Continuation of the War Journal of Corporal Harry Winther

Forward Observation Post

Lt. Rankin woke me before daylight and told me to call Casey, one of our signals, he said the Carlton and York Regiment had driven a wedge into the enemy lines and the West Nova Scotia Regiment was making an attack this afternoon. We have been ordered to set up a forward observation post to direct machine gun, mortar, and artillery fire to soften up the enemy before they attack. There is a two story house at the tip of the wedge which will be ideal for observation.

The enemy is not likely to fire artillery or mortars at it as is pretty close to their own troops, but we will have to get up there before daylight as there are enemy on both sides. Casey rolled out a field telephone line and I carried a wireless set. We knocked a hole in the ceiling and set up in the attic. Lt. Rankin knocked out a tile in the roof to observe through. I climbed back down to go outside. The Carlton and York boys warned me to stay clear of the door as their only officer had been shot by a sniper while standing in the doorway. I went behind the house and sat on a big rock to clean my Tommy gun and eat a can of meat and vegetable for breakfast.

A young fellow came and sat down beside me, I offered him some of my M & V, he said he wasn’t hungry and anyway this was his last day in this war. “I’ve been over here for three weeks and I’ve decided there is no chance of surviving, when we attack this afternoon I’m not coming back.” “Look, I said, I’ve been at the front over six months and I expect to survive this war. After this attack you will probably go into reserve. When you get some sleep you will feel different.” I don’t know what happened to him. When I climbed back up to the attic I passed old Jerome, the West Novie sniper, he stood about four feet back from a big hole in the wall with his rifle to his shoulder, they told me he had fifty enemy to his credit.

At two o’clock A and B company advanced seventy-five yards past our house where they were pinned down. We now send fire orders back to the machine guns, mortars and twenty-five pounder cannon to cover their advance. Casey has gone back to patch the phone line, enemy mortar bombs constantly break our line when they land behind us. Lt. Rankin observes where our bombs and shells are exploding and I send corrections on the radio, we keep moving the barrage forward as the rifle company’s advance.

Before long it is impossible to see anything for smoke and flying debris, we fired at least one thousand bombs and shells on a small area. One would not believe that anyone could live through a bombardment like that, however, shortly after our barrage ended the enemy opened up with rifles, machine guns, two inch mortars and grenades. A burst of machine gun fire came through our observation hole in the roof.

The walking wounded were coming back, casualties were very heavy, just before dark our troops were ordered to withdraw, out of the eighty officers and men who made the attack only twenty remained uninjured. We set up a defensive position in the trenches in front of the house. Just before dark a fairly large group of enemy soldiers tried to surrender under a white flag, however we could not see if they had thrown down their rifles and we were too few to risk taking prisoners, so we opened fire on them.

Later in the evening the West Novies sent up a company of reinforcements and they took fifty prisoners. Lt. Rankin, Casey and I were ordered to return to our own platoon, on our way out we were pinned down three times, we jumped into old slit trenches while the shrapnel whistled over our heads. We met the Carlton and York Padre as we walked through San Leonardo, he told us they had suffered two hundred and eighty casualties out of three companies, three hundred men, in the battle of Ortona. We were happy to get back to our own company as we were in reserve.

Reconnaissance Patrol

Leut. Rankin called me and said, “Gus, take a patrol up to this ridge”, he showed me a spot on the map, “and determine if we can bring some mortars and machine guns up there.” I said, “Ok, I’ll take De Montarnell with the Bren gun carrier and Klassen on a Norton in case we can’t get through on the radio. We headed down the road with Cavers as our radio operator. A couple of miles down we reached the ridge without any trouble. De Montarnell pulled in below the ridge.

I told Cavers to get through to Company HQ and tell them we were just below the ridge. In the meantime I would crawl over the ridge. Imagine my surprise when I looked over the edge and saw a platoon of enemy infantry, about thirty men spread out in line about four hundred yards in front of us.

While I watched they got up and started advancing toward the ridge. I immediately crawled down and ran back to the carrier and called out to Cavers, tell Lt. Rankin to drop a mortar barrage three hundred yards north of the ridge. “OK”, he said, but I haven’t been able to get through to company yet”. I said keep trying and ran back up the ridge.

When I looked over this time I could see the faces of the enemy clearly and realized we would have to get out of there in a hurry. They must have seen me because they immediately opened fire with machine guns and numerous rifles. We knew they couldn’t reach us with rifle fire behind the ridge but when they started dropping mortar bombs behind the ridge we got worried. The rifle and machine gun bullets were striking the trees around us and branches and twigs were falling like leaves in a hailstorm.

As we approached the carrier, Carvers called to me, I got through to headquarters and we have orders to get out of here as fast as we can. A company of enemy infantry is approaching the road and will cut us off if we don’t get back in a hurry. De Montarnell swung the carrier around and I jumped on the back of the bike.

We got about a mile down the road when the enemy dropped a mortar barrage right in front of us, we all piled into the ditch and lay down. We were all fortunate to escape the shrapnel, however two of our buddies up ahead of us carrying one of our wounded on a stretcher were caught in the barrage and all three were killed. We reported back that the ridge would be a suitable place for mortars and machine guns but not just at this time.

Patrol With Ogimma

By Jan. 4/44 we had pushed our way within about five hundred yards of a railway tunnel. The railway ran along the Adriatic coast between Ortona and Pescara. We discovered several civilian families taking refuge in a large cave. We managed to evacuate these people through the night.

A few of us moved into their cave and as they had to leave their mattresses and quilts behind we were living in luxury. Around midnight Ogimma, our very nervous cook who was on sentry duty at the cave entrance, woke me up. “Gus”, he said, “a patrol just came out of the tunnel with a dog.”

We knew the enemy was using dogs as pointers. The last thing in the world I wanted to do was go out there and investigate but I knew we would have to send a patrol. I also knew that since I was the senior section commander I would have to lead it.

I woke up Jimmy Perrins and Granny Turner. I knew I could depend on them on patrol. We would walk five paces apart and if we were fired on I would jump to the right and Turner to the left so we wouldn’t be firing over each other. Ogimma insisted on coming so I unloaded his rifle and told him he would be the getaway man. I was afraid that, in his excitement, he might shoot us in the back. I took my Tommy gun and asked Sgt. Butler to cover us from the cave entrance with his rifle. Very stealthily the four of us proceeded down beside the railway track and reached the tunnel without incident, however, in the morning we did find tracks of a dog on the path.

We also found out later that the very cozy bedding that we slept in was infested with some tiny creatures that made us very itchy. A few days later we were all boiling our underwear.

Continued part 7 - Air Attack

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