Center of Military History USA

Center of Militari History United States Army

FROM THE VOLTURNO TO THE WINTER LINE

6 October-15 November 1943,

(Washington, 1990 pp. 72-79)

Rearguard Action up the Volturno Valley

Toward Sant' Angelo d'Alife

The main effort of the 34th Division up the northeast side of the Volturno was begun by the 133d Infantry (Map N^o. 22, opposite page). The road that it was to use runs from Alvignano to Alife and then turns northwest over the fertile farm land below the towns of Sant'Angelo d'Alife, Raviscanina, and Ailano, nestling against the steep foothills of the Matese mountain range. This valley road runs roughly parallel to the Volturno, on the northeast side of the river, to connect with Highway 85. Smaller roads branch off laterally to reach villages on the lower slopes of the mountain mass.

On the afternoon Of 20 October, Col. Fountain ordered the 133d Infantry to advance against Sant' Angelo d'Alife at 1800 from the vicinity of the blown bridge. The 100th Battalion was directed to seize the upper road junction, while the 1st Battalion followed to take the lower junction. Col. Fountain warned his battalion commanders that they could expect strong opposition that night and instructed them not to let their men be caught out in the flat, open terrain after daylight. The artillery opened up before 1800, and the sound of shells exploding in enemy positions crashed and echoed up and down the valley as the leading battalions started their advance.

The 100th Battalion made excellent progress in the early part of the evening of 20 October but was caught by crossfire of enemy machine

MAP N°. 22

guns about midnight. The enemy positions on the slopes were extremely difficult to locate and mortar fire directed on them was ineffective. The 100th Battalion became disorganized, and the 1st Battalion was ordered to move to the right and advance along the lower road. The 3d Battalion, which had followed the 1st, was then committed to drive along the upper road toward Sant' Angelo d'Alife. Rifle, machine-gun, multi-barreled-mortar, and artillery fire was heavy throughout the night, but the advance continued.

The Germans in this sector were engaging in one of their determined delaying actions and were throwing everything they had at our troops. To support the advance, the 125th and 151st Field Artillery Battalions, which had crossed the river during the night, opened up at 1041 on 21 October and in the next twenty minutes expended 1,134 rounds. They fired until their ammunition ran low, but the infantry was still unable to make any progress. The battalions had become disorganized and the men were scattered over the valley.

Stubborn enemy resistance continued from the olive groves on the slopes. Early on the afternoon of 21 October, fourteen enemy tanks were sighted among the willows in the direction of the river. The infantry dug in and the divisional artillery fired periodic concentrations during the next four hours as first one observation post and then another spotted the tanks. The 125th Field Artillery Battalion, using a Cub plane for observation, caught six tanks in its fire and threw 736 shells at them during the afternoon. The battalion was able to report one tank destroyed and four immobilized; the remaining tanks withdrew only after inflicting heavy casualties on the 133d Infantry. After dark the 100th and 3d Battalions got up on the slopes southeast of Hill 630, but the 1st Battalion was still out in the open valley.

During the night of 21/22 October the enemy made no counterattacks against the 133d Infantry, which continued its advance on the foggy morning of 22 October. The 100th Battalion reached the lower road junction, and the 3d Battalion was soon astride the upper one without opposition. During the night the Germans had withdrawn. The battalions then outposted their position and prepared to take Sant' Angelo d'Alife and Hill 529 the next morning. Through the morning of 23 October the attack continued. While the 3d Battalion climbed over the terraced slopes of Hill 630, the 100th Battalion attempted to outflank the village by driving across the lower ground to the south. The 3d Battalion passed above the village during the morning, but the 100th Battalion was pinned down by machine-gun fire, and tanks were observed on its left. During the afternoon tanks were again in the valley and inflicted heavy casualties on the 100th Battalion before they were finally driven off. Rearguard enemy units held on stubbornly throughout the day and periodically laid down intense mortar and artillery fire. Enemy machine gunners occupied well-selected positions in the olive groves and behind stone walls to delay the progress of our infantry.

The 1st Battalion moved up through the mist on the morning of 24 October and entered the walled and narrow streets of Sant' Angelo d'Alife without resistance. The 100th Battalion then advanced through mined and booby-trapped areas and occupied Hill 529, the cone-shaped bare top of which is crowned with the crumbling walls of an ancient castle. The enemy had withdrawn beyond Raviscanina, a village in a draw on the other side of the hill. The battalions had advanced some seven miles up the valley, after making their second crossing. Sant' Angelo d'Alife and its commanding heights were secure, but the four days and nights of fighting had cost the 133d Infantry 59 men killed and 148 wounded.

The Battle for Hill 235

The next objective of the 34th Division was the high ground around Ailano, and Mount Cavuto (Map N^o. 23, page 76). West of the Volturno the 3d Division was preparing to drive across the valley and over the mountains toward the Mignano Gap. During the afternoon Of 25 October, the 1135th Infantry moved up to Sant' Angelo d'Alife to pass through the 133d Infantry and take up the chase. The 3d Battalion of the 135th was to climb the steep slopes of the hills, flank Ailano to the north, and cut the road from Ailano to Valle Agricola. The 2d Battalion was to drive up the valley over more broken terrain and flank Ailano to the south.

The 3d Battalion, 135th Infantry, moved up during the night of 25/26 October and advanced before dawn over the hills above Raviscanina. At 0530 divisional artillery began firing successive concentrations that progressed at the rate of one hundred yards every six

MAP N°. 23

minutes. The 185th Field Artillery Battalion alone expended 828 rounds in the next two hours. Meanwhile, men supplied by the 100th Battalion to guide the 2d Battalion, 135th Infantry, to its line of departure became lost in the darkness and fog of the early morning, and at 0530 the battalion was several hundred yards to the rear of the line. When the 2d Battalion finally jumped off at 0605, it left positions several hundred yards too far north.

The 3d Battalion climbed slowly over the wooded mountainsides above Raviscanina and Ailano. Enemy opposition was slight, and the battalion crossed the road between Ailano and Valle Agricola during the afternoon and occupied Hill 559. As soon as the fog lifted, the 2d Battalion was pinned down by rifle and machine-gun fire from Hill 235, rising less than twenty-five meters above the broken valley. This rolling hill, several acres in size and covered with brush and small evergreens, commands the area from the foothills to the river. A deep ravine runs along the east side of Hill 235; toward the west the terrain is broken and rough.

Unsuccessful efforts were made during the morning to maneuver men over the open ground around both flanks of the 2d Battalion. Company A, 2d Chemical Battalion, battered the hill with high explosive shells, but the infantry could make no headway against enemy fire from well-hidden positions. Meanwhile, Generals Clark, Lucas, and Ryder visited the regimental observation post on Hill 529, and General Ryder attached Company B, 191st Tank Battalion, to the 2d Battalion for a continuation of the attack the next morning, 27 October. During the afternoon an observer sighted troops south and southeast of Hill 235. His message specified an area previously reported held by the 2d Battalion, and the troops were assumed to be ours.

The 2d Battalion, preceded by tanks, was to resume the attack at 0530, but the tanks were held up by the difficult terrain, and the attack was delayed. An observer saw troops moving west over the hill and immediately reported that it had been taken. The battalion soon discovered that these were Germans who had been south and southeast of the hill the day before. The tanks arrived and tried to move to the right to attack the north nose of Hill 235, but one hit a mine, one turned over, and one was knocked out by artillery. On the hill

HILL 235, two knobs joined by a shallow saddle, provided the Germans with defilade for tanks and concealment for infantrymen. The larger of the two knobs is shown. The Alife-Pratella highway is about one thousand yards to the left (west); a narrow ravine some twelve feet deep runs across the base of the hill to the right. Shell fragments from American artillery literally cover the ground.

the enemy had machine-gun positions well hidden in the brush and was using from seven to ten tanks in hull-down positions as artillery. The 2d Battalion organized for another effort after noon, but twelve enemy tanks came up on the left flank and prevented the attack.

By nightfall on 27 October, elements of the 8th Panzer Grenadier Regiment on Hill 235 had shown the strength and stubbornness of their resistance. General Ryder ordered the 168th Infantry, which was in reserve, to pass through the 135th Infantry and renew the attack next morning. A heavy artillery concentration started at 0930; at the same time twenty-four A-36's bombed Pratella and the bridge to the south over the LeteRiver. The 2d Battalion, 168th Infantry, assaulted Hill 235 at 1000. The Germans had withdrawn during the night. From this small hill in the center of a valley twelve hundred yards wide, flanked by the mountain and the river, the enemy had for two days successfully held up the advance of the 34th Division. Another typical enemy delaying action was over, and our troops plunged on west to the Lete River.

After the enemy retreated from Hill 235, the 34th Division advanced north beyond the junction of the Lete and Volturno rivers. During 29 October the 135th Infantry drove up the road and occupied Pratella and Prata along the river, finding that Hill 325 in the narrow valley

PRATELLA, WITH HILL 325 on the right, is typical of many small hill towns near the head of the Volturno River. On 30 October the enemy harassed the 34th Division from 0830 to 1600, concentrating his fire on the road running through Pratella. Reports indicated that at least twenty-five pieces were firing from seven different locations in this area.

MAP N°. 24

by Pratella was fortunately not held by enemy rearguard troops. On 31 October the 133d and 168th Infantry continued up the Lete Valley and then into the valley of the little Sava River (Map No. 24, above). To protect the division left flank, the 133d Infantry climbed over the steep, brush-covered mountains on the left and occupied Ciorlano, a village clinging to the terraced slopes of La Croce Hill. The 168th Infantry took Fontegreca and drove on to Capriati a Volturno on 1 November. During the next two days the 34th Division drove the remaining enemy forces northwest toward Highway 85. To continue the pursuit the division would have to make a third crossing of the Volturno River.