The History of WWII Podcast · Ray Harris Jr

Episode 589:The Return of Paddy Mayne

December 15, 2025·25 min·1 clip

Paddy Mayne's men destroyed Labra Doria Battery without a single casualty.

1. The History of WWII Podcast episode 589 focuses on Paddy Mayne and the SRS landing on Sicily near Syracuse on July 10th, 1943. 2. Ray narrates the action and repeatedly identifies Major Blair Paddy Mayne, David Stirling, and Major George Jellicoe as the SAS officers who shaped the force. 3. The episode asks what happens when the SRS lands in Sicily with operational discretion and more targets than the original plan. 4. The SRS boards the Ulster Monarch on July 5th with 18 officers and 262 men split into three fighting groups, a mortar platoon, and sappers. 5. The first objective is the Labra Doria Battery on the Magdalena Peninsula, where Troops 1 and 2 approach from opposite directions while Troop 3 moves toward Masseria de Mario. 6. Captain Alex Muirhead's mortar troop sets up on a ridge and hits the battery's ammunition dump, which lights up the position. 7. The battery, command post, and nearby barracks are taken by 4:30 a.m. after little resistance from the Italian garrison. 8. Mayne then learns that a second inland battery is firing on Allied ships, so he decides to attack it too. 9. The troops use Casa Malia as a lookout point, and the mortar troop fires again while the infantry surrounds the target. 10. At battery AS-493, Troop 1 encounters Italians waving a white flag, then a hidden machine gun opens fire and wounds 22-year-old bombardier Jeffrey Canton. 11. The SRS responds with grenades into the pillbox, and the gun battery is destroyed after the machine gun position is cleared. 12. Paddy Mayne keeps scouting and finds two more batteries farther north, showing how quickly the original mission expands. 13. The episode also describes the 1st Air Landing Brigade at Ponte Grande Bridge, where headwinds force gliders into the sea and at least 252 men drown. 14. Ray notes that the 5th Infantry Division lands at Casabile and that men from the 17th Brigade help retake Ponte Grande Bridge. 15. The British 50th Division lands near Avola, while the 231st Malta Brigade, the 51st Division, and the Canadian 1st Division face lighter resistance elsewhere on Sicily. 16. On the American side, the 45th Division lands near Scoglitti, and the 1st Division's Force X fights through mines, pillboxes, and artillery at Gela. 17. The 3rd Division and JAWS force run into the Coastal Artillery Train, the USS Buck, and the USS Brooklyn before the guns near Licata go quiet. 18. Ray's tone stays chronological and explanatory, with long tactical descriptions, map-style geography, and occasional side comments about Paddy Mayne and the SAS. 19. Listeners interested in SAS raids, Sicily landings, and battlefield geography will get the most out of this episode. 20. Listeners wanting a short, character-light overview of Sicily's broader campaign may skip it.

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