215 - Could the Soviets Cut Off Crimea? - WW2 - October 8, 1943
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- Опубліковано 7 жов 2022
- The Germans booby-trapped Naples when they evacuated last week and local civilians now pay the price. In the Mediterranean, Kos falls to the Germans while Corsica is liberated by the French. There is action all along the Dnieper in the USSR, and the Australians advance in New Guinea, and the Japanese evacuate Vella Lavella in the Solomons.
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Are the Germans really the mobile warfare geniuses that much of popular history suggests? In the Soviet Union in 1943, they are increasingly finding themselves outpaced and outmaneuvered.
If you are interested in a detailed operational description of the fighting in the Ukraine that is covered in this episode read Prit Buttar's Retribution The Soviet reconquest of central Ukraine.
Yeah, because they did not have enough mobile vehicles. Most German hardware was horse drawn.
Please update the weekly episode playlist, it's out of date by 3 months again. This is becoming a seasonal habit for me but I genuinely think more people would get into the channel if all the regular episode playlists were up to date, as it makes the channel's main series easier to navigate
X3Z
It was not thought they were invincible . They had a tough time with the Germans in 1941 and until late in 1942. They built a formidable force during the latter half of WWII and it would have taken a very large and well equipped force to take them on. The Germans were not in shape to do that after the middle of 1943.
It is quite surreal to think that the same regions of Ukraine that the front went through in 1943 are now today also being fought over, same time of the year and all.
The title feels even more surreal right now...........
@@eedwardgrey2 That the Kerch Bridge has been hit? Yeah. We live in surreal times, my friends.
Don’t forget that now the Kuban bridge has been destroyed, the title in this episode is pretty much in the nose
@@andmos1001 it was not destroyed, the rail transportation already resumed today, two lanes of highway are being destroyed though, but it's certainly can be fix soon enough
@@briantarigan7685 until they hit it again. This is only the first attack.
The parallels over the past few months with east front episodes are uncanny
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The timing for this part of the channel is uncanny.
Yep
Crimea was not part of Ukraine until the 1960s! In fact, Ukraine was not a country until approximately 100 years ago. I have degrees in European history and information science.
@@dabass438 bot
@@dabass438 and yet, it is now Ukrainian.
@@dabass438 The country Ukraine may not have existed that long. But the Ukrainian identity exists far longer.
Seventy nine years later, and they're still fighting over the Crimea.
Thanks for another great episode in celebration of my birthday.
Aren't they fighting over kherson?
And crimea has sort of been cut of but in another way
Happy Bday then🎉
Happy Birthday 🎂
Happy birthday!
That does it: I'm now fully convinced Indy is a time traveller.
I think so too.
He used to be an advanced AI hologram. He was taken back with Guy Pearce to our time before Guy went on back to the Victorian era.
A more plausible theory is that someone in Ukraine's high command is a big fan of this series and knew this was coming *so he timed the attack on the bridge on the same day this episode went live*
Hell, maybe Zelenskyy himself phoned-in the order to hit the bridge as soon as the premier notice for this episode went up
My great-grandfather was a civilian construction worker on Wake Island when it was captured by the Japanese. He picked up a rifle and helped defend the island before it was captured and he was taken prisoner. He ended up keeping a diary that he hid from his captors that he used to keep a record of his time in the prison camp. It's amazing reading his story and how he was treated, how he made it through such a grueling situation. He survived through the end of the war and ended up returning to his home in Idaho.
Given up For Dead gives great insights into the fighting for Wake.
The civilians were a crucial part of the defense of the Atoll. They kept troops fed, supplied, planes repaired, guns crewed etc. The civilians fought as bravely as their Marine and Navy Counterparts.
@@MrWWIIBuff Indeed they did, thanks for the recommendation!
I get the impression the algorithm is going to be kind to this title
I can’t even imagine what that lone survivor went through on Wake. To have all your friends die in front of you, and then spend weeks just trying to survive, living just long enough to carve some crude memorial before being captured and executed in so to barbaric a fashion.
Do we know his name?
Well, the plaque says 'Unknown'...
@@tams805 Articles I’ve read online say much the same. He shall forever be “unknown.”
God bless him
The Ghost Army again illustrating how prescient history can be.
Crimea was not part of Ukraine until the 1960s! In fact, Ukraine was not a country until approximately 100 years ago. I have degrees in European history and information science.
@@dabass438 bot
This argument is nonsense. This region was occupied by the Russian empire. So what? Should it be occupied forever?
The age of empires is over. We now live in the modern world which is awesome because we now have self-determination of the peoples, human rights, civil rights and so much more.
Enough with the silly propaganda.
@@megasbaladoros Yes, but the racism and genocide should end!
@@dabass438 what r u talking about? Do you seriously believe that the Ukrainians are nazis or nazguls or whatever?
The main source of the problem here is that Russia can not settle with being a normal national state. It wants to be an empire. Putin and his lot think it is normal to conquer other countries just because they want to.
If you feel disliked or discriminated upon or oppressed or anything change this attitude of the Russian political elite. Other than that nobody hates or even dislikes Russia. (I mean, I know that I am asking a lot. But I am telling you that in order to help you see clearly what the real problem is).
Love this tie. Colours are almost minty, and the design works well with the sharper tones. 4/5
I know you review ties but opinions on Indy's shirt? It's one hell of a vibrant green
@@Bagster321 I like where your head's at
A side note this week on October 4 1943 is that Bing Crosby will record his now famous Christmas song, “I'll Be Home for Christmas”, with the John Scott Trotter Orchestra for Decca Records. The song, which was originally written to honour soldiers overseas who wished or longed to be home during Christmas time, would prove to be a great morale booster with Americans, although ironically the BBC would ban the song as they feared that it would lower morale among British troops.
@@slyasleep No difference, but I guess the Brits wouldn't take kindly to their American allies buggering off...
@@slyasleep The Brits tend to be more cynical. “Home by Christmas” kinda rings false when you’ve already been fighting for nearly 4 years.
@@slyasleep Another aspect to consider is that by the 1930s, "home by Christmas" had become some kind of meme about the First World War in the UK. So telling soldiers that they'd be "home by Christmas" might've been met with a hefty dose of sarcasm and doubt.
Wasn't it proven that one of the "B's" in BBC stands for "ban"?
Well this timing is shockingly good.
Their '5th Beatle' is Ukrainian. I wonder if they knew something
The fact that there is fighting in these same areas today certainly adds poignancy to the history.
"Crimea cut off" Indy does it again!
It's amazing a POW was able to hide out on Wake Island for three weeks. It doesn't seem like a place with a lot of hiding options.
9:55 it must be really interesting for chuikov and his staff, last year he was defending volga river and now he is about to cross dnieper
Although not given enough credits in post war posterity , Allies , so far did quite well in Mediterranean Theater off War in summer and beginning of autumn 1943. In less than three months , they captured both Sicily and Southern Italy , now entering Central Italy , took Corsica and Sardinia as a bonus without any major engagement since German evacuated both pre emptively , converting Western and Central Mediterranean into an Allied controlled lake mostly safe for Allied convoy shipping traffic (which eased the strain on Allied shipping tonnage capacity enormously with extra three million tons shipping came into existence when Allied convoys can use Mediterranean - Suez Red Sea route that would cut sailing time to Middle East , Indian Ocean , Bay of Benghal and Far East for five weeks) , took Italy out of war (diplomatically that swayed neutrals like Spain , Turkey and Axis sattalites to orient further with Allies and raised morale of homefront in UK and USA) , caused disintegration of Italian Army and airforce , took over most of Italian Navy , forced Germans to divert huge number of troops and reinforcements from Eastern Front (you are welcome Stalin) and from France (easing up D-Day) to compansate Italian Army surrender in Mediterranean and Balkans with minimum number of Allied troops and resources possible at Italy to fight an optimum war there while diverting their main resources like Royal Navy Mediterranean Fleet and all landing craft and LSTs to other theaters like UK for incoming Cross Channel invasion , Atlantic Ocean , Indian Ocean and Pacific Theater , captured principal ports like Taranto , Bari , Reggio di Calabria and Naples and airbases in Foggia that put southern Germany and Austria and Balkans to Allied strategic bombing range.
Everyone assumes Second Front opened up in Normandy in June 1944 , I think Second Front was already opened up in Italy nine months before in September 1943 , straining German resources beyond their limited means along with Strategic Air Offensive over Germany which Nazi Armaments Minister Speer already called as Second Front.
@@user-qt1cp1be3u In September 1943 , OKW deployed total of 15 German division to fight (1) both fight 15th Army Group in Southern Italy (2) Hold and Garrison Central and Northern Italy , disarm Italian military and hold off partisan warfare which all happened after Italian goverment surrendered to Allies in September 1943 and 8th Army landed on Calabria , 5th Army landed at Salerno in 8th September. You listed ONLY the German divisions that actively fought against Allies in Southern Italy in 10th German army in September 1943. At least six more German divisions either deployed from Wehrmacht reserves or pulled from Sardinia and Corsica which were evacuated to disarm Italian Army in Italy , hold communications , guard coastline and after wards gradually shifted to fight Allied advance in Southern Italy in September 1943.
Italian Army demilitarisation as a result of Allied landings (Operation Baytown and Operation Avalanche) and therefore German invasion (Operation Achse)
en.wikipedia.org Operation_Achse
At 02:15 on 26 July the 215th Infantry Division was the first German unit to enter Italy, heading for Liguria, while the Panzergrenadier Division Feldherrnhalle and the 715th German Infantry Division were deployed to protect the passage through the alpine passes on the French-Italian border. The Italian commands protested and tried to stop the inflow of the divisions with some pretexts, but Kesselring intervened through the Italian Supreme Command on 1 August, and the 305th Infantry Division marched on foot first to Genoa and then to La Spezia. Meanwhile, more German units entered Italy: the 76th Infantry Division, on 2 August, heading for Savona; the 94th Infantry Division, on 4 August, heading for Susa and then Alessandria; the 87th Corps headquarters (General Gustav-Adolf von Zangen), which on 11 August established itself in Acqui and assumed command of the three newly-arrived German divisions.
Some conflicts and incidents between the German troops on passage and the Italian commands and units took place also at the Brenner Pass; Rommel, worried by the news of a strengthening of the Italian garrison and mining of the mountain passes, sent the Kampfgruppe Feuerstein south, with part of the 26th Panzer Division and the 44th German Infantry Division, with orders to say that they had been sent to help Italy against the common enemy. The Italian Supreme Command in Rome and General Gloria, commander of the XXVI Italian Army Corps in Bolzano, complained vehemently and threatened an armed reaction, but after Kesselring's intervention on 1 August the crisis passed and the German units were allowed to proceed; the 44th Infantry Division reached Bozen, assumed control of the Brenner Pass and thus ensured the transalpine communications with Germany.
Right after July 25, Hitler had initially decided to immediately send to Italy the 1st SS Panzer Division Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler and the 2nd SS Panzer Division Das Reich, despite the precarious situation on the Eastern Front. Protests by Field Marshal Von Kluge and further worsening of the situation in the East forced however Hitler to send only the Leibstandarte Adolf Hitler, without its heavy weapons. This division crossed the Brenner Pass on 3 August and then placed itself between Parma and Reggio Emilia. This was soon followed by the transfer of the 65th Infantry Division from Villach to the Ravenna-Rimini area, and the transfer of the 24th Panzer Division from Tyrol to Modena by 30 August. On 3 August the Waffen-SS Generaloberst Paul Hausser arrived in Reggio Emilia with the headquarters of the II SS Panzer Corps, to take command of the three incoming divisions.
The last German division to enter Italy was the 71st Infantry Division, which was transferred from Denmark to an area north of Ljubljana on 7 August, and from 25 August started entering Friuli on orders from Rommel, who feared possible hostile actions by the Italians and the mining of the Eastern alpine passes. After another conflict with the Italian Supreme Command, which once again menaced to result in armed clashes, the situation was solved by the intervention of Von Rintelen, and the Division advanced without problems towards Gemona, Gorizia, and Opicina; by 2 September it was fully deployed in the Julian March.
The Italian leadership tried to keep a grip on this difficult phase by alternating requests for help and obstructionism towards the incoming German forces and requests to deploy the German divisions in the South, on the frontline; already on 31 July, during the meeting between Ambrosio and Kesselring, arguments began about the positioning and role of the new German divisions. At the conference held in Tarvisio on 6 August between the Italian Foreign Minister Raffaele Guariglia, Ambrosio, Joachim von Ribbentrop and Keitel (with the menacing presence of SS guards), the mutual distrust became apparent; Ambrosio asked to increase the German divisions from nine to sixteen, but to deploy them in Southern Italy against the Allies, while Keitel and Warlimont instead stated that the new German units would be deployed in Central and Northern Italy, as a strategic reserve force.
A last meeting was held in Bologna on 15 August, between generals Roatta and Jodl, the latter accompanied by Rommel (who had just been made commander of the new Army Group B in Northern Italy) and by a SS guard of the Leibstandarte Adolf Hitler; the Germans consented to recalling to Italy part of the 4th Italian Army from Southern France, but they were alarmed by Roatta's plans about a positioning of the German forces that, in case of defection, seemed to expose them to the risk of becoming isolated and being destroyed by the Allies. The meeting was a failure and convinced the German generals that, despite reassurances from Roatta (possibly not yet informed by Ambrosio of the contacts that were under way with the Allies), who assured that Italy would not defect and added "we are not Saxons!", that an Italian defection was imminent. The atmosphere at the meeting was so tense that the German delegation refused food and beverages offered by the Italians, fearing they would be poisoned.
The preparations against an Italian betrayal therefore proceeded swiftly; detailed dispositions were issued to the subordinated commands, which in turn studied detailed operative plans to act with speed and efficiency. The German leadership expected only weak resistance by the Italian armed forces and counted on quickly solving the situation. General Von Horstig, a representative of the weaponry office of the Wehrmacht in Italy, was already preparing plans for the plunder of the resources and the systematic destruction of factories and infrastructures of military importance in Southern Italy.
Faced with the efficiency of the German units, which immediately demanded surrender or collaboration with threats and intimidations, most of the Italian commanders, also fearful of the impressive reputation of military capacity of the Wehrmacht and many times tired by a lengthy and disliked war, soon abandoned any intent of resistance; with a few exceptions, the troops, left with neither orders nor leaders, often dispersed.
The situation of the German forces in Italy was actually a difficult one; Rommel, with his Army Group B, had the easier task of occupying the northern regions and neutralizing any resistance by Italian forces in that area, but Kesselring, in command of Army Group C, was in great difficulty after September 8: after the bombing of Frascati, he barely managed to receive the communication of the coded word "Achse" and also learned of the Allied landing near Salerno, where only part of the 16th Panzer Division was stationed. At first, he feared that he would not be able to simultaneously contain the Allied advance and carry out his mission against Rome.
Even the OKW considered the possibility of losing the eight German divisions in Southern Italy; Kesselring, however, showed great capability, and his forces fought with ability and effectiveness.
@@user-qt1cp1be3u The German forces near Rome consisted in the 11th Airborne Corps of General Kurt Student, headquartered in Pratica di Mare; the Corps comprised the 2nd Parachute Division under General Walter Barenthin, ready for action south of Rome, and the 3rd Panzergrenadier Division (General Fritz-Hubert Gräser), reinforced by an armored battalion of the 26th Panzer Division (Kampfgruppe Büsing), stationed between Orvieto and Lake Bolsena, north of Rome. These units comprised about 26,000 men and some hundreds of armored fighting vehicles, and were activated by Kesselring in the evening of 8 September: already at 20:30 they attacked the Mezzocammino fuel depot, and the German paratroopers immediately started advancing south, overcoming sporadic resistance by the Piacenza Division in Lanuvio, Albano Laziale, and Ardea.
Meanwhile, the defenses of Rome had completely collapsed; in the south, the German paratroopers fought a series of sporadic fights against the Granatieri di Sardegna and units of the Ariete II at Magliana and Cecchignola; at 17:00 on 9 September, Magliana was abandoned by Italian forces and the 2nd Parachutist Division proceeded with its advance, arriving near Porta San Paolo in the evening. In the north, the armored fighting vehicles of the 3rd Panzergrenadier Division had restarted their advance; after fighting against the bulk of the Ariete II, they captured Manziana, Monterosi (at 14:00), and Bracciano (at 17:00), while more German units of the same Division advanced towards Civitavecchia and Kampfgruppe Büsing reached Cesano and La Storta.
General Frido von Senger und Etterlin, the German commander in Sardinia, was ordered by Kesselring to withdraw to Corsica with the 90th Panzergrenadier Division. This manoeuvre was a complete success. In Corsica, after initial confusion and fruitless negotiations, General Giovanni Magli, commander of the VII Italian Army Corps (20th Infantry Division "Friuli" and 44th Infantry Division "Cremona"), attacked the Waffen-SS "Reichführer-SS" brigade, while some French units landed at Ajaccio on 12 September. On 13 September, following the arrival of the 90th Panzergrenadier Division from Sardinia, Bastia (where a previous German attempt to capture the port and Italian shipping had been thwarted by Italian ships) fell in German hands, but the Wehrmacht Supreme Command ordered General Von Senger to leave the island and withdraw to Piombino. The German forces were evacuated from Corsica by 4 October, despite attacks by the Italian and French forces (the latter consisting of the 4th Moroccan Mountain Division).
The strategic situation in central and northern Italy was much more favorable to the Germans than in the south. Army Group B, under Field Marshal Rommel, had a considerable number of troops, was far away from possible Allied intervention, and its units were deployed so as to be ready to intervene against Italian units, which were much less prepared and lacked clear orders. Moreover, the behavior of many of the Italian commanders further favored the success of the "Achse" plan: the local Italian superior commands, mostly concerned with avoiding riots, devastation, and popular insurrections, refused the help of civilians in the resistance, sometimes autonomously dissolved their units, and started negotiations with the Germans for an uneventful handover. Even the civilian leadership of the major cities carried out the instructions of the chief of police, Carmine Senise, mostly aimed at avoiding riots, and thus collaborated with the German authorities. Under such circumstances, Rommel carried out his task with speed and efficiency, while many Italian units quickly disintegrated and offered little resistance; Army Group B strictly carried out the orders about the internment of Italian troops, and by 20 September, 183,300 of the 13,000 officers and 402,000 soldiers captured had already been sent to Germany.
German units in Piedmont quickly neutralized the Italian units; in Turin (where General Enrico Adami Rossi refused to arm the civilians - on 18 August, he had ordered his men to fire on the crowd during a popular demonstration - and immediately initiated negotiations) and Novara (where General Casentino surrendered his entire command) the high commands did not attempt any resistance, immediately handed over their weapons and surrendered with their disintegrating units; Adami Rossi surrendered as soon as German armored units entered Turin (he later joined the Italian Social Republic). In Ligura, by 11 September the German troops of the 87th Corps (76th and 94th Infantry Division) and the 51st Corps (65th and 305th Infantry Division) occupied all positions, while the XVI Italian Army Corps (105th Infantry Division "Rovigo" and 6th Alpine Division "Alpi Graie") dissolved; German units also entered the naval base of La Spezia, but the Italian fleet had already sailed, while ships unable to sail had been scuttled or sabotaged.
In Milan, General Vittorio Ruggero, commander of the garrison, bought time for 48 hours and then reached an agreement with a German colonel of the 1st SS Panzer Division "Leibstandarte Adolf Hitler"; Ruggero dissolved without a fight the 5th Infantry Division "Cosseria", which was being re-formed after the heavy losses suffered in Russia, and already on the following day the Waffen-SS units broke the agreement, occupied Milan and arrested Ruggero, who was sent to POW camps in Germany along with his soldiers. After a brief resistance, the garrison of Verona and its commander, General Guglielmo Orengo, were disarmed and deported by the German forces.
Despite the Alpine Wall fortifications, Italian units quickly disintegrated also in Trentino-South Tyrol: by 9 September, the two alpine divisions of XXV Army Italian Corps of General Alessandro Gloria (2nd Alpine Division "Tridentina" and 4th Alpine Division "Cuneense"), both under re-constitution after their destruction on the Eastern Front) were immediately attacked and disarmed by the 44th German Infantry Division, which was already deployed south of Brenner Pass, and by the "Doelha" Brigade; only in Rovereto did some units resist until the morning of 10 September, before surrendering. In Emilia, the 2nd SS-Panzerkorps of General Paul Hausser occupied the territory and destroyed the weak Italian units in the area without difficulty: the 24th Panzer Division and "Leibstandarte Adolf Hitler" quickly entered Modena and Bologna; the 3rd Cavalry Division "Principe Amedeo Duca d'Aosta", which was being re-formed after the losses suffered in Russia, was disarmed, and the soldiers taken prisoner.
The 71st German Infantry Division encountered more difficulty in occupying Friuli and the Julian March; whereas the 3rd Alpine Division "Julia" and the 2nd Infantry Division "Sforzesca", both being re-formed after their destruction in Russia, were soon disarmed, the 52nd Infantry Division "Torino" put up resistance in Gorizia, where workers formed the first partisan groups. Meanwhile, Slovene partisan formations invaded part of this region, where they often inflicted bloody reprisals against the Italian civilian population. Only towards the end of the month, the 71st German Infantry Division, assisted by Italian collaborationist soldiers of the Italian Social Republic, regained control of the situation, repelled the Yugoslav partisans and occupied all the territory. In Trieste, General Alberto Ferrero, after fruitless talks with anti-fascist representatives, started negotiations with the Germans and then abandoned the city, and 90,000 Italian soldiers in the area, abandoned without orders, surrendered without a fight.
In central Italy north of Rome, the 5th Italian Army of General Mario Caracciolo di Feroleto, headquartered in Orte, was dissolved on 11 September, and its soldiers were disarmed and interned; the 3rd Infantry Division "Ravenna", headquartered in Grosseto, and the coastal formations of the northern Tyrrhenian Sea disintegrated, and German units entered the cities; Livorno was captured on 10 September. In Florence, General Armellini Chiappi immediately allowed the Germans to enter the city; Colonel Chiari in Arezzo and Colonel Laurei in Massa gave up their forces without attempting any resistance. Italian units and civilian volunteers in Piombino repelled a German landing attempt between 10 and 11 September, killing or capturing some hundreds of German soldiers, but on 12 September the Italian superior commands surrendered the town to the Germans.
@UC59kkeJYq4H_ZjwOfkCihpw So let's make a list of German divisions disarming Italian Army in Northern Italy , secure Alpine passes and later joined defence of Central Italy in Army Group B command , look I am counting if I miss any of them OK ?
215th German Infantry Division , it was pulled back to Eastern Front quickly before end of the month
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panzer-Grenadier-Division_Feldherrnhalle
Panzergrenadier Division Feldherrnhalle , During the division's formation, it was stationed in the Nimes - Montpellier area. At the beginning of September 1943, the division took part in the disarmament of the 8th Italian Army as part of Operation Achse. At the end of October 1943, the division moved to northern France to the Arras-Doullens area and at the beginning of December 1943 to the Eastern Front.
715th German Infantry Division
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/715th_Infantry_Division_(Wehrmacht)
The 715th (Static) Infantry Division was activated on 8 May 1941, and sent to southwestern France that fall. In late summer 1943, it took over the Cannes-Nice sector on the Mediterranean coast when elements of the Italian 4th Army returned home. In January 1944, the 715th was sent to Italy following the allied landings at Anzio and fought there until June, suffering heavy losses when the Allies broke out of the beachhead and took Rome. Sent to the rear, the 715th was rebuilt, largely from troops of the reinforced 1028th Grenadier Regiment and Shadow Division Wildflecken, which it absorbed. The division fought in the Gothic Line battles in September and was transferred to the Adriatic sector soon after. During this time the Italian Bersaglieri battalion "Mameli" fought under the command of the 715th Infantry Division. Rebuilt again in February 1945, it now included the 725th, 735th, and 774th Grenadier Regiments (two battalions each), the 671st Artillery Regiment (three battalions), the 715th Fusilier Battalion, the 715th Engineer Battalion, the 715th Tank Destroyer Battalion, the 715th Signal Company and the 715th Field Replacement Battalion. In early 1945, it was sent to the 1st Panzer Army on the Eastern Front, fought in Upper Silesia and surrendered to the Soviets in the Tábor-Pisek area of Czechoslovakia on 2 May.
305th German Infantry Division
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/305th_Infantry_Division_(Wehrmacht)
From August 1942 the division is engaged against Soviet forces towards Stalingrad and later in the city of Stalingrad itself.
The division was destroyed in the North Sector of Stalingrad in January 1943.
Last units of the 305th see action on 1 February 1943 near the tractor factory in the North Sector of Stalingrad.Very few survivors and wounded made it out of the city.
Second formation
The 305th ID was reformed in Brittany (France) during the first half of 1943.
After Mussolini's fall, the division was relocated in August 1943, to the Ligurian coast in the Italian theater of war. During Operation Achse, she was entrusted with the occupation of the military port of La Spezia, but could not prevent the escape of the Italian warships anchored there.
In October, the division was moved to southern Italy in the eastern section of the Volturno Line, where she took part in defensive battles against the advancing 5th US Army. She then withdrew to the Sangro River in the eastern section of the Gustav Line. After the fall of the Gustav Line in the spring of 1944, the division, with the allies in close pursuit, marched towards Umbria and had to be replenished with troops from the 94th Infantry Division.
76th German Infantry Division ( no data about rthem in en wikipedia before 1944 as divisional record)
44th German Infantry Division
from en wklipedia
On 25 July 1943 Mussolini was removed from Office by King Victor Emmanuel and replaced as Prime Minister by Marshal Badoglio[41] Although Badoglio publicly declared a continuation of the war and the pact with Germany Hitler immediately suspected that he would seek to make peace with the Allies. The German military forces in Italy remained weak, most combat capable combat units were fighting in Sicily, with very little on the mainland, capable of dealing with a swift Italian defection
Hitler recalled Rommel to Berlin and ordered him to take on the problem of securing German interests in Northern Italy and to use his newly set up Army Group B headquarters to control the new forces that would soon be moved into the area.[43] Orders for these troop movements soon began to be issued, but to get the troops into the theatre, first the vital communications route through the mountains had to be secured. On 26 July, Field Marshal von Rundstedt, at OB West Headquarters was ordered to move 2 divisions immediately to secure the Alpine passes, the 305th went towards Nice and the 44th towards the Brenner pass.[44] Divisional units of the 44th Infantry Division began arriving in Innsbruck, Austria on 27 July,[7] and by the month's end it was on the border at the Brenner pass. Its admission into Italy proper, however, now became a matter of political debate between the higher political and military establishments of Italy and Germany.[44]
The new Italian leadership did not want more German units to enter the country as that would enable the Germans to take control. However, they were not ready to openly oppose the Germans at this time and they could not deny the logic of the German argument, that more military units would be needed to repel the Allied armies, so eventually permission was granted.[44] The 44th quickly took control of the rail line as far as Bolzano, and by the next day infiltration of Army group B units was in full swing.[44]
On 8 September Badoglio announced an armistice between the Italian Forces and the Allies on Radio Rome.[45] The Italian defection, had long been foreseen by Hitler who had instructed the OKW to develop contingency plans to deal with it. Operation Achse would see the disarming and disbanding of the military of the former German ally, and the take over of the Italian State by Germany, using force if necessary.[46] But, in the event, little force would be required as the Italian Armed forces, lacking any clear leadership began to dissolve and capitulation ensued. The 44th Division, still in the South Tyrol, quickly seized the Italian XXXV Corps Headquarters in Bolzano, and a huge haul of prisoners, including 1783 officers, amongst which were 18 Generals, and 50,000 men.[47]
With the Italian military no longer policing its territory, Yugoslavian partisan activity flared up in Istria and Carniola. This area had mixed populations of Italians, Slovenians and Croatians, and Carniola, part of Yugoslavia in 1939, had only recently been annexed by Italy in 1941. OKW ordered Army Group B to safeguard vital interests and communications routes in the area, and Rommel complied. Tasking II SS Panzer Corps to lead, and utilising the considerable forces at the disposal of Army Group B, several sweeps were conducted from late September to mid November, claiming success and the killing or capturing of thousands of partisans and capturing of much materiel.[48]
The Bernhardt Line
In November 1943 Kesselring went to Berlin to meet with Hitler. He told the German leader that he believed the Allies could be held south of Rome at the winter line for six months. Shortly after Kesselring was given overall command of the armies in Italy, and Rommel relinquished his command of Army Group B. Now with access to an extra eight and a half divisions, including the 44th Infantry Division, Kesselring had the additional forces he needed to attempt to fulfil his promise to Hitler. He wanted to relieve his mobile divisions to rebuild their strength and use them as a mobile reserve against likely landings behind the German line[49]
Meanwhile, the American-led 5th Army had broken out of the Salerno beachhead, joined with the British 8th Army, which had entered the boot of Italy from Sicily and were pushing the German forces back northward as they fought delaying actions through successive defensive lines. Kesselring wanted to delay their advance as long as possible to gain time to build up the defences of the Gustav line, also called the winter line. The 44th Infantry Division would bolster these efforts and was ordered to entrain and move south to the front.[50]
At the end of November 1943, 44th HuD units began to arrive and the most advanced battalions were sent forward to relieve units of the 26th Panzer Division, which were to be redeployed.[51] The division took over its new positions including numerous protected shelters, pill boxes, and mortar positions built on reverse slopes, on a series of high mountain peaks dominating the road to St Elia and the Rapido Valley. Also in its sector was the village of Lagon, whose houses had been fortified. These positions were soon under attack by the US VI Corps, which pushed its units into the mountains, attempting to draw German reserves away from the main effort that would occur further to the south, in the Mignano Gap.[52]
In spite of the inherent defensive advantages of mountainous terrain and the harsh winter weather, the soldiers of the 44th division realised that they were not correctly equipped for either winter or mountain warfare. They had the wrong clothing and their horse drawn supply units were found to be useless in the mountain trails. The division quickly had to swap some of its wagons for mule trains, and some artillery for mountain guns.[53] Moreover, it was now inserted into major combat, for the first time since it was rebuilt, against a well resourced enemy, including air power. Indeed, several units had already suffered attacks from Allied fighter bombers, known as 'jabo's', upon retraining north of Cassino and on the way to the Bernhardt line
65th German Infantry Division
en wikipedia
The move to Italy
The division moved to France in the spring of 1943. In August 1943 the division moved briefly to Austria for two weeks before heading south into Italy just as the fascist government was being overthrown and Italy changed sides. The division took up coastal defence duties on the Adriatic from 10 to 22 August 1943 and moved to the west coast at La Spezia in September. Units of the division were on sentry duty when Italy changed sides, and soldiers watched ships of the Italian Navy sortie from La Spezia and Genoa, including the battleship Roma.
In October 1943 the division moved to the Chieti area, and then to the Adriatic coast between Pescara and Ortona.[1]
First combats: the Sangro
The 65th Division was ordered to man positions on the Winter Line. Initially stationed on the coast, the inexperienced division was shifted inland in favour of the more experienced 1st Parachute Division. The latter fought at Ortona where it battled the 1st Canadian Division at Christmastime, 1943 before withdrawing to the Arielli River. The 65th instead fought at Orsogna, giving ground to the 8th Indian Division and the 2nd New Zealand Division, but held on to the city of Orsogna before being relieved. The division had suffered enormous losses, particularly in infantry.
The division was relieved by the 334th Infantry Division in the last days of 1943, and relocated to Genoa where it was partly reconstituted. At the same time the division reorganized as a "Type 1944" Division, with three infantry regiments (145, 146, 147) of two battalions each rather than two regiments of three battalions. The reorganization increased the division's firepower (particularly in terms of anti-tank guns and infantry howitzers) while conserving manpower.
The Allied invasion of Anzio caused an emergency call-out of the division, per "Case Richard" which was a pre-planned response to an Allied amphibious landing behind German lines.
Anzio
Grenadier Regiment 145 and 147 relocated to the Anzio area, and elements of the division went into action as "Kampfgruppe Pfeifer." The division fought for the most part west of the Anziata (the road linking Anzio to the Alban Hills) and at times had elements of the 4th Parachute Division under command. Elements of the division helped reduce the British salient at Campoleone and then participated in Operation Fischfang, the full-scale counter-offensive aimed at splitting the Anzio beachhead and pushing the Allies back into the sea. The division suffered heavy casualties due to Allied artillery and air power, and after Fischfang petered out the two Grenadier Regiments were withdrawn to rest.
On 20 March 1944 a soldier in the 5th Company, Grenadier Regiment 147 wrote to his wife:
There are now two serious, unsuccessful attacks behind us, probably a third will follow, and we have a few hours of rest right now, but today we have been replaced in the firing line and are living in a cave right behind the front. Some have fallen and are still lying outside, because we can not reach them. After five days of uninterrupted action we are dirty, unshaven and tired enough to fall over. I am the last of my company's squad and platoon leaders, all the others are dead or wounded.
26th Panzer Division
en wikipedia
In July 1942, the division was reorganized as the 26th Panzer Division (26. Panzer-Division). It then served occupation duties in the west until mid-1943, whereupon it transferred to Italy to resist the Allied invasion, fought at Salerno, and remained in Italy for the rest of the war, surrendering to the British near Bologna at the end.
94th Infantry Division (Wehrmacht)
Recreation and surrender
The 94th Division was recreated later in 1943 and later moved to the Mediterranean, where the Allies opened up a new front in Italy. In Autumn 1944, remnants of the 95th Infantry and 278th Volksgrenadier Divisions were reconstituted as part of the 94th Infantry. The division surrendered on 22 April 1945
24th Panzer Division
71st Infantry Division
2nd Parachute Division (captured Rome)
90th Panzergrenadier Division (pulled from Sardinia and Corsica)
@UC59kkeJYq4H_ZjwOfkCihpw And these are the only German troops for deployed in occupation and holding Italian peninsula. We also need to add German division diverted to Balkans and Southern France to disarm and replace Italian divisions surrendered there. Which according to wikipedia Operation Achse
40 divisions (17 in Italy, 19 in the Balkans, 4 in France)
France
Taking advantage of the disintegration of the Italian units, the German troops swiftly captured all positions: the 356th and 715th Infantry Division entered Toulon and reached the Var river, while the Panzergrenadier Division Feldherrnhalle occupied the riviera till Menton. Mont Cenis pass, held by Italian units, was attacked in a pincer movement by German units from France (units of the 157th and 715th Infantry Division) and Piedmont (units of the Leibstandarte Adolf Hitler, coming from Turin); the Italian garrison defended the pass for some time, then surrendered after blowing up part of the Fréjus Rail Tunnel. Most soldiers of the 4th Army dispersed and tried to reach their homes; some others decided to remain with the Germans, whereas sizeable groups chose to oppose the occupation and went into the mountains, where they joined groups of anti-fascist civilians and thus formed the first partisan groups in Piedmont. On 12 September, General Vercellino formally dissolved his Army, while General Operti secured the Army treasure, part of which would later be used to fund the resistance.
Balkans
Italian troops in the area were exhausted after years of wearing anti-partisan operations, characterized by brutalities, reprisals and repression, and were isolated in a hostile territory, mixed with numerous German divisions (over 20 divisions of Army Group F of Field Marshal Von Weichs, and of Army Group E of General Löhr) and Croat collaborationist units whom, on 9 September, immediately severed all ties with Italy and joined Germany in the fight against the former ally. Without any land connection, and with confusing and vague orders, units quickly disintegrated and many soldiers were disarmed, captured and deported to Germany. However, Italian soldiers in this area fought with more determination than the units left in Italy, suffering heavy casualties and harsh reprisals by the German units.
Ionian Islands and the Dodecanese
Main articles: Massacre of the Acqui Division, Dodecanese campaign, and Massacre of Kos
German commands believed that it would be of great importance to retain control of the Ionian Islands and the Dodecanese, garrisoned by Italian troops, as they were believed to be of great strategic importance as a peripheral naval and air base and a defensive stronghold against possible Allied attacks on the Balkan front. Therefore, German forces launched a series of operations aimed at capturing the most important of these islands, with a sizable concentration of land and air forces. These operations caused some bloody battles against the Italian garrisons (who tried to resist, relying on their numerical superiority, geographical isolation and in some cases Allied assistance) and atrocities after surrender.
The Allies, despite insistence from Winston Churchill who supported a powerful Allied intervention in these islands to support the Italian garrisons and to secure valuable naval and air bases (which would turn useful for attacks on the southern Balkan front of "Fortress Europe"), only sent weak contingents with scarce air support, and were thus unable to change the course of the events, which progressively turned in favor of the Wehrmacht.
In Crete, the 51st Infantry Division "Siena" and LI Special Brigade "Lecce" were immediately neutralized and disarmed by the German forces in the island (the "Kreta" fortress brigade and the 22nd Air Landing Division, a veteran of the German invasion of the Netherlands and of the Siege of Sebastopol); part of the Italian soldiers joined the Germans, whereas most of them were imprisoned and transferred to mainland Greece by sea, but at least 4,700 of them drowned in the sinking by Allied air and submarine attacks of two of the ships that were carrying them (Sinfra and Petrella). Rhodes also quickly fell to the Germans; Italian forces there (the 50th Infantry Division "Regina" and part of the 6th Infantry Division "Cuneo", with 34,000 men), enjoyed numerical superiority over the German forces of General Kleeman (7,000 men of the "Rhodos" Division), but after an inconclusive battle the Italian commander, Admiral Inigo Campioni, surrendered when the Germans threatened to launch heavy bombings against the town of Rhodes. Karpathos was occupied by German forces on 13 September, after Campioni had ordered the island garrison to surrender. Over 6,500 Italian soldiers of the Rhodes garrison died after surrender, most of them in the sinking of the steamers Oria and Donizetti that were carrying them to mainland Greece; Campioni was later executed by Fascist authorities for having defended the island.
British units landed in Leros and Kos, where they joined the Italian garrisons in contrasting the German invasion (carried out by the 22nd Air Landing Division), but mediocre coordination, better German efficiency and German air supremacy led to a German victory and the capture of both islands. Kos fell on 4 October, with 2,500 Italian and 600 British soldiers taken prisoners; 96 Italian officers, including the garrison commander (Colonel Felice Leggio), were executed. Leros, defended by its 7,600-strong Italian garrison reinforced by 4,500 British soldiers, resisted for much longer; after weeks of continuous bombing, on 12 November 2,700 German soldiers landed or were parachuted in different points of the island and, despite numerical inferiority, they prevailed by 16 November, forcing both Italians and British to surrender. The Italian commander, Rear Admiral Luigi Mascherpa, was later executed by RSI authorities, like Campioni.
The most tragic events took place in the Ionian Islands, namely Corfu and Cephalonia, which the German command considered to be of utmost importance for defense of the Balkan coast against possible Allied landings. The Italian garrison on Cephalonia, consisting in the 33rd Infantry Division "Acqui" with 11,500 men under General Antonio Gandin, at first did not take any initiative against the much smaller German garrison (2,000 mountain troops under Lieutenant Colonel Hans Barge), and waited for clear orders. On 11 September, the Germans presented an ultimatum which ordered the Italians to surrender; Gandin at first decided to hand over the weapons, but after signs of protest and unrest among his men, he decided to resist. On 13 September, after receiving clear orders from the superior commands in Brindisi, Gandin rejected the ultimatum and attacked the German landing craft attempting to reach the island.
On 15 September, the Germans intervened in force, landing five battalions of mountain troops of the 1st Mountain Division of General Hubert Lanz, supported by self-propelled guns. The Germans repelled the Italian attack and then, after fierce fighting, went on the offensive on 21 September and forced the Italians to surrender at 11:00 on 22 September. After the surrender, the Germans began a bloody reprisal; General Gandin, about 400 officers and 4,000 to 5,000 men of the Acqui Division were executed. 1,300 men had previously been killed in the battle, and another 1,350 subsequently perished in the sinking of ships that were carrying them to mainland Greece. In Corfu the 4,500-strong Italian garrison easily overpowered and captured the 500-strong German garrison; the German prisoners were transferred by sea to Italy (and their presence in Italian hands is probably the reason that prevented the Germans from committing another full-scale massacre like in Cephalonia), while the garrison was reinforced by 3,500 more men. Between 24 and 25 September, however, more German forces, with Luftwaffe support, landed in the island, and on 26 September the Italians, after losing some hundreds of men and running out of ammunition, surrendered. The Italian commander, Colonel Luigi Lusignani, was executed along with 28 of his officers; 1,302 Italian prisoners perished in the sinking of the motor ship Mario Roselli which was to transfer them to the mainland.
something that always gets my attention is the amount of work to rebuild these cities,its unbelievable the piles of rubble and kinda overwhelming i would imagine for those there at the time
That ruin was applied to many places in the world. Much of Europe was ruined. Many locations in the Pacific and Asia are blasted to hell and back. We haven't even reached the devastation of 1944-1945 yet, and it's only going to get a lot bloodier. The death throes of the Axis regimes will be violent.
Chuikov is back and he's ready to kick German ass.
Trading one destroyer for another seems like a good exchange rate for the US.
I think Mr. T summed up the long-term picture pretty well. "Pain."
Campaigns like the Burmese Campaign or even the Italian Campaign often get labelled as "the forgotten front", but seriously how often do you hear about the Dodecanese campaign? I suppose it was a bit of an embarrassment for the Allies, and it's all over fairly quickly, with the attention being focused on the eventual stalemate in Italy.
Retired USAF here; I actually got to see that rock on Wake Island in 1993.
Indy, I am constantly amazed at your rapid and seemingly accurate pronunciation of names and places in all these episodes...Russian, Serbian, Italian, German, Japanese , Chinese, etc. etc. Keep up the good work! I do thoroughly enjoy this series.
He mispronounces Japanese names pretty regularly.
umlauts are also not observed for the german names, among other things.
they do a pretty good job on this channel by american standards
He tries and it certainly does the job of education, but it's not pretty.
Well. aren't y'all sweet fellows!
What an absolutely insane coincidence.
Crimea cut off again…
The timing of this is Amazing... 79 years ago to the Date.... History truly repeats itself!! Sadly not enough people learn this lesson.
This is a fantastic channel and I eagerly look forward to every episode. One small point on Admiral John Cunningham, I think the photo that you used was John Cunningham of the Royal Air Force. The famous “Cats Eyes” Cunningham of night fighter fame.
This is correct.
That answers my question why would they put someone in Air Force uniform in charge of the fleet :-D
FYI, the 6 carriers in the Wake Island raid were the Essex class - Essex (CV-9), Lexington (CV-16) and Yorktown (CV-10), and the Independence class - Independence (CVL-22), Belleau Wood (CVL-24) and Cowpens (CVL-25). At that time this was the strongest task force in the Pacific.
What is going on today in the same regions really proves the saying “if we forget history, we are bound to repeat it”
Almost repeating it to the exact date too.
History doesn't always repeat its self but it does rhyme
Well, this episode dropped at a very coincidental time. 😄
History doesn't repeat, but it often rhymes
I feel like it’s been awhile since I have heard Chuikov’s name mentioned on the show. Good for him, getting back on that horse!
Jesus. All the adrenaline this morning. At first glance, I thought the channel was making a video about what just happened in modern Crimea, haha.
Also, I'm glad that my home country (Greece) has recently returned to active fronts since 1941. Well, there was also a heavy resistance movement starting in 1942 already.
Holy timing! Does the Ghost Army know things that no one else does?
Great timing, respect 💪💪
History doesn't repeat, but it rhymes!
Bewildering seeing these same names in the news in both 1943 and 2022.
Thank you Indy, this series has to be the most comprehensive documentary about WW2 ever created
I was very fortunate to visit the Lyutezh bridgehead area just north of Kyiv last year. Most of the area is now under the Kyiv Reservoir, but there was a small commemorative museum there with a fantastic mural of the development of the bridgehead by Soviet forces. Not sure if the museum is still there today following Russian attacks around Irpen and Gostomel (which are nearby) this year.
This channel and title has officially entered the uncanny valley. It's still my favorite Channel but judging by the comments I'm not the only one Seeing the significance.
Imagine how easier it would be to evacuate through that strait if there was a bridge...
This war is so large, the suffering so huge and interminable. Great episode though.
It seems incredible to me that the Allies have just captured Termoli on Italy's Adriatic Coast. I went and located it on a map and I saw how close it is to Rome, it is nearly as far north. Now I know that Clark will triumphantly enter Rome at around the same time as the Allies launch their Normandy Landings, June 6, 1944. That means it will take the Allies in Italy a full 8 months to traverse this tiny distance on the Italian peninsula. That is amazing.
Two things slowed them down, (1) the central spine of Italy is a mountain range, easily defendable compared to attacking, (2) Smiling Al knew how to set up a defensive line. I have always wondered about two things, taking southern Italy to clear the Mediterranean for shipping between the Suez & Gibraltar made good sense, and taking Foggia on the east coast to have as a air base to bomb eastern Europe (Romania) always made sense. Typically better weather than Northern Europe, you could travel over water relatively free of ground AA fire half way to Ploesti. But I never understood the determination to pour out blood and treasure to take line after line of defenses in a mountain range. Even taking Naples seems a waste of time, the allies should have known the German's would have wrecked the place (look at Cherbourg). This seems as futile from the start as some of the WWI assaults.
Why not take Sardenia & Corsica, you are now north of Rome, the whole of S. France & N. Italy are exposed. Al has to defend a 2000km front. With Normandy done to free up craft for the Med, and the landings in Southern France, why not do a third landing, an "Inchon" on the Italian coast, threaten Milan. And yes I do know there are mountains along the Italian coastline there, but they're not as rugged as the central spine area, and there are natural river valleys through them. It's not perfect but it just seems to make more sense than the disaster at Anzio & fighting mountain top to mountain top. Of course I know this is way after the fact & it's not fair to those there as I know things they don't, I just wonder why nobody in allied high command seems to have considered it after the initial move up the 'boot' bogged down into a bloodletting.
@@michaelkitchens3933Many probably did.
Over ruled by their commanders.
Many commanders think linerally.
The shortest distance between two points is a straight line.
@@michaelkitchens3933 Thanks.
@@michaelkitchens3933 There are additional factors
- Combined Chiefs of Staff due to insistance of Marshall and US Staff , pulled up seven Allied divisions and most of the amphibious landin craft from Mediterranean Theater for incoming Cross Channel Invasion in October 1943 - February 1944. Three more US divisions were also pulled away from Italian Front in June 1944 for Operation Dragoon landings in Southern France while Hitler and OKW sent additional three or four division to Italy to hold Po Valley and Northern Italy after Rome fell in June 1944
- Weather conditions were terrible in Italy in winter , overflowing the rivers and river banks (there were several rivers in Italy as much as mountains) halting any advance
Naples fell in October 1943 , Cherbourg in June 1944. What happened in Naples was a lesson for Cherbourg not other way around. Italian Theater was also vital for that regard , honing logistics , maintenance , administration as well as fighting skills of Allied armies.
@@michaelkitchens3933 To add the to criticism of your comment, Corsica had already just been taken by the Free French.
I have an older friend who is the son of a contractor captured at Wake Island. He was too young to know when his father was captured and only got to finally see him in 1945. Never forget!
I'm glad they found each other again.
LMAO the timing and naming of this video is absolutely top tier.
*Captain of the Nagumo:* "POWER!!! Very limited power...." 🚢 😭😭😭
Battle of Atlantic , U- Boat Hunt continues
The new U-279, commanded by Otto Finke, age twenty-eight, which sailed from Kiel on September 4. Finke landed an agent in Iceland on September 25, then proceeded south to join group Rossbach. On October 4, a Ventura bomber of the U.S. Navy’s newly arrived Iceland-based Squadron VB 128, piloted by Charles L. Westhofen, found a U-boat (probably U-305) on the surface and drove her under. Westhofen hauled off to trick the U-boat into believing that he was gone for good. However, before he could return, he spotted a second U-boat and attacked into flak with machine guns and depth charges. This was Finke’s U-279, mortally wounded. Westhofen saw the U-boat crew abandon ship and some men in “four or five” rafts. Nothing further was heard from this boat or the crew.
The new U-389, commanded by Siegfried Heilmann, age twenty-six, which sailed from Trondheim on September 18. On October 4, a B-24 Liberator bomber of the Iceland- based RAF Coastal Command Squadron 120, piloted by W.J.F. McEwen, found U-389 on the surface. McEwen attacked with depth charges and U-389 “split open like a pea pod/’ the plane’s engineer Robert Fallon wrote. The aircrew counted “nine to eleven” Germans in the water. McEwen dropped three one-man inflatable dinghies and two emergency kits containing food, medicine, and so on), but nothing further was heard from U-389 or her crew.
On the morning of October 4, the American “jeep” carrier USS Card and her screen, loosely escorting the Gibraltar-bound convoy UGS 19, received intelligence on the proposed U-460 refueling operation. Avenger torpedo bomber pilot Robert L. Stearns, who had earlier won a Navy Cross for his roles in sinking the XB minelayer U-118 and U-537, spotted U-460 and the three Type VII submarines, refueling or waiting to refuel. After calling USS Card for reinforcements, Stearns boldly attacked the four U-boats, dropping a 500-pound bomb. It fell between the tanker U-460 and U-264, commanded by Hartwig Looks, who was in the process of refueling, but it caused no damage.
Three other USS Card aircraft-two Wildcat fighters and an Avenger-soon arrived. Diving into the heavy flak, the two Wildcats, piloted by Elbert S. Heim and David O. Puckett, attacked the clutch of U-boats, driving under the three VIIs (U-264, U-422, U-455) but Ebe Schnoor in the tanker U-460 remained on the surface, returning fire. After Puckett raked the boat, inflicting heavy casualties, Schnoor dived. When he did, Stearns in the Avenger dropped a Fido acoustic torpedo and sank U-460 with the loss of all hands. Stearns, Heim, and Puckett each won a Navy Cross for this important kill, which left only one Type XIV tanker in the devastated Atlantic refueler force, U-488.
Later that day, USS Card aircraft found and attacked Looks in U-264 and Poeschel in U-422. Looks escaped but he had incurred heavy damage and was compelled to abort to France. Wildcat pilots Elbert S. Heim and David O. Puckett and Avenger pilot Robert L. Stearns sank U-422 with machine-gun fire and a Fido acoustic torpedo. There were no survivors.
The U-336, commanded by Hans Hunger, age twenty-eight, which sailed from Brest on September 14. She was sunk on the morning of October 4 by a Hudson bomber of RAF Coastal Command bomber Squadron 269 from Iceland, piloted by Gordon C. Allsop. He attacked into flak, firing eight rockets in salvos of two, two, and four. These hit and fatally holed U-336. Allsop saw momentarily “about fifteen” Germans in the heavy oil slick of sinking wreck of Nazi submarine, but by the time he came around for a second pass, they had disappeared.
The loss of the XIV U-tanker U-460, which was to have gone north to directly support new German U-Boat wolfpack Rossbach, was yet another severe setback for the U-boats on the North Atlantic run. Four Rossbach VIIs, very low on fuel, were left virtually stranded. As a result, the remaining U-tanker, U-488, commanded by Erwin Bartke, who was en route to a position south of the Azores to refuel U-boats going to and from remote areas, was recalled and sent north to support Rossbach. Two of the four stranded VIIs, Manseck in the U-758 and Curio in U-952, could not wait for the tanker and headed for France. The other two, Ritterkreuz holder von Forstner in U-402 and Joachim Deecke in U-584, arranged a rendezvous.
Reinforced to fourteen boats by the arrival of two VIIs from France, U-91 and U-437, on October 6 Rossbach redeployed to intercept two convoys eastbound to the British Isles: Halifax 259 and Slow Convoy 143. Fully aware of the threat posed by Rossbach, Allied authorities diverted Halifax 259 far to the south. Slow Convoy 143, comprised of thirty-nine merchant ships, was guarded by the reinforced Canadian Escort Group C-2, consisting of nine warships (the destroyer, Icarus, frigate Duckworth, five corvettes, one minesweeper, one ASW trawler) and the Merchant Aircraft Carrier (MAC ship) Rapana. Further reinforced by four destroyers of the British Support Group 10 (destroyers HMS Musketeer, HMS Oribi, Free Polish Navy destroyer ORP Orkan, HMS Orwell), the convoy, serving as “bait,” was deliberately allowed to proceed directly at Rossbach.
The wounded Werner Techand in the aborting U-731 was the first skipper to sight elements of Slow Convoy 143. His contact report-an eastbound “destroyer”-brought up seven other boats during the night of October 8-9. Two U-boats sank ships: Erich Mäder in U-378 got the Polish destroyer Orkan, commanded by Stanislaw Hryniewiecki of Support Group 10, and Otto Ferro in the homebound U-645 sank the 5,600-ton American freighter Yorkmar. Only forty-three of about two hundred crew survived the sinking of Orkan.
German Rossbach wolfpack paid a heavy price for these two sinkings. A Royal Navy Swordfish aircraft from the MAC ship Rapana and land-based aircraft drove the U-boats off and down and sank three on October 8. A B-24 Liberator bomber of RAF Coastal Command Squadron 86, based in Northern Ireland and piloted by John Wright, who had earlier sunk the VII U-456, found and attacked the new VII U-419, commanded by Dietrich Giersberg, age twenty-five. Wright dropped two close shallow-set Torpex depth charges. He reported that U-419 upended and sank stern first and that he saw “fifteen” Germans in the water, but only one survived, the skipper Giersberg who suffered a broken leg but was rescued by the destroyer HMS Orwell of Support Group 10. Forty-eight Germans perished in the sinking.
Alerted by pilot Wright, another B-24 Liberator bomber of RAF Coastal Command Squadron 86, piloted by Australian Cyril W. Burcher, as well as a B-24 from Coastal Command Squadron 120, piloted by Dennis C. L. Webber, found and attacked the new VII U-643, commanded by Hans-Harald Speidel, age twenty-six. Burcher, who had earlier sunk Type VII German submarine U-632, dropped four shallow-set depth charges but saw no firm evidence of a kill. Later, in two attacks, Webber dropped eight depth charges. Returning to the scene, Burcher dropped two more depth charges. These four depth-charge attacks together with machine-gun fire destroyed U-643. Racing to the site, the destroyers HMS Musketeer, HMS Orwell, and HMS Oribi of Support Group 10 picked up the skipper, Speidel, and seventeen other Germans, including a doctor. Thirty Germans perished.
According to the recollection of an officer on HMS Orwell, Ian Wedderburn, skipper Speidel claimed that machine-gun bullets from one of the B-24s had hit German survivors in the water, and because of that, Speidel was “very bitter.” In response to that published charge, the copilot of Webber’s B-24, John Luker, replied: “It had been recorded that we fired at them [the German crewmen] in the water, but I can categorically deny any such suggestion.”
A Sunderland flying boat of Royal Canadian Air Force Coastal Command Squadron 423, piloted by Alfred H. Russell, found the Type VII submarine U-610, commanded by Walter von Freyberg-Eisenberg- Allmendingen. In his initial attack, Russell toggled four depth charges, but only three fell which were enough to sink U-610. These charges closely straddled U-boat near the conning tower, which, Russell said, “lifted fifteen to twenty feet.” When the foam and swirl of the explosions sub sided, Russell saw “fifteen” Germans in the water swimming amid oil and wreckage. None survived the sinking of U-610.
Hitler's U-Boat War - Clay Blair Jr
Good video! Love the "cricket's chirping" response to your question at the end of the video.
Really enjoying these episodes: documentaries tend to leave the eastern front after Kursk and you don't hear more until Bagration if you're lucky.
f you are interested in a detailed operational description of the fighting in the Ukraine that is covered in this episode read Prit Buttar's Retribution The Soviet reconquest of central Ukraine
And it's pronounced "Bagraty-on" rather than "Bagrashun".
6:22 In Russia, patronymic is often used as a colloquial name of a person being respected, "Ilyich" was the patronymic of Lenin. It was pretty wide spread in the naming of streets, squares etc. In Moscow subway, there is even a station "Ploschad Ilyicha" that is "Ilyich Square".
Теперь англоязычным больше известен Ильич из "Литтл Биг". ))
@@Shurikova666 ...или Ильич Рамирес Санчес.
That Kos joke actually made me spit out what I was drinking.
I am astonished about how much that got me...
The commander on Wake Island would later be tried and executed for murdering the POWs.
Frankly, I think his entire surviving garrison should have joined him.
An interesting thing to note this week on October 3 1943 is that _The Bureau of Missing Persons_ , an experimental television programme, will premiere on the DuMont Television Network in the United States. It would show photographs of missing persons and invite the few television set owners in New York City at the time to call the local police if they had any clues to aid in identification. It could be considered a forerunner of the television programme _America's Most Wanted_ many decades later.
I had no idea television was even commercially available at the time. I knew they had the T.V Cafe's in places like Paris and some stores had them for advertisement but I didn't think it was anything more than that.
Is this the birth of the "True Crime" genre Americans are so obsessed with?
Your headline asking "Could the Soviets Cut Off Crimea?" is eerily prophetic because within the last 6 hours the Ukrainians have somehow managed to blow up the bridge that Putin built connecting Crimea to Motherland Russia. This closely followed Putin's 70th birthday and could significantly crimp his ability to transport weapons, supplies and vehicles into Crimea.
Unless, the Ukrainian is pretty much failed, Russia announced that the train tracks in the bridge is pretty much unharmed and they already resumed train journey today, only two lanes of highway are being destroyed, manage to greatly reduced the car traffic, but not totally cut it off
Besides, let's just say hipotetically, the Ukrainian manage to completely destroy the bridge, it's already too late, the Roads throughout southern Russia to mariupol and zaphorizya already being secured months ago, so does the railway throughout mariupol to melitopol, not to mention the sea is clear and the ports of melitopol and mariupol already fully function months ago
@@briantarigan7685 Yeah, good one Brian. Your analysis sounds remarkably like what I'd expect from a fully fledged Russian bot. Fancy that, Putin's bot army has arrived at Time Ghost. Gee Brian, you must be hugely disappointed with the bad joke that is the current Russian armed forces compared to its counterpart in the Second World War.
@@paultyson4389 lol, and here i thought that accusing someone who disagree with your narrative as a bot is already out of date
I honestly don't care about your out of topic argument, but what i've already mentioned is factual information about the condition in Russia and the front with my own analysis from just looking at theater map, idc if you want to believe or not, your life, your choice
And this "joke of an armed forces" with merely volunteer and active forces manage to hold back against 7 wave of nationwide mobilization funded and armed in hundreds of billions from the west not to mention being assisted with intelegence and tens of thousands of foreign "volunteers" and this " joke of an armed forces" only start partial mobilization right now
@@briantarigan7685 bitch the bridge is in the sea. Keep huffing your copium.
@@salokin3087 The rail link is fine, and two lanes are ready to be used again. The other two lanes will be out of commission for the foreseeable future
"Why can't the Allies retake Rhodes?"
"Because all Rhodes lead to Rome"
Cuz Rhodes is overrun by that damn gray family
Thanks for covering the actions in the Aegean islands. I'd never previously heard of the fighting in those islands following Italy switching sides, and was quite unaware of British involvement there after 1941.
*It's insane to think after so many years similar battles are taking place in the same regions. A Russian built bridge in Crimea just got blown up.*
More like THE Russian built bridge. Putin's baby that cost Russia's whole economy
It blowed up real good, too.
Not just battles, but russian tactics and behaviour 'mirroring' those of nazi germany.
@@WalterReimer but…. it’s still standing and connected.
@@metalgearray6832 yeah good luck using that bridge for logistics when a chunk of it is literally in the water
Hitler: What are you doing steppe front?!
First serious action fought by 13th Corps was across Biferno river and around port of Termoli. In order to assist the crossing , Commandos were landed on the port of Termoli on the night of 2/3 October 1943. A bridgehead was established across Biferno river and on the following night a brigade of 78th Division - leading the army advance along the coast - was landed to reinforce the Commandos in Termoli. The enemy was very worried our success for he moved 16th Panzer Division from Fifth US Army front in west , and during 4th and 5th October , some very bitter fighting took place around Termoli , one of German counter attacks penetrating as far as outskirts of the town. We were handicapped during this time by overflooded Biferno river which interfared with our bridging therefore crossing of tanks , reinforcements and supporting units to Termoli. The Desert Air Force Fought valiantly in our support and with cool handling of the situation by General Miles Dempsey , 13th Corps commander backed by dogged fighting of his troops holding their positions , finally forced enemy to break off his attacks and withdraw north towards Trigno river on 7th October. As maintenance considerations prevented an immediate pursuit of retreating enemy , I will briefly explain the progress made by other flank of 13th Corps.
1st Canadian Divison was directed across the mountain region on Vinchiaturo but they experienced considerable difficulties in capturing this small town which did not fall into our hands till 10th October. Again supply situation prevented any further immediate advance on this axis and petrol (British slang for fuel) shortage was becoming a major limiting factor in our operations.
The front now was becoming too wide to be controlled just one Corps and therefore on 9th October , Montgomery brought 5th Corps to the coastal sector , taking over 78th Division in the process. 8th Indian Divion , also being at Allfrey's command was in the area between Bari and Barletta. 13th Corps now had 1st Canadian and 5th British Divisions , the latter having followed up our advance and now positioned around Foggia. Montgomery was always most careful of preserving what he termed as "correct balance" and had been most insistent of 5th British Division having a firm base around Foggia.
Around this time , our old desert friend General Bernard Freyberg and his 2nd New Zealand Division were arriving to Italy and would be ready for operations around mid November.
Operation Victory - Brigadier Feddie de Guingand , Eighth Army Chief of Staff
Sometime later Popski's Private Army (PPA) engaged in a similar action as the Commandos further up north on the coast, near Fermo: using landing vessels that they nicknamed Popski's Private Navy. They continued their behind-enemy-lines-actions all the way up to Venice, where their armed jeeps would end up being the first (and last) vehicles to tour the San Marco Square. PPA - lead by Russo-Belgian engineer Peniakoff - started out in Egypt and operated with the Long Range Desert Group (LRDG) during the North-Africa Campaign. 'Read Popski's Private Army' by Vladimir Peniakoff (1950) and other sources. They are also mentioned in Hugo Pratt's 'Desert Scorpions' and various primary sources.
Love when I catch the episode live in the morning! Good morning from Massachusetts (U.S.) Indy and team! Slava Ukraini
OUN slogan
Death to fashism.
I watch it every Sunday morning with jam toast in New Zealand. Have done for the past few years. Can't start my Sunday without it.
Ukrainian fascist genocidal slogan
Excellent video 📹
80 years on
The long time picture....
Excellent episode Indy and team
You didn´t plan this when you recorded this, but the Kerch strait bridge has been blown up, probably by the Ukrainians.
They failed tho, Russia announce they already resume the train throughout the bridge, but still close it for car and trucks
Its a bit spooky.
@@briantarigan7685 never mind what they announced, what's the actual situation)))
@@briantarigan7685 they didn't fail, the bridge is gone. It will take weeks to repair, being optimistic, possibly months
@@briantarigan7685 concrete doesn't take well to prolonged burning. Even if the rails are fixed there's every chance the damaged sections will break when trains start running again.
Excellent timing!
Interesting timing as what just happened to the Crimean bridges today … hidden explosives indeed.
A bad day for me, but a fine episode from you guys. Good stuff as always. Really action packed week this week
My strongest wishes for better days ahead for you.
Thanks for the episode Guys!
This is a very timely episode
Thank you for the lesson.
Top quality content, as always!
River and Mountain , Fifth Army approach Volturno river
‘The last two nights,’ Dick wrote to Lettice on the day Naples was liberated, ‘I have had a pleasant site alongside some world famous ruins.’ At Pompeii his HQ was not far behind the forward troops, who were mostly bypassing Naples in response to Clark’s determination to keep pushing forward as fast as possible. Although delayed by demolitions, X Corps reached the River Volturno by 5 October and closed up to the south bank on a 20-mile front three days later. Reconnaissance patrols reported that all the bridges had been destroyed and that the Germans had dug in on the other bank in strength, so an assault crossing would be necessary.
Positioned on the right at Capua was 56th British Division, where it was in contact with 3rd US Division, part of VI US Corps. It had been reinforced by 168th Brigade, back again after its exertions in Sicily, but had lost its GOC, Graham having broken his shoulder when his jeep tumbled into a bomb crater. For the next three months it would have four brigades rather than the usual three and it acquired an excellent GOC in the shape of Gerald Templer, whom Dick was delighted to have under his command. Elsewhere, 7th British Armoured Division was concentrated near Santa Maria la Fossa, and 23rd Armoured Brigade opposite Cancello, whilst 46th British Division extended the line from there to the sea. Both the Commandos and the Rangers had been transferred out of the corps, Dick writing warm letters of thanks and congratulation to their commanders.
‘The Volturno is the very devil,’ wrote Dick in his diary on 9 October, ‘v. high banks and after the recent rains over 6 ft deep everywhere.’ It was also, in his sector, over 100 yards wide for most of its length and flowing at 4 miles per hour. The steep and slippery banks rose to 20 feet on the northern side, where a belt of trees gave good cover for the defenders, who were also well protected by minefields: it was thus a considerable obstacle. The enemy’s stand on this river, albeit a brief one, was to give the Allies a serious jolt. From Eisenhower downwards, many believed that the Germans would now conduct a withdrawal to the line of the Apennines north of Florence, where intelligence reports had been received of fixed defences being constructed. On the enemy side, even Hitler was in favour of a withdrawal north of Rome, arguing that the southern half of the peninsula would be impossible to hold after the desertion of the Italians, and he was supported in his view by both the OKW (Armed Forces High Command) and Rommel. Neither he nor the Allies had reckoned with the stubbornness of the man who would, over the next year, conduct the one of the most skilful withdrawals in military history. Field Marshal Albert Kesselring believed that the topography of Italy offered unparallelled opportunities for defence and he was loathe to let the Allies advance so far north that they could use the captured territory for bases to bomb Germany. In defiance of his orders he began the preparations of defensive lines much further south, the first of which to the west of the Apennines lay along the Volturno. Kesselring regarded it as only temporary, but he needed to buy time there while he prepared a much stronger line to the north.
The Last Great Cavalryman , The life of General Richard McCreery - Richard Mead
Robin Williams Jumanji meme: WHAT YEAR IS IT!?!?!?
Hi Indy
Another interesting week.
And axis still on backfoot.
Thanks for another wonderful episode.
It's going to be like this for the Axis for the next two years.
This aged well.
Brilliant as always👍😀
I'd like to see Indy get a prank call one day on that phone....
Timing of this episode is out of this world =)
Thanks!
the new long-term plan is the development of Wunderwaffe, wonder weapons.
Great épisode
Benevento! My great grandparents came from there.
For all the people pointing out the irony of the week by week almost be parallel with the current events in Ukraine just know that the Ukraine is one of the most contested stretches of land in history. People have and will continue to fight over it due to its location and many resources.
Thanks
Thanks for describing in details the destrucion of Naples
Quite the timing there
Such perfect timing with todays blow of Crimean bridge
Good timing
That little pocket in the Kuban did really well.
I could have sworn Indy was talking to Putin about common sense at the end there.
Nice of them to involve the audience now
Battle of Termoli , breaching of Volturno line by Eighth Army (1)
With some landing craft still at his disposal Montgomery had decided to use these to support XIII Corps’ operation by deploying 1st Special Service Brigade , 3rd (Army) Commando, 40 (Royal Marine) Commando and the SAS Squadron to seize and hold Termoli until the arrival of 78th British Division, whose 36 and 38 (Irish) Brigades would follow by sea while 11th Brigade advanced overland through Serracapriola with 4th British Armoured Brigade and 56th Recce; the Special Service Brigade was under command of 78th Division. This was Operation DEVON. On 1 October, a day before the commandos and raiders sailed from Bari, the landward advance began. Air support had been planned but poor weather over the previous week had restricted flying, thereby reducing the support available to XIII Corps.
Before considering the subsequent battle for Termoli, let us look at the experience of the marching force en route through Serracapriola to Termoli. This included 11th Brigade, 4th British Armoured Brigade and 56th Recce with elements of 1st Kensingtons, 78th British Division’s support regiment, although only one regiment - 3rd CLY - of 4th Armoured Brigade was present, and armoured cars of The Royals. In this advance Eighth Army’s soldiers ‘encountered more numerous and better executed demolitions than hitherto; while winter rains made rapid construction of high-level bridges essential’. The first river obstacle was the Fortore where the Germans had destroyed the bridge, thus necessitating a detour. Unfortunately, this was over a route where a strong enemy force was present. Nonetheless, the leading troops, from 56th Recce, The Royals and 3 CLY (County of London Yeomany) , made the opposed crossing under heavy shellfire with supporting fire from the Kensingtons’ Vickers MMGs. Lieutenant Roderick Court of 56th Recce was killed by an airburst but the crossing had been forced by 10.30am and the advance on Serracapriola continued over open country. Opposition was dealt with by artillery and the town was eventually taken, although many booby traps were left by the Germans; these killed several men.
There was no clear road to Termoli as recce patrols on the 2nd proved. Sappers again built diversions, including some through Serracapriola where Luftwaffe aircraft bombed troop concentrations next morning. Every bridge along the road had been blown and, to make matters worse, it was raining heavily. The greatest obstacle en route was the Biferno which B Squadron and Battle HQ of 56 Recce reached on the 3rd ‘by many and devious detours’.19 No Germans were encountered, although many effective demolitions gave proof of their recent presence. Thanks to the heavy rain, the Biferno was impassable until sappers built a pontoon bridge. As the engineers laboured the Luftwaffe appeared again to bomb the area, but work continued and, an hour before midnight, RHQ and B Squadron 56 Recce crossed to harbour some two miles south of Termoli on a dark and very wet night. Next morning the squadron drove through Termoli to reconnoitre along the main road to Vasto. Having driven to within three miles of Petacciato, the recce men withdrew to Termoli, by which time the commandos had arrived.
SAS Brigade had landed near Termoli before dawn on the 3rd, forced the withdrawal of a small German battlegroup - Kampfgruppe Rau, made up of about 400 flak personnel, sappers and some others with a few German paratroops - and captured the port before securing the town’s approaches, including the Biferno crossings. Although Major Rau had been warned repeatedly of the possibility of an Allied landing: "he showed that he was in no way equal to the task which had been set him [and] his unit was completely surprised when British troops made the first landing … and he and his troops were taken prisoner before they could fire a shot."
On the night of ¾ October, 36 Brigade disembarked at Termoli, took over the southern defences and prepared to move on to high ground in the morning; the commandos were relieved and withdrew to Termoli. Two battalions of 36th Brigade - 6th Royal West Kents and 8th Argylls - advanced to meet the enemy, while 56th Recce pushed patrols out along the coast road to Pescara. In spite of the weather and the Luftwaffe, which continued attacking, it looked as if all was going to plan. Intelligence reported that the only Germans nearby were paras with some artillery and a little armour. But a 56th Recce patrol then brought news that changed that relatively cosy picture. While probing towards Petacciato the patrol captured a German motorcyclist from 16th Panzer Division. Intelligence reports suggested that this formation was on the west coast, reforming and refitting after the Salerno battles, but the prisoner reported that the division had been travelling across Italy for the past two nights. This was confirmed when German tanks were encountered by 56th Recce; one patrol ran into a group of about fifty Germans with three tanks, while a second patrol clashed with a small German force and compelled them to withdraw. Before the morning was out some of those enemy tanks were advancing on Termoli.
Kesselring himself had despatched 16th Panzer Division to Termoli , he said later "I happened to be at Tenth Army headquarters when the report [of the landings] came in, and immediately ordered the 16th Panzers to be rushed there with the mission of throwing the invaders back into the sea."
Fortunately for the British troops at Termoli, 10th German Army’s commander had not shared Kesselring’s sense of urgency. Instead of moving as a division, 16th Panzer crossed the peninsula piecemeal and thus lacked concentration. The motorcyclist captured by 56th Recce was one of the leading soldiers from the first element of the division to arrive but the bulk of the formation was still travelling across Italy. Further delay was occasioned when Allied air attacks at Isernia disrupted the supply of fuel to the division as it travelled towards Termoli.
When the German attack struck, 8th Argylls were making for the village of San Giacomo, some five miles from Termoli on the road to Guglionesi. At about 10.00am B Company met German troops who were advancing on Termoli and took up defensive positions as enemy tanks and artillery opened fire. Their commanding officer, Lieutenant Colonel Scott-Elliott, deployed his anti-tank guns in a screen to cover his front but, while the Argylls stalled the enemy attack, the battalion suffered heavy losses from shelling and mortaring. However, artillery support aided their efforts to keep the Germans at bay.
The West Kents had also run into the enemy. Having advanced about 1,000 yards they, too, were brought to a stop by infantry and mortar fire. There followed an attempt by the West Kents to resume their advance which led to a brisk firefight and a bayonet charge against enemy positions in a farm and wood, leaving the battalion with forty casualties. In between these two battalions of 36 Brigade was one from 11th Brigade: 2nd Lancashire Fusiliers. They, too, although due to hand over to 5th Buffs, were in action as their commanding officer, John MacKenzie, recounted:
"the furious firepower of the 16th Panzer Division was turned on to our positions. … There was a shout ‘Tanks in front!’ - an armoured attack with infantry following. Companies were soon calling for their prearranged defensive fire tasks, which were quickly answered by our gunners. Medium guns were engaging enemy armour. The battle area had become alive as both sides became locked in battle."
For Major General Evelegh, 78th British Division’s commander, the German counterattack presented a major problem - and he already had enough problems. Across the Biferno he had but four infantry battalions, with the two commandos - both under strength - and the Special Raiding Squadron (later SAS), plus RHQ and a squadron of 56 Recce. He could not deploy immediately any of his other troops: from Serracapriola 5th Northamptons had advanced on Potocannone and San Martino to clear the divisional left flank and were still short of the Biferno; 1st East Surreys, with some Kensington machine guns and mortars, were at Larino trying to cut Highway 87; and the Irish Brigade was at sea en route to Termoli. Across the Biferno he had only one of his three field regiments - 138th - a handful of 17-pounder anti-tank guns and no tanks at all; the armoured cars of 56 Recce were no match for Panzer MkIV medium tanks. And, due to the sodden ground, those 17-pounders across the river could not be towed up to the infantry battalions who needed them. Nor could Evelegh move anyone forward quickly: with the boat bridge across the river out of action his forces in and around Termoli were cut off. All now depended ‘on the morale of virtually immobile and far too lightly supported infantrymen, face-to-face with tanks’.
To provide right flank and rear protection to the Argylls, Lieutenant Colonel Kendal Chavasse, of 56th Recce, was given command of a force including his own RHQ, B Squadron, 3 Commando, an SAS troop and an anti-tank battery with orders to defend the high ground above the Simarca river, from the sea to west of the Valentino brickworks. With Chavasse’s force in position, Brigadier Howlett, of 36th Brigade, ordered the Argylls to resume their attack on San Giacomo; he also requested urgent armour support.
Eighth Army in Italy , Long Hard Slog - Richard Doherty
Battle of Termoli (2)
The engineers were working manfully to create a tank crossing by bulldozing a ford across the Biferno. In spite of heavy enemy shelling they succeeded and, next morning, six CLY Shermans crossed. But their passage turned the ford into a morass, making it impossible for others to follow. It was now the morning of 5 October, a wet, miserable day that found the Argylls in the open trying to stop both tanks and infantry but with few anti-tank guns and no armour. The CLY Shermans were now despatched to their aid but in spite of showing considerable dash the CLY lost four tanks to enemy fire and, with the surviving Argylls, were forced to withdraw to the brickworks. There Brigadier Howlett and Colonel Scott-Elliott met to discuss the worsening situation. Shortly after Howlett departed that situation deteriorated even more when 16th Panzer tanks turned the Argylls’ right flank. As the German tanks drew closer, Scott-Elliott and two volunteers from 56 Recce manned an anti-tank gun in a determined effort to stop them, or at least slow their progress. As the brickworks was being shelled heavily, by both sides, the Argylls were ordered to move back, which they did in good order. It was then that Major John Anderson VC, the hero of Longstop Hill in Tunisia, was killed, one of five Argylls officers to lose their lives in the battle. Another seven were wounded and 150 other ranks were killed or wounded. One of the Recce men manning an anti-tank gun was Trooper Alfred Ives, an old soldier - he was thirty-six - who single-handedly served a 6-pounder, taking on several panzers, before his weapon received a direct hit and he was killed.
The Argylls were not alone in their suffering: the West Kents’ line was broken by six German tanks and the battalion withdrew in some confusion towards Larino. The German MkIV tanks then turned against the Buffs who were also disorganized with their left flank in the air, but Brigadier Howlett steadied the battalion which held its ground. As the West Kents took up positions on the left flank they were down to eighty men. Kendal Chavasse’s force, protecting the Argylls’ flank, was also imperilled. Three tanks were approaching the positions held by 3 Commando and the SAS troop while B Squadron was being shelled heavily. A farm on B Squadron’s left flank was occupied by Germans and the squadron was out of contact with RHQ as its rear-link wireless vehicle had been destroyed. It seemed that the SAS had been overrun as tanks penetrated their position - in fact, they abandoned the position without permission - and Chavasse ordered the evacuation of all vehicles except the wireless recce cars; B Squadron was told to withdraw by the Argylls’ CO. With only 3 Commando holding the line and the Germans trying to encircle his RHQ, Kendal Chavasse coolly informed his men that they now had ‘an all round shoot’. The 56 Recce CO recounted the events of that evening:
"It was now getting dark, and we could hear the voices of enemy infantry, through the shelling. The order to withdraw came to me from Divisional HQ. I remember walking through the olive grove, with bullets whistling, to contact the CO of the Commando to tell him to withdraw. Then came the problem of getting our vehicles out. I got on to Division, over the air, and asked for as much noise as possible so that the enemy would not hear the engines starting up. I remember having to talk in a soft tone, as if I could hear their voices in the dark they could hear mine! I also remember the gunner saying to me that he had never been asked for ‘noise’ before! Anyway, they gave it, and plenty of it too, and we slipped away unnoticed to behind the firmer line that had been established behind us."
That line had been formed by 2nd Lancashire Fusiliers and the withdrawal of Chavasse’s men was complete by 2.45am on 6 October, by which time the Irish Brigade was landing at Termoli, the first troops having disembarked six hours earlier. Commenting on this operation, the brigade commander, Nelson Russell, said that they had originally thought that their voyage ‘was to be a pleasant peacetime cruise - with fighting unlikely for a fortnight or so’ but ‘this did not go according to plan’. The small flotilla of seven landing craft came under shellfire while approaching the harbour while Russell had already received a message telling him to attend an Orders Group (O Group) ‘down some unknown road near Termoli’. Closing on the harbour he felt that ‘some grit had got into the works of our peacetime cruise’ since burning German tanks could be seen and ‘shells could be heard dropping in the town’.
On disembarking, Russell found a commando officer waiting to take him to Colonel Durnford Slater, the Special Service Brigade commander. From him he learned that the ‘grit’ was 16th Panzer, which had counterattacked, that 36th Brigade had been hit hard and was now disorganized with their exact locations uncertain, and that the Germans were on the outskirts of Termoli.
In fact there was no reason to suppose he wasn’t actually in the town by now - and all that was between him and the sea were some very depleted Commandos, the Lancashire Fusiliers and perhaps - if still in existence - some of the Recce. There was, however, some good news: British tanks had crossed the Biferno - Russell was told that nine had crossed but that four had since been knocked out - but it was estimated that about twenty-five German tanks were also in the area. Suddenly it seemed that the Irish Brigade was disembarking directly into the front line. (Since the jetty could take only one vessel at a time the brigade was coming ashore at the rate of 300 men every ninety minutes.) But should the Germans enter the town the Irish battalions were battle-hardened with street-fighting experience from Sicily. However, Russell felt that there would be no immediate German attack since his experience was that they did not usually attack at night. Of Russell’s troops, one historian has written:
The Irish had already shown a very soldierly competence in rapidly disembarking under heavy fire, and, in darkness and an unknown town, taking position on its perimeter; when it came to fighting they were brilliantly successful.
From the meeting with Durnford Slater, Russell went to an O Group with General Evelegh and learned that between eighty and ninety tanks were expected across the Biferno by early morning; 214 (Staffordshire) Field Company had completed a Bailey bridge that afternoon. Air support was also available with US aircraft assisting the Desert Air Force; 16th Panzer’s efforts of the 5th had been blunted by air attacks. An outline battle plan was then drawn up. Russell had already ordered his battalions - 6th Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers, 1st Royal Irish Fusiliers and 2nd London Irish Rifles - to deploy in the Termoli perimeter. That would provide the start line from which, at 11.00am, they would advance, supported by a tank squadron, to take over San Giacomo ridge which was to be seized in an earlier attack - at 8.00am - by the Buffs and two armoured regiments.
At 10.00am, Russell had a visit from Evelegh who had bad news: the tanks had been held up by an anti-tank obstacle. Since this would take hours to overcome, if at all, would it be possible for the Irish Brigade, with a single tank squadron, to take the ridge? Nelson Russell thought that it was. The attack was to be made by the two fusilier battalions with the Rifles providing a firm base; the tank squadron was Canadian, from the Three Rivers Regiment. At 11.30am the brigade advanced, Faughs on the right flank and Skins on the left. In spite of tough opposition, the Faughs were on their objective by 3.00pm and two hours later the Skins had secured theirs. The London Irish, who had been stepped up between the coast and the road by 3.00pm, then advanced to take the cemetery and a small hill about a mile from Termoli. By nightfall the battalion was established firmly along the Simarca river. Major Bala Bredin, second-in-command of the Irish Fusiliers, thought the Canadian tankmen to be excellent, living up to their motto ‘Have a Go, Joe’. In very quick time they had knocked out at least four German tanks in spite of being relatively raw, which Bredin considered an advantage as ‘they hadn’t got too careful’.
Eighth Army in Italy - The Long Hard Slog - Richard Doherty
Breaching of Volturno Line by Eighth Army (4)
As with Termoli this was not one of the major battles of the Italian campaign but it was important since it illustrated the tactics the Germans would use to such devastating effect in the weeks and months ahead. In succinct terms the British official historian describes these, and their effects, as ‘the savage defence of a feature and then sudden withdrawal, delaying and vexing because on each occasion the attacker had to deploy most, or all, of his force’.
Such tactics were faced by the Canadians as they battled their way along the axis of Highway 17: small German forces fought ferociously on hilltops and in mountain villages such as Volturara, two miles on from the Sambuco ridge, where two nights’ fighting cost Royal Canadian and Calgary Regiments some sixty-five casualties, while the Hastings and Prince Edward Regiment suffered thirteen. Although 48th Highlanders took Volturara against minimal opposition, heavy mortar and machine-gun fire from either side of the Catola valley, through which Highway 17 continued its westward meander, prevented movement along the main road. The Highlanders’ A Company then forded the Catola river and cleared the south bank after a brisk encounter only to find that the main source of enemy fire came from San Marco, a village on a high ridge three miles north-west of Volturara, about a mile and a half from Highway 17; but no road linked the highway with San Marco.
To clear San Marco, Brigadier Graham deployed the Royal Canadians while a company of 48th Highlanders moved to secure a road junction two miles north of the village. Another company of Highlanders was to create a diversion by making another crossing of the Catola while most of the divisional artillery, plus 66th Medium Regiment, supported the main attack. The operation was successful. C Company of the Highlanders and a troop of Calgary tanks attacked the road junction at 3.00pm on 4 October, wresting it from the enemy in a skirmish that left seven Canadians dead and three wounded; about sixty Germans were killed, wounded or captured. Spry’s Royal Canadians moved against San Marco ridge but without their planned artillery support, due to problems in coordination, and his leading companies were pinned down by machine-gun fire. This deadlock was broken when Spry brought his dismounted carrier platoon forward with all its Bren guns, but the enemy still held the ridge as darkness fell. Although his own men were in close contact, Spry decided to call down concentrated fire by 2nd Field Regiment, which made the Germans believe that another attack was imminent. They considered this an appropriate time to leave San Marco and the Royal Canadians were able to occupy the village, descending to Highway 17 in the morning to march westward to the high ground dominating the Fortore crossing.
And thus the Canadians continued on their bloody way to Vinchiaturo. Their main opposition had come at first from Kampfgruppe Heilmann, which included 3rd Parachute Regiment with a battalion of 1/67th Panzer Grenadier Regiment, later replaced by a battalion from 2/67th Panzer Grenadiers. As the advance continued both 4th Parachute Regiment and part of 29th Panzer Grenadier Division became involved in the delaying actions. Whatever the composition of the opposing forces one fact remained constant: the Germans would not yield ground easily. Behind the defensive screen 26th Panzer and 29th Panzer Grenadier Divisions, under pressure from Fifth Army, were pulling back across the axis of the Canadian advance, thus ensuring even greater tenacity from the Germans, as well as the advantage of additional soldiers as indicated by the appearance of men from 29th Panzer Grenadiers.
Such was the quality of the German defences that Montgomery signalled to Alexander on 5 October asking for assistance from Fifth Army. He reported :
"Canadian threat against Campobasso and Vinchiaturo meeting stiff opposition. Suggest American diversion at Benevento be ordered to operate energetically northwards to Vinchiaturo as such a thrust would force the enemy to give ground in front of Canadians."
But Mark Clark, Fifth Army’s commander, was preoccupied with plans for an attack across the Volturno river a week later. All that he could do to help Montgomery was some patrol action. The Canadians were left to their own devices.
Eighth Army in Italy , Long Hard Slog - Richard Doherty
Timely. History never ends
Ooops! You pic of John Cunningham is that of Gp Capt John "Cats'Eye" Cunningham, wearing his RAF uniform! A brave man and great pilot to be sure, but not someone to run a fleet.....
a wonderful introducing & Too Much Decisive & Logic Question at the end of this Episode
The film 🎥 Guns of Narvone deals with British campaign in Aegan in 1943.
Great Naval Animation, reminds me of The Operations Room
How did he know? Indy, where were you last night?
Strange serendipity.
It's like poetry, it rhymes