Bisceglie, Italy, October 16th

Take Post

Bisceglie, Italy, October 16th.

A long day of driving but I think I’ve got a handle on how far I can travel in one day.  I’m ensconced in a rather nice hotel in Bisceglie, on the Adriatic side, just west of Bari. I plan to walk down to the Adriatic in a few moments.  I need to exercise my legs and my camera.

A pleasant surprise this morning as my friendly matron hussled me to the bar and sat me down with a wonderful cup of cappuccino…then pointed to the biscotti and pastries nearby.  This was a nice way to start as I didn’t have to amble about looking for a bite.

I need to backtrack a bit here because I really didn’t explain very well why the Canadians were romping up the east coastal road.  As well as the capitulation of Italy on September 8th, the Canadians learned on the 9th that a combined American/British force had landed at Salerno, just south of Naples.  At this point Montgomery had the 5th British Division moving quickly up the west coast but had the Canadians rambling amongst the mountains.  A quick move up the east coast was called for and that’s why 1st Div got sent out of the mountains to the seaside.

There appeared to be some dissention amongst the ranks in the German High Command. Erwin Rommel was in charge of Northern Italy and Albert Kesselring in charge of Southern Italy.  Rommel believed that Italy had too many spots in the south for landings such as those at Pachino, Reggio and Salerno.  He believed they should pull all the way back north to a defensive position that could be held without the threat of flanking movements.  Kesselring insisted that they could hold the south and so started that long and deadly slog by the Americans, British and Canadians up through Italy.

I followed the coastal road as best I could but just north of Soverato it disappeared…literally.  A barrier was set up and the only road was a dead end that went down to the beach.  A bit of backtracking got me on the new road E90 or S106 which did parallel the Gulf of Taranto, sometimes as four lanes, sometimes as two.  The going was fast in spots and very slow in others.  To give you an idea I travelled 438 km from 08:30 to about 16:30 for an average of less than 55 km/hr.

I saw lots of intersting things along the way including what appeared to be a very old viaduct used to bring water to the crops and two pill boxes.  These were small (2-4 person) concrete emplacements with a rounded top and gun slits all around.  One of these was on the left side of the road snug against a hillside and facing the ocean while the other was on the right side on one of the sand dunes facing the ocean.  The best part of the trip though was having the mountains on the left and the gulf waters on the right. I hope the boys enjoyed that part too.

The further north I got the better buildings and amenities looked.  Fewer closed or derelict buildings and more hotels and restaurants.  Same nice people…just different economic circumstances I’m sure.  By the time I got to the Adriatic Coast things were looking pretty darn posh.

Having whined about the driving I should tell you that it took 10 Bty until September 27 to reach Gioia del Colle just north-west of Taranto.  At Gioia I continued north to Bari in order to visit the third cemetery on the agenda.  10 Bty and the rest of the gang turned left and moved towards Motta where they would again encounter stiff resistance from the Germans.

Gunner Arley Burke was killed on October 3rd, 1943 as 10 Bty was supporting the RCR attack on Motta.  The job of a gunner can hold a number of hazards, not the least of which is enemy counter battery fire.  In this case however it was equipment 

malfunction that caused Arley’s death.  There are essentially 3 parts to an artillery round.  The casing holds the charge that ignites and propels the round.  The round itself that is full of high explosives or sometimes smoke (white phosphorus) and sometimes even propaganda leaflets.  Then there’s the fuse.  This is the nose of the round and can be set for various detonation requirements.  Sometimes the fuse is wonky.

When the command to fire came, the fuse for the round in Sgt Savill’s gun went off inside the barrel and the round exploded destroying everthing except the gun carriage. Gnr Burley, L/Sgt Jim Gill and Gnr G. Irving were wounded and Arley died the next day.

Two days later, on October 5th, Sgt Don Reid was killed. This was antoher “accident” but one that could have been avoided.  Another bit of gunner stuff.  Sometimes a round needs to be extracted from the gun without firing it.  This could be a mis-fire where the charge did not go off or in this case it could be the order to “cease fire”.  When that order is given everything stops.  Don Reid’s gun still had a shell in the chamber when “cease fire” was ordered.  This then involves taking the shell “extractor”, which is a rod with a cone shaped nose that fits over the fuse (remember the fuse) and using it to push down from the nose of the barrel.    Some effort is required to push because the entire round has initially been pushed into the barrel and the breach closed pushing it in a bit further.

The official history states that Sgt Reid was not using his extractor to push the round out but was using a cleaning brush.  One of the witnesses to the event apparently called to him and told him to wait until the right extractor was available.  It doesn’t say why Reid didnt’ use his own extractor.  In one of those stories I heard as a kid it came to light that Reid’s crew lost their extractor during a night move and rather than wait to be disciplined for equipment loss, they found an extractor from a German gun and strapped it in place.  Reid knew that this would not work to extract one of their rounds as it was the wrong shape and size.  Ramming this down the barrel would surely hit the fuse with disastrous results.

Don Reid should have waited for the right extractor.  The brush he was using hit the fuse and the round exploded, cutting Reid in half and taking off both arms of Al Armitage.

Stand Down