Ali Haidar VC
His conspicuous gallantry in storming enemy machine-gun posts saved many lives
HAIDAR, Alì
Alì Haidar VC (21 August 1913– 15 July 1999).
He was 31 years old, and a Sepoy in the 6th battalion 13th Frontier Force Rifles, in the British Indian Army during World War II when the following deed took place for which he was awarded the VC.
On 9 April 1945 near Fusignano, Italy, at the start of the Allied spring 1945 offensive Haidar’s battalion was tasked with a difficult assault crossing of the Senio River. Only Sepoy Ali Haidar and the two other men of his section managed to get across under heavy machine-gun fire. Then, without orders, and on his own initiative, Sepoy Ali Haidar, leaving the other two to cover him, charged the nearest post which was about 30 yards away. He threw a grenade and almost at the same time the enemy threw one at him, wounding him severely in the back. In spite of this he kept on and the enemy post was destroyed and four of the enemy surrendered. With utter disregard of his own wounds he continued and charged the next post in which the enemy had one Spandau and three automatics, which were still very active and preventing movement on both banks. He was again wounded, this time in the right leg and right arm. Although weakened by loss of blood, with great determination Sepoy Ali Haidar crawled closer and in a final effort raised himself from the ground, threw a grenade, and charged into the second enemy post. Two enemy were wounded and the remaining two surrendered. Taking advantage of the outstanding success of Sepoy Ali Haidar’s dauntless attacks, the rest of the Company charged across the river and carried out their task of making a bridgehead. Sepoy Ali Haidar was picked up and brought back from the second position seriously wounded. The conspicuous gallantry, initiative, and determination combined with a complete disregard for his own life shown by this very brave Sepoy in the face of heavy odds were an example to the whole Company. His heroism had saved the rest of the company. With the rapid advance which it was possible to make the Battalion captured 3 officers and 217 other ranks and gained their objectives. The rest of the company were than able to cross the river and establish a bridgehead.
The official citation for Haidar’s award, published in the London Gazette in July 1945 reads:
The KING has been graciously pleased to approve the award of the VICTORIA CROSS to: — No. 26534 Sepoy ALI’ HAIDAR, 13th Frontier Force Rifles, British Indian Army.
In Italy, during the crossing of the River Senio, near Fusignano, in daylight on 9 April 1945, a Company of the 13th Frontier Force Rifles were ordered to assault the enemy positions strongly dug in on the far bank. These positions had been prepared and improved over many months and were mainly on the steep flood banks, some 25 feet high.
Sepoy Ali Haidar was a member of the left hand Section of the left-hand Platoon. As soon as the Platoon started to cross, it came under heavy and accurate machine gun fire from two enemy posts strongly dug in about 60 yards away. Sepoy Ali Haidar’s Section suffered casualties and only 3 men, including himself, managed to get across. The remainder of the Company was temporarily held up. Without orders, and on his own initiative, Sepoy Ali Haidar, leaving the other two to cover him, charged the nearest post which was about 30 yards away. He threw a grenade and almost at the same time the enemy threw one at him, wounding him severely in the back. In spite of this he kept on and the enemy post was destroyed and four of the enemy surrendered. With utter disregard of his own wounds he continued and charged the next post in which the enemy had one Spandau and three automatics, which were still very active and preventing movement on ‘both banks. He was “again wounded, this time in the right leg and right arm. Although weakened by loss of blood, with great determination Sepoy Ali Haidar crawled closer and in a final effort raised himself from the ground, threw a grenade, and charged into the second enemy post. Two enemy were wounded and the remaining two surrendered.
Taking advantage of the outstanding success of Sepoy Ali Haidar’s dauntless attacks, the rest of the Company charged across the river and carried out their task of making a bridgehead Sepoy Ali Haidar was picked up and brought back from the second position seriously wounded.
The conspicuous gallantry, initiative, and determination combined with a complete disregard for his own life shown by this very brave Sepoy in the face of heavy odds were an example to the whole Company. His heroism had saved an ugly situation which would — but for his personal bravery — have caused the Battalion a large number of casualties at a critical time and seriously delayed the crossing of the river and the building of a bridge. With the rapid advance which it was possible to make the Battalion captured 3 officers and 217 other ranks and gained their objectives.
Dan van der Vat The Guardian, Tuesday 27 July 1999 01.13 BST
Ali Haidar was born in Kohat to Pashtun, Bangash parents, in what is now Khyber Pukhtunkhwa Province, Pakistan on 21st August 1913. Little is known of his early life, before he became the only Pashtun to receive the VC during World War II. The action which brought him his award typifies the sense of duty to comrades of the men of the North-West frontier region between Afghanistan and Pakistan, where warfare between tribes or against invaders is a way of life. He was serving as a sepoy (private soldier) in what would be regarded as his local regiment - the 13th Frontier Force Rifles.
Ali Haidar, who has died aged 85, earned one of the last Victoria crosses of the second world war - in a spectacular initiative which showed that one humble individual can determine the outcome of campaigns involving hundreds of thousands of troops. After a gruelling struggle by the allied armies up the Italian peninsula in the spring of 1944, the theatre commander, Field Marshal Sir Harold Alexander, ordered the American General Mark Clark, leading the 15th Army Group (the 5th US and 8th British armies), to open an offensive in April 1945 on either side of Bologna, with a view to a final drive through the Po valley. The eastern thrust was to be made by the British, between Bologna and Ravenna, crossing the Senio river and pushing north towards the Po.
The banks of the Senio had been built up to three meters to counter flooding, and the northern bank was heavily defended by entrenched German troops. The offensive was opened on April 9 by Lieutenant-General Sir Charles Keightley’s V Corps, consisting of the 2nd New Zealand and 8th Indian divisions; the latter included the 19th Indian brigade, which in turn incorporated the 6th/13th Frontier Force Rifles of Pathans, in which Ali Haidar was serving as a sepoy, or private.
Haidar was on the extreme left of his battalion, which was ordered to make the crossing in small boats. Withering machine-gun fire saw to it that only three men, including Haidar, reached the enemy bank. The rest of his company was pinned down by two machine-gun nests on the southern bank.
Leaving his two colleagues to cover him as best they could, Haidar rushed one of the nests and hurled a grenade into it. The occupants threw one of theirs at him, wounding him in the back with shrapnel. Nevertheless Haidar, just over five feet tall, got to his feet, rushed the position and winkled out four Germans, who were taken prisoner by his companions.
He then crawled towards the second position, only to be hit in leg and arm. Undeterred, he managed to reach the post, tossed a grenade and charged in; two Germans were wounded and the other two surrendered. The machine guns silenced, Haidar’s company was able to cross the Senio in strength and establish a beachhead, as the wounded hero was carried to the rear for treatment, which was continued at a military hospital in Rome. Ali Haidar did not recover until the war was over, but was fit enough to receive his medal from King George VI at Buckingham palace in October 1945. He returned to his regiment and eventually reached the rank of Jemadar (lieutenant) in the Pakistan army before retiring to a small farm in his home area of the North-West Frontier province.
He and his wife Meena, whom he married in 1947, had no children, and they had great difficulty making a living from poor soil. None the less he managed to get to London in 1993 for a meeting of the Victoria Cross and George Cross Association, where it was revealed that he was dependent on the £100 annual bounty paid to the holders of these highest of bravery awards, and a small army pension.
Two years later, the increase in the bounty to a less than lavish £l,300 a year transformed his circumstances, enabling him to return to London for the 50th anniversary of VE Day. He died at home in Kohai, some time after his wife.
Ali Haidar, soldier, born August 21, 1913; died July 15, 1999
ALESSANDRO CORTESE DE BOSIS
Alessandro Cortese de Bosis, (Roma, 1926), è un ex diplomatico italiano. Nato a Roma da famiglia di letterati e antifascisti - suo nonno era Adolfo De Bosis, suo zio fu Lauro, l’autore del famoso “volo su Roma”, e sua zia Virginia Vacca, studiosa dell’Islam - si laureò nel 1948 all’Università di Roma in giurisprudenza, intraprendendo la carriera diplomatica nel 1955. Nel 1956 fu vice console a Parigi, mentre dal 1958 fu membro della Delegazione permanente d’Italia presso l’O.E.C.E., sempre a Parigi. Dopo diversi incarichi tra Roma, Budapest e Parigi, nel 1962 venne destinato a Mosca, Unione Sovietica, dove rimase fino al 1966, quando fu trasferito a Washington, negli Stati Uniti. Rientrato in patria nel 1969, nel 1976 divenne Console generale a New York. Nel 1982 fu promosso ad Ambasciatore d’Italia in Ungheria, incarico che lascerà l’anno seguente, con la nomina a Direttore Generale delle Relazioni Culturali del Ministero degli Esteri. Nominato nel 1985 ambasciatore a Copenaghen, in Danimarca vi rimase fino al 1990 quando fu trasferito presso il Quartier generale della Forza Multilaterale e Osservatori per il Sinai in Roma, con l’incarico di Consigliere Diplomatico. Lasciata la diplomazia, una volta in pensione, si dedica ad iniziative culturali, come la curatela delle opere e della memoria dello zio Lauro De Bosis, poeta e aviatore antifascista. Sua moglie era la pianista Marina Boesch (pronipote di Aurelio Saffi), morta nel 2012. Dal 2013 è presidente della Associazione nazionale combattenti forze armate regolari guerra di Liberazione (ANCFARGL). Attualmente ne è Presidente Onorario. Autore di molti libri, fra i quali “In Terra di Nessuno: gli Ufficiali Italiani con i Reggimenti Alleati” in cui racconta la sua esperienza in qualità di ufficiale di collegamento con il 6°/13° Frontier Force Rifles dell’8° Divisione Indiana. Quando gli viene chiesto perché ha sentito il bisogno di arruolarsi, risponde: “E’ molto semplice. Mi serviva di fare l’autostop fino alle Alpi per liberare l’Italia. Voi me ne avete data la possibilità”.
Da ‘In Terra di Nessuno’ di Alessandro Cortese de Bosis, ed. International Communications Da pag.175 a pag.187 … Dopo una settimana sul Senio, il comandante del battaglione, Jimmy Green, prese Lapo Mazzei e me sulla sua jeep e ci portò nelle retrovie per assistere alla « prova generale » dell’attacco. … La manovra tattica doveva riprodurre con esattezza le varie fasi del prossimo assalto del D-Day. Carri armati dotati di «paraurti antimine» avanzarono per primi seguiti da due compagnie di fanteria. I carri si misero a emettere lunghi getti di lancia-fiamme sull’argine del Lamone, poi si fecero da parte cedendo il posto a due « ruspe », sempre protette dalla fanteria, che demolirono un tratto dell’argine per posare un ponte Bailey. Simultaneamente alle ruspe, le due compagnie di fanteria si lanciavano sul terreno ancora in fiamme per liquidare le difese nemiche sull’argine meridionale del fiume, guadarlo e proseguire con una terza compagnia sull’argine settentrionale, in cui dovevano stabilire la prima testa di ponte. Tutto si svolse come da manuale. Ma come sarebbero andate le cose il giorno dell’assalto « vero »? Quel giorno venne presto, il 9 Aprile 1945. Prima dell’attacco, a mensa: « Ah, sì, mi dimenticavo di dirvi, dalle ore 12,30 alle 16 avremo 42 ondate di 36 bombardieri medi ciascuna », dice l’aiutante maggiore asciugandosi le labbra. Finisco la mia torta di mele e aspetto. Anche oggi non ho un compito speciale, i collegamenti con la brigata italiana confinante sono stati presi. Preparo le mie poche cose, schiaffo due camicie nello zaino, l’attendente patahn richiude il sacco a pelo. Sono pronto a partire. Esco sull’aia. Sono le 11,30. I cannoni inglesi in numero di 500 cominciano tutti insieme a sparare sugli alti argini del Senio. Siamo talmente vicini all’obiettivo, si direbbe che i proiettili sfiorino le nostre teste. E in alto che succede? Perché spara la contraerea? «Non vi preoccupate, è finta», ci fa un capitano. «Sparano per creare una linea di fumo oltre la quale i bombardieri sganceranno ». Delimitano la zona nemica a 500 metri da qui. Sarà un’azione a corrente alternata, «arty on Senio, bombers on Senio» (artiglieria poi bombardieri sul fiume). Alle 12,30 puntuali, 36 bombardieri sopra di noi. A un tratto è come se calassero violentemente cento saracinesche in una volta: che succede? Istintivamente siamo tutti a terra. « Hit the dirt ». Succede che gli aerei sganciano il loro carico di bombe su di noi: durante il rancio, nei campi, nei vigneti, addossati ai pagliai, indiani, scozzesi, italiani, sono tutti presi dalla grandine di bombe aeree senza poter sfuggire. E queste sono le truppe che fra poco dovranno montare l’assalto sul Senio. Gragnole di bombe da 200 kg sui terreni seminati, i casolari, i pozzi, incendiano ricoveri, disperdono fanti e carristi. I marconisti urlano nelle radio da campo. « Bloody fools, you are dropping your bloody bombs on our own infantry ». Infatti, ora ogni formazione aerea sgancia nel fumo della precedente. « Where the hell is the target », « Dove diavolo è l’obiettivo», si chiedono i bombardieri fra loro. « Push on 500 yards » - imploriamo noi dal basso. « Avanzate di 500 metri ». E’ già successo tante volte, in Normandia, in Sicilia, per noi italiani a Punta Stilo, agli inglesi nel Mare del Nord: bombardati dalla propria aviazione. S’erano sbagliati. Il vento aveva fatto arretrare la linea di fumo fatta dalle salve della nostra contraerea per delimitare la linea di sganciamento. E adesso? Riprendere le truppe, contarle, adunarle. Le bestemmie proferite in tutte le lingue salgono al cielo, alle nubi di fumo, ai bombardieri. Ora hanno capito e bombardano tutta la linea del Senio, fra Cotignola e Alfonsine dove attaccheremo stasera alle 19. La nostra divisione deve sfondare il Senio e stabilire una testa di ponte, attraverso la quale passerà un’altra divisione - la 780 inglese - che raggiungerà il Santerno e il Reno. Io ebbi la fortuna di rimanere per tutta la battaglia col comando del 60/130. Jimmy, con due ufficiali, si era piazzato più avanti vicino al primo argine del Senio, nascosto dentro un cascinale semidistrutto per «osservare il tiro e dirigere l’orchestra »; poi il cascinale fu colpito dai tedeschi mentre Jimmy ne stava uscendo. La tattica disposta dal Colonnello per il battaglione era molto semplice e si rivelò quella giusta. Invece di attaccare sulla intera linea assegnata a noi con le quattro compagnie, circa 400 uomini, il 60/130 concentrò tutto il fuoco su di un fronte di soli sessanta metri, creando quasi subito una breccia nei due argini, e riportando meno della metà delle perdite subite dall’altro battaglione confinante col nostro, che invece aveva sparpagliato le sue compagnie su tutti i duecento metri di lunghezza prestabiliti. La sua fortuna fu che i nostri (Sik, Punjabi, Dogras) corsero su di uno stretto corridoio sminato poco prima e si lanciarono sull’argine che bruciava ancora dopo l’azione dei lanciafiamme. Andavano all’assalto simultaneamente all’ultimo volo radente dei caccia bombardieri Typhoon, che questa volta non lanciarono bombe né mitragliarono. Ma il loro frastuono bastò a tenere i tedeschi dentro le trincee per tema di un altro bombardamento. Scrive Hemingway: « Nessuno ricorda la data della battaglia di Shiloh. Ma se volete sapere quando cominciò la battaglia di Spiaggia Verde (Green beach) nell’area di Omaha Beach in Normandia, essa cominciò il 6 Giugno 1944 alle 7 precise del mattino ». Lui c’era. Per noi, alle 22, la battaglia sul nostro fronte era finita. Soprattutto grazie ad Ali Haidar, Dirò dunque di lui, il sepoy che meritò la Victoria Cross, la più alta onorificenza inglese. Gli indiani, dopo aver attraversato il fiume, furono bloccati da due nidi di mitraglieri tedeschi, che dopo aver subìto ore di bombardamento erano usciti dai rifugi e si erano messi a tirare con un violento fuoco incrociato sugli indiani. Ali Haidar si fece avanti da solo con le bombe a mano e ne silenziò uno. Gravemente ferito, riuscì a trascinarsi vicino al secondo e, appoggiato da altri sepoys, lo distrusse con un’altra bomba prima di cadere; presunto morto, in realtà sopravvissuto per miracolo. Lo vidi rientrare in barella mentre la terra ancora bruciava dopo il passaggio dei carri lanciafiamme. Riuscimmo a dirgli « Shabash » (bravissimo) mentre lo portavano all’ospedaletto. Vorrei andarlo a trovare nel suo villaggio pakistano. Dopotutto, se Fusignano fu liberata lo si deve anche a lui. … Fu così che Fusignano, o quello che ne restava, fu presa e poi Cotignola e tutti i paesini che erano il nostro obiettivo da due mesi. « Cotignola spazzata via dalla carta geografica », scrisse il giorno dopo lo « 8th Army New ». Ricordo ancora le parole di Jimmy per radiotelefono (lui era a cento metri più avanti a noi, aveva raggiunto la compagnia « B che aveva sfondato per prima): « Forty prisoners! And we are getting on ». Allora tutto il comando che era affidato al « maggiore bello » Sataravala, avanzò per raggiungere Jimmy e insieme entrammo a Casa Costa (c’è ancora), che era il posto da dove Jimmy aveva « diretto l’orchestra », presso l’argine meridionale. La prima nostra compagnia ad attaccare era stata la Prima dei Sikhs, quelli col turbante, i soli soldati che non portano l’elmetto. Li comanda Ruggles, pipa in bocca, per mostrare che non si preoccupa. Davanti a loro cigolano i carri lanciafiamme, si avvicinano lenti come scorpioni ai grandi argini del Senio, la linea tedesca prima del Santerno.
Ali Haidar. Un istante prima di addormentarmi, ripenso al ferito indiano.
WARTIME FRIENDS DIALOGUES WITH AMBASSADOR ALESSANDRO CORTESE DE BOSIS about “VICTORIA CROSS ALI HAIDAR: TOWARDS TWO ANNIVERSARIES APRIL 9 AND AUGUST 21”
Ali Haidar, Victoria Cross
Mr Ambassador, we are truly honored to have the possibility of learning from you about one of the most heroic actions that took place during WWII in Italy: the one carried out by Sepoy Ali Haidar. As an Italian Army Liaison Officer with the 19th Indian Infantry Brigade I had the privilege of taking part in the action under Lt Colonel S J H Green, Commanding Officer of the Battalion where Ali Haidar served on the Senio River. A brief note about this Hero and the circumstances that lead to the VC decoration. Jemadar Ali Haidar VC was born August 21, 1913, in India and is the only Pathan to receive the Victoria Cross in WWII. He was serving as a sepoy (private) the 13th Frontier Force Rifles in Italy By early spring 1945 the 8th Army fighting in Italy was ordered to make one final offensive to destroy the German 10th Army out of the North. It was essential to cross and establish bridgeheads over the Senio River. The offensive was opened on April 9 by General Sir Charles Keightley’s 5th Corps with the 8th Indian and 2nd New Zealand Divisions. The 6 / 13th Frontier Force Rifles, to which Ali Haidar belonged, were with 19th Indian Brigade of the 8th Division. As soon as his platoon started to cross, it came under tremendous enemy fire and only 3 men including him managed to get to the other bank. The action was part of the Battle of the Three Rivers: Senio, Santerno and Sillaro. The Cremona Division of the Italian army was also engaged on that front. Without orders, and on his own initiative, near Fusignano, Sepoy Ali Haidar, leaving the other two to cover him, charged the nearest post which was about 30 yards away. He threw a grenade and almost at the same time the enemy threw one at him, wounding his back severely. In spite of this, he kept on. The enemy post was destroyed and four enemy soldiers surrendered. Suffering from his wounds he went on to the following post where Germans were very active. Again wounded, exhausted and overcome with pain, he threw a grenade into the enemy post. Two enemies were wounded and two others surrendered. Thanks to his action, the rest of the Company could now charge across the river, set up a bridgehead win yet another decisive battle against the Nazis. Ali Haidar was awarded the Victoria Cross by King George VI at Buckingham Palace on October 30, 1945. He died in Pakistan, aged 85, on the July 15, 1999. Buried at Village Shahu Khel, Shahu Khel, Hangu District, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan
What is your personal account of those days? I was excited and moved at recognizing that I had the honor of liberating a few square miles of my Country together with the Indian soldiers.
How much did your service during the war influence your service as an Italian Diplomat? I entered the diplomatic service in the same spirit with which I had joined the army in the service of my Country.
You are the promoter of countless initiatives in favor of historical memory. One of these was realized in 1995, fiftieth anniversary of the battle and you brought VC Ali Haidar back to Italy for the celebration. Could you tell us about this amazing effort? I was responsible for asking the British, Indian and Pakistani embassies to bring back Ali Haidar on the 50th anniversary of the end of the war against the Nazi regime of genocide. He was a Hero to be admired by all the Italians who had been suffering in that terrible period.
You have always been close to the towns where you served in 1944 and came back to visit a number of times. What does this mean to you and what does it mean to receive the expression of so much gratitude after nearly 80 years? I feel a sense of belonging to Lugo, Alfonsine, Bagnacavallo and other places as if they were part of my own family. I sincerely hope that the young generations, thanks to the noble efforts of Wartime Friends Association will fully understand the value and valor of the international army that liberated Italy in 1945 as part of the liberation of Europe.
With Ali Haidar and the Baruzzi family at Casa Costa where we had the Hq of our Bn (plaque below)
