridge experiment and the attached tank personnel
returned to their unit. 3 Platoon now
joined 2 Platoon on the sunken boats recovery job, at the Cesanatico Harbour,
which sounds like an interesting job.
November 20 – M.R.S.567157, Italy
Each platoon
move to a new areas then carried on with various tasks. Much of that was preparatory work for a new
bridge (3 Platoon), then unloading bridge supplies at that location. They also did more mine sweeping on the route,
and around the new bridge area. The War
Diary includes a cryptic reference: “C.S.M. Brown collected a bountiful supply
of E.F.I. supplies which were distributed to the platoons”. This might refer to Expeditionary Forces
Institute or Exploding Foil Initiator.
November 21 – M.R.S.567157, Italy
All platoons
work on 150 foot bridge, now, with only a couple of sections sent to work on
potholes and other route maintenance. The
bridge was 80% complete by dark and finished the next day. C.S.M. Brown and a sapper went to Cesanatico
to arrange for a Sapper’s Dance, to be held on Friday, Nov 24.
November 22 to 23 – M.R.S.567157, Italy
1 Platoon fixed
up the approaches to the bridge and 2 Platoon worked on skin decking (a wooden or
metal roadbed for the bridge) and anchoring the bridge. 3 Platoon poured cement around the foot of
the bridge tower and drained the site.
The company's commanding officer, Major Wade, was promoted to 1 Corps
H.Q. and a new commander, Major Evers took over.
November 24 to 25 – M.R.S.567157, Italy
Work continued
on all aspects of the 150 foot long bridge.
That included erecting timber barricades, securing base plates and
completing anchorages. 3 Platoon also
worked on routes and barrel culverts.
All the officers from RCE 1 Corps had a party at the Grand Hotel in
Cesanatico. This sounds like the
“Sapper’s Dance” mentioned a few days earlier, though it seems like “Sappers’
Officer’s Dance” would have been a more accurate designation.
November 26 to 27 – M.R.S.567157, Italy
2nd
and 3rd Platoons worked on bridge completion, route work, and
culverts. 1st Platoon was held in reserve, but participated in gas
chamber (gas mask) tests in the afternoon.
I doubt that anyone liked these tests, but they were necessary due to
the threat of gas being used (though it never actually was used in WW2). Eventually "gas chamber tests"
would take on a much more sinister tone - at this point in the war, to most
people this phrase just referred to testing the gas masks of the troops, in
case of a gas attack. Captain Eldridge and Lt York returned from leave.
November 28 – M.R.S.567157, Italy
1 and 3 Platoons
worked on bridge and route maintenance, extending BOTTLE route, repairing
bridge approaches and skin decking a bridge.
2 Platoon built a new 50 foot Bailey Bridge. The Gunsaps assisted 2 Platoon in their work.
November 29 to 30 – M.R.S.567157, Italy
All platoons
continued with various aspects of bridge maintenance and route work. They also assisted the TUNNELING COMPANY on a
bridge. Gunsaps helped with road
maintenance.
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