VE Day For those who died in the Battle for Monte Natale. "We will remember them"

 

As VE day approaches "We will remember them"  and in particular the men of the York & Lancaster Regiment who with my father gave their lives in the Battle for Monte Natale.

 On 22 January 1944 the Germans counter attacked Monte Natale. They made a full frontal assault and also came down the road from Santa Maria Infante to cemetery corner,   "A" Company of 1 York & Lancs. who were defending cemetery corner were virtually wiped out, but some retreated up the hill to Point 172 and Tufo.

View from Monte Natale

 The view from the front edge of Monte Natale showing Santa Maria Infante, the valley below and the mountains opposite all occupied by the Germans! Is it any wonder it was fought over by both sides?

"Operation Panther"

 

Lorenzo Tonioli 

Operation 'Panther' - January 1944

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Damiano Ianniello 

Lorenzo Tonioli  this is the Polish map of the Panther operation, edited in a certain way, just like the one of Pescopennataro. John E. Strafford talks about the area where the troops are gathered before crossing the Ausente and climbing up the mountain to the right of the Tufo population, or reaching the area of San Vito that goes around the person inhabited from the north.

Comment by Damiano Ianniello

 Damiano Ianniello

Monte Cassino War tours by Anna near to my work place.

Ok the left, you can see the Enrico’s dad house.

See picture below!

Thanks Damiano!   John

Eating porridge - what a way to die?

 18 Jan 1944

 1 York & Lancs. A soldier in ‘A’ Company described the crossing as follows:

 ‘We crossed the River Garigliano in the early hours in rubber dinghies and could hear the artillery fire and as it became light, we came across some troops digging themselves in. The chap who was carrying our food rations for the Section deserted and it was late evening before we had anything to eat. They told us not to cross into this field as it was full of mines. However, we were told to keep going and after proceeding about 75 yards the mines started to go off and half the platoon were casualties. There were only about twelve of us who escaped, and we were incredibly lucky. We carried on advancing and prisoners were being taken and we saw enemy transport retreating. We went into a hut and a German was sitting on a chair looking quite normal except a bayonet was sticking into him and porridge was spilt on the floor. He must have been taken by surprise. We then climbed over a wall into another field, about eight of us, and in the corner was a German with his hands on a machine gun, pointing at us. Luckily for us and for him he lifted his hands in surrender".

This hut is in the first rest area for 1 York & Lancs. before climbing the hill to Tufo.

   Was it the hut the German was in?

Happy Valley

 By Marco Tarantino

On the Vescini Mountains, at the extreme south of Latium, there is the precise place where the Gustav Line was broken through.

Vallaurea Piccola (literally "minor golden valley") was ironically nicknamed by English soldiers "The Happy Valley": here, in early February 1944. the battle raged between the English and the Germans.

The place is marvellous, nature has by now wrapped everything in its hug, but every time I go there I feel a sense of heaviness stemming from the modified genius loci of the place, now speaking about sorrow, deprivation and death, just where daisies and crocuses blossom in spring.

... We should never give anything for granted.

Marco Tarantino

Author

On the threshing floor in the third photo, elderly tell there was a pile of thrown corpses after the battle, altogether, no matter their nationality or uniform.

Then, everybody came to pick their men up.