Just re-reading this subject, I came across a member who offered to post pictures of his visit to Italy. As we tend to visit Italy nearly every year, and visit some WW2 related places, I thought I could post a few from 2013. We stayed near Arezzo (all picturs are from there) and I hope you enjoy! The STUG 3 is in Castialion Fioretino, a lovely wee place high in the hills & saw some very, heavy fighting. By the way, we're staying near Volterra this year. Mainly the Americans who fought there. I've got a book on the way on the subject of the Gothic Line but my question is: does anyone know Brit/Commenwealth places-of-interest in that western part of Tuscany? Thanks, already!
Sapper D Cemeteries usually tell the story of who was where - and when - 6th Armoured and 78 th Div and 6th Sth African were close as were the 8th Indian Div - odd thing is the Soviet soldier - there is also just ONE in the Coriano Ridge cemetery Cheers
Hello Sapper D, You'd neeed to do a bit of travelling from Volterra to get to any places of interest regarding British or Commonwealth troops - I think you'll have to save it up for another visit. Between the Americans and 6 South African Armoured Division moving up through Chiusi, Montepulciano, Sinalunga anmd Brolio there were the French who liberated Siena. Regards, Vitellino
Tom: I am baffled re the Russian headstone as well. Maybe an advisor to the local partisans? Vitelino: The Chianti region is also US? I was afraid of your reply. Unfortunatley that is the part of Italia (we always go the region Tuscany - Umbria - Marche) my Boss wants to go to this year. I'll get my revenge next year: we're off to Normandy and, hopefully, Umbria. Can't wait. Thing that bothers me is that I cannot read Italian and a lot of the signs (re WW2) do not make sense to me. I know, I'm lazy and ought to leard Italian. Maybe, one day...
At some stage in late '43 early '44 ( I need to check the date) the Germans were sending Russian pows (amongst others) down to build the Gustav line. Four such prisoners - two Russians, a Czechoslovak and a Croat, escaped from a Pow train at Terontola Station. province of Arezzo (the last station on the old North South railway line, the Asse Roma-Berlino or Rome -Berlin Axis, in Tuscany before it enters Umbria) and together with a Moroccan and an Italian formed a band of 'partisans' (some would have said bandits as they lived by stealing). They were Ber Bdont, Vassily Belof, (the 2 Russians) 'Moscova' the Croat whose real name will remain a mystery for ever except that the priest who buried him said his first name was Maurizio, and the Czechoslovak, Stefan Figura. The Germans shot Moscova and Bdont in a raid on a barn where they were sleeping with some other men, then captured and hanged Belof on a pine tree. Figura met a mysterious death (possibly at the hands of three others as did the Moroccan and the Italian). His companions took him to the priest at Pergo for burial saying that he had been killed in an air raid at nearby Camucia, but no such air raid had taken place on that date. The other three met their deaths on 8 June. Belof and Figura are still buried in the churchyard at Pergo, near Cortona. 'Moscova' was repatriated to Yugoslavia but I don't know what happened to Bdont. So perhaps the Russian at Imperatore (Arezzo) was also an escaped POW. Vitellino
Clear. But how would an escaped POW/labourer end up serving with the Allies? There must be some form of link between the person buried there and a fighting unit. Anybody couldn't just walk in to the Coy offices and obtain a place in the ranks? Could they?
I hadn't read his tombstone carefully otherwise I would have seen that his date of death, 27 June 1945, was almost 12 months after the front had passed. However, as a Russian private soldier he was part of the Allied forces and so it is fitting that he is in this cemetery. On looking up the register on line at cwgc.org I have discovered that his name is missing. It might be an idea to contact the CWGC office in Rome via their website and ask them where his body was recovered from. They are very good about supplying information of this type. Also, there isn't always a link between a person and a fighting unit.The register for Assisi War Cemetery, availabe in the kiosk in the cemetery grounds and also from the Rome office, lists four 'non world war 'casualties as being buried there and another as an 'unknown miscellaneous'.
I've just found this on the war graves photographic project website: Egeasaroff, M - Russian Army - Arezzo War Cemetery Kisellioff, E A - - Salerno War Cemetery Lukianenko Pantellei, - Russian Army Russian Army - Cassino War Cemetery Stephano, P - Russian Army - Coriano Ridge War Cemetery Volkova, K - Russian Army - Naples War Cemetery However, it doesn't answer the quesion about what they were doing in Italy.
According to twgpp.org The others died on the following dates: Kisellioff, E A - Salerno War Cemetery 11/11/44 Lukianenko Pantellei, - Russian Army - Cassino War Cemetery 03/ 09/ 39 !!!! Stephano, P - Russian Army - Coriano Ridge War Cemetery - 31/ 08/ 45 Volkova, K - Russian Army - Naples War Cemetery - 07/11/44 I haven't got the time to follow this up but I'm sure there's an interesting story behind each one of them. One died nine months before Italy entered the war and the others well after the front had passed in the area where they are buried. Cheers, Vitellino
Hello a good book for most things about WW2 battle sites, cemeteries etc in Italy & worth a look is called, A Travel Guide to WW2 Sites in Italy by Ann Lesley Saunders. Got mine from Amazon for only about £6.00. Have a great trip.
