1000 Men, 1000 Stories : November 2016

Wednesday, November 30, 2016

Books re Combined Operations - THE CANADIANS IN SICILY and ITALY 1943-1945 (3)

OFFICIAL HISTORY, OF THE CANADIAN ARMY IN THE 2ND WORLD WAR

THE CANADIANS IN (SICILY and) ITALY 1943-1945 Volume II

By LT.-COL. G. W. L. NICHOLSON,

Deputy Director, Historical Section, General Staff

Personnel of No. 3232 Servicing Commando relax by their vehicles in Sicily,

while awaiting the order to proceed across the Straits of Messina for the invasion

of Southern Italy (Operation BAYTOWN). Photo Credit - WW2Today

In the 876 page, comprehensive history of the Canadian Army one will find mention of the Canadian landing craft flotillas that were on hand - for a month or more at a time - during the 1943 invasions of Sicily (beginning in early July) and Italy (September).

I have listed some pertinent passages below from pages 202 - 204 that relate to Canadians in Combined Operations during Operation BAYTOWN - ferrying troops and materials of war from Messina Sicily to Reggio in Italy - but will not say I have found them all. For those who like reading or scanning lengthy texts, I wish you "good hunting."

Please link to THE CANADIAN ARMY IN THE 2ND WORLD WAR

Operation BAYTOWN - Italy

The Assault Across the Strait, 3 September 1943

We read, "As darkness fell on the evening of 2 September the assaulting battalions of the 13th Corps came down from the hills behind Mili Marina, and formed up in their appointed groups along the beaches. The weather, in contrast to the rude welcome it had given the Allied invaders of Sicily, was ideal."

Just before 12AM - on calm, moonlit seas - the Landing Craft, Assault (LCAs) arrived and settled into a long line near the shore. Troops soon began to board the craft and at about 0230 hours the force moved away from the beaches, in formation, and readied themselves for the trip (seven miles) to the Italian mainland. Meanwhile, at about the same time Landing Craft, Infantry (LCIs), with the Royal 22e Regiment aboard, left Catania's harbour and travelled north along Sicily's coast meet the rest of the Canadian brigade.

The text says, "When the sixteen L.C.As. assigned to carry the Canadian assault companies drew in to the Mili Marina beach, four L.C.Ms.† came with them, to embark the follow-up companies who were scheduled to land on "Fox" beach five minutes after the leading troops."

(† Landing Craft Mechanized. The "Mark III" type - L.C.M. (3) - used by the Canadians in "Baytown" was a 50-foot ramped craft, built to carry 24 tons,- and capable of landing a vehicle or stores in shallow water.)

The troops that boarded the LCMs heard familiar sounding voices coming from their crews - likely for the first time - because they were made up of Canadian sailors.

We read, "The 80th L.C.M. Flotilla, commanded by Lieutenant J. E. Koyl, R.C.N.V.R., had been detailed to provide part of the transport ferry for the 3rd Brigade - an all too rare example of operational partnership between the two Canadian services." Another half dozen crafts belonging to this Canadian Flotilla arrived later to transport a second wave of troops and materials.

Lt. Koyl and Canadians in Combined Ops. See names below.

Photo Credit - St. Nazaire to Singapore by D. Lewis., C. Lewis, L. Birkenes

Lt. Koyl's vessels and crews participated admirably in the September 3rd invasion of Italy, and afterwards - for 32 days - performed the demanding task of transporting all the necessary materials of war from Sicily to the Italian mainland. Let the record show that another Canadian Flotilla, i.e., the 81st, had worked with the 80th in transporting troops and materials of war during Operation HUSKY (the invasion of Sicily, two months earlier). However, the 81st Flotilla was not used during Operation BAYTOWN because its craft - made up of an older model - had smaller, less powerful engines than those used by the 80th Flotilla (which used Mark IIIs, U.S. made, with diesel engines).

The Canadians were aware that sounds coming from so many engines in their small fleet alarmingly broke the stillness of the night as they made their way across the Strait of Messina. However, at 0330 hours a barrage from mighty guns placed on the shores of Sicily and from warships filled their eardrums. What a barrage it was, from over 500 medium and field guns of the 30th Corps.

British artillery bombards the Italian mainland from Messina in Sicily

prior to the initial landings at Reggio. Photo Credit - WW2Today

Besides fire from very large guns, e.g., short range 25-pounders and the devastating 15-inch guns aboard three monitors, there were two-pounders attached to LCSs (landing craft, support) of different types which followed behind or beside the assault flotillas. When front-running LCAs were about 1,000 yards from Italy's shore, powerful fire from 800 five-inch rockets from LCT(R)s (rocket craft) blasted over their heads.

The text says, "All in all the Allied cannonade was a remarkable display of power against defences which Intelligence had shown to be decidedly weak. The objectives were now obscured by dense clouds of dust and smoke, which the early morning off-shore breezes carried out into the path of the approaching craft."

At midnight

on September 3, 1943

our Canadian landing craft flotilla,

loaded once again with war machinery,

left the beaches near Messina, Sicily and

crossed the Messina Strait to

Reggio Calabria in Italy.

The invasion of Italy

was underway.

There was no resistance.

The air force had done a complete job

and there wasn’t a whole building standing

and the railroad yards were ripped to shreds.

"DAD, WELL DONE" by D. Harrison,

80th Flotilla, RCNVR, Combined Ops

We read, "There was some confusion as the assault craft deployed for the final run into shore; and in the Canadian, as in other sectors, landings generally were not made at the prearranged places," due to clouds of dust and smoke, and tidal currents in the Messina Strait.

As Canadian units landed the West Nova Scotias suffered some difficulties with some L.C.As going astray. However, these changes to plans had no terrible ill-effect "for the enemy offered no opposition, and the Canadians landed on empty beaches from which even the expected mines and wire were missing."

At about 0500 hours the Principal Beach Master with the Canadian flotilla sent his L.C.As for the short run in to the beaches. At about 0600 hours General Simonds' Headquarters received this signal: "Success at Fox Green Amber at 0526 hrs".

Brigadier Penhale landed his third infantry battalion and the rest of his brigade reserve shortly thereafter. He landed at "Fox Amber" beach at 0630 hours, "having crossed the Strait in Lieutenant Koyl's own L.C.M."

Please link to Books re Combined Operations - THE CANADIANS IN SICILY and ITALY 1943-1945 (2)

Unattributed Photos GH

Sunday, November 27, 2016

Books re Combined Operations - THE CANADIANS IN SICILY and ITALY 1943-1945 (2)

OFFICIAL HISTORY, OF THE CANADIAN ARMY IN THE 2ND WORLD WAR

THE CANADIANS IN (SICILY and) ITALY 1943-1945 Volume II

By LT.-COL. G. W. L. NICHOLSON,

Deputy Director, Historical Section, General Staff

Highlanders assist with the unloading, while the beach group

engineer prepare roads off the beach. Photo credit - Wikipedia

Canadian troops land south of Pachino. Canadian LCA and LCM Flotillas land
British troops between Pachino and Avola. Map from Combined Operations

Concerning Early Allied Successes, Not Without Cost. Pages 75 - 78

We read, "The success which attended the Canadian landings had been matched along the whole of the invasion front. Assaults made by the other formations of the Eighth Army had met very little opposition."

Pachino and the eastern section of the peninsula was soon occupied by Allied forces - e.g., 51st Highland Division and the 231st Brigade - without great difficulty. Avola and Cassibile came under control of the 13th Corps by 10 AM while the Fifth Division marched toward Syracuse. The text says, "It entered that important port the same evening at nine o'clock to take it undamaged."

Map of SE Sicily (AVOLA is top right).

Credit to History of the Canadian Army

We read, "The United States Seventh Army had landed against little initial opposition - although in rougher surf conditions on the more exposed western beaches - and had speedily taken all its D Day objectives." Axis planes strafed and bombed the beaches and transport areas and in the Canadian drop-off zone six fighters wracked up Canadian casualties.

That being said, we read, "The airborne attacks in the sectors of both the Eastern and Western Task Forces had not achieved the success that crowned the seaborne assaults."

A good deal of information is recorded concerning Allied troops being dropped from transport aircraft and gliders that departed from Tunisia on July 9 1943. This night operation suffered dire consequences due to poor navigating by young pilots, high winds and strong enemy resistance.

Later Allied air-drops suffered serious losses as well at the hands of Allied guns because a clear safety corridor for troop-carrying aircraft was not well-coordinated between services.

A signal came through,

“Do not fire on low flying aircraft,

they are ours and towing gliders.”

What, in the dark?

Next morning.

as we slowly moved in,

we saw gliders everywhere.

I saw them sticking out of the water,

crashed on land and in the vineyards.

In my twenty-seven days there

I did not see a glider intact.

Page 31, "DAD, WELL DONE"

By D. Harrison, Combined Ops

On Pio Pico, with Canada's LCMs

In the 'OFFICIAL HISTORY, OF THE CANADIAN ARMY' we read, "Of the 134 gliders carrying the British 1st Airlanding Brigade, fifty came down in the sea, and only twelve landed in the intended dropping zone."

That being said, small groups of airborne troops succeeded at their goals and attacked other enemy strongpoints. A commander of German airborne attacks said - while a POW in 1945 - "the Allied airborne operation in Sicily was decisive." It had stopped the Hermann Göring Armoured Division from controlling the beaches and pushing early Allied forces back into the sea.

The text reports that the opening salvo of Operation HUSKY received good success, in part, because the Allied Armies, were well supported by naval and air forces. We read, "Skilful planning and effective co-ordination of all the fighting services had brought to a hostile shore the greatest seaborne force ever embarked, and the culminating assault was a model for future combined operations."

Allied naval bombardment proved effective in limiting the effectiveness of Axis coastal batteries, and Allied air strikes - after troops had landed - reduced the number of Axis strafing and bombing sorties sharply. We read, "The navies (and consequently the armies) owed a great debt to the air for the effectiveness of the protection offered them throughout the operation."

The Royal Canadian Navy also played a significant role in the battle for control of Sicily. Canadians in Combined Operations, well-schooled in the skills of piloting various landing craft, worked long hours under very stressful and dangerous conditions.

We read, "In the convoy which brought the 231st Infantry Brigade from the Middle East to assault the beaches on the 30th Corps' right flank, two of the three flotillas of assault landing craft carried aboard the transports were Canadian - the 55th and the 61st Flotillas." They transported assault troops and reinforcements to 'Bark East' beaches for 12 hours, and safely landed two-thirds of the Malta Brigade before their convoy departed early in the PM.

As well, the 80th and 81st Canadian Flotillas of larger landing crafts (LCMs - Landing Craft, Mechanized*) ferried all necessary supplies ashore for a lengthy period.

(*The "Mark III" type (L.C.M. (3)) used by the Canadians in "Baytown" as well, was a 50-foot ramped craft, built to carry 24 tons, and capable of landing a vehicle or stores in shallow water.)

The text says, "Commencing early on D Day, the 80th and 81st Flotillas, whose job was the transfer of vehicle's and stores from ship to shore, served for 26 days along the Sicilian coast between Avola and Syracuse until maintenance of the Eighth Army over the beaches came to an end on 5 August."

The four flotillas were piloted and managed by about 400 Canadian sailors (most were members of RCNVR who had also volunteered for the Combined Operations organization), and it is known that about 250 more worked aboard other RN support craft.

The text reports that the Allied landings were accompanied in many locations by "complete tactical surprise," a good deal of it related to severe weather conditions - coastal garrisons therefore "relaxed their vigil" - and poor communication services. We also read, "But although the Italian defence formations might thus blame the weather for the manner of their surprise, their subsequent lack of resistance, as we have seen, amply bore out the pre-invasion Allied estimates of their low morale and poor fighting qualities."

Some members of the Canadian assault force encountered deadly resistance.

The other two landing craft

were in the same pass as ourselves

but I noted with a thrill of pride that

I seemed to be the first to have reached shore.

I stumbled on through the shallows

until I saw little spurts of sand racing

down the beach in my direction.

Automatically I dropped on my belly

and a big roller picked me up and carried me, helpless

to resist, toward the stitching machine-gun bullets,

dropping me just short of that deadly pattern....

Two of the landing craft

had already backed off the bar

and were hightailing it away.

Our own was still immobile,

and in a moment I saw why.

She was empty except for her crew...

and one small khaki figure standing stiffly

at attention in the gaping bow opening.

Suddenly he began to move,

marching up the ramp,

rifle at the slope, free arm swinging

level with his shoulders.

Tiny Sully was coming off that sardine can

as if on ceremonial parade at Aldershot...

except that his eyes were screwed tight shut.

A cluster of mortar bombs shrilled

out of the pellucid sky, and the waters

into which Tiny had plunged boiled upward

with visceral thunder.

Tiny Sully had gone from us...

marching blindly to Valhalla.

Page 64 - 65, And No Birds Sang

by Farley Mowat

Please link to more Books re Combined Operations - THE CANADIANS IN SICILY and ITALY 1943-1945 (1)

Unattributed Photos GH

Friday, November 25, 2016

Books re Combined Operations - THE CANADIANS IN SICILY and ITALY 1943-1945 (1)

OFFICIAL HISTORY, OF THE CANADIAN ARMY IN THE 2ND WORLD WAR

THE CANADIANS IN (SICILY and) ITALY 1943-1945 Volume II

By LT.-COL. G. W. L. NICHOLSON,

Deputy Director, Historical Section, General Staff

Men of 2nd Seaforth Highlanders embarking onto landing craft at Sousse

en route for Sicily, 5 July 1943. Photo Credit - WW2 Today

In the 876 page, comprehensive history of the Canadian Army one will find mention of the Canadian landing craft flotillas that were on hand - for a month or more at a time - during the 1943 invasions of Sicily (beginning in early July) and Italy (September).

I have listed some pertinent passages below that relate to Canadians in Combined Operations during Operation HUSKY in Sicily but will not say I have found them all. For those who like reading or scanning lengthy texts, I wish you "good hunting."

Please link to THE CANADIAN ARMY IN THE 2ND WORLD WAR

Related to Canadians In Combined Operations:

We read, "The naval role in the general plan of "Husky" was threefold: to ensure the safe and timely arrival of the assault forces at their beaches; to cover their disembarkation; and to support and maintain them after landing and throughout the subsequent operations."

As well, Admiral Cunningham divided the naval forces he had at his disposal to the Eastern and Western Task Forces, and used battleships to cover landings in the region of the invasion. Page 63

We read, "Causing considerable concern to the Canadian planners were two false beaches or sandbars which lay submerged along Costa dell' Ambra some distance offshore (of Sicily)."

LCAs, LCMs, etc., could stall on the sandbars, and any troops that disembarked would find it very difficult to wade ashore or drive vehicles onto dry land. The text says, "A submarine reconnaissance made on the night of 25-26 June confirmed this fear by revealing the presence of a sandbar eighty yards off "Roger" beach 600 yards long and twenty yards wide, covered by only eighteen inches of water."

Between sandbar and beach a soldier could drop as much as nine feet. We read, "A similar underwater obstacle lay off "Sugar" beach, although shoreward the intervening water was not more than five feet deep."

General Simonds planned to steer around such difficulties by using particular amphibious craft. The text says, "On receiving this confirmation - which came to him aboard Hilary on 7 July - he issued orders that three of the assault companies of the 1st Canadian Brigade should land in L.C.Ts. (Landing Craft, Tank) carrying DUKWs, which could swim ashore should the landing craft run aground on the sandbars." Page 65 - 66

* * * * *

Then we touched down -

but not upon the beach.

Instead, we struck an uncharted sandbar

lying a hundred yards offshore.

And we hit it only seconds before

a salvo of 6-inch shells

from one of the cruisers

whomped into the beach

directly in front of us.

Wumpety-wump-wump-wump, they roared.

Shell fragments whanged against the boat

while Seven Platoon and its intrepid leader

sprawled on their collective belly.

Had that shoal not existed

we would have been obliterated

by the salvo from our own guns -

and probably no one would

ever have been the wiser.

Nevertheless, the bar was not

an unmitigated blessing.

Page 62, And No Birds Sang

by Farley Mowat

* * * * *

re The Canadian Landings and the Capture of the First Objectives

We read, "D Day was forty-eight minutes old when the 1st Canadian Division headquarters ship, H.M.S. Hilary, dropped anchor seven miles off the coast of Sicily."

For 90 minutes before that, bombers had "softened up" any resistance at Pachino airfield. Defenders sent up flares and gunfire, visible to Allied attackers as they prepared for disembarkation. The text says, "By the time the big transports carrying the assault brigades had slowed to a stop, the landing craft aboard were loaded with troops and ready to be lowered."

Considerable skill was demanded for a successful landing. An earlier sharp gale and subsequent rough seas had actually threatened postponement of the landings. We read, "But the risks of attempting to defer the precisely timed and closely co-ordinated operation until more favourable conditions were considered greater than the hazards of proceeding with the invasion as planned, even in the heavy weather."

Conditions improved as the time of landing approached. Gradually, beaching of the assault craft successfully appeared less dangerous than previously feared; but heavy swells still made the initial launch of small craft from the tossing transports a tough job. The text says, "At ten minutes past one the LCAs* carrying the first flight of Commando troops of the Special Service Brigade made the forty-foot descent into the sea. (* Landing Craft, Assault, a 40-foot ramped craft, affording protection against rifle and machine-gun fire, with a carrying capacity of 40 men including a crew of four) Pages 67 - 68

We read that due to faulty navigation, "the craft carrying the Seaforth (Highlanders) ran some distance off their course and actually landed the battalion to the right of the (Princess) Patricias" rather than the left. However, the heavy swell they encountered ended up aiding the attackers, because the hard-rolling surf carried landing craft over sandbars that had earlier caused planners much grief.

The text says, "Both units met with practically negligible opposition. As the craft approached the shore they came under desultory small-arms fire, which ceased as the assaulting troops reached the beach." Troops easily cut and blew up the few wire obstacles once on shore and disposed of a few bewildered Italian machine-gunners without much difficulty. Page 68

On Page 70 we read, "Each L.C.T. carried seven DUKWs, and as the large craft grounded on the sandbar the amphibians swam off to the beach laden with troops."

Also, though assault troops of two regiments landed about where their plans indicated, one of the Hastings' reserve companies, from H.M.S. Derbyshire, landed 5000 yards off their mark and onto the heels of the Commandos. However, there were no serious consequences and soon thereafter the battalion rejoined as one, having lost two to machine-gun fire. (and 3 wounded). The text says, "But this incident and the earlier confusion which marked the launching of the assault flights serve to emphasize the difficulties attending large-scale amphibious operations carried out in the darkness." Had Allied troops faced larger numbers of serious enemy forces there surely would have been far graver consequences. Page 70

More to follow related to Canadians landing in Sicily during Operation HUSKY.

Please link to more Books re Combined Operations - DIEPPE, DIEPPE by Greehous

Unattributed Photos by GH

Monday, November 21, 2016

Context re Combined Ops: H. Jones, on Reina Del Pacifico

Herbert Jones, Aboard the Reina Del Pacifico

Photo credit - Paul Heaps at Wirral Globe, Liverpool UK

During the Allied invasion of North Africa in November 1942, many Canadians in Combined Operations piloted landing craft that delivered troops and materials of war to shore from a variety of troop ships, part of the largest armada of all time (at least, up to that point in history). Some Canadians, including my father, completed 'ship to shore' duties off the coast of a small town, Arzeu (east of Oran), and transported American troops and their supplies from the Reina Del Pacifico, and other ships as well. Later, they became more familiar with the Reina Del as a hospital ship, and as a place to rest and recuperate, e.g., from exhaustion.

US troops from the liner REINA DEL PACIFICO climb aboard ALCs

(assault landing craft) manned by Canadians during Operation 'Torch', the

Allied landings in North Africa, Nov. 8 1942. Photo credit - IWM

Recently I was sent a newspaper article (written by Craig Manning of the Wirral Globe, Liverpool, UK) about WW2 veteran Herbert Jones, who served aboard the Reina Del Pacifico as a Defensively-Equipped Merchant Seaman. The article, published May 13, 2013 and partially seen above, was sent me by Mr. Jones' grandson Mark Pountney after he had read a piece about the Reina Del on this blogsite/archive.

These types of connections - paths crossing - between Canadian and British seamen and other forces, surely occurred numerous times throughout the war, i.e., aboard ships, at pubs while on leave, at shared mess or dance halls, on battlefields, etc., do remind us that men and women from many nations served together with one purpose for a significant time. These incidental, tangible links should not be forgotten.

Mr. Manning's article begins:

A Wirral war veteran who served in the Battle of the Atlantic
has recalled his experiences ahead of the conflict's 70th anniversary
commemoration. Herbert Jones, 93, was granted Freedom of the
City of Liverpool in recognition of his bravery.

One reads that Mr. Jones, a member of The Atlantic Convoy Assoc., served aboard the Reina Del Pacifico (or "Queen of the Pacific") during "four major maritime actions", i.e., the invasions of Norway, North Africa, Sicily and Italy. He recalls his biggest battle, 1943:

"We were on our way in a convoy of eight ships to the
Mediterranean to try to get vital supplies into Malta."

The convoy was attacked by the Luftwaffe (64 planes in all, and five were brought down).

"The next morning I'd just come off watch and was having a shower
when the alarm went again. There were 34 planes this time. We won 3 - 0."

Not only did Mr. Jones serve upon the Reina Del, a ship familiar to and much appreciated by Canadians in Combined Operations, but saw action in many of the same places as those Canadian boys. i.e., North Africa, Sicily and Italy. As well, that he got caught off guard by German planes is reminiscent of Canadians, in convoy aboard the Ennerdale, getting struck from behind by German aircraft on their way to southern England prior to the raid on Dieppe.

About that attack my father wrote:

Our Spitfire waggled his wings and kissed us goodnight though it was still quite light, and no sooner had he left when ‘action stations’ was blared out on the Klaxon horn.

Eight German JU 88s came from the east, took position in the sun and attacked us from the stern. It was perhaps between eight and nine o’clock because I had undressed and climbed into my hammock next to Stoker Fred Alston. When the Klaxon went everybody hit the deck and tried to dress, and being the largest ship, we knew we were in for it.

I got my socks on, put my sweater on backwards and got the suspenders on my pants caught on the oil valves. I was hurrying like hell and nearly strangled myself - scared to death. They needed extra gunners so Lloyd Campbell of London, Ontario (later to die of wounds suffered at Dieppe) said, “Let me at him.”

The bombs came - and close. They really bounced us around. The gun crew on the foc’sle of the ship was knocked clear off the gun by the concussion and fell but were only bruised. The attack was short and sweet but it seemed an eternity.

Click here to read more about Operation RUTTER and the lead up to the Dieppe raid.

Mark Pountney also informed me that Herbert Jones passed away over two years ago (as of Nov. 2016).

Please link to Context for Combined Ops: F. Gillard, BBC News

Unattributed Photos GH

Sunday, November 20, 2016

A - Z DIRECTORY. Start Here

1,000 Men, 1,000 Stories: Archive by Gord Harrison

Inspired by WWII Navy Memoirs of Doug Harrison

Canadians in RCNVR and Combined Operations, 1941 - 1945

Back L - R: Don Westbrook (Hamilton), Chuck Rose (Chippawa), Joe Spencer (Toronto)

Front L - R: Joe Watson (Simcoe), Doug Harrison (Norwich), Art Warrick (Hamilton)

Their stories and more appear below. Photo - D. Harrison, circa 1945. Comox, B.C.

THE A - Z DIRECTORY

A - Z Directory was last updated on December 21, 2024. Total entries - 793

Introduction:

This website/archive of materials is growing slowly but surely. Patient readers will see it is mainly related to the 950 - 1,000 (approx.) Canadians who enlisted in the Royal Canadian Navy Volunteer Reserve beginning in 1941, and then - shortly thereafter - volunteered for Combined Operations as well, i.e., a British wartime organization dedicated to offensive (vs defensive) operations. The first operation that the earliest group of Canadian sailors - including my father, Doug Harrison - trained for was the Dieppe raid.

Contributions from readers and countless visits to other resources and online sites (e.g., microfiche at the University of Western Ontario, and digitized newspapers) have helped a great deal.

As well, I present my father's own newspaper articles and self-published memoirs alongside many other related self-published materials by Canadian WWII veterans. I include copyrighted written materials and photographs with accurate attributions or credits wherever possible. Readers who wish to use/share any materials found here are encouraged to also use accurate attributions and credits to this site (or those I mention) in the spirit of fair play.

Questions or comments can be addressed to Gord Harrison at gordh7700@gmail.com

Each entry or post listed under the headings below will lead to one of the many articles, audios, books, etc. (Every entry under the headings are 'live links' and if I've goofed up please let me know). And just about every entry is linked to an earlier entry that is closely related, which is also linked to an earlier entry that is closely related, and so on. Some headings will link to a full set of related entries (e.g., Doug Harrison, "Dad, Well Done" (Parts 1 - 13)), a more convenient way to navigate a 'related set'.