The British and French each envisaged sending an expeditionary force of two Army corps; about 120,000 men and 26,000 horses, to Italy. On Friday evenings my friends and I would come into town and make straight for the YMCA. In fact, it brought back memories. We would go right through the menu, including wines with each course, followed by brandy and cigars. [27] On the Allied far right flank, V Corps, met by lessened resistance, traversed the Venetian Line and entered Padua in the early hours of April 29 to find that partisans had locked up the German garrison of 5,000. referenced. Slowly abandoned after World War I, the 600,000 sq metres of . On April 27, General Gnther Meinhold surrendered his 14,000 troops to the partisans in Genoa. "Opicina" soon Apparently the MPs would watch out for British troops making a deal in a side alley, then pounce, confiscate all the cigarettes and any money being offered and let the offenders go on a promise not to offend again. The views expressed are theirs and unless specifically stated are not Archived post. United States National Archives (NARA) It left Italy on 18 July 1944 to transfer to Egypt for a period of rest and refitting. Click on the following series references to search for records within each respective series using keywords and dates. [1], On 15 September 1955 the Grouping "T" was reduced to 22nd Zonal Military Command and the 82nd Infantry Regiment "Torino" entered the Infantry Division "Folgore", which was given the task to defend the Yugoslav-Italian border between Gorizia and Trieste. Six British infantry divisions fought at varying stages of the Italian campaign. This was accompanied by a pay form that explained that the money in question was two days' ration allowance for escorting a prisoner back to Darlington from a jail in Lincoln! huddle together and try to forget the cold. Devon EX31 2PJ The invasion of mainland Italy started with the British 8th Army landing at Taranto on 3 rd September 1943 and an operation named "Baytown". Below are just some of the wars and conflicts since 1945 that are covered in our records. Gesuiti We'd like to use additional cookies to remember your settings and understand how you use our services. 1 Infantry Division (1944-45) They. The German Army surrendered to New Zealand army on May 2. International pressure made the Yugoslavs leave the city on June 12. Associated places Western Desert, Libya, Tunisia, Sicily, Catania, Italy, Austria. Audrey Lewis. If you're in Italy and you need urgent help (for example, you've been attacked, arrested or someone has died), call +39 06 4220 0001 (available 24/7, 365 days a year for British nationals . The 46 Infantry Division was a second line Territorial Army formation, which was formed in 1939 as a duplicate of the 49 (West Riding) Infantry Division. Back to search Royal Army Medical Corps Muniments Collection I could either go on a skiing holiday at Cortina, or take a course as a technical storeman. From 1950 onwards, unit historical records and reports are in WO 305. On 11 August 1944, the division transferred to V Corps, and then to I Canadian Corps on 7 September 1944 for the battle of the Rimini Line which commenced on 14 September. For the next nine years, Trieste was under a British and American military government, becoming one of the front-line cities of the cold war. Here we would have a shower, a haircut, change our Khaki Drill uniform for a clean set left the week before, and then, all spick and span, we would head for one of the best restaurants in town. It remained in the Anzio beach-head until the breakout. The last three months of my army life was boring to say the least, and I welcomed any chance to do something different. Copyright of content contributed to this Archive rests with the author. The territorial remnant was established on September 15, 1947, as the Free Territory of Trieste and was occupied by joint British-American forces as the Allied Military Government, British-United States Zone, Free Territory of Trieste. Food was at a premium there British Army operations after 1945 - The National Archives It landed in Sicily on 26 July 1943, moving to Italy on 22 September 1943. across the borders from Yugoslavia in 1950. Many Slovenes in Trieste at the time, ecstatic at the downfall of Italian Fascism, greeted the Partisans as liberators and assisted in manhunts by the Yugoslav secret police. Twenty men drawn from all ranks were sent home from Italy to be present on the night, and wonder of wonders, I was one of four corporals to travel a total of six days to attend the dinner. and the fourth is Trieste at night. moved by the A.M.G. I was at his house one evening and one of his daughters was just about to leave to visit another friend. Rail travel ground to a halt. Finally, the fourth division was with the 14th Army in a sector thought less likely to be attacked.[11]. After the war I wrote to him and his delightful reply is at the back of my album. If you are looking for war diaries or other records related to specific British Army regiments and other units these are often recorded in our catalogue using abbreviations so try a variety of terms when searching (for example, Regt as well as Regiment, Bn as well as Battalion, Bty as well as Battery), Anthony Farrar-Hockley, The British Part in the Korean War: Official History (HMSO, 1990-1995), Lawrence Freedman, The Official History of the Falklands Campaign (Routledge, 2005), Arthur S White, A Bibliography of Regimental Histories of the British Army (The Naval and Military Press, 1992). Italian and the local venetian Among these items were two huge Staghound Armoured Car tyres. It was handed back to Italy in 1954. Italy in WW2: Timeline of Events in 1941 - Comando Supremo The spring 1945 offensive in Italy, codenamed Operation Grapeshot, was the final Allied attack during the Italian Campaign in the final stages of the Second World War. The Fifth Army was to make a secondary thrust further west towards Ostiglia, the crossing point on the Po of the main route to Verona. This is a chapter of the war people in the city are not ready to reopen. Scores of accused fascists were paraded daily by the Partisans through the cobblestone streets to Yugoslav military courts. camps to house about four thousand of this tragic army, who were fleeing Was the British army in Casarsa, Italy in 1947? You have done a massive job. On 16 April my very good friend Leslie Gilbert and I attended a Passover service at the Marittima ballroom on the harbour front of Trieste. Italian Government normally housed 400 prisoners. Why Trieste will be Italy's next big destination - Lonely Planet Lieutenant General Lucian Truscott, the commander of the U.S. VI Corps from the Battle of Anzio and the capture of Rome to Alsace, landed in the South of France during Operation Dragoon and returned to Italy to assume command of the Fifth Army. A fair amount of local civilians attended and the service was organised by an Austrian who had been released from a concentration camp and his two daughters, all of whom worked for AMGOT (Allied Military Government for Occupied Territories). This probably accounted for the fact that I must have volunteered for the job of prisoners escort, of which details now follow. Likewise, the 14th Field Artillery Regiment and the II Field Artillery Group were disbanded and the I Field Artillery Group renamed 14th Field Artillery Group "Murge". Thank you. The accused persons were butted and struck, and always admitted the crimes ascribed to them.''. 'Loopy', or to give him his full title, Lieutenant Colonel Sir George Arnold Ford Kennard, 3rd Baronet, was quite a character then, and even now and his biography entitled simply 'Loopy' makes very good reading. The 78 Infantry Division had been deployed to North Africa in November 1942. I have been looking for infomation or It served in Palestine until the end of the war. For almost three months I then kicked my heels until in March I was finally released to return to civilian life. from that early impromptu tent camp, near the Yugoslav But there is a new move, led by Giuseppe Pititto, a prosecutor in Rome, to charge three former Partisan officials who live in Croatia. These messages were added to this story by site members between June 2003 and January 2006. ''There was a terrible Italian black-shirt commander -- his name was Volpe -- in Istria during the war who killed scores of people,'' said Ettore Poropat, a former Partisan who was in Trieste during the occupation and now lives in Zagreb. Album of photographs of the British Military Hospital, Trieste, Italy, on completion of re-organisation | Wellcome Collection Find thousands of books, manuscripts, visual materials and unpublished archives from our collections, many of them with free online access. Besides, these three individuals are innocent. My second responsibility was to keep the squadron leader, Major 'Loopy' Kennard, completely informed at all times as to the state of readiness of all the vehicles under his command. Italy, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Duino-Aurisina, The Erma has this inscription: 'Respect the field of death and glory' in memory of the First World War. My origin v3.0, except where otherwise stated, 2. It fought through the battle for Anzio and onto the battle for Rome. There were suspicions Your story was very interesting the only person I have heard that was stationed in the same area as I. ''He burned our village. The local Venetian dialect As I peeped out of the window to see what was going on I actually saw them take the photo. Brief history of Trieste From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The Piemonte Cavalleria was supported by the II Self-propelled Field Artillery Group in Banne, which was part of the 8th Self-propelled Field Artillery Regiment of the "Pozzuolo del Friuli" brigade. Most of the content on this site is created by our users, who are members of the Roman Catholic (Chiesa di S. Antonio) and the other Serbian Orthodox (Chiesa years. United Kingdom, North Devon Website Design by Really Different. This information will help us make improvements to the website. at the American mess hall, needless to say. An amphibious operation across the lake and parachute drop would bring pressure to bear on the flank and help to break the Argenta position. Browse or search the following series by keyword in our catalogue, including by name of operation, country or region: Some or all of the publications below may be available to buy from The National Archives shop. It transferred to X Corps in July 1943, and landed with the corps at Salerno in Italy on 9 September 1943. I'm going through a collection of photos my father took while in Trieste Italy in 1953 (He was in the American Army, CID.). The Cavour entered the Chesapeake Bay on February 13 and docked at Norfolk, Virginia,. In March 1943, it was deployed to Tunisia and then used to secure the Island of Pantelleria. http://www.archives.gov/research/holocaust/finding-aid/military/rg-331-2.html, Apr 7, 2015 How to use this guide and get a search for records started, 3. Trieste United States Troops - Wikipedia At the same time, the British 56th (London) Infantry Division would launch the amphibious flank attack along Lake Comacchio. Specific operations and campaigns. It took part in the final offensive with the crossing of the River Senio and then the forcing of the Argenta Gap. We place some essential cookies on your device to make this website work. Almost overnight, stones were whitewashed, flagpoles were erected and 'bull' was the order of the day. In June, the Yugoslavs withdrew to the hinterlands. No one dared to upset Trieste's already overcrowded labour market. To find records revealing the decision making behind British Army operations, government policy on a specific conflict and all kinds of other high level thinking around the operations, conflicts and wars involving the British Army, search within Cabinet (CAB) and Ministry of Defence (DEFE) departments.