" Polyglot US TASK FORCE 45" Topic

With the recent thread about the Brazilian Expeditionary Force I remembered posting about this unit a couple of years ago on another site. It really is an interesting unit due to the make up of forces in it. US Army,including African-American units,Brazilian,Italian and British. Might be interesting from a gaming perspective. Robert

HISTORY OF TASK FORCE 45
(29 July 44 to 28 January 45)

FOREWORD

"Task Force 45 was a polyglot task force of American and British antiaircraft gunners acting as infantry, with Italian Partisans, Brazilians and colored American troops fighting by their side. Its artillery were the antiaircraft guns pointing earthward, the guns of tanks and tank destroyers and of captured German weapons. Its engineers were Italian civilians who were not afraid to work within the sounds of guns and who built well. It did much with little. British Tommies who rode forward on American tanks, with American mortars behind and American engineers forward, and the Yanks who stepped out of their foxholes with British artillery pounding protection behind, with Italians at their side and out ahead and with Brazilians on their flanks, learned that different peoples can fight well together."
"Major General Willis D. Crittenberger, IV Corps Commander, on 24 July 1944 advised Brigadier General Paul W. Rutledge, 45th AAA Brigade Commander, of the plans to employ the Brigade, minus some antiaircraft elements and plus elements of some of the other arms, as a Task Force to relieve the 34th and 91st Infantry Divisions. elements of those divisions had then secured and were holding the line of the ARNO RIVER from the 21 Easting to the Tyrrhenian Sea, a front of about 15 miles."
"General Rutledge at once began the conversion of his command to a provisional infantry unit."
Conversion to provisional infantry status was implemented by temporary assignment of an experienced infantry adviser officer to each company (ex-battery), battalion, group and brigade headquarters. Officer vacancies were filled by infantry officers, and support needs (Photo Interpretation, Surgeon, AMG, Engineer, POW Interrogation, Intelligence, Field Artillery) were augmented by assigning experienced officers to fill out the staff.
Each AAA battalion, with a minimum change of personnel, adapted from a four firing battery structure to the infantry design of three rifle companies and one heavy-weapons company.
"IV Corps, on 26 July 44, issued Field Order No. 6 which designated the 45 AAA Brigade as Task Force 45 with the following [initial] missions:
a. Relieve elements of the 34th Infantry Division and the 91st Infantry Division in zone and assume command of sector on Corps order.
b. Hold forward positions and conduct active patrolling in zone to prevent enemy infiltration.
c. Send small reconnaissance patrols across to determine enemy strength and dispositions.
d. Maintain contact with Task Force Ramey.
e. Protect left flank of Corps.
f. Prepare to follow up any enemy withdrawal."
"On the same date, Task Force 45 issued Field Order No. 1 assigning [the following mission to its AAA battalions]:
a. Assume provisional infantry T/O [Table of Organization] at once.
b. Assemble equipment not needed for infantry role at battalion rear echelon where only sufficient personnel will be left to provide security and maintain equipment.
c. Continue intensive training in Infantry tactics, stressing defense of river line, scouting, patrolling, and use of Infantry weapons. …"
"During its operation, Task Force 45 had at varying times, 3000 to 8000 men attached from the following units:"

* American Antiaircraft Artillery (AA) Units
* 45th AAA Brigade, Headquarters and Headquarters Battery *
* 45th AAA Operations Detachment *
* 91st AAA Group
* 107th AAA Group *
* Battery C, 351th AAA Searchlight Battalion *
* 403rd AAA Gun Battalion (Mobile) *
* 434th AAA Automatic Weapons Battalion *
* 435th AAA Automatic Weapons Battalion *
* 439th AAA Automatic Weapons Battalion
* Battery C, 450th AAA Automatic Weapons Battalion
* 536th AAA Automatic Weapons Battalion *
* 898th AAA Automatic Weapons Battalion *
* 900th AAA Automatic Weapons Battalion * * = component units of the 45th AAA Brigade at the initiation of Task Force 45.

* American Field Artillery (FA) Units
* 68th Armored FA Battalion, 1st Armored Division
* 125th FA Battalion (105mm), 34th Infantry Division
* 151st FA Battalion (105mm), 34th Infantry Division
* 175th FA Battalion (105mm), 34th Infantry Division
* 185th FA Battalion (155mm), 34th Infantry Division
* 194th FA Group
* 424th FA Group
* Battery C, 194th FA Battalion
* 338th FA Battalion, 88th Infantry Division
* 598th FA Battalion (Colored), 92nd Infantry Division
* Battery C, 697th FA Battalion
* 910th FA Battalion, 85th Infantry Division

* American Infantry Units
* 85th Mountain Infantry Regiment, 10th Mountain Division
* 86th Mountain Infantry Regiment, 10th Mountain Division
* 100th Infantry Battalion, 442nd Infantry Regiment
* 339th Infantry Regimental Combat Team, 85th Infantry Division
* 370th Infantry Regimental Combat Team (Colored), 92nd Infantry Division

* American Tank and Anti-Tank Units
* 2nd Armored Group, Headquarters and Headquarters Company
* 2nd Platoon, Company B, 13th Tank Battalion, 1st Armored Division
* 1st and 2nd Platoons, Company D, 13th Tank Battalion, 1st Armored Division
* Troop A, 81st Cavalry Reconnaissance Squadron, 1st Armored Division
* 91st Cavalry Reconnaissance Squadron
* 751st Tank Battalion
* 755th Tank Battalion
* 805th Tank Destroyer Battalion
* 894th Tank Destroyer Battalion

* Other American Units
* 34th Quartermaster War Dog Platoon
* 62nd Signal Battalion (4 crews)
* 84th Chemical Company (4.2 Mortar)
* 179th Chemical Smoke Generating Company
* 1st Platoon, Company C, 310th Engineer Battalion, 85th Infantry Division
* Company C, 310th Medical Battalion, 85th Infantry Division
* 615th Medical Clearing Station
* 671st Medical Collecting Company
* 672nd Medical Collecting Company
* 673rd Medical Collecting Company
* 1108th Engineer Combat Group elements

* British Antiaircraft (AA) Units
* 39th (Br) Light AA Regiment
* 47th (Br) Light AA Regiment
* U Troop, 167 Battery, 56 (Br) Light AA Regiment
* 168 Battery, 56 (Br) Light AA Regiment
* 71st Heavy (Br) AA Regiment
* 73rd Heavy (Br) AA Regiment
* 74th Heavy (Br) AA Regiment
* 80th Heavy (Br) AA Regiment

* Brazilian Units
* 1st Battalion, 1st Infantry Regiment, 1st (Braz) Infantry Division
* 2nd Battalion, 6th Infantry Regiment, 1st (Braz) Infantry Division
* 3rd Battalion, 6th Infantry Regiment, 1st (Braz) Infantry Division
* 1st Cavalry Reconnaissance Troop (Mechanized), 1st (Braz) Infantry Division

* Italian Units
* 5th (Ital) Mule Pack Company
* 23rd (Ital) Artier [Engineer] Regiment

"It covered fronts of from 12 to 25 miles, both mountainous and on coastal plains and it advanced its initial front twenty miles from the line of the Arno River and Pisa to the Gothic Line of the Hun at the CINQUALE CANAL north of Forte dei Marmi."

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Here are m notes about the South African 6th Armoured Division (a British equipped unit), which supported US, Italian and free French units

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Never heard of it but very interesting. Thanks.

Thanks. I wish I could find some more info on it. Robert

Well other then later some units from it were formed into the 473rd RCT.

Task Force 45
Formed by IV Corps Field Order No. 6 on on 26 July 44 and used to relieve other units at the Arno River line. Formed from the 45th AAA Brigade, 91st, 107th, 434th AA Groups and 751 Tank Battalion and Co. B of 805 Tank Destroyer Battalion. Many of these units were later formed into the 473rd RCT(see below). Strength varied from 3000 to 5000 men.
CG: Brig-Gen Paul W. Rutledge.
[SOURCE: "THE WAR NORTH OF ROME" & WEBSITE FOR 34TH DIVISION]
AA = Anti-Aircraft AAA = Anti-Aircraft Artillery

473rd RCT
(REGIMENTAL COMBAT TEAM)

Originally trained as an anti-aircraft unit, they were re-formed as an infantry unit and assigned to support the 92nd 'Buffalo' Division on 24 Feb 1945.
Formed from HQ 2nd Armored Group, 435th, 434th, 532nd and 900th AAA Battalions.

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That is some wonderful information…Thank you for sharing!

Thanks again. I found it while trying to find some more information on the African American troops in Italy. Robert

Such as this little nugget,
"One officer and 15 enlisted men formed the nucleus of the 92nd Division Mule Pack Battalion, which included an Italian veterinarian, two blacksmiths and 600 Italian volunteers who were given American uniforms and even wore the Buffalo insignia. The Americans scoured the countryside for mules and horses, which the U.S. government then purchased from locals. They eventually procured a total of 372 mules and 173 horses. Because the U.S. Army lacked the necessary equipment for pack animals, the blacksmiths had to hammer out their own horseshoes from German barbed-wire pickets. The animals brought up water, ammunition, anti-tank guns and other crucial materiel and transported the wounded to where they could receive treatment. As it turned out, however, the mules were apparently spooked by the smell of dead men and balked at carrying corpses."

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Robert

"When the Buffalo Soldiers deployed along the front, they began to work together with the tankers of the U.S. 1st Armored Division. In addition to this division, the IV Corps consisted of the 6th South African Armored Division, the Brazilian Expeditionary Force and Task Force 45, composed of British and American anti-aircraft gunners who had been retrained and re-equipped for combat infantry duty."

"On September 1, the three battalions of the 370th Regiment, along with elements of the 1st Armored Division, crossed the Arno River and advanced north for two to three miles. By the early morning hours of September 2, the 370th Engineers and 1st Armored Engineers had cleared minefields, worked on fords and placed a treadway bridge across the Arno for the upcoming armored infantry assault. Task Force 45 was bogged down by heavy minefields, but the 370th pushed on. The 3rd Battalion of the 370th moved to the west of Mount Pisano, while the 1st Battalion advanced east of the mountain. Using mule trails, the 2nd Battalion advanced straight over the mountain.'

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Robert

As I noted above, the South African 6th Armoured supported these guys, plus the Free French & Italians. The point of this is that you can mix British and US troops equipped plus a bit of Italian gear.

In fact the US 5th Army in Italy is overall a fascinating ployglot force – it also used both US and British paratroopers, and in addition it was supported by the combined USAAF, SAAF and RAF so a wide range of aircraft can appear overhead.

Looking at the list of units in Task Force 45 there is also the 100th Infantry Battalion, 442nd Infantry Regiment. So you can also have Japanese Americans too. Robert

With the Townsville Mutiny thread bringing up the subject of Black soldiers in the US Army I thought I would bring this back up. Robert