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Clearing enemy salient east of River Senio
The last period of the operations under review saw a final intensification of the fighting before the completely static phase on the “WINTER LINE” was reached. The enemy still had by the end of December two large areas forward of the SENIO, one in the NORTH where the line ran from the LAMONE bend by CONVENTELLO 4847 SOUTH-WEST to the ALFONSINE railway, the other SOUTH of COTIGNOLA, were the enemy held positions forward of the NAVIGLIO canal as far as S ANDREA 3329. The obstinacy with which the enemy carried out the High Command’s injunction to fight for every yard of ground gave us the opportunity to inflict very heavy casualties on these comparatively isolated and tactically indefensible positions.
Coupled with the successful operations which drove the enemy back to the line of the VETRO and the RENO in the NORTH, this formation had little to do. 12 R TKS was ordered to place the two CROCODILE troops of “C” Squadron in readiness to support to 11 CANADIAN INFANTRY BRIGADE of 5 CANADIAN ARMOURED DIVISION (30 Dec) and “C” Squadron less two troops accordingly concentrated in the area of MEZZANO. The attack began at 0500 hours 3 Jan, with a troop of CROCODILES in support each of the 1RC and the PERTHS. These tanks remained pressured-up from 0700 to 1600 hours, but were never used. When after the capture of CONVENTELLO the armoured brigade of 5 CANADIAN ARMOURED DIVISION was unleashed and thrust NORTHWARDS to S ALBERTO and the RENO (reached 6 Jan), “C” Squadron’s CROCODILES followed in their wake without being employed. Various tasks were requested of them which were quite beyond the powers of even the flamethrower tank (they were, for example, told to be prepared to engage a Mark VI TIGER, and “to thaw the RIVER RENO”).
In the operations to clear the COTIGNOLA - GRANAROLO pocket, 12 R TKS played a more prominent part. On 3 Jan “B” Squadron’s SHERMANS and 6 - 95 mm tanks were surveyed in by RCA in preparation for support of the 2 INFANTRY BRIGADE attack that evening: all targets were registered. The plan for the attack was briefly as follows (5 CORPS attacked simultaneously from SOUTH):
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