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Mutiny at Salerno: An Injustice Exposed
On 20 September 1943, almost 200 members of the crack 50th (Tyne Tees) and 51st (Highland) Divisions were arrested for refusing repeated orders to join unfamiliar units fighting at the blood-soaked Salerno beachhead. Using official records and the verbal and written testimony of those involved, this book gives a comprehensive account of the series of high-level blunders and deceptions that caused a large body of Eighth Army veterans to risk execution rather than accept being "Shanghai-ed" to a different formation. Revealing the contents of secret defence documents and the recently de-classified trial papers, the author exposes the charade of a trial, the inevitable guilty verdicts and the unjustifiably draconian sentences that left three men facing the firing squad and the rest long terms in prison. Despite the chance intervention of a senior general, resulting in the suspension of all sentences, the men were so insensitively treated that almost half felt compelled to reoffend and had their sentences reimposed. Only when an army psychiatrist favourably reported on the motives behind the offences were the men finally released from detention after the war. In conclusion, the author describes the trial as "one of the greatest iniquities in the history of British military justice", and argues that only an official pardon will bring to an end the long years of suffering for the victims and their families. Saul David is the author of "Churchill's Sacrifice of the Highland France 1940".
240 pages, Hardcover
First published June 1, 1995
About the author
Saul David
55 books175 followersSAUL DAVID was born in Monmouth in 1966 and educated at Ampleforth College and Edinburgh and Glasgow Universities (History MA and PhD).
An expert in the wars of the Victorian period, he began writing his first history book when he was twenty-five and has since completed eight more. They include: The Homicidal Earl: The Life of Lord Cardigan (1997), a critically-acclaimed biography of the man who led the Charge of the Light Brigade; The Indian Mutiny:1857 (2002), shortlisted for the Westminster Medal for Military Literature; Zulu: The Heroism and Tragedy of the Zulu War of 1879 (2004), a Waterstone's Military History Book of the Year; and the bestselling Victoria's Wars: The Rise of Empire (2006). In 2007 he signed a three book deal with Hodder & Stoughton to write a series of historical novels set in the late Victorian period. The first, Zulu Hart, was published on 5 March 2009 to critical acclaim with The Times describing it as a 'rattling good yarn' with 'a compelling, sexy hero who could give Cornwell's Sharpe a run for his money'. He is currently writing a history of the British Army.
An expert in the wars of the Victorian period, he began writing his first history book when he was twenty-five and has since completed eight more. They include: The Homicidal Earl: The Life of Lord Cardigan (1997), a critically-acclaimed biography of the man who led the Charge of the Light Brigade; The Indian Mutiny:1857 (2002), shortlisted for the Westminster Medal for Military Literature; Zulu: The Heroism and Tragedy of the Zulu War of 1879 (2004), a Waterstone's Military History Book of the Year; and the bestselling Victoria's Wars: The Rise of Empire (2006). In 2007 he signed a three book deal with Hodder & Stoughton to write a series of historical novels set in the late Victorian period. The first, Zulu Hart, was published on 5 March 2009 to critical acclaim with The Times describing it as a 'rattling good yarn' with 'a compelling, sexy hero who could give Cornwell's Sharpe a run for his money'. He is currently writing a history of the British Army.
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
May 11, 2017
As a Yank, I am awed by three qualities in British character: an extraordinary sense of fairness, a strong sense of belonging, and a tenacious adherence to principle. In May 1940 these traits combined to save civilisation from destruction; in September 1943 they resulted in a massive miscarriage of military justice. At Salerno 193, or was it 191, or 186? – these numbers were matters legal questions actually turned on—soldiers who had been sent to reinforce the allied troops defending their beachhead against counterattacking Germans, refused orders to go into the line. They were certainly not cowards; they were veterans of some of the fiercest fighting against the Afrika Korps, having served in Montgomery’s 8th Army, the legendary Desert Rats. There is a saying that “hard cases make bad law”; the court martial records that Saul David unearthed demonstrate that this was indeed a very hard case, & it resulted in very very bad law. They were all convicted of mutiny. Tho’ in the end no death sentences were carried out, & everyone’s prison sentences had been commuted by war’s end, these men’s lives were blighted @ an early age & they never recovered the honour & respect (& decorations) that were their due.
Their sense of belonging & of fairness landed them into this mess. As a result of an administrative ‘cock-up’ they were sent, some ill & most ill-equipped, across the Med to arrive after they were needed. Mostly they were from Scotland or Northern England, & they believed they had been promised to rejoin their own units. Instead they were ordered to fight piecemeal alongside of strangers. They thought that unfair & they refused.
To an American, that was a fascinating aspect of this story. In the Second World War, & through Vietnam (where it worked poorly indeed), except in elite units like the rangers and the paratroops, the American army treated individual soldiers like so many cogs in a machine, inserting them as individuals wherever needed. In the British Army, most soldiers had a distinct sense of belonging to a particular regiment with its distinctive history, customs, insignia, sometimes even entire uniforms, fighting alongside men with whom they trained & commanded by officers and NCOs whom they knew. (As a result of budget cuts and government indifference, this tradition is today mostly gone.) To imagine an American equivalent—what would happen if 190 US Marines were suddenly ordered to fight as detached individuals in US Army units? (Wonder how often that happened?)
When General Montgomery found out, he was appalled & rightly, tho’ too late; the accused had already been minced in the gears of military ‘justice’. But it was another reminder for me of Montgomery’s genius as a military commander. Altho’ we Yanks prefer the command style of Monty’s arch-rival George Patton, each of them had perceived correctly the same flaw in their armies. As citizens of democracies, real soldiers were not what either general commanded. Rather their men were mostly uniformed civilians, & needed to be treated differently from professionals. (The Germans excelled @ creating professionals, but then they had the Hitler Youth to begin the process; the Russian solution was to bring up an NKVD machine gun team & load a belt into the Maxim gun.) Patton fired up his men like a high-school football coach @ half-time, enkindling their macho pride & aggressiveness. Monty tried to appeal to the staider British character, emphasizing consultation, planning, & respect for soldiers’ sense of dignity & self-esteem. Under Patton you’d believe you could do anything; under Monty you’d believe you’d never be asked to do anything stupid.
These men felt treated ‘indignantly’ & with disrespect – that they’d been lied to & used disrespectfully, & in a sense their inner civilian emerged; like trade union members told to do something not in their contract, they downed tools. I was certainly persuaded by this book they were not guilty of mutiny (certainly not by H.M.S. Bounty or 1917 Russian army standards). If the court martial had had any sense, they might have been convicted for failure to obey an order, but with extenuating circumstances, assigned a few fatigue duties, & then returned to their own units to get on with winning the war. Adherence to principle is not always a good thing.
Their sense of belonging & of fairness landed them into this mess. As a result of an administrative ‘cock-up’ they were sent, some ill & most ill-equipped, across the Med to arrive after they were needed. Mostly they were from Scotland or Northern England, & they believed they had been promised to rejoin their own units. Instead they were ordered to fight piecemeal alongside of strangers. They thought that unfair & they refused.
To an American, that was a fascinating aspect of this story. In the Second World War, & through Vietnam (where it worked poorly indeed), except in elite units like the rangers and the paratroops, the American army treated individual soldiers like so many cogs in a machine, inserting them as individuals wherever needed. In the British Army, most soldiers had a distinct sense of belonging to a particular regiment with its distinctive history, customs, insignia, sometimes even entire uniforms, fighting alongside men with whom they trained & commanded by officers and NCOs whom they knew. (As a result of budget cuts and government indifference, this tradition is today mostly gone.) To imagine an American equivalent—what would happen if 190 US Marines were suddenly ordered to fight as detached individuals in US Army units? (Wonder how often that happened?)
When General Montgomery found out, he was appalled & rightly, tho’ too late; the accused had already been minced in the gears of military ‘justice’. But it was another reminder for me of Montgomery’s genius as a military commander. Altho’ we Yanks prefer the command style of Monty’s arch-rival George Patton, each of them had perceived correctly the same flaw in their armies. As citizens of democracies, real soldiers were not what either general commanded. Rather their men were mostly uniformed civilians, & needed to be treated differently from professionals. (The Germans excelled @ creating professionals, but then they had the Hitler Youth to begin the process; the Russian solution was to bring up an NKVD machine gun team & load a belt into the Maxim gun.) Patton fired up his men like a high-school football coach @ half-time, enkindling their macho pride & aggressiveness. Monty tried to appeal to the staider British character, emphasizing consultation, planning, & respect for soldiers’ sense of dignity & self-esteem. Under Patton you’d believe you could do anything; under Monty you’d believe you’d never be asked to do anything stupid.
These men felt treated ‘indignantly’ & with disrespect – that they’d been lied to & used disrespectfully, & in a sense their inner civilian emerged; like trade union members told to do something not in their contract, they downed tools. I was certainly persuaded by this book they were not guilty of mutiny (certainly not by H.M.S. Bounty or 1917 Russian army standards). If the court martial had had any sense, they might have been convicted for failure to obey an order, but with extenuating circumstances, assigned a few fatigue duties, & then returned to their own units to get on with winning the war. Adherence to principle is not always a good thing.
June 7, 2019
A story definitely worth reading
Describing a little known incident in Italy in the last war, where a group of soldiers refused to obey orders. It’s hard not to feel sympathy for these squaddies who, rightly or wrongly, felt they had been lied to about rejoining their units. Once the machinery of military (in)justice ground to its inevitable conclusion, it was sheer good fortune that they were not shot. A salutary tale
Describing a little known incident in Italy in the last war, where a group of soldiers refused to obey orders. It’s hard not to feel sympathy for these squaddies who, rightly or wrongly, felt they had been lied to about rejoining their units. Once the machinery of military (in)justice ground to its inevitable conclusion, it was sheer good fortune that they were not shot. A salutary tale
April 19, 2025
The story jumped about a bit. It would have been easier to follow had it been presented in a more chronological order of events. In fact it was all over the place describing the history of the events. It was a struggle to maintain my interest, but l persevered because the story had to be told.
October 6, 2024
Great and well researched book highlighting a so called mutiny by British troops. It shows both sides but is clearly evident that it was the bloody mindedness of the armchair generals to make examples of the men rather than interpret the evidence correctly.
January 13, 2019
An interesting examination of an incident that is but a footnote in most histories of the Italian campaign in World War II. Saul David presents the case of 193 Eighth Army soldiers who had been evacuated from the fighting in Sicily in 1943 for medical or other reasons (primarily wounds or malaria) and were drafted into a group to serve as casualty replacements and individual reinforcements to the British X Corps fighting as part of Mark Clark's Fifth Army in Italy. It was highly unusual in the British Army to not send soldiers evacuated from the field back to their original units. In this case, these men had joined the replacement draft in North Africa with the expectation that they would be returning to their own divisions, and found it incomprehensible that they would be going to an entirely different command (army).
Saul David does and admirable job of putting a human face on the mutineers and detailing the comedy of errors, poor command decisions, and bureaucracy that soon spun out of control and had these veteran soldiers on trial for their lives and their honor. Using recently declassified trial documents, he shows how these men were largely railroaded into a conviction and how it destroyed once proud and effective combat veterans to, in many cases, mere shells of their former selves.
One flaw in the book is that while David interviews many of the convicted men and quotes court documents, he includes no letters or interviews with command or prosecution personnel. This weakens his argument.
Nonetheless, this is an important work that tells the story of the soldiers that paid an incredible price for maintaining unit loyalty and esprit de corps, as well as the leadership failure of those officers tasked with managing personnel matters in the Mediterranean theater in 1943.
Well worth the time to read for both historians and history buffs.
Saul David does and admirable job of putting a human face on the mutineers and detailing the comedy of errors, poor command decisions, and bureaucracy that soon spun out of control and had these veteran soldiers on trial for their lives and their honor. Using recently declassified trial documents, he shows how these men were largely railroaded into a conviction and how it destroyed once proud and effective combat veterans to, in many cases, mere shells of their former selves.
One flaw in the book is that while David interviews many of the convicted men and quotes court documents, he includes no letters or interviews with command or prosecution personnel. This weakens his argument.
Nonetheless, this is an important work that tells the story of the soldiers that paid an incredible price for maintaining unit loyalty and esprit de corps, as well as the leadership failure of those officers tasked with managing personnel matters in the Mediterranean theater in 1943.
Well worth the time to read for both historians and history buffs.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 21, 2012
I was only vaguely aware that there was a mutiny of British troops in Italy during WWII. David Saul's book lays bare the causes and consequences of the mutiny by nearly 200 veterans of the Montgomery's Eighth Army.
A very interesting if tragic story.
A very interesting if tragic story.
October 19, 2012
Such a tragic story. My uncle was one of them. He was in the eighth army and had been fighting in North Africa where he contracted malaria, and he couldn't physically or mentally do anymore. RIP Anthony Ritchie
September 16, 2016
Interesting book about a tragic event that I was unaware of. The military, legal and technical jargon can make it a bit of a slow read.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews