With the Loyal Edmonton Regiment in Italy
Harris G. Field
Reprinted with permission of the author and publisher of For King and Country: Alberta in the Second World War;)
On this particular mid-afternoon I was ordered to report to the Intelligence Officer at Battalion headquarters. This was probably a mile on foot through the mud from where my platoon was positioned in defensive locations, in trenches or stone buildings just behind the top of the near slope of the hill overlooking Arielli gully. The 10 gave me all known data on the enemy positions in the area I was to enter. He also stated the objective of the patrol - in this case to determine if certain groups of buildings on the top of the far bank were occupied by enemy troops, and if so in what strength. He stated I was to take a strong patrol in hopes that we might isolate an enemy outpost and kill the occupants, or take them prisoner. He also stated that if we were discovered before we could hope to succeed in a snatch, we were to be discreet and not engage in a fire fight. Together we went over stereo aerial photos, so that I would know the contours and features in detail in the dark, and we also agreed on the patrol's route out and back. I then returned to my platoon and relayed all these instructions to the ten men which I had designated to accompany me. "Never come back the same way you go out - you may be ambushed - be certain you come back the route agreed upon because the troops in forward positions in that area will be expecting you." It also was essential that each member of the patrol had all of the information, for who knew how many would get back safely. At night, forward troops were watching constantly for enemy patrol attack, and anyone approaching them in the dark from the enemy side might be shot if the approach was unexpected.
It was usually overcast with a light drizzle, and when night fell it was very dark. The point was again made to all members of the patrol that absolute quiet, particularly on the outward-bound leg, was essential if we were to accomplish anything. Everyone took off anything that might glitter and betray us, such as a watch.
At the appointed hour we set off through and beyond the forward positions of our defences. Half way down the exposed slope there was a sudden burst of machinegun fire right behind me. My new and somewhat nervous sergeant, who had very much wanted to come on the patrol, had inadvertently squeezed the trigger on his Tommy gun!
So much for the element of surprise! After waiting to be sure we had not attracted the attention of any enemy patrol in the area, we moved on to the bottom of the gully. The patrol was spread out - five or more feet apart in single file, with instructions passed back to each in turn in low whispers. I was constantly trying to check our position from the recollection of the stereo photos. Ahead and above us, near the hilltop, loomed a group of white buildings. We broke into two groups - one to approach straight up the gully slopes, the other to approach at a right angle to the gully slope. In this way, if the enemy detected and shot at one group, the other group could offer protection by returning the fire without risk of hitting our own people. Since the purpose of the patrol was not to engage in a protracted fire fight, once we were discovered, if we could not immediately isolate one or two people, we were to withdraw. Before we split up we agreed on the precise location where we were to reunite. On this occasion one of our men stumbled a little, and the enemy sent up flares in an attempt to see us. The flares lasted ten to fifteen seconds, and were very bright, although objects on the ground remained in deep shadow. If you were down on your knees or stomach, and you stayed absolutely still until the flare faded out, even if you were in the open you were unlikely to be detected. The enemy began firing their automatic weapons, set on fixed lines to cover the obvious approaches. We studied where that fire was going, to be certain that we could avoid it, and to report back as to where it was located. We did nothing, the individual Germans were too far away for us to effectively shoot at them, and firing at a shadowy figure in the distance would only disclose our position. The two groups then quietly withdrew to the rendezvous point. The enemy knew there was a patrol out, so we had to be very careful to avoid easy and obvious routes home, and the areas where machine gun fire had been pre-aimed.
When we were nearly back to our re-entry point on our designated route, I rather noisily hailed our forward defence so as to be challenged and respond with the password for that day. Safely back, I still had to return to the 10 and fully report on all that we learned.
Our forces were often involved in counter attacks as well. In describing this type of engagement, it must be remembered that "counter attack" in military terms is an attack by one side shortly after an attack by the other side has gained some objectives. The purpose of the counter attack is simply to drive the other side from its recent gains before the gains can be consolidated.
One of the major counter attacks faced by the Regiment occurred at the Naviglio Canal in December 1944. The plains of the Po Valley inland from the Adriatic are low and flat. In the winter they resemble Sea Island at Vancouver in January - soggy' Across this plain, over many years, the Italians had built drainage canals, and at this time these had high earthen dykes on each side. In winter, with all bridges blown, the larger of these dyked canals posed formidable obstacles, and were impossible for armoured vehicles to cross, unless a military bridge could be put in place.
In early December 1944, the First Canadian Division had attacked such a dyke system, the Naviglio Canal, and after heavy fighting it had gained a rather tenuous hold on the far bank. The Regiment was ordered to reinforce the bridgehead, where an engineering bridge had been hastily built to get armoured vehicles across at a single crossing. On 13 December, late in the day, the forward companies crossed the canal and looked over the sector from the Hastings and Prince Edward Regiment, which had secured the foothold on the far bank. During the night, the forward companies of the Regiment passed through the Hastings and Prince Edward Regiment, and were positioned in very close proximity to the enemy positions. This proximity was revealed in the order I received during the night from the Commanding Officer. At that time I was in command of the machine gun platoon and its water-cooled Vickers were too heavy to be moved far on foot. When ammunition supply also was involved, the weapons had to be transported by carrier to be effective. These were open-topped, armour- plated tracked vehicles. The CO explained to me precisely where the most forward company headquarters of our Regiment was located. He wanted a section of the machine guns to go to that company immediately, to be deployed by daylight for defence against counter attack. He showed me on his map where the bridge over the canal had been built, and then following the road parallel with the canal on the far side with his finger, he said "D Company headquarters is in the third house on your left." He then observed that "the fourth house, 60 or 70 feet farther, is held by the Germans." So off I went in the darkness, leading my carrier with its crew, and counting those houses very, very carefully.
By next morning we were set up with a tank in support in the company area. I had a good siting for one of the guns in an upstairs room of the typical rural Italian stone house which we were occupying. The other gun was sited on the ground floor, and protected another approach to the house. A platoon of D Company infantry was deployed in defensive positions around the outside of the house.
At noon we were advised that an attack would be launched on the enemy, who were a very short distance down the road. A bombardment was to begin at a prescribed time, and since there was a target very close to us and the infantry near the house, the gunners were afraid "a short" [a slightly defective round of artillery that lands short of its target] might join the machine gunners in the upper storey of the building, so we were all ordered to withdraw downstairs to avoid the risk.