A Sapper’s War - 12 Fld Coy RCE History, Part 6 March 1944

A Sapper’s War - 12 Fld Coy RCE History, Part 6 March 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.

Oct 1943: https://dodecahedronbooks.blogspot.com/2019/10/a-sappers-war-12-fld-coy-rce-history.html

Nov 1943: https://dodecahedronbooks.blogspot.com/2019/11/a-sappers-war-12-fld-coy-rce-history.html

Dec 1943: https://dodecahedronbooks.blogspot.com/2019/11/a-sappers-war-12-fld-coy-rce-history_30.html

Jan 1944: https://dodecahedronbooks.blogspot.com/2020/01/a-sappers-war-12-fld-coy-rce-history.html 

Feb 1944: https://dodecahedronbooks.blogspot.com/2020/01/a-sappers-war-12-fld-coy-rce-history_27.html 

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  

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

March 1944

March 1944 continued to be relatively quiet on the Adriatic front.  Planning for an eventual operation by Eighth Army to break the German line in the Liri Valley, south of Rome, was underway but the main activity for Canadian troops in Italy during March continued to be patrolling.

Meanwhile, Fifth Army remained stalemated at the Anzio beachhead, on the western side of Italy while it consolidated its positions around Monte Cassino, though that position was also stalemated.

The Abbey at Monte Cassino had been bombed by the allies in mid-February, but that hadn’t provided the allies with the impetus for advance that they had expected.  Arguably, bombing the Abbey actually helped the Germans, as they could now use the ruins as an observation post, unencumbered by any scruples they may have had previously, concerning using the Abbey for military purposes. 

As for 12 Fld Coy, they made some more moves, and focused primarily on bridging and bridging training, activities which would be needed in the offensive to come later, in the Cassino area.  However, it sometimes seemed like problems between Canadian sappers and Italian civilians were almost as dangerous as closing with the German enemy.  Boredom and the resulting boozing was part of the problem, as the men were still quite far from the action.  As always, mines and minefields were an ever-present danger.

Following is a condensation of the 12 Fld Coy War Diary notes for March 1944. 

March 1 to 4 – San Vito Marino, Italy

The company was involved mainly with road maintenance, to begin the month.  A truck was stolen, while an evening movie was being shown to the company (Road to Frisco), but it was soon located at the “Sword and Drum” in San Vito (presumably a pub in town).

An Italian laborer, hired by 2 Platoon, died on the job, for reasons unknown (sickness of some sort, apparently).  An Indian Engineer Company sergeant set off a mine after wandering into a minefield near 3 Platoon; he lost two legs and an arm.  A L/Sgt (Weardon) and two sappers (Martin and Theoret) from 3 Platoon went immediately into the unflagged minefield to rescue him, carrying him back through the minefield. Despite their heroics, his survival prospects looked dim.

March 5 to 7 – San Vito Marino, Campomarino, Italy

A fracas that members of 12^th Coy got into with some Italian Army personnel (and perhaps some civilians) resulted in a 12 Coy sapper (Wylie) getting a few bullets in the leg, and an Italian being laid up in the hospital with head injuries (“a broken head”).  Alcohol seemed to be involved, though details were scarce.  Investigations by the Provost Corps were ongoing.

Mid-week saw a move, to the 8th Army Bridging Camp, at Campomarino. The company was issued some badly needed new trucks during the move, which involved spectacularly bad weather.  3 Platoon, which the War Diary writer ironically referred to as “The Fighting Troisieme” (roughly translated as “the Fighting Third”), took a few wrong turns before finding the correct road.  I presume the nickname referred to the previous night’s pugilistic antics.

There was more trouble with irate Italian civilians, as parents of a young man hired to help out in the kitchen weren’t happy about their son going away with the Canadian army.  The situation was resolved amicably, with the young man returning to his village.

March 8 to 12 – Campomarino, Italy

The new camp was a sea of mud, and heavy rains made bridging training nearly impossible.  Many of the men were coming down with bad colds due to the difficult conditions.  An existing bridge over the Biferno River failed, with the loss of a tank and tank transporter.  The tank became embedded in the river mud.

 Late in the week, the weather improved, so the company got in some work on pontoon bridging practice (F.B.E. or Floating Boat Equipment or Folding Boat Equipment, that could be used for pontoon bridging or as a small boat).  Note that the attached photo isn’t actually our lads, but it is a nice picture of a loaded F.B.E..

A heavy blizzard soon blew in, but it passed through quickly and the weather improved again.

March 13 to 16 – Campomarino, Italy

Though the weather had improved, and the sun had returned, the mountain roads were now blocked by snow.  That gave the opportunity for about half the company to visit a nearby airfield, though no specific engineer duties were required during the visit.

Another company (10 Fld Pk) had trouble with their B.P.B. (a pontoon bridge), so 12 Fld Coy helped out.  Apparently, the heavy weather had caused debris to smash against the bridge, and considerable damage was done, especially to the pontoons.

The company continued to have trouble with sappers’ drinking.  In one case, a sapper was accidentally run over by a tank transporter, but miraculously escaped with only bruises – it is probable that alcohol was involved in the incident.  There is a saying, that God looks after children, drunks and fools.  Perhaps we could add sappers to that list, at least in this case.

More troublesome was another conflict between sappers (McKechnie and Clements) and Italian civilians, with one “problem sapper” (McKechnie) chasing Italian civilians around, threatening them with a commando knife.  Once more, alcohol was involved.

The company built a 160 foot floating Bailey Bridge, along with fixing up the 10^th Fld Pk Coy’s pontoon bridge.

March 17 to 19 – Campomarino, Bonefro, Italy

The evidence gathering and paperwork for knife wielding sapper's court martial was being arranged.  The other miscreant that was involved in the difficulties with the Italian civilians was sent “for a 28 day rest” at Guglionesi (i.e. a stint in the military police lock-up at that location).

The move to Bonefro was completed.  After settling in, the boys explored the town, which was rather too well supplied with vino (and eggs).  That led to some arrests; the specific infringements weren’t noted.  The Corps Commander, who happened to visit at this time, was unsurprisingly troubled by these developments.  Saluting was considered lax, as well.  Efforts were initiated to improve these behaviors (“a blitz is being started on saluting and drunkenness”).

1 Platoon improved a bridge on the Lucera Road while 2 and 3 platoons were involved in training, kit inspections and so on. 

March 20 to 25 – Bonefro, Italy

The court martial went ahead, with Lt Lukes for the defense and Lt Place prosecuting.  Sapper McKechnie was convicted of common assault and offering violence to a superior officer.

1 Platoon continued bridging work, while the others carried on with training – route marches, grenade throwing, etc..  Activities were reduced due to generally poor weather, including heavy snowfalls interspersed with rainfall and high winds.

Lt Lukes took over command of 3 Platoon as Lt Philpot moved to HQ.  Preparations were made for future training in mines and water duties (opening up and maintaining water points, needed to supply water to the men in the field).

March 26 to 29 – Bonefro, Italy

The weather remained bad, cold with high winds.

The company “passed through the gas chamber”.  This was chemical warfare training, including the wearing of gasmasks while live gas was released into the chamber, tear gas presumably.  The idea was just to get men accustomed to the procedures, should gas ever be used.  Fortunately, that never came to pass in WW2.

1 Platoon’s bridge opened up to traffic.  The other platoons’ activities involved a bridging course, a water point course, and a mines course. 

Pay day resulted in another fracas, sappers fighting with Italian civilians again.  Several sappers were knifed (Gregoire, Macauley, Jones), one seriously (Macauley), who ended up in hospital on the dangerously ill list, with a stomach wound.  Gregoire wasn’t seriously hurt, while Jones got it in the gluteus maximus, which had him limping, but not in serious danger.  A number of Italians were arrested by Provost personnel.

March 30 to 31 – Bonefro, Italy

Another move was in the works, so some of the bridging constructed previously had to be dismantled, to be used further up the line.  This meant working throughout the night, as the gear needed for that purpose was late in coming. 

The next day, preparing for the move, was also frantic.  The next move was expected to involve tent-style living, as the company picked up 26 tents before pulling out.

Department of Defence Historical Documents and Miscellaneous Sources, March 1944

Following are some selected quotes from the report on Operations during Jan-Apr 1944 in Italy, written by the military:

1 – The General Situation and Need for the Move to the West

“The winter offensive of the Fifth and Eight Army, had not succeeded. By the end of December 1943 General Montgomery's Eighth Army plan to outflank Rome by advancing to Poscara had been discarded. West of the Appenninos, however, the Fifth Army continued the offensive, and in the latter part of January the Anzio bridgehead was established. Efforts to link the main Fifth Army front with the bridgehead, however, failed. During the latter part of January and all through February, costly attacks on Cassino and across the Garigliano had failed to break the German main line.

The enemy placed great political value on Rome and planned to hold it at whatever price. Hitler's Special Order, read to all ranks in the German Army, 24 Jan, stated:

The Gustav Line must be held at all costs for the sake of the political consequences which would follow a completely successful advance. The Führer expects the bitterest struggle for every yard.

This determination on the part of the enemy, coupled with the obstacles imposed by bad weather and the mountainous nature of the country, had produced a stalemate on all fronts from Ortona to the Tyrrhenian Sea. 

6. It was apparent at the beginning of February, and more so later in the month when 2 New Zealand Corps failed to take Cassino, that a quick junction of the Anzio bridgehead and the main forces of the Fifth Army could not be expected. This failure to achieve decisive results necessitated a complete reconsideration of plans and resources. General Alexander therefore decided to concentrate the main weight of both armies west of the Apennines and to hold the central mountains and the Adriatic sector with as few troops as possible.”  (page 4, Report 179)

2 Canadian Corps Leaving the Adriatic Line, March 1944:

“As the first step in the regrouping of Eighth Army for the forthcoming offensive in the Liri Valley, 5 (Brit) Corps moved forward from Army Group Reserve on 7 Mar to relieve both 13 Corps and H.Q. 1 Cdn Corps, who were required to begin preparations for the intended operations on the other side of the peninsula …after five somewhat colourless weeks in the line H.Q. 1 Cdn Corps closed at Rocco S. Giovanni and moved south to open at Larino on the following day.…During these weeks the enemy had been well and truly harassed; our guns and our patrols had kept him continually "on edge", and our casualties  had been light. It can certainly be said that we had had the best of it. Our patrols had dominated no-man's-land, and enemy movements had been sorely hampered by our artillery. Our control of the air was also complete: "The contrast between the utter stillness on the enemy side from the Tollo road to the Arielli and the gamboling carefree movement of men and vehicles on our side leaves no doubt as to who has had air supremacy." Neither side had attempted anything in the nature of an offensive. Out of a maelstrom of patrol reports little emerges which can make the story of this period an absorbing one. It can only be said that, under difficult conditions, our troops ably fulfilled their allotted task; more had not been asked of them.” (page 65, Report 178)

It is worth noting that although this was a relatively quiet period of raiding,  patrolling and re-grouping, 1 Canadian Corps sustained 89 fatalities and 1561 wounded, from Jan 4 to April 21, 1944.

Orders and Documents Archived with the 12 Fld Coy War Diary, March 1944

Following are some selected quotes from the documents associated with the 12 Fld Coy War Diaries during March 1944:

1 - Mine Clearance and Engineer Intelligence:

The enemy was becoming very clever with its mines, employing booby traps as part of the mine. Sappers had to be careful when pulling mines (detonating them from a safe distance).

This also leads one to think that not all injuries made it into the war diaries or the lists of casualties.  Probably the less serious injuries and wounds were fixed up at an aid station, without it ever being recorded (or perhaps the records were lost, understandable in wartime). 

March 1, 1944

ENGINEER INTELLIGENCE

1 In practically every instance where booby-trapped TELLER MINES were pulled by cords or signal wire in the approved manner but with the men standing they were invariably wounded.  Therefore when pulling mines lie down.

2 If any enemy minefield appears to follow a pattern then particular care will be taken in searching any site which the pattern indicates as being the site of a mine.

Even leaning against fence posts or bumping them with a vehicle could set off a mine containing 100 pounds of TNT.  Incidentally, as a data scientist (that’s my day job, when I’m not writing) I can’t help but notice that March 14, 1944 was Pi Day, 1944 (3.14).  I suppose something that frivolous wouldn’t have been of much interest during wartime, though.

March 14, 1944

ENGINEER INTELLIGENCE – MINEFIELDS

1 Reports have come from the 5^th Army front concerning an unusual type of minefield.  It consists of one or two heavy, 100 pounds of T.N.T. or more, booby trapped fence posts.  The posts were situated between trees in orchards so that vehicles moving toward the enemy would hit the posts and cause the explosive to be detonated under the wheels of tracks of the vehicle.  Very slight pressure in any direction on the post is sufficient to detonate the charge.  Thus the field is anti-personnel as well as anti-vehicle in effect.  All personnel are warned to be very cautious about leaning on or moving any sticks or poles in ground recently occupied by the enemy.

2 - German Language Lessons:

Here's a little language instruction, some strategic phrases, along with some “cultural understanding”:

March 2, 1944

ENGINEER INTELLIGENCE

The following German phrases are worth learning.

English                   German                  Phonetical

Who goes there?     Wer da?                  Vair dah?

Friend                     Freund                    Froynt

Who is it?               Wer ist’s                 Vair issts?

Look out!                Auchtung!               Ahktoong!

Keep quiet              Ruhig                      Rooigg

Always shout an order harshly to a German; he expects it if he is to obey.

3 - More about Problems Associated with Alcohol:

As noted in the War Diary entries, alcohol consumption continued to lead to problems (including injuries due to drunken brawls), so efforts were made to limit both procurement and consumption:

March 21, 1944

PURCHASE OF VINO

1 Orders have been issued to the mayor of the town that no vino will be sold to troops between the hours of 0900-1700 hrs.  If therefore attempts are made to purchase vino between these hours, you will be committing a civilian offence as well as a military offence and punishment will accordingly be increased.

During WW1, Field Punishment could be quite severe, and could include having a man tied to an object for several hours, essentially immobilized.  This was colloquially referred to as “crucifixion”.  It could also include loss of pay, hard labour and imprisonment.

By WW2, it seems that the punishment had been made less severe, but the loss of pay, hard labour and possible imprisonment might all be involved.  One suspects that the capitalization in the order of “FIELD PUNISHMENT” was meant to remind soldiers that this punishment for drinking would be something best avoided.

March 21, 1944

DRINKING

1  Any personnel caught drinking during parade hours will be sentence to FIELD PUNISHMENT.  This applies to ALL RANKS.

4 - Discipline Going All to Hell:

It seems like March, 1944 was a difficult month for discipline amongst 12 Field Company.  Perhaps it was the relative lack of action during the winter lull, especially as these troops came a bit late to the Ortona action.  Maybe they were just getting bored.  On the other hand, they could probably tell that a big show was bound to be in the works, so it was a case of “live for today, for tomorrow you may die”.

Along with alcohol, visiting brothels during leave (rest camp) was also a concern.  Along with that were more mundane matters, such as maintaining decorum and dress, and ensuring that officers were saluted, especially higher level brass like the Corps Commander or the Commander of Royal Engineers.

March 17, 1944

DISCIPLINE – 8^TH ARMY REST CAMP

1 Complaints have been received that personnel visiting EIGHTH Army Rest Camp are guilty of grave breaches of discipline in the town of BARI.  The most common offences are drunkenness and being out of bounds in brothels.

2 (a) OC Rest Camp will immediately return to their units any offenders, if necessary in close arrest. Disciplinary action will be taken by Unit Commanders and exemplary punishments awarded.

(b) If there is not a considerable improvement in the present standard of behaviour, the town of BARI will be placed out of bounds.

(c) If the foregoing steps are not successful, the Rest Camp will be closed.

It has been noted for some time, that soldiers care a lot about what the men around them think of them.  So, in this order, that message is given priority, in this effort to improve the general run of behaviour.  As well, the threat of Field Punishment loomed large, to the tune of 28 days hard labour.

March 20, 1944

DISCIPLINE

1 During the last two weeks, discipline within the company has been at its lowest.  This has been already noted by the Corps Commander and the Company’s reputation has seriously been damaged.  If you have no pride in your unit, then you are not wanted in the unit.

Consequently effective the date of this order the following crimes will be punishable by NOT less than 21 days Field Punishment.

a) Consuming vino or any other alcoholic beverage between the hours of 0800-1700 hrs. daily.  This includes free days unless otherwise stated.  This does NOT apply to ration of beer.

b) Consuming or bringing vino or other alcoholic beverage, (except ration of beer) into billets.

c) Bringing civilians into billets.

d) unauthorized dress – particularly headgear.

e) Disobeying curfew regulations.

f) Failure to salute officers – it is NOT expected that you constantly salute unit officers especially when on duty but any outside officers will be saluted.  This particularly applies to the Corps Commander, the C.E. and the C.R.E. – you should know how to recognize them by now.

g) Looting or indiscriminant scrounging.

5 - More about Relations with Civilians:

As noted in the War Diary entries, relations with civilians had taken a turn for the worse.  Fights with male Italian civilians (some of whom were Fascists, and had only recently been on the other side of the battle) took their toll, as was clear from the War Diary for the month, where some of the lads had been in more than one major fracas with Italian civilians.  So, diligence was needed in terms of keeping track of weapons.

March 18, 1944

WEAPONS

Certain of the local population are known to be Fascist.  Every man is warned to be careful in safeguarding their weapons.

6 - Casualties via Brothels:

Encounters with some of the female civilians could also prove dangerous, via sexually transmitted diseases.  Presumably, these women had been compelled to turn to prostitution due to the hardships of war.  The predictable outcome was the spread of venereal disease, what is generally termed STDs in current language.

Sulfa drugs were available to treat the diseases, but penicillin wasn’t widely available for this purpose until late in the war.  Fortunately, it became available in time to quell an epidemic of sulfa-drug resistant gonorrhea in the Italian theatre.

March 21, 1944

V.D.

1 The attention of all ranks is brought to the following facts.  The loss to the Allied war effort through V.D. has become so serious that the prospects of success in this theatre of operations are becoming gravely prejudiced.  To bring home the gravity of the situation, the following figures are quoted.  At the present time there are 3200 Empire troops and 2000 U.S. troops in hospital suffering from V.D.. Taking 20 days as the average period in the hospital, this represents a loss of 64000 Br. And 40000 U.S. man days.  With major operations impending in the west and elsewhere, this wastage cannot be made good by normal reinforcement methods and it is therefore a dead loss and not an apparent loss to our effort in this theatre.  Our record to date has been relatively good.  This is an appeal to every man in the company to keep it that way. V.D. is prevalent in this town and any man who exposes himself to infection unnecessarily, or does so without taking the greatest precautions is not only endangering his own health but is also helping to sabotage his country’s successful prosecution of the war. So govern yourself accordingly.

7 - The Things they Watched:

This month one of the movies shown was called “Road to Frisco”.  This is actually better known under the U.S. title, “They Drive at Night”, a film noir about independent truck drivers, a spurned woman, murder and insanity caused by electric garage doors (really).  It starred Humphrey Bogart, among other notables of the day.  I recall seeing it once – it was a pretty good movie.

Considering where they were and what they were doing, the boys of 12^th Field Company might have found a movie about truck drivers, killing and insanity quite engaging.  As an interesting coincidence, a truck was stolen during the movie, which was later found parked near a pub in town. 

March 1, 1944

ENTERTAINMENT

There will be a picture show tonight at 1730 hrs. in the usual place by the Officer’s Mess.  The name of the picture is Road to Frisco.  It will be open to Engineers ONLY.

Some Family Stories Related to March 1944 Events

Trouble with Alcohol

Life in the wartime army was stressful and potentially deadly, so it was no surprise that the troops tended to get in trouble with alcohol.  My father, a member of “The Fighting Troisieme” was no exception.

On at least one occasion he was said to have pulled a gun on a superior, though he was let off without a formal charge.  Apparently he was too good a sapper to lose to the stockade, so a sworn promise to avoid “the vino” in the future was sufficient to absolve him of his crime. 

This account is not recorded in the War Diary, as it was kept off the books, so to speak.  He did, in fact, honour the promise to avoid wine for the rest of his life.  Draft beer was another matter altogether.

Brothels and V.D.

My father didn’t seem like the type to visit a brothel, though having seven children shows that he had a healthy interest in that aspect of life.  Nonetheless, he did have some stories related to these matters.

He related a story of meeting one soldier in the washroom of a pub, who had caught a venereal disease and had had his sex organs swell up in some monstrous fashion.  The disease also caused this soldier to stink to the high heavens.

Since penicillin was not yet in wide use, the treatment for venereal disease at the time was not very effective or easy to bear.  I believe it involved mercury, and 'sweating the germs out' in some kind of a hot box.  I sometimes had this story related to me in my late teens, as a warning against messing around with the wrong sort of woman, I suppose. 

My brother Ken related another story that our father told, related to venereal disease:

“He told me once, when we were out having a few beers, that the word was that the enemy got prostitutes to spread VD among the allied troops, to reduce their armed strength.  A man out for VD was as good as a man wounded in combat or in an accident.”

And here’s another story that brother Ken related, concerning brothels and prostitutes:

“Here’s a story that our mother told about him and some other guys in his unit.  They were in Italy, when they saw a woman walking a dog.  They “somehow” got her up to their room (a billet in town or during a leave?).  That would be easy enough to believe, as there would have been a lot of “survival prostitution”.  At any rate, dad didn’t like it, as he was something of a prude.  So, he took their clothes and sent them to the laundry to be cleaned, so they didn’t have any clothes to wear, to leave their room.  A prank? Or a bit of punishment for fraternization?”

Mine Clearance

Martin talked of one of the techniques for detecting mines, "prodding".  It seemed to involve poking the ground ahead with a knife or bayonet, to determine a mine's location by touch.  He said it was stressful, but you got used to it.  I suppose if you ever got used to that, you would be able to get over almost any fear, later in life.

It seems like a dangerous technique, but he said that magnetic detectors were not always reliable, especially if there was a lot of shrapnel, etc. in the area.  Also, some of the German mines were primarily made of wood, and therefore difficult to detect by magnetic means.  So, prodding for mines was unavoidable, at times.

Book now on Amazon (Kindle and Print)

========================================================================= 

The Sappers' War: 12th Field Company Royal Canadian Engineers

Are you a history buff, particularly interested in World War 2? Or, did you have a family member or
other relative participate in the conflict and are therefore curious about their experiences? If so, you might want to read about the journey of a military engineering company, throughout their time in action during the war.

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.

So, grab your Lee-Enfield rifle and your mine-detector (and don’t forget a shovel and a hammer), and check out the life of a war-time sapper.

U.S.: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09HSXN6Q2

U.K.: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B09HSXN6Q2

Germany: https://www.amazon.de/dp/B09HSXN6Q2

France: https://www.amazon.fr/dp/B09HSXN6Q2

Spain: https://www.amazon.es/dp/B09HSXN6Q2

Italy: https://www.amazon.it/dp/B09HSXN6Q2

Netherlands: https://www.amazon.nl/dp/B09HSXN6Q2

Japan: https://www.amazon.co.jp/dp/B09HSXN6Q2

Brazil: https://www.amazon.com.br/dp/B09HSXN6Q2

Canada: https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B09HSXN6Q2

Mexico: https://www.amazon.com.mx/dp/B09HSXN6Q2

Australia: https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B09HSXN6Q2

India: https://www.amazon.in/dp/B09HSXN6Q2

============================================================

And here are a couple of short books that might interest you, for only 99 cents each:

On the Road with Bronco Billy

What follows is an account of a ten day journey through western North America during a working trip, delivering lumber from Edmonton Alberta to Dallas Texas, and returning with oilfield equipment. The writer had the opportunity to accompany a friend who is a professional truck driver, which he eagerly accepted. He works as a statistician for the University of Alberta, and is therefore is generally confined to desk, chair, and computer. The chance to see the world from the cab of a truck, and be immersed in the truck driving culture was intriguing. In early May 1997 they hit the road.

Some time has passed since this journal was written and many things have changed since the late 1990’s. That renders the journey as not just a geographical one, but also a historical account, which I think only increases its interest.

We were fortunate to have an eventful trip - a mechanical breakdown, a near miss from a tornado, and a large-scale flood were among these events. But even without these turns of fate, the drama of the landscape, the close-up view of the trucking lifestyle, and the opportunity to observe the cultural habits of a wide swath of western North America would have been sufficient to fill up an interesting journal.

The travelogue is about 20,000 words, about 60 to 90 minutes of reading, at typical reading speeds.

Amazon U.S.: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00X2IRHSK

Amazon U.K.: http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00X2IRHSK

Amazon Germany: http://www.amazon.de/gp/product/B00X2IRHSK

Amazon France: https://www.amazon.fr/dp/B00X2IRHSK

Amazon Spain: https://www.amazon.es/dp/B00X2IRHSK

Amazon Italy: https://www.amazon.it/dp/B00X2IRHSK

Amazon Netherlands: https://www.amazon.nl/dp/B00X2IRHSK

Amazon Japan: https://www.amazon.co.jp/dp/B00X2IRHSK

Amazon Brazil: https://www.amazon.com.br/dp/B00X2IRHSK

Amazon Canada: http://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B00X2IRHSK

Amazon Mexico: https://www.amazon.com.mx/dp/B00X2IRHSK

Amazon Australia: https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B00X2IRHSK

Amazon India: https://www.amazon.in/dp/B00X2IRHSK

A Drive Across Newfoundland

U.S.: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07NMR9WM8

U.K.:  https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07NMR9WM8

Germany: https://www.amazon.de/dp/B07NMR9WM8

Japan: https://www.amazon.co.jp/dp/B07NMR9WM8

Canada: https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B07NMR9WM8

Australia: https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B07NMR9WM8

India: https://www.amazon.in/dp/B07NMR9WM8

Newfoundland, Canada’s most easterly province, is a region that is both fascinating in its unique culture and amazing in its vistas of stark beauty. The weather is often wild, with coastal regions known for steep cliffs and crashing waves (though tranquil beaches exist too). The inland areas are primarily Precambrian shield, dominated by forests, rivers, rock formations, and abundant wildlife. The province also features some of the Earth’s most remarkable geology, notably The Tablelands, where the mantle rocks of the Earth’s interior have been exposed at the surface, permitting one to explore an almost alien landscape, an opportunity available on only a few scattered regions of the planet.

The city of St. John’s is one of Canada’s most unique urban areas, with a population that maintains many old traditions and cultural aspects of the British Isles. That’s true of the rest of the province, as well, where the people are friendly and inclined to chat amiably with visitors. Plus, they talk with amusing accents and party hard, so what’s not to like?

This account focusses on a two-week road trip in October 2007, from St. John’s in the southeast, to L’Anse aux Meadows in the far northwest, the only known Viking settlement in North America. It also features a day hike visit to The Tablelands, a remarkable and majestic geological feature. Even those who don’t normally consider themselves very interested in geology will find themselves awe-struck by these other-worldly landscapes.

The travelogue is about 12,000 words, about 60 minutes of reading, at typical reading speeds.