Colle d'Anchise

The 1st Canadian Infantry Division spent much of the first weeks of October battling west across the Fortore and Biferno Rivers battling German rearguards. By 22 October, the British Lieutenant General Dempsey's 13th Corps was driving towards Isernia, and the British 5th Division was in the Vinchiaturo area. The Canadians were assigned to establish a firm base for their attack. On 22 October, Major General Guy Simonds, commanding 1st Canadian Division and newly returned from hospital on 15 October, gave orders for the Canadians to gain high ground west of the Biferno River and to "hit a good hard blow at the 29th Panzer Grenadier Division" in preparation for both the British assault on Isernia, as well as other operations on the eastern coast.

A Sherman tank of "A" Squadron, 11th Canadian Army Tank Regiment (The Ontario Regiment) crosses a stream near Colle d'Anchise on 26 October 26, 1943. LAC photo.

The operation had two phases. That same night the 2nd Brigade was to cross the Biferno and attack Colle d'Anchise, a village perched on top of the far bank opposite Baranello, and then secure Spinete, three miles to the northwest. Consolidation of this high ground west of Vinchiaturo would complete the Division's task on the left. The ultimate objective on the right was the region about Torella and Molise, two villages on the height of land between the Biferno and the Trigno. The 1st Brigade was to secure this ridge by the evening of the 26th. At four o'clock on the morning of the 23rd the Edmontons, whom Hoffmeister had charged with the capture of Colle d'Anchise, waded across the waist-deep and ice-cold Biferno just below its junction with the Torrente Quirino. While the pioneers went to work with engineers of the 3rd Field Company on the preparation of a tank crossing, the rifle companies, shunning an easier but more obvious approach, turned northward along the bank and began to scale the 700-foot escarpment leading to their objective. Even in the heavy fog which had descended they met some enemy fire, but left it unanswered in order to press home the advantage of surprise. By daybreak "A" Company had reached the top of Point 681, an eminence at the eastern end of the single straggling street which is Colle d'Anchise. Caught unawares, the garrison—members of the 1st Battalion, 67th Panzer Grenadier Regiment—tumbled out of their billets to engage the attackers in bitter hand-to-hand fighting. Soon all the Edmonton rifle companies were involved in the struggle, which continued throughout the morning without producing a definite decision. At one point an N.C.O., Sgt. R. B. Whiteside, of "A" Company, single-handed and armed only with a rifle, successfully engaged two German machine-gun posts, inflicting an estimated eleven casualties. He was awarded the D.C.M.

 

In the meantime the supporting tanks of the Ontarios' "A" Squadron were experiencing the greatest difficulty in establishing contact with the Edmontons. The heavy mist which lay in the gorge of the Biferno was as embarrassing to the armour as it had been of assistance to the infantry. Although the tanks got down into the rocky river bed at 6:30 a.m., two hours elapsed before the busy sappers, toiling heroically under continuous machinegun and mortar fire, had finished carving an exit in the precipitous far bank. Ten minutes later seven tanks were across the river. They found no Edmonton guides (battalion pioneers left at the crossing had been dispersed by sniper fire), and repeated signals to Brigade Headquarters in Vinchiaturo failed to establish liaison with the infantry in Colle d'Anchise, whose wireless had failed and who seem to have been ignorant of the proximity of Canadian armour. Towards mid-morning the two Ontario troops began working their way up the long slope towards Colle d'Anchise, but half a mile south of the village an ambush by German Mark IVs-identified in German documents as a troop of the 26th Panzer Regiment—knocked out three Shermans, killing three men. The remaining tanks bogged down or were immobilized by thrown tracks, and were of no further use that day.

 

Private Maurice White of The Loyal Edmonton Regiment, photographed in Colle d'Anchise after the battle. Wool battle dress has been issued for the winter. The rugged terrain typical to the region is evident in this picture. LAC photo.

Now the situation in Colle d'Anchise took a turn for the worse. The presence of the Canadian tanks west of the Biferno had not prevented the enemy from bringing up infantry from Boiano, and these joined with his three Mark IVs in a counter-attack which forced Lt.-Col. Jefferson's "D" Company from the western end of the village. Anti-tank guns and other support weapons were still held up by heavy mortaring at the Biferno crossing, so that the hard-pressed Edmontons had only their PIATs with which to oppose the German armour, and PIAT ammunition ran short when the mule supply column failed to get forward. At 3:30 p.m. the enemy reported having recaptured three-quarters of the village. But the counterattack was not followed up, for the Commander of the 76th Panzer Corps had authorized a withdrawal from the Colle d'Anchise-Spinete area. During the night the enemy pulled back to the Cantalupo-Torella lateral--the Luttwitz position—and early next morning the Edmontons consolidated their hard-won positions. They had suffered 30 casualties in the action; the German losses were estimated at more than 100. The fierce and confused fighting for Colle d'Anchise had once again demonstrated that lack of co-ordination between tanks and infantry which was to lead to the introduction of new training methods and closer co-operation in the campaigns of 1944.²

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Aftermath

The 1st Canadian Infantry Division successfully completed their phase of the 13th Corps operation in time for the British 5th Division to begin their part on schedule, and on 27 and 28 October, two British brigades relieved The Carleton and York Regiment at Boiano, while the 2nd Canadian Brigade was relieved in the Spinete-Colle d'Anchise area. On 29 October, with a squadron of The Three Rivers Regiment providing armoured support, the advance began again in terrible weather up Highway No. 17, though it would not be until 4 November before British troops of the 13th Brigade battled through rear-guards, road demolitions, and cratered roads to find Isernia abandoned by the Germans.³

Sergeant Robert Baden Whiteside's Distinguished Conduct Medal was gazetted in early 1944; the citation read:

At first light on 23 October 1943, The Loyal Edmonton Regiment was attacking the town of Colle d'Anchise. "A" Company, in which Sergeant Whiteside was Platoon Sergeant, had secured its objective. "D" Company, however, moving forward to their objective, which was a feature northwest of the town, came under heavy fire from an enemy strong point with two machine guns located between "A" and "D" Companies on the western edge of the town. Sergeant Whiteside obtained permission to attempt to knock out this machine gun position.

Dodging from building to building within the town and being continually sniped at by the enemy, Sergeant Whiteside worked his way forward 120 yards to a locality from which he could engage the enemy by rifle fire from 50 yards range. From this point of vantage he prevented the enemy from using the machine guns against the advancing Company. After the action, it was found he had accounted for 11 enemy, killed and wounded. He also captured a German Non-Commissioned Officer and removed to safety from under very heavy fire one of our own wounded. Sergeant Whiteside's meritorious deed enabled "D" Company to work forward at greater speed at a crucial time in the battle and secure their objective.⁴

Battle Honours

The following Canadian units were awarded the Battle Honour "Colle d'Anchise" for participation in these actions:

1st Canadian Armoured Brigade

• 11th Canadian Armoured Regiment (The Ontario Regiment)

2nd Canadian Brigade

• The Loyal Edmonton Regiment

Notes

1. Roy, Reginald. The Seaforth Highlanders of Canada 1919-1965 (Evergreen Press, Vancouver, BC, 1969) pp.215-223

2. Nicholson, Gerald. Official History of the Canadian Army in the Second World War. Volume II: The Canadians in Italy, 1943-1945 (Queen's Printer, Ottawa, ON, 1957) pp.259-260

3. Ibid

4. Blatherwick, John and Hugh Halliday. Courage & Service: Second World War Awards to Canadians (Service Publications, Ottawa, ON) ISBN 1894581229