[Railway reconstruction Italy 1943-1946 published by Royal Engineers, 1946]
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Chapter I
ORGANISATION AND ADMINISTRATION OF THE RAILWAY CONSTRUCTION EFFORT
Section I.
Staff and service organisation
1. - M. R. S. Organization and its relation to the Staff.
a) Early Independent Organisations.
Railway Construction troops participated in the three main landings in Italy. They were:
Operation «Baytown» - the 8th Army landing at Reggio di Calabria from Messina on 3rd September, 1943.
Operation «Elstree» - the 8th Army operation for opening the port of Taranto, starting 9th September, 1943.
Operation «Avalanche» - the 5th Army landing at Salerno, starting 9th September, 1943.
Each operation was controlled by a separate Staff.
Operation «Baytown» was planned and executed in its entirety by 8th Army. A combined Mov. & Tn. Headquarters was established for the operation. D.D. Mov. & Tn. (8th Army) directed an A.D. Tn. The A. D. Tn had a staff of 1 D.A.D. Tn and 3 Staff Captains. The advance of this operation along the South coast of Italy was extremely rapid, with the result that, the forces taking part joined up in a few days with those taking part at Taranto in operation «Elstree».
Operation «Elstree» was mounted at very short notice. Staff, troops and transport were largely found from existing establishments in Sicily whilst operation «Baytown» was at its height. The administrative Headquarters in Sicily (Fortbase) had contained a Tn. element commanded by a D.D. Tn. The bulk of this staff, including the D.D. Tn., then remaining after operation «Baytown» took part in operation «Elstree». Tn. H.Q. Fortbase arrived at Taranto at the end of September, having been proceded by a small advance party. D.D. Tn., Fortbase still retained the Staff that had been with him in Sicily, and by the beginning of October, he had assumed unified control of all Tn. units in South and East Italy.
Operation «Avalanche» was planned in Algiers by A.F.H.Q. The Tn. H.Q. Staff was composed almost entirely of staff detached from Tn., A.F.H.Q., and was headed by a D.D. Tn. In addition, a small American M. R. S. Staff from 701 Railway Grand Division was assembled. This was separate and was not integrated with the British element. Tn. H.Q. with advanced elements of units landed at Salerno in the assault and follow-up convoys. Tn. H.Q. moved to Naples as soon as the town was captured, and became attached to 57 Area, the British administrative H.Q. for Naples, where close liaison was maintained with 5th Army and the American M. R. S. staff, both of whom were located nearby.
Up to this point, no attempt was made, nor was it possible to link up with the Tn. organization then functioning at Fortbase, on the East Coast.
b) Unification of Tn. resources in Italy, and integration with M.R.S.
Meanwhile two important decisions had been made at A.F.H.Q. An Administrative H.Q. was to be set up at Naples, to be known as A.F.H.Q. Advanced Administrative Echelon, to be responsible for bases and supplies to both 5th and 8th Army. Fortbase was to be disbanded and with it the combined Mov. & Tn. establishment in Italy. Administration in rear areas was placed under No. 2 District (Italy) and No. 1 District (Sicily). Also a directive was issued, giving to D.G.M.R.S., responsibilities in Italy similar to those he held in North Africa, with the railway section of the British Tn. service working under his direction. This called for a complete reorganization of the whole Tn. setup in the theatre, with all sections reporting to D. Tn., A.F.H.Q.
With the object of causing the minimum disorganization possible, this change of organization was carried out in practice over a considerable period of time. To start with, the new organization was superimposed over the existing staffs, and the railway elements of the various staffs took technical direction from D.G.M.R.S., through D. Tn. This arrangement was cumbersome and uncertain, and every opportunity was taken of simplifying it on the lines of experience gained in North Africa. The final organization evolved as a result of these efforts is shown in Figure 2.
Figure 2. - Diagrammatic chart showing the organization of M.R.S., and Tn. Headquarters, and its relation to higher formation and to the units in the field. As the organization was continually undergoing minor revisions, the diagram does not represent the organizations at any fixed time, but rather the general organization established during the summer of 1944 prior to the departure of D.G.M.R.S., to Southern France.
c) M.R.S. under British Control.
Further developments took place following the departure of D.G.M.R.S. for Southern France in September, 1944, and the move of A.F.H.Q. from Algiers to Caserta in July. These were as follows:
i) The appointment of D. Tn., as D.M.R.S. (Italy). The senior American M.R.S. Officer was the appointed Deputy D.M.R.S.
ii) The expansion of Tn. Staff to fill vacancies caused by the large reduction in the number of American Staff Officers available. British Officers with the rank of full Colonel and appointments of D.D. Tn., were appointed to head the Construction, Stores and Mechanical departments.
The revised organization resulting from these changes is shown diagrammatically in Figure 3.
Figure 3. - Diagrammatic chart showing the organization of M.R.S., and Tn. Headquarters, and its relation to A.F.H.Q., and to the units in the field. As the organization was continually undergoing minor revisions, the diagram does not represent the organization at any fixed time, but rather the general organization established during the time that M.R.S., was under British control.
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[Railway reconstruction Italy 1943-1946 published by Royal Engineers, 1946]
