Page 74 - QDG Volume 9 No. 5

72 1st The Queen’s Dragoon Guards
Exploring the Commonwealth War
Graves Commission site on the Coriano
Ridge, where 22 Queen’s Bays are buried
QDG Officers and Soldiers
pay their respects at the
memorial to the Queen’s Bays
Ex OLIVE EAGLE
As the gloom and cold of November
arrived in Norfolk, 21 intrepid soldiers and
officers left Robertson Barracks to travel
to the Apennine Region on the Eastern
Coast of Italy, to conduct a Battlefield
Study on Operation OLIVE, where the
weather was decidedly more civilised.
For 4 days, Colonel (Retd) John Wilson
RA guided us through the stage of Op
OLIVE, which saw the British 8th Army
working in tandem with the US 5th Army
in September 1944 to fight their way
up through the ‘soft underbelly’ of Italy.
While not the most studied campaign
of WW2, not only did it provide useful
lessons to the soldiers and officers, but
also reminded us of the Queen’s Bays
actions in this campaign.
At the tactical level, we studied actions
that involved cunning use of terrain and
significant moments of personal leader-
ship, which was of much interest to all,
especially the JNCOs. At the operational
level, we examined the simplicity of BG
orders and how the scale of the war
necessitated such simplicity and trust, as
well as difficulties that commanders faced
which resonate to the current day such
as battlespace deconfliction with neigh-
bouring formations, and detailed handover
of friendly forces and enemy forces during
a forward passage of lines. At the stra-
tegic level we studied how General Leese
fought this operation, and what could be
learned from the mistakes he made, such
as choosing Corps and Divisions suitable
for the ground, and which battles he
should have fought when.
The group also visited the Museum
of the Gothic Line, which brought to life
what life would have looked and felt like
during the war. Happily, all soldiers and
officers managed to experience a bit of
Italian culture, although whether Cpls
Brewster and King will want to remember
the finer points of their cultural adven-
tures remains to be seen…
Whilst hopefully fun for all, the Battle-
field study also served as a poignant
reminder during the Remembrance
Period to understand the personal sacri-
fice of our forebears and bring home
some of the harsh realities of war.
TWW
Students examine
the Coriano Ridge
from San Clemente
Students appreciate the
ground at Point 153, where
the Queen’s Bays lost 2 Sqns