8th Army's advance to the River Po, April 1945

While recognising that we have other threads covering Operation Buckland, I think it's worth being reminded that today marks the 80th anniversary of the start of the 8th Army's final advance to victory in Italy and led to the annihilation of all Axis forces south of the River Po and, of course, their role in bringing Peace to Europe.
Operation 'Buckland' - April 1945.

So many young lads did not make it through that last 16 days of fighting advance and we continue to remember them all.

For myself, I shall be in Italy from 21 April to 4 May to pay my respects to my Dad and all his mates.

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Finito! The Po valley campaign, 1945 : Allied Forces. Army Group, 15th : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive

 

Great... many thanks.

 

I am guiding a battlefield study of the Gothic Line at the moment. As a treat, I have Richard McCreery’s grandson and Percy Hobart’s great nephew in the group.

F

 

Both of my Grandfathers served in Italy. Its very important to remember all theatres of the war.

 

Frank is quoted in this article from today’s edition of The Times (sadly behind a paywall) - as is McCreery’s grandson.

King Charles to honour ‘brutal and cunning’ April 1945 Allied advance into the Po Valley and final victory in Italy during his visit to Ravenna today.

King Charles to honour ‘brutal and cunning’ Allied victory in Italy

 

I continue to read here in Italy that the war ended on 25 April!!!

 

If you click through the pop-ups you can read the article for free.

 

As it happens my own Dad's war (the fighting bit) ended on the banks of the river Po north of Ferrara on the morning of 25 April 1945... it was 926 days after he had left the UK in November 1942. I'm sure that each of us will have moments of personal refection and thanksgiving over the coming weeks.

"25th April 1945, 2nd Bn. London Irish Rifles:
0200 - Patrols report territory between undefended.
Consequently, G Coy & F Coy moved forward. Then, with patrols again out in front, G Coy moved north to reach the Po at Francolino & F Coy to the Po at Borgo. Heavy artillery programme was laid on in case of enemy resistance.
0500 - F and G Coys reached their objectives and held them until relieved by 56 Recce later in the morning.
During this night’s operations, the Bttn fired its last shots of the Italian Campaign."

My father recalled his feelings when he was encamped nearby at Crociarola:
"We had arrived at the Po. During the last days of the offensive, we had passed a most distressing sight. Beautiful draught horses had been shot dead and lay bloated and stinking. The Germans had killed them rather than let them live and remain for us. Most had been commandeered from the unfortunate Italians. They had lost so much. Their beautiful country had been destroyed from Sicily to the Po and occupied by aliens from all over the world.

The south bank of the Po was an extraordinary scene. The Germans, trapped by the river, had abandoned everything. Many had even tried to swim the Po to escape and many died as a result. The carnage of war continued relentlessly as if it were now on a form of autopilot.

The company rested by the side of Po while the Royal Engineers set about bridging its mile width. I arranged a campfire and ‘drunk’ using Canadian beer and hot rum toddy. Corporal Howarth was, as usual, master of ceremonies. When directed, each person had to sing.

The war was virtually over on our front and the Germans were suing for a separate peace in Italy. The Po bridge was completed. It was a magnificent structure with, at its entrance, the numbers of the engineer regiments and squadrons that had built it. Below that were listed the subcontractors. They included the London Irish Rifles who had contributed labour to the project."

Faugh a Ballagh

Photo:
Image: IWM (TR 2845) - Captain Tanner:
"British Eighth Army traffic crossing the first pontoon Bailey bridge, constructed by the Royal Engineers, over the River Po. The remains of the previous bridge are seen alongside."
https://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/205189154

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That I will, a cousin with The Buffs, killed at Lake Comacchio on 13th April. I never knew him, I only relatively recently “discovered” him, but he will be in my thoughts. Frank very kindly provided me with a detailed account of the action in which he lost his life.

I now understand that this was all part of Operation Buckland - I didn’t know that detail until your opening post.

 

Thank you - yes, the 13th was the start of the major thrust of the 78th Division through the Argenta Gap - a clip of a divisional account:

"While these events were taking place, many moves had been made further back in preparation for the future. 5 Buffs and 56 Recce Regiment, less A Squadron, had been moved up to join 36 Brigade in the area of San Patrizio, the Regiment passing to under command of this Brigade on its arrival at approximately 1120 hours. At the same time, 11 Brigade was being moved up from the back areas, where it had been held since the first assault and was concentrating in the area of Lugo.

To return to the Irish Brigade, however, at 1300 hours, the Innskillings and Royal Irish Fusiliers, although they had reached the apex of their triangle, were ordered to consolidate positions in preparation for the ‘Kangaroo Force’ to pass through.

Soon afterwards, this move began. Under command of 2 Armoured Brigade, the force of armour and infantry, composed of 9 Lancers and 2 London Irish Rifles in the ‘Kangaroo’ carriers of A Squadron of 4 Hussars debouched from their positions held by the Inniskillings and advanced towards the bridge at Cavamento, the apex of the original triangle. The ponderous mass of vehicles took some time to manoeuvre through La Giovecca and the afternoon was drawing on before the force was in full cry.

Resistance at first was patchy and undecided. Here and there, parties of enemy with Bazookas caused trouble and one tank was lost by fire from an anti tank gun early in the battle. On the whole, however, it appeared that the enemy was shaken; his grip everywhere was loosening.

By mid afternoon, the leading elements of the force were approaching the canal. The right flank was no longer limited by the Santerno river and this gave more room for manoeuvre. H Company came up on the left of G Company, together with C Squadron 9 Lancers.

Determined resistance was met in the village of La Giovecca just before the canal but G Company dealt with this and H Company was able to drive straight through in its Kangaroos. Reaching the canal bank, the leading tanks were dismounted at once from their Kangaroos and, under cover of fire from their supporting tanks, crossed the canal on the remains of the road and railway bridges and rushed the bridges on the north side. More prisoners were taken and a surprised and shaken enemy was hunted down in areas, which had been by-passed by the swift thrust.

H Company was ordered to hold the bridgehead over the canal with assistance from E Company, which was also engaged in clearing La Frascata. G Company was clearing the area up to the canal bank on the right.

At 1830 hours, 2 Armoured Brigade reported two troops of 9 Lancers across the canal where the bridge, although badly damaged, had not been utterly destroyed and was just passable for tracks. Mopping up and consolidation was in progress and the Engineers were at work making a new road bridge under cover of the infantry and tanks.

On the left, 36 Brigade was still engaged in stiff fighting. Little material progress had been made in Conselice during the day, where the enemy was firmly ensconced. As a result of the rapid advance of the Irish Brigade on the right, a gap had appeared in the Division’s front between the two brigades, 6 RWK were fully deployed in the area of Conselice and one company of the 5th Buffs was, therefore, brought up to fill the gap. This was complete by 1630 hours.

At about this time, the enemy mounted a strong counter attack upon 6 RWK from out of Conselice and fierce fighting raged for an hour or more. The headquarter buildings of two forward platoons were hit by enemy shells and set on fire but the attack was eventually beaten off just before sundown.

The general indications on this left flank seemed to show the enemy was determined to hold his ground: a firmness of intention in his defence was apparent for the first time. It was therefore decided that a coordinated attack by the whole Brigade would be necessary and the remainder of 5 Buffs was ordered to move to San Patrizio at once.

As final light fell, there was a temporary halt on the whole of the Divisional front; the day’s gains were being consolidated on the right, whilst 36 Brigade prepared to clear up Conselice and the surrounding area on the left by a deliberate attack.

The plan of the 36th Brigade Commander was to push north-westwards to cut the road from Conselice to Chiesanova and, subsequently, to clear the town of Conselice itself. To this end, the Argylls were to attack in a preliminary operation and clear the area to the south west of Conselice; 5 Buffs were then to pass through and cut the Conselice – Chiesanova road; finally, at first light, 6 RWK were to clear the town.

By 2245 hours, the Argylls reached their objectives with little difficulty, taking seven prisoners and losing only one man wounded. The Buffs passed through at once and met no opposition to their thrust across the road. At the same time, information was received from civilians that the enemy had departed from the town, although he had probably not gone far back. 5 Buffs was ordered to push onto Chiesanova and 6 RWK was to confirm that Conselice was clear."

 

As I have mentioned before, my Dad was also a "D-Day Dodger", serving as a driver in the RASC, as part of 8th Army from Alamein to the Adriatic. On May 2 I will raise a glass to him and all the " D-Day Dodgers", to mark the day his war ended, and to remember all those " who'll stay in Italy".

 

13 April 1945 saw the introduction of 38 (Irish) Brigade into the battle.
My father remembered those days of rapid advance:

"The speed of the advance was phenomenal and casualties were light. Having reached our objective, the Conselice Canal, the battalion dug in for the night. I followed in a jeep, laden with a cooked meal, in the tracks left by the armour.

It was comparatively peaceful as I crossed the Senio, now Bailey-bridged, on my way north behind the battalion and saw the double-banked Churchills of the early crossings. I served the meal for the company. As I finished, a corporal from a troop of recovery tanks approached. ‘Any overs left for my chaps, Dickie?,’ he asked. It was McVeigh from the Corpus Christi Football team.

Each day, the battalion fought and advanced rapidly while I had to return for cooked meals, haversack rations and, of course, the hot cakes. This meant I seldom had time for sleep. We crossed the canal and went on to the rivers Santerno and the Reno. At each obstacle, we would halt and stay overnight. This would give me the opportunity to catch up on a little sleep."

Image: IWM (NA 24043) - Sgt. Hunter
https://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/205204780

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A scene from 14 April 1945 as the 8th Army headed towards Argenta:

"Men of the 2nd Bn. London Irish Rifles on "Kangaroos" set out from the captured village of Lavezzola to assault the river Reno."
Image: IWM (NA 24080) - Sgt. Bowman

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A few more images from the 8th Army's advance to the River Po:

My father's mob, the 2nd Bn. London Irish Rifles, taking a lead role on 18 April 1945:

“At first light on the 18th, the force moved forward into battle. This was an unforgettable move. Through the orchards north of Argenta, in the narrow gap between lake and canal, moved a mass of armour, all passing over one bridge that had been constructed over the main water obstacle. Wrecked vehicles, equipment and enemy dead strewed the route, whilst machine gun fire from a position in Argenta, already surrounded, cracked away on the left flank...."

1) 15 April 1945. Image: IWM (NA 24055) - Sgt. Currey.
"Mortar carriers of 56th (London) Diviision push on."

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2) 16 April 1945. Image: IWM (NA 24124) - Sgt. Bowman.
"Prisoners taken during the mopping up of Bastia by 78th Infantry Division are marched to our rear."

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3) 17 April 1945. Image: IWM (NA 24288) - Sgt. Currey.
"Churchill tanks during the advance of 56th Division north-east of Argenta,."
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4) 18 April 1945. Image: IWM (NA 24311) - Sgt. Wooldridge.
"Humber light reconnaissance cars of 56th Recce Regiment in Argenta"

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The 'Tiger' looks like a Hummel (Hummel (Sd.Kfz.165) - Tank Encyclopedia).

 

19 April 1945. Image: IWM (NA 24246) - Sgt. Wooldridge.
"Stretcher bearers pass Sherman tanks in Portomaggiore"

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