south Staffordshire Regiment

Hi all,
New to this military stuff and this forum - so please excuse ignorance

My uncle served with the British Army during World War II. His name was Martin Ryan.
He died in Italy in Sept 1944. He is buried in AREZZO WAR CEMETERY in Italy.
At the time he was with the Manchester Regiment and his service number was 4619544. I have gotten his military service details from the Army Personnel Centre.

In those it states that he was with the 13th South Staffordshire Regiment. His service (as far as I can determine) were as follows
15 Feb 1940 - 13 Jan 1943 England
14 Jan 1943 - 18 May 1943 Persia / Iraq
19 May 1943 - 7 Apr 1944 Mediterranean Expeditionary Force
8 Apr 1944 - 14 Sep 1944 British North Africa Force

On is statement of service it says, he was transferred to the Manchester Regiment on 6th Sept 1944 and he died on the 14th

Would his transfer to the Manchester Regiment on the 6th be because of injuries incurred on or before that date?
Does anybody know anything about the 13th South Stafffordshire Regiments time in Italy?

I would love to know how he might have spent his last few months

Kind regards

 

North Apennines

Information here will tell you what was happening around the time of your uncle's death.

"...Operation OLIVE commenced on 25 August 1944 as the British 5 Corps and Canadian 1 Corps attacked through two Polish divisions on a seventeen-mile-wide front along the Adriatic. The offensive, supported by the British Desert Air Force, rapidly gained ground with the Canadian 5th Armored Division moving far forward against light resistance. Originally believing that the Eighth Army assault was a diversion to draw troops from central Italy, Kesselring delayed steps to reinforce units on the coast for four days, even though the Poles and Canadians had penetrated the Gothic Line near the coastal town of Pesaro on 30 August, threatening to turn the entire Axis front.


Yet, taking advantage of the time provided by the Eighth Army's well-known proclivity for slow-moving, set-piece battles, and taking additional advantage of its failure to provide adequate armored reserves to exploit the unexpected breakthrough, Kesselring soon managed to plug the breach with the 26th Panzer, 29th Panzer Grenadier, and 356th Infantry Divisions. Maximizing the defensive advantages provided by inclement weather and numerous rivers and ridges, Axis units inflicted a total of 8,000 casualties on the attackers and stalled Eighth Army forces short of their Rimini and Romagna Plain objectives by 3 September. Despite the failure to exploit Canadian 1 Corps gains and perhaps end the war in Italy, Alexander was optimistic that Fifth Army's second punch would succeed.

General Clark planned to open his phase of Operation OLIVE on 10 September 1944 with an assault by all three corps under his command. In preparation, he had extended the front of his IV Corps (consisting of Task Force 45, the U.S. 1st Armored Division, and the South African 6th Armored Division) eastward from the Ligurian coast to approximately five miles west of Florence while anchoring the eastern wing of the British 13 Corps (with the British 1st, the Indian 8th, and 7Map: The Approach to the Gothic Line Concept of Operation Olive

the British 6th Armored Divisions) east of Florence. In between was the U.S. II Corps, comprising the U.S. 34th, 91st, 85th, and 88th Infantry Divisions, concentrated on a narrow five-mile front.

From ULTRA intercepts, Clark knew that the German High Command had ordered Kesselring to prepare for an attack on the Futa 8
Pass in the center of the defending Fourteenth Army's line. The American general thus ordered an initial northward advance by his two flank corps across the Arno River to the Gothic Line in the wake of the now retreating Axis forces. Meanwhile, the U.S. 34th, 91st, and 85th Divisions of II Corps would follow, moving north along Highway 65, 9Map: II Corps Attack on the Gothic Line
the main road to Bologna through the Futa Pass. When the expected enemy resistance was encountered the 34th Division would launch a strong diversionary attack west of the Futa Pass, while the remaining II Corps units, led by the 91st Division with support from the 85th

Division, would bypass the Futa Pass to the east and attack the lightly 10
defended Il Giogo Pass on Route 6524 near the boundary of the Fourteenth and Tenth Armies. Once the Il Giogo Pass was taken, pressure would be put on the German flank at the Futa Pass, forcing the enemy to withdraw. The II Corps could then resume the advance north up Highway 65 to Bologna supported by all Fifth Army forces now totaling nearly 250,000 men.

As expected the Germans began withdrawing to the Gothic Line days before Fifth Army began its advance on 10 September. Initial resistance was thus light, but as the advancing forces reached the mountains, the intensity of combat increased. The Eighth Army's attack in the east had succeeded in diverting most enemy units away from the Futa Pass and II Giogo Pass areas except three regiments of the I Parachute Corps' 4th Parachute Division. In the west only the 362d and 65th Infantry Divisions faced the U.S. IV Corps, while just a single division, the 715th Infantry, opposed the British 13 Corps attack.

The U.S. 34th and 91st Divisions, with support from corps artillery, assaulted the Gothic Line on 12 September. The fighting was typical of the Italian campaign. The terrain facing Fifth Army units consisted of numerous mountain peaks, streams, deep valleys, broken ridges, and rugged spurs, all offering excellent defensive positions to the enemy. Although significant numbers of troops were involved on both sides, small unit actions predominated and rarely were units larger than a battalion engaged at any one time. The compartmented terrain tended to erode the Allies' three-to-one advantage in manpower, and whatever successes were gained were due largely to the individual soldiers' valor, resilience, and determination.

Although the Germans had heavily fortified the Futa Pass, they were surprised by the 91st and 85th Divisions' attacks against the Il Giogo Pass and nearby Monticelli Ridge and Monte Altuzzo. During 11 "Ebb and Flow of War, Monte Altuzzo, Italy, " by Harry A. Davis. (Army Art Collection)six days of intense fighting between 12-18 September 1944, the 91st Division seized the Il Giogo Pass and Monticelli Ridge, while the 85th Division secured Monte Altuzzo. These successes outflanked the Futa Pass but cost over 2,730 II Corps casualties. Seeing the futility of continuing to defend that portion of the Gothic Line, the I Parachute Corps withdrew to the next set of ridges to establish another defensive line. Encouraged at having breached the Gothic Line in at least one sector, the Americans began a sustained mountain-by-mountain, ridge-by-ridge, and valley-by-valley drive toward Bologna. In response, the enemy tenaciously defended each position in a series of short, intense, small unit actions. "

I am having difficulty finding anything re "13th South Staffordshire Regiment" - this is the most detailed I've found for the South Staffordshire in the Second World War Staffordshire Regiment (The Mercian) history :

"In the Second World War, the regiment was once again to play a vital role on the Allied fronts in both Europe and the Pacific.

The 1st South Staffords took part in the Second Chindit Campaign in 1944, which was the operation to fight the Japanese from deep behind enemy lines in Burma. Under the command of the inspirational Ronnie Degg, a former miner and ex-ranker, the battalion never lost ground, or failed in attack, inflicting many defeats on the Japanese.

Meanwhile, the 2nd South Staffords converted to a glider battalion and took part in the invasion of Sicily. It then fought with stubborn ferocity at the Battle of Arnhem against elite German forces. Two members of the regiment were awarded the Victoria Cross at Arnhem. Major Robert Cain – who had been posted to the Staffords from the Royal Northumberland Fusiliers – destroyed or disabled six tanks and a number of self-propelled guns.

Sergeant Jack Baskeyfield, from Burslem, was in charge of an anti-tank gun protecting his battalion of the South Staffordshire Regiment from heavy enemy attack. He destroyed two German tanks and at least one self-propelled gun before being wounded. The rest of his crew were killed, but Baskeyfield continued firing until his six-pounder gun was put out of action. Then he crawled to another gun and fought single-handedly against a tank and a self-propelled gun. He destroyed the gun, but was killed by a shell from the tank.

The 2nd North Staffords fought at Dunkirk, annihilated a German paratroop battalion in Tunisia in 1943, landed at Anzio, and fought their way through Italy."

I'll see if I can find more. The 8th Manchester Regiment fought for the Gothic Line and were part of the 10th Indian Army.

 

Print Page - snippets of Manchester Regiment articles

"Title: Re: snippets of Manchester Regiment articles
Post by: timberman on May 16, 2009, 12:33:54 PM
The Manchester Regiment

Battle Honours WW2
The Second World War: Dyle, Withdrawal to Escaut, Defence of Escaut, Defence of Arras, St. Omer-La Bassée, Ypres-Comines Canal, Caen, Esquay, Falaise, Nederrijn, Scheldt, Walcheren Causeway, Flushing, Lower Maas, Venlo Pocket, Roer, Ourthe, Rhineland, Reichswald, Goch, Weeze, Rhine, Ibbenburen, Dreirwalde, Aller, Bremen, North-West Europe 1940 '44-45, Gothic Line, Monte Gridolfo, Coriano, San Clemente, Gemmano Ridge, Montilgallo, Capture of Forli, Lamone Crossing, Defence of Lamone Bridgehead, Rimini Line, Montescudo, Cesena, Italy 1944, Malta 1940, Singapore Island, Malaya 1941-42, North Arakan, Kohima, Pinwe, Shwebo, Myinmu Bridgehead, Irrawaddy, Burma 1944-45

Timberman"

 

familyresearcher,

Welcome to the Forum.

Is it possible to see a photo/scan of the page containing the information about the 13th South Staffordshire Regiment?

Thanks

Steve W.

 

thanks people, for your responses. In reply to Steve, I will do that - as soon as I figure out a way to do it. Hopefully, I'll post that tomorrow. Thanks again

 

I have the images scanned - how do I upload them to the forum

 

I stumbled across this forum after 15 minutes of trying to research information on an 8th Army soldier named "Martin" during WWII. I know this might be a long shot, but did your uncle Martin have two daughters? If so, you need to read this article that I came across... I know it's only a ghost of a chance, but you never know...

I hope this is you uncle. If not, it's still a great story.

Italian woman who owes life to bravery of WW2 British soldier in desperate appeal to trace his family | Mail Online

Sincerely,

Some guy in Sarasota, Florida trying to research his grandmother's town of Torino di Sangro, Italy.

 

In 1944 the British Army was suffering manpower shortages in Infantry Bn's amongst others so there is a good possibility that the 13 South Staff's were disbanded and he was transfered to the Manchester Regiment to help make up their shortfall.

Your best bet if you can get to the National Archives at Kew is to look at the units diaries.

 

8th Manchesters were in 20th Indian Brigade, 10th Indian Division.
Little bit here about September 1944.

The Tiger Triumphs. The Story of Three Great Divisions in Italy. 1946. Chapters 8-9.