Hi My Granddad was serving with the 7th Ox & Bucks and was wounded in the battle for Anzio Bridgehead where the 7th Ox & Bucks had massive casualties, out of 1000 men only abt 60 men survived, his section was cut off from reinforcements & supplies, his section was counter attacked again and again by German paratroopers and at some point between 12 and 15th Feb his position was over run and he was taken prisoner but badly wounded. spend the rest of the war in Stalag 9c at Bad Sulza. be grateful if I could find any images of the battalion up to and around the battle for Anzio. Many thanks Joe
Hi if you still have the images available I would be very interested in any images of the 7th Ox & Bucks as my Granddad served in Italy and was taken prisoner at ANZIO in Feb 1943, His name was Pte Joseph Smith service number 5389008. And was POW in Stalag 9c, Prisoners number 52121. best wishes Joe
Joseph. If your grandfather was in 7 Ox & Bucks LI at Anzio in Feb 44 then there is a high chance that he was serving in the battalion when they landed at Salerno on 9 Sep 43 too. The battalion had quite a fight at Salerno too. Regards Frank
Hi Joseph, Here is a list of 7 Ox and Bucks captured on 16th and 17th February 1944. As you can see your grandfather was reported missing on the 16th February. Regards, Gary.
Joseph. 16 Feb 44 was the start date for the massive German counter attack that came directly down the Anzio-Albano Road. It was finally stopped on 20-21 Feb 44 on the Final defensive Line at the Flyover but not before both sides had suffered horribly. It was no wonder that 7 Ox & Bucks LI lost so many men - KIA and captured on 16-17 Feb 44. 7 Ox & Bucks LI were part of 167 Infantry Brigade who had been rushed to plug holes at Anzio. They had been sent from Monte Damiano down on the River Garigliano where they had got stuck after successfully crossing the river on 17 Jan 44. Regards Frank
Joseph, To add Frank's post - the battalion arrived at Anzio on the 13th February and had only just taken over the positions of the 2 FORESTERS and 1 KSLI late in the evening of the 15th February before it came under attack a few hours later. As an indication of how badly the battalion was hit - when it left for Anzio on the 12th February it was 76 Ptes over-strength (although 14 NCOs understrength). By the 19th February it was 268 Ptes and 51 NCOs under-strength. Regards, Gary.
Joseph. I will be taking a group to Anzio in 2019 to look at the Battle of Anzio. We will be walking the ground near Buonriposo Ridge that Gary is showing on his Google Earth photo. If you would like to join the group, do get in touch. I have yet to set the date but it is likely to be Jun 19. Regards Frank
Other units of 56th (London) Division were sent out to search for the men who were cut off with the Ox and Bucks LI as noted by the London Irish Rifles' war time history: "A renewed German assault on the bridgehead forces commenced on the morning of 16th February and, on the following day, 168th Brigade was moved forward to become a reserve unit within 56th Division before being ordered to search for the remnants of 7th Oxford and Bucks Light Infantry who were reported to have been cut off on Buonriposa Ridge. By this stage of the battle, 1 LIR had suffered 80% casualty rates, and the commanding officer, Lt-Colonel Good, was ordered to take a rest with Major Stopford now taking over command of the battalion. On the evening of 18th February, although holding a bulge in the middle of the bridgehead, the German forces began attacking again, this time on the eastern side of the bridgehead perimeter. The London Irish continued in their search for the survivors from the Oxford and Bucks but met a strong German Paratrooper defensive force and the attempt ended in failure with C Company suffering a number of casualties. Soon after, the German forces again switched their line of attack towards 56th Division’s positions to the west of the main Anzio road, but several attempts to make a breakthrough were repulsed. The London Irish now continued in their attempt to find the Oxford and Bucks LI and with one rifle company being formed from the remnants of the original four, they were finally able to bring out some survivors and only suffering limited amounts of casualties in doing so...."
'The 7th OBLI were disbanded in late 1944 with the majority of the Battalion joining the Queens Brigade. This would explain how your father ended up with the 2/6 Queens' I researched an individual who went through this transfer from 7 OBLI to 2/7th Queens at the end of September 1944. He was killed a few days later serving with the Queens. Luckily I managed to find a full list of those transferred to the 2/7th Queens in their War Diary. I wonder if the same list exists in the War Diaries of the other Queens battalions of 169th Brigade.
Richard. I think that the WD author has got his geography wrong. Buonriposo Ridge was lost on the night 7-8 Feb 44 when 2 N STAFFS were completely overrun. An attempt was made a few days later by the remnants of 2 FORESTERS and 1 KSLI to get it back but the attack failed. Buonriposo Ridge remained in Germans until the breakout. Regards Frank
Ok and thanks...yes, the war diaries "went missing" for Feb 1944 and the quoted section was noted in the 'London Irish at War' so no doubt inaccuracy on the specific details can come into play. best wishes
