Operation Herring - History

History

In March 1945, the whole 114-strong Italian paratroops “F” Recce Squadron (12 squads under Captain Carlo Gay), and 112 volunteers – four platoons, each made up by three squads, led by Lieutenant Guerrino Ceiner - from the Italian Nembo Paratroops Regiment, were picked for Operation Herring. They received a rapid but thorough training update under the supervision of the British paratroops Major Ramsay, who was reportedly pleased by the paratroopers’ excellent performance.

The mission would entail eight battle drops on as many areas south of Po River, southeast of Ferrara, the Mirandola area, and Poggio Rusco and the Modena-Mantua highway. It would last 36 hours. Every paratrooper would be equipped with an Italian Beretta MAB submachinegun with 400 rounds, high explosive charges, four hand grenades, dagger, maps, and foodstuff for 48 hours.

In the night between April 19 and 20, 1945, the Italian paras (plus at least one British paratrooper who had joined them) jumped from fourteen C-47 aircraft of the U.S. 64th Troop Carrier Group and on their drop zones. Scattering was considerable, but it did not significantly hinder the paratroops’ effectiveness. A few were captured upon their landing, but their comrades proved very aggressive – perhaps even too much as several German prisoners were murdered in cold blood by their captors, a cruelty the Germans reciprocated in kind by killing some Italian prisoners as well as a few civilians. 16 paras surrounded by German forces and barricaded inside a farmhouse died - all but two - fighting to the last round. Other groups were more successful, inflicting heavy damage and suffering light casualties. Two F Squadron squads (18 men) seized two little towns, Ravarino and Stuffione, capturing 451 Germans and holding out until the arrival of Allied ground forces. Even though the pressure was coming down hard on the Germans in Italy, the Germans did not give up easily, but they were no match for the Italians.