My question is, was there a particular savage aspect to the fighting at Salerno to warrant this kind of behavior and the order to do it?

I wonder how green the US 45th Division was at Salerno.

I think that’s pertinent.

Regards, Phil

Another horrible story; this is hard to read, so forgive me if I overstep the mark by citing it :

May 28 1944

The French colonial troops are on the rampage again. Whenever they take a town or a village, a wholesale rape of the population takes place. Recently all females in the villages of Patricia, Pofi, Isoletta, Supino , and Morolo were violated. In Lenora, which fell to the Allies on May 21, fifty women were raped, but - as these were not enough to go round - children and even old men were violated. It is reported to be normal for two Moroccans to assault a woman simultaneously, one having normal intercourse while the other commits sodomy. In many cases severe damage to the genitals, rectum and uterus has been caused. In Castro di Volscian doctors treated three hundred cases of rape, and at Ceccano the British have been forced to build a guarded camp to protect the Italian women. Many Moors have deserted, and are attacking villages far behind the lines, and now they are reported to have appeared in the vicinity of Afagola to add a new dimension of terror to that already produced by the presence of so many marauders.

Today I went to Santa Maria a Vico to see a girl said to have been driven insane as the result of an attack by a large party of Moors. I found her living alone with her mother ( who had also been raped a number of times) , and in total poverty. Her condition had improved, and she behaved rationally and with a good deal of charm, although she was unable to walk as the result of physical injuries. The Carabinieri and the PS said that she had been certified as insane, and would have been committed to an asylum had a bed been available. She would be unlikely in the circumstances ever to find a husband.

At last one had faced the flesh-and-blood reality of the kind of horror that drove the whole female population of Macedonian villages to throw themselves from cliffs rather than fall into the hands of the advancing Turks. A fate worse than death : it was in fact just that.

Back at the Municipio I was confronted by a group of sindacos from neighbouring towns , and an ultimatum was presented : ‘ Either clear the Moroccans out, or we will deal with them in our own way.’ All these men looked like the toughest of movie gangsters, and I was convinced they would carry out their threat.

What is it that turns an ordinary decent Moroccan peasant boy into the most terrible of sexual psychopaths as soon as he becomes a soldier ? From further enquiries among the communities that have suffered from them I learned that the attackers of the Santa Maria a Vico family were roaming the countryside in several jeeps, led by a sergeant-chef who fancied himself as a dancer, and dressed up as a female when not in action.

And now for the sequel :

June 4, 1944

The inevitable has happened with the murder of five Moors in a village near Cancello. They were enticed into a house with the offer of women, and then given food or wine containing paralysing poison. While fully conscious they were castrated, and then beheaded. The decapitation was entrusted to pubescent boys to prove their worth, but the boys lacked both the skill and the strength to carry the task out in a speedy and effective manner. The bodies were buried under cabbages, , which were first dug up and then replanted over them in several village gardens, and there has been a sinister merriment in the Zona di Camorra about the prospects of fine vegetable crops in the coming year. These facts were passed to me by my reliable contact in Afragola.

The Psychological Warfare Bureau has been very energetic in its investigations into the crimes committed by the Moors. I wonder if any news of this episode will find its way into the bulletin.

Words fail, don’t they ?

Regards, Phil

I am sure that while the troops from the "White Dominions" at least were well respected for their fighting ability during the Boer War, WWI and WWII, we must acknowledge that there was a degree of tension at the higher levels of the military between British and Dominion officers. Often British officers were perplexed that the leadership of a Dominion force would question orders or indeed, refuse to comply without modifications to plans.

Canadian General Arthur Currie was often at odds with the highest levels of British command as he refused to allow his Corps to be broken up. He was accused of undermining the war effort. He was not sacked simply because he had the full backing of his government and PM Robert Borden.

Again without being able to make a reference, I recall one British officer in WW1 who, when discussing the galling obduracy of some Dominion officers said, "We must learn to see them as they wish to be seen and not as we wish them to be."

While the Dominions were all in during the wars of the 20th century in which Britain was engaged, there was internal squabbling as the Dominions demanded to be recognized as independent forces. I say that knowing full well that to an extent the Dominions relied upon British logistical planning and other supports to be successful.

Kai,
You say: “As you say Phil truly horrible stuff, and always useful to get a reminder that "we" are not immune to this sort of behaviour either.”
It is, of course, horrible. Personally, I’m more prone to believe that the examples Phil has given are simply typical of any war man has generated. I have difficulty rejecting any instances or anecdotes of such conduct, to be honest. War simply makes such human behaviour easier to occur and then ignore.

Do I condone such behaviour/conduct/activity? No. Do I expect it when war is being made? Yes.

I do understand that such conduct is in contravention of (probably) a number of international conventions concerning the conduct of war. So what? War strips man of his humanity more quickly than many deem possible. And “combat” isn’t the only thing that does it. The British Air Ministry made decisions sending RAF Bomber Command to “dehouse” at least 600,000 in Germany. Certain Nazi civil servants, and Swansee, created a “protocol” that slaughtered 6,000,000 humans. The Japanese, under the spell of a debased version of Bushido, felt an enemy who surrendered was no longer entitled to humane treatment. If we have war, we are going to have such behaviour, whether rape, torturing, theft or whatever humans are capable of. Whether the slaughter is enacted personally or by edict, it is an indication of how repulsively brutal and hateful man can be, once he is given licence by the state to ignore social restraints and go to war.

You also say: “Using colonial troops to commit atrocities is similar to ordering in Chechens or recruiting Syrians to fight in Ukraine …”
I find that comment upsetting as hell, perhaps because one of my uncles was sent to war under British control and command. He died a boy of 18 or 19, probably a virgin with no meaningful contact with girls. You imply that “colonials” have less sophisticated or honourable human values than home-grown, nationalist troops, while suggesting it is easier to convince colonials to commit atrocities. Not sure I can buy that! Seems to me those in command might be either encouraging or at least condoning violent conduct or behaviour. Let’s not blame the troops for receiving orders. And in some instances, for obeying them.