大象传媒

A first-class fighting unit

It was during the battle for Ortona that the Canadian 1st Infantry Division ran out of steam and was replaced by the newly arrived Canadian 5th Armed Division. The latter had not fired a shot in the war to date, whereas the 1st Division had exceeded all expectations in the Sicily Campaign.

The 1st Division was recognised by General Montgomery to be a first-class fighting unit. He thought the world of it, having served as a staff officer to the Canadians during World War One.

Throwing down the gauntlet

As the 1st Infantry Division was withdrawing it was overtaken by some units of the 5th Armed Division, who made it known to all and sundry that it would now show the 1st Canadians how to fight.

Unfortunately, for the 5th Armed Division it bounced into the German 1st Parachute Division. Writing to General Alanbrooke, the Chief of Imperial General Staff (CIGS), General Sir Harold Alexander once described the 1st Parachutes as the finest fighting troop in the world, with regard to its performance at Monte Cassino.

The inexperienced 5th Canadian Armed Division did not know this. It was back just two days later, much the wiser.

The school of hard knocks

The 5th Division's education was complete when it ran into the 1st Division, now fully rested after its two-day respite. A full-scale fight ensued between the two Canadian divisions. The Germans, on one hill, and the British, on the other, wondered what the heck was going on.

General Montgomery was none too pleased when he received details of the fracas. After another little battle, the 5th Canadian Armed Division was banished to a location close to the American sector.

No tank support

This, of course, left the Canadians without tank support. As the two British Armed Divisions, the 1st Armed (Desert Rats of Gulf fame) and 6th Armed, were fully occupied with their own British Corps, the British 25th and 21st Tank Brigades, with their Churchill tanks, were volunteered for the task.

Intensive training then commenced, and various lessons were learnt. Soon we began to appreciate the value and integrity of these men from Canada. With the Monte Cassino conflict now in its third phase, we prepared for battle. It looked like we would be called on anytime soon, which proved to be the case.

Tank killing grounds of Pontecorvo and Arce

Unfortunately, for the 25th Tanks, the 21st suffered a landslide. This all but buried the entire brigade and necessitated a wholesale clean-up that lasted a week. The 25th was then thrown into the Battle of the Gustav Line, followed in short order by the Liri Valley battle.

These have been recorded in detail elsewhere, but mention must be made of the tank killing grounds of Pontecorvo and Arce. These were spaces cleared of trees in a big rectangle with a path on the, say, north side, traversed by the North Irish Horse under wireless silence.

As the leading tank came into the centre of the path through the clearing, it came under fire from a 50mm gun in the south-eastern corner. It swung to deal with this gun, and the rest of the squadron followed.

Classification: bad day

When 14 tanks were assembled in a semicircle in the clearing, an 88mm anti-tank gun opened up. In less than two minutes, it knocked them all, out with 35 killed and another 30 men wounded.

About half a mile away, the 51st Tanks had encountered the same scene with the same results. With 28 tanks knocked out in a few minutes the Infantry was denied all tank support, and the attack fizzled out.

This was classified as a bad day.

The Gothic Line battles

Worse still was the confusion around the entrance to the Liri Valley, with some ten or more divisions all struggling to move on. It was with a great sigh of relief that we all made it to near the Alban Hills in time for a commando group to liberate Rome.

This gave us time to absorb reinforcements and have a rest. All too soon we were lead brigade at the start of the Gothic Line battles.

Impressing Mr Churchill

The night before we made our first move over the Metauro river to start the battle we were advised that we would catch up with the Seaforths of Canada. This was a Vancouver regiment, with whom we had been training for some time.

As we moved over the river, all tank commanders and wireless operators were required to have their heads above the normal level of the tank turret. There were quite a few complaints about this, as, usually, it was recognised as a suicide ploy. But we were convinced to do so - at least until we were fired on.

Later, we were told that we had been watched by General Alexander as well as no less a man than Mr Churchill, who had been very impressed with our devil-may-care attitude. If only he had heard some of the comments!

The Gothic Line battles were different in as much as the Germans knew that they were well on the way to defeat. They therefore made every effort to prevent us from gaining access to the Po Valley. We had at least five Armed Divisions waiting to spill out and force their way into meeting the Americans on the other side of the Florence area.

Redemption of a sorry lot

It took too long, and as we had been fighting hard since 27 August, by 11 September we were a sorry lot. We were driving in line ahead, obviously moving into a different sector, nearer the coast, when we came upon a sight that was unforgettable. The beautiful azure Adriatic Sea in all its glory, with waves lapping the sandy beaches of a small town called Cattolica.

We just all stood and looked until moved on by the MPs. Little did we know that we would spend two whole days in that small town with its beautiful beaches and clear waters.

First catch your chicken

We met up again with our infantry platoon, and MacDonald, the medic from Montreal, who always rode on my tank at my side, invited us to dinner. We had a quick wash and brush up, and duly presented ourselves at their warship-shaped barracks.

On seeing us, MacDonald slapped his forehead and gasped, 'You guys are here for dinner, right?' We agreed we were, and with that he borrowed my Webley and walked outside.

We heard a shot ring out. A minute later MacDonald strode in with a dead chicken. After a cursory cleaning it ended up in a stew or soup. Whatever, it was delicious.

Ding-dong fighting

Three days later we were in a real ding-dong fight with an 88mm anti-tank gun. We lost two good men with seven wounded. I spent the next six months in various hospitals being patched up before I returned to active service.

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