War in Italy: With the South Africans from Taranto to the Alps by Kros, Jack
Dedicated and Signed by the Author Jack Kros on the First page.
War in Italy: With the South Africans from Taranto to the Alps by Kros, Jack
South Africans at War Nr 8
Hardcover
ISBN 9781874800415 / 1874800413
Publisher: Ashanti Publishing , 1992 Standard first edition.
Condition: Very Good+. This book is in an excellent condition. The DJ has only some very slight signs of wear and the pages are clean, intact and the spine remains perfect. This book has clearly been well maintained and looked after thus far. The book is protected with a Cellophane cover.
The South African Air Force and ground volunteers stormed into Italy under an invisible banner reading ‘Avenge Tobruk!’ It had been a recruiting slogan after the shattering losses when Rommel’s Afrika Korps recaptured the port on 21 June 1942.
But their primary resolve was to prove that they could fight as well as any army given the proper equipment, training and organisation. They had won an enviable reputation in East Africa and had contributed significantly to the victory at El Alamein, but their effectiveness in North Africa was reduced by their lack of preparation for desert conditions.
Reorganised as an armoured division, re-equipped by the best that the Americans could offer, and trained to perfection at Khatatba in Egypt, they were ready to carry the war to the Germans. It was thus a highly motivated 6th South African Armoured Division and supporting units that joined the Italian ground campaign at Cassino and spearheaded an Allied attack up the middle of the peninsula in spite of mountains and cruel weather.
The impetus of the first attack astonished Eighth Army Headquarters and carried the Division out of range of HQ communications. But for General Mark Clark’s disobedience of orders, the Springboks would have taken Rome. They raced on to Civita Castellana, Orvieto, Celleno and Bagnoregio, where astonishing feats of mountaineering caught the defending Germans off their guard.
At Chiusi, a company of the Cape Town Highlanders were trapped, yet added glory to the battalion’s name as they fought a courageous but hopeless battle. After being first into Florence, the 6th Division, by now attached to the US Fifth Army, pressed on in relentless pursuit through the Apennines in appalling winter weather. Monte Caprara, Monte Salvaro, Monte Stanco and Monte Sole were grimly contested before the plains of northern Italy opened up and victory became a mere formality.
All this time the SAEC were performing miracles of engineering, much of it under heavy fire; the SAAF was bombing, strafing, attacking shipping, reconnoitring, and dropping mines and supplies deep in enemy territory; the Cape Corps and the NMC were providing first-rate backup, including frontline stretcher-bearing; women served as nurses, drivers, clerks and entertainers, and in intelligence units; signallers kept the vast network in constant touch; padres risked their lives to serve the spiritual needs of the forces; and even escaping prisoners of war played their part in harassing the enemy.
The broad canvas of intense action is vividly coloured by the reminiscences of men and women who were there.
