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History |
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Wars & Campaigns |
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►Boer
War
►First
World War
►►Western
Front
►►►Trench
Warfare: 1914-1916
►►►Allied
Offensive: 1916
►►►Allied
Offensives: 1917
►►►German
Offensive: 1918
►►►Advance
to Victory: 1918
►►Siberia
►Second
World War
►►War
Against Japan
►►North
Africa
►►Italian
Campaign
►►►Sicily
►►►Southern
Italy
►►►The
Sangro and Moro
►►►Battles
of the FSSF
►►►Cassino
►►►Liri
Valley
►►►Advance
to Florence
►►►Gothic
Line
►►►Winter
Lines
►►North-West
Europe
►►►Normandy
►►►Southern
France
►►►Channel
Ports
►►►Scheldt
►►►Nijmegen
Salient
►►►Rhineland
►►►Final
Phase
►Korean
War
►Cold
War
►Gulf
War |
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Operations |
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Battle Honours |
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Boer War
First World War
Western Front
Trench Warfare: 1914-1916
Allied Offensive: 1916
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►Somme, 1916 |
1
Jul-18 Nov 16 |
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►Albert |
.1-13
Jul 16 |
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►Bazentin |
.14-17
Jul 16 |
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►Pozieres |
.23
Jul-3 Sep 16 |
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►Guillemont |
.3-6
Sep 16 |
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►Ginchy |
.9
Sep 16 |
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►Flers-Courcelette |
15-22
Sep 16 |
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►Thiepval |
26-29
Sep 16 |
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►Le Transloy |
.
1-18 Oct 16 |
Allied
Offensives: 1917
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►Arras 1917 |
8
Apr-4 May 17 |
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►Vimy, 1917 |
.9-14
Apr 17 |
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►Arleux |
28-29 Apr 17 |
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►Scarpe, 1917 |
.3-4
May17 |
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►Hill 70 |
.15-25
Aug 17 |
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►Messines, 1917 |
.7-14
Jun 17 |
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►Ypres, 1917 |
..31
Jul-10 Nov 17 |
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►Pilckem |
31
Jul-2 Aug 17 |
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►Langemarck, 1917 |
.16-18
Aug 17 |
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►Menin Road |
.20-25
Sep 17 |
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►Polygon Wood |
26
Sep-3 Oct 17 |
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►Broodseinde |
.4
Oct 17 |
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►Poelcapelle |
.9
Oct 17 |
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►Passchendaele |
.12
Oct 17 |
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►Cambrai, 1917 |
20
Nov-3 Dec 17 |
German Offensive: 1918
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►Somme, 1918 |
.21
Mar-5 Apr 18 |
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►St. Quentin |
.21-23
Mar 18 |
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►Bapaume, 1918 |
.24-25
Mar 18 |
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►Rosieres |
.26-27
Mar 18 |
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►Avre |
.4
Apr 18 |
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►Lys |
.9-29
Apr 18 |
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►Estaires |
.9-11
Apr 18 |
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►Messines, 1918 |
.10-11
Apr 18 |
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►Bailleul |
.13-15
Apr 18 |
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►Kemmel |
.17-19
Apr 18 |
Advance to Victory: 1918
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►Arras, 1918 |
.26
Aug-3 Sep 18 |
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►Scarpe, 1918 |
26-30 Aug 18. |
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►Drocourt-Queant |
.2-3
Sep 18 |
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►Hindenburg Line |
.12
Sep-9 Oct 18 |
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►Canal du Nord |
.27
Sep-2 Oct 18 |
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►St. Quentin Canal |
.29
Sep-2 Oct 18 |
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►Epehy |
3-5
Oct 18 |
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►Cambrai, 1918 |
.8-9
Oct 18 |
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►Valenciennes |
.1-2
Nov 18 |
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►Sambre |
.4
Nov 18 |
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►Pursuit to Mons |
.28 Sep-11Nov |
Second World War
War Against Japan
South-East Asia
Italian Campaign
Battle of Sicily
Southern
Italy
The Sangro and Moro
Battles of the FSSF
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►Anzio |
22
Jan-22 May 44 |
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►Rome |
.22
May-4 Jun 44 |
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►Advance
|
.22
May-22 Jun 44 |
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to the Tiber |
. |
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►Monte Arrestino |
25
May 44 |
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►Rocca Massima |
27
May 44 |
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►Colle Ferro |
2
Jun 44 |
Cassino
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►Cassino II |
11-18
May 44 |
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►Gustav Line |
11-18
May 44 |
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►Sant' Angelo in
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13
May 44 |
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Teodice |
. |
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►Pignataro |
14-15 May 44 |
Liri Valley
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►Hitler Line |
18-24 May 44 |
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►Melfa Crossing |
24-25 May 44 |
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►Torrice Crossroads |
30
May 44 |
Advance to Florence
Gothic Line
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►Gothic Line |
25 Aug-22 Sep 44 |
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►Monteciccardo |
27-28 Aug 44 |
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►Point 204 (Pozzo Alto) |
31 Aug 44 |
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►Borgo Santa Maria |
1 Sep 44 |
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►Tomba di Pesaro |
1-2 Sep 44 |
Winter Lines
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►Rimini Line |
14-21 Sep 44 |
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►San Martino- |
14-18 Sep 44 |
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San Lorenzo |
. |
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►San Fortunato |
18-20 Sep 44 |
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►Sant' Angelo |
11-15 Sep 44 |
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in Salute |
. |
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►Bulgaria Village |
13-14 Sep 44 |
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►Pisciatello |
16-19 Sep 44 |
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►Savio Bridgehead |
20-23
Sep 44 |
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►Monte La Pieve |
13-19
Oct 44 |
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►Monte Spaduro |
19-24 Oct 44 |
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►Monte San Bartolo |
11-14
Nov 44 |
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►Lamone Crossing |
2-13
Dec 44 |
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►Capture of Ravenna |
3-4
Dec 44 |
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►Naviglio Canal |
12-15 Dec 44 |
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►Fosso Vecchio |
16-18 Dec 44 |
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►Fosso Munio |
19-21 Dec 44 |
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►Conventello- |
2-6 Jan 45 |
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Comacchio |
. |
Northwest Europe
Battle of Normandy
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►Quesnay Road |
10-11 Aug 44 |
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►St. Lambert-sur- |
19-22 Aug 44 |
Southern France
Channel Ports
The Scheldt
Nijmegen Salient
Rhineland
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►The
Reichswald |
8-13 Feb 45 |
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►Waal
Flats |
8-15 Feb 45 |
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►Moyland
Wood |
14-21 Feb 45 |
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►Goch-Calcar
Road |
19-21 Feb 45 |
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►The
Hochwald |
26
Feb- |
| . |
4
Mar 45 |
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►Veen |
6-10 Mar 45 |
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►Xanten |
8-9
Mar 45 |
Final Phase
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►The
Rhine |
23
Mar-1 Apr 45 |
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►Emmerich-Hoch
|
28
Mar-1 Apr 45 |
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Elten |
. |
Korean War
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Domestic Missions |
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►FLQ
Crisis |
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International
Missions |
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►ICCS
Vietnam 1973
►MFO
Sinai 1986- |
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Peacekeeping |
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►UNTEA |
W. N. Guinea 1963-1964 |
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►ONUCA |
C. America
1989-1992 |
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►UNTAC |
Cambodia
1992-1993 |
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►UNMOP |
Prevlaka
1996-2001 |
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Exercises |
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Battles of the First Special Service
Force
|
The Battles of the
First Special Service Force are grouped as a separate phase of
the Italian Campaign of the Second World War for administrative
purposes by the webmaster.
Background
The First Special
Service Force was a unique special force described in detail in
another article on the site. Recruited from both American and
Canadian volunteers, the Force was in reality a small brigade of
specialist troops of soldiers trained in parachute, mountain and
amphibious operations. Originally founded for commando missions in
Norway, the Force was trained in Montana, then dispatched to the
Aleutians in 1943, after which it was sent to Italy where it was
employed as mountain troops. Administratively, the Canadian
contingent - originally 50% of the unit, and later comprising about
35% of the personnel of this uniquely organized force - was known as
the 2nd Canadian Parachute Battalion, and later the 1st Canadian
Special Service Battalion.
The first Canadian
troops were authorized in July 1942, under Lieutenant Colonel John
G. McQueen of The Calgary Highlanders. When he broke a leg in
training, he was replaced as the second in command of the Force by a
U.S. Army officer. Various questions of pay, privileges, drill and
uniform were wrestled with as the unit was molded in training. By
July 1943, the Force numbered 177 officers and 2283 other ranks
(including 42 Canadian officers and 552 Canadian other ranks)
divided into the three "regiments" of two battalions each. They set
off for the Aleutians with American uniforms and equipment, and
impressive record in training, having achieved competency at a
variety of skills, including demolitions, enemy weapons proficiency,
parachute jumping, amphibious boat drills, and skiing.1
The unit landed on
Kiska in August 1943 to find the Japanese had fled, and the Force
moved to the United States, crossed the continent, and crossed the
Atlantic to North Africa where it staged for Italy, landing at
Naples and coming under command of the United States 5th Army in
November.2 |
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On 26 November the unit came under the
command of the United States 36th Infantry Division. The U.S. 2nd Corps'
part in Operation RAINCOAT was to capture Mount La Difensa and Mount
Maggiore while the British 10th Corps took Mount Camino.3
La Difensa-Remetanea
The 36th Division tasked
the FSSF to take la Difensa and la Remetanea while the 36th Division
captured Remetanea and British troops seized Camino simultaneously. The
assault on Mount Difensa was the subject of a highly fictionalized
1968 motion picture, though the basic theme of a difficult surprise
attack was accurately portrayed. The Force attacked on 3 December 1943
in light rain and through deep mud, man-packing heavy loads to the top of
the mountain and drove elements of a reinforced battalion of Germans from the
heights. Further assaults secured Remetanea by the end of 6 December
and on 7 December the Force linked up with the British 56th Division who
finally secured Camino. When finally relieved on 9 December,
the Force had suffered 400 casualties.4
Majo
To secure the Winter Line
and open the Mignano Gap, the heights of Mount Majo had to be secured,
six miles from Cassino. The preliminary to this was Hill 720, and the
fighting to secure the feature began on Christmas Day, 1943. The
objective was taken at a cost of 77 casualties. The attack on Majo
proper began on New Year's, with flanking attacks on the town of Radicosa
and nearby hills. The 1st Regiment was sent on a flanking mission to
Mount Vischiataro while the 1st Battalion of the 3rd Regiment seized the
heights of Majo and held on despite heavy fire and poor weather. Of a
combat strength of 1800, about 1400 had been killed or hospitalized
during the brief campaign in the Italian mountains.5 By the
end of January, only 300 Canadians "in fighting condition" remained in
the Force. The FSSF
was withdrawn from the line and sent to the Anzio beachhead at the start
of February.6
Canadian personnel of the First Special Service Force awaiting
medical evacuation, near Venafro, Italy, January 1944.
Sergeant Roy Cooper, Portage LaPrairie, MB; Sergeant Fred Hill,
Havelock, ON; and Sergeant Norman D. Torpe, Metiskou, AB.
All three men served in the 1st Regiment, SSF. According to Ken
Joyce, the photo was taken "in the shadow of Mount Sammucro in the
vicinity of Ceppagna." The white tags are casualty tags; Joyce
surmises that these NCOs were wounded during the actions of the 1st
Regiment around Mount Vischiataro (Hill 1109) on January 6-7, 1944.
LAC photo
Anzio
The Allied landings in
Anzio had been an attempt to outflank strong German defensive lines
across the peninsula of Italy, but indecisiveness left the invading
armies stranded on the beaches and surrounded by German defenders. The FSSF took over a quarter of the perimeter, guarding the flat plains
through which the Mussolini Canal ran to the sea, and settled in to a
routine of patrolling. They quickly established dominance over No Man's
Land. Reinforcements for the Force arrived after several weeks of
attrition due to constant patrol actions, sickness and shellfire, in
addition to the drain from earlier battles, particularly among the
Canadians, for whom reinforcements had not been provided due to a
growing reinforcement problem. Canadian authorities eased restrictions
on reinforcements for the force, and the U.S. Army also provided trained
Rangers to replace casualties.7
Rome
In May, after weeks of
floundering in the Anzio beachhead, news came that the Hitler Line had
been breached - one of the defensive positions that the Anzio landings
had been an attempt to bypass. To trap German forces now retreating, the
forces at Anzio were ordered to go on the offensive; the FSSF took
part in the battles to break out of the Anzio beachhead. Once free of
the perimeter, conflicting desires among senior commanders had the
forces eventually driving on Rome. On 23 May the FSSF saw action near
Cisterna and were forced to regroup after taking heaving casualties in a
German counter-attack. On 25 May the Force advanced on Mount Arrestino,
taking it the next day along with the town of Cori. On 28 May the FSSF
moved on the railway junction at Colle Ferro, again suffering heavy
casualties in the process, and when the position was finally taken on 2
June, they contacted French troops advancing from the south through the
Liri Valley. On 4 June, the first troops entered Rome, seizing bridges
over the Tiber River.
Battle Honours
The following Battle
Honours were granted for these battles:
-
Monte Camino
-
Hill 720
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Monte Majo
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Radicosa
-
Monte Vischiataro
-
Anzio
-
Rome
-
Advance to the Tiber
-
Monte Arrestino
-
Rocca Massima
-
Colle Ferro
Notes
-
Joyce, Kenneth H. Snow Plough and
the Jupiter Deception: The Story of the 1st Special Service Force
and the 1st Canadian Special Service Battalion, 1942-1945 (Vanwell
Publishing Ltd., St. Catharines, ON, 2006) ISBN 1-55125-094-2
-
Dancocks, Daniel G.
D-Day Dodgers: The Canadians in Italy 1943-1945 (McClelland
& Stewart Inc., Toronto, ON, 1991) ISBN 0771025440
-
Nicholson, Gerald The Canadians in Italy, 1943-1945
(Queen's Printer, Ottawa, ON) 1st Edition 15 Sep 1956, 2nd (corrected)
Edition Feb 1957, p.453
-
McKay, A. Donald Gaudeamus Igitur
"Therefore Rejoice" (Bunker to Bunker Books,
Calgary, AB, 2005) ISBN 1894255534 pp.262-264
-
Burhans, Robert D. The First
Special Service Force: A Canadian/American Wartime Alliance: The
Devil's Brigade (Methuen Publications, Agincourt, ON,
1981) ISBN 0-458-95020-1
-
Joyce, Ibid, p.196
-
Ibid, pp.196-209
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