In the early hours of 3 October 1943, Nos. 3 and 40 (RM) Commandos and elements of the Special Raiding Squadron (SAS) landed behind the German lines under cover of darkness at Termoli, a seaport town on the Adriatic coast of Italy.

Operation Devon was the codeword given to an amphibious landing by British Commandos at Termoli on the Adriatic coast of Italy during the Italian Campaign of #ww2.

40 Commando penetrated well into the town before the Germans were alerted, and brisk close-quarter fighting with German paratroopers from 1 Fallschirmjäger Division ensued. By 08:00 hours, the commandos had captured the town and controlled the approaches.

So complete was the surprise that the kampfgruppe commander - Major Rau - was captured in his pyjamas and German vehicles and motorcyclists still drove into a commando ambush position until noon.

German infantry counter-attacked in strength, later supported by tanks and panzergrenadiers from 16 Panzer Division, but the commandos, together with reinforcements from two brigades of the British 78th Infantry Division, held off repeated infantry and armoured counter-attacks until 6 October. By noon on the 6th, they had linked up with the British Eighth Army, and the enemy was in full retreat.

Members of 2 SAS are pictured here on parade on 11 October 1943 for an inspection by General Montgomery, following their successful participation in the capture, behind enemy lines, of the port of Termoli.

On the left is Major E. Scratchley DSO, MC, commanding the SAS detachment.

On the right is Captain Roy Farran holding a German Schmeisser sub-machine gun.

Don't forget to leave your thoughts in the comment section below.

Comments

A great story about a little bit of 'humanity' during a terrible war.

A great story about a little bit of 'humanity' during a terrible war. In April 1945, 2nd Lt. Peter During was a South African fighter pilot (N.7 Squadron) running missions over Italy when his Spitfire was shot down by German AA fire. He managed to crash land his plane behind enemy lines where he was immediately captured. Whilst been escorted to a German Lufwaffe Prisoner of War (POW) camp (he was a pilot and thus his interrogation and imprisonment was the responsibility of the German airforce), he opened a conversation with his captors. He was quickly able to establish that they could already see the writing on the wall, that the war was at an end and Germany would lose it. ...

He said the family were "acutely aware" there were "extremists of all sides who are keen to hijack this incident for their own ends".

The family of a man who was kicked in the head by police at Manchester Airport has appealed for "calm in all the communities", an MP has said. Paul Waugh, Rochdale MP, said the "traumatised" family wanted to make it clear they had "no political agenda whatsoever" and did not condone political violence. Anger over the video led to protests outside Rochdale police station on Wednesday and Thursday nights, with another protest also held in Manchester city centre on Thursday. Mr Waugh said the family would not be attending any protests or giving any media interviews as they wanted their privacy protected. "The strong message they wanted to give is that they have no political agenda whatsoever," he told BBC Breakfast. "They wanted me to issue an appeal for calm among all sorts of different communities in Rochdale. "We've had a history of unfortunate division in our town and we do not want to go back to those days." He said the famil...

Can a woman ra*pe a man?

Can a woman ra*pe a man? WHENEVER rape is mentioned, the picture that comes to mind is that of a man having sexual intercourse with a woman without her consent. That is why laws and policies often seek to protect women against men. For example, S. 258 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State 2011 states that any man who has unlawful sexual intercourse with a woman or girl without her consent is guilty of an offence called rape and is liable to imprisonment for life. This section makes it clear that it is only men and not women that can commit “the offence called rape”. On other hand, Section 259 of the same law defines sexual assault by penetration using the words “any person” who penetrates sexually any opening in the body of another person with apart of his body or anything else without consent is guilty of a felony and liable to life imprisonment. This is what the law says. Practically, can a woman physically overpower a man and sexually assault him by penetrating an opening in his bo...

WORLD OF ALL

Search This Blog