We've all heard of fabled desert raiders like the Special Air Service and the Long Range Desert Group, not so much the smaller and perhaps more eccentric Popski's Private Army (PPA).
Popski or Vladimir Peniakoff was a Belgian of Russian descent who emigrated to Egypt between the wars, where he worked as an engineer as well as learning Arabic and desert navigation in a Ford he called "the pisspot."
When war broke out in 1939 Peniakoff, in his early 40s, tried to join the British Navy and Airforce but was turned down. Eventually he was awarded a commission in the British Army and served in the Libyan Arab Force (LAF).
LAF bored the adventurous Belgian, so he applied to set up a small, highly mobile commando to operate behind enemy lines, the Libyan Arab Force Commando, LAFC. The unit was approved and off it went, blowing things up and providing reconnaissance in conjunction with the LRDG for some 5 months.
On return to Cairo, Peniakoff was less than happy to discover the LAFC had been disbanded and he'd been without pay for 4 months. Colonel Shan Hackett, who controlled British special forces in the Middle East, told him had only himself to blame and sent the restless Belgian off to the LRDG for a raid on an airfield, Barce.
Back from the raid, Peniakoff was given the green light to set up his own unit, the 1st Demolition Squadron, which when pressed for something more catchy by Hackett became Popski's Private Army, "Popski" being Peniakoff's LRDG call sign.
The rest is history. PPA went on to do significant work in the western desert and from there moved on to Italy, where the tiny Jeep-mounted commando expanded to around 100 men. And Popski, who spoke Italian as well as Arabic, was notorious for gathering intel in Italy by phoning up German garrisons while pretending to be "friendly forces." Not dissimilar, when you think about it, to those Russians who call up Democrat leaders pretending to be Greta Thurnberg.
Regardless, PPA suffered very few casualties (12 KIA?) in years of fighting, a testament to Popski himself and the quality of the men under his command. He celebrated victory in 1945 by driving around St. Mark's square in Venice seven times, the first and maybe last motorised event of its kind.
So there you have it. I hesitate to post all this because I know some of the few people who read this inconsequential mind blog know far more about these kinds of things than I do. But still, Popski stands out as a remarkable man, a hero to me in my youth and also now.
Let's see more of the same and let's be honest, who doesn't want a Jeep with mounted .50s?
Cheers,
LSP
*******
The area between Route 16 and Adriatic, from the SAVIO to the UNITI canal presented a problem to Porterforce. The area was intersected by canals, in some places densely wooded, and for the rest a flooded marsh. Major Peniakoff during the first fortnight in November with three patrols has liquidated all enemy opposition in this area. Every operation was planned by him, and in the majority of cases he actually led the patrols which have resulted in 31 PW and many enemy cas, and a retreat by the enemy from the SAVIO to the UNITI.
His own personal courage and drive have been the dominant factors in a notable achievement. When the floods made operations seemingly impossible Major Peniakoff personally led a Duck assault patrol, and supervised the building of a most unorthodox bridge over the GHIAIA canal in face of enemy Spandau fire. This bridge enabled a joint 27 L and PPA raid to surprise and capture 14 enemy in the village of GHIAIA.
This officer's consummate coolness and gallantry has not only made it possible to clean up a wide area of country which should easily have been held by the enemy, but his own personality has so impressed itself upon the Partisans in the coastal sector that their activities under his guidance have proved quite exceptional.
