Salerno Mutiny

The Salerno Mutiny was a mutiny by about 600 men of the British X Corps, who on September 16, 1943 refused assignment to new units as replacements during the Allied invasion of Italy.

It was, specifically, men from the British 51st Highland Division and the 50th Northumbrian Division, including some veterans of the war in North Africa. About 1500 of them had sailed from Tripoli, on the understanding that they were to join the rest of their units, based in Sicily. Instead, once aboard ship, they were told that they were being taken to Salerno, to join the 46th Division, fighting as part of Lieut.-General Mark Clark's U.S. Fifth Army. Many of the soldiers felt they had been deliberately misled.

Matters were made worse by the total lack of organisation when they reached Salerno, leaving them angry and frustrated. Most of the soldiers, a thousand or so fresh recruits, were taken off to join new units, leaving 500 veterans, 300 of whom were moved to a nearby field. They were still there by 20 September, refusing postings to unfamiliar units. They were addressed by the commander of X Corps, Lieut.-General Richard McCreery, who admitted that a mistake had been made, and promised that they would rejoin their old units once Salerno was secure. The men were also warned of the consequences of mutiny in wartime.

Of the three hundred in the field, 108 decided to follow orders, leaving a hard core of 192. They were all charged with mutiny under the Army Act, the largest number of men accused at any one time in all of British military history. The accused were shipped to Algeria, where the courts-martial opened towards the end of October. All were found guilty, and three sergeants were sentenced to death. The sentences were subsequently commuted to 12 years of forced labour and eventually suspended, though the men faced constant harassment for the rest of their military careers.