1000 Men, 1000 Stories : Articles: Sicily, July 24 - 26, 1943

Focus Still On The CanadianTroops

From Page 3 of The Winnipeg Tribune, July 24, 1943

Introduction:

Allied troop activity continues to dominate the news in late July, 1943. The occasional photograph of supplies being landed is the only reminder that Canadians in Combined Operations were still busy, as they would be (with "ship to shore" work), well into August.

Still, a quick look through the 'dusty pages' of the digitized Winnipeg Tribune bears some useful information, and insights into what is going on at different war fronts.

Lt. Cmdr. Jake Koyl tells of the work done by Canadians on Landing Craft Mechanized (LCMs) during the early and late going of Operation HUSKY:

For defense against both day and night attacks smoke spread by ships and craft was used to cover the anchorage. On the second or third night, Coxswain Walker, R.C.N.V.R., of LCM 610 of the 80th Flotilla, helped to save a Liberty ship which was being attacked by bombers and had run out of smoke. Coxwain Walker took his craft twice around the ship under attack and successfully screened her with smoke? for this he was commended in the Beach Master's report.

Another Canadian seaman showed cool courage when an Ammunitions Ship exploded not far off and sprayed the area with unexploded shells. One of these fell into the stokehold of an LCM. The seaman immediately picked it up and threw it over the side, not knowing, as he did so, that the shell was unfused and therefore perfectly safe.

The Day's Work -

These dramatic incidents were typical interruptions of the first week's work, but they were only interruptions. The main job to be done was to land stores and equipment of all kinds to supply the 8th Army's advance on Augusta and Catania. The routine in the early stages of the operation was constantly changing to meet Army requirements. Thus all LCM's might be diverted to unloading a ship carrying mortar ammunition if there was an immediate requirement for that supply above all others.

After the Army stores became better organized with adequate resources for whatever operations were required, the unloading routine became standardized and ships were cleared on a regular schedule as they came to the anchorage.

The LCM's handled every type of cargo from a 16-ton tank or 215cwt. truck to a double tier of 4 gallon high octane gas cans. Ammunition, Army "composite" ration boxes, small arms, mortars - all was grist to their mill. And, considering the fact that the merchant men carried roughly their own tonnage in cargo, there was an enormous tonnage to be handled.

(From page 178, Combined Operations, by Londoner Clayton Marks).

The following articles, photographs, captions and other details appeared in issues of The Tribune between July 24 - 26, 1943:

The above article provides details concerning "the landings in Sicily" and the death of one sailor:

Maurice Desjardins continues:

One of the wounded is Gunner Arthur McFayden, 21, Toronto, who escaped a strafing by four Messerschmitts only to be put out of action by shrapnel. He landed with an artillery unit on the first day of the invasion.

"The landing was uneventful but by the time we set up our gun positions a few hundred yards inland the infantry had advanced beyond our range and we had to start moving again," he said....

Not a Shot Fired

Capt. Sydney Thompson, 28, Salmon Arm, B.C., who accompanied an infantry assault company, was one of those slightly wounded. He described the landings in Sicily. He said the Canadians approached the beach southwest of Pachino without a shot being fired.

"However, as soon as we began disembarking, machine-gun fire opened. As far as I knew we had two injured. One sailor was killed."

[Editor: The sailor was likely British, as the Canadians in the 55th, 61st, 80th and 81st Flotillas of landing craft helped transport members of the 8th Army (Monty's army) and their supplies.]

"We got through the barbed wire entanglements and 20 minutes later sent signals to the rest of the battalion meaning that we had established a bridgehead and they could land."

"Then we headed to the left to join a party of British commandos. We came across them after a two-mile march. They had done a good job of cleaning the enemy out of all that area. Our battalion was consolidated three miles inland by 8 a.m."

(The first landings took place about 3 a.m., July 10).

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The following photos are found in The Tribune, July 24:

A clearer photo of similar crafts and a transportable rhino-bridge is seen below, from another source:

Photo Credit - @ histomil.com

Apparently, newspaper cartoonists - the world over - missed Mussolini when he was gone:

From the same page another cartoon reveals that Canadian troops are making a mark in Sicily:

As troops move northward from Pachino (lower right, south east tip) to Messina (top right of Sicily, northeast tip), Canadians in Combined Ops laboured near Noto (Avola, north of Noto) and Syracuse.

As seen in previous entries on the website, Ross Munro's correspondence is given top billing on many occasions:

Mr. Munro continues:

Prisoners taken by the Dominion troops now number upwards of 8,000, and hourly more batches of Italians are surrendering. The top men now being captured belong to the Livorno Division, Italy's top fighting force.

(Latest word received from Allied Headquarters reported that 60,000 Axis troops have already been rounded up by the Allies, with another 50,000 expected)....

[Editor: The above photo and caption are found in St. Nazaire to Singapore, two books assembled by Canadians in Combined Operations - in the 1990s - about their experiences from 1941 - 1945.]

Yesterday (July 16) the Canadians advanced 25 miles from Grammichele to Plazza Amerina. A staff officer said the Canucks are going ahead faster than any formation in the Sicilian force, despite the fact they have less transport and are going long distances afoot.

The long, hardening training they underwent in England for some three years is now paying big dividends.

[Editor: And, the hardening training for the sailors in Scotland and experience gained from the invasion of North Africa a year earlier (Nov. 8 - 15, 1942) payed dividends as well].

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As Mussolini's days come to an end, other war fronts report growing power in the hands (and planes, ships and landing craft) of the Allies:

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For those, such as myself, looking for more information about the roles of Canadians in the armed forces during WW2, rare details might be found in old news reels and films. So, more research ahead: