- 4 months ago
Documentary of the US efforts to take Italy by acclaimed director John Huston. The US Army which commissioned the film refused to show it because it was too honest in its portrayal of the high cost of battle and the difficulties faced.
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00:01In 1943 it was one of our strategic aims to draw as many German forces as
00:08possible away from the Russian front and French coastal areas and to contain them
00:14on the Italian peninsula while liberating as much of Italy as might be
00:19possible with a means at our disposal. As the bulk of our supplies was directed
00:25to England for the forthcoming invasion, operations in Italy had to be conducted
00:31on an extremely limited scale. Thus it came about that during the winter months
00:38the number of Allied divisions in Italy was greatly reduced. Yet so determined
00:45was their effort that they succeeded in holding in Italy a very large number of
00:51German divisions during the pre-invasion period. San Pietro in the Fifth Army
00:57sector was the key to the Leary Valley. We knew it and the enemy knew it. We had to
01:04take it even though the immediate cost would be high. We took it and the cost in
01:11relation to the later advance was not excessive. By its very nature this
01:17success worked bitter hardships upon each individual soldier calling for the full
01:23measure of his courage and devotion. The response of our Fifth Army troops provides
01:29an inspiring page in our military history. To these individuals living and dead and to
01:37those who now continue in their tradition, this picture is dedicated.
02:07Leary Valley lies in the Italian Midland, some sixty miles northwest of Naples to some forty miles southeast of Rome. A wide,
02:37flat corridor enclosed between four walls of mountains. In winter, the highest peaks of the Leary Range ascend into the snows, but the valley floor with its olive groves and ancient vines, its crops of wheat and corn, is green the year around.
02:57That is, in normal times. Last year was a bad year for grapes and olives, and the fall planting was late. Many fields lay fallow. There are two ways from the south into the valley, one a narrow pass, the other a high scenic road over the mountains. They converge before the site of the ancient village of San Pietro, which for
03:27seven hundred years has stood at the threshold of Leary Valley, seven hundred years has stood at the threshold of Leary Valley, welcoming the traveler. The stones of its walls were quarried out of the parent hill from whose slopes it rises.
03:39Population 1412 of the last census. A farming community. Patron saint, Peter. Point of interest, Saint Peter's, 1438. Note, interesting treatment of chancel.
03:58From the end of October 1943 until the middle of December, San Pietro and the surrounding grounds was the scene of some of the bitterest fighting on our 5th Army front. The Italian campaign had entered its second phase to push forward again after a static period brought on by heavy seasonal rains.
04:25Our battle lines were huphazard as the terrain itself, with its flood swollen rivers that twisted back and forth across our line of march so that each river seemed like 5th.
04:38And where there was no river to cross, a mountain blocked our going, each peak ahead being a few meters higher than the last we had won, so that each new peak had to be fought for, the hard uphill way with the enemy looking down our throats.
04:54They had had time to fortify and camouflage their positions. No amount of artillery fire or aerial bombardment could force them to withdraw. That was for the infantry to do.
05:05Employing those weapons that confined and destroy life in narrow trenches, caves and fighting holes. It was up to the man with the rifle, the man under fire from all weapons. The man whose way all our weapons, land, air and sea, serve only to prepare.
05:22It was up to the foot soldier to attack a hidden enemy over ground that was sewn with mines. The anti-personnel, S-mines, that fly up at a footfall to explode beneath the groin.
05:35Nowhere along the entire front were enemy preparations more elaborate than the San Pietro area. For San Pietro stands at the threshold of Leary Valley. And through Leary Valley, wide and level, runs the most highly prized length of road south of Rome.
05:54By early December, we had taken and were holding high ground to the northeast, east and south of San Pietro. The Camino Maggiore hill mass being last to fall. An Italian brigade under allied command had made a vain attempt to capture Mount Lungo.
06:09Possession of which would have acted greatly to our benefit in the impending action. The Italians were all but annihilated. In view of their excessive losses, further operations against Mount Lungo's strategic heights were abandoned.
06:24And it was decided to make a direct frontal assault on enemy positions in and around San Pietro.
06:32Elements of the 36th Texas Infantry Division were rotated from position to position, overlooking the valley, so the troops might study the terrain ahead from various viewpoints.
06:53Patrol activity was continuous.
07:02Day and night units went out to reconnoiter the ground, draw fire, take prisoners, thus adding to the sum of our information about the enemy.
07:13High points, Mount Lungo's 351 and Mount Samucro's 1205 and 950 were all manned in force.
07:23The town itself was strongly garrisoned with numerous mortar, machine gun and heavy weapon emplacements.
07:30Four enemy battalions were dug into a line of connecting trenches and mutually supporting pillboxes in depth that extended from the base of Mount Lungo,
07:41northeast across the valley floor to the base of Mount Samucro.
07:45Another battalion was organized to defend the high ground northwest of San Pietro.
07:52Areas before these positions were heavily mined and held a confusion of barbed wire and booby traps.
07:58On the afternoon before, D-Day and H-hour were communicated to battalion commanders.
08:05December 8th, at 0620 hours, the first battalion of the 143rd Infantry Regiment to attack the summit of 1205, having moved up the mountain under cover of darkness and upon achieving its objective to attack along the ridge to a point northwest of San Pietro.
08:28The third range of battalion, likewise to attack 950, another feature of the Mount Samucro hill mass.
08:38The second battalion of the 143rd to attack over the terraced olive orchards northeast of San Pietro.
08:44The third battalion, acting in support to follow the second of 400 yards.
08:52Of the original force to establish the beachhead of Salerno, the 143rd had since spent all but a fortnight in action under extremely bitter weather conditions.
09:02At Salerno, at the Volturno crossing, it had taken mortal punishment.
09:09The task ahead promised no less bloodshed, yet it was undertaken in good spirits and high confidence.
09:17The first battalion began the long, rugged climb up Mount Samucro.
09:34As night fell, our artillery opened up, and throughout the night hours, intense fire was laid down on the enemy's main line of resistance.
09:43It had rained most of the night, and it was raining at 8 hours when the 2nd and 3rd battalions crossed the line of departure.
10:06Some 200 yards forward, they encountered mines and automatic fire from pillboxes.
10:22The artillery were deadly accurate by reason of excellent enemy observation from Mount Lunga, overlooking our advance.
10:43Which continued another 200 to 400 yards.
10:49Many men gave their lives an attempt to reach pillboxes and throw hand grenades through the narrow gun openings.
11:02Many men gave their lives an attempt to reach pillboxes and throw hand grenades through the narrow gun openings.
11:10their lives in attempts to reach pillboxes and throw hand grenades through the narrow gun openings.
11:19The 3rd Battalion was committed.
11:40But the advance never got more than 600 yards past the line of departure.
11:50Our initial assault on San Pietro had been repulsed with heavy casualties.
11:55The attack on Hill 1205, however, was a brilliant success.
12:13Leading elements of the 1st Battalion had gained the summit of the objective
12:17before a strongly entrenched enemy knew that an assault was in progress.
12:25To the right of 1205, the 3rd Ranger Battalion had also captured its objective.
12:38But only after successive attacks and costly casualties.
12:42For on 950, the enemy was not taken unaware.
12:50Counterattacks were to be expected on both 1205 and 950.
12:55They were not long developing.
13:11The first was launched during the early daylight hours,
13:14and even as it was beaten off, another took form.
13:16The first was launched during the early daylight hours.
13:24Day and night, they followed in unremitting violence.
13:35The toll of enemy dead mounted with each new attempt.
13:46But German prisoners captured on 1205 and 950 said they had been ordered to retake those positions at all cost.
13:57In addition to defending Hill 1205, the 1st Battalion,
14:01obedient to the field order, undertook the reduction of enemy defenses,
14:05which were organized along the ridge running west.
14:07The
14:35On the 12th of December, the 1st Battalion was reinforced by the 504th Parachute Battalion,
14:50which took over and maintained the defenses of 1205 and 950, thereby enabling the 1st
14:58Battalion to throw its entire remaining strength into the assault along the ridge.
15:05But the first strength had dwindled and shrunk in the five days past, and there was now a
15:11question as to whether its existing numbers were sufficient to prevail.
15:17Reports during the night of the 14th of December stated that the enemy was offering bitter
15:22resistance and that the issue was in grave doubt.
15:27Meanwhile, on the olive terraces below, the 2nd and 3rd Battalions had twice again attempted
15:33to reach their objective.
15:35Both times, they had come up against a wall of automatic weapon, mortar and artillery fire.
15:48Volunteer patrols made desperate attempts to reach enemy positions and reduce strongpoints.
15:57Not a single member of any such patrol ever came back alive.
16:04Our attacking forces were furnished excellent aerial cover by Allied fighter patrols.
16:12But now and then, enemy planes were able to slip through and abomb and strafe our positions,
16:19which to all purposes had remained unchanged since the first day.
16:26To break the deadlock, orders were given for a coordinated divisional attack.
16:31The 2nd and 3rd Battalions of the 143rd to proceed in the execution of the original orders.
16:37Acting in conjunction, Company A of the 753rd Tank Battalion to attack San Pietro from the
16:44east over the high road.
16:46One battalion of the 141st to attack over the flat valley floor.
16:52After nightfall on D-Day, the 142nd Infantry Regiment to attack Mount Lungo.
16:58The earlier decision not to attack those strategic heights having been reversed in view of the
17:05present critical situation.
17:07In preparation for the attack, all 5th Army artillery within range, including tanks and
17:15all-tracks, was directed against San Pietro and the surrounding area.
17:21The 8th Army military personnel personnel personnel personnel personnel personnel personnel
17:36ensure his talent was rebuilt by the 5th Army during the 151st to be tested.
17:43How does this take place to attack?
17:47Let's go.
18:17H-Hour, 1,200 hours. D-Day, the 15th of December.
18:39The 141st Infantry advanced some 400 yards from its line of departure
18:44to be borne down and held powerless under the weight of enemy fire.
18:53The 2nd and 3rd Battalions of the 143rd advanced some 100 yards beyond their former positions
19:00to a point almost directly before forward enemy defenses.
19:06And for the 3rd time, they were forced to take such cover as the quaking earth could offer.
19:11And the tanks.
19:16Orders were for them to enter the town and to locate and destroy the heavy weapons there,
19:22which were leveled against our attacking foot soldiers.
19:25The high road in the San Pietro is a narrow mountain road.
19:32And from the beginning of its winding descent in the Leary Valley,
19:35it was under direct enemy observation.
19:3716 tanks started down that road.
19:50Three reached the outskirts of the town.
19:53Of these, two were destroyed, and one was missing.
20:09Five tanks were immobilized behind enemy lines,
20:13their crews having to abandon them.
20:15Five tanks hit enemy mines within our lines,
20:20and were thereupon destroyed by enemy gunfire.
20:24Four tanks returned to the Bivouac area.
20:29After dark, two companies,
20:32one from the 2nd Battalion and one from the 3rd,
20:34finally succeeded in penetrating enemy positions before San Pietro.
20:39But receiving both frivolent flanking fire,
20:42they were forced to retire.
20:45Company E having been reduced in strength
20:50to a handful of riflemen,
20:53and Company L faring a little better.
21:09On the mounts of Ocrow Ridge,
21:11the 1st Battalion fought its way
21:13to within a few hundred yards of the objective.
21:24But it had paid for ground gain
21:26at the rate of a man a yard,
21:28and it did not have strength
21:30to carry the fight any further forward.
21:33On Mount Lungo, however, despite bitter resistance,
21:39battalions of the 142nd, in successive waves,
21:43kept pushing upwards.
21:47Until, in the early daylight hours of the 16th of December,
21:51its foot soldiers had gained the summit
21:53and were wiping up what remained of a stubborn enemy.
21:58And that height proved to be a key position
22:01in the enemy plan of defense.
22:03For even as Mount Lungo fell,
22:05the enemy, throughout the San Pietro area,
22:09made preparations to withdraw.
22:10Almost invariably, the enemy
22:14will counter-attack to cover a withdrawal.
22:17The first violent thrust was delivered
22:19within a few hours.
22:29And thereafter, counter-attacks came in waves,
22:33the roar of the last mingling
22:35with the rush and fury of the next to break.
22:38Many companies lost all their officers.
22:41Enlisted men came forward
22:43as inspirational leaders
22:44to rally their battered companies
22:46and resisted yet one more onslaught.
22:51Our own artillery was brought to fall
22:54within a hundred yards of our front-line elements.
23:00After five hours,
23:02during which the earth never ceased to tremble,
23:04counter-attacks ended,
23:07indicating the withdrawal
23:08of the enemy's main body had commenced.
23:11In an effort in their home,
23:27the American 연hy struck
23:28was headed down there mostemently
23:29of the Mount Lungo.
23:30We Watch the Exit我很
23:31In an effort to maintain contact with the enemy, our patrols immediately pushed ahead.
24:01Entering the town, they discovered that San Pietro was ours for the taking.
24:31The second and third battalions, less than a rifle company in strength, weary to death who were alive, stumbled forward past San Pietro to consolidate gains and reestablish contact with the enemy, now taking up new positions some five kilometers beyond.
25:01That is the broad shape of the Battle of San Pietro, which was but the first of many battles in Leary Valley.
25:11It was a very costly battle.
25:16After the battle, the 143rd Infantry Regiment alone required 1,100 replacements.
25:24The lives lost were precious lives to their country, to their loved ones, and to the men themselves.
25:52For the living of the 143rd Infantry Regiment, more than 100 decorations for acts of valor above and beyond the call of duty.
26:06Many among these you see alive here have since joined the ranks of their brothers in arms who fell at San Pietro.
26:18For ahead lay San Pietro, and the Rapido River, and Casino, and beyond Casino, more rivers, and more mountains, and more towns, more San Pietros, greater or lesser, 1,000 more.
26:34As the battle passed over and beyond San Pietro, westward, townspeople began to appear, coming out of their caves in the mountains where they had stayed in hiding during the enemy occupation.
26:50They were mostly old people and children.
26:55A.
26:56K.
26:57K.
26:58K.
26:59K.
27:00K.
27:01K.
27:02K.
27:03K.
27:04K.
27:05K.
27:06Van.
27:08The townspeople were warned against enemy mines and booby traps, which were in the process of being cleared.
27:38The townspeople were warned against enemy mines and booby traps, which were in the process of being cleared.
27:48The townspeople were warned against enemy mines and booby traps, which were in the process of being cleared.
27:58The townspeople were warned against enemy mines and booby traps, which were in the process of being cleared.
28:14Children are able to forget quickly.
28:24Yesterday they wept.
28:28Today there are smiles and even laughter.
28:44Tomorrow it will be as though the bad things had never happened.
29:04Here we go.
29:18Oh, my God.
29:48Living was resumed in San Pietro.
30:03Our prime military aim being to engage and defeat the enemy.
30:07The capture of the town itself and the liberation of its people
30:10is of an incidental nature.
30:13But the people in their military innocence
30:15look upon us solely as their deliverers.
30:20It was to free them and their farmlands that we came.
30:29Behind our lines, southwest of the sea,
30:32the fields are green with growing crops planted after our coming
30:36by other people of other towns who believed likewise.
30:45The new one earth at San Pietro was ploughed and sown.
31:00It should yield a good harvest this year.
31:04And the people prayed to their patron saint to intercede with God
31:08in behalf of those who came, delivered them,
31:12and passed on to the north with the passing battle.
31:18With the passing battle.
31:48the first part of the energy saying we need to know
31:52how long they止
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