It had been decided that a ten days\u2019 pause was required to build up stores and material for a general advance; but exploration, limited to a Battalion was permissible provided we did not stick out our noses too far.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Patrolling was the order of the day \u2013 and night; and we really dominated the five miles between San Giacomo and Petacciato ridge. Each night saw encounters \u2013 very much in our favour \u2013 and we had the Bosche boiled in this area. Jack White of the London Irish distinguished himself during this period.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After a few days, we thought that it would be a good thing to capture the Petacciato ridge as our next obstacle was the River Trigno and we could not see what we had to do until we got this ridge. It was allowable if it could be done with one Battalion and we thought it could \u2013 easily.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After recce and planning, the London Irish carried out the attack by night on 19th\/20th October. It entailed a long approach march, but things went well and a very heavy barrage with the London Irish very tight on its heels saw us in possession of the town and ridge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It cost very few casualties and the Bosche lost much in men and material. It was a very successful little fight.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I was anxious to get the remainder of my Brigade up to the ridge as one Battalion was now cocked out five miles in front of the other two \u2013 not in any danger, but it was untidy. I was eventually allowed to step up one more Battalion \u2013 and the Faughs were moved to the ridge and Cemetery area on the left of the town.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Skins remained, for the time being, in San Giacomo as a kind of back stop.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Quite as a sidelight on war, I mention here that traffic control and good road discipline behind an advancing army are almost as important as the actual fighting. They are, in fact, interdependent. All roads are, therefore, plastered with notices exhorting their users to do this and not to do that \u2013 for the public good. It must keep some portion of the Army\u2019s brains nimble \u2013 concocting arresting slogans \u2013 to make the average driver remember to be a good boy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
They vary from such brilliancy as \u201cIn rains take pains\u201d to a sterner if obscurer notice \u201cYou are in the maple country,\u201d and after a gap of 50 yards, \u201cAct as one.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As another sidelight, the moment Infantry capture a place, especially high ground with a view, an extraordinary swarm of \u201call sorts\u201d overrun the area; while the gun barrels are still hot. It is quite extraordinary \u2013 Gunner, Recce and Survey parties, Sapper Recce and perhaps most honest, just plain sight seers with a curiosity complex. (These frequently include a couple or three Jeeps loads of Americans, coming from, and going to, God knows where, as there are probably none within hundreds of miles).<\/p>\n\n\n
![\"\"\/](\"https:\/\/www.irishbrigade.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/F-a-B136c20Large20-20Copy.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\nAfter the capture of Petacciato, we thought we would take a hand in this roadside advertising, as we had a nice straight stretch of road and a few notices would catch the eye.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So up went notices that appear on next page at 100 yard intervals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Pleasant clean fun \u2013 we all thought it was humorous enough \u2013 and I even discovered, after admitted difficulty, a couple of Gunners, who gave sour grins. But I\u2019m not so certain that it didn\u2019t do a bit of good.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Another sidelight about the time of Petacciato amused me quite a lot.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Battle Patrol of the Faughs went out on the night of the London Irish attack to upset an MG post on the right flank, which might have been a nuisance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Battalion Battle Patrols are specially selected chaps and pretty tough. Some of them are also pretty tough looking.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
At 0800 hrs the following morning, I witnessed a dressy party at my Command Post \u2013 including the Corps Commander, the Divisional Commander, a covey of various Brigadier, such as BRAs, CCRAs and CEs. The rather dingy little farm was bright with red.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw two friends, Corporal Mc\u2026 and a Fusilier of the Faughs\u2019 Battle Patrol, returning from their night\u2019s dirty work. They were unshaven, muddy with blackened faces and with curious sock like things on their heads.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
They were festooned with weapons slung at various angles about their persons. They looked about as villainous a pair of blackguards as any German would wish not to meet. I must say \u2013 on that pleasant Southern Italian morning \u2013 they looked particularly villainous to me, because each carried a fine white goose in his left hand and a fat turkey in his right.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There had, of course, been a good deal of ink spilt about this sort of things. This didn\u2019t fuss me unduly as I always maintained that a goose (or a turkey) on a battlefield has to take its chance, which is poor. When the battle is over, the chances may improve.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But at the same, I had just as soon my two hearties had been somewhere else.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
They both sat down to rest by a hay stack 50 yards away, wiped their sweaty faces and surveyed our couple of sections of red.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We all saw them, of course, but pretended not to.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After a suitable rest, they picked up their burdens \u2013 turkey in right, goose in left \u2013 and advanced in good order towards us. We appeared to be on their homeward route.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We couldn\u2019t pretend not to see them any longer \u2013 as they bore down on us like a mobile farmyard \u2013 and the Corps Commander turned round to me with, \u201cWell, Nelson, what have you got to say about this?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There did not seem to me to be very much to say, but I had great faith in my Faughs. They had never failed me yet and were unlikely to boggie over this small matter. Besides, they had had five minutes in the haystack. So I suggested we had better hear what the two culprits thought about it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The two culprits had by now reached us and feeling some mark of respect was due to such a galaxy, deposited their birds on the ground, gave a couple of smart salutes, picked up their birds and quite unperturbed, resumed their journey. \u201cWhoa,\u201d said the General, \u201cWhere did you get those birds?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWell it was like this, sorr,\u201d replied Corporal Mc\u2026, confidentially, \u201can \u2018ould farmer over yonder was so pleased at us chasing the Germans that he made us a present of them, and if we could have carried more, we could have had them, but (warming up, and nearly spoiling a good story), we wouldn\u2019t take them for nothing, and me and him gave him five bob for them.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This simple tale disarmed everyone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The General withdrew in good order, only murmuring, \u201cYou win\u201d to me, whatever he meant by that, and our farmyard became mobile once more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But it is high time the Brigade was crossing the River Trigno, so I will get back to my tale.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n
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19th\/20th October 1943. It had been decided that a ten days\u2019 pause was required to build up stores and material for a general advance; but exploration, limited to a Battalion was permissible provided we did not stick out our noses too far. Patrolling was the order of the day \u2013 and night; and we really […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"parent":15294,"menu_order":3,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-15781","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.londonirishrifles.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/15781","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.londonirishrifles.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.londonirishrifles.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.londonirishrifles.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.londonirishrifles.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15781"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.londonirishrifles.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/15781\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":15786,"href":"https:\/\/www.londonirishrifles.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/15781\/revisions\/15786"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.londonirishrifles.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/15294"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.londonirishrifles.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15781"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}