Witness the realities of war in Battle for San Pietro (1945), a powerful World War II documentary that chronicles one of the most intense battles fought during the Allied campaign in Italy. Through authentic battlefield footage and firsthand accounts, this remarkable film captures the courage, sacrifice, and determination of soldiers facing the hardships of combat. A historic documentary that offers a compelling look at the human cost of war and the struggle for victory during one of history’s most significant conflicts.
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#WWII #WorldWarII #WarDocumentary #MilitaryHistory #SanPietro #HistoricFilm #ClassicDocumentary #VintageCinema #WarHistory #AlliedForces #ItalianCampaign #BattlefieldFootage #HistoricalDocumentary #MilitaryDocumentary #1945Movies #ClassicCinema #HistoryLovers #WarStories #DocumentaryFilm #WorldHistory
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Short filmTranscript
00:06THE END
00:35The Leary Valley lies in the Italian Midland,
00:38some 60 miles northwest of Naples
00:41to some 40 miles southeast of Rome.
00:44A wide, flat corridor enclosed between four walls and mountains.
00:51In winter, the highest peaks of the Leary Range
00:54ascend with the snow,
00:56but the valley floor with its olive groves of ancient vines
00:59and its crops of wheat and corn
01:02is green the year around.
01:08That is, in normal times.
01:11Last year was a bad year for Great King Valley,
01:15and the fall planting was late.
01:19Many fields lay fallow.
01:23There are two ways from the south into the valley,
01:26one a narrow path,
01:29the other a high scenic road over the mountains.
01:36They converge before the site of the ancient village of San Pietro,
01:43which for 700 years has stood at the threshold of Leary Valley,
01:49welcoming the traveler.
01:50The stones of its walls were quarried out of the parent hill
01:54from whose slopes it rises.
01:58Population, 1,412 at the last census.
02:02A farming community.
02:06Patron, St. Peter.
02:09Point of interest, St. Peter's, 1438.
02:13Note interesting treatment of chancel.
02:26As St. Peter's was erected by those who were to worship there,
02:30so each original dwelling was built by the ones who were to live there.
02:34And this practice has endured down to the centuries.
02:40The Italian peasant is a born mason.
02:42He cuts and lays and mortars in the stone
02:46with great skill and patience,
02:48building not for himself alone,
02:50but for future generations.
02:56From the end of October 1943 until the middle of December,
03:00San Pietro and the surrounding grounds
03:02are the scene of some of the bitterest fighting on our 5th Army front.
03:07The Italian campaign had entered its second phase.
03:10The push forward again after a static period
03:13brought on by heavy seasonal rain.
03:17Our battle lines were haphazard as the terrain itself,
03:20with its flood-swollen rivers
03:22that twisted back and forth across our line of march
03:25so that each river seemed like five.
03:28And where there was no river to cross,
03:30a mountain blocked our goal.
03:32Each peak ahead being a few meters higher
03:35than the last we had won,
03:36so that each new peak had to be fought for
03:39the hard uphill way,
03:41with the enemy looking down our throats.
03:44They had had time to fortify
03:46and camouflage their positions.
03:49No amount of artillery fire
03:51or aerial bombardment
03:52could force them to withdraw.
03:54That was for the infantry to do it,
03:56employing those weapons
03:57to confine and destroy life
03:59in narrow trenches, caves, and fighting holes.
04:02It was up to the man with the rifle,
04:04the man under fire from all weapons,
04:07the man whose way all our weapons,
04:10land, air, and sea,
04:11serve only to prepare.
04:13It was up to the footsole
04:15to attack a hidden enemy
04:17over ground that was sown with mines,
04:20the anti-personnel S-mines
04:22that fly up at a football
04:24to explode beneath the groin.
04:27Nowhere along the entire front
04:29were enemy preparations
04:31more elaborate
04:32than in the San Pietro area.
04:35For San Pietro stands
04:37at the threshold of Leary Valley,
04:39and through Leary Valley,
04:40wide and level,
04:41runs the most highly prized
04:44length of road south of Rome.
04:47By early December,
04:49we had taken and were holding
04:50high ground
04:51in the northeast,
04:52east,
04:53and south of San Pietro.
04:54The Camino Maggiore hill mass
04:56being last to fall.
04:58Italian troops
04:59under allied command
05:00had made a vain attempt
05:01to capture Mount Lunga,
05:03possession of which
05:04would have acted greatly
05:05to our benefit
05:06in the impending action.
05:07But so excessive
05:09were the losses
05:09on Mount Lunga
05:10that further operations
05:12against its strategic heights
05:13were deemed unwarranted.
05:23It was thereon determined
05:25to make a direct frontal assault
05:27on enemy positions
05:29around and within
05:30the planned game.
05:35Battalions of the 36th Texas
05:37Infantry Division
05:38were rotated from position
05:39to position
05:40overlooking the valley
05:41so the troops
05:42might study
05:43the terrain ahead
05:44from various viewpoints.
06:00Patrol activity
06:02was continuous.
06:15Day and night
06:16units went out
06:17to reconnoiter the ground,
06:19draw fire,
06:20take prisoners,
06:22thus adding to the sum
06:24of our information
06:24about the enemy.
06:26High point,
06:28Mount Lungo 351
06:29and Mount Sinucro's 1205
06:31and 950
06:32were all manned in force.
06:33The town itself
06:35was strongly garrisoned
06:36with numerous mortar,
06:37machine gun,
06:38and heavy weapon emplacements.
06:39Four enemy battalions
06:41were dug into a line
06:42of connecting trenches
06:43and mutually supporting
06:44pillboxes in depth
06:45that extended
06:46from the base
06:46of Mount Lungo,
06:48northeast,
06:48across the valley floor
06:49to the base
06:50of Mount Sinucro.
06:51Another battalion
06:53was organized
06:53to defend the high ground
06:55northwest of San Piezan.
06:57Areas before these positions
06:59were heavily mined
07:00and held a confusion
07:01of barbed wire
07:02and ruby traps.
07:04On the afternoon before,
07:06D-Day and H-Hour
07:07were communicated
07:08to battalion commanders.
07:15December 8th,
07:16at 0620 hours,
07:18the 1st Battalion
07:19of the 143rd Infantry Regiment
07:21to attack the summit
07:22of 1205,
07:24having moved up the mountain
07:25under cover of darkness,
07:27and upon achieving
07:28its objective
07:28to attack along the ridge
07:30to a point northwest
07:31of San Pietro.
07:32The 3rd Ranger Battalion,
07:34likewise,
07:35to attack 950,
07:37another feature
07:38of the Mount Sinucro Hillman.
07:40The 2nd Battalion
07:42of the 143rd
07:43to attack over
07:44the Paris Olive Orchards,
07:45northeast of San Pietro.
07:47The 3rd Battalion,
07:48acting in support,
07:49to follow the 2nd
07:50at 400 yards.
07:53Of the original force
07:55to establish
07:56the beachhead
07:56of Salerno,
07:57the 143rd
07:58had since spent
07:59all but a fortnight
08:00in action
08:01under extremely bitter
08:02weather conditions.
08:05At Salerno,
08:07at the Volterno Crossing,
08:09it had taken
08:10mortal punishment.
08:11The task ahead
08:13promised no less bloodshed,
08:15yet it was undertaken
08:16in good spirits
08:17and high confidence.
08:20The 1st Battalion
08:22began the long,
08:23rugged climb
08:24of Mount Sinucro.
08:51As night fell,
08:53our artillery opened up
08:54and throughout
08:55the night hours,
08:56intense fire
08:57was laid down
08:58on the enemy's
08:59main line of resistance.
09:27It had rained most of the night.
09:29and it was raining
09:31at H hour
09:32until 2nd and 3rd Battalion
09:33crossed the line
09:35of departure.
09:38the 4th Battalion
09:39on the left.
09:41the 1st Battalion
09:42on the right.
09:49The 3rd Battalion
09:49on the right.
09:49The 4th Battalion
09:50on the right.
09:50The 3rd Battalion
09:50on the right.
09:50and it was raining
10:10Some 200 yards forward, they encountered wires, mines, and automatic fire from pillboxes.
10:41Mortar and artillery were deadly activated by reason of excellent enemy observation from
10:47Mount Lungo overlooking our advance, which continued another 200 to 400 yards.
11:30Many men gave their lives an attempt to jump the wire, reach pillboxes,
11:34and throw hand grenades through the narrow gun openings.
11:40The 3rd Battalion was committed.
12:06But the advance never got more than 600 yards past the line of departure.
12:14Our initial assault on San Pietro had been repulsed with heavy casualties.
12:28The 1st Battalion
12:29The 1st Battalion
12:29The 2nd Battalion
12:29The 2nd Battalion
12:48The attack on Hill 1205, however, was a brilliant success.
12:53Leading elements of the 1st Battalion had gained the summit of the objective
12:56before a strongly entrenched enemy knew that an assault was in progress.
13:16To the right of 1205, the 3rd Ranger Battalion had also captured its objective,
13:23but only after successive attacks and costly casualties.
13:28For on Hill 950, the enemy was not taken unaware.
13:35Counterattacks were to be expected on both 1205 and 950.
13:40They were not long developing.
14:00The 1st was launched during the early daylight hours,
14:03and even as it was beaten off, another took form.
14:13Day and night, they followed in unremitting violence.
14:30The toll of enemy dead mounted with each new attempt.
14:42The German prisoners captured on 1205 and 950 said that they had been ordered to retake those positions at all
14:49costs.
14:59Acting in excellent cooperation, the artillery's supporting power disrupted numerous enemy counterattacks
15:04while they were in the process of being formed.
15:14In addition to defending Hill 1205, the 1st Battalion, obedient to the field order, undertook the reduction of enemy defenses
15:21which were organized along the ridge running west.
15:39The 8th Battalion carried through with
15:39the 19th Battalion is a infinite black engine.
15:39The lastялs'
16:11On the 12th of December, the 1st Battalion was reinforced for the 504th Parachute Battalion,
16:18which took over and maintained the defenses of 1205 and 950, thereby enabling the 1st Battalion to throw its entire
16:29remaining strength into the affraud along the ridge.
16:37But the 1st strength had dwindled and shrunk in the 5 days past, and there was now a question as
16:44to whether its existing numbers were sufficient to prevail.
16:49Reports during the night of the 14th of December stated that the enemy was offering bitter resistance and that the
16:56issue was engraved out.
16:59Meanwhile, on the olive terraces below, the 2nd and 3rd Battalion had twice again attempted to reach their objective.
17:09Both times, they had come up against a wall of automatic weapons, mortar, and artillery mines.
17:23Volunteer patrols made desperate attempts to reach enemy positions amidst strong points.
17:33Not a single member of any such patrol ever came back alive.
17:43Our attacking forces were furnished excellent aerial cover by allied fighter patrols.
17:48But now and then, enemy planes were able to slip through and to bomb and strafe our positions.
17:58Which, to all purposes, had remained unchanged since the first day.
18:03To break the deadlock, orders were given for a coordinated divisional attack.
18:07The 2nd and 3rd Battalions of the 143rd to proceed in the execution of the original orders.
18:13Acting in conjunction, Company A of the 753rd Tank Battalion to attack San Pietro from the east over the high
18:20road.
18:21One battalion of the 141st to attack over the flat valley floor.
18:25After nightfall on D-Day, the 142nd Infantry Regiment to attack the heights of Mount Lungo.
18:32In preparation for the attack, all 5th Army artillery within range, including tanks and all tracks,
18:40was directed against San Pietro for the surrounding area.
18:43einer Eindring of an TYPE
19:04One battalion!
19:06One battalion!
19:10Let's go.
19:55H-Hour, 1,200 hours.
19:59E-Day, the 15th of December.
20:05The 141st Infantry advanced some 400 yards in its line of departure.
20:13To be borne down and held powerless under the weight of enemy fire.
20:19The 2nd and 3rd Battalions of the 143rd advanced some 100 yards beyond their former position to a point almost
20:29directly before forward enemy defenses.
20:33And for the 3rd time they were forced to take such cover as the quaking earth could offer.
20:41And the tanks.
20:44Orders were for them to enter the town and locate and destroy the heavy weapons lair which were leveled against
20:50our attacking footnotes.
21:02The high road into San Pietro was a narrow mountain road.
21:06And from the beginning of its winding descent into Leary Valley, it was under direct enemy observation.
21:23Sixteen tanks started down that road.
21:30Three reached the outskirts of the town.
21:44Of these, two were destroyed and one was missing.
21:49Five tanks were immobilized behind enemy lines, their crews having to abandon them.
21:57Five tanks hit mines within our lines and were thereupon destroyed by enemy gunfire.
22:05Four tanks returned to the Bivouac area.
22:11After dark, two companies, one from the 2nd Battalion and one from the 3rd,
22:16finally succeeded in penetrating enemy positions before San Pietro.
22:20But receiving both frontal and flanking fire, they were forced to retire.
22:32Company E having been reduced in strength to eight riflemen and Company L faring little better.
22:52They were forced to retire.
22:56The Maussimo Crow Ridge
22:56On the Maussimo Crow Ridge, the 1st Battalion fought its way within a few hundred yards of the objective.
23:15But it had paved the way to kill, it was a very long here.
23:16for ground gained at the rate of a man a yard, and it did not have strength to
23:22carry the fight any further forward. On Mount Lungo, however, despite bitter
23:29resistance, battalions of the 142nd, in successive ways, kept pushing upward.
24:08Until in the early daylight hours of the 16th of December, its foot soldiers had
24:13gained the summits, and were wiping up what remained of a stubborn enemy.
24:28And that height proved to be a key position in the enemy plan of defense, for
24:34even as Mount Lungo fell, the enemy throughout the San Pietro area made
24:39in preparation to withdraw. Almost invariably, the enemy will counterattack to cover the withdrawal.
24:47The first violent thrust was delivered within a few hours.
25:01And thereafter, counterattacks came in way, the roar of the last mingling with the Russian fury of the next to
25:09break.
25:09Many companies lost all their officers. Enlisted men came forward as inspirational leaders to rally their battered companies into resisting
25:19yet one more onslaught.
25:29Our own artillery was brought to fall within a hundred yards of our frontline elements.
25:47After five hours, during which the Earth never ceased to tremble, counterattacks ended, indicating the withdrawal of the enemy's main
25:57body had come in.
26:02We will not go in because we hope that the 익hens were going in the opposite direction.
26:09Help!
26:10Help!
26:12Help!
26:15Help!
26:16Help!
26:17Help!
26:17Help!
26:17Help!
26:20Help!
26:22Help!
26:53In an effort to maintain contact,
26:55our patrols immediately pushed ahead.
27:37In an effort to maintain contact,
27:45The patrols immediately set to the center.
27:45The patrols immediately set to the center.
27:59Entering the town, they discovered that San Pietro was hours for the taking.
28:14The 2nd and 3rd Battalion, less than a rifle company in strength,
28:20weary to death who were alive,
28:23stumbled forward past San Pietro to consolidate games
28:28and re-establish contact with the enemy,
28:30now taking up new positions,
28:33some 5 kilometers beyond.
28:37That is the broad shape of the Battle of San Pietro,
28:42which was but the first of many battles in Liri Valley.
28:48It was a very costly battle.
28:53After the battle, the 143rd Infantry Regiment alone required 1,100 replacements.
29:20The lives lost were precious lives
29:24to their country,
29:27to their loved ones,
29:30and to the men themselves.
29:36For the living of the 143rd Infantry Regiment,
29:40more than 100 decorations for acts of valor above and beyond the call of duty.
29:49Many among these you see alive here have since joined the ranks of their brothers in arms
29:54who fell at San Pietro.
29:56For ahead lay San Vatore,
29:59and the Rapido River,
30:01and Casino,
30:03and beyond Casino,
30:05more rivers,
30:06and more mountains,
30:07and more towns,
30:08more San Pietro,
30:10greater or lesser,
30:12a thousand more.
30:18As the battle passed over and beyond San Pietro,
30:22westward,
30:23town people began to appear,
30:25coming out of their caves in the mountains,
30:27where they had stayed in hiding during the enemy occupation.
30:57They were mostly old people,
31:00and children.
31:01want to climb,
31:05a thousand more.
31:27To the women of the Optimus
31:28And they decimated them.
31:28They were wonderful,
31:42THE END
32:12THE END
32:35THE END
33:14THE END
33:39THE END
33:58Living was resumed in San Pietro.
34:11THE END
34:12Children are able to forget quickly.
34:15Yesterday, they wept.
34:17Today, there are smiles and even laughter.
34:21Tomorrow's will be as though the bad things have never happened.
34:33The END
34:34The END
34:34The END
34:42The END
34:44The END
34:45The END
34:46The END
34:52The END
34:53The END
34:53The END
34:56The END
34:58The END
35:06The END
35:08The END
35:34Oh
35:52Our prime military aim, being to engage and defeat the enemy, the capture of the town itself and the liberation
35:59of its people, is of an incidental nature.
36:03But the people, in their military innocence, look upon us solely as their deliverance.
36:09It was to free them and their farmland that we came.
36:14Behind our lines, southwest of the sea, the fields are green with growing crops planted after our coming by other
36:24people of other towns who believe likewise.
36:44The new one earth at San Pietro was plowed and sown. It should yield a good harvest this year.
37:00And the people prayed to their patron saints to intercede with God in behalf of those who came, delivered them,
37:08and passed on to the north with the passing battle.
37:14The new one earth at San Pietro was plowed with God in its world.
37:18The new one earth at San Pietro, who has been, was blessed with God in its ground.
37:21The new one earth at San Pietro was plowed and sown. It should yield a good harvest this year.
37:33A new one earth at San Pietro was plowed with God in his place and will look upon the need
37:42for the end of his people.
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