5 Infantry Division Revised Plan of attack 18 Jan 44

 XBR Corps War Diary.

18 Jan 44

5 Infantry Division Revised Plan of Attack showing 15 Infantry Brigade moving ahead to take Tufo and Minturno. 13 Infantry Brigade are to the right of them. No area was safe from mines.  (TNA)

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Between 18 and 22 Jan 44 X Corps had lost almost 1,500 men.

 

NEW INFORMATION RECEIVED SINCE BOOK PUBLISHED

Book "Battle For Monte Natale" Page 128

From Norway to Burma by Roger Holgate

22 Jan 44 

Between 18 and 22 Jan 44 X Corps had lost almost 1,500 men.

13 Brigade was in the area between Tufo and Minturno, when the counter attack began on 20 Jan 44 and 15 Brigade was moving forward to take the ridge behind Tremensuoli.   For two days 1 KOYLI, with 1 Green Howards and 1 York & Lancs., stood firm against Kesselring’s counter attack, which surged along the boundary of the bridgehead, and on towards Mount Damiano, Mount Castiello and theSujo valley.   The front line on the right of the attack moved back and forth, as the Germans fought to throw it back to the river.   As the casualties began to mount, the entire front started to stabilise into na position that was roughly the same as had existed when the German counter attack had been launched.

Jan 17 1944 2 Royal Scots Fusiliers amphibious assault on Monte d'Argento

 

Gelsomino Rossi

Jan 17 1944

On the night of January 17, 1944, the 2nd Battalion, Royal Scots Fusiliers (2 RSF) took part in a daring amphibious assault on Monte d'Argento (Scauri, Italy). The operation was part of a larger amphibious assault during the crossing of the Garigliano River, aimed at breaking through German defensive lines during the Italian Campaign. The attack, launched as an outflanking maneuver, saw the 2 RSF land from the sea near Monte d'Argento to capture the high ground. The objective was to clear the way for the Seaforth Highlanders' inland advance. However, the operation encountered serious difficulties and navigational errors; most of the landing craft failed to reach the correct beaches, and many misjudged their landing sites and ran aground too far south. Those who landed at Monte d'Argento found themselves immediately trapped.

2 Royal Scots Fusiliers War Diary

The battalion's landing plan failed completely, and the unit was brutally disorganized from the start. Many of the drivers strayed too far from shore, making it impossible to use the guide lights placed at intervals along the beach or to see the mouth of the river, which would have been the safest guide.

"Not one of the boats carrying the Royal Engineer assault companies found the right beach."

Major Sandilands, second in command of the 2 Royal Scots Fusiliers, reported:

"Before the bombardment began at 9:00 PM, we had no idea where we were. It was already clear that the third wave was lost in any case. They found themselves trapped inside an unmarked German minefield, which caused significant losses and disorganized the battalion. Many of the landed riflemen were blocked, and several men were wounded or captured; unfortunately, there were also deaths. The infantry troops, such as the Royal Scots Fusiliers, found themselves under incessant fire close to the beaches. The German soldiers, barricaded on the heights and protected by vast minefields, machine-gunned the Allied positions and, on several occasions, the enemy units exchanged shouts and taunts during the violent clash. I was able to understand and empathize with the horror and brutality of war when I read the diary of Captain Anthony Courtney, who was part of the  2 Royal Scots Fusiliers:

 

“From the shoreline under fire from the 88s and the German MGs, they could hear in the distance the megaphones of the PK units. German propaganda, literally shouting at them:

"Come forward, you bastards, we're waiting for you!"

The minefield trap and the landing of Company B at Marina di Minturno. The beach and slopes of Monte d'Argento had been heavily mined by the German defenders. Captain Courtney and Private Chamberlain found themselves trapped under enemy fire right inside one of these dense minefields and were separated from the rest of the company.

Casualties between 18 -22 Jan 44

 

NEW INFORMATION RECEIVED SINCE BOOK PUBLISHED.

22 Jan 44 Page 128

Official History

Brigadier Molony’s The Mediterranean and Middle East, notes that between 18-22 Jan 44 inclusive, the start of the Garigliano Offensive, casualties in the whole of X Corps (which included 5, 45 & 56 Division) were 1,312.

Just three battalions of 5 Division lost about 565 men that week: The Royal Scots Fusiliers’ casualties were approximately 140, including seven officers, to which a further 53 casualties had to be added on 23 Jan 44 - a total of 193.

Field Returns of Jan 22 44 for 6 Seaforth Highlanders show a complement of 27 officers and 608 ORs, against a War Establishment of 36 officers and 815 ORs. The battalion was forced to reorganise into three Rifle Companies, so it must have lost in the region of 100 men. 

1 Bn York & Lancaster lost 256 men during the week ending Jan 22 44.

The Wiltshires, also from 5 Division, lost 195 men during the Garigliano operations (two weeks) .

According to 56 Division ADMS, divisional troop casualties for the week ending 22 Jan 44 were 40 officers and 659 ORs.   Eric Morris, in Circles of Hell, gives the figure of 4,000 British casualties in the first battle of Cassino (22 Jan – 13 Feb 44).

56 Division ADMS Medical Diary for Jan 44 records 76 officers and 1311 OR casualties in January - a total of 1387.

The Gustav Line where many battles were fought over many months

 The Gustav Line where many battles were fought over many months including the Battle For Monte Natale which was part of the first Battle for Monte Cassino.

Map of Southern Italy 1944 – The Gustav Line. (United States Military Academy)

Main dispositions of Regiments at midnight 21 Jan 44.

 Main dispositions of 1 York & Lancs. 1 Green Howards and KOYLI at midnight 21 Jan 44.

1 York & Lancs. on Monte Natale. 1 Green Howards around Tremensuoli. 1 KOYLI. At Point 172. 

Tremensuoli from the top of Point 141, Monte del Duca.

 

Tremensuoli from the top of Point 141, Monte del Duca. (Photo Peter Strafford)