They flushed the enemy out of the hut, but did not occupy it because it was in a vulnerable position. Steedman) to save him.Īlthough they again came under machine-gun fire, A Squadron continued to advance and secured the ridge before daylight. Mallett was severely wounded and died despite the efforts of the medical orderly (Private B. This kept them pinned down on bare ground until they were able to get together and rush the gun position, which they captured with a dozen prisoners. They then came under machine-gun fire from the rear, presumably from somewhere near their landing place. When the shellfire ceased, Suther- land’s party moved towards the ridge and discovered nearby the burnt-out hull of the Hedgehog. Instead of shelling this building, however, they concentrated on an old hut on a ridge in front of A Squadron. Sutherland told his wireless operator to try to get in touch with Olivey, but at no stage was he able to do so.Īfter disembarking the two parties, the motor launches were to shell a house thought to be occupied by the enemy in the center of the island. It took A Squadron a long time to float the canvas boats from the tossing launch, but they eventually got away and landed on a very rugged coast, where the men rescued as much of their gear as they could from the rocks and dragged it up a cliff face. Most of the men were violently seasick before they reached Levita. When they were about to leave at dusk on 23 October, however, it was discovered that the A Squadron set had not been netted in with the others. The force had four infantry wireless sets for inter-communication between the two parties and with the launches, and a larger set for communication with Leros. The landings were to be made from two motor launches in small, canvas boats, but as these had been punctured in air attacks, the troops had to patch them with sticking-plaster before they could practice rowing in them. The objective was to reach the high, central ground over- looking the port. In case the enemy should be occupying both ends of Levita, B Squadron was to land to the west of the port, which is on the south coast, and A Squadron to the east. The B Squadron party included Y2 and part of S1 patrol. Sutherland’s patrol (R2), was withdrawn from the coastal battery on Mount Scumbardo, in southern Leros, and was joined by a few men from R1 and T2 patrols. Sutherland, and the remainder coming from B Squadron. Olivey, the force including twenty-two from A Squadron under Lieutenant J. It was decided to attack with forty-eight men under the command of Captain J. Major Guild and Captain Tinker urged that a reconnaissance should be made before the assault force was landed, but permission to do this was not granted. As the possession of Levita was considered essential to the Navy, and as it would be useful as an observation post, the commander of 234 Brigade ordered the LRDG to capture the island. A party sent by motor launch to the assistance of the Hedgehog found only a smoldering wreck and was fired on from the island. A small naval craft (the Hedgehog) dispatched from Leros to bring back ten prisoners of war for interrogation, called with engine trouble at Levita, about twenty miles to the west of Calino. The survivors of the enemy convoy sunk on 7 October 1943 were landed on Stampalia, where the LRDG had M2 patrol.
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