The main road passing through Civitella was tortuous and twisting with hairpin bends both at the approaches and exits, and the locality itself was a major obstacle and defile. Kendal had realised this quickly enough as he studied the place, hence his anxiety and urgent advice to get in on it promptly before the opposition had second thoughts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Germans, themselves, must have been out of their minds not to have clamped down on it in the first instance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Here, we had another tactical puzzle in front of us, with the enemy in a cleverly chosen blocking position. On our left, westwards, ran a steep little ridge overhanging the village, while a minor vein of the Tiber, the river Torbido, crossed our front a few hundred yards away. Beyond the river, the ground rose steeply up to Point 208 with the village of Pianicalle about a mile beyond it and the lower ridge and hamlet of Agliano flanking the two places. Way over on our right, to the east, the ground fell away progressively, dipping down eventually to the Tiber itself. For practical purposes, the main river was now the eastern boundary of our line of advance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Both the ridge and the point were held in some strength by the enemy, but the situation in the village was unknown \u2013 though it was obviously occupied by them as the rest of the ground was untenable otherwise.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So we thought, we would make a quick drive from Pianicalle, using as few men as possible while doing so.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The O group that night met for dinner in elegant circumstances \u2013 in the bishop\u2019s palace at Civitella \u2013 and this wonderful OP provided a bird\u2019s eye view of the whole of the battlefield, even in the starlight. I saw in a gilded scarlet chair and dispensed my instructions over the great man\u2019s mahogany banqueting table. Delusions of grandeur would be unlikely to last \u2013 the next lot would probably be delivered in a ditch. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
I asked Desmond to undertake the attack at first light with H and, if all went well, Peter would take G on through with some of the armour to exploit to the next tactical features two miles ahead. Here, the next pair of hills hung over the town and road junction of Castiglione. But owing to the ground and the river, there was no hope of getting our tanks through until Desmond had carried Point 208 and probably both villages as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Finally I mentioned to Fitzgerald (Captain G Fitzgerald, London Irish Rifles, Commander of the anti-tank platoon) that I didn\u2019t think his six pounder teams had had much exercise lately and so could he take them along with Desmond and support the attack? Someone casually mentioned something about our anti-tank guns not previously being used for street fighting but all concerned were soon fascinated by the idea, especially their owner. Towed by our jeeps, those guns could get to places impossible for tanks and, with their ability to be manhandled, there seemed great possibilities. They also had highly effective HE ammunition as well as solid shot.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
H Company went in at 0700, the attack being preceded by heavy concentrations from our mortars on to the Point, with secondary targets on the western ridge. Desmond was also supported by our surviving pair of Vickers guns and the 4.2\u201d heavy mortars of the Kensingtons. 17th<\/sup> Field, at this stage, confined themselves to suppressing Pianiccale, though Paul had to put down flanking fire at times when the opposition intervened from beyond the arena. The enemy countered with quite heavy though random shelling of their own, but it was ill coordinated and mainly ineffective. They also sprayed the front of the attack with their machine guns.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As the top of Point 208 went up in smoke and flame, H Company scampered across the little river and was up and on to the hill in no time. Though no very great force, fifty men spread out like that put on quite a show and they went so fast that our own Vickers gunners had to cut out in a very few minutes to avoid firing in to them. Then, our mortars and the rest of the support weapons lifted their sights and switched to the flanks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n There were a few scattered bursts from our brens as Desmond\u2019s men practised hip shooting in the young trees and undergrowth on top of the feature. Mostly H were now hidden from us in this cover but beyond, the scrub of the ground opened out and, before long, we noticed a number of flying figures careering down the hillside. Evidently, the garrison was retreating.<\/p>\n\n\n\n There had been no last ditch resistance and, as our riflemen raced up to the crest, most of our opposition ran for their lives. A string of German signal lights soared upwards as they did so. There were not a lot of them, two or three dozen at most and seemingly the garrison was only a zug (platoon) \u2013 though an admirably commanded one, none the less.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Owing to the convexity of the ridge and the quite dense cover on the top of it, I very much doubt that H ever saw their adversaries and the withdrawal was timed to perfection. Several long bursts from nearby spandaus whipped through the undergrowth at the conclusion emphasising, if emphasis was needed, that the game was being played to German rules just then.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As the company sorted itself out, they came under further scattered fire from the outskirts of Pianicalle, though this, as in other rearguard actions, was ill directed and premature. Opening at excessive ranges, the enemy fire was quite ineffective and only served to disclose their positions. Shortly afterwards, Fitz towed or dragged some of his 6 pounders up behind the Point and began shooting into the front of the village with them. Firing at long rifle shot, the effects were immediate and devastating and the German machine gunners soon stopped firing as the vicious little shells brought down chunks of masonry on them. Then, Paul started to shell the village, finishing with smoke as H\u2019s riflemen crept up and in to the outskirts. <\/p>\n\n\n\n With the village under attack and smoke all over the high ground, there was no further problem in getting the tanks forward and Mike Everlegh had pushed on down the road with some of them as soon as Desmond was over the top of the first hill. Finding an intact bridge and other crossing points, the hussars surged over the river and were soon in full cry on the far side of it \u2013 like Rupert\u2019s men after a pack of Roundheads. The old spirit of our cavalry could still grow up, given half a chance, in spite of their un-glamourous Shermans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n There was a rather more protracted pause while G worked their way up to Desmond but, by the time Peter reached him, another hour had gone by. It then became possible to organise the second phase of the operation with a new fire plan and, by the time, this was done most of our tanks were already round the flank and rear of our objective.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As G resumed the attack, the defence began to break up and a number of their section gruppes were caught in the open by our shelling. Probably, they had had to bolt out of it as soon as they realised what our hussars were up to, but they left it too late and suffered needless casualties in consequence. A running fight then developed, which went on for the rest of the morning and by midday, the German stretcher bearers were active over the whole field. Shortly afterwards, Peter\u2019s men were in to Torre and had cleared the remaining high ground to the south of Castliglione.<\/p>\n\n\n\n By this time, the 3rd<\/sup> Hussars were right up to the hill town and they had the edifying experience of retreating opponents throwing their rifles down in front of them and surrendering themselves in droves. Some of the 56 Recce joined them there and the little battlefield had a ring of armour round it at the conclusion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I motored up there myself shortly after midday and, by 3pm, the battle had fizzled out in to inconsequent shelling \u2013 probably nearby SPs using up their ammunition before quitting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Pat arrived back from Rome a little later \u2013 untypically exuberant and no doubt fortified by his spiritual adventure with the Pope, \u2018I might have known you would get into trouble in my absence,\u2019 he growled at me as I got to my feet. Replying in kind, I think I said something about being in worse trouble had he been with us, but after a few more such pleasantries, the general arrived. Charles Keightley expressed pleasure at the course of events without any reservation \u2013 something his acidic brigade commander would never do to his COs out of principle. We would have been quite worried had he tried to.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Murphy appeared while the general was still with us. \u2019A memorable victory, colonel,\u2019 he said. \u2018We have captured a hundred gallons of champagne and I have it all \u2013 a pint for every man.\u2019 He went on, \u2018…and the RSM\u2019s having apoplexy. That wretch Fitz has fired off the whole of the anti-tank stocks and there\u2019s not a round left forward of division.\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n Bill Girvan, the RSM, had the job of supplying our ammunition in battle and Fitz had certainly been generous. His carefree gun teams had expended a thousand rounds of AP and high explosive when seeing Desmond\u2019s riflemen in to Pianicalle. The general thought it a huge joke.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The action had not been expensive in other ways. In the whole operation, we had lost five of Desmond\u2019s men but the Germans had suffered severely. Caught in the open by our shelling, their dead lay scattered over the hillside and, in the aftermath, this was melancholy enough whichever side they belonged to. H Company had picked up five paratrooper prisoners in the course of their attack and G about fifteen others but, with our tanks across the line of retreat, Mike\u2019s hussars collected nearly a hundred more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Pat, having secured the reins himself, then brought the Innskillings up in to Castiglione beside us at nightfall and he installed his Tac HQ there too, ready for the next move. On our part, we lay up quietly. It had been a long day. But this was still not the end of it as a battery of the 17th<\/sup> Field tore in to the orchard where my HQ was pitched and unlimbered alongside \u2013 rather in the fashion of the musical ride of the horse gunners. The next thing we knew was the roar of cascading slates as the steading roof dissolved under their ranging shots.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Until then, I had always liked having the mortar platoon beside me so that one could turn on the tap by a quiet nod to Ken Daly, their commander. Or to Sergeant Ogilivie, his immaculate and dedicated henchman \u2013 immaculate that is on all occasions save this one. At nightfall, their platoon petrol cooker exploded, setting them alight and cremating my Tac HQ.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Writing to father, I said,<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u2018….thereby causing wonderful stories to circulate among the boys that the enemy were assaulting with flame throwers…the companies take a malicious delight in the discomfiture of Bttn HQ, whom they consider to live in high luxury. On this occasion, lots of solicitous, if sarcastic, messages came floating in to us asking after our welfare.\u2019<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n It had indeed been a long day. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Looking at it from the German viewpoint, their rearguard at Civitella had served them well \u2013 and carried out the whole of its duty. They had kept us fully occupied with their small force for over twenty four hours \u2013 ever since 56 Recce had first run in to their outposts. They were only a company or two with a few odds and ends and yet they had forced us into a fully mounted attack.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But although they fought the action out to the limit required by the circumstances, the defence, as a whole, could hardly be said to have been handled skilfully. Only the leutnant at Point 208 could claim title to that, having both held on to the limit and got his men out at the end of it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Civitella, itself, could have been a trap to us had the Germans bothered to hold it. The town was a readymade bottleneck and offered the means of inflicting damage and a way of escape afterwards. It is extraordinary that they ignored it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The enemy was largely unsupported and, as our attack developed, they were left on their own, their guns had probably pulled back when the initial phase was over and their valiant paratroopers had little chance without them. At the end of the action, the rearguard commander either got his timings wrong, or possibly was not vigilant enough, and his failure to pull out at the psychological moment cost him most of his force.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Of course, he may have had no option and perhaps had been ordered to delay us at Civitella up to a given hour \u2013 or even to the end \u2013 without power of discretion. The German command sometimes did that and, inevitably, ensured their rearguard\u2019s destruction when a weighted attack was put in. To us, it just seemed a waste \u2013 and utterly pointless. But who were we to judge? <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The main road passing through Civitella was tortuous and twisting with hairpin bends both at the approaches and exits, and the locality itself was a major obstacle and defile. Kendal had realised this quickly enough as he studied the place, hence his anxiety and urgent advice to get in on it promptly before the opposition […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"parent":16896,"menu_order":24,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-25469","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.londonirishrifles.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/25469","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=25469"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.londonirishrifles.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/25469\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":25473,"href":"https:\/\/www.londonirishrifles.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/25469\/revisions\/25473"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.londonirishrifles.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/16896"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.londonirishrifles.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=25469"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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