MisterVA Back to School

The Assault Begins

The beach we are to land on is beach #259, a beach on the Baie de Cavalaire on the south side of the St. Tropez peninsula. According to intelligence, the beach is lined with barbed wire and concrete tetrahedrons and is mined. It's defenses include 16 pillboxes, at least 13 machine guns, 1 field and 3 coastal defense guns, 2 casements and 8 anti-aircraft guns. The shallow water area is also mined with spider mines, mines with long wire tentacles which get wound around a ship's propeller causing the mine to detonate.

 

We are to approach the beach in columns of 6

 

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shift to a V formation when we approach the control ships X and Y

 

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               *    *

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and hit the beach simultaneously 

 

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August 13   At anchor off Salerno awaiting the order to get underway.

 

August 14  Sailed through the Strait of Bonafacio to Ajaccio, Corsica.

More Facts & Figures as the Landing is Imminent

The flotilla is now being amassed and organized for landing.

Our flotilla is scheduled to land on Red Beach in Alpha Sector. The assault plan for that sector is as follows:

(H -hour is the time the first wave hits the beach, the numbers following are minutes before or after H -hour).

 

 Apex (LCVP's loaded with explosives)  H - 50

 Apex (LCVP's     "         "            "         )  H - 40

 Apex (LCVP's      "         "            "        )  H - 30

 LCT (R)         H  -10

 LCT (R)         H -   5

 Minesweeping going on all this time

 LCS (R)         H -   4

 LCM (R)         H -   2

 

Waves

 

1.   LCMs from AP's and APA's     H -hour

2.  From APA  (LCVP's)      H + 15

3. From APA        H + 30

4. From APA        H + 40

5.  LCM, LCVP        H + 50

6. LCI's         H + 60

7. LCT's and LCI's       H + 80

8. (A) LCT's         H + 105

 (B)  DUKWS)        H + 110

9. LCT's         H + 120

The various units assigned to our beach are:

 

Beach Party Unit

 4th Beach Battalion

 They are to put up beach marking flags

 

Scout Unit

 1 pontoon boat

 1 kayak

 2 LCSs (x and y)

 

Navigation and Control Unit

 Reference Vessels  -  PC 559, SCs 1044 and 690

 Control Vessels - LCCs 97, 41, 68

    These ships are to act as control vessels for

  traffic to and from beach

 

Shallow Water Mine-sweeping Unit

 2 SCs

 LCC 71

 8 LCVPs

 

 

 

Demolition Unit

 LCC 98

 5 LCVPs (Apex Unit)

 4 LCMs (Woofus Unit)

 2 LCSs  (Support wave for LSTs)

 

Assault Unit

 15 LCVPs (from 10 LSTs)

 

Support Unit

 LCT 1017

 LSTs 77, 601

 LCI(L)s 948, 945, 946, 949, 950, 672, 943, 587, 589, 673,

       588, 40, 236, 581, 584, 585, 37, 234, 42 and 43

 

Escort Sweeper Unit

 6 YMSs

 4 AMs

 2 SCs

 

Headquarters Unit

 LCI(L) 19

 LCI(L) 195

 

The foregoing are just the ships participating in the

 assault on our beach.

I have highlighted Dad's ship in this list.  Can you imagine needing to absorb all of this information in the space of 3 days as you prepare to land troops in the face of a fearless enemy?  I look forward to the next few installments.

The Book of Orders was 2 Inches Thick

Following, are more of the secret orders, which were unveiled on August 12, 1944.

VIII. Gunfire support.

 

IX. Reorganization and anchorage plan.

 

X.  Defense

 1. Smoke Doctrine

 2. Surface SCreen diagram

 3. Anti-aircraft doctrine

 4. Anti-Uboat doctrine

 5. Air plan

 6 Barrage balloons

 

XI. Salvage

 

XII. Medical

 

XIII. Prisoners of war

 

XIV. Instructions to merchant ships

 

XV. Communications Plan

 1. General

 2. Communications en route to assault area

 3. The Assault

  4. Post Assault Communications

   a - Call signs

  (1) explanation of use

  (2) special voice call sign list

   b - authentication

   c - frequencies

   d - publications

   e - radar and IFF (identification, friend or foe)

   f - visual recognition

   g - reports

   h - system of command

 

XVI. Storm Plan

 

XVII. Return Convoy Plans

The Orders are Unsealed

In this update, you will find what was contained in the orders.  Dad's shipmate kept watch with him.  Dad was Quartermaster as well as a signalman aboard the LCI 587.  It is August 12, 1944, and the invasion of Southern France is on the horizon.  It is some 10 weeks since D-Day at Normandy.

August 12 - The data and instructions given us include the following:

 

I. Intelligence Plan:

 1. Security Measures

 2. Code words

 3. Weather data

 4. Ocean currents - shore currents

 5. Tide tables

 6. Beach data

 7. Defense installations

 8. Astronomical tables

 9. Ports

       10. Enemy radar

 11. Landmarks

 12. Known enemy mine fields

 13. Captured equipment and documents

 14. Glossary of French terms

 15. Shore based Intelligence organization

 

II. Logistics Plan

 1. City and port of Ajaccio, Corsica

 2. Location of "dump" fuel storage

 3. Location and characteristics of pontoon dry-docks

 4. Repair facilities ashore

 5. Repair facilities afloat

 6. Schedule of tankers, colliers and water barges

 7.Ships and crafts fitted for special duties

 

III. Sortie, Convoy and Routing Plan

 1. Anchorages (Naples, Salerno, Pozzuoli)

 2. Convoy routes

 3. Overlay convoy routes

 

IV. Minesweeping plan

 

V.  Approach Plan

 1. Approach disposition

 2. Time, speed and distance tables

 3. Beach identification procedure

 4. Approach routes and points

 

VI. Unloading Plan

 

VII. Landing Plan

 1. Chartlet Alpha #1 and Alpha #2 showing transport area

 2. Disposition of ships in transport area

 3. Pre-assault demolition and close fire support plan

` 4. Assault boat rendezvous and approach diagram

 5. Landing wave diagrams

 6. Landing schedule diagrams and tables

 7. Numbering of assault boats

 8. Employment of smoke during landing

 9. Standard beach marking

 10. Demolition of obstacles

LCI 587 Prepares for the Invasion

When I last posted in the fall, I received word that Dad's shipmate had taken a fall and needed to rehab for a couple of months. Here is the next installment that was received just today....

 

To  continue the story.

 

July 13 - 17th in Pozzuoli.

 

July 18 -26. Running hither and yon.  First, to Salerno for maneuvers, then back to Pozzuoli with some troops, back to Salerno, then to Nisida, a promantory between Pozzuoli and Naples Bays - for supplies and clothes.

 

July 27 - August 1. Pozzuoli. AT 0400 on August 1st an LCT loaded with  food came to Pozzuoli. I was  awakened and took some men and dashed for the LCT.  There were about 60 officers from various ships, each with 5 to 10  men so things were quite lively. Just as we got our allotment of food an air-raid warning sounded and searchlights located a handful of German bombers overhead. It seemed that everybody and his brother lit smoke pots which produce a thick, stifling acrid smoke. You couldn't do anything but cover your face, lie on the cobblestones and hope for the best. The Germans dropped a few bombs that fell harmlessly in the water or on the hills, then they fled north. After the smoke cleared we rounded up our stores and took then back to the ship.

 

August 2 -5.  Still in  Pozzuoli, there are rumors going around that we'll invade Yugoslavia or Southern France in the near future.

 

August 6 - This morning we sailed to Nisida with the other ships in Flotilla 4 (36 in all) and in turn beached and took aboard troops of the 8th Army. We took aboard 196 officers and men of the 3rd Division together with their duffle, rifles, burp-guns, bazookas, mortars, etc. After loading, we drifted around Pozzuoli Bay  waiting for the remaining ships to take on troops and then proceeded via the mine-swept channels through Naples Bay,

passed Isle of Capri, to Salerno where we dropped anchor.

 

August 7 - 11.  Anchored off Salerno awaiting orders. Periodically we tie up to the jetty to take on more drinking water.  We give the soldiers one hot meal a day and for the other two meals they eat C rations or K rations.  We have a score of cases of these rations on board.  The rations consist of canned or boxed crackers,cheese, chocolate, hard candy and the like.  Ship's work has reached a standstill as there are so many soldiers on board. They sleep, sunbathe, and gamble (shoot craps) throughout the day.

 

August 12th - Today we took on more water and at last got our sealed orders.  We are to invade Southern France in an operation code-named Bigot-Anvil.  The data and instructions given us measure about 2" thick.

to be continued....