FROM TARANTO TO TRIESTE Following the 2nd NZ Division’s Italian Campaign, 1943-45 Jennifer Mallinson FROM TARANTO TO TRIESTE Published by Fraser Books, 53 Essex Street, Masterton First published October 2019 ©Jennifer Mallinson, 2019 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a ret- rieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying or otherwise without the prior permission of the copyright owners. ISBN: 978-0-9941360-6-0 Editor: Diane Grant Design: Anne Taylor, BoulderBay Design Distribution: Nationwide Book Distributors, 351 Kiri Kiri Road, P O Box 65, Oxford, North Canterbury Printed by Printcraft, Masterton Photographs – Historic photographs (all credited in captions) are from the National Library in Wellington, the World War Two official histories and the Wairarapa Archive; today’s colour photographs are from the author’s personal collection. Cover photographs – Front: Taranto today, J. Mallinson. Inset: Street photographer in Taranto in 1943, with Kiwis on leave. George Kaye. (DA 04530F) Back: Top: New Zealand soldiers walking beneath the tower at Lucera Castle near Foggia in 1943. (DA-04560-F); Lucera Castle today, J. Mallinson. Middle: Po River near Felonica today, J. Mallinson; New Zealand artillery crossing the Po on folding boat bridge. (WH2-2ItaP040a) Bottom: 26 Battalion’s antitank section about to leave Trieste from an assembly point overlooking the waterfront, July 1945 (Jock Robinson Collection, Wairarapa Archive); Trieste panorama today from the elevated Castello San Guisto, J. Mallinson. CONTENTS LIST OF MAPS v PREFACE vii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS x INTRODUCTION xi PART ONE – FROM TARANTO TO THE SANGRO 1 (October 1943 - January 1944) 1. Taranto – gateway to a new land 3 2. Bari – the supply port 14 3. The journey to the Sangro 18 4. Exploring the Sangro battlefield 31 5. From Ortona to the Maiella 42 PART TWO – FROM THE SANGRO TO CASSINO 49 (January - June 1944) 6. Why Anzio? 50 7. The journey to Cassino 55 8. The Cassino battlefield revisited 64 9. The mountains to the north 79 PART THREE – FROM CASSINO TO FLORENCE 91 (July - August 1944) 10. The journey to Lake Trasimene 93 11. In and around Arezzo 109 12. Chianti and the Arno battlefields 114 13. A glimpse of Florence 129 14. The Gothic Line and the central Apennines 133 PART FOUR – FROM FLORENCE TO FAENZA 141 (September 1944 - March 1945) 15. Back to the Adriatic 143 16. Creeping up to Rimini 156 17. Revisiting the battle zones of Emilia-Romagna 165 18. The haven in the Marches 185 PART FIVE – FROM FAENZA TO TRIESTE 195 (April - June 1945) 19. Across the rivers of Emilia-Romagna 197 20. North to the Po 209 21. The journey from the Po to Trieste 216 22. Trieste – the end of the road 232 POSTSCRIPT: ADDIO ITALIA – FAREWELL ITALY 251 REFERENCES 259 New Zealand war graves in Italy 261 Italian Prisoner of War camps 265 End notes 274 The structure of the 2nd NZ Division 277 Bibliography 278 Index 280 iv LIST OF MAPS The journey of the 2nd New Zealand Division vi The Allied invasion of Italy xii From Taranto to the Sangro 1 The town of Taranto in 1943 4 The Taranto area with the Division's locations 8 The centre of Bari 14 Exploring the Sangro 32 The Gustav Line and suppporting defence lines in southern Italy 43 From the Sangro to Cassino 49 The region of Cassino 64 Significant locations in Cassino 70 The mountainous area north of Cassino and the upper Liri valley 79 From Cassino to Florence 91 The probable route of the Division across central Rome 97 The area around Arezzo 109 The battlefields of Chianti before Florence 120 The Gothic Line and other main defence lines in northern Italy 133 The western Apennines 135 From Florence to Faenza 141 The Rivers of Emilia Romagna 168 The battlefields up to the Senio 170 The Division's rest area in the Esino valley in the Marches 186 From Faenza to Trieste 195 The trail across the rivers between Faenza and Bologna 201 Main locations in Trieste 233 The Division's area of operation around Trieste 247 The post-war administrative division of Trieste and its territory 249 The return route of the Division down the Italian peninsula 253 References Location of NZ War Graves in Italy 260 The distribution of Italian POW camps 267 v The New Zealand 2nd Division in Italy 1943 – 1945 PREFACE In September 1939 New Zealand and other nations of the British Empire joined Britain and France in opposing the expansionist Nazi regime of Germany. In 1940, when France collapsed and the Fascist regime in Italy joined the aggressors, the situation for the western Allies became more difficult. The following year, Japan would also throw in its weight on the side of the Nazi-Fascists. The years 1939-1942 were hard for the Allies. The Axis powers (Germany, Italy and Japan) were dominant in Europe, North Africa, Western Pacific and South- East Asia, while Allied navies barely maintained the sea-lanes which allowed USA and the British Empire to supply and fight the war. In total, during World War Two the New Zealand Expeditionary Force (2NZEF) sent over 100,000 troops to serve with the British 8th Army as the 2nd NZ Division; another 40,000 served overseas with the Royal New Zealand Air Force and Navy. Many others served in New Zealand. From 1940 New Zealand’s main army unit fought in the Mediterranean/North African theatre where the Axis forces were finally defeated at El Alamein in late 1942. By then, USA and Russia were also fighting the Axis. The next step was continental Europe; Italy, by then virtually a defeated military power, was the obvious starting point. By October 1943, Sicily was liberated, and the Allies had begun the invasion of mainland Italy, the Americans striking up the west coast towards Naples and the British towards the Adriatic. That month, between 14-15,000 men of the 2nd New Zealand Division, veterans and fresh reinforcements, arrived in Italy from Alexandria, in Egypt, at the ancient southern Italian port of Taranto. The rest of the Division, with the armour and transports, joined them via Bari, on the Adriatic coast. After months in the desert and for the most part far from any kind of civilisation, the Division was coming back to Europe. Those who had served in the Greek Campaign must have felt a grim sense of satisfaction. For the new arrivals, it was their first taste of the old continent. Certainly, all were filled with curiosity about the new land, especially as Italy, since the Armistice of 8 September, was no longer formally an enemy. This, plus the knowledge of the Allied progress in Italy, gave them a false optimism. Morale was high. As the ships came closer to shore, rows of shabby white houses came into view on the hills around the once proud harbour and naval base, now semi-derelict and full of Italian destroyers. The first arrivals had weeks in the area waiting for transport to arrive from Bari, but by the time the second contingent arrived vii FROM TARANTO TO TRIESTE there was no longer cause to tarry. Few of the troops would have been aware of the town’s glorious past, obscured by the present-day scenario of shipwrecks in the harbour, shuttered shops, and a sorry populace reduced to poverty and hunger by three years of a disastrous war and then abandoned to their own devices. First impressions of Italy cannot have been very positive. Taranto, however, was just the starting point of the Italian ‘adventure’. The soldiers were anxious to get on and get the job done, and they had to catch up with the rest of the Allies already in Italy. In front of the New Zealanders all the way was the skilled and unyielding enemy, putting up at times a fanatical defence, who would exact (and pay) a heavy toll for every line ceded. For 'Jerry' or 'the Bosche' or 'Ted' (from the Italian word for Germans, ‘tedeschi’) was not fleeing in disarray but withdrawing in good order ahead of the Allies, to well reconnoitred ground and prepared defence positions. It was to be an unexpectedly arduous campaign for the 2nd New Zealand Div- ision on a circuitous route from this southern Mediterranean port to the beautiful city of Trieste in the far north-east corner of Italy as part of Eighth Army. It would be a journey of 20 months and thousands of kilometres, that would take them over high mountain passes, through scores of unheard-of hilltop villages and famous ancient towns, and across endless swamps, rivers and streams. It would also take them through all the seasonal changes, including the blistering summer of 1944 and the appalling winters of 1943-44 and 1944-45. On this long journey through a country rich in history and culture, the troops came into close contact with the population of Italy for a length of time and in a way that distinguished the Italian Campaign from others involving New Zealaners during World War Two. Most recognised affinities in the rugged landscape and the agricultural environment. Those from rural New Zealand observed Italian farming with interest. Many learnt the language. Others fell in love with the art, the architecture, the music. The Kiwis discovered opera and many learnt the arias and other popular Italian songs of the time. Some took home Italian brides. The New Zealanders saw a country devastated by war, and a civilian population subjected to every kind of deprivation and misery, but they also saw unscathed areas which the front had passed by.