Content deleted Content added
LordHood2552 (talk | contribs) mNo edit summary |
LordHood2552 (talk | contribs) mNo edit summary |
||
Line 119:
"A" Squadron of 4th PLDG landed in Sicily on July 13, 1943, as part of the Follow Up Forces. Only "A" Squadron, commanded by Major Arthur Duck actually took part in the Sicily fighting. B and C Squadrons were not fully equipped with the requisite number of "Otter" Light, and "Fox" Heavy Reconnaissance Cars and [[Universal Carrier|Universal Carriers]] until October, when the regiment was serving on the Italian mainland. D Squadron was raised that winter when heavy rains and freezing temperatures rendered the Princess Louise Dragoon Guards' vehicles all but useless and the personnel from the latter squadron patrolled their sector on horseback instead.
4th PLDG took part in virtually all of the major actions in the campaign, which lasted just 38 days. The regiment landed at Reggio di Calabria, on the Italian mainland on September 3, 1943, on the heels of [[3rd Canadian Infantry Brigade]] and immediately began providing 1st Canadian Infantry Division Headquarters with information with regard to the ground to the north including the condition of roads and bridges and the location and strength of enemy forces. Each of the squadrons was composed of three scout troops and assault troop, equipped with a combination of [[Otter Light Reconnaissance Car]]s and [[Fox Armoured Car|Fox Heavy Reconnaissance Car]]s. The Fox had a revolving turret fitted with a [[M2 Browning|.50 calibre Browning machine gun]] as well as a [[Bren light machine gun|Bren. 303 calibre light machine gun]]. The Otter mounted a single Bren as did the Universal Carriers used to transport the Scout and Assault Troops.
When a reporter asked the Officer Commanding, C-Squadron, [[Major Harold Parker]] as to what he and his men did in Italy he replied: "We keep driving until the enemy shoots at us. Then we know he is there". Parker was doing just that when his armoured car was struck by a 75mm shell on the Torella-Duronia road. The major was killed and his crew badly wounded. The scouts, frequently operated well behind enemy lines: During the Hitler Line battles in May 1944 during which 4th PLDG's War Diarist noted, proudly that it was "the first unit in 8th Army" to penetrate the latter fortifications at Pontecorvo [[Sergeant Hubert Ditner]], a farmer from [[Petersburg, Ontario]], and his men took the opportunity to catch a few hours sleep in a roadside ditch where he awoke to find that he and his comrades were just yards from a fighting hole filled with grenadiers from 44th Hoch und Deutschmeister Division. Ditner, who spoke fluent German managed to get all ten to surrender without firing a shot. In a letter to his younger brother, Simon Sgt. Ditner confessed that he "didn't know who was shaking more, Jerry or me."{{Citation needed|date=January 2009}}
Line 125:
One of the most notable engagements fought by 4th PLDG took place at [[Miglionico]]. Numbers 4 and 8 (Assault) Troops, under Lieutenant Don White used a rail tunnel to infiltrate the rear area of positions held by Oberst Ludwig Heilmann's 3rd Fallschirmjager Regiment and launch the attack that killed an estimated 50 paratroopers and destroyed several trucks, an armoured car and a large quantity of ammunition.
All three squadrons were active, on the Italian mainland by the time 4th Princess Louise Dragoon Guards was transferred to the Infantry Corps. The regiment was assigned to 12th Canadian Infantry Brigade of the recently arrived [[5th Canadian Armoured Division]] on July 13, 1944. The decision was the result of [[British Eighth Army|8th Army]] commander General Montgomery's concern that the division lacked the sufficient number of infantry battalions to protect the division's tanks against attacks by enemy infantry armed with shoulder fired anti-tank weapons and self-propelled guns. The regiment, having established a reputation for courage and tenacity while operating as scouts, soon distinguished itself in its new role. It was ordered to take [[Monte Peloso]] on September 1, 1944, also known as Point 253. The hill, part of the enemy's [[Gothic Line]] was targeted by 1st Division's gunners for the better part of an hour before C-Squadron began closing on the position at 13:10. As the Princess Louise began climbing it they ran headlong into paratroopers from 3rd Fallschirmjager Regiment, preparing to mount a counterattack on nearby Point 204 and there was a furious, close-quarters gun battle prior to Lord Strathcona's Horse joining 4th PLDG in the assault on the main German defences, a handful of farm buildings midway up the slope. The Shermans blasted the startled paratroopers from the buildings and the waiting Princess Louise cut them down with small arms fire. By last light Point 253 was in Canadian hands. The first battle as infantry had cost the regiment dearly, however: 35 men were dead and another 94 wounded.
A message penned by 8th Army's commander, General Leese, congratulated the Princess Louise for their victory, made that much more remarkable based on the unit's very brief training as infantry.
| |||