Operation Avalanche
Operations Reports issued by the First Beach Battalion, Amphibious Force Atlantic Fleet August 1943.
A condensation of information obtained from Operations Reports issued by the First Beach
Battalion, Amphibious Force Atlantic Fleet in August of 1943.
Operations Plan No. 1 dated August 15, 1943 labeled Operation BUTTRESS states that a reinforced
Company of the First Beach Battalion will operate in the BUTTRESS Operation in conjunction with a
Shore Party of the Royal Engineers in support of the landing of a Reinforced Division of the British
Army.
Company "B" reinforced as outlined below for BUTTRESS Operation:
Total of officer and enlisted personnel, including Company and Battalion Headquarters detachments;
21 officers, 224 enlisted men.
- Company "B" Platoon 4 reinforced by two (2) Line Officers and twenty seven (27) enlisted men from Hydrographic and Boat Repair Sections of Company "A" Platoon 1.
- Company "B" Platoon 5 reinforced by two (2) Line Officers and twenty seven (27) enlisted men from Hydrographic and Boat Repair Sections and two (2) enlisted men from Communication Section of Company "A" Platoon 2
- Company "B" Platoon 6 reinforced by two (2) Line Officers and twenty seven (27) enlisted men from Hydrographic and Boat Repair Sections and two (2) enlisted men from Communications Section of Company "A" Platoon 3.
- Company "B" Headquarters not reinforced. Total two (2) Line Officers five (5) enlisted men.
- Battalion Headquarters, less two (2) enlisted men, reinforced by one (1) Line Officer (Communications) from Company "A" Headquarters.
Operation AVALANCHE was the code name given for the final plan to invade Salerno Italy.
The following tables were compiled from de-classified data obtained from the US Navy and includes
information about 243 of our shipmates. The entire battalion should be listed here, but so far we
have been able to find only a partial list.