23 Armd Bde at Salerno

Hi all,

I thought I'd start a thread describing the ops of 23 Armd Bde at SALERNO in September 1943. I'll start with this Staff Table from 19 Sep 43 which shows the organisation of the Brigade towards the end of the bridgehead battle (WO169/8907):



My laptop seems about to give up the ghost, so postings might be a bit hit or miss over the next couple of weeks. But definitely more to follow.

Regards

Tom

 

From "The Valentine in North Africa 1942-43" by Bryan Perrett.

Extracted from "a Brief History of 23rd Armoured Brigade,

Salerno Sept. 9,1943

40th RTR at this period, were concentrating in NORTH AFRICA, retraining and re-fitting with Sherman tanks in preparation for the SALERNO landing. On the 9th September, 23rd Armoured Brigade, which then consisted of 40th RTR and the “Greys”, took part in the assault on the mainland of ITALY at SALERNO. These two regiments supported 46th Division, 56th Division and 201 Guards Brigade. In the meantime, 46th and 50th RTR had temporarily joined 4th Armoured Brigade and with the 8th Army they had crossed the MESSINA STRAITS and landed in ITALY, They continued to advance with the 8th Army and were engaged in fighting at SAN SALVO with 78th Division in November, and they continued Northwards until reaching the SANGRO River where 50th RTR were engaged in some very bitter and heavy fighting in that area, their Commanding Officer being killed.

Gus

 

A week later, 23 Armd Bde had grown in size somewhat by the addition of the King's Dragoon Guards:



Regards

Tom

 

The next few pages show the modified order of march and harbouring groups of Bde HQ which were laid down on 2 Sep 43 ready for the Bde to operate in close country on the Italian mainland. The first page introduces the changes (I'll post up the 3 pages which show the order of march tomorrow).



Regards

Tom

 

I thought I'd transcribe the Order of March, but if anyone wants to see the original pages let me know and I can post them up.

Appx “A”

BDE ORDER OF MARCH

and

DETAIL OF LEAGUER GROUPS


No. in order
of March. Vehicle.

COMMAND GROUP

(26 vehicles)

1. Scout Car. ILO (Lieut. Hocking)
2. ACV 1. “G”.
3. 15 cwt. Pro.
4. Scout Car LO (Lieut. Snook).
5. Scout Car LO (Lieut. Day).
6. Scout Car LO (Lieut. McIntyre).
7. Jeep Bde Comd.
8. Jeep BM.
9. Jeep Bde 2nd in Comd.
10. Scout Car IO.
11. Staff Car Bde Comd.
12. 8 cwt Bde 2nd in Comd.
13. Staff Car BM.
14. Staff Car GSO III.
15. Caravan Bde Comd.
16. ACV 2. “AQ”.
17. White Scout Car “AQ”.
18. Jeep. “DAQMG”.
19. Staff Car. DAQMG.
20. Staff Car. SC.
21. Staff Car. Bde EME.
22. Jeep. Bde ASC Offr.
23. 3 ton. “I” Truck.
24. 3 ton. “G” Truck.
25. 3 ton. Officers’ Mess (1).
26. 3 ton. Officers’ Mess (2).

SIGS SQN GROUP

(43 vehicles)

27. 3 ton. Sigs Office.
28. Jeep. OC Sigs Sqn.
29. 10 cwt. OC Sigs Sqn.
30. 15 cwt. Lieut. T.V. Mullis.
31. 15 cwt. SSM.
32. Jeep. DR.
33. 15 cwt. OC’s Office.
34. Motor Cycle. DR.
35. 15 cwt. Line.
36. 15 cwt. Line.
37. 3 ton. Line.
38. 15 cwt. Sqn Office.
39. 15 cwt. Cipher Office.
40. 15 cwt. Lieut. Skinner.
41. 15 cwt. WT.
42. 15 cwt. WT.
43. 15 cwt. WT.
44. 15 cwt. WT.
45. 15 cwt. WT.
46. 15 cwt. WT.
47. 15 cwt. WT.
48. 15 cwt. WT.

- 2 -

No. in order
of March. Vehicle.

(Sigs Sqn Gp – Contd.)

49. Motor Cycle. DR.
50. 15 cwt. CQMS (F of S)
51. 15 cwt. Z Truck.
52. 3 ton. IM.
53. 3 ton. Charging.
54. 3 ton. Charging.
55. 30 cwt. Charging.
56. White Scout Car. Battery Charging.
57. White Scout Car. Battery Replenishment.
58. 15 cwt. Fitters.
59. 15 cwt.
60. 30 cwt.
61. Motor Cycle. DR.
62. 15 cwt.
63. 3 ton. Petrol.
64. 3 ton. Stores.
65. 15 cwt. Water Truck.
66. 3 ton. Cooks.
67. 3 ton. Personnel.
68. 8 cwt. Capt. F.T.O. Williams.
69. White Scout Car. “G”.

BDE HQ SQN GROUP

(A Ech – 10 vehicles)

70. 8 cwt. Morris. MT (Capt. Corns).
71. Jeep. Capt. Corns.
72. Jeep.
73. 3 ton. Tech Stores.
74. 3 ton. Cooks.
75. 3 ton. POL.
76. 8 cwt.
77. 15 cwt. Water Cart.
78. Scout Car. Spare.
79. 3 ton. Fitters.

(B Ech – 19 vehicles)

80. Staff Car. Maj. J.N.M. Bignell.
81. 15 cwt. Office.
82. Jeep. Maj. J.N.M. Bignell.
83. Armd Car. Maj. J.N.M. Bignell.
84. 3 ton. Rations.
85. 3 ton. Cooks.
86. 3 ton. POL (1).
87. 3 ton. POL (2).
88. 3 ton. POL (3).
89. 3 ton. Spare Crews (1).
90. 3 ton. Spare Crews (2).
91. 3 ton. Amn (1).
92. 3 ton. Amn (2).
93. 3 ton. Q Stores.
94. 15 cwt. Water Cart.
95. 8 cwt. BOWO.
96. 15 cwt. QMS (T).
97. 15 cwt. Canteen.
98. 3 ton. Fitters.

- 3 -

No. in order
of March. Vehicle.

ORD FD PARK

(10 vehicles)

99. 8 cwt. Lieut. Grieves.
100. 3 ton.
101. 3 ton.
102. 3 ton.
103. 3 ton.
104. 3 ton.
105. 3 ton.
106. 30 cwt.
107. 3 ton.
108. 15 cwt.

MEDICAL GROUP

(5 vehicles)

109. 15 cwt. MO.
110. Scout Car. MO.
111. 30 cwt. Med Stores.
112. Amb.
113. Amb.

PROVOST GROUP

(8 vehicles)

114. Jeep.
115. 3 ton. Signs.
116. 15 cwt.
117. 15 cwt.
118. 15 cwt.
119. 3 ton. Q Truck.
120. Jeep.
121. Motor Cycle.

TANK GROUP

(6 vehicles)

122. Comd Tank.
123. Lateral Link Tank.
124. Spare Charger.
125. Prot Tp Comd’s Tank.
126. Prot Tp.
127. Prot Tp.

More to come!

Tom

 

I thought it interesting that the Brigade Commander, Brigadier R.H.B. Arkwright, didn't land with his Bde HQ but joined the commander of 10th Corps at Tripoli on 3 September 1943 and accompanied him for the initial stages of the operation. Judging by the entry in the Brigade HQwar diary for 9th September, this might not have been a bad idea!

9 September 1943
0600 Arrived naval RV in Bay of SALERNO.
1300 LST 323 with Party ‘A’ on board called fwd for unloading. Owing to the fact that the ship was badly loaded, all the weight being in the bows, it was impossible to beach the vessel properly despite many attempts. Finally used pontoons but as it was almost dark, disembarkation was cancelled until next morning. Meanwhile Party ‘B’ on LST 162 made a successful landing and were ashore by 1530 hrs, and by last light had dewaterproofed vehs and had assembled in an area at 7519 some 600 yds from the beach.

The handwritten signals log in the Brigade war diary starts on the 10th, so I'll post that up with the narrative from the war diary as I work through it.

Regards

Tom

 

Brigadier R.H.B. "Harry" Arkwright commanded ARKFORCE (23rd Indep Armd Bde and 2nd Indep Para Bde) during the allied liberation of Greece in October 1944.

ARFKFORCE would later be re-formed to fight ELAS in December 1944 and January 1945, consisting of 23rd Indep Armd Bde (mostly dismounted and acting as infantry), 2 Indep Para Bde and 139 Inf Bde, who had been flown over from Italy on 3rd Dec to replace 2 Indep Para Bde, but all ended up staying. Brigadier Arkwright promoted to temp Maj-Gen.

3 Corps was grossly undermanned and ill-equipped for dealing with the insurrection (sent there for relief and rehabilitation of Greece) so FM Alexander sent HQ 10 corps, under the command of Maj Gen Hawkesworth, over to Greece in mid December take command of the counter insurgency. HQ 10 Corps was re-named Military Command Athens (MCA) and based in Pharelon, not far from where the CWGC cemetery is.

Their previous workings together could explain whey FM Alexander choose them

 

Continuing from the war diary:

10 September 1943
0700 LST 323 again beached using pontoons but took a long time getting square on to the beach. Disembarkation commenced at 1030 hrs, and by 1400 hrs all vehs from this LST had de-waterproofed and joined remainder of Bde HQ in area 7519.
1700 Bde Comd visited Bde HQ during recce ashore with Comd 10 Corps from HMS HILARY.
1730 Bde Comd and BM left to visit HQ 46 Div where Bde Comd rejoined 10 Corps Comd and returned with him to 10 Corps HQ Ship, BM returning to Bde HQ at 1940 hrs. In view of the operation situation and some openness had existed on the right of 10 Corps beach head as it existed at the time, it had been decided that in all probability 40 R Tks and Greys would be concentrated tomorrow in area to be notified later and would then come under comd of this Bde and move to the right flank as a reinforcement and counter attack role.
Signal was later sent from 10 Corps HQ Ship placing 40 R Tks under comd of Bde as from 1800 hrs, but this was not received by Bde.

The signal Log is handwritten and difficult to decipher in places but I'll start to post it up here:



More to follow!

Regards

Tom

 

Much of the information in the signal log seems to be discussing the operations of 40 RTR on 10 September and a look at their war diary for 10 Sep 43 (WO169/9370) allows a little bit of cross-referencing but also leads to other questions.

'Harry' - is that Brigadier Arkwright?

'Tomlinson' - not sure who this is. There doesn't appear to be a Tomlinson in either 23rd Armoured Bde HQ or 40 RTR field returns.

'Jack Bradley' is T/Capt. J.R. Bradley-Cook who is mentioned in the 40th RTR war diary for 10 Sep 43:

"Capt. J.R. Bradley-Cook took the remaining tanks of “A” and “C” Sqns. up to PONTECAGNANO, thereby making these Sqns. 15 and 16 tanks each respectively."

'Blackmoor' looks like a code for a location - does anyone know where?

There is also a good match for this message in the 23rd Armd Bde log from B Sqdn [40 RTR]

"Sit. We are just beyond Black Moor + Sunray reports enemy infantry infiltrating into Salerno thro [???]. A3 and A4 are going to deal with it."

and this entry in the 40 RTR war diary:

"At 1600 hrs. 138 Inf. Bde. reported German infiltration into SALERNO. Nos. 6 and 7 Troops under Command Lieut. A.G. Binnie and Lieut. P.B.I. Walton went on a patrol, but were not able to contact any of the enemy."

And at the bottom of sheet 3 and start of sheet 4, does it really say:

"The cat was [?] no use to me + I am now getting a Scammel."

Regards

Tom

 

Hope this helps

Gus

 

Tomlinsons from RTR/RAC found in Army Officer Lists (Ancestry Search)

W. H. Tomlinson 1943 ROYAL ARMOURED CORPS Major
G. E. Tomlinson 1942 -1944 Royal Armoured Corps--Regular Army Emergency Commissions 2nd Lieutenant
E. G. Tomlinson 1944-1945 Royal Armoured Corps 2nd Lieutenant
N. H. C. Tomlinson 1944-1945 Royal Armoured Corps 2nd Lieutenant
R. B. Tomlinson 1939 - 1945 Royal Tank Regiment 2 Lt
G. Tomlinson 1941 - 1945 ROYAL TANK REGIMENT Lieutenant
J. M. D. Tomlinson 1942 - 1945 ROYAL TANK REGIMENT 2nd Lieutenant

Hope this helps

Gus

 

"The cat was [?] no use to me + I am now getting a Scammel."

Cat is usually abbreviation for Caterpillar, which suggests one was made available for AFV recovery.

Extract from History of 23rd Armoured Brigade RAOC/REME Workshops (found in WO 170/583)






Hope this helps

Gus

 

Gus,

That’s very interesting - thanks for posting up here.

regards

Tom

 

Moving on to the early evening of 10 September 1943 and in the 23rd Armd Bde log there are a few more entries reflecting B Sqn 40 RTR activity:



And from the 40 RTR War Diary we can see that "Eric" relates to this entry:

"“B” Sqn. were ordered to SALERNO during the morning in order to support the Y. & L. Regt. and S.S. Bde. moving to area 708276. At 1430 hrs. the Commandos asked for support; “B” Sqn. then moved to area VIETRE SUL MARE, where Lieut. E.G. Nightingale in Command of No. 8 Troop took up a position at 613300 to give fire support to 2 & 41 Commandos who were attacking DRAGONE. Effective assistance was rendered by using Browning and H.E."

It will be harder to work out who "Uncle James" is though!

Regards

Tom

 

I think that Ronnie is Ronnie Tod.

F

 

Hi Frank,

He doesn’t seem to be in the 40 RTR field return for Aug - Sep 43 though. There are, however, a few names with initials R. I’ll see if I can chase them down. 40 RTR seems like a bit of a Cinderella outfit - haven’t seen much about them at all.

Regards

Tom

 

Extract from Op Manna - The British Landings in Greece by Gus Myles

Bio on Lt-Col Ronnie Tod Commander FOXFORCE September 1944

In 1940, Tod, a Captain in the 1st Battalion, Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders, volunteered for special operations and after a period of training, successfully led the first two British commando raids of the war. OP COLLAR at Boulogne and OP AMBASSADOR on the island of Guernsey, for which he was promoted to Major.

In 1942, Tod was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel and given command of No. 9 Commando. During the Italian Campaign, Tod led a raid across the river Garigliano and landed on Anzio during OP SHINGLE. In February 1944, his commandos made a attack on two hills to the north of Monte Ornito and despite taking many casualties, the attack was successful. Tod received the Distinguished Service Order (DSO) for his outstanding leadership. It was only a month later, when his commandos carried out a diversionary attack in the Campo di Carne area. They once again took many casualties, including Tod, who was awarded a Bar to his DSO.

For his services to Greece, during the operations leading up to the Allied landings, Tod was awarded the Gold Cross, of The Order of George I. He also received the freedom of the city by Archbishop Damaskinos of Athens.

His commander, Brigadier George M.O. Davy, would later describe his as:

"One of the two British officers who kept Greece on the free side of the Iron Curtain".

After his time in Greece, Tod was promoted to Colonel, returning him to Italy to command the 2nd Special Service Brigade. He led the capture of Comacchio, after which, he was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE).

On 7 August 1948, Tod retired as an honorary brigadier. He died on 5 April 1975, aged 70 and was laid to rest at St. Martins Church, on the island of Jersey.

Hope this helps

Gus

 

Gus.

Thanks for this. I have been over the ground at Lake Commachio and Brig Tod’s plan was a good one.

F

 

Gus.

Tod led 9 Army Commando’s attack on Monte Faito in Feb 44. One of the Royal Artillery Forward Observation Officers who supported 9 Army Commando was Capt Mick Catesby - grandfather of Kit Harington who plays Jon Snow in Game of Thrones.

See My Grandparents’ War on C4 for the full story.

I walked the ground and reckon that he earned the award. 9 Army Commando have erected a wonderful cairn on the Start Line of their attack to commemorate the event. It is a fitting tribute.

Regards

Frank