Research: Three Months in the Mediterranean, 1943 (22)

Axis Lines are Crumbling, Princess Pats are Pushing Hard

The Gazette: Friday's Issue is Thick! (Just Wait 'Til Saturday's!!)

Mount Etna, Sicily, 1943. Photo Credit: Major W. H. J. Sale, MC,

3rd/4th County of London Yeomanry (Sharpshooters), WWII

Introduction:

News reports, stories and photographs continue to pour forth from northern and central Sicily as U.S., Canadian and British troops push forward toward their ultimate goal, the city and Strait of Messina in NE Sicily. 

Leonforte, Assoro and Nissoria are mentioned (see red circle above) and the

Canadians in the 80th and 81st Flotillas of Landing Craft continue to supply

materials of war day in and day out (in area inside the blue circle).

Members of the 81st Flotilla work on beaches near Gallina (HOW Beach)

Photo Credit: From the Roy Burt Collection

Several excellent stories are found on the pages of the thick, Friday issue of The Montreal Gazette on July 30, 1943. Ross Munro supplies three lengthy, significant pieces and information concerning two books hot off the presses appear. (I found one of the books for sale on AbeBooks so I'm saving up already!)

Readers with questions, comments or information about Allied troop activities (especially re the Canadians in Combined Ops) can reach me at gordh7700@gmail.com

And now for the headlines:

Sherman tank advances along a road in Sicily, Mt. Etna in background.

Photo by Major W.H.J. Sale, MC, 1943

Princess Pats passed through Nissoria. Photo from July 28, 1943

No. 22201, Album 61, Photog. Jack H. Smith, Canadian Army Film Unit

3rd mortar crew firing on enemy positions north of Nissoria

L - R, Privates F.K. Stephenson, W.H. Montgomery, T. Marsland

2nd Field Regiment, Royal Canadian Artillery, July 1943

No. 22220, Album 61, Photogr. J. Smith, CAFU

7th Battery personnel firing 25 pounder at enemy positions

2nd Field Regiment, Royal Canadian Artillery, July 1943

No. 22237, Album 61, Photogr. J. Smith, CAFU

Ross Munro's article continues:

Personnel of Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry advancing past a

 'Sherman' tank. Credit: Jack H. Smith, Department of National Defence,

Library and Archives Canada, PA-166755. More about Italian Campaign

More details from Allied HQ as Allied troops march toward Messina, NE Sicily:

Dear Editor!! Though this article does share a "new (and very interesting) phrase" (i.e., "the state of chaotic disorder"), I think the headline should read "War Enters New Phase."

This article might fall under the heading "Easier Said Than Done":

And now a word from your local pawnshop!

Truth is stranger than fiction. Several large, mechanical birds sank a couple of submarines:

More about HMS Woodpecker can be found on Wikipedia. Click here

A few details about 'shipboard training':

"Soldier's Guide to Sicily" can still be found for sale. Photo - Imperial War Museum

Dove si trova Messina?

Dove si trova "Sticky Corner?"

For the engineers in the crowd, a document entitled Crossing the Gap: The 1st Canadian Division Engineers and Bridge Construction 1939 - 1945 can be found here.

The document mentioned reveals significant details about the work of the Canadian Engineers. The following details are shared re Leonforte on page 123; map page 124:

Photo of a similar bridge:

Caption with above photo: The 1st Field Company, Royal Canadian Engineers, built this 100-foot-long Bailey bridge across a river near Straorini, Sicily, in 4 1/2 hours on the opening day, Sept. 3, 1943, of the Allied invasion of Italy. The bridge was blown up by retreating Germans. Credit: Jack H. Smith/Canada. Dept. of National Defence/Library and Archives Canada/PA-177088. 

The Nazis are on the right track re 'Italy quitting':

About the Timing and Location re the Italian Armistice

Armistice officially signed Sept. 3, 1943 in Cassibile territory, Sicily,

i.e., see yellow circle above. Photos of the engraved stone, the signing of

official papers, and the reconnaissance map of Sicily's east coast (printed in

LIFE magazine) were taken by Editor Gord H. while visiting the Museum

of Allied Landings in Sicily, WWII in Catania, Sicily, September, 2023

'Nazis Predicting' continues:

And now a word from our sponsor:

From the editorial page of The Gazette:

Two WWII books are now on sale! Just look at the prices!

The book by W. Reyburn, above, (war correspondent for The Montreal Standard at the time, I believe) can be found for a slightly higher price that two bucks at AbeBooks.ca

Another fine article by Canadian war correspondent Ross Munro:

Take a good look. It's a two-man 'Baby' tank:

The 'Baby' tank may be related to "the L3/35... an Italian tankette"

The following, about 'an Italian tankette,' can be found at Wikipedia:

The L3/35, also known as the Carro Veloce CV-35, was an Italian tankette that saw combat before and during World War II.[1] It was one of the smallest tanks that faced combat.[citation needed] Although designated a light tank by the Italian Army, its turretless configuration, weight and firepower make it closer to contemporary tankettes. It was the most numerous Italian armoured fighting vehicle and saw service almost everywhere the Italians fought in the Second World War but proved inadequate for modern warfare, having too thin armour and weak armament of only machine guns. It was cheaply produced but because of its light armaments and armour it was reserved to mostly colonial, policing, reconnaissance, and supply duties. However, given its low production costs, proved to be efficient in the Second Italo-Abyssinian War, Spanish Civil War and the Greco-Italian War where it provided reliable support to Italian infantry and disrupted enemy lines.[1][2]

Yes, somebody has a boatload of bananas!! And a fine moustache:

As the Friday, July 30, 1943 issue of The (Montreal) Gazette concludes, I share three wee stories and one longer tale:

"Nothing new under the sun" some might say. Click here to listen to a podcast entitled "White Flag Treachery" re German Army WWI.

Next, a clipping mentioning Canadian reporter Ross Munro, someone you can actually depend upon:

Some very good news:

The longer, last-but-not-least tale - in which someone waving the white flag again is mentioned - falls under the heading "Stranger things have happened, but....":

A "reader, well done" is certainly well-deserved if you hung in there 'til the end. Questions, comments and related information (e.g., photos, maps, tales of some WWII veteran to whom you are related) can be sent to Gord H. at gordh7700@gmail.com

More news clippings from The Montreal Gazette will soon follow.

Please click here to view Research: Three Months in the Mediterranean, 1943 (21)

Unattributed Photos GH