This is the user sandbox of Llywrch. A user sandbox is a subpage of the user's user page. It serves as a testing spot and page development space for the user and is not an encyclopedia article. Create or edit your own sandbox here.
Battle of Mount Belvedere
Date18-25 February 1945
Location
Northern Italy
Belligerents
  Germany
Commanders and leaders
Major General George Price Hays General Albert Kesselring
Units involved
  • 232nd Infantry Division
  • 114th Jäger Division
    • Casualties and losses
    US: 900 casualties, 203 killed[1]
    Brazilian: 22 dead, 137 wounded[2]    		 total number unknown,
    400+ taken prisoner[3]

    The Battle of Mount Belvedere also known as the Battle of Riva Ridge (18-25 February 1945) was a battle of the Second World War between the 10th Mountain Division and the German Wehrmacht. The first part of Operation Encore, this battle was a limited offensive, with the goal of capturing a string of summits of the Northern Apennines that controlled Strada statale 64 Porrettana [it], the all-weather link between Pistoia and Bologna. Once held, possession of these summits would provide the Allies an advantageous position from which the western portion of the Allied spring offensive could start.

    The primary height along Highway 64 was Mount Belvedere [it], which had been the goal of several earlier Allied attacks November 1944 by the Brazilian Expeditionary Force (BEF). However, heavy German artillery barrages prevented the BEF from holding Belvedere; these barrages had been aided by spotters on Riva Ridge. So to hold Mount Belvedere, this chain of mountains would also need to be captured. To accomplish this, however, the attackers would need to climb up a series of steep slopes, at times cliffs, without any cover; one tactical study estimated that over 70% of any attackers would become casualties if attempted in daylight. Therefore General Hays chose to send the 86th Infantry Regiment to climb those slopes at night. Once Riva Ridge was in friendly hands, the other two regiments of the 10th Mountain -- the 85th and 87th -- would begin their frontal assault on Mount Belvedere.

    German counterattacks attempted to push the American regiments holding Mount Belvedere and Mount Gorgolesco off the summit, but lack of spotters on Riva Ridge hampered their success. Once these counterattacks were overcome, the Division proceeded along the mountain crests to Mount della Torraccia [it]. The BEF seized Mount Castello in support of this advance. The Germans were fierce in their defense of Mount della Torraccia; the second battalion of the 85th Regiment suffered heavy casualties; these casualties amounted to half of those the Division experienced in the entire battle. The third battalion of the 86th regiment, which did not participate in the capture of Riva Ridge, replaced them in the line and succeeded in capturing the mountain 24 February. German counterattacks ceased after that.

    Background

    [edit]

    Following the capture of Rome 4 June 1944, the Allied forces proceeded north in two groups: the British Eighth Army (Lieutenant-General Oliver Leese) advancing along the coastal plain of the Adriatic, and the U.S. Fifth Army (Lieutenant General Mark Clark) to the west through the central Apennine Mountains. Before them stood the carefully prepared German defenses of the Gothic Line. General Clark's plan had initially been to drive through the Apennines at two points: the main body of II Corps would advance north along the Strada statale 65 della Futa [it], the highway that connects Florence to Bologna by way of the Futa Pass. When these troops encountered the expected enemy resistance, the 34th Division would launch a strong diversionary attack west of the Futa Pass, while the rest of II Corps would bypass the Futa Pass to the east and attack the lightly defended Il Giogo Pass on Route 6524 near the boundary of the German Fourteenth and Tenth Armies. This attack began 10 September 1944.[4]

    However, the Apennines were a formidable terrain and the Germans proved to be stubborn foes in well-prepared defensive positions. Although the American divisions managed to advance past both the Futa and Il Giogo passes, it was at a high cost. Between 10 September and 26 October, II Corps' four divisions had suffered over 15,000 casualties. On 27 October General Sir Henry Maitland Wilson, the Supreme Allied Commander in the Mediterranean, ordered a halt to these offensives.[5]

    The Allies made one last attempt to break through the Apennines, using the recently arrived Brazilian Expeditionary Force, which was about a division in size. To the west of Futa Pass Highway 64 passed Mount Belvedere on its route to Bologna; the BEF was tasked with capturing this prominence, which would allow a breakthrough into the Po Valley. From 24 November through 12 December the Brazilians made three unsuccessful assaults to capture the mountain, but despite their bravery each time they secured the peak of the mountain, German artillery drove them off the heights.[6] It was at this point the US 10th Mountain Division, the only American mountain infantry unit, which had been impatiently idling stateside, arrived in Italy.

    Because of specialized mountain training and comparatively light organic artillery -- there were only three battalions of 75-mm. pack howitzers as contrasted with the three battalions of 105-mm. howitzers and one of 155-mm. howitzers in the standard infantry division -- commanders in other theaters had declined the division's services, but the specialized training enhanced the division's attractiveness to an army engaged in mountain warfare.[7]

    The first members of the 10th arrived in Italy when the 86th Regiment landed at Naples late December 1944. On Christmas Day the men of the first battalion of the 86th were transported by rail in forty-and-eights to Livorno while the rest of the regiment arrived in the freighter Sestriere; from Livorno they rode in trucks to Pisa. (Need citation here)

    It was at Pisa that the men of the division discovered their specialized mountaineering equipment had not followed them to Italy; their skis, mountain boots, parkas and the rest of their equipment got no closer to them than a warehouse in Boston.[8] Once in the mountains, the men would most miss their sleeping bags that had kept them warm through the winter nights in the Rocky Mountains; in response to their complaints, the standard issue of two blankets was supplemented with another two.[9] The officers would miss the mountain boots the division spent years developing. (Link to note about appropriating German mountain boots) One wrote, "We have spent three years developing this clothing and equipment. We may now be denied the use of it at a time when we really need it."[10] The men improvised, borrowing skis from local Italian alpine clubs for their patrols in the snow; they could not obtain crampons from the local clubs, so they fixed knotted ropes to the soles of their leather and rubber shoepacs to improve their footing on icy slopes.[11]

    From Pisa the regiment proceeded to the front, arriving at Vidiciantico [it].[12] By 20 January, the rest of the division joined them on the front lines in the Apennines.[13]

    Isserman, p. 137: "Lieutenant Colonel Hampton likened the 1st Battalion's position in and around Vidiciatico to sitting 'in the bottom of a bowl with the enemy sitting on two-thirds of the rim looking down upon you. There was about as much concealment as a goldfish would have in a bowl.'"

    Task Force 45, originally at milhist.net

    Disposition of forces

    [edit]

    On the Allied side:

    Attached to the division:
    • US 175th Field Artillery Battalion (Had been part of Task Force 45)
    • US 1125th Armored Field Artillery
    • US 84th Chemical Mortar Battalion (Had been part of Task Force 45)
    • US 751st Tank Destroyer Battalion (Had been part of Task Force 45)
    • US 701st Tank Destroyer Battalion (Had been part of Task Force 45)

    On the German side:

    Prelude

    [edit]

    To the west of the town of Vidiciatico and running generally southwest was a very precipitous and rugged escarpment called the Mancinello-C[a]mpiano Ridge. This chain of summits rose from the very steep canyon of the Dardagna River to various heights. Rising abruptly from the fortified town of Rocca Corneta, it extended to M. Spigolino, a distance of about seven miles. The summits from north to south were Pizzo di C[a]mpiano (3175 ft.), M. Cappel Buso (3800 ft.), M. Serrasiccia (4600 ft.), M. Riva (4672 ft.), Le Piagge (4900 ft.), Serra [d]ei Barchetti (4350 ft.), Cingular Sermidiano (5400 ft.), and M. Spigolino (6030 ft.). The elevation of the Dardagna canyon varied from 1600 feet at the north end to some 2500 feet at the south end.

    There were no sharp breaks of passes. On the east side it is generally very steep, broken, with cliffs, steep ravines and shoulders. The west side is by comparison very mild, ranging from broken and steep through rolling to nearly a plateau west of M. Riva. The watershed on the east side is abrupt, characterized by fast flowing waterfalls. They empty into a stream which flows parallel to the base of the ridge, whose banks range from steep to a gorge, One of the important factors to be considered was the gradient of the east side of the escarpment which would have to be scaled to take this ridge held by the enemy. At the shortest place, the average gradient to M. Cappel Buso is about 40 degrees. (The average gradient of the Hornlike ridge of Hira Herborn is 45 degrees). The average gradient to M. Serrasiccia was 30 degrees. [Dusenberry believes that the gradients to Cappel Buso & Serrasiccia are reversed.] -- Lt. Col. Henry Hampton, cited in Dusenberry p. 179

    Initial encounters revealed the naïveté of the American troops. (Isserman, pp. 141f)

    Continue to move forward. Never stop. Always forward. Always forward. Always forward. If your buddy is wounded, don't stop to help him. Continue to move forward. Always forward. Don't get pinned down. Never stop. When the assault comes, you must get into the enemy's position as quickly as possible. You must move fast. Don't give the enemy time to recover. Shoot him. You must take his position.

    In the days to come, those of you who survive must learn to relax and enjoy yourself. You will be given time out of the line when you can rest and see the sights. You should go to all the historical places that you can in Italy, because remember you may not get back this way again. To the victors go the spoils. Take trophies, souvenirs, cameras, guns, pistols, and watches, ship them home. Someday you can show them to your grandchildren.

    Good luck.

    The attack

    [edit]
    Map of the Battle of Mountain Belvedere

    The plan: 86th would climb & secure Riva ridge; 3rd bn 85th reg wd assault the summit of Mt Belvedere; 1st bn 85th reg Mount Gorgolesco east of Belvedere on right; 3rd bn 87th reg move along the lower slopes in support of the 85th reg; 1st bn 87th reg capture Valpiana Ridge to NW on left; 2nd bn the area between Corona & Florio. (Jenkins, p. 165) The B.E.F. wd capture Mt Castello

    Riva Ridge

    [edit]

    Mount Belvedere

    [edit]
    Men of the 85th Mountain Regiment work their way up the face of Mt. Belvedere

    February 20, 1945 Yesterday we fired some shells into Poretta. This must have made the enemy feel very uncomfortable, as shortly thereafter he began a mighty show of fireworks on Pietra Colora.

    On the right, the Americans are again reported to have penetrated our positions. Since seven o'clock this morning, their fighter bombers are continually humming in the sky above us, and their machine guns are hammering without letup.

    The other side knows as well as we just how much the wheat fields of the Po Valley mean to us. Gertrude writes that Prisdorf has suffered heavily. She would rather wait a little longer before getting married. Woman are funny. One will not wait for your because it takes too long, and another wants to wait longer. Well, I won't talk about that anymore.

    Diary of a German Officer

    B.E.F.

    [edit]

    Mount della Torraccia

    [edit]

    February 23, 1945 It's 8 P.M. The entire area is alive with explosions. The bunker is shaking. Carbide lamps are blown out, and pressure is exerted on our ears. I hope nothing has happened to our food truck.

    Last night, I was out scouting until five in the morning. I now have more details on the enemy's penetration. Mount Belvedere, Mount della Torraccia, and Mount Castello are now in American hands. One of our regiments is almost completely destroyed. Two companies have gone over to the enemy

    Diary of a German Officer

    Aftermath

    [edit]

    Reaction to the victory

    [edit]

    Operation Encore

    [edit]

    Notes (not references)

    [edit]

    See also

    [edit]

    References

    [edit]
    1. ^ Ernest F. Fisher Jr., The Mediterranean Theater of Operations: Cassino to the Alps (Washington, D.C.: Center of Military History, 1977), p. 432
    2. ^ Mascarenhas de Morais, p. 118 n. 34
    3. ^ Shelton, p. 157
    4. ^ North Apennines: 1944-1945, pp. 6-10
    5. ^ North Apennines: 1944-1945, p. 22
    6. ^ Shelton, p. 121
    7. ^ Fisher, The Mediterranean Theater of Operations: Cassino to the Alps (Washington: Center of Military History, 1977), p. 424
    8. ^ Jenkins, p. 149; Isserman, p. 134
    9. ^ Isserman, p. 134
    10. ^ Jenkins, p. 149
    11. ^ Jenkins, p. 157
    12. ^ Isserman, pp. 133-136
    13. ^ Shelton, p. 124


    Further reading

    [edit]
    [edit]

    ((heirs-license|cc-by-sa-4.0))

    More