大象传媒

Operation Shingle continued

Chapter 5 of 6

Some shells were not lethal!. These were propaganda shells (or, more precisely, rockets). They burst to scatter leaflets which was a welcome diversion for us, some being of a salacious nature! The intent was to sow distrust between the American and British soldier. I am sure they had no real effect but rather were viewed with ribald humour. Radio Rome had a sexy sounding woman who broadcast a programme of popular music interspersed with insinuations regarding the behaviour of women back in UK now that rich GIs were around. They seem to have overlooked the fact that a radio receiver is not part of a soldier's equipment! We had never encountered warfare of this nature before but I supposed with the confinement of the Beachhead and sense of isolation we were ideal for exploitation.

Von Mackensen, the German Army Commander, had flung all his reserves into the frantic attempt to break the Final Beachhead Defence Line and drive the Allies into the sea. The drain on his resources and the exhaustion of his soldiers precluded any further attempt to "lance the abscess" so he set about preparing defensive fortifications against any attempt of ours to break- out from the Beachhead perimeter. The Allies certainly were not in any position to break-out without reinforcements and material build-up. A state of "static warfare" resulted whilst both sides busily made preparations for the battles to come.

Static warfare? No warfare is static. Far from it. There are no large set-piece battles but the infantryman has no peace. Contact must be maintained with the enemy to know what he is about and to exert pressure. The laconic words "patrolling activity" cannot convey the dangers experienced by those who have the unfortunate task of doing the job. Patrols vary between a Standing Patrol to listen and observe from an advanced position, a reconnaissance patrol to gain information on enemy dispositions and defences and a fighting patrol with the job of raiding and capturing enemy positions and taking prisoners for interrogation. Patrolling is a deadly game of hide and seek. Needless to say the enemy is doing the same thing. During the night hours the battlefield becomes alive with creeping figures either trying to avoid each other or intent on attack and kill. The front positions were constantly changing hands but the Final Beachhead Line still remained intact.

It was easy for newspaper war reports to shew a battlefield map embellished with arrows and bemoan seeming shortcomings and blithely talk of "left hooks" and "rabbit punches" - all very interesting seated in a comfortable chair but reality is different. The enemy has something to say in the matter; add to this the "fog of war", battle casualties, nature of the terrain, the weather, unforeseeable eventualities and the perspective becomes entirely different.

The 25pound field guns of The Royal Artillery never sleep day or night; always seeking enemy movement or responding to the needs of the infantryman. The gunners of the Field Batteries at Anzio were brilliant in their support of the forward troops and the concentration of fire they were able to bring down was formidable and greatly feared by the German soldiers. Much depended on the information and control exercised by the officers manning the ground observation posts or those observing from the air in slow flying aeroplanes. These 'planes were Austers of the Air OP Squadron piloted by Gunner officers with an observer and, flying so slowly, they were an open invitation to enemy fire. Some paid the ultimate price.

Right from the beginning, holes in the ground became valuable commodities giving night-time comfort against enemy shelling.
Our motor transport could not fend for itself and consequently the MT Sergeant spent most of his time repairing radiators. This became a serious problem so each vehicle was given its own hole consisting of a ramp into the ground deep enough to protect the radiator. The view of all vehicles with just the rear ends sticking into the air, like burrowing animals, had its funny side.

Now that it was clear there was to be no early movement the whole of the beachhead was alive with whirling pick axes and thrusting spades as the whole Division gradually sank below ground for night-time rest from the routine of shelling and bombing, and falling debris from the display of bursting Ack Ack shells above. The Beachhead was becoming reminiscent of a WW1 battlefield. I had an excellent hole roofed with "liberated" house-doors from Anzio above which was my "Pup" tent to keep out the weather. This proved its worth when a shell landed very adjacent and then a butterfly bomb. There is no doubt but that subterranean endeavour saved the doctors much trouble. But not so our Division Commander, Major General Penny. Keen to shew a good example no doubt, the offer to build a hole in the ground for him was declined and he slept in his caravan. This was not a good decision. Division HQ was shelled one night and General Penny was wounded and evacuated to Field Hospital. Happily the wound was not disabling and he was able to return to us once repairs had been effected. However, one of his Staff Officers, who was following his General's example and slept in his tent, was not so fortunate and lost his life.

Generally the countryside before the Flyover and to the right of the Anzio/Albano Road was flat, agricultural and featureless. To the left the terrain was totally different being broken by fissures, quite deep and narrow in places and full of brambles and undergrowth. These were the beginnings of a river system which drained the area during the wet season. They were not distinguishable from a distance and what had seemed to the eye to be good "tank country" proved to be anything but, thus denying vital tank support during previous battles. Just one of those unknowns which can influence the outcome of a battle.

"Wadi" is a word we brought with us from our North Africa Campaign being the Arabic word for a dried-up watercourse so this area of the front became known as "Wadi Country". As is always the case, features are given names for ready identification and our wadis were named after their shapes so there were North Lobster Claw, South Lobster Claw, Starfish, The Boot, The Fortress and others. The systems were quite extensive and at places close one to the other, the German positions were only 60 yards from The Fortress, so there was constant skirmishing with positions changing hands and at times both sides being in the same wadi. Close range mortar fire was a constant threat. This supposedly static warfare was in fact very active and the mounting casualties always a worry

Padre Royds held regular services for men as and when they could be spared. He would open up his collapsible table, set his snow-white altar linen and place a simple wooden cross; all this within the ever present background of gunfire. His own vestments were spotless and how he managed to maintain immaculate laundry I cannot imagine. The services were short and simple. The congregation stood around in a half circle. First a well known hymn without music, but led by his tenor voice, although often sung discordantly by the congregation. Then followed a few prayers for those at home, those killed and wounded, for ourselves and so on and then The Blessing. There were those who hitherto had derided all religion and attended compulsory Church Parade in silent protest. I was interested to see these faces appearing at our Beachhead services! Perhaps hardship and a fearful spirit compel a realisation that life is transitory and that there are other things that count. Is there a moral here?

I was intrigued one day to see towed ashore at Anzio a strange affair. It had a long chassis on which was a line of small cages covered by a weather-proof roof and three sides. To my astonishment each cage contained a pigeon! Yes...these were carrier pigeons! Here we were, a modern army and yet still relying on communications considered the state of the art a century ago. But what a good idea. A pigeon flies at 60 mph and could be in Naples in 2 hours. There were no dispatch riders from Anzio! Secret and urgent matters must have been safer and quicker by "pigeon post" than by wireless, even in code, and the chance of a pigeon being targeted by the Luftwaffe or brought down by anti-aircraft fire were slight indeed!

In attack, the role of the Divisional Royal Engineers was to open up and maintain routes for the infantry; this could include gapping minefields and barbed wire defences, building bridges, repairing roads, opening up cross country tracks, as always potable water supply and anything else for the needs of the moment. In withdrawal the RE task is to deny the enemy; this could include demolition of bridges and road access, laying minefields and generally hindering the enemy by trip wires and devious means.

However, we were moving neither forward nor backward so the calls on the RE were different during this "static" period. Once the Final Defence line had been established the immediate demand was for an extensive minefield, with barbed wire entanglements, to be laid the length of the Divisional front. This work was of necessity carried out during darkness. The Flyover was in two spans which were to be kept open for our own purposes but able to be blocked immediately in the case of an enemy break-through. This was done by filling lorries with concrete, with demolition charges on the axles. In case of need they could be driven under The Flyover and the axles blown. That would give Fritz something to think about! Our bulldozers did a great job digging emplacements for the field guns and vehicles, as already described, whilst much was done with the pick and shovel, in particular, a communication trench approach to the Wadis, all carefully camouflaged, with a tunnel driven under the lateral road, to give a concealed approach during daylight.

Whilst thinking of tunnels: sappers were constructing a tunnel for the Gunners through the embankment approach to The Flyover opposite the Wadi country, the idea being that the tunnel would terminate in a chamber immediately before the far side of the embankment with a small "window" giving a good view over the enemy landscape. This would enable their Observation Officer to have a hidden place from where he could direct artillery fire. Out of the darkness, the the sapper party were astonished to see a figure approaching which was quite definitely in German uniform. Who were the more astonished?...whether the sappers or the German has not been determined, but there were more sappers so Fritz was quickly made aware of his predicament. It then transpired that he was carrying a container of stew. No doubt, with the instruction "follow the road and you cannot miss them", off he had set, in some extraordinary way avoiding detection, and, going under The Flyover, saw the dark figures of our sappers busy with their tunnel. There would be much mystification back at his cookhouse at his delayed return! I am reliably informed that the German stew was pretty gruesome and that our rations were not so bad after all.

There were unusual things, which always come the way of sappers. The Anzio Ritz was an underground cinema to hold 16 men. Here, men out of the line could relax for an hour and see films to take their minds off what was going on above, shown by the Army Kinematograph Service. What with the heat of the projector, sweaty bodies and fag smoking the atmosphere became somewhat ripe! Another underground job (extra deep) was for the "trick cyclist". I do not know if it was because we were under US Command but a psychiatrist suddenly appeared and superior quarters had to be produced where he could do his "trick cycling".

Anzio Annie and enemy bombing was gradually reducing Anzio town to rubble and was doing a great demolition job for us as the Field Companies main occupation was creating means of access to the different parts of the Front and this demanded huge amounts of hard-core and brickbats. The Front positions were backed by a wide belt of woodland through which were a few indifferent tracks but quite insufficient to serve the varied needs of a Division. Means were necessary to supply ammunition, petrol, lubricants, rations, spares, reinforcements, equipment and no end of impedimenta to the gun lines and infantry battalions and also to bring out the wounded in as much comfort as possible. A daily collection of 50 lorries conveyed the results of Anzio Annie's attentions, from Anzio town to the various track sites, and then back for more, during all daylight hours. In the end we had cleared up after Anzio Annie and had to blow down our own buildings! Someone estimated that the total shift of material was 10,000 tons. Names were given to the tracks - Pall Mall, Fleet Street, Sticky Lane, Compo Lane, Old Kent Road and yet more....eight in all. It must be admitted that these tracks were little more than dumped and levelled rubble but they did the job with success.

The extent of the build-up through the small port of Anzio was astonishing. Liberty ships laden with war cargo lay off Anzio in Bomb Bay discharging overside to DUKWS (called "ducks"). These were amphibious vehicles which worked to and fro, air raids permitting, bringing ashore war material....petrol ammunition, rations, equipment of all kinds. In addition LSTs would arrive on a shuttle-run with 50 laden lorries aboard. These would drive off to be replaced with 50 empty vehicles for immediate return to Naples, reloading and back to Anzio for a repeat. The British sector was reinforced with two British Divisions, the 5th and 56th and the US 45th Division; 1st Division was taken into reserve. The American sector was a hive of activity with the arrival of more and more reinforcements. Operation Shingle had been so under-resourced in the early days of the beachhead it seemed extraordinary that so much was now available.

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