26 SEPTEMBER 1944

The gunners manning the 88 flak gun now configured for ground attack were dirty and tired. They were part of 8 Company, II Battalion of the German Fourteenth army. They had been driven north after the Anzio landings and now were engaged in the fighting retreat going up the Eastern coast. They had been pushed over the Arno River, surrendering Florence to the Allied 8th army and were now defending the approaches to the Uso River. Having arrived there with some time to spare before the approaches of the New Zealand Division who were leading the extreme right flank of the advance, they had created their firing plan and zeroed in their targets – the river approaches. All they could do now was to sit and wait.

‘A’ Squadron of Divisional Cavalry, now part of the New Zealand 6th Brigade was making a slow and expensive progress after the battle of Rimini towards the mouth of the Uso. The enemy had laid a great deal of demolition material (obsolete bombs and shells) and many mines. Already a couple of Staghounds and some trucks had been destroyed with some loss of life. ‘A ‘Squadron needed to clear a path for the tanks and armoured cars and to find safe crossing of the rivers with the Uso now of paramount importance. Orders were coming down from RHQ to push on so, after quickly clearing the remaining mines Lieutenant Spiers and Sergeant McDonald went ahead on foot to reconnoitre the approach to the river. They met up with 10 others from other units and began to work out a crossing plan.

A single 88mm shell burst amongst them. Spiers and seven of the men from the other units were killed instantly. Patrick (PHA) McDonald was lucky to be amongst the four who were only wounded, if being knocked unconscious and having your arm sliced open from wrist to shoulder is lucky.
Pat awoke to a medical orderly helping him into a vehicle. The man had roughly bandaged his arm and taken steps to stop the bleeding. He looked around him and saw the broken and bloody forms of his comrades. They were being hastily evacuated from the dangerous position with the helpers warily looking out for any further shelling. He was taken to Florence to 6th NZ General Hospital where his wounds were operated on, dressed and his arm put in plaster. The analgesic medication relieved the pain but also made everything a bit fuzzy around the edges. When Jane put a soothing hand on Pat’s brow and asked how he was feeling he was a bit disoriented. He thought that he was back in Marlborough and that he must have fallen off his horse. Jane was his sister you see, Senior Nurse Jane McDonald. When he realised where he was he and Jane had a great reconciliation, swapping stories of their respective campaigns. Pat was the envy of the other patients as he definitely received preferential treatment. All too soon though he had to leave the hospital and rejoin his division. There were many more rivers to fight over on the way towards the Po river and ultimately Trieste.