A Sapper’s War - 12 Fld Coy RCE History, Part 3 Dec 1943
A Note on Blog and Book
The
blogs will mostly relate to their time in Italy, from Oct 1943 to Jan 1945,
though it will ultimately be extended to the later events in Northwestern
Europe and the earlier events in the U.K.. They will be put together in
book form eventually, but until that time the blogs will be available for
interested readers on this "Dodecahedron Books" blog site. I
encourage anyone who in interested to read the blogs, and buy the book when it
comes available.
Naturally,
I am claiming copyright, though you can make "fair use" of content,
of course, if you are writing about similar times and events.
Though
the overall history of the war will be noted, as context, the text mainly
relates to the experiences of the 12th Field Company, as indicated in their War
Diary and related orders, and other documents. If you want a more general
history of the war, there are many other sources to more completely fill in
those details.
There
will be a fair bit of focus on what might be called "social history",
in addition to the sometimes routine, sometimes harrowing military activities
of a group of Allied sappers in the Italian Theatre of WW2. The daily
orders and company War Diary often provide an interesting window into this
day-to-day world that the strictly military military lacks.
Though
this account is based on a Canadian engineer company, it is likely that
British, other Commonwealth and American sappers would have lived through
similar experiences at this time, so families and interested parties from those
nations might also find it interesting.
I
will fill in links to the blog series below, as they are posted.
Dec
1943: TBA
Jan
1944: TBA
Feb
1944: TBA
Mar
1944: TBA
Apr
1944: TBA
May
1944: TBA
Jun
1944: TBA
Jul
1944: TBA
Aug
1944: TBA
Sep
1944: TBA
Oct
1944: TBA
Nov
1944: TBA
Dec
1944: TBA
Jan
1945: TBA
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December 1943
Introduction
During December, the Canadian 1st
Infantry Division was heavily engaged in the brutal Battle for Ortona, along
the Adriatic, so it was no doubt a great concern that 1 Canadian Corps couldn’t
help out in that endeavour. The struggle
for control of Ortona was a battle in which the Germans and Canadians fought
over the small port city of Ortona, with each side taking many casualties.
Though some questioned its strategic value
(though controlling a port is always useful), it took on a great political
significance, being tagged by the media as “Little Stalingrad”. The intense house to house fighting was
reminiscent of that far larger battle in Russia, and it became an important
symbol for the western Allies to show Stalin that they were in the fight. Of interest from the engineering point of view
was the development of the technique known as “mouse holing”, whereby Canadian
engineers blown holes in the walls between buildings, allowing troops to slowly
advance in that manner.
1 Canadian Corps didn’t make it to the Ortona area until most of the fighting was over, early in 1944. During December 1943, the 12th Fld Coy worked primarily on the bridge crossing of the Simeto River, near Adrano on the island of Sicily. They also did some work on a Canadian Military Hospital on Sicily. Though these actions weren’t as dramatic as the Ortona battle, improving the lines of communication and supply in Sicily and on the Italian mainland was of no small importance. After all, it is said that victory is very much dependent on superior logistics and administration. And the value of a hospital goes without saying in wartime.
As noted previously, the units in Operation
Timberwolf didn’t have the option of bringing much of their Canadian equipment
to the Mediterranean, so they were somewhat hampered by having to wait for
later convoys and/or using British Eighth Army in-theatre equipment that had
passed its best before date, from heavy usage in North Africa. This also hampered their ability to join the
fight, for some time after the November landing in Italy.
12 Field Company War Diary, December 1943
Following is a condensation of the War
Diary notes for December 1943.
Dec 1 to 3 – Adrano, Sicily
To begin
December, the company fixed up its new quarters, making them livable as “They
were filthy”. The area was in a basin
between two mountain ranges, so it was warm during the day but cold at night.
The river
crossing job had been changed from a bridge to concrete ford. It was expected
that the job would take a fortnight, as there were difficulties with supplies
and tools for the job, so the going would be slow. It was pick and shovel stuff to begin with.
Dec 4 to 6 – Adrano, Sicily
The
company began receiving some equipment now, including dump trucks and a D4
tractor. But heavy rain began to fall, and the river began to rise
precipitously, by four feet in one day.
Soon, the river was raging, and a truck was lost in it, as the banks
became extremely slippery. It was pulled
it out with the D4 cat, but it took some rough handling in the process.
Most of the river crossings were flooded out and carried away by the current, so the unit was now effectively cut off from the rest of Sicily by the river. The rivers were now torrents, 6 to 7 feet above their level of just a few days earlier. The only way to bring in rations was a stone bridge several miles away, which was only approachable by mule tracks. Since the company didn’t have mules, they were forced to manhandle the supplies they needed.
Dec 7 to 9 – Adrano, Sicily
Attempts were
made to put a line across the river, but the rope broke. Fortunately the rain stopped and the river
now began to fall, so sappers could cross by wading to re-supply, but it was
“no picnic”, due to the freezing water.
Since the river was
lower, work on the river ford could go forth again. That included pouring
concrete for the abutment and working on some makeshift break waters and
culverts. The Quarter Master had gone missing,
probably due to truck trouble. This was
a concern.
Dec 10 to 12 – Adrano, Sicily
The Quarter
Master returned safely from Syracuse, bearing news that the lost 3rd platoon, who had been working on a
hospital in Syracuse, had been located.
Unfortunately, they had had a spot of trouble with lice, and needed to
be thoroughly disinfected (as did their clothes). They were still working on Canadian
hospital there, which was expected to take a few more days. As it turned out,
they had also sustained a lot of minor injuries and ailments during this time.
The rains
resumed, but the Simeto River work continued, and the ford was still
standing. Work on the abutment
continued, though the quality of the concrete was not great, due to a lack of
good sand and gravel. An abandoned
German petrol truck had its tank cut off, which was then filled with stones to
produce a makeshift breakwater.
Dec 13 to 16 – Adrano, Sicily
Work on the
crossing continued, including finishing piers, positioning girders, decking and
finishing up the final road approaches.
The bridge took its first traffic and everything held up.
There were rumours
about a move to mainland, though there was no official word to that effect. A sapper, Spr McKechnie was to be tried for
A.W.L.. He seemed like a troublesome sort, as would be borne out in later
months.
Dec 17 to 20 – Adrano, Sicily
The crossing and
associated road work was nearly done. It
withstood considerable traffic, though there were some problems with the road
surface, so some more effort was spent on improving the surface and sandbagging
around the culverts was installed. Corps
Engineers visited and seemed happy with the bridge, though they recognized that
culverts will have to be kept clear in heavy weather. 3 platoon moved on to Syracuse, to take over
billets and start some road work there.
Dec 21 to 27 – Syracuse, Sicily
Christmas dinner and related libations went
well. Sergeants and officers served the
sappers, with the War Diarist noting “It was an excellent meal and a very
liquid time was enjoyed.”
After Boxing
Day, the company got back to army business.
Among other activities, there were marches to the range and Tommy gun
training.
Dec 28 to 31 – Syracuse, Sicily
3 Pl continued
on works (tramway job), while the others trained. However, a move to the mainland was imminent,
so preparations for that were soon underway.
Department of Defence Historical Documents and Miscellaneous Sources
1 - Sexually Transmitted Diseases
“A
report in December 1943, on the alarming incidence of this disease stated that
the rate for V.D. among Cdns in Sicily is now 454 per thousand per year.
Various attempts to meet this particular problem included abandoned plans for
supervised brothels and a general educational policy with penalties for troops
who could not prove that the elementary protection provided by V-packs and
‘blue light centres’ had been adopted. Placing the large cities 'out of bounds'
normally led to excesses in the villages or among rural communities where
adequate prophylactic stations could not be properly established.”
2 - Some representative early 1 Canadian Corps RCE action, though not the 12th Field Company
“The engineers of 5 Cdn Armd Div were
called upon soon after their arrival. On 27 Nov, General Simonds was requested
to make them available for operations with Eighth Army and agreed so long as it
was assault work and not building behind the lines. This assurance was
received. The sappers under Lt-Col J.D.
Christian, C.R.S., 5 Cdn Armd Div, moved forward and operated under command of
Eighth Army but in support of and assisting the engineers of 2 N.Z. Div, who had
been heavily engaged and had found it difficult to maintain the L. of C. The
first job assigned to the Canadians was the improvement of a stretch of road
from Casalanguida (H4283) to the Sangro.
This task was given to 1 Fld Sqn. 10 Fld Sqn was put to work on a high level bridge
over the R. Aventino at map reference H300901; this they completed by 10 Dec -
an achievement which won them praise from General Freyberg. On 9 Nov, I Tp of 1
Sqn came under command of 1 Cdn Armd Bde and operated with 12 Cdn Armd Regt,
clearing mines under shell fire. The whole group was recalled to the command of
5 Cdn Armd Div at the end of December
and although not all of their tasks had been of an assault nature, they had
operated under shell fire and mortar fire and during enemy air attacks, and had
suffered several casualties, two of which were fatal.”
Other Notes and Observations from December 1943
Following are some selected quotes from the
documents associated with the War Diaries:
1 - The Simeto River Crossing job:
Attached is a
communication, thanking 12th Fld Coy for their work on the Simeto
River job. It emphasizes that improving
transport and communications was an essential job, though not generally heroic
or dramatic (though there were always accidents and mines to consider).
Dec 5, 1943
MESSAGE
– This refers to our job on the SIMETO RIVER.
The
Corps Commander has received from G.O.C. NO. 1 District, CMP, (SICILY) the
following letter of appreciation for the able assistance furnished to the
District by all ranks of HQ 1 Cdn Corps and Cdn Corps Troops:
Dear
General,
I
want to express my appreciation to you for the work which your troops are doing
in helping us out in our various tasks here.
In all spheres we are receiving much able assistance from you and I can
assure you that this is indeed very great help to our strained resources. In
this extended warfare, on the lines of Communication one always has the feeling
of living on a piece of elastic at full stretch: therefore it is indeed
pleasant to find that the strain is a little relaxed by such a happy windfall that
has been provided by you.
I
hope that you will be good enough to let your troops know how much we are
indebted to them for all their help.
Sincerely,
J.
Clark
2 - German Mines and Other Engineer Intelligence:
German mines
would be a constant preoccupation for engineers, as would be the laying mines
for allied troops. There were a large
variety of mines to be aware of, some of which were detectable by mine
detectors and some of which were not.
Other enemy explosives, left by retreating troops or dropped by enemy
aircraft could also be deadly.
Dec 10, 1943
“S”
MINES
1
Reports have been received of “S” mines which contain a detonator instead of
the four second delay pellet, thus making the mine practically
instantaneous. The object of this has
NOT been made clear.
2
Fifth Army now report that six dead bodies with their legs blown off have been
found in the vicinity of mines of this type.
3 It
appears that although the lethal range may not be so great, “S” mines with
instantaneous fuses are the more deadly as they do not allow time or space for
prostration. They will probably be laid
mixed with normal type.
Dec 28, 1943
ENGINEER
INTELLIGENCE
It
must be remembered that the sowing of “S” mines in craters and the laying of
A/Tk mines on either side of diversions was carried on extensively by the enemy
and extended considerably the time of making a good passage.
Dec 14, 1943
INTELLIGENCE
REPORTS – EIGHTH ARMY
MINES
AND BOOBY TRAPS
The
Germans have a new type of A/Tk Mine made of aluminum, weighing approx. 7 lbs.
(filling). Total weight being of 14
lbs.. It has a body diameter of 11 ½
inches with a lid 12 inches in diameter.
This mine has three points of ignition under the lid. Three DZ35 Push Igniters are used. A pressure on one side of about 130 lbs. will
ignite it or a central pressure of 390 lbs.. To neutralize, lift lid and insert
a nail or safety pin(s) in the igniters. Mine detectors WILL pick this mine up.
Dec 22, 1944
HANDLING
AND MOVEMENT OF ENEMY AMMUNITION
In
view of a recent accident involving the death of several officers and men
whilst handling enemy ammunition, it is necessary to draw the attention of all
ranks to GRO 506/43, which is reproduced hereunder. This order will be republished in all unit
orders forthwith.
1 NO
enemy ammunition will be moved or handled until it has been examined by an
I.O.O. who will, as the result of his examination, decide whether the
ammunition will be destroyed in situ or wired off and indicated by warning
notices pending further investigations, whether it is safe to move. In the last case, a report will be rendered
to his HQ, certifying that it is safe to move and under what conditions the
movement will take place. Such movement may be authorized by the HQ receiving
this certificate except as in para 2 below.
Only the above mentioned officer will examine, destroy, or certify enemy
ammunition safe for movement.
2 No
movement of enemy ammunition in bulk, by rail or ship, will be made without
reference to AFHQ “Q” Maintenance, giving the following details: Type,
Quantity, Number of packages and type of packages. Group, which will also be marked on each
package. Type of storage necessary.
Reason for proposed movement.
3
Enemy aircraft bombs will be moved only under supervision of RE Bomb Disposal
Units, with any necessary technical assistance from the RAF. The OC Bomb
Disposal Unit responsible for inspection will make the necessary certificate
for movement as in para 1; par 2 also applies.
4
Enemy ammunition will not be stored nearer than one quarter of a mile from
British ammunition and explosives.
5
All working parties of all Services, including dock labour, involved in the
movement of enemy ammunition will be warned personally by a qualified officer
on every occasion prior to handling enemy ammunition as to the precautions
which must be observed during the movement, and such work will be supervised by
qualified technical personnel. Local
native labour will NOT be utilized for handling enemy ammunition.
3 - The Problems of Troops and Alcohol:
Booze was always
a problem. That’s hardly a surprise –
take an enormous number of young men, move them to a place far from home and
family, train them to be aggressive, add in an extremely stressful situation
(often life and death), and you are bound to get the desire to escape from it
all with alcohol. The fact that these
Canadians had little experience of wine (vino) and couldn’t calibrate their
consumption well, only added to the problem.
Dec 13, 1944
BEHAVIOUR
OF TROOPS
There
have been recent incidents where members of the R.C.E. units have had too much
to drink and have attacked the local inhabitants. This behaviour disgraces the soldier’s unit
and the whole Canadian Army and without fail other members of his unit suffer
for his actions.
It
only takes a couple of men to give a unit a bad name and this unit has a few of
the type who if not controlled will undoubtedly cause trouble for this unit.
Last
night recreational transport was run to ADRANO to see a show – some men took
advantage of it to go on a spree and a disturbance was created. By their actions the coy suffers by the
cessation of any future recreational transport.
In future it is the responsibility of any N.C.O. or Spr. to place any
other member of this unit who is creating a disturbance under close arrest and
escort him home or hand him over to the M.P.s.
The culprit will immediately be court martialed and get the maximum
punishment.
Dec 26, 1943
DISCIPLINE
In future andy personnel of
this unit discovered bringing bottles of wine into billets will be severely
dealt with. Guard commanders will note this order and will be responsible for
its observance.
4 - Relations with Italian Civilians:
The relations of
Canadian troops with the Italian civilian population was also an issue. It has to be kept in mind that the Allies were
actually a conquering army, even if the Italian population had never been all
that committed to Mussolini and his cause.
And among this population there were committed fascists, saboteurs,
enemy agents, Italian nationalists, and people who just didn’t like having
hundreds of thousands of young men from foreign lands invading their
country. So, things could get testy at
times.
Dec 21, 1944
CARRYING
OF ARMS AND AMMUNITION
1
All personnel travelling either in convoy or in individual vehicles proceeding outside
the village or town in which their billets are located, will carry personal
arms and ammunition..
Dec 28, 1944
CONDUCT TOWARD THE CIVIL
POPULATION IN A THEATRE OF OPERATIONS
1 Regardless of what
individual opinion there may be, there are terms governing the conduct of
civilians of a country under occupation whereby the civilians are entitled to a
normal life, and to go about their business unmolested. Only under such special circumstances as may
be required by definite military duties, has the individual soldeir any special
rights in dealing with the civilian population. Redress of any complaints
soldiers may have against civilians will be made through proper military
channels.
2 Military operations are only
one phase of the conquest of a nation. Those
who immediately follow the assualting troops must bey practicing the principles
of democracy, set a very high example.
3 Offences against the civil
population, more specially any offence involving the threat of or use of force
of the threat of or use of arms (including knives and daggers), will be
severtly dealt with.
4 Misconduct by soldiers
towards the civilians is of direct assistance to the enemy and furnishes a
fertile ground for enemy propoganda. The
Canadian is one of the best educated of soldiers fighting for the Allied
Nations, and should readily sense the results of maltreatment of
civilians. Acts of violence toward the
civilian population bring dishonour and discredit to Canada and the Allied Nations.
5 - The Things they Watched:
In this case,
they are being given a chance to see one of the “Thin Man” series. These were a series of husband and wife
detective stories that became popular, involving comedy, action and
romance. I watched one of the early
movies: William Powell and Myrna Loy had good screen chemistry, and there was a
lot of witty banter in the films. Lots of boozing, and jokes about boozing. The
dog Asta was
also amusing.
also amusing.
Dec
11, 1943
SHOW
There will be a show called “The Thin Man in South
America” shown in Adrano at 1830 hrs, 12 Dec 43 (Sunday). There will be transport provided. (We hope).
Some Family Stories Related to December 1943 Events
Attitudes towards Italians and Germans
Martin and other
veterans I met while hanging out at the Royal Canadian Legion with him, had a
great respect for the qualities of the German soldier and a corresponding lack
of respect for the Italian soldier. The
informal term for the Germans was "Jerry", whereas the Italians were
referred to as "Eyeties". In
modern usage, the term "Eyetie" (and to a lesser extent
"Jerry") may seem rather politically incorrect, but wartime is not
particularly conducive of tolerance and understanding.
Martin was not
impressed with Italian soldiering, as he was with the Germans. He claimed that the Italians would sometimes
send their livestock, or even the civilian women, ahead to determine if there
were minefields. This might just be the
military equivalent of an urban legend (I can believe livestock, but not women),
but who could possibly know, after all these years.
All that being
said, Italian soldiers reportedly fought well in North Africa, while under
Rommel’s command (the German general known as the Desert Fox).
Then, there were
the Mafia in Sicily and southern Italy, whom he said would go whichever way the
wind blew, and could not be trusted. I
believe he was impressed by the Italian partisans, however, who could be quite
effective and deadly, especially by the time the war had moved up to Northern
Italy. By then, Italy was out of the
war, and partisans were cooperating with the Allies, to kick the Germans out of
the country.
It hardly seems surprising that many
Italians were not enthusiastic soldiers, with their country stuck in an uncomfortable
alliance with a great power, and with their own country very definitely being
the junior partner of the alliance. Many
soldiers would have been reluctant draftees, anyway.
As for Italian civilians, for the most
part, Italians weren’t that keen on Mussolini’s empire pretensions, though they
did go along when things were going well.
A “new Roman Empire” was Mussolini’s fantasy. It seems as if the Italian population “went along
to get along”, but once the war turned against Italy, they turned against the
war.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
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The book focuses on one particular company of soldier/sappers in the Canadian Army, but many of their experiences would be common to any of the Allied units in the European theatre. Some of the major battles in which they were involved included Ortona, Monte Casino, the Gothic Line, the battles for Ravenna and the Po Valley, the Liberation of Holland and final defeat of the Third Reich.
In addition, some content relates to the experiences of civilians in Britain during that time. Appendices also look at some of the details of military engineering (e.g. bridging, mines, storm boats, the M-test), casualties, the Aldershot Riots and other issues of post-war rehabilitation and return to civilian life.
Much of the material comes from company war diaries and related materials, though a brief sketch of the wider campaigns relevant to the experience of these men is included, as are some interesting side-bars (e.g. the unit served alongside the celebrated irregulars known as Popski’s Private Army during their time in Northern Italy). To get a more “micro” feel for the on-site experiences of the time, some of my own family’s stories are related (a soldier/sapper, a war bride/war worker, a P.O.W., and an Atlantic convoy merchant marine sailor, among others). The summations of the War Diaries also include much interesting information about day-to-day life, both military and non-military.
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The trail passes through a great variety of geographical and geological regions, from mountains to valleys, along scenic lakes and rivers, to dry near-desert condition grasslands. It often features towering canyons, spanned by a combination of high trestle bridges and long tunnels, as it passes through wild, unpopulated country. At other times, it remains quite low, in populated valleys, alongside spectacular water features such as beautiful Lake Okanagan, an area that is home to hundreds of vineyards, as well as other civilized comforts.
The trail is a nice test of one’s physical fitness, as well as one’s wits and adaptability, as much of it does travel through true wilderness. The views are spectacular, the wildlife is plentiful and the people are friendly. What more could one ask for?
What follows is a journal of two summers of adventure, biking most of the trail in the late 1990s. It is about 33,000 words in length (2 to 3 hours reading), and contains numerous photographs of the trail. There are also sections containing a brief history of the trail, geology, flora and fauna, and associated information.
After reading this account, you should have a good sense of whether the trail is right for you. If you do decide to ride the trail, it will be an experience you will never forget.
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