Courtesy Photo | Captain Roswell Doughty, who as a major, commanded Task Force D... read more read more
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by Michael E. Bigelow, INSCOM Command Historian
On June 18, 1944, Maj. Roswell Doughty, the 34-year-old S-2 of the 141st Infantry, assumed command of a combined-arms force of 1,500 men. Dubbed Task Force D, the group helped secure the eastern flank of the U.S. Army’s IV Corps as it pushed the German forces north along the western Italian coast.
After American forces captured Rome on 4 June, Doughty’s regiment had pushed over one hundred miles northwest of the Italian capital. As the 141st Infantry entered the Tuscany region, it fell under the command of Brig. Gen. Rufus Ramey, who led an ad hoc brigade-sized force on the eastern flank of the corps. By June 17, this force crossed the Ombrose River and prepared to attack German defenses in the town of Campagnatico.
Throughout this time, Doughty, as part of his S-2 duties, had patrolled with the regiment’s Intelligence and Reconnaissance (I&R) Platoon, oversaw the interrogation of prisoners of war, and ensured his unit had the proper maps. When Campagnatico fell on the evening of 18 June, he moved into town to join the regimental command post.
Along the side of the road, General Ramey approached Doughty. The general hastily put him in command of Task Force D. Its mission was to guard the corps’ right flank. Circling an area on the major’s map, he directed Doughty to “Take your force to that point and prepare a 360 degree defense.” Before long, the new commander was joined by his task force, including an infantry company, a tank platoon, an engineer platoon, a reconnaissance troop, and over a battalion of artillery. Quickly, he organized his march column and led the lengthy column east.
Although Doughty had been a regimental S-2 for over a year, much of it in combat, he found that it was “quite another thing to be the commanding officer.” He later noted that the situation “was not made easier by the fact that several of the unit commanders outranked me.” Still, the task force’s leaders were veterans and cooperated with their new commander. The force reached their assigned area by night fall and, after a council of war, Doughty deployed the troops. To warn of enemy activity, he established a network of observation posts (OPs) in a rough circle six miles in diameter.
A restless Doughty spent the first night inspecting his outposts. He shifted his artillery nearer to the center of his perimeter where the infantry provided better protection. He also led his tanks back into position after they drifted back to refuel. Moreover, he radioed for infantry reinforcements since his current force could not properly man the perimeter. He received them and, by noon 19 June, Task Force D’s position was as well integrated as possible.
For Doughty, the most daunting feature of his position was its proximity to Monte Cucco, where earlier he had observed a lot of German activity. When the OPs reported signs of enemy movement on the high ground, Doughty ordered his artillery and tanks to open fire on the enemy positions. Keeping up fire on targets of opportunity, Task Force D sent some 3,000 rounds into the enemy defenses. Patrols later discovered that the German units had pulled out.
After that, the situation quieted down and, on June 22, General Ramey dissolved the task force. Ramey thanked Doughty for “a bang-up job.” After his five days of command, Maj. Doughty returned to his S-2 duties with the 141st Infantry, where he would remain for the rest of the war.
| Date Taken: | 06.13.2022 |
| Date Posted: | 06.13.2022 11:40 |
| Story ID: | 422792 |
| Location: | FORT HUACHUCA, ARIZONA, US |
| Web Views: | 120 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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