9th-12th-Lancers - Year 2002 - Page 0080
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| Regiment | 9th/12th Lancers |
|---|---|
| Year | 2002 |
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78 REGIMENTAL JOURNAL OF THE 9TH/12TH ROYAL LANCERS (PRINCE OF WALES’S) A Naval Engagement he 29th April 1945 was indeed a day to remember. The Germans were in full retreat on all European fronts and in Italy they had been routed by the combined efforts of the 5th and 8th Armies. The 12th Lancers, commanded by Lt Col KE Savill DSO were attached to the 2nd New Zealand Division commanded by the late General Lord Freyberg VC as the Division’s forward reconnaissance regiment. Once the New Zealanders had broken through the very substantial Germany defences based on the river lines north west of Forli the 12th Lancers passed through the New Zealanders to take up their reconnaissance role. By the 29th April the speed of our advance was spectacular. The New Zealanders had captured Padua during the previous night. The Regimental centre line was the autostrada which ran from Padua to Mestre and B Squadron had the regimental centre line. As Troop Leader ' of 2 Troop my orders were to get on to the autostrada in any way we could and then head for Mestre and beyond with all possi- ble speed. We eventually succeeded in get- ting on to the autostrada by filling in a large rowed’ from a nearby farmyard. The Daimler armoured cars and scout cars survived this rather rough treatment without damage and by 1.30 pm we had reached the elevated road junction at Mestre where the Venice causeway and the autostrada met and we were ordered to take up a defensive position around the junction. Our Squadron Leader was the late Major Neil Speke MC, and I requested permission from him to enter Venice, but this was denied. About ten min- utes later Neil came up behind us at high speed in his White Command Vehicle and set off flat out along the causeway to Venice pursued by the armoured cars of 3 Troop which had great difficulty keeping up. Although I will admit to being disap- pointed at not being allowed to enter Venice, bearing in mind that Neil had fought from one end of North Africa to the other and most of the way up through Italy, it would have been churl- ish to have begrudged him the satisfaction of entering the city. Soon afterwards our defensive position was taken over by 4 Troop under the command of the late David Wale MC and we ordered to press on towards the River Piave. We were delayed several times by the problem of prisoners (see photograph) but for the most part we were able to by-pass them leaving for oth- ers the task ofrounding them up. We crossed the River Sile and were ordered to combine with 4 Troop and search for and destroy a German Naval vessel which was reported to be causing mayhem on the extensive inland waterway system between the River Sile and the River Piave. Eventually, having searched fruitlessly for more than an hour, the vehicles of both Troops were drawn up one behind the other on a straight piece of road which ran alongside one of the waterways. David Wale and I were discussing what to do neXt when suddenly we heard the unmistakeable sound of a heavy marine diesel engine. We dashed back to our vehicles and a few moments later we saw the masthead of quite a large vessel moving from left to right behind a line of tall trees in the middle distance. The vessel was clearly heading for a bend in the waterway and, having rounded the bend, was going to be heading straight for Lt Wood {27p Ldr), wrth hands on h/ps, accept/ng the surrender of some 360 Germans who were ho/ed up rn a , , , , K nearby farm (Stewart, p468) They were terr/fled of berng taken by T/to’s forces, who were not far away The roadside dHCh With a mass 0f junk bOT' head and shou/ders strcK/ng out ofthe Darm/er turret be/ong to Tpr Hardy us. Between us we had four two-pounder guns andby now these were all pointing at the place where we judged the vessel would appear. When it did appear the first thing we saw was a sub- stantial naval gun which was mounted on the bows. We did not wait to argue the toss and fired a salvo with all our two- pounders. Immediately the vessel lost control and headed at full speed towards the near bank where it capsized on to its star- board side. It lay there with its foghorn making a noise remi- niscent ofa cow having a very difficult labour. The crew scram- bled ashore and walked towards us in a group with the obvious intention of surrendering. They were led by an arrogant look- ing Petty Officer who had a pair ofbinoculars suspended round his neck. These turned out to be a very fine pair of naval 7 X 50’s and the Petty Officer was quickly persuaded that he would not be needing them where he was going. I am happy to report that they have given yeoman service ever since. I have tried to find supporting evidence for this encounter and my searches have been greatly aided by Angela Tarnowski at the Regimental Museum. However, although she has come up with a number of interesting extracts from the contemporary Regimental War Diaries and other sources, there has been no mention of this particular incident. It is referred to briefly in the History of the XIIth Royal Lancers by the late Captain Stewart MC, near the top of page 458, and I recall reading a report in the Daily Telegraph which my mother had sent me which described it as the only occasion during the war in Italy when the British Army engaged and sank a German naval ves- sel. Whether this is true or not I do not know. If there are any inaccuracies in this account I must blame an imperfect memo- ry which has been doing its best to look back more than fifty seven years. Ifany old members of either 2 or 4 Troops should happen to read this and would care to contact me through Home Headquarters I would be delighted to hear from them. 073 Wood |
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