A Sapper’s War - 12 Fld Coy RCE History, Part 5 Feb 1944
A Note on Blog and Book
This
series of blogs, entitled "A Sapper's War" follows some units of the
Royal Canadian Engineers in World War 2, primarily the 12th Field Company,
which was my father's unit. The main sources are the unit War Diary, Daily
Orders, official military histories, and The History of the Corps of Royal
Canadian Engineers Volume 2. I will also include some personal accounts
of his, when this is appropriate to the history.
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 lacks.
Though
this account is based is 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: https://dodecahedronbooks.blogspot.com/2019/11/a-sappers-war-12-fld-coy-rce-history_30.html
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
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
February 1944
As noted earlier, the early part of 1944
was relatively quiet for Canadian troops in Italy. However, by February, U.S. and British troops
were heavily engaged in and around the Anzio Bridgehead and American and other
allied troops had advanced to positions around Cassino, via the western part of
the Italian boot.
1 Canadian Corps and others of the
Eighth Army continued with active patrolling on the eastern side of the boot,
referred to as “The Adriatic Barricade”.
The intent was “to contain as many of the enemy as possible, to hinder
his movements and his efforts at thinning out his line on the Corps front, and
to harass him unceasingly” (Page 43, Report 173).
As for 12 Fld Coy, it continued with training of various sorts,
active mine clearance (up to the front lines at Ortona), road maintenance, and
removal of demolitions left by the enemy. Even during these lulls, however, causalities and
fatalities could be (and were) caused by mines and accidents.
Following is a condensation of the 12 Fld
Coy War Diary notes for February 1944.
Feb 1 to 6 – Campomarino, Italy
To begin the
month, work was slow as 2 and 3 platoons moved into new areas. Some companies of the Royal Engineers and the
RCE also moved into the area, as there was a bridging course located there,
which many units were taking. 12 Fld Coy
took the bridging course, along with 1 Fld Coy, RCE. By the Feb 6, the company was on the move to a
new site. Conditions were snowy, and
many vehicles were seen spending some time in the ditch.
Feb 7 to 10 – San Vito Marino, Italy
After the move,
the company settled into its new billets.
This was followed by training of various sorts (Bren, Tommy, first aid,
etc). Then, there was mine clearance training for 2 and 3 Platoons, as well as mine
clearing for 1 Platoon, up to the front line slit trenches, joining the
infantry in and around Ortona and north of it.
Feb 11 to 15 – San Vito Marino, Italy
3 platoon cleared
gun sites of mines for British artillery around Ortona. 1 and 2 platoons went on "specialized
training". A D4 cat of another RCE unit
nearby blew up a Teller mine, resulting in some injuries and hospitalizations. The site had been swept, but the mine was too
deep to be detected, especially as it was an Italian box mine (i.e. wooden). Some of the officers were off to a Court of
Inquiry, regarding the accident.
Feb 16 to 21 – San Vito Marino, Italy
2
Platoon swept the camp for suspected deeply buried mines, but a truck tripped one
anyway. A sapper (Spr Woods) was killed
instantly (“driver blown out of the cab”); there were other injuries as well. Remaining vehicles were evacuated from the
motor transport park.
There was a
minor dysentery outbreak in the camp (13 men from 3 Platoon were on sick
parade). A muddy camp made the
experience even worse.
Feb 22 to 26 – San Vito Marino, Italy
Platoons were
involved in training, mine sweeping, and takeover of road maintenance from 14
Fld Coy RCE. Preparations were made for
paid Italian labour to assist with the road work. Weather continued to be gloomy, with the odd
sunny break.
Feb 26 to 29 – San Vito Marino, Italy
The company continued
with road maintenance. A search for
demolition charges took place in a nearby railway tunnel, but was found to be a
dud by Sgt Critchley. During the
relative downtime, a recee of the local area was made, searching for sources of
eggs and vino.
Department of Defence Historical Documents and Miscellaneous Sources, February 1944
Following are some selected quotes from the
report on Operations during Jan-Apr 1944 in Italy, written by the military:
1 - The Effect of Weather on Operations in February 1944:
“Descriptions of the weather are vital to
the understanding of most questions of operations and morale on this front.
With very little respite the weather in February remained bad, and the effect
of this factor has been depressing. The heavy clay of the coastal sector, in which
we have tried to fight, has been converted into a morass, and the conditions of
our forward slit trenches can be imagined more easily than described. It was not
until 27 February that the sun made more than a fitful appearance. Although the
climate moderated somewhat during the last days of February, for the first ten
days of March "the elements raged with unexampled fury." Gales which
broke over the battlefield on 10/11 Feb brought heavy floods which caused large
sections of the coastal road to disappear, necessitating the use of the
roundabout mountain roads which had become similarly impassable.” (page 47)
2 - Active Patrolling:
“Since the main activity during the five weeks 1 Feb to
7 Mar was patrolling, it is relevant to clarify the nomenclature and objects of
the several types of patrols as established at a conference held at H.Q. 1 Cdn Inf
Div, on 14 Feb. They were defined as follows:
Recce patrols,
(a) Strength: generally one officer and three other
ranks - to be heavily armed and capable of defending itself.
(b) Objects: to obtain information by listening,
watching or searching; avoids fighting.
Standing patrols,
(a) Strength: any number up to a platoon.
(b) Objects:
(1) for protective purposes
(2) to kill
(3) to ambush,
Fighting patrols
(a) Strength: generally one officer, one N.C.O., and ten
other
ranks.
(b) Objects:
(1) Special Fighting patrols – meet the
enemy and fight
(2) to bring in a body
(3) to dominate No Man's Land.
Raiding party,
Strength: larger than a platoon,
Objects:
(1) to raid and clear out positions
(2) to capture prisoners from any enemy
position
(3) to carry out special tasks.” (page 48)
3 - Rumours about War Brides in the U.K.:
“On the battlefield rumour travels faster than sound,
and a tale was in circulation throughout the Corps that English wives were
being compulsorily returned to Canada on the basis of their husbands being out
of the U.K. This rumour was immediately and officially denied, and is only referred
to as just one more factor, trivial as it may seem, which contributed to the general depression.”
REPORT NO. 178
HISTORICAL OFFICER
CANADIAN MILITARY HEADQUARTERS
CANADIAN OPERATIONS IN ITALY
5 JAN - 21 APR 44
Orders and Documents Archived with the 12 Fld Coy War Diary, February 1944
1 - Mine Clearance Engineer Intelligence:
This is a pretty
good description of some of the nitty-gritty of clearing a minefield. Imagine prodding the ground in front of you,
with the possibility that you could make a mistake and blow yourself up, along
with your minesweeping partner. I
remember that this seemed pretty amazing when my dad first told me of it. At the time, I assumed that everything was
done as shown in the movies – i.e. just walking along with a magnetic detector.
Feb 7, 1944
MINE
CLEARANCE
It
was noticed during the mine clearance today that the detector men paid no
attention to where they put their feet. Because a detector is NOT reliable in
picking up a wooden box mine it is essential that the detector man walk ONLY
where the ground has previously been prodded.
Likewise the prodders only prod where the detector has swept.
In
other words the detector man stands in one positon and sweeps an area i.e. an
arc, the prodder then prods within the arc.
The detector man then moves forward so his feet are within an area has
been both swept by detector and prodded, and sweeps another arc. The process is then carried on. Remember to NOT step in any area which has
not been both swept and prodded. It is
not only your life but there are the lives of those who are with you.
Also
when neutralizing a mine, only the man doing the neutralizing should be closer
than 50 yards from the mine – and make it a good 50 yards.
And here’s a
short order related to some new plastic explosives, to be used in demolitions.
Feb 10, 1944
PLASTIC
808 (BR.)
Plastic
“Explosive 808” will be delivered in the near future for use by units. In order that it may be distinguished from
the existing non-plastic 808, wrappers will be labelled “Plastic 808” in RED,
as opposed to the present BLUE marking.
2 - Canadian Soldiers Wives in the U.K.:
Here’s how the
situation was put to the troops on the ground, regarding the rumours about U.K.
wives of Canadian soldiers. That would
have included my mother, as my father and mother were married in the U.K. in
1943. She didn’t come to Canada until
1946, after my father had been demobilized in late 1945.
Feb 8, 1944
CDN
SOLDIERS WIVES IN UK
1
Certain rumours have been circulated both within and without 1 Cdn Corps to the
effect, the English wives of Cdn Soldiers are being compulsory returned to
Canada on the basis that their husbands are out of the UK.
2
There is NO truth to this rumour.
3 A
circular has been sent with Dependents Allowance Cheques, at the end of
February, informing all UK wives of the provisions of Overseas RO 3322, par
1-8. These paras, in brief, state that
free transportation to Canada will be provided for all dependents of soldiers,
but only in exceptional circumstances, will a dependent be eligible for free
transportation until the solder is returning to Canada for discharge or some
other permanent purposes. Wives have
also been informed of the address of the Cdn Immigration Dept. in London, and
have been advised to retain this information for further use.
3 - Training Syllabus for 3 Platoon, 12 Fld Coy RCE:
This order gives
a nice summary of some of the training that an Engineer Field Company went
through at this time of the war.
Activities included:
·
Everything to do with water
points, the facilities to tap water sources and purify water for the army. This was an important function – water
sources had to be near the front lines to supply troops, and the water had to be
clean, to ensure that troops were in shape for operations. Troops that were sick from water-borne
diseases became a liability rather than an asset.
·
Small arms training, including
Tommy Guns and Bren Guns, in this case.
Engineer units had to be able to provide their own protection, and could
be called upon in infantry roles as well.
·
General training in use of
tools of all types.
·
First aid, in case of injuries
on the job, mines or from enemy action.
·
Use of the Piat gun, an
anti-tank weapon (Projector Infantry, Anti-tank), and not an easy one to
operate. It was spring-loaded, which
made it hard to set up and it had to be fired from a relatively short
range. There was no back-blast, however,
which was an advantage. Back blast could
give your position away, and was dangerous to the operators. As for the Piat gun, opinions varied about
the weapon – some thought it great, others hated it.
·
Familiarity with mines and
clearing of mine fields.
·
Then, there were company
sports, meant to maintain morale and keep the fellows fit and healthy.
Notably absent in this particular order
was Bailey Bridge assembly, disassembly or demolitions, though they did plenty
of training in those areas.
NO. 3 PL. TRAINING SYLLABUS
FOR WEEK 14-19 FEB 44
Monday
0800-0830 Parade
0830-0930 Water Recces
0930-1030 Horrocks Test (Chlorination)
1030-1130 Water Purification
LUNCH
1330-1430 Sanitation
1430-1530 Water Points
1530-1630 Tommy Gun (Drivers only)
Tuesday
0800-0830 Parade
0830-0930 Bren Gun Stripping
0930-1030 Bren Gun Immediate Action
1030-1130 Bren Gun Stoppages
LUNCH
1330-1430 Compressor, Use of Tools
1430-1530 Compressor, Use of Tools
1530-1630 Compressor, Use of Tools
Wednesday
0800-0830 Parade
0830-0930 Equipment Needed, First Aid
0930-1030 Equipment Use, First Aid
1030-1130 Body Structures, First Aid
LUNCH
1330-1430 Fractures
1430-1530 Hemorrhage
1530-1630 Shock and Concussion
Thursday
0800-0830 Parade
0830-0930 Piat Gun Stripping
0930-1030 Piat Gun Cocking
1030-1130 Piat Gun, Loading and Handling
LUNCH
1330-1430 Mines and Minefield Clearance
1430-1530 Mines and Minefield Clearance
1530-1630 Mines and Minefield Clearance
Friday
0800-0830 Parade
0830-0930 Enemy Demolition Equipment
0930-1030 A.B.C.A.
1030-1130 Questions and Answer Period
LUNCH
1330-1430 Company Sports
1430-1530 Company Sports
1530-1630 Company Sports
Some Family Stories Related to February 1944 Events
War Bride Rumours (of being shipped to Canada)
I don’t recall either
my mother or father talking about these rumours. However, his war records show an August 1943
entry saying “married without permission” and a January 1944 entry saying
“Granted Permission to Marry”, followed by a Feb 1944 entry giving details of
the marriage.
I don’t know why
he didn’t get the army’s permission to marry.
I suspect that he just didn’t see the need for it. But, perhaps these war-bride related rumours
about brides being shipped to Canada encouraged him to “fess-up” to the
marriage.
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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.
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The travelogue is about 12,000 words, about
60 minutes of reading, at typical reading speeds.
