15th Infantry Brigade deception operation, Italy, January - February 1945

Discussion in 'Italy' started by Robert Brewer, Jul 1, 2022.

  1. Robert Brewer

    Robert Brewer Member

    My father who served in 1st KOYLI from early 1944 to 1947, told me in some detail about a deception operation in which his Battalion was involved in early 1945 on the Italian front. The purpose of the operation was to get the Germans to believe that the Brigade was returning to Italy from Palestine to continue fighting, in order to persuade them to keep more forces in Italy rather than transfer them to Northern Europe to face the final Allied Spring offensive into the heart of Germany.

    The deception involved a KOYLI party of some 60 men (including my father, then a junior NCO) travelling to the Perugia area, making their presence very evident so the information would be passed on by pro-German Italian fascists or spies. My father spoke of being briefed to talk about the 5th Division as a whole being en route, so assume that the idea was to convince German Intelligence that the whole of the Division was about the arrive. In the event of course the Division travelled from Palestine to France and then on up through Germany.

    I can find no mention of this operation anywhere. The War Diary describes the party travelling to Italy as an advance party, as though the move to France was simply a change of mind, but I'm as sure as I can this is not the case. Does anyone with 15th Brigade unit interests (1st Green Howards, 1st York and Lancaster as well as 1st KOYLI) know anything about the op? Or indeed anyone with 5th Division interests? I suspect it must have just been one of a number of such deception operations carried out in 1944-5 in Italy to inflate German estimations of the Allied Order of Battle in Italy - anyone have any wider knowledge of this strategy and / or if there is any information anywhere on the operations?
     
    Wobbler likes this.
  2. Gary Tankard

    Gary Tankard Well-Known Member

    It is a while since I read it but I don't think the divisional history makes any mention of it being a deception. It mentioned advance parties being sent north but then suggests there was a sudden change of plan.

    I always assumed it was a straight swap between 1 and 5 Div and then someone decided 5 Div was needed more in NWE.

    This file may have some clues - Movements: 1 and 5 Infantry Divisions | The National Archives

    There was Operation Goldflake that moved the Canadian Corps from Italy to NWE. That was a deliberate attempt to mislead the Germans.
     
  3. Chris C

    Chris C Canadian

    I'm nitpicking, but Goldflake was actually the move of 1 Canadian Corps to NWE. There was a deception operation, Penknife, to convince the Germans that the Canadians had not left.

    There are web pages that state (correctly? Erroneously?) that 5th British Division's move was part of Goldflake as well.

    It seems possible to me that 5th Division conducted a deception operation to convince the Germans that they were in Italy after the change of plan, with what troops were in Italy?
     
    Wobbler and Robert Brewer like this.
  4. Gary Tankard

    Gary Tankard Well-Known Member

    Chris, that makes sense. The 5 Div history does indeed say they were to become part of Goldflake.

    I have been trying to upload the relevant pages from 5 Div history but it keeps rotating the pages so I've given up.

    There are lots of files in the TNA on Goldflake including the deception parts.
     
    Wobbler and Chris C like this.
  5. Owen

    Owen -- --- -.. MOD

  6. Gary Tankard

    Gary Tankard Well-Known Member

    Thanks Owen
     
  7. Robert Brewer

    Robert Brewer Member

    Thanks Owen, I must get hold of the Divisional history.
    It's interesting that 1KOYLI didn't follow the route described in the history; they sailed from Haifa to Naples but didn't disembark, sailing on after three days in port on board ship to Marseilles. After they reached the transit camp north of Marseilles, they were carried north not by train but by road in a 2,000 vehicle convoy, which is described in meticulous detail in the Diary. Given the size of the convoy, I've always assumed that it carried substantial other elements of Y Division, or at least 15 Brigade.
    So was it a simple change of plan or a very clever deception? It's odd that there's nothing concrete around to support the deception idea, but my father was quite clear what his party was up to, and had no reason to make it up. Maybe there were elements of both - moving the Y westwards through Italy left the Allies' options open, so they could choose (i) to move on to France while at the same time making it possible the Germans would think the Division would fight in Italy, or (ii) actually send the Division to the front.
    It's also interesting how the Divisional history treats the troop movements as one single move - maybe reflecting the experiences of the unit(s) in which the authors served rather than the full picture.
    Thanks again for input into what's for me a intriguing aspect of my father's time in the Army.
     

Share This Page