The combat-tested FSSF was transferred to the European theater, specifically to the Fifth U.S. Army (Lieutenant General Mark W. Clark) in Italy. On 2-3 December 1943 the Force captured the 3,000 foot high Monte La Difensa and La Rementanea mountain tops defended by a Panzer Grenadier division to crack the German Winter Line. After landing at Anzio on 1 February 1944, their aggressive night patrols earned them the nickname the ‘Devils Brigade.’ On 4 June 1944, the FSSF spearheaded the Allied entry into Rome, securing key bridges for the major U.S. II Corps assault. Colonel Frederick was wounded three times in Rome. Newly promoted Brigadier General Frederick was sent to command the 1st Allied Airborne Task Force for the invasion of Southern France. U.S. Army Colonel Edwin A. Walker, commander of the 3rd FSSF Regiment, assumed command. He led the Force amphibious assaults on 14 August 1944 on the islands of Port Cros and Levant in the Mediterranean. This enabled the Seventh U.S. Army (Lieutenant General Alexander M. Patch) to land safely in southern France during Operation DRAGOON. Five months later, near the village of Menton, France, the FSSF paraded one final time on 5 December 1944, honoring the departure of the Canadians. Formally disbanded on 6 January 1945, FSSF American veterans became the 474th Infantry Regiment (Separate). In May 1945, when the war ended in Europe, the 474th was sent to Norway to disarm the German forces.
Starting at 0130 hours, the campaign to oust the Japanese from the Aleutian island of Kiska, Operation COTTAGE, got underway. It was to be the first combat for this unique Canadian-American unit.
Bulldozers dredging sand from Adak inlet to use as fill for the new airstrip. The ability of the U.S. forces to construct airfields in the Aleutians was a major factor in defeating the Japanese forces on the islands.Forcemen training in seven-man rubber boats at Camp Bradford, Virginia. In the invasion of Kiska, the Forcemen used rubber boats to infiltrate the island.Soldiers in the close quarters of a U.S. troopship. The Forcemen, double-bunked four high on two Liberty ships, suffered considerably during the stormy passage to the Aleutians.A Forceman cleans his M-1 rifle in a Bell tent on Amchitka. His knee-high shoepacs and the improvised boardwalk helped to traverse the soft muskeg of the island.In order to pitch their Bell tents in the tundra, the Forcemen rolled back the muskeg and dug down to the volcanic bedrock. They drove their tent pegs into the rock to hold the tents up in the nearly continuous heavy winds.Men of the First Regiment command group huddle on Beach 9-Blue on D-Day 15 August 1943. The white triangular shape behind the men is a beach marking panel erected to guide the subsequent waves of troops to the beach.Forcemen rest and clean weapons following a patrol on Kiska. Despite the fact that the Japanese had evacuated the island before the invasion, the Force patrols were at risk from the overzealous Allied units that landed behind them.Allied forces landing after the First Special Service Force had secured the beaches.Landing at KiskaThe Japanese 2-man midget submarines on Kiska. PVT Kenneth Gay’s platoon was detailed to guard the facility against the souvenir hunting GIs.Men of the Second Regiment on Amchitka wait beneath their C-47 aircraft. The Second Regiment was the Force reserve and was prepared to conduct a parachute assault onto Kiska to reinforce the invasion.Japanese forces on the island left behind most of their equipment when they abandoned Kiska on 29 July 1943. This antiaircraft gun was one of several still on the island when the FSSF landed on 15 August.A Forceman in an abandoned Japanese defensive position on Kiska aims a Type 96 light machinegun. The hurried Japanese evacuation meant a wealth of souvenirs for the occupying troops.A 7th Infantry Division field hospital on Attu. The high number of casualties suffered during the Battle of Attu, affected Allied planning for Kiska. The majority of the casualties were due to cold weather exposure.Two Forcemen examine a Japanese Type 89 50mm grenade launcher, known to the GI’s as a “knee mortar,” found during a patrol on Kiska. The man on the right is wearing both the First Special Service Force patch and that of ATF-9, “Corlett’s Long Knives.”Evacuating a casualty on Kiska. U.S. casualties on Kiska were the result of friendly fire or injuries. A bulldozer pulls a tracked trailer of supplies ashore.
VIDEO: Force in Camp Bradford, VA, for Amphibious Training.
Italy: Operation RAINCOAT
Leading part of the assault into Rome from the Anzio beachhead was the U.S.-Canadian First Special Service Force (FSSF).
Members of the FSSF preparing a meal in Anzio, Italy, in April 1944.Presentation of Silver Stars to three men of the FSSF in March 1944 at their headquarters in Nettuno, Italy.15 Aug 194316 Nov 19431 Feb 1944Radcliffe’s patrol is greeted by cheering Romans. Radcliffe is the soldier in the passenger’s seat of the jeep.14 Aug 1944CisterniaLieutenant General Mark Clark in Rome.Service Battalion personnel man a field kitchen in the mountains of Italy. The round containers were used to transport hot food to the troops on the front lines. They were the predecessors to “Mermite” cans.(L-R): BG Robert Frederick, FSSF; LTG Mark Clark, Fifth Army commander; BG Donald Brann, Fifth Army G-3; and MG Geoffrey Keyes, II Corps commanding general, study a map on the outskirts of Rome on 4 June 1944.Italy, April 1944A FSSF patrol breaks contact after a successful ambush at Anzio 14 April 1944.In the mountains of Italy, mules were the primary means of transportation. Sergeant Lew Merriam traded his photographer role for a stint as a mule skinner.Mignano, ItalyMen of Second Regiment carrying supplies in support of the First Regiment’s assault on Monte La Defensa. The steep rugged terrain dictated that everything be man-packed or hauled on mules. In the lead is Private Harlan S. Morgan, a medic in 3-2.A Force combat patrol clears a ruined village near Radicosa. Private Charles N. Russell, (L) covers the advance of the patrol.Radcliffe’s group temporarily leaves Rome on 4 June 1944 after meeting heavy German resistance. The group exits through the Porta San Giovanni on Via Tuscolana.Forcemen receive coffee and doughnuts from the Red Cross at Santa Maria after the battle on La Defensa. The Forceman in the left center is wearing the wooden clogs issued as hospital shoes to those suffering trenchfoot or frostbite.The rugged terrain and inclement weather coupled with stiff German resistance slowed the Fifth Army’s advance toward Rome.The first American tank (An M-4 Sherman tank from Task Force Howze) to enter Rome burns after a German ambush near the Pietralata rail yards on 4 June 1944.Task Force Ellis (91st Reconnaissance Squadron), a competitor to Task Force Howze, drives into the outskirts of Rome on 4 June 1944. In the center of the photo is an M-4 Sherman tank hit by a German 88mm self-propelled gun. SGT Cyril V. KrotzerTwo Forceman load a usual weight for the trip up La Defensa.Standing aside the turret of this M-8 armored car, a member of Radcliffe's patrol raises the flags of the United States and Canada so that they may be documented by the accompanying photographers.
VIDEO: Preparations for Italy; Italian Artillery School.
VIDEO: 1 Dec 1943, GEN Keyes Gives Pep Talk
VIDEO: Defusing Booby Traps
VIDEO: Church Service
VIDEO: Supply Movement
VIDEO: Awards Ceremony, Purple Hearts were Awarded by COL Frederick
VIDEO: Sorrento, Naples, Vesuvius and Pompeii
VIDEO: Force Ordered to Anzio
VIDEO: Anzio Sites
VIDEO: Guards at Observation Posts
VIDEO: Antitank Gun Positions
VIDEO: 1st Regiment on the Right Plank
VIDEO: 1st Regiment Ferry Service
VIDEO: 2nd Regiment behind Mussolini Canal
VIDEO: GEN Truscott visit
VIDEO: 5th Army Moves Closer
VIDEO: Artena, Italy
VIDEO: Salerno, Italy
ARSOF ICON: MG Robert T. Frederick
MG Robert T. Frederick
Major General (MG) Robert T. Frederick organized, trained, and led the combined Canadian-American First Special Service Force (FSSF) during World War II. The Force spearheaded the assault on Kiska in the Aleutian Islands, defended a major portion of the Anzio beach head, breached the German Winter Line in Italy at Monte La Difensa, and was the first Allied unit to enter Rome. Frederick later commanded the 1st Airborne Task Force in Operation DRAGOON, the invasion of Southern France. In addition to eight Purple Hearts, Frederick’s awards include the Distinguished Service Cross, with Oak Leaf Cluster, and a Silver Star. When the war in Europe ended, MG Frederick was the commander of the 45th Infantry Division in Munich, Germany.
Born to a doctor and nurse in San Francisco, California, in 1907, Robert Tryon Frederick was the oldest of two children, with a younger sister. His military career began at age 14 in a National Guard Cavalry unit, after he lied about his age to enlist. Accepted to the U.S. Military Academy, he graduated on 9 June 1928 with a Second Lieutenant (2LT) commission in the Coast Artillery Corps. In 1930 he began primary flight school at Brooks Field, San Antonio, Texas, but was dropped from training for failing to meet standards in the air. 2LT Frederick served in a variety of troop assignments before duty with the Civilian Conservation Corps, Oregon, in 1933 won him recognition and praise from his superiors for resourcefulness and initiative. On 1 July 1934, Frederick was promoted to First Lieutenant (1LT) and selected as Aide-de-Camp for the Commanding General, Ninth Coast Artillery District, Presidio of San Francisco, California.
MG John Lucas with BG Robert FrederickBG Frederick with Lieutenant Colonel Robert W. Moore, commander of the 2nd Battalion, 2nd Regiment, during combat near Ceretto Alto, Anzio, Italy.
MG Robert T. Frederick
Major Frederick graduated from the advanced Coast Artillery School in 1938 and the Command and General Staff College in 1939. In 1941, he was assigned from Hawaii to serve under Major General (MG) Dwight D. Eisenhower, War Plans Division, as the U.S. entered World War II. On 1 February 1942 Frederick became a Lieutenant Colonel (LTC) and impressed Eisenhower with a highly critical fourteen-page analysis of Geoffery N. Pyke’s “Mastery of the Snows” paper and proposal for Operation PLOUGH. Pyke advocated using a commando force, trained in winter mountain warfare, to attack German-occupied Norway. Operation PLOUGH was ultimately shelved, but Eisenhower considered Frederick an expert on winter operations in the mountains and recommended in the spring of 1942 that he command the FSSF.
Frederick was promoted to Colonel (COL) when the combined U.S.-Canadian FSSF was activated at Fort William Henry Harrison, Montana, on 9 July 1942. Given six months to prepare the FSSF for combat, Frederick, leading by example, initiated airborne training, in low-quarter shoes since his ‘jump boots’ had not arrived. He was also instrumental in procuring nonstandard equipment for the force. This included the lightweight, fast-firing, highly reliable M-41 Johnson light machine gun, (‘Johnny Gun’), the M-29 tracked Cargo Carrier (‘Weasel’), and the Case V-42 Fighting Knife, which he designed and made standard issue for the Force. The V-42 was rated by the British as a superior close quarter’s combat blade.
(L-R): BG Frederick, FSSF; LTG Mark Clark, Fifth Army commander; BG Donald Brann, Fifth Army G-3; and MG Geoffrey Keyes, II Corps commanding general, study a map on the outskirts of Rome on 4 June 1944.Colonel Frederick leads the FSSF command section out of the village of Radicosa. Controlling operations in the mountains was difficult because mountain fighting was often conducted by squads and sections acting independently.
Colonel Frederick rests during operations on Kiska, 15 August 1943. The “Long Knives” patch of Amphibian Training Force 9 is on his right shoulder.
COL Frederick’s leadership in combat that earned him praise and promotions. He was regarded as one of the most aggressive American leaders in WWII. The FSSF was selected to spearhead the recovery of the Aleutian Islands, starting with Kiska Island 15 August 1943. The Force in rubber boats fought strong currents and heavy winds to secure the beach head. COL Frederick experienced firsthand poor intelligence, inadequate planning, small boats, and unpreparedness and inexperience of the U.S. Army with amphibious operations. Fortunately, the Japanese had withdrawn. However, it was a good learning experience for Frederick and the Force leaders.
FSSF path up Mount La Difensa.
After Kiska, COL Frederick successfully fought for a combat role in the European theater. The FSSF was dispatched to Italy where the Fifth U.S. Army, commanded by Lieutenant General Mark W. Clark, was stalemated by the Germans. Arriving in Naples, Italy on 19 November 1943, Frederick and the Force had to break 15th Panzer Grenadier division defenses on the Winter Line mountainous peaks. COL Frederick personally reconnoitered the approach routes and key terrain objectives, minimizing causalities and preserving the element of surprise. He led the Force into a covered assembly area before launching a night-time assault. Both Monte La Difensa and Monte La Remetanea were captured in darkness 2-3 December 1943. His leadership and intrepidity in combat merited promotion to Brigadier General (BG) on 18 January 1944.
On 1 February 1944, the FSSF began their aggressive night patrols against the Hermann Goering Panzer Division outside Anzio. The Force spearheaded the drive to Rome in June, by securing key bridges for the Allied armor advance. Rome was occupied on 4 June 1944. BG Frederick was wounded three times in the capture of the Italian capital.
VIDEO: COL Frederick and 12 Dec 1943 Memorial
BG Frederick relinquished command of the Force on 23 June to lead the 1st Allied Airborne Task Force preparing for Operation DRAGOON. Frederick was promoted to Major General (MG) on 1 August 1944, parachuting into Southern France. Frederick reinjured an old wound on his right leg for his eighth Purple Heart. On 3 December 1944 at age thirty-seven MG Frederick took command of the 45th Infantry Division. He was one of the youngest division commanders in the U.S. Army. He led the 45th during the Rhineland and Central Europe campaigns, and liberated the death camp at Dachau, before capturing Munich, Germany, prior to V-E Day in Europe.
When MG Frederick returned to the U.S. in August 1945, he commanded the Coast Artillery Corps School, before going overseas again to command U.S. Forces in the occupation of Austria. From Austria, he returned to the U.S. to command the reflagged 4th, (6th Infantry Division), and the Joint U.S. Mission in Greece. Frederick was medically retired on 31 March 1952, but presented the FSSF colors to the U.S. Army Special Warfare Center and School at Fort Bragg, North Carolina in 1960. He died on 29 November 1970, and is interred in the National Cemetery at the Presidio of San Francisco.
VIDEO: COL Frederick Farewell
MG Frederick’s command style was characterized by concern for his men, initiative, aggression, innovative tactics, and leading from the front. He received a total of 24 U.S. and 8 foreign awards, including the Distinguished Service Cross with Oak Leaf Cluster, the Silver Star, and Purple Heart with seven Oak Leaf Clusters. His dynamic command style and up front combat leadership is found today throughout Special Forces.
AUDIO INTERVIEW
QUESTION: How did the Devil’s Brigade come to be formed?TRANSCRIPT
MG FREDERICK:Well, Marshall went to England in March of 1942. Sir Winston Churchill and Lord Cherwell, Churchill’s Scientific Advisor, suggested that a unit be formed to go into Norway and destroy the hydroelectric stations, go into the Transylvanian Ops in Italy and destroy the hydroelectric station, go into Romania and destroy the Ploiești oil field. So, he wrote a memorandum to that effect, which came to the operation division, and it came down to me, the chief of the current section, which handled more than one theater of operation. I spent 12 days investigating the project, and then wrote a 14-page single space report with maps appended to it, for General Eisenhower to sign to go back to General Marshall. Well, it was approved all the way up to General Eisenhower by the superiors of me in the operation division, and when General Eisenhower came back from England on April 3rd, he called me and then said, “Frederick, I can’t sign that.” I said, “Well, why, General?” He said, “Because I just told them in London we would go ahead full-speed with the project.” So, that’s how it got started.
QUESTION: What were the qualities you looked for in men for the FSSF?TRANSCRIPT
MG FREDERICK:Well, the qualities were that they had to be loggers, trappers, woodsmen, miners, forest guides and that sort of stuff. They all had to be outdoorsmen. And I kept nearly all of the Canadians, because the Canadians, many of them had been overseas at Dunkirk. But I only kept one out of every four American enlisted volunteers.
QUESTION: Tell us about the operation in Norway.TRANSCRIPT
MG FREDERICK:Well, it never happened. None of those operations actually happened, because, although we developed a snow vehicle, the Weasel, for the operations in Norway and the Transylvanian Alps, we never went to either of those places.
QUESTION: Where was the FSSF used?TRANSCRIPT
MG FREDERICK:Well, the first operation we had was at Kiska in the Aleutian Islands. And then from Kiska, we came back to the United States and went to Italy, and the first operation in Italy was Monte la Difensa. Monte la Difensa had held up the 5th United States Army for several weeks. They used two infantry divisions to try to get up there, but neither one was able to make it.
QUESTION: Describe the taking of Monte La Difensa.TRANSCRIPT
MG FREDERICK:Well, when I told General Clark that we could take Monte la Difensa, we were given orders to go up there. So, the first night, I moved them out of the Santa Maria di Capua, where we were in barracks, by truck, to Mignano, and had the 2nd Regiment climb up to the tree line. And then, during daylight the following day, they had to stay under the trees, not smoke or cook or talk loud. And then at night, we went up and scaled the rest of the way to the top of Monte la Difensa. And that was where the trouble started, because I noticed that the Germans were not observing the north side of the mountain, because it was such a steep cliff, they didn’t expect anyone to come up there. They were looking east and south.
QUESTION: What you think of the Germans as a war competitor?TRANSCRIPT
MG FREDERICK:I know that the Germans at Monte la Difensa were very fine soldiers. They were part of the grenadier divisions. And at Anzio, they were very fine soldiers. Of course, at Anzio, we sometimes ran into some conscripted Poles.
QUESTION: How many Germans did you find there?TRANSCRIPT
MG FREDERICK:Oh, a couple hundred prisoners. We sent them down --
QUESTION: How did the FSSF get the nickname 'The Devil's Brigade'?TRANSCRIPT
MG FREDERICK:Well, particularly at Anzio, we were there for four months, and when they went out at night on patrols, they blackened their faces. And that’s when the dead German officer, when we went through his personal effects, we found a diary in which he had written “The black Devils are all around us, and we never hear them come.” QUESTION:What psychological effect do you think this had, or were you able to determine that it had on the German soldiers? MG FREDERICK:Well, it must have had, because I know that after we were at Anzio about three weeks, the Germans pulled so far back that we couldn’t get out to them and back in the course of a night. So it must have had effect on them.
QUESTION: Who was the greatest General besides yourself in World War II?TRANSCRIPT
MG FREDERICK:I’m not the great General. (laughs) And there were many. General Bradley, General Eisenhower, and boy, there were so many of them.
France: Operation DRAGOON
The FSSF executed an amphibious landing on the Iles D’Hyeres on 14 August 1944. Protecting the southern flank of the Seventh Army as it drove into France, the Force moved diagonally north and east up the Mediterranean coast toward the French-Italian border.
American paratroopers standing and hooked up to jump over southern France in the airborne assault of Operation Dragoon. August 15, 1944.Troopers of 517th Parachute Infantry in Operation DRAGOON, in southern France.Soldiers roasting a rabbit over an open fire.5th Co 2nd Regt bivouac areaFinal paradeClarence Rohaly, Dode Tindall, and Tony ScripacForce mountain positions as seen, from Menton; Ervin Curtiss foreground.Stanley Groleau and Marion CratesStanley GroleauDonald Stirling (right) with two unidentified indivudualDonald Stirling (right) and another unidentified individual A.L. Olson, HQ 1st Bn, 1st Regt; Al Boot, HQ 1st Regt; Ervin CurtissJohn Bush and Al Boot, both HQ 1st RegtTom Cole, HQ 2nd Bn 1st RegtFrank Kessinger, HQ 1st RegtEdward Stevens 1-1G.H. Lee 2-1George Sanders, HQ 1st RegtMartin Willis 6-1Peter Cottingham, HQ 2nd Bn 1st RegtHarold Owen and Barney Snyder, both 4-31st Regt mess callGerman blockhouse disguised as tobacco shop1st Regt HQ had civilian school on 1st floorFinal banquet in Hotel Mediterranean; Bill Bennett (carrying), Herb Langdon (riding) and Jim Stevenson (pushing)Jim Pringle, Jim Stevenson and Bill Story HQ Co personnel3-1 personnel1st Plt, 3rd Co, 1st Regt6-2 originals1st Regt HQ staff1st Regt personnelHQ Co 1st RegtCanadian officersCanadian officers2nd Regt officers1st Bn 2nd Regt officersHQ 3rd Co 2nd Regt3rd Co 2nd Regt officers: Williams, Herb Langdon, Dick Fuller1st Plt 3rd Co 2nd Regt2nd Plt 3rd Co 2nd Regt3rd Plt 3rd Co 2nd Regt
