Description
Object description
Wordprocessed memoir (83pp): the first part (pp 6-32) written in August 1945 and giving a vivid but harrowing account of his experiences as a nineteen year old platoon commander in the 6th Battalion Grenadier Guards (201st Guards Brigade, 56th Division) during the first, unsuccessful attack on the German positions on Monte Camino in Italy from 6-15 November 1943 and mentioning in particular the very high casualty rate in his Battalion, the extremely accurate German shelling and small arms fire, the terrible weather throughout the operation, the numerical inadequacy of the assault force and their lack of proper equipment for mountain warfare; and the second part (pp 37-83), written in 1980, covering his troopship voyage from the United Kingdom to North Africa and his very realistic training at the Allied School of Infantry at Ain Smara in Tunisia (August 1943), his service as a subaltern with the 6th Battalion Grenadier Guards, particularly during the first and second battles of Monte Camino (November - December 1943), a burial fatigue over Christmas after Monte Camino was captured and the Battalion's operations on the Garigliano front, notably an attack on Trimonsuoli, until they were disbanded (January - March 1944), his transfer to the 5th Battalion Grenadier Guards (24th Guards Brigade, 6th South African Armoured Division) and service with them during the advance north through Italy at the river Astrone, the river Arno, the capture of Monte Catarelto, the river Setta and in front of Monte Sole as well as a brief goodwill tour to South Africa (March 1944 - January 1945), his transfer to the 3rd Battalion Grenadier Guards (1st Guards Brigade, 6th Armoured Division) and his service, mainly as the Grenadier Guards liaison officer at Brigade HQ, during the attack through the Argenta Gap and the final advance across the river Po to the river Adige (January - May 1945) and then with the Battalion as part of the Army of Occupation in Austria (May - June 1945). The memoir includes very interesting comments on his pre-battle anxieties and responsibilities as a platoon commander and on the nature of mountain fighting in Italy as well as some excellent descriptions of offensive and reconnaissance patrols in which he took part.
Content description
Wordprocessed memoir (83pp): the first part (pp 6-32) written in August 1945 and giving a vivid but harrowing account of his experiences as a nineteen year old platoon commander in the 6th Battalion Grenadier Guards (201st Guards Brigade, 56th Division) during the first, unsuccessful attack on the German positions on Monte Camino in Italy from 6-15 November 1943 and mentioning in particular the very high casualty rate in his Battalion, the extremely accurate German shelling and small arms fire, the terrible weather throughout the operation, the numerical inadequacy of the assault force and their lack of proper equipment for mountain warfare; and the second part (pp 37-83), written in 1980, covering his troopship voyage from the United Kingdom to North Africa and his very realistic training at the Allied School of Infantry at Ain Smara in Tunisia (August 1943), his service as a subaltern with the 6th Battalion Grenadier Guards, particularly during the first and second battles of Monte Camino (November - December 1943), a burial fatigue over Christmas after Monte Camino was captured and the Battalion's operations on the Garigliano front, notably an attack on Trimonsuoli, until they were disbanded (January - March 1944), his transfer to the 5th Battalion Grenadier Guards (24th Guards Brigade, 6th South African Armoured Division) and service with them during the advance north through Italy at the river Astrone, the river Arno, the capture of Monte Catarelto, the river Setta and in front of Monte Sole as well as a brief goodwill tour to South Africa (March 1944 - January 1945), his transfer to the 3rd Battalion Grenadier Guards (1st Guards Brigade, 6th Armoured Division) and his service, mainly as the Grenadier Guards liaison officer at Brigade HQ, during the attack through the Argenta Gap and the final advance across the river Po to the river Adige (January - May 1945) and then with the Battalion as part of the Army of Occupation in Austria (May - June 1945). The memoir includes very interesting comments on his pre-battle anxieties and responsibilities as a platoon commander and on the nature of mountain fighting in Italy as well as some excellent descriptions of offensive and reconnaissance patrols in which he took part.
History note
Cataloguer RWAS
History note
Catalogue date 2006-11