Operation Husky Read online

  Loyal Edmonton Regiment (Edmontons, Eddies)—Lt. Col. Jim Jefferson

  3rd Canadian Infantry Brigade (3 CIB)—Brig. Howard Penhale

  Royal 22e Régiment (Van Doos)—Lt. Col. Paul Bernatchez

  West Nova Scotia Regiment (West Novas)—Lt. Col. Pat Bogert

  Carleton and York Regiment (Carletons)—Lt. Col. Dodd Tweedie

  1st Canadian Army Tank Brigade

  Three Rivers Tank Regiment—Lt. Col. Leslie Booth

  GERMAN

  OKW Commander—Generaloberst Alfred Jodl

  Commander-in-Chief South—Generalfeldmarschall Albert Kesselring

  XIV Panzer Corps—General der Panzertruppen Hans Valentin Hube

  Herman Göring Division—Generalmajor Paul Conrath

  15th Panzer Grenadier Division—Generalmajor Eberhard Rodt

  ITALIAN

  Sixth Army—Generale di Corpo Mario Roatta, then Generale d’Armata Alfredo Guzzoni

  XVI Corps—Generale di Corpo Carlo Rossi

  206th Coastal Defence Division—Generale di Divisione Achille d’Havet

  54th Napoli Division—Generale di Divisione Count Giulio Cesare Gotti-Porcinari

  APPENDIX B:

  THE CANADIAN ARMY IN OPERATION HUSKY

  (COMBAT UNITS ONLY)

  IST CANADIAN INFANTRY DIVISION

  4th Reconnaissance Regiment

  (Princess Louise Dragoon Guards)

  The Royal Canadian Artillery

  1st Field Regiment

  (Royal Canadian Horse Artillery)

  2nd Field Regiment

  3rd Field Regiment

  1st Anti-Tank Regiment

  2nd Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment

  Corps of Royal Canadian Engineers

  1st Field Company

  3rd Field Company

  4th Field Company

  2nd Field Park Company

  Brigade Support Group

  The Saskatoon Light Infantry

  1st Canadian Infantry Brigade

  The Royal Canadian Regiment (Permanent Force)

  The Hastings and Prince Edward Regiment

  48th Highlanders of Canada Regiment

  2nd Canadian Infantry Brigade

  Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry Regiment (Permanent

  Force)

  Seaforth Highlanders of Canada Regiment

  Loyal Edmonton Regiment

  3rd Canadian Infantry Brigade

  Royal 22e Régiment (Permanent Force)

  Carleton and York Regiment

  West Nova Scotia Regiment

  1st Canadian Army Tank Brigade

  11th Canadian Armoured Regiment (Ontario Tanks)

  12th Canadian Armoured Regiment (Three Rivers Tanks)

  14th Canadian Armoured Regiment (Calgary Tanks)

  APPENDIX C:

  CANADIAN INFANTRY BATTALION

  (TYPICAL ORGANIZATION)

  HQ COMPANY

  No. 1 Signals Platoon

  No. 2 Administrative Platoon

  SUPPORT COMPANY

  No. 3 Mortar Platoon (3-inch)

  No. 4 Bren Carrier Platoon

  No. 5 Assault Pioneer Platoon

  No. 6 Anti-Tank Platoon (6-pounder)

  A COMPANY

  No. 7 Platoon

  No. 8 Platoon

  No. 9 Platoon

  B COMPANY

  No. 10 Platoon

  No. 11 Platoon

  No. 12 Platoon

  C COMPANY

  No. 13 Platoon

  No. 14 Platoon

  No. 15 Platoon

  D COMPANY

  No. 16 Platoon

  No. 17 Platoon

  No. 18 Platoon

  APPENDIX D:

  CANADIAN MILITARY ORDER OF RANK

  (LOWEST TO HIGHEST)

  Private (Pte.)

  Gunner (artillery equivalent of private)

  Trooper (armoured equivalent of private)

  Lance Corporal (L/Cpl.)

  Corporal (Cpl.)

  Lance Sergeant (L/Sgt.)

  Sergeant (Sgt.)

  Company Sergeant Major (CSM)

  Regimental Sergeant Major (RSM)

  Lieutenant (Lt. or Lieut.)

  Captain (Capt.)

  Major (Maj.)

  Lieutenant Colonel (Lt. Col.)

  Colonel (Col.)

  Brigadier (Brig.)

  Major General (Maj. Gen.)

  Lieutenant General (Lt. Gen.)

  General (Gen.)

  APPENDIX E:

  AXIS MILITARY ORDER OF RANK

  (LOWEST TO HIGHEST)

  Because the German Army and the Luftwaffe ground forces had a ranking system where rank also usually indicated the specific type of unit in which one served, only basic ranks are given here. The translations are roughly based on the Canadian ranking system, although there is no Canadian equivalent for many German ranks. Italian ranks more closely mirror those used by the Canadian Army.

  GERMANITALIANCANADIAN

  Schütze Soldato Private, infantry

  Grenadier Granatiere Private, infantry

  Kanonier Cannoniere Gunner

  Panzerschütze Personale del carro armato Tank crew member

  Pionier Pioniere Sapper

  Funker Segnalatore Signaller

  Gefreiter Caporale scelto Lance Corporal

  Obergefreiter Caporale Corporal

  Unteroffizier Sergente Scelto Lance Sergeant

  Unterfeldwebel Sergente Sergeant

  Feldwebel Sergente maggiore Company Sergeant Major

  Oberfeldwebel Maresciallo Regimental Sergeant Major

  Leutnant Scottotenente Second Lieutenant

  Oberleutnant Tenente Lieutenant

  Hauptmann Capitano Captain

  Major Maggiore Major

  Oberstleutnant Tenente Colonnello Lieutenant Colonel

  Oberst Colonnello Colonel

  Generalmajor Generale di Brigata Brigadier

  Generalleutnant Generale di Divisione Generale di Corpo Major General

  General der Artillerie Generale di artiglieria General of Artillery

  General der Infanterie Generale di fanteria General of Infantry

  General der Kavallerie Generale di cavalleria General of Cavalry

  General der Pioniere Generale del pionieri General of Engineers

  General der Panzertruppen Generale delle truppe armate General of Armoured Troops

  Generaloberst Generale d’Armata Colonel General

  Generalfeldmarschall Maresciallo d’Italia General Field Marshal

  APPENDIX F:

  THE DECORATIONS

  Many military decorations were won by soldiers in the invasion of Sicily. The decoration system that Canada used in World War II, like most other aspects of its military organization and tradition, derived from Britain. A class-based system, most military decorations can be awarded either to officers or to “other ranks,” but not both. The exception is the highest award, the Victoria Cross, which can be won by a soldier of any rank.

  The decorations and qualifying ranks are:

  VICTORIA CROSS (VC): Awarded for gallantry in the presence of the enemy. Instituted in 1856. Open to all ranks. The only award that can be granted for action in which the recipient was killed, other than Mentioned in Despatches—a less formal honour whereby an act of bravery was given specific credit in a formal report.

  DISTINGUISHED SERVICE ORDER (DSO): Officers of all ranks, but more commonly awarded to officers with ranks of major or higher.

  MILITARY CROSS (MC) : Officers with a rank below major and, rarely, warrant officers.

  DISTINGUISHED CONDUCT MEDAL: Warrant officers and all lower ranks.

  MILITARY MEDAL: Warrant officers and all lower ranks.

  NOTES

  INTRODUCTION: THE SUPREME TRAGEDY

  1 C.P. Stacey, The Canadian Army, 1939-1945: An Official Historical Summary (Ottawa: King’s Printer, 1948), 47.

  2 J.L. Granatstein, Canada’s Army: Waging War and Keeping the Peace (Toronto: University
of Toronto Press, 2002), 213.

  3 G.W.L. Nicholson, The Canadians in Italy, 1939-1945, vol. 2 (Ottawa: Queen’s Printer, 1956), 23.

  4 Ibid.

  5 R.H. Roy, The Seaforth Highlanders of Canada, 1919-1965 (Vancouver: Evergreen Press, 1969), 137.

  6 Richard Victor Latimer, “The Gibblers: Or Balmorals and Bully Beef,” unpublished memoir in possession of author, 245.

  7 Roy, 137.

  8 C. Sydney Frost, Once a Patricia: Memoirs of a Junior Infantry Officer in World War II (Ottawa: Borealis Press, 2004), 86.

  9 Strome Galloway, Sicily to the Siegfried Line: Being Some Random Memories and a Diary of 1944-1945 (Kitchener, ON: Arnold Press, n.d.), 1-3.

  10 Farley Mowat, And No Birds Sang (Toronto: McClelland & Stewart, 1979), 35.

  11 Nicholson, Canadians in Italy, 20-21.

  12 Ibid., 24-26.

  13 Historical Officer, Canadian Military Headquarters, “Report No. 126: Canadian Operations in Sicily, July-August 1943, Part I: The Preliminaries of Operation ‘Husky’ (The Assault on Sicily),” Directorate of Heritage and History, Department of National Defence, 6.

  1: IF THE ARMY CAN’T AGREE

  1 G.W.L. Nicholson, The Canadians in Italy, 1939-1945, vol. 2 (Ottawa: Queen’s Printer, 1956), 26.

  2 J.L. Granatstein, Canada’s Army: Waging War and Keeping the Peace (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2002), 202-05.

  3 George Kitching, Mud and Green Fields: The Memoirs of Major General George Kitching (Langley, BC: Battleline Books, 1986), 140.

  4 Ibid., 148-49.

  5 “Appreciation by Comd 1 CDN DIV at Norfolk House 27 Apr 43,” RG24, vol. 10878, Library and Archives Canada, 7-8.

  6 Howard Graham, Citizen and Soldier: The Memoirs of Lieutenant-General Howard Graham (Toronto: McClelland & Stewart, 1987), 138.

  7 Historical Officer, Canadian Military Headquarters, “Report No. 126: Canadian Operations in Sicily, July-August 1943, Part 1: The Preliminaries of Operation ‘Husky’ (The Assault on Sicily),” Directorate of Heritage and History, Department of National Defence, 74-76.

  8 Nicholson, Canadians in Italy, 4.

  9 Ralph Bennett, Ultra and Mediterranean Strategy, 1944-1945 (London: Hamish Hamilton, 1989), 220.

  10 Turnbull Higgins, Soft Underbelly: The Anglo-American Controversy Over The Italian Campaign, 1939-1945 (New York: Macmillan, 1968), 45.

  11 C.J.C. Molony, The Mediterranean and Middle East: The Campaign in Sicily 1943 and The Campaign in Italy 3rd September 1943 to 31st March 1944 (London: Her Majesty’s Stationery Office, 1973), 2.

  12 Ibid., 4.

  13 Ibid., 3.

  14 Arthur Bryant, The Turn of the Tide: A History of the War Years Based on the Diaries of Field-Marshal Lord Alanbrooke, Chief of the Imperial General Staff (Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1957), 556.

  15 Molony, 7.

  16 Winston S. Churchill, The Second World War, vol. 5, Closing the Ring (London: Cassell, 1952), 25.

  17 Viscount Alexander of Tunis, “The Conquest of Sicily,” MG27, vol. III A1, Library and Archives Canada, 1.

  18 Molony, 6.

  19 Ibid., 7-10.

  20 Carlo D’Este, Patton: A Genius for War (New York: Harper Collins, 1995), 492.

  21 Carlo D’Este, Bitter Victory: The Battle for Sicily, 1943 (New York: Harper Perennial, 1988), 74-75.

  22 Molony, 2-10.

  23 Viscount Alexander, 4-5.

  24 Molony, 10.

  25 Nigel Hamilton, Monty: Master of the Battlefield, 1942-1944 (London: Hamish Hamilton, 1983), 245.

  26 Viscount Alexander, 7.

  27 Hamilton, 246.

  28 Bernard Law Montgomery, The Memoirs of Field Marshal The Viscount Montgomery of Alamein, K.G. (London: Collins, 1958), 170-72.

  29 Hamilton, 252.

  30 Eric Morris, Circles of Hell: The War in Italy, 1943-1945 (New York: Crown Publishers, 1993), 14-15.

  31 D’Este, Bitter Victory, 92.

  32 Montgomery, Memoirs, 34-35.

  33 Thomas Parrish, ed., The Simon and Schuster Encyclopedia of World War II (New York: Simon and Schuster, 1978), 13.

  34 Rick Atkinson, The Day of Battle: The War in Sicily and Italy, 1943-1944 (New York: Henry Holt and Company, 2007), 131.

  35 Hamilton, 257.

  36 D’Este, Bitter Victory, 116.

  37 Martin Blumenson, The Patton Papers: 1940-1945 (Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1974), 236-37.

  38 Viscount Alexander, 8-10.

  39 Blumenson, 241.

  2: FINALLY, THE FINAL PLAN

  1 “Appreciation by Comd 1 CDN DIV at Norfolk House 27 Apr 43,” RG24, vol. 10878, Library and Archives Canada, 7.

  2 Ibid., 9-10.

  3 George Kitching, Mud and Green Fields: The Memoirs of Major General George Kitching (Langley, BC: Battleline Books, 1986), 149-51.

  4 Kitching, 150-52.

  5 Historical Officer, Canadian Military Headquarters, “Report No. 126: Canadian Operations in Sicily, July-August 1943, Part 1: The Preliminaries of Operation ‘Husky’ (The Assault on Sicily),” Directorate of Heritage and History, Department of National Defence, 28-29.

  6 Dominick Graham, The Price of Command: A Biography of General Guy Simonds (Toronto: Stoddart Publishing, 1993), 71.

  7 Richard S. Malone, A Portrait of War, 1939-1943 (Toronto: Collins Publishers, 1983), 41.

  8 J.L. Granatstein, The Generals: The Canadian Army’s Senior Commanders in the Second World War (Toronto: Stoddart Publishing, 1993), 156.

  9 Chris Vokes, My Story (Ottawa: Gallery Press, 1985), 88.

  10 Dominick Graham, 70.

  11 Howard Graham, Citizen and Soldier: The Memoirs of Lieutenant-General Howard Graham (Toronto: McClelland & Stewart, 1987), 140.

  12 Kitching, 152-53.

  13 Historical Officer, “Report No. 126,” 34.

  14 Ibid., 35.

  15 Kitching, 134.

  16 Historical Officer, “Report No. 126,” 35-36.

  17 Kitching, 154.

  18 Dominick Graham, 73.

  19 Historical Officer, “Report No. 126,” 36.

  20 Vokes, 89.

  21 G.W.L. Nicholson, The Canadians in Italy, 1939-1945, vol. 2 (Ottawa: Queen’s Printer, 1956), 32.

  22 Bert Hoffmeister, interview by B. Greenhouse and W. McAndrew, transcript, 2001/26, Directorate of Heritage and History, n.d., 41.

  23 Nicholson, Canadians in Italy, 32.

  24 Thomas de Faye, interview by author, Victoria, 3 November 1998.

  25 Nicholson, Canadians in Italy, 35-36.

  26 Howard Mitchell, My War With the Saskatoon Light Infantry (M.G.) 1939-1945 (n.p., n.d.), 70.

  27 Robert Kingstone, “Transcription of Interview Number 31D 1 Kingstone,” interview by D.W. Edgecombe, 6 October 2000, Canadian War Museum, 4-5.

  28 Nicholson, Canadians in Italy, 41.

  29 James Riley Stone, interview by William Thackray, 13, 20 May and 3, 10, 17 June 1980, University of Victoria Special Collections.

  30 Historical Officer, “Report No. 126,” 44.

  31 Dr. John Haley, interview by author, Victoria, 30 October 1998.

  32 Historical Officer, “Report No. 126,” 45.

  33 Nicholson, Canadians in Italy, 42.

  34 Reginald H. Roy, The Seaforth Highlanders of Canada, 1919-1965 (Vancouver: Evergreen Press, 1969), 145-46.

  35 Captain A.T. Sesia, “Personal Notes and Observations: Part I—Sicily, 24 Apr. 43- 2 Sep. 43,” RG24, vol. 10878, Library and Archives Canada, 13.

  3: EVERYONE KNOWING HIS JOB

  1 Bert Hoffmeister, interview by B. Greenhouse and W. McAndrew, transcript, n.d., 2001/26, Directorate of Heritage and History, 42.

  2 Frederick Norman Pope, interview by Chris Bell, 31 May and 7, 10, 15, 22 June 1982, University of Victoria Special Collections.

  3 George Kitching, Mud and Green Fields: The Memoirs of Major General George Kitching (Langley, BC: Battleline Books, 1986), 158-59.

  4 Carlo D’Este, Bitter Victory: The Battle for Sicily, 1943 (New York: Ha
rper Perennial, 1988), 184.

  5 Ibid., 185-86.

  6 Walter Warlimont, Inside Hitler’s Headquarters, 1939-1945, trans. R.H. Barry (New York: Frederick A. Praeger, 1964), 318.

  7 G.A. Shepperd, The Italian Campaign, 1943-45: A Political and Military Re-assessment (London: Arthur Baker Limited, 1968), 22.

  8 Historical Section (GS), Army Headquarters, “Report No. 14: The Sicilian Campaign (July-August 1943), Information from German Sources,” University of Victoria Special Collections, 3-4.

  9 Albert Kesselring, The Memoirs of Field-Marshal Kesselring, trans. Lynton Hudson (London: William Kimber, 1953), 158-61.

  10 Samuel W. Mitcham Jr. and Friedrich von Stauffenberg, The Battle of Sicily (New York: Orion Books, 1991), 18-20.

  11 Ibid., 30.

  12 Ibid., 31.

  13 C.J.C. Molony, The Mediterranean and Middle East: The Campaign in Sicily 1943 and The Campaign in Italy 3rd September 1943 to 31st March 1944 (London: Her Majesty’s Stationery Office, 1973), 40-41.

  14 Warlimont, 321-22.

  15 Molony, 41.

  16 Mitcham and von Stauffenberg, 33.

  17 Molony, 41.

  18 Mitcham and von Stauffenberg, 33.

  19 Ibid., 34-35.

  20 D’Este, Bitter Victory, 207.

  21 Mitcham and von Stauffenberg, 43.

  22 Ibid., 36.

  23 Molony, 42.

  24 D’Este, Bitter Victory, 207.

  25 Mitcham and von Stauffenberg, 52.

  26 Douglas Orgill, The Gothic Line: The Italian Campaign, Autumn 1944 (New York: W.W. Norton, 1967), 12.

  27 Warlimont, 322.

  28 Mitcham and von Stauffenberg, 53-54.