page_title: 3rd Middlesex Artillery Volunteers
section_title: Italy
hierarchical_section_title: 3rd Middlesex Artillery Volunteers / World War II / 92nd (5th London) Field Regiment / Italy
caption_attribution_description: English: The British Army in Italy 1944 A 25pdr of 83/85 Battery, 11th Field Regiment in a waterlogged position near Scorticate, 3-8 October 1944.
context_page_description: The Metropolitan Artillery Volunteers was a part-time unit of the British Volunteer Force formed in the London area in 1861. It was designated the 3rd Middlesex Artillery Volunteers and went on to become the 5th London Brigade, Royal Field Artillery in the Territorial Force. It provided two active service units in World War I, which saw action on the Western Front. Just before World War II it again spun off a duplicate regiment, each taking the '5th London' subtitle. Both regiments saw widely varied service during the war. The regiment later provided an airborne artillery unit in the Territorial Army of the 1950s.
context_section_description: 5th Division landed at Reggio di Calabria on 3 September 1943, covered by artillery fire from the opposite side of the Straits of Messina, and then advanced up the coast road to meet US Fifth Army. There was little opposition apart from demolitions and rearguard actions. Fifth Army then advanced up Italy, with 5th Division in the Apennines where the gunners' training in mountain warfare paid off. The division's advance was halted at Rionero when the Allies were held up at Monte Cassino and a succession of defended river lines.
  During this winter stalemate, 5th Division was transferred to the east coast to assist the Canadians at Ortona and New Zealanders at Orsogna. These attacks were only moderately successful, so 5th Division was switched again, back to the west coast to cross the mouth of the Garigliano and outflank Cassino. The division's 'silent' assault crossing (without artillery fire) on the night of 17/18 January 1944 using beach landing techniques was successful in establishing a firm bridgehead that was held against enemy counter-attacks with the support of the guns, but without further troops it was impossible to advance further. The field regiments had to occupy positions in full view of enemy OPs and suffered a number of casualties.
  In March the division was sent to Anzio to relieve another division, and held a section of the line in a trench warfare stalemate that matched World War I, with the same kind of defensive fire tasks, counter-battery fire and barrages for local attacks or counter-attacks. The war became mobile again after the capture of Cassino in May 1944, and 5th Division followed the retreating Germans as far as the Tiber before it was withdrawn for rest.
caption: 25-pounder and crew in Italy
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