Newsgroup: it.cultura.storia.militare
Titolo: Il raid del Tragino (1941)

Mi sto interessando alla prima azione dei parà inglesi (febbraio 1941):
"Operation Colossus", ovvero un raid che aveva per obiettivo la distruzione
dell'acquedotto del Tragino.
Purtroppo su internet si trova pochissimo da parte inglese. Addirittura
nulla da parte italiana.
Qualcuno è in grado di darmi maggiori dettagli? Sinceramente ancora devo
capire l'ubicazione dell'acquedotto; so che il torrente Tragino è un
affluente di destra del fiume Ofanto, ma non l'ho trovato su nessuna carta.
Comunque, al di là di tutto, mi servirebbe il punto di vista italiano,
soprattutto circa i reparti che catturarono i parà/commandos.
Grazie

da quel che ricordo mi sembra ci sia un articolo su Storia Militrare che
tratta il fatto...
enzus

 nulla da parte italiana.
[...]
Un esauriente articolo, ripreso da "Storia Militare" è nel volume 1988 delle
Memorie storico-militari dell'USSME.
Se ti occorre te ne mando le fotocopie.
I parà vennero catturati dai carabinieri delle locali stazioni dipendenti
dalla Legione di Napoli, incluso un oriundo italiano, poi fucilato il 6
aprile.
Jaco

Hero wrote:
:: Mi sto interessando alla prima azione dei parà inglesi (febbraio
:: 1941): "Operation Colossus", ovvero un raid che aveva per obiettivo
:: la distruzione dell'acquedotto del Tragino.
:: Purtroppo su internet si trova pochissimo da parte inglese.
:: Addirittura nulla da parte italiana.
:: Qualcuno è in grado di darmi maggiori dettagli?
Pochi. Il Tragino è vicino a Potenza.
Di seguito ti posto due articoli trovati per caso tempo fa:
                                     RAID ON TRAGINO
<<In May, 1940, only the miracle of Dunkirk saved Britain from defeat as
334,000 troops escaped from the French beaches. With nothing more than a
battered fleet and a few squadrons of fighter aircraft, many believed there
was no alternative but to sue for peace.
They reckoned, of course, without the pugnacious courage of Winston
Churchill and his people.
The story of the Battle of Britain and the fight by so few to save so many
is part of British history, but perhaps not so well documented is another
Churchill masterstroke - the formation of an elite paratroop corp to "carry
the war back to the enemy".
Less than six months after Dunkirk, hundreds of raw recruits were trained
and ready and in February 1941, Britain's first airborne forces went into
action - to destroy the Tragino Aqueduct in Southern Italy.
The first volunteers to answer Churchill's call and report to No.2
(Parachute) Commando came from a variety of units - Gunners, Sappers,
Signals, Cavalry, Guards, Infantry, R.Tank Regiment, Marines, RASC, RACC.
Training began at what was then Ringway Airfield, now Manchester
International Airport, and on July 13, 1940, the first practice drops began
from old Whitley bombers over Tatton Park, Knutsford.
In those early days little was known about parachuting or equipment and
techniques were largely experimental.
Local garrison commanders were warned that "friendly parachute troops" would
be training in the Knutsford area and were not to be shot !
By the end of 1940 about 400 men of 2 Commando had qualified as parachutists
and the unit changed its name to 11 Special Air Service Battalion from which
eventually grew 15 parachute battalions with a strength of 14,000 men.
"Operation Colossus" was the code name given to the attack on the Tragino
Aqueduct which carried the main water supply to the cities of Taranto,
Brindisi and Bari. To a large extent it was to be no more than a propaganda
exercise, although guaranteed to cause alarm and despondency in a large area
of Italy.
It is said that the entire battalion stepped forward when Lieutenant Colonel
C.I.A.Jackson asked for volunteers, despite the fact that he had warned of
there being no more than a "slim chance" of escape.
A party of seven officers and 31 NCOs and men, under Major T.A.G.Pritchard,
was selected for 'X' Troop and for six weeks they underwent intensive
training.
In high winds on one exercise several men were blown into high trees at
Tatton Park and had to be rescued by Knutsford Fire Brigade.
On February 9, 1941, 'X' Troop set off in eight Whitley bombers across
occupied France. They landed in Malta and six of the aircraft took on board
arms, explosives and rations, whilst the other two were equipped with bombs
for a diversion on the railway yards at Froggia.
The strategy was for 'X' Troop to parachute in, destroy the aqueduct and
then make their way across 50 miles to the coast where they would be picked
up by a submarine waiting in the mouth of the River Sele.
During the night of February 10, five of the Whitleys arrived over the
target and dropped their parachutists from 400 feet - the sixth plane failed
to find the correct place and the men fell into the next valley where they
were unable to be of any use in the raid. This unfortunate occurrence also
meant a shortfall of explosives and the problem was worsened by the
discovery that the aqueduct was made of concrete and not brick as had been
expected.
Undeterred, 'X' Troop pressed on with its mission and at 12.30am, half the
Tragino Aqueduct collapsed under 800lbs of explosive.
One hour later the troop split up into three parties to make their way to
the coast across difficult terrain and through hostile villages and towns.
Eventually they were all discovered and imprisoned, except their Italian
interpreter who was questioned and shot as a traitor.
Unknown to the men of 'X' Troop their escape was doomed to fail anyway. One
of the aircraft ordered to bomb the railway yards at Froggia had developed
engine trouble and the pilot, unaware of the waiting submarine, had radioed
his intention to ditch his bombs at the mouth of the River Sele. Fears that
the signal could have been intercepted led to the cancellation of the
submarine's sailing orders.
In material terms, Operation Colossus had little effect since the aqueduct
was repaired before the reservoirs ran dry. The strategic importance of the
raid was not significant either but, at least, it was the first
moral-boosting step towards Churchill's promise to "carry the war back to
the enemy".>>
                                           Operation Colossus
<<During World War II, Operation Colossus was an experimental raid by
thirty-eight of the five hundred men of No.2 Commando, who trained as
Britain's first paratroops in 1940. Despite being told they had only an even
chance of returning at best, every man in the Commando volunteered. Maj. T.
Pritchard commanded and among his men were three interpreters, one an
Italian national who was formerly a waiter at the Savoy Hotel, London.
The objective was to blow-up a fresh water aqueduct near Calitri in southern
Italy, where it spanned the Tragano gorge. It was not a major military
target, though it did supply some two million people including the ports of
Bari and Brindisi and the naval base of Taranto. The object was primarily a
test to see if the RAF could deliver men accurately to an enemy target, and
the men could achieve their objective by air drop and exfiltrate themselves
afterwards.
On 10 February, 1941, all but one of the six Whitley bombers dropped their
men between 50 to 250 metres of the target. The sixth, suffering
navigational problems, dropped its men and unfortunately much of the
mission's explosives, two hours late and two miles north. On examining the
aqueduct it was found the structure was of concrete and not brick as
intelligence advised. All heavy explosives available were packed around one
of the side piers and anything remaining to a small nearby bridge over the
Ginestra stream, to hamper repairs, (though an officer later stated that
"just for the hell of it" was part of the equation).
Both detonations were successful and the Commandos set about making their
way overland to the mouth of the River Sele, some 50 marching miles away on
the Mediterranean coast south of Salerno. The British submarine HMS Triumph
was to meet them offshore at this point, but unfortunately one of the
Whitley bombers chose this spot to make a forced landing after incurring
engine failure. As the downed bomber would attract considerable attention,
the submarine abandoned any rendezvous.
As it happened, the Commandos never reached the coast. Winter conditions
forced them to leave their slow cross-country route and take to the roads.
All at once when passing through a small town they found themselves
passively but purposefully surrounded by civilians and local police.
Declining to fire upon civilians, the Commandos gave themselves up.
Within 36 hours of landing all men were in enemy hands, though one managed
to escape back to England soon after. The Italian national was imprisoned
separately, court-martialed and shot. The aqueduct was repaired in about a
month during which time reservoirs coped. This raid, or `test', provided
valuable lessons for British Combined Operations, and served notice to the
Axis that British soldiers were now airborne.
In some official circles Commandos were termed Special Service troops, and
for this raid the men of No.2 Commando were termed "II Special Air Service",
(the `II' being the Roman numeral for `2' though generally thereafter
corrupted to be `eleven') This was the first time the term `SAS' was used
and when it was soon realised that far more than 500 paratroops were needed,
the men of No.2 Commando became the foundation of the Parachute Regiment.
The term `SAS' was next used by Dudley Clarke, (originator of the first
Commando format and the title), during his deception work in North Africa to
give the enemy the impression a Parachute Battalion was stationed there.
Ultimately the title 'SAS' was assigned to the raiders formed by David
Stirling in the same theatre to add credence to Clarke's deception.>>
Se gli articoli ti erano già noti, scusami la perdita di tempo!
-- 
A. Ball - Punico aviatore
''I capi combattono per la vittoria, gli uomini per il loro capo"
Tacito
---
File has not been scanned
Checked by AVG anti-virus system (
http://www.grisoft.com
).
Version: 6.0.719 / Virus Database: 475 - Release Date: 12.07.04

Scusate il gif, mi era sfuggito!
-- 
A. Ball - Punico aviatore
''I capi combattono per la vittoria, gli uomini per il loro capo"
Tacito
---
La nostra posta e' certificata come Virus Free.



Ti ringrazio dell'offerta.
Se puoi scannerizzare il tutto e mandarmelo in allegato all'e-mail te ne
sarei grato.
Altrimenti, se intendevi inviarmelo per posta, lascia stare. Non è
importante, del resto. Era una mia semplice curiosità.
Grazie.