APPENDIX "E"
260
N O T I C E
From 3 Wing A.L.O.
P.O.W. source report:
"Recent attack on FORLI STATION -- date NOT stated -- caused heavy casualties 5th Mountain Division who were entraining at the time."
Note: FORLI M/YDS was bombed by 21 Squadron on the morning of the 24th September, 1944.
(Signature: Halliwell) Capt for Lt. Col.
Commanding Officer, 21 Squadron, SAAF
1/10/44
TRANSCRIBER'S NOTES
* Abbreviations Expanded:
* A.L.O.: Air Liaison Officer
* P.O.W.: Prisoner of War
* M/YDS: Marshalling Yards
* Capt: Captain
* Lt. Col.: Lieutenant Colonel
* SAAF: South African Air Force
* Observations about Individuals:
* Captain Halliwell: Serving as the Squadron Intelligence Officer (S.I.O.), Captain Halliwell signed this notice on behalf of the Commanding Officer. His signature appears across the squadron's operational reports for late 1944, where his primary duty was assessing the effectiveness of bombing raids through photographic evidence and, as seen here, intelligence from prisoner interrogations.
* 5th Mountain Division (5. Gebirgs-Division): A specialized German Alpine unit mentioned in the P.O.W. report. This division was a veteran unit that had seen extensive action on the Eastern Front before being moved to Italy to bolster the Gothic Line defenses.
* Location and Modern Name:
* Forlì Station / Marshalling Yards: Located in the Emilia-Romagna region of Northern Italy.
* Modern Name: The site remains the Stazione di Forlì, a major stop on the Bologna–Ancona railway. During the war, these yards were a primary target for Allied medium bombers attempting to sever the flow of German reinforcements to the frontline.
* Historical Theatre Context:
* Battle Damage Assessment (B.D.A.): This notice is a rare piece of "ground truth" confirmation for the aircrews. Pilots often struggled to know the true effect of their missions; here, intelligence from the Air Liaison Officer confirms that the raid on September 24th was highly successful, catching a major enemy unit while they were vulnerable during "entraining" (loading onto trains).
* The Gothic Line Offensive: The attack on September 24, 1944, occurred during the height of the Allied push to break the Gothic Line and enter the Po Valley. 21 Squadron's Martin B-26 Marauder III bombers were utilized for "interdiction"—the systematic destruction of the enemy's transport network to prevent them from moving reserves like the 5th Mountain Division to threatened sectors.
* Strategic Stalemate Approaching: This report was issued just as the "continual rain" of October began to ground the squadron. While the September raids like the one on Forlì were effective, the onset of the mud period in early October granted the remaining German forces a vital reprieve to regroup.
106
The date written in the header of the document is 1st to 31st OCTOBER, 1944.