I have purchased this book in the hope that it would offer some explenations for a veterans account I came across at the IWM. Sadly it hasn't so I thought I'd ask for help, on this really unpleasant issue. This has definitely been one of the worst aspects of my research so far, but I've had no luck in tracking down details so I thought I'd see if anyone had anything from their diaries or books about these terrible attrocities, even if whatever you have was not related to this particular incident. Basically, I stumbled across this veteran coldstreamers account of the platoon arriving at a farm where an english woman lived (married to an italian). She had survived a German massacre (it is assumed to be by the Goering regiment) when her dog had apparently landed on her and taken the machine gun bullets aimed for her; the others in the farm had been executed... the bodies of two raped girls were found headless in the forrest nearbye. Where this farm was, the author cannot remember, all he can recall is that it was on the road to florence near Arezzo, but this does not rule out Arezzo and its western provinces. The massacre had apparently been conducted because the locals had found the bodies of, and burried, a number of american airmen from a bomber; an act which the german's took offence to, however partizan activity in the area meant that the germans were also retaliating brutaly.
Nothing at Kew? The British War Crimes Investigation Unit investigated alledged War Crimes in Italy after the war. It doesn't get a mention in the London Cage.
San Paulo was an option I was considering, however I feel is more likely that it was around Montevarchi; as this was when the 1st guards brigade began to hear about the other massacres. For those that don't know, there were quite a few in this area.
Perhaps WO 310/223 holds more information than the Catalogue indicates. Sadly, this attrocity was conducted in the summer of '44. Most probably july. I don't think there is an official report on it.
Just found this book: The Arezzo Massacres, A Tuscany Tragedy By Janet Kinrade Dethick The Arezzo Massacres A TuscanTragedy - Google Books
Just found this book: The Arezzo Massacres, A Tuscany Tragedy By Janet Kinrade Dethick The Arezzo Massacres A TuscanTragedy - Google Books Sorry drew, for some reason I wrote the word finished&purchased in the first post. I've just finished reading a book a book I've purchased... the arezzo massacres, hence the title of the thread. Its got nothing about this particular incident in it, but I was hoping that either someone else might, or have war diaries that mention such attrocities.
