Melfa River
Former CO's
Former RSM's
Honourary Appts
In the early phase of an epic battle in Italy during the 2nd World War (1939-45), Lieutenant Edward James Perkins and 19 men of the Reconnaissance Troop of 2nd Canadian Armoured Regiment, (Lord Strathcona's Horse), on 24 May 1944 seized and held a small bridgehead over the Melfa River. They repelled repeated tank and infantry attacks until reinforced by the Westminister Regiment's 'A' Company, commanded by Major J. Mahony, who arrived with about 40 officers and men. Perkins and Mahony were an inspiration to the defenders of the bridgehead as they beat off several determined enemy attacks mounted by Panthers and Panzer Grenadiers. The two officers extricated several wounded men under heavy fire. That night, Perkins controlled artillery fire so expertly that counter-attacks were broken up and enemy mortars silenced. The next day, the 1st Canadian Corps, led by the 5th Canadian Armoured Division, poured through the bridgehead and the enemy's withdrawal was turned into a rout. A few days later, Rome fell.
This account is based on a report submitted to the Historical Officer of the 5th Canadian Armoured Division by Lieutenant Perkins, together with excerpts from the Official History Volume II The Canadians in Italy; Lord Strathcona's Horse (1939-45); the Regimental History of the Westminister Regiment (Motorized); and other official sources.
In the fall of 1943 the 5th Canadian Armoured Division sailed to Italy to join the 1st Canadian Infantry Division which had been in action since June, with landings in Sicily, and was now a seasoned formation in the renowned British 8th Army. The two divisions became the 1st Canadian Corps. Headquarters 1st Canadian Corps in Italy became operational on 9 February 1944 with 1st and 5th Canadian Divisions under command, on the static winter front near Ortona, on the Adriatic coast. For the first time since 1917, a Canadian Corps was fighting as one formation, under a Canadian commander. The Strathconas with the rest of the 5th Canadian Armoured Division, were withdrawn from the front for rest and further training in early March. Lieutenant Perkins was given command of the Reconnaissance Troop, which was re-equipped with the American built Stuart light tank. Their turret and 37mm guns had been removed and their heaviest armament now was a .50 calibre Browning machine-gun.
By mid May, the Canadian Corps had moved secretly to the western sector of the front to take part in the Spring Offensive. The main approaches to Rome on this front led through the Liri River Valley, guarded by two heavily fortified defence lines. The first, the Gustav Line, was hinged on its left on the town of Cassino and the towering Benedictine Monastery on the mountain behind the town. The Germans had held the town and the Monastery area for more than eight months against repeated Allied attacks. The second line of defence was the Hitler Line, some 12,000 yards in rear, hinged on Monte Cairo. The Liri Valley Offensive was launched in May. British and American forces punched through the Gustav Line, while the Canadian Corps was in reserve. On 20 May it was the Canadians' turn. 1st Canadian Infantry Division was to breach the Hitler Line and then the 5th Canadian Armoured Division was to pass through the gap and seize a crossing over the Melfa River. On 23 May, the 1st Canadian Infantry Division, supported by British Army tank regiments and hundreds of artillery pieces of all calibres providing a moving barrage, carried out the assault. A 'break-in' in the centre of the line was finally achieved by late afternoon, at heavy cost in killed, wounded and missing. The gap was widened by Canadian tanks and infantry who penetrated behind the line to roll up the enemy defenses and seize objectives 1,000 yards in the rear. The Hitler Line was breached by nightfall.
The stage was now set for the armoured advance. The 5th Canadian Armoured Brigade's plan to establish the bridgehead was in two phases: 1) VOKES FORCE, based on the British Columbia Dragoons (BCD), named after their CO, was to establish a firm base 2,000 yards beyond the 1st Division's forward line; GRIFFEN FORCE, based on the Strathconas and the Westminister Regiment, a motorized infantry battalion, was to pass through and seize a crossing over the Melfa. H-Hour for Phase 1 was 0800 on 24 May and by 1200 hours VOKES FORCE was firmly established on their objective. Their advance was marked by the first Allied encounter with German Panther tanks, though in general, enemy resistance was strong. GRIFFEN FORCE passed through Phase 1 objective at about 1330 hours and deployed for battle. Leading the Regimental Group was Headquarters and the Reconnaissance Troop plus one section of four tanks, commanded by Lieutenant E.J. Perkins. 'A' Squadron tanks followed, then Regimental HQ, and behind it 'A' Company of the Westministers. 'B' Squadron was well to the right, off the axis of advance and 'C' Squadron well to the left. All ranks of the Lord Strathcona's Horse heard their CO, Lieutenant-Colonel P.G. Griffen, urge them again and again over the radio to "Push on". The Regimental Motto, 'Perseverance' was a further incentive. The attack over the dusty flat plain was made difficult bt the innumerable irrigation ditches, vineyards, lack of roads and the fine powder like dust churned up by the hundreds of vehicles of all types. The dust hung like a pall over the valley. The few meandering farm tracks were frequently below the level of the fields. Here and there were patches of woods, small stone farm houses and numerous outbuildings.
Perkins and his small command raced ahead. their first encounter with the enemy was when the young officer spotted a halftrack parked beside a farmhouse. In his own account of the battle, written after the action, Perkins related: "My troop opened fire and the crew tried to escape. Five enemy soldiers were hit, two got away. Next we encountered a Panther tank, the first that we had seen in Italy. It suddenly appeared on my right about 300 yards away. The crew commander was standing in the turret. I fired at him with the .50 heavy machinegun and saw him slump over the turret. With its commander hit the Panther kept going and made no attempt to retaliate. We kept going as fast as we could". When Perkins' tank broke down he moved to another tank. A sergeant was left with the broken down tank to make repairs.
As they approached the Melfa River, Perkins saw movement in a farmhouse and his three tanks engaged it. A white flag appeared at a window and eight German soldiers came out to surrender. When an infantry scout car arrived on the scene, Perkins turned the prisoners over to them and continued the advance, reaching the riverbank at about 1500 hours. Perkins' account continued: "I parked the three tanks under cover, dismounted, posted three men with Bren light machine guns to cover us and with Sergeant C.N. Macey, searched for a crossing. About 75 yards to the right was a narrow track leading down to the riverbed. It was steep, and difficult to negotiate, but passable. Sgt Macey and I crossed the river and as we came up the far bank we came under fire from one of 'A' Squadron's tanks that had reached the river. I contacted them by radio and the fire stopped". "I got into cover on the far side and remained there, trying to find a route for the tanks to climb the bank on the enemy side of the river. The enemy was still unaware of our presence. I sent Sgt Macey back to guide the tanks down the track on the opposite side, and cross the river one at a time. Macey and I decided that a track up the enemy side could be made with some explosives charges and some pick and shovel work".
The charges were blown and all ranks worked feverishly to build a retaining wall from the tree trunks, stones and dirt. Men with Bren guns took up positions at the top of the bank to watch for enemy activity. Two tanks were then moved up into 'hull-down' positions below the top of the bank, their heavy machine guns mounted on top of the hull just clearing the bank. Lieutenant Perkins account comtinued: "About 100 yards to our left was a farmhouse showing signs of enemy occupation. Sgt Macey and I, and three men carrying two .45 Thompson sub-machine guns and a Bren light machine gun, crept down river under cover of the bank and approached the house the house from the rear. When we rushed in I saw eight paratroopers staring through windows and loopholes in the direction of the river where the enemy expected us to make our main crossing. I shouted 'drop it'. They turned around, big well built men armed to the teeth. My trigger finger itched but I did not fire. First one, then all of them dropped their rifles. I sent one man back with the prisoners and also sent Sgt Macey to guide the Sherman tanks of our 'A' Squadron across. That left 13 of us to hold the bridgehead". A sniper in a tree about 150 yards away from the house opened fire. Lieutenant Perkins fired two shots from a Projector Infantry Anti-Tank (PIAT). After the second shot, the sniper's rifle fell to the ground and he slumped across the branch dead. Perkins sized up the situation: "It was 30 minutes since we'd reached the river. We had seized the bridgehead and now expected to be reinforced by the Westminster Regiment's 'A' Company. But the route that our tanks had taken proved impractical for the infantry's halftrack White scout cars. They had to feel their way over difficult ground in the face of artillery and small-arms fire. It was apparent that we would have to hold on until they arrived. "Two Panther tanks and a self-propelled 88 millimeter gun now appeared on my left, the closest about 400 yards away. They began firing at the house that we had captured earlier and were now occupying. The enemy tanks then turned their attention to our 'A' Squadron on the far bank, who soon were suffering heavily from the fire from the Panthers' long barrelled 75mm guns and the 88mm SP gun".
Perkins turned over command to Corporal F.G. McLean, recrossed the river and relayed the Panthers positions to two of 'A' Squadron's tanks who tried to knock out the enemy tanks but were unsuccessful. He returned to the bridgehead. Sergeant Macey crossed the river with the fourth tank that had been repaired and was now in action again. He reported to Lieutenant Perkins that it appeared that 'A' Squadron would be unable to cross the river to assist them. Perkins then placed the fourth tank below the river as a rallying point and to cover the bridgehead garrison if they were forced to withdraw. "The whole situation was becoming very difficult," Lieutenant Perkins noted in his report. "Heavy machine gun fire was now being directed at us from a farmhouse 150 yards away to our left, where a group of about 20 German infantry were forming up to attack. We kept up a heavy small arms fire to confuse the enemy as to our real strength and we caused a few casualties. I decided not to use our PIAT weapons for anything but a tank attack. I now realized that onlt with the Westminster's infantrymen could we expand the bridgehead, move 'A' Squadron's tanks across the river and continue the advance. They were heavily engaged and not able to give much support".
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