Quote:
Originally posted by Mark W. Tonner
Not to take away from Sarah's thread, but were did you get that the "5th Canadian Armoured Division cooled their heels in N.Africa for a while in late 1943, before going to Italy"?
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The regimental History of the GGHG by John Marteinson (p185 and p188) has them landing in Algiers on the 26th of Nov. 1943. The Regimental Vanguard boarded another ship to Phillipperville where they changed ship again before sailing to Italy. The fighting squadrons moved from the port of Algiers to a British staging camp in the Foret de Ferdinand, Algeria, where they waited until the 16th of December for ships to take them to Italy.
The LdSH history confirms the same story (p39) that the vanguard passed thought Algiers and Phillipperville on their way to Italy while the fighting squadrons spent three weeks in the British staging camp in the Foret de Ferdinand near Zeralda, Algeria.
The link below confirms also that the 8th Hussars first sailed to North Africa before going to Italy.
http://www.army.dnd.ca/8HUSSARS/Docu...arrative_e.htm